“I’m so sorry. Let me just grab some towels.”
He watched her turn and go up the staircase a few feet away from where he was still standing. In her house. Alone. What the hell was he doing? Why wasn’t he declining? She was home safe and sound and his ass needed to leave. Now. Somehow, in spite of that, he still found himself waiting there almost ten minutes later. Okaaay. Well if he was going to be that stupid, he should probably get out of the doorway. He made sure his boots were dry and stepped into the living room off to the left. He turned on a lamp and was busy writing his number by the phone when he heard her footsteps on the stairs.
X turned around. Rose had exchanged her wet clothes for a short kimono style silk robe. Her long damp hair fell past her shoulders in waves, her rain kissed face still dewy.
“It’s chilly in here.”
The moment she started to speak in her lovely cadence it was all he could focus on. He didn’t even mind when she called him by his given name. For a moment, he let his mind wander as he thought about what it would be like to hear her moan for him. Mistake. He got so hard he ached. He didn’t even have a coat on to hide the evidence. She handed him a towel, walked over to the gas fireplace, and flipped the switch. He didn’t want to seem rude, so he wiped his face and neck, but he didn’t dare turn around. “Well, I’ll leave you to the rest of your evening. But no more late night strolls. Promise me, Rose. I’m leaving my cell number by the phone. Use it in an emergency.”
“Thanks. I’ll take a cab from now on. Scouts honor. I am sorry for the inconvenience. Are you sure you really want to go back out there?”
He didn’t give himself a chance to answer, because there was nothing he wanted more than to stay. But it was the last time he would ever hear that voice again. It had to be. He had no other choice. He stepped out into the storm, looked up into the driving rain, and vanished.
James released the ball at the peak of his jump, letting it roll off his fingers and into the basket. He caught it and heard an unfamiliar voice behind him.
“Nice.”
He turned around and faced an unfamiliar sandy haired male who he assumed must be the first guest in their new shelter. “Thanks. I’m James.”
“Christian. You play ball in school?”
He bounced the ball a few times and looked into the male’s amber eyes. “Yeah. Varsity. You?”
“Naw. I didn’t have much time for sports. So, who’s the big shindig for?”
He hit a free throw from the foul line. “Well, I guess technically that would be me.”
“No shit? Is that your car in the garage?”
“Yep.”
“No offense, but why the hell aren’t you out in it?”
It did sort of sound like madness when somebody else said it. “You know, I dunno. You wanna take her out?”
“Seriously? Hell yes.”
James walked over to the mats, slipped on his tuxedo jacket, and followed Christian out into the garage. He opened the driver side door and waited for Christian to fasten his seatbelt. He pushed the green drive button and the car started to move forward noiselessly.
“Have you ever driven one of these before?” Christian asked.
“No, but I’ve read a lot. Electricity is kind of a hobby of mine. How about you? Are you a g-force junky?”
“Who isn’t? How fast is it?”
“This model will go from zero to sixty in 3.7 seconds.”
“Holy fuck.” He ran his hands along the dash, then checked out the charge monitor. “It needs recharging after a couple hundred miles though, right? I never really got that. I mean, what if you get stuck in the middle of nowhere? Where do you plug the thing in?”
James grinned and let the car speed up. “Actually, I don’t think that’s going to be a problem.”
Ana opened her weapons cabinet and lightly touched the blade of one of her crescent moon knives. She took it down and slid it into one of the new holsters Diesel had made for her.
Man, she was more afraid of facing her mate than all the Toltec fuckers on the planet. She could feel the stress coming off him in waves while he waited for her in the next room. When Reyn had asked if she was interested in becoming partners with Pax as part of a special ops unit, there was no way she was going to decline. With her knowledge of Toltec and her undercover experience it just made sense. Pair that with Pax’s cloning ability and they were one hell of a crack team. Unfortunately, convincing her mate had been a little tougher. Especially since their first unofficial mission hadn’t exactly gone as planned. They had freed Adriana and discovered James, but she wound up getting herself captured and tortured. She knew her male had complete faith in her abilities. It wasn’t that. It was all the other shit she had no control over that freaked him out, and with good reason. No matter how well a warrior was trained, there was no way to account for every variable. SE hated it when she went anywhere near Victrixa, which was sure to complicate things when it came time to erase her existence from the planet.
