Rurik stepped out from behind the SUV, his expression stoic as he handed one of the officers his wallet. From where Liberty was standing, it looked a lot like a badge was flashed before the wallet was returned to Rurik. He tucked it into his back pocket and turned his head, his gaze zeroing in on Bill. Annoyance flashed through Rurik’s blue eyes as he stormed toward Bill.
Liberty tossed herself in Rurik’s path, putting her arms out wide. “You’re not allowed to hose him off again, Jackass!”
The words were out and hanging in the air as she wrapped her mind around them.
Cringing, she bit her lower lip. “Erm, I mean Rurik. You’re not allowed to hose him off, Rurik.”
He stopped just before her, his breathing rapid, his pupils dilated. Everything about his stance screamed alpha and possessiveness. “The note said they had to find you. That it was an emergency.”
Her brow creased.
Bill eased up alongside her. “It was. Me and Gus want a milkshake and some lunch. Before anybody else gives me shit about the time of day, I ain’t had lunch yet so, yeah, it’s gonna be my lunch. Fuck the time. Now you should probably move your SUV. The campus-coppers look pissed. And I’m telling them any weed they find in there is yours.”
Rurik stared down at Bill. “Go get in the SUV. Take Gus with you and never pull a stunt like that again. I thought something happened to Liberty.”
“Nearly did,” said Bill, something in his voice off. He stared at Rurik, saying nothing, and then Rurik’s attention whipped to Gus.
No words were spoken.
Rurik paled and took hold of her upper arms, paying no attention to the gathered onlookers who were still filming with their camera phones. His gaze searched hers a second before the man’s mouth covered hers, his kiss hot and branding.
Onlookers began to cheer as if he’d just scored a goal.
As his tongue slid around hers, her legs became unsteady.
He cupped her face and drew the kiss to an end amongst the whistles and catcalls. Rurik didn’t seem to notice. He opened his mouth to speak but stopped and sniffed the air instead. It was bizarre, and she could have sworn the low growl that came from him was just like an animal.
“Can you drive?” he asked her in a gruff voice.
She nodded, still stupefied by the hotter than sin kiss he’d given her.
Bill held out a set of keys to her. “Here. I’m grounded. You need to get it off the lawn, Liberty.”
“Rurik?” she asked.
He dipped his head and kissed her lips chastely this time before running into the building they’d only just left.
Chapter Fifteen
Rurik rushed through the hall of the university building. Two doors opened and students flooded out, impeding his hunt as their scents mixed in with the one he was tracking.
The scent was so close to a scent he knew well but hadn’t smelled in over twenty years that he nearly shifted forms then and there, his concern for Liberty that great. He’d been tasked with gathering intel on her, not intervening in her life, but he couldn’t stop himself.
He’d gotten out of the shower and found a barely legible note scrawled on the side of a small brown bag that had been in the safe house upon arrival. The note informed him that there had been an emergency involving Liberty, and that Bill and Gus were going to assist her. That they had to get to her.
Fear had gripped Rurik down to his very core. All he could think about was that The Corporation had done something to her. That the enemy had realized that he had an insane pull to her. That they’d harm her to harm him.
Rurik had torn out of the house and ran across the street, all but forgetting how shitty his body felt, and how much everything on him hurt. He’d expected to find something horrific. Instead, he found no one was home. As he glanced back at the driveway of the safe house, he realized the SUV was missing. He’d panicked more before he forced himself to think rationally and logically.
Then he remembered who he was dealing with and tossed reason and logic out the window. Pure luck had left him running toward the university, which wasn’t too far away from the safe house. He didn’t care that he’d run at a speed humans couldn’t. All he cared about was Liberty and if she was safe.
Finding Bill from there hadn’t been much of an issue since he’d parked the SUV on the lawn of the university and already drawn a crowd. All Rurik had wanted to do was get to Liberty, but the damn human authorities had needed to be dealt with. He’d shown his badge, claiming he was a US Marshal—which he wasn’t—and then his gaze found Bill.
