“Okay,” Cali thought aloud, “so the cells nearest the arena make sense. Vander’s keeping his unwilling fighters close by, but what the hell are these aisles and aisles of cells for?”
“Looks like a collection,” said Felix.
Cali’s hand sought his and she gripped it tight.
“What is it?” He asked.
The rest of the guild turned to stare at them.
“I think I know what those cells are for,” said Cali. She pointed to a spot on the map. “See how there’s this comfortable living area set up with a back door that leads to one of the cell aisles? Vander’s harvesting these people.” She used her finger to designate the entire section. “I bet you they’re his backup energy source.”
“Energy source for what?” asked Sydney.
Felix locked eyes with Cali and gave her an encouraging nod. The rest of them had the right to know just what Vander could do.
“For his power,” Cali told them. “Vander Donahughe’s a Diverter.” Felix hadn’t expected the title but as determination shown in her beautiful dark brown eyes he felt a swell of pride that she’d accepted herself into their group. They’d accepted her but it was her decision if she really wanted to join them. And now she had. He grinned.
“He redirects life energy into himself to lengthen his existence. The man is one hundred and seventeen years old but doesn’t look older than his late twenties. From what I’ve seen … and experienced, he can pull as much or as little from a host as he wants, but I’m pretty sure he could kill a person if he wanted to.”
Joel gave a low whistle. “Fucking fuck. That’s quite a person to go up against.”
“And you said he used his powers on you?” Sydney asked.
Cali’s spine stiffened fractionally. “Yes.” She didn’t elaborate and no one pressed.
“We still need to find something to use against Vander.” Niella redirected the conversation.
Joel went back to his computer. “I’ve got nothing here.” He flipped through more files for at least another half hour.
The rest of them got comfortable around Sydney’s lobby.
Felix drew lazy circles along Cali’s jean-clad thigh and watched with amusement as the browns in her eyes darkened with desire.
From across the clinic Joel cursed.
Felix’s relaxation quickly changed as adrenaline shot through his veins. “What?”
“I found a schedule.”
“And that’s significant how?” asked Niella.
“Because there’s no list of workers, just times like tonight at midnight and two A.M.”
“You think they’re fights?” said Sydney.
Cali’s body went still beneath his hand. “They are,” she said.
He glanced at her. “How do you know?”
“When I went to the Kratos building for my fake interview, I overheard Jente and Collette talking. Jente mentioned Collette having a match that night at two A.M. I bet you anything they’re having another event. Tonight.”
Felix could read her thoughts through her eyes. Tonight there would be another innocent with powers forced into a battle that might kill them.
But that couldn’t be right because if their fighter died then Vander would lose the match. Then something clicked in his brain. Collette. Of course. One of the fighters probably wasn’t even real when she was called in to work her powers, which meant they could win or lose without any repercussions.
“This has to stop,” he said.
“I agree.” Joel’s voice echoed the same fierce emotions Felix felt tumbling around inside him.
“We have to make a move. Tonight.”
Everyone looked at him like he was crazy. Everyone except Cali.
“You want to storm the Kratos Corporation tonight? After just getting Cali back?” said Sydney.
“She’ll never be safe unless we put an end to him. Besides, what good are powers if you don’t use them toward something worthwhile?”
“You do realize that going up against someone with Vander’s power could kill you, right?” Of course Sydney would be the voice of logic.
“I’ve never wanted to live to a ripe old age anyway,” he said blithely.
Sydney scowled.
He shrugged at her. “It’s the only way, Syd. We have to do something. Now’s our chance to do more than rescue stray kittens and limping puppies.”
Her scowl deepened. “We’ve never saved stray kittens or limping puppies.”
He grinned.
Joel swiveled in his chair to face them all. “We could wait it out. There’s another schedule posted for two weeks from now.”
Sydney seized the information. “Then we should wait. We’ll have more time to prepare, to plan things out.”
“We can’t wait,” said Cali. “I’m guessing those red names don’t show up on that list on their own. People are suffering, and I’m not going to wait around for another name on that list to turn up red after tonight.”
Joel rubbed a hand over his face in defeat. “So how are we going to do it?”
Sydney’s face flashed briefly with outrage at Joel’s sudden flip.
“In teams,” Cali spoke up. “Felix and I can go in first. We stand the best chance.”
Joel crossed his arms. “How do you figure that?”
Felix could tell Joel’s opinion rested with sending in the two men, but the look on Cali’s face said she’d be damned if she would sit back and do nothing.
Cali crossed her arms over her chest. “I’ve already been inside. Plus, I can make us soundless so no one will hear us approaching. I can Silence alarms, and Felix can Erase cameras as well as anything else that could be a potential threat.”
Again Felix felt a swell of pride as Joel huffed. Cali’s points were all valid, and there was no arguing her logic.
“Sorry, man,” said Felix. “You can be our next wave with Syd. You’ll be the emergency backup.”
“I don’t like the sound of that,” said Sydney.
“Well, too bad.” Felix got to his feet and stretched. He pulled out his phone to check the time. “We have a little more than four hours until midnight. We should rest up as much as possible.”