She sighed and went into the bedroom. Best to keep the good-bye short. “I should bounce. I’m meeting Pax in the main hall in a few minutes.”
SE didn’t say a word. He walked over to her and slid his hands under her leather jacket, then along her legs to her boots. She was all for being patted down, but the timing was a tad inconvenient. He disappeared into the closet and came out a moment later with a compact Glock from his cabinet.
“Oh, I have my pistol, my male. I don’t need a back-up.”
His serene Native American eyes lit up with a bright golden glow as he handed her the weapon. “Humor me, Ihkweea. Just this once.”
She nodded and took the piece. It wasn’t worth an argument. Besides, she knew first-hand what it was like to have the protective instinct override any hope for so much as a rational thought. She would carry it if it put SE more at ease.
She put her hand on his cheek. “Nothing is going to happen to me, my male. We fought through permaphase and war to find each other. And we always will.”
Her mate ran his hands gently along her jawline and into her short waves.
“Remember. It’s to our advantage that you know Toltec as well as you do. But that means they also know you. Be careful.” He kissed her softly. “Ketapaanene.”
“I love you too.” She commanded the nagual to stay behind and gleamed to the foyer.
“Ready, Ace?” Pax asked.
“Let’s roll.”
They walked down the hallway to the study. Reyn stood behind his desk, still wearing his tux. “All set?”
She nodded.
“Good. Now, listen. Keep it short. The goal of this op is only to confirm the location of Toltec’s new labs. That’s it. Absolutely no heroics. I want you in and out. Pull any kind of Starsky and Hutch bullshit, and I’ll rescue you and kill you myself. Understood?”
Pax pulled a scrap of paper with the addy out of his coat pocket and handed it to her. “Got it, boss. Back in a jiff. ”
X peeled off his wet tux and turned the shower on. What the hell had he been thinking? He’d gone inside her home? That meant his scent was there. He ducked under the hot water and let it beat down his chest. Jesus. After all the endless lectures he’d given Troy about Evy. Even though his boy had made no personal contact with the Seer before they were mated, the shit had still hit the fan. Big time. Evy was kidnapped and by rogues, no less. Somehow, when they got caught in the rain, X had completely forgotten himself. That could never, ever happen again.
He stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around his waist. Now he was screwed no matter what he did. He had no idea if it was safer to keep an eye on her from a distance for a while, to be sure he couldn’t be traced there, or if he should just let it go. He slammed his fist on the granite vanity. Fuck. This was why you didn’t get involved with females. But all he had to do was close his eyes and he could see her lovely face as if she were right there with him. No, it was best to stay away from her. She had his number in case there was any trouble.
That would have to be enough.
CHAPTER SEVEN
James followed the Chestnut Hill Driveway and parked just north of the reservoir. He pulled his new wheels into a space and watched the rain hit the water for a moment. Jesus, it was epic out there. He played with the Tesla’s electricity for a moment. Everything on the dash lit up and flickered. Of course, he could do that with any car. But, he had to admit, owning an electric sports car he could recharge using his powers whenever he wanted was pretty awesome—no matter who picked it out.
“Whoa, we didn’t kill the car, did we?” Christian asked.
James laughed. “No, I’m doing it. I can manipulate electricity. Watch.”
He focused on the battery charge screen between them and made it flicker on and off a few times.
“Cool. I didn’t know New Breeds could do that.”
“Some of us have extra abilities.” James ran his hand along the front of the male’s hair and made it stand up straight.
“Really?” He took James by the jaw and leaned in. “I’m looking forward to it.”
