Miguel leaned over, resting his forehead against Jacques’ and they stared at each other, and Hunter knew what they were doing. The private conversations that went along with those looks.
“So, what’s the plan?” Dean asked, leaning his elbows on the table in front of him. “We’ve got the names of the blood slaves, and the location they’re being held at. Is there anything that mentions the security systems, shifts, the number of people on the security teams, and layout of the location? We’re going to need all of this before we even contemplate going to scope the area out. I’ve been in these situations before when we thought we had all the right intel and we’ve gone to the location and it’s been completely wrong. It’s not an experience I want to go through again.”
Chester nodded. “Jared? Mich?”
“Your mate’s one smart bastard.” Mich smiled. “He’s given us access to their security system. We’ll be able to monitor it remotely and then send a team in to scope the area out. It will make it a lot easier to plan a rescue mission.”
Chester leaned forward and clasped his hands together on the table. “Right, first things first, Jared and Mich, you go through all the information that you’ve got on that memory card, and the access that he’s given us. We need names of people on the security team, shift patterns if possible, and the layout of the location. Once we have that information, we’ll send out a team and scout the area. That way, once we have all the information, we’ll find that chink in their armor and go in to save the blood slaves. What we do need is a place for them to go once we get them out. Suggestions?”
“I have some friends who are very good at hiding people,” Mich muttered. “I’ll place a call out to them, explain the situation. They’ll help us.”
“How well do you know these friends?” Silas asked. “The last thing we want to do is pull them out of one shitty situation and put them in another.”
“I grew up with them, and one of them is my brother. Chester can verify.”
“That’s good enough for me,” Silas said. “Right, let’s get stuck into this information and see what we can dig out.”
* * *
His head was pounding after reading through all the information Jared and Michaela had printed off, followed by sitting around and planning for hours. The pizza and beer helped, but what he really wanted was to feel his mate in his arms again.
Their brief liaison that afternoon hadn’t been nearly enough, and Hunter wished he hadn’t let him go. Carter was his, his to protect, and letting him go back to face god knows what made him feel overwhelmed. He was nervous and scared. There were simply too many emotions running through him that he wasn’t used to feeling or hadn’t felt in a long, long time.
He sat outside on the porch and didn’t bother to look up when Chester sat next to him.
“It’s hard, isn’t it? You want to run out there and save them, but you can’t. I wonder if these humans aren’t stronger than us after all.”
Hunter nodded, pulling the label from the bottle of beer he held in his hands. “He wanted to go back, even though he’s scared and tired of it all, you know, the hiding. But he knew we couldn’t do it without his help, that we had to save the others and put a stop to whatever it is they’re plotting. This taking over the world shit. I mean, god, even saying it out loud sounds just stupid, doesn’t it? Like some plot from a low budget movie. Even though the evidence is right there in front of me, I still struggle to wrap my head around the idea that they are trying to take over. What if that was the plan all along? Fix what they wanted right from the beginning and then reveal themselves after hiding away for decades.”
Chester shrugged. “If any of what we thought is true, then as soon as they pull the plug and the lights go out, humanity is fucked. We all have a built-in survival instinct, and some people will desperately do what they can to save their families, whilst there’ll be others who simply couldn’t care less. It’ll become a dog eat dog world, survival of the fittest, and when humans have destroyed everything, the vampires would be able to walk in and pick up the pieces. In a way, it makes sense. Why endanger your own people when you can get the others to do it for you?”
“You thought about this?” It was clear by Chester’s comments that he’d sat down and thought about the situation in great detail.
“Yeah, Silas and I’ve discussed it on a number of occasions. It sounds crazy, but it makes sense. Humans would kill humans and the vampires would sit back and watch. Some days I wake up and I’m ashamed of my species, that we would stoop so low.”
“Me too. It’s... concerning.”
Chester chuckled darkly. “Concerning? The situation is just fucked.” Chester stood and stretched. “Right, everyone’s leaving, but you’re welcome to stay the night if you want. If your mate is going back into that situation, it might be best if you stay here for the night. Silas has made up the spare room anyway, if you want it, and I know Ale and Troy are staying too. The choice is yours.”
Hunter nodded, staring at the drink in his hand. Maybe staying was the right thing to do, considering the circumstances. He was positive if he went home he would merely pace around, waiting nervously, anxious over Carter. Carter knew what he was doing and had been doing it for years without being detected. Even though Hunter didn’t know his mate that well, he had to trust in him and his abilities and at the end of the day, what good would he be if he was too exhausted from lack of sleep and worry?
Standing, he walked into the house, closing and locking the door behind him. Tonight, he needed to sleep and reflect, but come tomorrow, he’d do everything he could to free those slaves and his mate.
Chapter Six
Carter drove as quickly as he could, heading to the main buildings where his offices were located. He followed the long, winding road, driving past the smaller buildings until the one he needed came into sight. It was an imposing building, with columns along the front and windows lit up against the dark with spotlights covering the area and flooding the night with a bright white light.
