by Abby Blake
He hung up the phone before any of them could ask questions or even mutter “yes, sir.”
Chapter Two
Darian looked at Wilson and wished he could see the vampire’s face. Benjamin hadn’t said the words out loud, but it was very clear that he suspected a traitor within their ranks. PUP Squad Alpha had worked together for five decades. It must have been damn hard for Benjamin to even consider it was one of his men feeding information to the pixies. Hell, Darian had worked the past eleven years with Deeks Security, and he was having trouble even considering it could be one of his team. The only new addition to that list of names was Jed Mathewson, but from what Darian understood he’d been instrumental in saving Hannah’s life several times already. Although, it didn’t bode well that the woman had ended up dead anyway.
Trying to set aside the speculation for another time, Darian stepped back into the yard, opened a bounce tunnel, and threw his phone and the rest of his communication gear into it.
“Where’s it going?” Wilson asked from the doorway of the house.
“Middle of the pacific ocean,” Darian said with a shrug. It was likely to cause a technogeek like Wilson a great deal of pain to have to part with what little technology they currently possessed, but it would definitely kill the traceable signal from the mobile phones. Wilson grimaced, but nodded. Careful to stay out of the sunshine, the vampire took off his helmet, tore out the electronics, and threw them and his mobile phone into the swirling tunnel.
Darian closed the bounce tunnel and opened another.
“Where are we going?” Amber asked as she stepped back into the yard.
“This safe house has been compromised,” Wilson said as he moved back into the sunshine with her. It didn’t escape Darian’s notice that Wilson made certain to put himself between them. In some ways it was comforting that Wilson was willing to be suspicious of everyone, including Darian, but it was going to be very inconvenient if they couldn’t trust each other.
“We’re going to my fishing cabin,” Darian said for the benefit of the woman who seemed to trust him and the vampire who didn’t. “It’s well stocked, almost comfortable, and so far off the grid that even my family doesn’t know where it is.” He held his hand out for Amber, breathed a silent sigh of relief when she took it, and then moved into the tunnel.
A moment later they stepped into the full dark of deep night.
* * * *
Amber could feel the tension coming off both men. She’d tried to listen in to the phone conversation, but hadn’t had any luck. Judging by their actions so far, it hadn’t been good news. The worst part was that they seemed to be distrustful of each other now, too.
“What happened?” she asked as Darian led them through a thick jungle. Amber tripped over something she couldn’t see and was very grateful that they both still held her hands so she didn’t hit the ground. She tried to drag in a deep breath, but the humid air didn’t stop her getting annoyed at feeling so clumsy. It was kind of like a metaphor for how her life had gone the past couple months. Even before she’d met these men, her future had seemed somehow beyond her control. Considering how hard she’d worked to be independent and stand on her own two feet, it really pissed her off to be stumbling through life both figuratively and literally at this moment. “Why did we change locations again?”
“Just a precaution,” Darian said, obviously hoping that Amber would drop the subject.
“Bullshit,” she said impatiently. “What did your boss say?” Considering how amenable she’d been the past few days, her reaction seemed to take them both by surprise. She stopped walking, literally digging her heels into the soft soil and tangled foliage of the jungle floor. Wilson simply lifted her into his arms and they kept moving.
“We’ll explain once we get to Darian’s cabin.”
“All right,” she said a little breathlessly. She was supposed to be protesting the runaway-freight-train feeling, so it seemed rather bizarre that she would choose now to notice Wilson’s rock-hard physique and way-too-sexy voice, but there it was. Maybe she had jungle fever already.
Darian stopped to look back at them both. There wasn’t enough light to see his face, but she saw his nod of agreement. Hoping to rein in her rampaging emotions, Amber clung to Wilson and tried to ignore the thought that she was acting like a damsel in distress.
* * * *
Wilson knew Amber was sensing the tension both he and Darian were feeling, but until they could figure a few things out, it wasn’t something he could control. He’d never, ever, gone into a mission not knowing whom he could trust. He’d always relied on his teammates. To think he could no longer trust any of them was completely unpalatable, but to be left feeling like he couldn’t even trust the warlock he’d been working with for the past several days was seriously unnerving.
They needed to get things straight. At least by explaining the situation to Amber so she’d understand why it was necessary to trust no one, including them. But it left the question, how the hell were they supposed to ask her to trust them to protect her, when they couldn’t even trust each other?
The cabin finally came into view. Darian had once described it to him, but had claimed at the time he would never reveal its location to another living soul. It was Darian’s getaway, his own private oasis, and hopefully he hadn’t been kidding about the secrecy. He’d told Wilson he’d built it himself, carefully blending it into the surrounding forest. Looking at it now proved that he hadn’t been joking. It was so well hidden that a person could walk within several feet of the front door and not even realize. Although Wilson doubted there would be people anywhere near here. They seemed to be deep inside impenetrable jungle.
Darian unlocked the door with what seemed to be some type of spell and then stepped inside. Wilson followed. Amber still had her arms wrapped around his neck and he was a little reluctant to admit that he didn’t want to put her down. Over the past few days he’d tried not to notice her beautiful features and lovely soft curves, but with her in his arms his body was reacting just a little too enthusiastically to the woman.
