“You might be superior when it comes to certain things, but you are all very gullible,” Jenkins says with a sneer in his voice. “You didn’t even know that some of those missions you so kindly helped the government with was to test and analyse you.”
“You son of a bitch,” Burkhart mutters, and starts to move towards him, but I stop him before he can do any damage. The restraints of air that I have weaved around Burkhart have stopped him and are now holding him against one of the cell walls.
“Relax, Burkhart, you will have your chance,” I state. At the moment, I think every single man in this room wants a piece of this asshole, but we need to get the information we need to be able to stop this threat once and for all. We have been fighting this hidden threat for years. We have always protected the humans against everything, and this is how they have repaid us.
“Who gives the orders?” Wulf asks.
“I don’t know,” he says.
“That’s true,” Scarlett confirms.
“Who do you report to?” Wulf asks as he paces before Jenkins, his eyes a deep amethyst, contesting to his anger.
Jenkins looks up at Wulf and then forces a laugh. “Katya, and I believe you know her well, don’t you?” he says. Wulf looks over at me, and I can tell that he wants to go after Katya. She has been a thorn in his side ever since he met Jasmine.
“How do we get into the underground?” I ask.
Jenkins turns his head and glares at me. “You don’t. It’s impenetrable, even from you.”
“But you have access, don’t you?” I ask, and his glare intensifies.
“They require a password, and then the person’s fingerprints are scanned,” Aria says, and then she smiles. “He’s not as important as he would like to think. Apparently he only has access to the first two levels.”
“He also lied. He doesn’t think it’s impenetrable. He believes the Elementals could get in.” That’s interesting. Now we just need to find out how he thinks we could get in.
“Stop reading my mind, you freak,” he shouts.
“Do you want your jaw broken, fucker?” Cassius rasps angrily, his muscles tense, his hands fisted as he glares at Jenkins.
“It’s okay. He’s just a maggot. Don’t upset yourself with him,” Scarlett says, trying to appease her mate.
“How many levels are there to the underground?” I ask.
“There are five,” Aria says before he can answer, “but he suspects that there might be another one that only a selected few know about.”
“Celmund, would you be able to get our fingerprints into their system so that we can get in? The password we can get from this asshole,” I say, but Aria interrupts Celmund’s reply.
“It looks like you can’t use his password. Each agent’s password is linked to their fingerprints.”
I look at Celmund. He is frowning, but then he looks at me and nods. “I might be able to open an agent profile with all the details required and upload it to the system they are using for access.”
“Great, see if it’s possible.” If he can get the profiles installed, we can just walk in. The guards at the main gate will be easy to neutralize.
“Is there any other security,” I ask, which has Jenkins glaring at me.
“There are cameras when you walk inside, and two guards at the entrance to the elevators,” Aria says as she looks at me. We continue to ask Jenkins questions regarding the underground and his colleagues. The interrogation continues as before, Aria giving us the answers or Scarlett calling him out on a lie and giving us the truth. After another hour, I thank Aria and Scarlett and ask Bion to call Katrina. I know this is a fucking bad idea. I want to kill this son of a bitch so bad that I can taste it, and having Katrina in the same room where he is will not help, but I said she could see him, and I won’t go back on my word. If my mate needs closure, I will help her get it.
“Are you going to be okay with this?” Caelius asks as he comes to stand next to me, his hands in his pockets and a relaxed look on his face, but I can tell from his energy that he is far from relaxed. It must also be difficult to just stand by and watch when before him sits one of the men responsible for his earlier injury.
“I will have to be. Katrina needs this.”
He nods but doesn’t respond as my woman walks into the cell. Her eyes instantly go to Jenkins, and I see her tense. I want to go to her and carry her away, but I know she wouldn’t want that.
“Well, look who it is,” Jenkins says sarcastically. “You are looking better than the last time I saw you.”
“Yes, I am. I see it’s your turn to not look so great,” she quips. “Have you guys told him who my mate is?” At her question, I see Jenkins look around with a frown.
