X-Ops Exposed

by Paige Tyler

  Zarina nodded, reaching up to wipe a tear from the corner of her eye before it could run down her cheek.

  Cam sat back in the booth, his gaze on Tanner. “All that stuff would have been what, two years ago at most? Where have you been since then?”

  Okay, he was going to have to be careful around his brother. Cam was piecing together little details fast as hell. If Tanner wasn’t careful, Cam was going to be neck-deep in more secrets than he’d know what to do with.

  “After Zarina got me out of that place, I was messed up. Even more messed up than I’d been before, if that’s possible.”

  Zarina opened her mouth to protest, but Tanner cut her off with a look. She’d defend him to the death, but this was one time when the truth couldn’t be denied.

  “Long story short, I’ve been living on a federal compound in DC trying to get my head back together,” Tanner explained. “Unfortunately, I still have some issues, so it’s not good for me to be around other people. Especially people I care about. That’s why I never called.”

  His brother frowned. “What are you doing back here then?”

  Tanner shrugged and stared down at his hands loosely clasped together on the table in front of him. “Some things happened a little while ago that made me think it would be better if I came back out here to Wenatchee to see if living on my own might help.”

  “A decision I didn’t get a chance to be a part of and was adamantly against,” Zarina put in. “Tanner was doing well back in DC, but he’s stubborn, and when he thinks he’s a danger to those close to him, he tends to go with the most extreme option available.”

  Cam’s mouth twitched in amusement. “Well, at least one thing hasn’t changed about my brother. He never did anything halfway.”

  Tanner opened his mouth to protest, but just then, a young guy with dark hair appeared at the table with three glasses of water and an order pad shoved in the pocket of his apron. “Sorry you’ve been waiting so long. No one told me you were back here. Do you have any questions about the menu?”

  The poor guy looked like he was about to have a nervous breakdown, and Tanner couldn’t help but take pity on him. “Don’t worry about it. We’re not in any rush.”

  The three of them decided to go with chili cheeseburgers, fries, and Cokes. After their server left, they turned to relatively safe topics while they waited for their food. Like where Zarina was from and why Cam became a cop. Cam quickly figured out Tanner and Zarina were in some kind of relationship—following him all the way across the country was pretty much a dead giveaway—but he didn’t make a big deal out of it.

  Once the safe topics were covered, the elephant in the diner couldn’t be ignored any longer, and Tanner forced himself to ask the question that had been on his mind since he’d called his brother.

  “How are Mom and Dad and the girls?”

  His brother pinned him with a look. “You want the BS answer that will make you feel better, or do you want the truth?”

  Tanner didn’t have to ask to know his family would take his absence hard. They’d always been close. Right up until the point when he’d walked out on them.

  “The truth can’t be any worse than my imagination has made it out to be,” he said.

  Cam sighed. “Like I said before, Mom worries about you a lot. She lights a candle for you at church all the time. And while I don’t have any proof, I’m pretty sure she hired a private investigator to track you down. She refuses to let Dad change anything in your old room and keeps it the same way it was when you were in the army, on the off chance you come back and need a place to stay.”

  Tanner groaned. Maybe this was worse than he’d imagined. He’d known his mom would be upset when he left, but he told himself she would recognize he was doing it for their own good. Apparently, she hadn’t.

  “Dad blames himself for you leaving.” Cam sipped his drink. “He insists everything that happened that morning was his fault. He spent about the first year driving around town looking for you like you were a lost puppy before he finally stopped. He doesn’t join Mom when she goes to church to light those candles for you. In fact, he doesn’t go to church at all now.”

  “Shit,” Tanner muttered, wishing Cam would stop. He would have been better off not knowing any of this.

  “Kellie had some problems for a while,” Cam continued. “She missed you like crazy, but she’s doing okay now. She’s a lot more serious than she used to be. Same pixie-style haircut with all the crazy colors, but she got rid of her piercings. She’s a senior in high school now. Plans to join the army as soon as she graduates, which is freaking Mom out.”