Hosing the man down was the last thing he’d wanted to do. He’d wanted to wring the man’s neck.
Liberty prevented that.
His relief at seeing she was safe and well chased away the desire to finally kill Bill.
When Gus’s voice had entered Rurik’s mind, warning him that Liberty had been in grave danger, his bear had nearly shown itself. It had taken a hell of a lot of willpower to stay in control. Finally, he’d channeled the energy into a kiss.
One he didn’t want to end.
But he’d caught a familiar scent—though it was slightly off. It was one that was seared into his brain and belonged to a man he’d known for centuries. Someone he once thought of as a friend but now saw as an enemy.
Pavel Orlov.
The smell had been fleeting but Rurik could have sworn he was right. That Pavel was in the area and had been close to Liberty. It was one thing for Pavel to come at him, but for him to be anywhere near Liberty was too much. It sent Rurik into a frenzy. It was the driving force that kept him pushing through the endless sea of bodies in the hallway.
Rurik managed to get a small whiff of the scent once again and found himself standing before an open doorway, leading to an empty classroom. He entered the room, his body alert and ready for a fight should his instincts be right. Prepared for an attack that didn’t come, Rurik found his adrenaline high and his heartbeat thundering in his ears.
If he didn’t get his shit together and fast, he’d be an easy target for the enemy. He’d never hear them coming or smell them if he stayed on high alert. He needed to bring it down a notch or two—or twenty—with how wound he was.
Liberty was alive and unharmed.
That was all that mattered.
As he began to calm somewhat, he realized he was standing in a classroom that appeared to be dedicated to the greats from Russian literature. Had it been any other type of literature, he’d have dismissed the scent as coincidence. While Pavel was a trained scientist, he, like Rurik, had always been well-read.
Rurik walked to a secondary door within the classroom and found a small office there. The large wooden desk had papers and pens strewn about the surface, as if someone had been rifling around for something. Pavel’s scent was strongest here, as was the smell of sex and something else—something he couldn’t put his finger on.
Pistachios?
He nodded, knowing he was right about the nuts. He then picked up on yet another scent. He inhaled again and tipped his head, closing his eyes, trying to sort through the numerous other smells his shifter side was able to detect.
More than one of the students in the hall was wearing too much perfume. Another had gone heavy on their deodorant to the point it irritated his nose. He did his best to separate them from the mix as he attempted to pinpoint the exact scents that were tripping his inner alarms.
While he failed at isolating them, he couldn’t shake the feeling that he was right. That Pavel was in the vicinity. If that was true, something nefarious was afoot. Not to mention it was no coincidence Rurik would be in Durham at the same time as an old foe.
“Rurik?” asked Liberty from behind him.
He turned, surprised she’d gotten so close to him without his knowledge or notice. “You’re supposed to be in the SUV with Bill and Gus.”
“Bill is moving it off the lawn. Gus is with him. Well, Bill will be moving it after he’s done signing autographs for the student body who sa
w his stunt and thought it was epic.”
Rurik fought against touching her, knowing full well that he shouldn’t want to make contact with her as much as he did. Something was wrong with him. His wires were crossed. Had the attack back in Savannah fucked with more than his physical body? Had it messed with his mind as well?
Liberty glanced past him, into the open office. “Uh, why are you in Dr. Pasternak’s office? He’s not here. At last check he was hightailing out of the building after Gus gave him the stare-down to end all stare-downs. It was super weird. Pasternak never once complained about me getting the papers turned in late. Extra strange since he’s a stickler for punctuality.”
“Dr. Pasternak?” asked Rurik.
She nodded. “This is his office and his classroom. He’s a department head and teaches Russian literature. I’m his teaching assistant. At least since I got moved from the other department that I’d been in. Can I just say I loathe Russian literature? No offense to your people or anything.”
Normally, he’d have taken great offense but hearing her say it was cute.
Cute?