“You told us who your mate is,” Jenkins says, but there is uncertainty in his voice. He looks to his left until his eyes are on Burkhart. If it was another time, I would laugh when I see Burkhart bare his teeth at him.
“Burkhart, you will like to know that they thought you would go on a rampage when you found out that they had kidnapped your mate, that you would want revenge so bad that you wouldn’t stop until you found who kidnapped me and killed them.”
Burkhart grins sarcastically. “Well, I guess I have to disappoint them, seeing as they didn’t kidnap my mate,” he states. “But you were right; if it was my mate, you would have been dead already.” I can now see the confused look on Jenkins’s face.
“But you said it was Burkhart,” he says as he looks back at Katrina.
“No, you assumed it was Burkhart, and I just let you think it was,” she says with a devilish grin. “Actually, my mate is no other than Draco.” Jenkins takes in a deep breath as he looks towards me. “You see, he didn’t go on a rampage and help your plan along, but you will still be dead, and I think more painfully than you thought, but not only you but everyone involved in your morbid plan to kill my family.” She approaches me and then lifts her hand and strokes my cheek. “Thank you,” she whispers before she turns and walks out of the cell, not once looking at Jenkins again. She makes me proud of how strong she is. I know seeing this fucker again is bringing back memories that I would rather she forget, but soon, she will know that the likes of him will never hurt her or other women again.
“He is mine, but you have until I get back to play.” I know the men want to make him suffer for his part in the turmoil they have all suffered. I won’t take that away from them, but I will be the one to kill him.
“Assholes, you think I’m scared of you?” Jenkins screams. “I’m not scared of you.” But we can all hear his heartbeat racing and see the perspiration on his forehead contesting to his fear.
“We shall see how scared we can make you, shall we?” Bjarni says as he leans down and picks Jenkins off his chair by his throat. I turn my back on them and walk out of the cell. No matter how much I want to see him suffer, I need to see that Katrina is fine first. My turn will come, and when it does, he will be dead. For now, I will go and see to my woman, which is more important than any vengeance.
KATRINA 9
Standing before that man again has me shaking inside. The only thing that was holding me up was the fact that even though he wasn’t chained, he would never have been able to hurt me with Draco and all the others in the room.
“Are you okay, Kat?” I look up to see Brielle. I was so engrossed in my thoughts that I didn’t even see her standing before me. Most of the women have started to call me Kat, something that I like, as I have never had anyone stay long enough to become as familiar with me as they have. I have had friends before in the homes I stayed in, but these women are closer than any friend ever could be. I can’t explain what a feeling of unity I feel, but with all these women, it’s like we flow together.
Nothing compares to the connection I have with Draco, the oneness I feel with him as if we are part of the same piece. I now know that Draco is what completes me, what has brought meaning into my life. Without him, I would never have known that I could help so many othe
r people. That feeling of knowing there is something that I could do but I just don’t know what, has gone. Now I feel complete, like I have a purpose, a direction, and even though my life is now filled with hiccups, it’s hiccups that I can carry, because I have Draco and everyone else behind me, and I know they are there for me if I need them.
I have never felt like I could depend on anyone except myself, never trusted anyone completely like I do now. To have that is a freedom in itself. I lift my arms and hug Brielle. “I’m fine. Thank you for asking.”
“Aria and Scarlett have been telling us about what they found out about that man,” Brielle says. “He’s a bad man, Kat. You were lucky Draco found you.” I pull back and smile at her. I know she’s trying to comfort me. “Do you want to come sit with us? Gabriela made chocolate cake, and they were about to cut it.” I take hold of Brielle’s hand and start to pull her behind me.
“What are we doing here talking? That cake is going to be gone if we don’t hurry,” I joke as I continue to walk towards the kitchen. A piece of anything Gabriela bakes sounds pretty good right now. Brielle laughs as she hurries behind me.
“Hey, you came just in time,” Alaia says when she sees us. There is a slice of cake before her and a cup of coffee in her hand.