He was careful to put her on her feet without dragging her down his body and pressing his cock against her, but he found himself pulling her back into his arms and holding her close as Darian checked the cabin over for any signs of intruders or damage.
“All clear,” Darian said as he came back into the main area. The cabin was far bigger than Wilson had been expecting. It was pretty much an open floor plan with each corner designed for a specific function. He guessed that the only internal door led to a bathroom—at least he hoped it was a bathroom. Living rough wasn’t something he particularly enjoyed, and it wasn’t something he would want for the woman in his arms if he could avoid it.
Darian obviously noticed the possessive hold Wilson had on Amber, but he didn’t comment. He tilted his head toward the oversized sofa in one corner of the room, and all three of them sat down.
“Amber,” Darian said as he reached for her hand, “I’m really sorry, sweetheart, but Hannah was killed by a pixie assassin.”
“No she wasn’t,” Amber said, shaking her head in denial. Wilson wanted to pull her close and let her grieve Hannah’s loss, but it seemed strange to be mourning the death of a person none of them had actually known and Amber had never even met. Her strong denial was a little confusing, though.
“It’s true,” Wilson said quietly. “It’s why we went off the grid. Benjamin—he’s the commanding officer of PUP Squad Alpha—didn’t say it in so many words, but he suspects we have a traitor in our midst. That’s why we dumped the phones and communication equipment. No one knows where we are, not even our boss, and the assassins shouldn’t be able to track us.”
He glanced at Darian for confirmation on that. Wilson knew pixies could follow a slip path, but he was fairly certain they couldn’t trace a warlock’s bounce tunnel. Darian nodded.
“But Hannah’s not dead,” Amber said, looking confused. “I can still feel her.”
&nbs
p; “I don’t know what to say,” Darian said, running his hand through his hair in a clear sign of his irritation. “Benjamin reported her death to us. We have no reason to think he would lie about something so important.”
“Maybe,” Wilson said, still trying to make sense of the situation in his own head, “you can feel Hannah’s spirit. The Oracle’s receptacles all have extraordinary skills. Maybe when the physical body dies, the spirit still lingers.”
Amber gave him a wry smile. “So what you’re saying is that I can sense dead people now, too?”
“I don’t know,” he said, giving her a lopsided half smile of his own. “I don’t know anything for certain anymore.”
“Wilson is right,” Darian said, moving just a little closer to Amber. “We have no idea who to trust. We’re not even sure we can trust each other, so we need you to listen to your own instincts.”
“But I know I can trust you both,” she said with a shocked look on her face. When Darian shook his head, obviously about to disagree with her, Amber cut him off, raising her hand like a traffic cop. “I don’t know where my instincts come from, but I am one hundred percent certain that I can trust both of you with my life. I know it in here.” She tapped the side of her head. “And in here,” she said as she dropped her hand lower to hold it over her heart.
Wilson looked at Darian. Darian stared back, and after a few moments they both nodded at the same time. It seemed that they were both willing to put faith in Amber’s reassurance. It still didn’t sit well that they couldn’t trust men they’d both known for years, but being able to trust each other took the stress out of a potentially deadly situation.
“Do you know who the traitor is?” Darian asked in a rather hopeful tone. It would certainly simple things up if Amber could tell them who not to trust.
She shook her head. “Sorry, no. The only thing I know for certain is that I’ve never met him.”
“Him? You think the traitor is a male?”
“Yes,” Amber said, looking surprised at her own response.
It didn’t help much. There were only two women working with the PUP squad—Benjamin and Samuel’s mate, Skye, and Cassandra Lipton, the PUP Squad Alpha Administrative Supervisor. At least it was nice to know that their new boss wasn’t going to betray them like the old one had.
* * * *
Amber tried to make a mental list of everyone that she’d met so far but stopped short of pointing it out to the men protecting her. She was positive that she hadn’t met the traitor, but with her skills so new could she really be certain? At least sharing her belief that she could trust them both had taken the tension level in the room down a notch or two.
“So what’s for lunch? Err, breakfast? Midnight snack? What time is it here, anyway?”
“About three in the morning.”
“Seriously? What did we do, travel to another dimension?” Somehow she knew those were real, too. She just wasn’t going to admit it out loud.
“No, just the other side of the planet. It’s winter here, but with it being a tropical jungle there’s no real change in the seasons.”
“Hot and humid all year-round?” she asked as she lifted her sweat-soaked shirt away from her skin.
“Afraid so,” Darian said with a smile. “The good news is that the cabin is temperature controlled, so once you get cleaned up, you’ll feel a lot better. There is an abundance of water, so you can shower as often as you like.”
“Good to know,” she said with a grin, “but unless you want me walking around naked, I’d suggest you offer me a change of clothes.” The words were said in jest, and certainly not the come-on they sounded, but it suddenly felt like all the oxygen had been sucked from the air.
All three of them seemed lost for words.