“And if I don’t hear from you guys by two A.M., I’m calling the police,” said Niella. “I’ll be the real emergency backup.”
Felix didn’t want to contemplate the event of their failure. But there it was, hanging over all their heads like a dark cloud threatening rain. Were they ready for this?
There was only one way to find out.
“We’ll all meet at my place,” he said.
Everyone nodded.
Sydney, Joel, and Niella loaded up in Joel’s truck and before they pulled away Felix leaned in through the window. “Stay safe,” he told Ell.
It wasn’t a goodbye, but there was a rare flash of emotion behind her eyes that said she felt as if that was exactly what he was saying.
“I will,” she promised.
They’d agreed that Niella would stay at her own place until she heard from them. His house wasn’t safe, and after they headed out for the Kratos building they didn’t want to run the risk of leaving Niella there by herself.
When he and Cali pulled into his driveway he knew he should spend his time resting, catching up on all the sleep he’d missed when he’d been mad with worry and anger over Cali. But once they stepped foot inside, alone, just the two of them, sleep was the furthest thing from his mind.
Cali looked at a loss for what to do. Felix took the decision from her as he wrapped his hand around hers and led her to his bedroom where he spent the rest of his time slaking his lust for her. Again, and again, and again.
Chapter 25
Cali took her time in the shower as Felix raced to let Sydney and Joel into the house. The water felt so good sluicing off her well-pleasured body. Despite the amount of energy she’d just burned she felt renewed. Cali was satisfied in a way she’d never thought possible.
A chill danced up her spine
. Enjoy it while you can.
The minutes until they willingly went to Kratos were dwindling. It was only a matter of time before she’d be forced to look into the eyes of the one who had kept her locked up for his pleasure. If Jente hadn’t saved her …
She never let herself finish the thought. Just like she never let herself finish the thought of what Tyson would have done to her had the police not shown up.
She’d been through this before, knew what to expect and how to cope. It was her turn to help another. Somewhere in that building’s basement was a person like her — unlucky, defenseless, and with no way to fight back.
She might have been scared shitless at the idea of what they were going to do tonight, but Felix had been right. She’d never be safe if she didn’t take Vander down. Tyson had left her alone out of fear of the authorities. There were no authorities Vander feared. He’d been around for over a century. The man had faced fear over and over again.
She didn’t expect him to fear her. That was a pointless fantasy, but she did want to destroy something he held dear. Money and power seemed the only options, and she’d take what she could get.
She shut the water off before it started to cool and toweled herself dry. She made a quick dash into the guest room in nothing but her towel to get to the duffle she’d left at Felix’s when she’d lived with him. She dug out comfortable dark jeans, sneakers, and a dark T-shirt. She pulled her hair back into a ponytail and tucked as much of her bangs as possible behind her ear.
In the living room Joel and Sydney were dressed in a similar fashion. Dark pants, dark shirts. Sydney even carried a black beanie she said she’d use to cover her golden hair.
Felix was dressed in black jeans and a dark blue tee that strained over the muscles of his arms and chest.
Cali’s body warmed as she remembered all that muscle taut over her, pushing against her, pressing her harder into the mattress as her muscles clamped around the length of him.
As if he read her thoughts, Felix’s eyes caught hers.
The air left her lungs and heat pooled low in her gut. She clenched her thighs together, amazed that after everything they’d done she was already aching for more.
Soon, his eyes seemed to say and Cali shuddered with anticipation.
“Are we going in two separate cars?” asked Joel.
Felix tore his eyes from her. “Yeah, Cali and I will make our way in. If you don’t hear from us by 12:30 we need you to come in as backup. Follow our path — it’ll probably be the easiest. I’ll Erase all the doors we can’t open, and Cali will Silence any and all alarms.” He went over to the counter that separated the kitchen from the living room and picked up a print out of the building. “We’ll go in through the back. The only way to access the basement through the front entrance is by way of the elevator, and that’ll be too much of a hassle. Plus, I’m hazarding a guess that all the match attendees come in through some back way to avoid detection.”
Cali’s heart rate started to kick up.
“You’re right,” said Joel as he pulled something from the back pocket of his pants. “I dug around a little more when we parted ways and found a satellite photo that leads me to believe there is a possible underground garage the patrons are entering through.”
Felix took the paper and scanned it. Cali made her way over to him, careful not to touch him. Once she gave in to that temptation, she’d never relinquish the feel of his skin on hers. She was as addicted to the feel of him as she was to the sound of his voice, the rumble of his laugh, and the glitter in his eyes.
“This’ll be our best bet, then.” Felix held the picture out for her to see. Amusement sparkled in his eyes, as if he knew what she was trying to do by keeping her distance.
Bastard, she thought affectionately.
She pointed to another parking lot that was cut off at the edge of the paper. “We can leave the Hummer here where no one can see it and make our way through the bushes to the garage.”
Felix nodded. “Joel, you and Sydney should stay there too. That way you can watch as people arrive and call us if anything looks suspicious.”
Joel tucked his hands into his pockets. “It’s an underground, illegal cage match. What constitutes as suspicious?”