“I hope the men aren’t behind you or our cake will be gone,” Nova quips as she takes a bite of her slice.
“No, they are all still there,” I say as I take a seat and stretch out to take a plate with a slice of cake on it from Jasmine. “Thanks.” I hear Nova groan next to me. Looking at her, I see her pout as she looks at Gabriella.
“Looks like they changed their mind. Hurry up, hide the rest or it or it will be gone.” I look towards the kitchen door and see Draco standing there, one eyebrow lifted, I’m sure at Nova’s comment. The women laugh as some greet Draco.
“Nice to see some still like to see me,” he teases as he walks towards me.
“Oh, Draco, I like to see you. It’s just at the moment, I really like this piece of chocolate cake and was really hoping for another slice,” she quips with a cheeky look on her face.
“Well, then you will be glad to know that I just came to see my vixen, so your cake is safe.” He leans down and kisses my forehead before he takes the chair next to me.
“Are you guys done?” I ask as he starts to stroke my arm with the tips of his fingers.
“Not yet but soon,” he says. “I wanted to see how you were doing.” I can see by the concern in his eyes and the gentle way he’s touching me that he was worried I would break down. I lean forward and kiss his lips. Draco shows that he cares for me with the little gestures. He may not be into flowery words, but his gestures talk louder than any words ever could.
“I’m fine.” When he raises his brow in question, I nod. “I am fine, really.”
“Okay, then I’m going to leave you to your cake and the good company,” he says loud enough for the others to hear. He stands and then starts to make his way out. He moved so fast that if I wasn’t looking, I would never have seen him take the half slice of cake from Nova’s plate as he walked past her. I can’t help myself and start to laugh. The others look at me curiously, but only when Nova gasps as she looks at her empty plate do they catch on to what happened and also start to laugh.
“Draco, you thief!” Nova shouts as he walks out, but she’s also laughing at his playfulness.
“I’m so happy you came along, Kat. Wulf was so worried about Draco. He had been alone for so long,” Jasmine says.
“We can definitely see a change in him. He’s more relaxed,” Aria says from where she’s sitting, feeding her baby.
“Well, I can say that I’m happy I found him too. Yes, he frustrates me sometimes, but darn, have you seen the man?” I tease, and have the women laughing again.
“That’s true. Did you see the looks we were getting from the women in town when we went for the burgers? I think any woman would like to trade places with us,” Saskia says.
“If they only knew everything that comes with the package, they would be banging down our gates,” Alaia quips with a laugh, which has all of us grinning.
“Really, that good is it?” Gabriela teases. “I ordered some lingerie online. I can’t wait for it to get here. Bjarni has a thing for lingerie.”
“Oh boy, let us know when it arrives. We’ll look after the kids that day,” Scarlett teases. “Wouldn’t want a frustrated Bjarni walking around.”
I wonder if Draco would like lingerie. I have never really had any, as I’ve never had anyone I really wanted to please. Maybe I should get some and see what he thinks.
“Brielle and I have been chatting, and we are thinking of throwing a surprise birthday party for Bion next week,” Aria says. “As the weather has been so good, we thought maybe something outside. What do you think?”
“That sounds great. Maybe we could have a barbeque or something,” Talia suggests.
“I have an idea,” Nova says excitedly.
“No,” a few women shout simultaneously, which has me grinning, as I’ve heard about Nova’s ideas at parties.
“But you didn’t even let me tell you what it is,” she says with a grin, which already tells everyone that it’s something we shouldn’t be doing. “Seriously, it’s not bad. I was just thinking that maybe we could get Brielle to jump out of the birthday cake.”
“Okay, that’s not too bad,” Aria says with a grin. “Would you want to jump out of his birthday cake?”
“In a sexy nurse uniform,” Nova interjects.
Brielle covers her eyes, but there is a grin on her face. “Why not? But, Nova, I’m getting the sexy nurse uniform because if you get it, I’ll be naked with a stethoscope around my neck,” Brielle quips, which has all of us laughing again.