He parked his car in his designated spot and quickly exited it, checking the area as he walked briskly towards the main entrance. So far it didn’t appear that anyone had seen him come in, which was good news to him. He needed to get back to his office without being seen. Even though he’d had clearance to leave, he should have been back hours earlier and as he walked towards his offices, he was racking his brain trying to come up with an idea to use if anyone found out.
He kept his head down, walking past groups of people, giving a cheery wave whenever anybody spoke to him. Just as he was nearing his office, he saw Garrick approaching.
“Carter, a word.”
Carter swallowed and smiled. “Yes, sir.”
“We need some additional security measures in place. I don’t want anyone to be able to remotely access our systems and I know I don’t need to remind you the consequences should you fail?”
“No, not at all. I’ll get on it immediately.”
He hurried down the corridor away from Garrick and with a final glance behind him, he opened the door and was about to step in, when he paused, listening to the sounds of someone typing. He furrowed his brow, because no should be in the room except for him, so whoever was in there was up to something.
He glanced around the corner of the door, his eyes widening in surprise when he saw who it was stood at his bank of computers.
Spencer. What the hell was he doing? He had no idea about codes or algorithms, yet as Carter watched his eyes widened even further. Spencer had been lying to him.
His eyes followed the new codes that Spencer was entering into the existing program and he realized that from what little he could see that Spencer was adding a workaround on a security program that was already installed.
When he left, Carter would have to investigate exactly what he’d done. Could it be that Spencer was a mole just like him? He’d need to investigate further, before he spoke to Spencer about it. For all he knew, Spencer could be adding a
program because the higher-ups suspected him.
He bit his lip as he stepped back, closing the door as quietly as he could, and quickly walked down the corridor until he found an empty room. He stepped inside and watched through a narrow crack between the door and the wall, waiting for Spencer to leave.
When Spencer left, Carter watched as he glanced round the hallway then walked quickly away. As soon as the coast was clear, Carter rushed over to his room, stepped in and shut the door, locking it behind him. He stood and stared at the banks of computers in front of him and screens with their scrolling data, and he walked over to the computer Spencer had been busy typing on. He ran his fingers over the keyboard and sighed heavily.
“What were you doing?” he asked no one. Dropping his bag on the floor, he pulled out the chair, and sat down, entering his password. He checked the program he had running himself, a program no one knew about, and analyzed the changes Spencer had made.
Once the data was visible in front of him, his eyes scanned it quickly and he whistled when he realized what Spencer had done.
“Shit, you are a mole.”
Spencer had entered a program that allowed him to access the information, which was strictly forbidden. Only those vampires with the highest security clearance were allowed access to it, and Carter knew for a fact Spencer wasn’t one of them.
A list of locations that the vampires lived and a list of their blood slaves. Spencer only had access to a shortened version of this information. As Carter continued to scan the information in front of him, he realized that they were both on the same side, and that they both wanted to end this before it began.
Leaning back in his chair, he bit his thumbnail and glanced at the information again.
Location, blood slaves, weapons information. Some information Spencer would be able to access through normal routes, but the in-depth details, he wouldn’t. Just who would Spencer pass this information onto, because from what Carter knew, Spencer rarely left his home or the offices that he worked in. He must have a contact that Carter and everyone else didn’t know about.
Could they be working with the same people and not know about each other? It certainly looked that way from the information Spencer was trying to access remotely. If one of the higher-ups found out about this, suspected Spencer of being the mole, then he was in deep trouble. Carter was well aware of the threats they made and knew that the vampires carried them out too. He’d seen what they done to other vampires when they thought they’d been betrayed, and he shuddered as he remembered the viciousness of the attacks and torture those vampires had endured. None of them had survived.
It was an experience Carter didn’t want to endure, and he prayed Hunter would be able to use the information he’d given him, because it had to be worth something. He’d risked his life and that of his family to save those slaves and he hoped to god it was all worth it.
Hunter, his mate. Reaching out to him, they had a brief conversation in which Carter told his mate he was safe.
Ending it, Carter sat for the next hour going through all the changes Spencer had made. All the time Spencer said he had no idea what he was looking at, Carter now knew that it was all lies. Spencer should be in here with him, going through all the data and algorithms because he clearly had the knowledge.
Deciding to leave the data alone, Carter logged out and left the IT room, heading for his own private quarters within the mansion. They had told him he needed to be close by in case something went wrong, so he could handle it immediately and stop any emergencies escalating. There was also the fact that they liked to keep him separated from his family, another way of keeping him under their control.
The only reason he kept on going was the fact that he knew one day this would be over and he and his family would be safe. And now he had his mate, Hunter, he knew that day was fast approaching, and he had to have everything ready.
Once inside his room, he went to the skirting board and gently pried it free, revealing a small hole where he kept his other cell phone, the one the vampires knew nothing about. Switching it on, he quickly called his Dad. He let it ring three times then ended the call.
His parents kept the phone on silent, so the vampires they were forced to live with wouldn’t know anything about it. Within seconds, the phone rang, and Carter picked it up.
“Hi, Dad. How is everyone?”