Felix grinned. “I guess anyone who looks like they’re packing real weapons. I’m sure there’s going to be quite a few power players attending this thing. Vander wouldn’t have been able to accumulate this much money if he didn’t have some high-paying supporters.”
“Those people are sick,” said Sydney. “If I see any I’m going to snap pictures and send them in anonymously after we get all those people out. Let them fall right along with Vander.”
That was their plan. They were going to sneak in and free anyone unfortunate enough to have been captured by Vander. The last thing they needed was for the police to question captives and accidentally learn about the existence of people with powers. The chances a prisoner would confess the real reason behind their capture was very slim, but Cali had a feeling a regular person wouldn’t mind throwing everyone under the bus. A wailing witness confessing to the authorities that they’d been kidnapped because some wacko thought they had super powers was not something they wanted to deal with.
“I don’t care what you do with pictures of those sons of bitches sick enough to attend this, but just stay out of sight. I’ll try and Erase as many parking lot cameras as possible, but that might draw attention in itself.”
“You can leave the cameras in the parking lot. They won’t be able to see us behind here. Focus instead on the ones that will witness your mad dash to the back of the building,” said Joel.
“Will do,” said Felix before looking around to gauge all the faces. “Is everyone ready?”
Cali’s stomach cramped. Her heart pounded painfully against her ribs, and she almost couldn’t hear Felix over the sound of its beating.
Calm down, she ordered herself. She wasn’t going to be any good to anyone if she couldn’t access her powers. They’re counting on you. They need you.
It was an amazing feeling to be needed, to be accepted, and to know that this group of people would have her back no matter what for the rest of her life.
The beating in her chest calmed. She held her chin just a little higher. “Let’s go get this fucker.”
• • •
“I count four cameras that’ll catch sight of us high-tailing it to the back of the building,” Felix pulled back in behind the safety of the foliage. “What about you?”
“Same, although that one in the far corner has me worried. I can’t tell if it sweeps this far over.”
Felix stared at the camera in question, watching as it made its slow progression from right to left. “We should be good.”
He turned to her, determination and a reckless glee shining in his eyes.
“You ready?” He started to get to his feet but Cali put a hand on his forearm to stop him.
“Felix.” For a moment her courage failed her. She wasn’t good at this sort of thing, but what if they were captured? “When I told you about my time with Vander, there was something I left out.”
“Cali, you don’t have to confess anything to me that you don’t want to.”
She pressed onward. “It was when Collette came to visit me.”
Felix went still. “Did she do something to you?” That dark, murderous look was back in his eyes.
She held his gaze. “No, but she did tell me something. She told me that she and Kevin bonded after having sex.”
She waited for it to sink in. Felix’s forehead slowly creased. “What are you saying?”
Her pulse started to race. Shit, she was fucking this up royally. “What I’m trying to say is that even though we didn’t bond, even though we might not actually be Mirror Mates … I still want to stay with you.”
For a moment she couldn’t read a damn thing from his expression. He was as blank as a fresh canvas. Was this it? Was he going to tell her that if they weren’t M
irror Mates then he wanted nothing to do with her?
She didn’t care. There was only one way to get what you wanted. You had to chase after it. And she’d chase after Felix until the end of time if that was what it took to convince him that she belonged with him.
Finally he smiled. It was a slow, deep curl of his lips that flashed the white of his teeth in such a way that it stole her breath. He grasped her shoulders, his thumbs rubbing gentle circles. “We are meant to be together, Cali.” He kissed her. “And I’m glad you want to stay with me, because I wouldn’t have let you go anyway.”
Warmth enveloped her. Felix wanted her to stay with him. The only obstacle was Kratos.
She kissed him once more — a fast, fierce kiss with a teasing stroke of tongue. “Let’s move.”
They made their way across the dark, deserted parking lot. Felix’s hand waved at his side, taking all the cameras that would have reported their movement.
At the back of the building they found a large driveway sloping down. Joel had been right; there was an underground entrance. One definitely big enough to house cars.
“Think everyone’s already inside?” Cali asked from beside Felix as they debated their next best course of action.
“Let’s hope so,” said Felix. “Because once I Erase this door, it ain’t coming back. Someone might get suspicious that the entrance is gaping open.”
Cali searched for any other way in, but there was nothing that guaranteed access to the basement. “We’ll have to risk it.”
Felix moved his hand. Cali focused her powers, letting them spread out in a wave to suck any unwanted sound away. She didn’t know if there was an alarm attached to that door but either way no one would hear anything.
They made it to a utilitarian type door without any problems. That alone had Cali’s suspicions rising. It was almost too easy. Was security really this lax because of the event?
Felix tried the handle. Cali readied her power again. The door opened.
Felix pushed Cali behind him as he fell into a defensive stance, but there was no one waiting on the other side.
“Something’s wrong,” he whispered to her.
The door shut behind them with a soft hiss. Bright bulbs burned overhead, a startling contrast to the dimness of the garage. Cali blinked to allow her eyes to adjust.
Guild of Truth 01 - Silent as the Grave Page 24