“We just need Draco’s approval and some of the guys to help us, but it needs to be hush hush so that Bion can be surprised,” Jasmine says.
“I’ll speak to Draco. It will be fine,” I say, and if he opposes, I’ll just have to find a way to change his mind. I smile, thinking of the ways I could try to convince him. I must really get myself some lingerie. I think it’s time I start to tease him a little. As I look up, I see Aria grinning at me, and I realize that she has just heard my thoughts. I can feel my cheeks warming with colour and darkening when she winks at me and then looks away.
“I’ll make the cake, but I’m going to need help with other treats for the party. Who feels like cooking and baking?” Gabriela asks. Saskia, Jasmine, Brielle, Aria, and I offer to help.
“Nova, maybe you and Talia can organize the outside area,” Aria says, and gets a thumbs-up from Talia and a hoot from Nova. “Scarlett, will you see to the music?”
“Sure. Anything in particular?” she asks.
“I think you can choose,” Jasmine says, which gets everyone’s confirmation.
“Alaia, will you and Sara see to the kids while we’re busy and organize a place for them at the party?”
Alaia smiles and nods. Today, Sara has gone out with Gunner to pick up some parts for a bike that he’s fixing. It seems like those two have finally accepted their attraction and are making a go at it. Sara loves the kids and is usually the one who takes care of them when the mothers are busy, so we know she won’t mind.
“Yay, party time,” Talia states. “I think the next thing to think about is what are we going to wear.” All the women happily chat about what they could possibly wear on the day. I have never been a girly girl who talks about clothes, makeup, and everything that comes with it, but being here now with all these women happily chatting away about those things gives me a feeling of excitement, a feeling of also wanting to dress up and show myself off to Draco.
“Who wants to help me find a dress?” I ask, and am surprised when Talia suddenly has a laptop in front of me and all the women are suggesting different wear as we scroll through one of the online stores. I have never had siblings, but I’m sure if I had, it would feel like this. I end up buying more than I expected, b
ut I’m feeling good about what I bought, and some of the others also purchased some items.
I’m surprised when it’s time to check out the items and I’m told that I mustn’t worry about payment because they have an online account that gets paid by the Elementals.
“They have great perks to being one of their mates,” Gabriela teases as she moves away towards the sink.
“I heard there was cake here,” Ceric says as he walks in, a wide grin on his face.
“Sorry, baby, it’s all finished,” Nova quips when he leans down and lightly kisses her lips.
“No, my baby girl wouldn’t do that,” Bjarni says as he also walks in with Burkhart just behind him.
“Actually, I did bake two cakes,” Gabriela says as she places her arms around Bjarni’s neck. He picks her up and starts to walk with her towards the oven. “Nope, it’s in the cupboard over there.” She inclines her head. When they reach the cupboard, he lets her slide down his body, kissing her lovingly on the lips.
It still amazes me how such dangerous men can be so gentle with their women. Anyone looking at Bjarni would fear him just by his size alone, but when around Gabriela and their twins, he is a big teddy bear.
“Don’t let him near that cake, Gabriela, or we’ll never get any,” Burkhart quips as he pulls Saskia into his lap. Bjarni smirks as he takes the cake out of Gabriela’s hands and moves it up to his mouth as if to take a bite. Both Ceric and Burkhart yell simultaneously, “No,” which has Bjarni grinning. He places the cake on the table and then sits down, pulling Gabriela into his arms.
“So, what have you all been up to?” Burkhart asks as he looks around at everyone. “You all have a guilty look on your face.”
“How do you do that?” Saskia asks, which has him wiggling his eyebrows at her, and all of us grin. It is known that Burkhart has a way about him that can usually tell when the women are planning something.
“Okay, well, we’re going to need help anyway, so it may as well be the three of you.” Ceric groans and buries his head in the back of Nova’s neck. “It’s nothing bad,” Aria states, and then goes on to explain the birthday party and what we have been planning.
DRACO'S WRATH: Elemental's MC (book 11) Page 6