“Well, for prisoners, we’re doing really well.”
Carter winced. “I’m so sorry.”
“It’s not your fault. We’ve been over this many times, Carter. If we’d known exactly who our friends were then none of this would have happened. Anyway, tell me what happened in your meeting?”
Carter hid nothing from his parents, so they were aware he was meeting his contact. “The best and worst thing happened.”
“What you mean?” his dad asked in a worried voice.
“My contact is a vampire but is also my mate.”
Carter heard the sharp intake of breath. “Shit. What are you gonna do about it?”
“Well, we, er...”
“You mated with him, didn’t you?”
“Yeah, I did. It just made so much more sense to have the connection between us. If anything happens, I can reach out for help instantly and know that he’ll have a plan to get me out. You remember that sheriff who brought in the authorities to Graham’s?”
“Yes, Silas, wasn’t it?”
“Yes, it was him. Hunter works with his mate, so they are really invested in freeing the slaves. I told him about our situation, and he’s going to work on a plan to get us all out.”
“From what you’ve told us, he must work with that group called Rescue Inc.”
“Yeah, he does. He’s ex-military too, so he has the training, and we all know he’s great with IT. I passed all I could to him, and he was going back to meet the others to discuss it. At least we have the telepathic connection, so any new information that comes up that I think he needs to know about straight away, I can pass it on to him.”
“Look, Carter. Someone is coming, so I have to go. Take care, and we love you.”
“I love you all too, speak to you soon.”
They quickly hung up, and Carter switched the cell off. He hid it behind the skirting board and sat back, making sure the location couldn’t be seen.
Sighing, he stood and walked over to his bed, and sat down on the edge of the mattress, his head dropping into his hands. What to do about Spencer? Lifting his head up, he rubbed his hands over his face and stared at the wall in front of him. Was Spencer a spy for them, or were they both spies working on the same side?
He’d have to investigate what information Spencer was accessing more and then take a calculated risk.
And then there was Hunter, his mate. Why now? Why did he have to find him now? And a vampire to boot? He’d had enough of vampires to last him a lifetime. He’d sworn he would never get involved with one, that he’d have nothing to do them once their stupid idea blew up in his face.
It was a really stupid idea, wasn’t it?
They’d spent years planning it, making sure every angle was covered, and now they were implementing sections of it and Carter knew, from being on the inside, that they chose the time well and with a fair wind, it could potentially work.
They’d done their research well and watched how humans behaved over the decades and knew all of their weaknesses. Even Carter could admit that they had planned well.
If they did implement the plan, and it was successful, what would happen to him? What would happen to his family? They wouldn’t be needed once the vampires had achieved what they wanted, so would they kill them, or would they become what they feared the most… blood slaves?
Carter slumped, the heaviness of the worry and stress and fear weighing him down. He’d been doing this for so long that he could barely remember a day when he wasn’t under some form of stress. At least he had Hunter to talk to now, someone who understood the pressure he was under, someone who knew what was a
t stake.
Hunter.
Carter. Are you okay?
Yeah, I am. I’m back in my room now, I need to get my head down.
Contact me when you wake up. I wish I was there with you.
Me too. I just... just...
Just needed to talk to me, and I’m glad you did. This is new for us, and we’re not sure if there are boundaries in place for either of us when it comes to reaching out to each other like this. Whenever you need to speak to me, I’ll be here for you.
I just don’t know how much longer I can do this for.
I understand, because I’ve been where you are now. The constant pressure and stress of the situation wears you down, but just remember, I’m here. Reach out to me whenever you need to.
Thank you. You have no idea how much that means to me.
We’re mates, Carter, and I take that very seriously. I’ll do whatever I have to ensure your safety. Now, get some sleep and we’ll talk in the morning.
He lay back on his bed, staring up at the ceiling. Just knowing he could reach out to Hunter at any time released some of the ever-present tension from him, and he kicked off his sneakers and crawled up to the top of the bed, resting his head on the pillow. Sleep, he needed sleep, and he needed to figure out what to do about Spencer.
Chapter Seven
Slamming the door shut behind him, Hunter dropped his bag to the floor and leaned back against it, sighing wearily. Another search and rescue mission that hadn’t turned out exactly as they thought it would. Turned out the two teenagers weren’t actually missing. No, they had eloped to Las Vegas and married without informing either of their families. So, Hunter and the team had spent a week searching the surrounding area in all manner of weather only to come back one night to both families screaming abuse at each other as the two teenagers sat on the sofa, holding hands.
If only they’d been open in the first place and then none of this would have happened. Hunter pushed away from the door and walked up the stairs and into his bathroom. He turned the shower on and quickly stripped off his filthy clothing, glad to be rid of them, and stepped into the warm shower, sighing in contentment. He pulled the elastic free from his hair, letting it fall loose around his shoulders, and stood under the spray, his face turned up to the water with his eyes closed, breathing deeply and letting the tension of the last few days wash away.
Rescue Inc Collection Vol 4: Mine for Eternity & Mine to Love Page 4