Cassius

by Stevens, Madison

  “Are we sure she’s missing?” Julius gave him a questioning look.

  “What the hell do you call her not being around?” CJ snapped. “That’s the damned definition of missing.”

  “I call it running.” Julius shrugged. “She’s an athlete. She’s good at that. You should consider the possibility.”

  CJ grabbed Julius’s shirt. “What the hell are you trying to say?”

  “Isn’t it obvious? I’m saying that she told you what you wanted to hear to get away when you dropped a bunch of Vestal crap on her and freaked her out.” Julius brushed CJ’s hands off. “Because no one’s going to tell some huge hybrid they don’t want to be with him to his face.”

  CJ shook his head. “That’s crap. She’s my Vestal. We’re meant for one another. I know she feels what I feel.”

  Julius scoffed. “You dipped your wick and now your brain fell out. It’s pathetic.”

  CJ brought back his fist. Julius didn’t react, other than a disappointed look. After a moment of quiet, intense growling, CJ lowered his arm. No matter what happened, he couldn’t brawl with a hybrid in a public area when the enemy was lurking around.

  There was something else there in Julius’s eyes that ate away at CJ’s anger. Pity filled the growing void.

  “You don’t believe in Vestals, do you?” CJ asked, his voice filled with wonder and surprise. “After everything that’s happened with the Luna hybrids? With what’s happened with Maximus? I thought you did, but now I think you were just humoring me. You just think they’re normal women we happen to be attracted to?”

  “I think the mind plays tricks,” Julius replied. “People make up explanations to convince themselves there’s more to it. It’s not like humans haven’t been talking about soulmates for thousands of years, yet suddenly it’s a real thing with us? It’s crap.” He shrugged. “I’ve been trained to take advantage of people’s rationalizations. Soulmates are bullshit.” He scoffed. “It’s naïve to believe in that concept, and it makes us weak. Just like it’s making you weak now. Concentrate on the mission, and worry about your woman later.”

  “And how do you explain Maximus’s power, huh?” CJ glared at Julius. “He suddenly develops a special power out of nowhere? How do you explain that other than Selena being something special? What about what Quinen said? That’s all coincidence?”

  “You know what I believe?” Julius folded his arms. “What I personally see and experience. Until then it’s just a bunch of people feeding me information that’s biased and self-serving. Just because we’re stronger and faster than humans doesn’t mean we’re smarter. Don’t be a dumbass, CJ.”

  Despite his thundering heart, CJ took a deep breath and slowly let it out. Punching Julius through the side of the first aid tent wouldn’t help the mission or Kendra. For now, CJ needed to keep his focus. Panic took strength away.

  “I don’t care what you believe,” CJ said, squaring his shoulders. “I know what I feel, and we both know that Ouroboros thinks there’s something special about Vestals. Everyone might be idiots chasing after something that doesn’t exist, but that doesn’t mean Vestals, including Kendra, aren’t in danger.”

  “Needing women to breed new hybrids isn’t the same thing as them being mystical soulmates,” Julius replied with a shrug. “That’s the part that’s getting people like you twisted up.”

  “How the hell is them being special to hybrids not being different?”

  “Because there’s no special damned meaning in it.” Julius grunted. “But, yes, I’m not going to deny that Ouroboros might be interested in targeting Vestals.”

  “You said they wouldn’t risk grabbing her at the race, but that was based on an assumption. A self-serving one, to use your own words. You don’t want anything messing up the mission, and don’t care about her.” CJ inclined his head toward the throng of people standing away from the tent. “But we both assumed everybody would be watching her, but right now no one’s watching her. No one’s watching anything. The race hasn’t started yet.”

  “And you’re sure she didn’t run?” Julius sounded less sure of himself. “Even if she feels something for you, it’s a lot for a woman to accept at once.”

  CJ scoffed. “A woman like that isn’t going to run from a challenge.”

  “And that’s what you are? A challenge?”

  CJ nodded. “Yes.”