For a moment, James wanted to tell the guy not to kiss him. After all, it wasn’t exactly a fair situation. But then again, why wasn’t it? For weeks it had seemed like the whole world was collapsing around him. He’d been homeless and kidnapped. Then he became a New Breed just before finding out about Seth. And then Pax… Stop it. He willed the male from his mind. He was not letting him ruin this. Screw. That. He needed the contact. Now. That was his last thought before Christian’s mouth was on his and oh, man. His lips were so soft. Heat spiked all over his body and when the male gently licked at his mouth, God help him, he let him right the fuck in. He immediately found James’s piercing. He explored it with his tongue and laughed.
A chill shot through his body at the sound of Christian’s laughter. This was exactly how he wanted to celebrate. He ran his hands into the shifter’s hair and tried to reposition himself so he had more maneuvering room. He took Christian by the back of the neck and returned the kiss, going in deep. Tonight he would celebrate and tomorrow the search for Seth would begin.
Ana gleamed to the roof of an abandoned building across from where the Seer believed Toltec’s new labs to be. Pax materialized beside her. Thank fuck the rain had stopped. She took a long look at the building. She was really starting to dig spying as a New Breed. No more surveillance crap to lug around. Yeehaw.
“Does that look right to you?” Pax asked.
Actually, it did. The old labs had been set up in a putrid old mental hospital. If Mommie Dearest had been around, she never would have gone for that. This building was modern and clean. But it was going to be impossible to confirm it from the outside. Even she wasn’t that good. “Yeah, pretty much. Wanna have a look around?”
“I don’t think that’s on the schedule, sis.”
“Aw, come on, Valentino.”
“Stop calling me that.”
“Yeah, yeah. Are you coming? I wanna look around.”
“There’s no fucking way I’m letting you go in there alone. SE would have my ass.”
Ana rolled her eyes. Sometimes she honestly felt like she needed a penis. The lit up windows in the building’s right wing had to be offices. She focused her attention on the dark half of the building. That would be ground zero. If that’s where they were keeping the civilians, then it was also the quickest and surest way to confirm the new location and get the hell outta dodge. “Let’s go.”
They pulled their pistols, gleamed into the heart of the dark hallway, and immediately slid up against the wall. The location was different, but the cries and acrid smells were all too familiar.
Pax coughed and covered his face. “Fuck. That’s enough confirmation. Let’s go.”
Suddenly, she sensed something unlike anything she’d ever encountered. Damn. Why the eff did this happen every freaking time? She knew he had a point. The last thing she wanted to do was put him in another situation like when they found James. This would have to be fast. “Shh. Hang tight a sec.”
“Ana.”
It wasn’t a true shifter’s k’ul, but it wasn’t exactly the impotent energy of a human either. What the hell was her psychotic bitch of a mother up to? She quietly made her way down the hallway and followed the anomaly until she was standing in front of a cell with a barred window in the door. She peered into the darkness. It resembled all the others except for the freaky energy. Her ears picked up on something. There was a strange dragging sound coming from the dark recesses of the cell. She flattened herself alongside the wall and waved Pax over.
She took another look inside and the moment her brain registered what her eyes were seeing she started to gag. There on the floor was Victrixa’s head scientist, or part of him. He was pulling himself along the cell floor with human arms, but the rest of his body was no longer fully formed. Instead of a torso and legs he had one long body cavity, like the rest of him was some kind of reptile. Most of his hair was gone and he was covered in scales and some kind of mucus. He stared at her, his eyes wild.
“Ana,” he croaked.
Oh, my God.
“Ana…kill me.”
Her breathing picked up and sweat broke out on her forehead. “What did they do to you?”
“Victrixa…the serum.”
“On you?” On a human?
He dragged himself closer. “Please, Ana.”
“Why would she do that?” Pax whispered into the cell.
“I sold rogue mutants…Baptiste.”
She looked over at her partner. “The drug lord?”