What the fuck was wrong with him? He didn’t find anything cute. Ever.
“Is everything okay?” she asked, glancing into the office again. “The reporter didn’t come back, did she?”
“What reporter?” he questioned.
“Before Pasternak, I was an assistant for one of my genetics professors, but he and another scientist here went missing about two weeks back,” she said, easing closer to him. Her nearness helped to settle his beast. “Right after it happened, I was questioned by the police and by a reporter. Since then, it’s been crickets as far as the media goes. And no one has said anything about the missing scientists. It’s just been business as usual. All while I get stuck in Tolstoy hell.”
It was hard to keep from grinning at her clear disdain for Leo. Rurik had met him more than once back in the day. He didn’t really have an opinion of him one way or the other, though he was slightly long-winded.
“You two lovebirds coming or do me and Gus need to go get our own milkshakes?” asked Bill.
Rurik groaned. “I thought you were moving the SUV.”
“Nah, got one of my groupies to do it,” said Bill with a shrug. “I’m kind of like famous now and shit. Not really a shock or anything. People fucking love me. So, are you coming or what? I’m starving.”
I fucking wish I was coming.
Rurik’s gaze instantly went to Liberty’s chest as he thought of what it would be like to bury his face in her cleavage while driving into her and finding release. The thought left him biting back a pained groan of frustration.
He almost wished his body would return to whatever state it had been in prior to meeting her—the one that left him forgetting when he’d last had sex and not really having a ton of interest in the act.
Bill chuckled. “Careful, Red Army, you’re about to come all right, but it ain’t with me to the SUV.”
Liberty let out a nervous laugh. “You guys are funny. Weird. But amusing.”
“Liberty Bell, no one in the history of ever has thought Rurik was funny,” stressed Bill.
The edges of her sexy mouth tilted upward. “I don’t know about that. There is a certain something about him.”
“Does that certain something make you want to do him?” asked Bill.
“Yes,” returned Liberty, before her eyes widened. “No. I mean no. I’m going home now. I just remembered that I gave up milkshakes for some really great reason I can’t think of now.”
“Then get something different,” suggested Bill. “Like a pancake and bacon smoothie. Bet that is delicious!”
She cringed and shook her head, refusing to look Rurik in the eye. “Uh, no. Gave up pancakes too.”
Bill gasped in horror. “Say it ain’t so, Liberty Bell.”
“It’s so,” she said, trying to dart away and to the door.
Rurik touched her arm lightly, halting her exit. “Liberty?”
Cringing, she glanced quickly at him. “Yes?”
He leaned toward her, taking in her scent as he did. It helped to wash away the other smells. “I’m not opposed to anything.”
“Anything?” she echoed, her eyes growing wide.
He winked. “Anything.”
“Can someone tell me if milkshakes and lunch are still on the table?” Bill demanded. “I’m famished here, folks, and my blood sugar is getting low. When it goes down too much, I’ve been known to pull out grenade launchers. Anyone want to chance it? Didn’t think so. Feed me.”
With the slowest of movements, he lowered his head, his hand still on Liberty’s arm. He nearly kissed her again but managed to refrain. “Food.”
She lifted a brow.
“You’re going to eat it,” he said, wanting the words back at once.
Bill covered his eyes with his hand and then peeked out between his fingers at Rurik. “Commie, you may be the worst one yet.”
“Worst one what?” asked Liberty, her attention on Bill as she moved forward, putting her closer to Rurik.
He found himself drawing her to him even more, wanting her near him.
Bill grinned. “He’ll figure it out soon enough. Maybe. Russians ain’t too bright. We need to go on out now. Gus has had enough of people being by him. He’s threatening to drive away without us. He’s a shit driver. Drives with his eyes closed. Best we get a move on.”
Chapter Sixteen
“They got you a blender?” Liberty asked as she sat next to Rurik in a brown vinyl booth at the diner where Bill had insisted on eating. The eatery had been on Liberty’s list to try but between school and work, she’d not found the time, despite having lived in the area for six years.