  He pulled out his phone and dialed her number. Tapping his foot impatiently, he waited for it to connect, holding onto a desperate hope she’d been swarmed with fans and not that something had happened. All he needed was thirty seconds to know she was all right.

  “Hey there!” came Kendra’s voice. His heart sank when the message continued to what he’d heard before. “Welcome to my voicemail. After it beeps, you know what to do!”

  CJ’s hand tightened around the phone. He growled and pocketed the device to stop himself from snapping it in half. “We need to find her. It’s not like I’ll be able to concentrate until we do.”

  “Fine.” Julius shook his head, looking disappointed. “We’ve got a little bit of time before the race. Why don’t we split up and look for her?”

  CJ nodded. “Good plan.”

  Julius poked CJ in the chest. “But that doesn’t change anything about the mission. I’m only doing this to help keep you focused. Don’t be a dumbass and don’t do anything that’ll draw extra attention.”

  “Okay, but what if they have grabbed her?” CJ asked.

  Julius chuckled, a dark undertone to the sound. “Then they’re either more arrogant or stupider than I thought. After the other night, they know hybrids are around, and grabbing a Vestal when a hybrid is around is a dumbass move.”

  “But I thought you didn’t believe Vestals were anything special.”

  “It doesn’t matter what I believe.” Julius stepped away from CJ. “What matters is how they think hybrids will react. Let’s hurry this up before you end up getting us both killed.”

  CJ stepped away from the tent and sniffed at the air. Maybe they were both wrong. Kendra might have lost her phone or had it stolen. Not seeing one woman in a huge, densely packed venue wasn’t crazy. It wasn’t impossible he was overreacting.

  He wanted to believe that, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. If Kendra had been grabbed, she needed her mate to come and rescue her. First, he needed to find some clues.

  * * *

  CJ waded through the crowd, keeping his pace slow and steady despite his desire to charge forward and shove people out of the way calling for Kendra at the top of his lungs. He sought anything out of place, both sights and smells. A couple of times he grew excited, thinking he’d found her only to have the woman in question turn around and reveal a different face.

  It took all his self-control not to growl in frustration. This was worse than searching for a needle in a haystack. At least in that situation, he could have used a metal detector.

  CJ continued his futile search, his heart kicking up with each section of the course he entered without spotting Kendra. There was no way she ran. He didn’t care what Julius said.

  The search brought CJ back near the main sportsplex building. Julius had shifted to checking outside the venue. Despite the other hybrid’s professed doubts, he was putting in a good effort. CJ didn’t care why that was, only that he had the man’s help in finding his Vestal.

  CJ slowed. The reduced foot traffic of this part of the venue made it easier to pick out individual scents. More importantly, he was certain he could pick up traces of Kendra’s more recent scent. He sniffed at the air and moved forward.

  It didn’t mean anything in of itself. She’d been all over the area. There was no reason she wouldn’t have come near here.

  A strange sickening smell floated into his nostrils. It was subtle, so subtle, he doubted any of the humans nearby could sense it, but now that he picked up on it, he couldn’t ignore it. Reminiscent of rotting meat mixed with acrid chemicals, the awful smell began to overwhelm Kendra’s scent
the closer CJ moved to the building..

  CJ backed away and pulled out his phone. There were people nearby, but no one paid him much attention as they rushed back and forth, boxes and equipment in hand. He dialed Julius.

  “You find something?” Julius answered.

  “I don’t know,” CJ whispered into his phone. “I’m at the sportsplex, and there’s a weird smell that wasn’t here before.”

  “Glycon?”

  “No, it’s different. I’ve never smelled anything quite like it. I think something grabbed Kendra at the building.”

  Julius grunted. “Shit. We weren’t expecting that level of threat. I think we need backup.”

  CJ growled. “It’ll take a couple of hours for the guys to fly to the city, and probably a half-hour or more to drive here. Maximus isn’t going to let the team land a helicopter in the middle of NYC without something more concrete.”