  Tanner would have crawled under the table at that moment if he would have fit. Kellie was his youngest sister and also the most bubbly, idealistic, and outgoing member of the family. At least she used to be. Getting a chance to see her had been one of the highlights of his visits when he used to come home on leave. She would sit for hours and listen to his stories. It sounded like he’d barely recognize her now.

  “But on the bright side, Raquel hasn’t changed a bit.” Cam’s mouth tightened. “She’s pissed you left, but only because it hurt Mom, Dad, and Kellie. She never says your name, never talks about you, even changes the subject anytime your name comes up. She finally got married to that accountant boyfriend of hers, Darrin.”

  Raquel was two years younger than Tanner, so there’d always been a lot of sibling rivalry between them. She’d started dating Darrin when he’d done her taxes, and Tanner had teased her about it, saying she only went out with him for the free tax advice. His sister had never said he was wrong.

  “You know, with the exception of Raquel, they’d all love to see you,” Cam said cautiously. “I could arrange something casual if you want to work your way back into things slowly.”

  Tanner’s heart suddenly started racing, and he cursed silently as he felt his fangs trying to force their way out. He quickly dropped his hands under the edge of the table, terrified his claws would spring out and give him away. Without a word, Zarina reached over and placed a warm hand on his forearm, silently letting him know she was there. He closed his eyes, focusing on that touch as he tried to get his breathing back under control.

  This was what he’d worried about most when he’d agreed to meet with Cam, that his brother would say something that would make him mad and the animal inside would make an appearance at the worst possible time.

  Tanner took a breath, calming his racing pulse and envisioning the hybrid part of himself as a physical animal that he had to shove back into a cage and lock away. He’d been working on this technique for the better part of a year, and normally, it worked. But now that he was in a crowded diner with his brother sitting across from him, it wasn’t doing a damn thing.

  He breathed deep and tried again, mentally shoving his inner lion into its prison and slamming the door shut. When he finally got himself together, he dreaded opening his eyes, afraid to see the look on Cam’s face. But Tanner couldn’t sit there like that forever.

  As it turned out, his brother was sitting there calmly sipping his soda. Tanner waited for Cam to ask what the hell that was all about, but thankfully, the waiter chose that moment to bring their meals.

  Tanner immediately picked up his cheeseburger and bit into it, mostly to avoid having to say anything. He almost groaned in appreciation at the combination of the spicy chips and scrumptious beef. It had been a long time since he’d eaten anything like that. Damn, he’d missed it.

  “Okay, so as much as I’d like to think you called me just because I’m your brother and you wanted an update on your family, my gut tells me that you didn’t,” Cam said in between bites. “I’m guessing you needed a cop and didn’t feel like you could call one out here in Wenatchee. So, what’s up?”

  Tanner took another bite of burger, using it as an excuse to delay answering for a moment. Once again, Cam had surprised him. First, b
y moving beyond the near hybrid shift he’d almost certainly seen, and second, by the way he’d pegged the situation with the preppers perfectly. On the downside, Cam’s blunt words made Tanner feel shittier about using him than he already did.

  “Over the past couple of weeks, at least half a dozen people have gone missing in the Wenatchee Forest,” Tanner said.

  Cam frowned as he dunked his waffle fries in ketchup. “I haven’t heard anything about that. I mean, we don’t hear about everything back in Seattle, but something as big as half a dozen missing people moves the needle. I would have thought it would be all over the news.”

  “The people who have gone missing are either homeless or preppers,” Zarina explained softly, almost like she hated admitting that was a valid justification for the media to ignore it.

  “Ah, I see,” Cam said. “So these missing people aren’t even being reported, are they?”

  “No,” Tanner told him. “Which is probably why they’re being targeted. Whoever is capturing them has to know there’s little chance anyone will call the cops. These kidnappers are smart, well armed, efficient, and know exactly what they’re doing.”