She had to admit, the diner had a certain charm to it. There was an orange wall behind the main counter that had numerous chalkboards mounted to it. Someone had taken a lot of time to draw on the chalkboards, showcasing the daily specials. They were a great artist, whoever they were. Based on their sketches alone, she’d selected a cup of soup and a half a sandwich.
The staff was friendly enough, managing to keep their cool when dealing with the likes of Bill and Gus. Both seemed to go out of their way to be as difficult as possible. Gus had refused to sit at any of the first three tables the waitress had shown them to. Finally, the woman had given up and told Gus to sit where he wanted. He’d picked the booth they were currently at. An interesting game of musical booth seats had followed, resulting in Gus sitting next to Bill while Liberty sat next to Rurik.
Bill had tried to charm the waitress, telling her that she had great yams before blurting out his order. After several attempts to convince the waitress that the diner really should offer peanut butter and grilled cheese milkshakes, he finally selected something listed on the chalkboards.
Since then, Bill had been trying to facilitate conversation for the past forty minutes, but Rurik wasn’t exactly overflowing with words and clearly wasn’t big on sharing. After much in the way of teeth pulling, he’d finally opened up somewhat, divulging that his friends had once gifted him a blender for winning an award for something he’d done at work.
Rurik inclined his head with the smallest of nods. “They did.”
There was a certain cadence to his voice when he talked about his coworkers. One that said he was close to them. Something in his eyes said he’d been through a lot in his life, and she had to wonder if the men he worked with had been along for the ride.
“What is it you do for a living? Your father mentioned that you were in law enforcement,” she said before smiling at Bill.
Gus blew bubbles through a straw in what was left of his strawberry milkshake, ignoring everyone else around him. He was in his own world and content.
Liberty couldn’t help but think about how he’d been with Dr. Pasternak. Nothing remained of the man who had stared down the professor. It was as if Gus had been possessed by a badass that had now left the building so to speak.
Bill shoveled c
oleslaw from a small dish into his mouth with a butter knife. A fork was lying on the table next to his empty plate, but he’d apparently decided living life on the edge and licking a knife was more in order. He’d been finishing off whatever had been left on everyone’s plates for the last ten minutes or so.
The man was a bottomless pit.
He smiled, causing some coleslaw to dribble down his beard and onto his shirt.
“Here,” Rurik grunted in disgust before thrusting a napkin across the table at the man.
Bill took it, still grinning. “You’re such a good son.”
Groaning, Rurik shook his head.
Liberty touched his forearm, keeping her hand there as his gaze found hers, softening as it did. “You didn’t answer the question,” she pressed.
“I don’t remember the question,” he confessed, staring at her in a way that said he was more than interested.
“He was too busy daydreaming about kissing you again, Liberty Bell,” said Bill, earning him yet another grunt from Rurik.
She grinned, keeping her hand on Rurik’s arm. “I asked what it is you do for a living.”
“I’m an operative with PSI,” he said, his gaze sliding down to her chest.
Bill blew out a long breath. “And I get told I disclose too much.”
Liberty didn’t look away from Rurik. “I could have sworn I saw you flash a US Marshal badge back at the university. Was I wrong?”
Rurik shifted uncomfortably in the booth, bumping the table in the process.
Gus grabbed his milkshake, keeping it steady as he kept blowing bubbles.
“You weren’t wrong,” said Rurik, his gaze still locked on her chest.
“I don’t understand. Is PSI some sort of subsection of the Marshals or something?” she asked.
Rurik cleared his throat. “No. I mean yes.”
Bill snorted. “Liberty Bell, he can’t really disclose who he works for, but it’s safe to say Sput-Rurik is in deep with a place that, as far as government agencies go, ain’t all that bad—on most days.”
Act of Surveillance: Paranormal Security and Intelligence® an Immortal Ops® World Novel (PSI-Ops/Immortal Ops Book 7) Page 15