  “Listen to me, CJ,” Julius said. “If you’re smelling something strange, we have to assume it’s some sort of high-level threat. If not Glycons, then someone like Quinen. We don’t have our guns, and this is supposed to be a recon mission. This might not be a base, but they’re the ones with a homefield advantage here, not us.”

  “Those bastards have her.” CJ glared at the building. “And I’m not going to ignore it. You were wrong about some of your assumptions.”

  “You ready to risk all these people’s lives on your own assumptions?” Julius asked in a mocking tone. “You try to go in there and do this half-assed, then not only will she end up dead, but there could be dozens if not hundreds of casualties. We both know Ouroboros doesn’t give a crap about innocent lives.”

  “You’re the one who said they wouldn’t risk a big public reveal,” CJ snapped. “We’ve been conducting our op with that in mind.”

  “They might not be able to help it if we make a big mess and force them,” Julius replied. “You need to standby. I’ll get in position to watch the building from the other side. I’ll tag any vehicles leaving, in case they have her, but if you want to help her, then we need to wait for our own help.”

  “You expect me to stand here and do nothing when they have my Vestal?” CJ snarled. “Give me a break.”

  “I expect you to actually step away from the building,” Julius said, his voice cold. “A huge guy sitting there glaring will be a red flag to the enemy. Pull back to the front and observe things in case they try to take her out that way. I’ll watch the back, and we’ll go in once we have a full team here. Then we can save her and stop them.”

  “This isn’t right. I need to go in. We don’t have time to mess around.”

  “You can’t help her if you’re dead.” Finality colored Julius’s tone. “I might not believe everything you do about Vestals and everything else, but I believe in what I can see, and in Hawaii, I saw a guy who could have taken out our entire squad when we were already ready. You were there too, and you know what they can be capable of.”

  CJ’s jaw tightened. His beast instincts wanted him to charge into the building and demand Kendra, but he couldn’t even be sure she was there, only that it was the one part of the venue her scent wasn’t overwhelmed by others. A powerful enemy inside would take more than a couple of punches.

  As much as CJ hated to admit it, Julius was right. The best way to find Kendra was to take down the Ouroboros agents. They wouldn’t kill her there. They needed Vestals. It was a thin, dark thread to hang his hopes on, but he’d take it.

  Chapter Twenty

  Kendra groaned and blinked her eyes open. She tried to move her arms from behind her back, but plastic cuffs stopped her. Her throat was sore, and it didn’t help that a thin metal collar lay around her neck. She could only see the edge of it when she looked straight down, but the cool touch was unmistakable.

  So much for her big ball-kicking plan. She should have taken CJ’s threats more seriously, but she didn’t believe anyone would be so crazy as to kidnap a woman in the middle of thousands of other people.

  Kendra could at least move her head, but there wasn’t much to see other than a wall in the dimly lit room. The room was small, barely more than a closet.

  She didn’t know how long she’d been out, but she felt like it couldn’t have been that long. Her head didn’t throb, only her throat. Michael probably hadn’t drugged her.

  Heels clacked nearby on hardened cement, and Kendra shimmied and scooted to face the source. A tall pale woman in a white suit dress stood in front of the now open door. Her platinum blond hair was pulled up in an elaborate chignon. She folded her gloved hands in front of her. Despite the lighting situation, she wore sunglasses.

  “Who are you?” Kendra asked, her voice hoarse. “Who was that guy with purple eyes? Are you like him?”

  The woman offered a condescending smile. “You really have no idea?” She pulled off the sunglasses to reveal blue eyes. “Surprised?”

  “Why…?”

  The woman reached up and pulled out contacts from both eyes with a laugh. She had bright purple eyes just like Michael.

  “The hybrids aren’t the only ones who can come up with an easy solution to standing out,” the woman replied. “And unlike them, we don’t have to be huge.”

  “You’re some sort of hybrid?” Kendra asked. “Michael is too?”

  “We’re better than those creatures,” the woman replied, her nose wrinkling. “We’re not hybrids. We’re… enhanced. We’re NextGens.”

  “Who are you?” Kendra asked. “Besides a NextGen?”