“Was Baptiste dealing with you directly?” Pax asked.
The scientist’s breathing became labored for a moment and he coughed to clear his throat. “No. Through a rogue. Seth. Seth was his name.”
For a moment, Ana thought she saw a flicker of recognition in her partner’s eyes.
Another plea cut through the darkness. “Ana, please.”
“We need to go.”
“Not yet.” She hissed. Victrixa had a temper for sure. But would she do this to her best scientist? Just for making some cash under the table? Sure, it was a betrayal of sorts, but something was off. “Roman, Victrixa is planning something. She must be. Do you know what it is? Roman?”
She lost him to another coughing jag. She looked up and down the hallway as she cast out her senses. So far so good. “Roman, do you know anything?”
Fuck. He had no real reason to help her. Wait. She reached inside her jacket, took out SE’s Glock, and held it up where he could see it. “Roman, look. If you tell me, I’ll leave you this pistol—loaded.”
He looked at the gun in her hand, then into her eyes. “Extermination.”
Ana froze. Extermination. The word ran through her mind slowly, like her brain was iced over, too.
She felt a hand clamp down on her wrist and another on the gun. She looked up at Pax.
“You can’t. They’ll know we’ve been here.”
“He’d probably tell them anyway.” She knew she was right. Their cover could be blown either way. She wiped the piece down on her shirt and gleamed it inside the cell. “Let’s go.”
They dematerialized and took form back in the mansion’s hallway.
Pax threw up his arms. “I cannot believe you just did that.”
“Our cover was already blown.”
“Jesus, Ana. He invented the fucking serum!”
“You don’t think I know that? I didn’t do it out of the kindness of my heart, Pax. We had a major Intel opportunity. I wasn’t about to give that up. Look, we’re better off if he’s dead. The gun could’ve come from anywhere, even one of their own. At least now he can’t tell anyone. Look. I know you’re pissed. But this is how the game is played. Sometimes you have to make split second decisions and deal with the fallout later.”
Pax exhaled and gave her a nod. “Okay, Ace. You’re in charge. Let’s go report in.”
Helen pulled on a fleece and quickly brushed her hair. She slipped Diesel’s
dog tags over her head and ran them back and forth along their ball chain.
“All set, Doc? The meeting starts in a few minutes. You know, you could just leave that red dress on if it’s faster.” Diesel called.
She tucked her mate’s tags in close to her skin and sighed. “I’m ready.”
He took her hand and they headed out. “Everything okay?”
She shrugged her shoulders. “Sure. Why?”
“You’ve been pretty quiet the past couple of days.”
“Have I?”
“Yep. You’re not even laughing at my lame jokes. It wouldn’t have anything to do with me going back on duty tonight, would it?”
She stopped and looked up into his pale green eyes. “I’m sorry, Dies. I guess I’ve just fallen out of the habit.”
He took her hands in his. They were so big. She wanted him to carry her back into their suite where they were safe. God, now who had the PTSD? She wasn’t being fair. Diesel had fought like hell to come back. The truth was, she really admired him for it. But now, with reality knocking… No. This was important to him. It was important to the race.
Diesel put his arm around her and guided her into the elevator. “I’ve never felt more on my game. Give it some time, Doc. Everything will get back to normal.”
“Yeah, I’m sure you’re right.”
They met up with James just as he came from the back stairs.
Her mate checked out the young male’s tux and popped a fresh piece of gum in his mouth. “Where ya been, newbie? I’m pretty sure there’s no dress code.”
“Funny, Dies. I just took the new ride for a spin.”
He grinned. “Excellent, my brother.”
“Any idea what this meeting is about?” James asked.
“Nope, but Pax and Ana just got back from an op, so something’s up.”
James’s furrowed his brow. “They did? Are they okay?”
She nodded. “As far as I know.”
They walked into the drawing room and joined the rest of the house. As James walked by them, Helen picked up on an unfamiliar scent. “Did you catch that?”
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