Darian moved off the sofa but was the first to recover. His voice sounded strained when he said, “I’ll see what I can do.”
Desperate for a change of topic, Amber glanced at Wilson, noticed he still wore his leather outfit sans helmet and asked the exact wrong thing. “Don’t you ever get hot?”
Fortunately Wilson’s deep chuckle managed to break the tension.
“Sorry,” she as she felt a blush creep over her cheeks. “It’s been a strange couple of days and spending the whole time close enough to touch you guys is so not helping my sanity.” As soon as the words came out of her mouth, she realized just what she’d admitted. Heaven help her, could things get any more embarrassing?
She closed her eyes and wished for a hole to open up in the ground and swallow her. But she nearly shrieked, her eyes flying open of their own accord when she realized she could actually do that.
“What is it?” Darian said as he moved back onto the sofa and grabbed her hand.
“I think I just learned the meaning of ‘be careful what you wish for.’”
“How so?” Wilson asked, reaching for her other hand as if he somehow couldn’t not touch her.
“Can any of the other women, the other—what did you call them?”
“Oracle’s receptacles?”
She nodded. “Can any of the other Oracle’s receptacles create a hole in the ground?”
Both men looked at her, their surprise clearly written on their faces. “As far as we know Ava was able to use telekinetic skills to fight off the pixie that attacked her in her living room, and she can create some sort of fireproof shield. Hannah is…was telekinetic, too.”
“Is,” Amber said grimly. “I’m almost certain that she’s still alive. I can sense the others—Kali, Ava, Kristen, and Lilly—the same way I can sense Hannah. I can’t sense the three who were murdered.”
“You know about them?” Darian asked with a sympathetic look. When she nodded, he lifted his hand to her face and rubbed his thumb over her cheek. “We’d hoped to protect you from that knowledge. I’m sorry we couldn’t save them.”
“I know,” she said quietly. It was positively weird the way her mind was working at the moment, but somehow she knew that everyone on the PUP squad felt the same way—except one. “He’s a soldier. He’s one of you guys. He’s a PUP.”
“Are you sure?” Wilson asked, sounding defeated. He’d told her PUP Squad Alpha had been a team for five solid decades. It wouldn’t be easy to learn that one of them was colluding with the enemy.
“No,” she admitted, perhaps untruthfully. She was certain the man was working as a PUP, but she wasn’t completely sure he was from PUP Squad Alpha. It was obvious by Wilson’s sad smile that he didn’t really believe her.
“It’s okay, sweetheart,” he said as he pulled her into his embrace. As much as she needed the cuddle at this moment, she suspected Wilson needed it more. He held her tight as the conversation between the men turned to practical matters.
* * * *
“How long will the supplies hold up?” Wilson asked as he tried to convince himself to unwind his arms from around Amber. It didn’t work.
“We’ve got food for at least three weeks,” Darian said, glancing at Amber without actually saying out loud that he didn’t have any food suitable for a vampire.
Wilson nodded. Vampires could go several days without feeding, but he wasn’t certain he could go a whole three weeks, especially with a human under the same roof. Darian gave him a look that suggested he knew exactly what Wilson was thinking. The fact that the man tapped the electronic gun on his hip confirmed it. It was good to know Darian would protect Amber, but Wilson silently vowed to do everything he could not to become yet another threat to the woman they were protecting.
“Can’t you just use that tunnel thing to go to the supermarket?”
“Actually,” Darian said, looking uncomfortable again, “the tunnels can be traced by other warlocks if they’re in the same area. We have at least two warlocks working with PUP Squad Alpha and another three working for Deeks Security at the moment. The traitor may be none of them but I don’t want to risk revealing our location to anyone for as long as we can.”
“Makes sense,” Amber said q
uietly, relaxing against Wilson’s chest. He was fairly certain she realized she was the only vampire food for miles, so either she didn’t mind the idea or she completely trusted him not to “nosh” on her neck like she’d joked only days earlier. Whatever it was, her faith in him helped clear the anxiety just a little.
Darian’s stomach rumbled loudly, ironically breaking the tension and bringing a less serious note to the conversation.
“Well, since my stomach considers it lunchtime, maybe I should go find us something to eat.”
Amber nodded, but stayed where she was leaning against Wilson’s chest. Darian was busy clattering around in the kitchen when she lifted her head and gave Wilson a quizzical look.
“I can hear your heartbeat.” He nodded. “But you’re a vampire.”
“That I am,” he said with a soft laugh. Some of the legends surrounding vampires were truly laughable. How was a reanimated corpse supposed to overcome rigor mortis, or digest blood, or get an erection? Of course that thought brought home the fact that Amber was practically sitting in his lap, which in turn reminded said erection of the nearness of his woman.
His woman?
Hell, it was quite common for a protectee to fall for her protector. The fear, the intensity of emotion, and the faith it took to trust a stranger to be willing to die to protect them was a potent, and often short-lived, combination. Most romances forged under a stressful situation fizzled once real life came crashing back down. It was even an understandable and somewhat expected reaction from a client when they were on a protection mission.