  The woman smiled. “You can call me Helen. I’m sure we’ll be spending a lot of time together.”

  “No offense, but I’d rather not. You kidnapped me, you crazy bitch.”

  Kendra thought about spitting in her face but decided against it until she at least had her hands free and could fight back. She didn’t know if Helen was as strong as a hybrid, but she had to have some weaknesses.

  Helen clucked her tongue. “Unfortunately, my dear, that’s not up to you. As a Vestal, you have unusual usefulness to our research. But don’t worry. Soon the injection will kick in, and you’ll stop caring.”

  Kendra gasped. “Injection? You drugged me?” The crook of her right arm was sorer than she’d realized before, but the cuffs made it impossible to inspect. “What have you done?”

  “Nothing that will hurt you too badly,” the woman replied. “You’ll be woozy at first, but then you won’t care. It’s a strange though not altogether unpleasant sensation, or so I’ve been told. I’m sorry for the inconvenience, Kendra, but we couldn’t pass up the opportunity for some more field tests with additional subjects, especially one who already has superior physical capabilities. It’ll be perfect.”

  “You’re with them, aren’t you?” Kendra scooted backward until her back hit a wall. “You’re with Ouroboros.”

  “Oh? You already know that?” Helen kept the same placid smile. “Excellent. That simplifies things. It’s annoying that the hybrids tracked us here, but it’s interesting they’ve already told you so much.” A flash of annoyance danced in her eyes. “Or have you known from the beginning? Were you part of their plan? Was this some sort of feeble attempt to bait us?”

  “You think I’d walk into a trap?” Kendra rolled her eyes. The motion churned her stomach. Vertigo struck her. She took a deep breath, determined not to show any weakness.

  Helen walked over and crouched in front of Kendra. “Oh, your pupils are dilating. It’s beginning.” She smiled. “I apologize for any discomfort. There remain some problems with the formulation, but that will pass, too. Don’t worry, though. You won’t remember any of it. That’s a useful little side effect. It allows multiple experiments without too much detritus building up from the previous ones.”

  “You’re crazy.” Kendra swallowed. “You can’t just kidnap me. People are expecting me. My cameraman is probably calling me right now wondering where I am. And you already know my boyfriend is a hybrid. He’s not alone, you know. They’re going to come and mess
you up.”

  Helen offered a sickening smile. “And we’re hoping to take advantage of that. Eliminating some hybrids will ensure the continued superiority of our organization.” She sighed. “Dr. Quinen was a useful asset, but his sloppiness has brought our enemies to us. But, like many unfortunate occurrences, this could prove useful.”

  “You don’t stand a chance against CJ,” Kendra shouted.

  Helen’s delicate brows lifted. “CJ? That’s amusing. Are the little hybrids finally adjusting to the human world? No matter. Their presence also allows a field test of different assets. Fortune has smiled on his operation, and thus far we’ve lost nothing.” She leaned over to sneer at Kendra. “By the way, you’re going to leave soon and go run the race. That’ll solve the suspicion problem you mentioned.”

  “Are you like completely stupid?” Kendra scoffed. “I’m going to scream bloody murder the minute I get out of here. You’re going down. The hybrids will raid this place. And the cops! By the time it’s over, I wouldn’t be surprised if the National Guard is here.”

  “Nobody else will be coming.” Helen straightened to her full height. “Because very soon, you’re going to do everything I say without a peep of complaint. You’ll be the perfect little girl.”

  “Keep dreaming, bitch. Why don’t you get a little closer so I can bite you?” Kendra snapped at the air.

  Helen laughed. “Aren’t you the feisty one?”

  Kendra blinked and grimaced as more vertigo hit her. A fog crept into her mind making it harder to think while trying to cling to hope.

  Drugging her would make her odd behavior obvious. Running the course while high would end with her falling on the first obstacle. Helen’s arrogance would be her undoing.

  They might have some security guards on their side, but there were cops at the race, too. CJ and his partner would tear Michael and Helen apart.

  Kendra’s breathing turned ragged. The purple-eyed bitch was going down.