  Cam looked at him sharply. “Well armed? Okay, this is sounding like more than just some homeless people disappearing. What’s the rest of the story?”

  Tanner and Zarina told him everything they knew about the first few people who’d gone missing, the attack on the preppers’ camp last night, the use of automatic weapons, and how he’d figured out both men from the encampment had been thrown into a waiting van or SUV.

  Cam looked at Tanner a little oddly when he mentioned tracking Josh and Bryce through the woods, but he didn’t ask for details.

  “This is way too big for me, Tanner,” his brother said after hearing the whole story. “We need to get the state police involved. Maybe even the feds.”

  Tanner shook his head. “These preppers don’t trust anyone in authority, especially the feds. I promised I wouldn’t call them.”

  “That was stupid,” his brother said dryly.

  “Probably, but I was hoping you could do a little digging on your own and see what you can find out. And before you tell me that you don’t have any contacts in Wenatchee, I’m pretty sure this isn’t a local thing. I can’t explain why I think that, but my gut is telling me there’s something weird going on with these kidnappings.”

  Cam regarded him curiously again but didn’t question his suspicions. “Okay, I’ll dig around and see what I can find. What are you and Zarina going to be doing in the meantime?”

  Tanner shrugged. “We have a few more supplies to pick up before we head back up the mountain, but after that, the plan is to stay close to the prepper camp and hopefully keep anyone else from getting kidnapped.”

  Cam’s brow furrowed. “That sounds dangerous. And stupid.”

  “Probably,” Tanner agreed. “But I don’t have a choice.”

  They spent a little while longer going over everything Tanner knew about the abductions, including when they’d happened, what the victims’ names were, what they looked like, and what kinds of weapons the kidnappers used, anything Cam thought might help him get a lead on either the missing people or the assholes who’d taken them. After that, the conversation slipped back into casual things, mostly Cam and his personal life…or lack thereof.

  As they talked, Tanner realized he was eating more slowly now. He didn’t want this meal to end. It seemed like a lifetime since he’d talked to his brother. It felt good.

  But at some point, the food was gone, and the conversation came to an end. When they slipped out of the booth, Tanner expected his brother to walk off, but instead, Cam gave him a hug. They missed each other more than either would want to admit, and Tanner hugged him back with the same fierceness.

  At least neither of them started crying. That would have been awkward.

  “You know,” Cam said as he stepped back, “I was serious about you seeing the rest of the family. I can see you’re not ready for that yet, but when you are, I’ll help make it happen.”

  Tanner was still thinking about that as Cam gave Zarina a hug, too, telling her he was glad he’d had a chance to meet her and thanking her once again for helping Tanner.

  “Something tells me I owe you for making this lunch happen,” he added with a smile. “Thank you for that, too.”

  Without another word, his brother turned and walked out of the diner, leaving Tanner and Zarina standing there.

  “Your brother’s an amazing person,” Zarina said.

  Tanner chuckled. “Yeah, I guess he is. Other than the fact that he just stuck me with the tab for lunch.”

  * * *

  “It’s not London, but at least it’s a mission,” Tate muttered as he pulled into the parking lot of the funeral home.

  Killing the engine, Tate got out of the rental car and walked past the sheriff’s patrol car, heading for the tree-shrouded building. Even though it was only a little after six p.m., it was getting dark. A lone streetlamp illuminated the entrance, casting the doorway in deep shadows and making the place seem even creepier. Not that funeral homes were inviting to begin with.

  Landon had called him that morning, telling him to get his butt up to Oxford County, Maine, ASAP. The police had found a body that looked like it had been attacked by a wild animal, which wouldn’t have been odd except for the fact that the body had been found in a log cabin with the door closed.

  Based on the last update he’d gotten from the DCO on the flight up, the locals seemed to be working hard to make the animal attack angle work. Probably because they had no other way to explain what the hell had happened to their victim. Maybe they assumed the animal that had attacked the victim was simply polite and had closed the door to the cabin after it was done because that’s what nice, polite animals did after they attacked a person.

  Admittedly, the whole funeral-home thing was a new wrinkle for Tate. Every other time he wanted to see the victim of a crime, he stopped by the local coroner or medical examiner’s office. But in this case, the coroner had already finished with the autopsy and turned the body over to the funeral home outside Hiram for embalming. Apparently, the locals were completely comfortable with the animal attack explanation and were moving fast to close this case. If Landon hadn’t pulled some strings, the body might be in the ground already.

  He didn’t doubt that the locals knew how to do their jobs, but because he was an agent with the DCO, he had access to more information on how the world really worked. Since this attack occurred less than three hours away from the mental institution in Old Town where Mahsood had been conducting his hybrid research a few months ago, Landon and Ivy had wanted someone up here to sniff around on the off chance the doctor was at it again.

  Tate wouldn’t be surprised if he was. From everything Trevor and Alina had told him, Mahsood had been close to creating a fully in-control hybrid that could blend into the everyday population. If that was true, it was doubtful the psycho would stop his research now. Hard to believe he’d set up shop so close to the mental institution, though.

  Of course, Landon and Ivy had suggested another rationale for the victim’s death—the possibility that Ashley Brannon had murdered the guy.

  There had been a few sightings of the woman slipping back across the border from Canada, where she’d apparently been hiding out since July. It wasn’t that much of a leap to think she might have come this far south looking for revenge on the people who’d been holding her prisoner. Or maybe she’d simply gone rogue and enjoyed killing people now.

  Either way, Landon had asked Tate to come up here and see what was going on. Even though they were already familiar with the place, Landon couldn’t send Trevor and Alina for obvious reasons. For one thing, they were still in London. For another, if either Ashley or Mahsood were involved in this, they’d recognize Trevor and immediately bolt. Landon wanted Ashley and Mahsood
in custody, not on the run again.

  Besides, Landon didn’t want Brannon and Hamilton knowing what they were up to. That meant sending someone who wasn’t currently on their radar. Since Tate didn’t have a teammate, he was perfect for the job. As far as Brannon and Hamilton knew, Tate had decided to take a little time off while the organization tried to find him a partner.

  Tate opened the door and walked in, expecting to find the sheriff waiting for him. Instead, he was met by a tall, skinny man in a dark-gray suit who had to be the funeral home director. Either that or the Crypt Keeper. No joke. With the lank, thinning hair, lifeless eyes, and sallow complexion, the guy could easily be mistaken for the lead character in Tales from the Crypt. Tate had seen enough episodes on Netflix to know.

  Tate pulled his badge from his pocket and flashed it at the man. “Tate Evers, Homeland Security.”

  “We’ve been expecting you.” The man extended his hand. “I’m Silas Arnold, director of this facility.”

  Tate wasn’t sure if it was the man’s choice of words or his flat, emotionless baritone that made the hair stand up on the back of his neck. Damn, this guy took creepy to a whole new level. As Tate shook Arnold’s hand, he had to resist checking for a pulse just to make sure the man was among the living.

  “I’m supposed to meet the sheriff here and see the victim’s body?” he prompted when the man continued to gaze at him in a way that suggested he wasn’t used to dealing with people in the vertical position.

  Arnold nodded stiffly. “Follow me.”

  Turning, he led the way down a long, dark hallway. A little voice in the back of Tate’s head shouted that he shouldn’t follow Arnold. This was exactly how your average B-grade horror flick started. But he ignored his inner movie fan and started after the man.

  At the end of the hallway, Arnold turned into a room on the right. Tate squinted as the bright fluorescent lights assaulted him, and it took a second for his eyes to adjust. The space looked a lot like something you’d find in a morgue, right down to the two porcelain pedestal tables in the center of the room. Counters lined two walls with cabinets above and below. A big sink took up a good portion of a third wall.