by S. E. Smith
Mak heard the sounds of soft thumps of metal being hit followed by the sounds of wheels squealing from the direction he had just come. He turned to go back but was knocked sideways by Cosmos who tackled him just as several small bits of concrete from the wall burst where his head had been. Mak rolled, pushing Cosmos off of him. His eyes narrowed on the direction the firing had come from. In a swift move, he drew one of his sharp small knives and threw it as hard as he could. A gasp, followed by a gurgling sound came from the direction.
Mak rolled to his feet ignoring Cosmos and strode rapidly over to the frozen figure. A man dressed in a suit and overcoat stood impaled against the wall. Mak cursed when he saw he had struck the man through the heart. The knife went through him into the brick building. He grabbed the handle and yanked it free, wiping the blood on the man’s coat as he fell.
“Where is my mate?” Mak snarled softly to Cosmos as he came up behind him.
“I have RITA tracking her,” Cosmos said paling as he looked down at the bloody body. “Rico has met up with Team One. Team Two is tracking Natasha and Helene. Lan and Brock are with them. Merrick was chasing down another guy who was coming up on us from the west,” Cosmos said pulling out a small device.
“The limo isn’t heading for Knapp’s place. It looks like it is heading toward the Navy Yard. I have a couple of my guys on their tail. We are headed your way and will meet up with you on the other side of Capital Street. Move your asses,” Rico barked out.
“Let’s get the hell out of here,” Cosmos said.
“I am going to kill that bastard and anyone who is with him if he harms one hair on my mate,” Mak said coldly.
“I’ll cover your back while you do it,” Cosmos said quietly breaking into a fast jog.
Chapter 18
Tansy realized the moment she stepped into the limo she was in trouble. She recognized the scarred face of the man sitting across from where she was pushed none too gently. She turned her head just enough to shield the dismay in her eyes before he saw it. She had met up with the son-of-a-bitch twice before. Once when she first joined CPAT and another time when she came across him on assignment. He had gone off the deep end, killing almost a dozen innocents. He had been terminated from the program and had supposedly been killed while on a mercenary assignment in the Philippines.
“How’s it going, Tansy? Beautiful as ever,” Drew grinned wickedly. “I have to say, though, I like the red hair and green eyes better than the brown on brown.”
Tansy didn’t even bother with playing games with the man sitting across from her. “I have to admit I like you better dead instead of alive. By the way, how was the Philippines?” Tansy asked crossing her legs. “From the way your face looks, I’d say it must have been a blast,” she added with a nasty grin.
She enjoyed the flash of anger that crossed his face. He always did like being a pretty boy and there was no way anyone would ever call him that again. The right side of his face was puckered and ridges of scar-tissue crisscrossed it from his brow to his chin. The look in his blue eyes promised she would regret that little pun.
“You think this looks good wait until I get done with you,” Drew said with a tight smile pulling his mouth to one side. “I’ll make sure you live a little longer than your boyfriend did. What was his name… oh yeah, Branson. Now I remember. I wish you could have heard him screaming as I ran my knife through him. Oh yeah,” he gave an ugly laugh. “You couldn’t hear him because I cut his tongue out.”
Tansy felt like her blood was freezing as she listened to Drew talk. “You’re a worthless piece of shit. I’m going to enjoy killing you,” she hissed out jerking toward him with her hands curled into claws.
Craig grabbed her arm in a bruising hold and jerked her back into her seat. “You don’t know how much it disappointed me when Drew told me who you were. I never would have seen through your little dress up but he did almost immediately. What gave her away, Drew?” Craig asked as he lit a cigarette and inhaled deeply before releasing it with a deep sigh. “It really doesn’t matter, of course, but I’m curious. I still plan on enjoying your beauty before I let Drew have his fun.”
Tansy jerked away from Craig’s touch settling back into her seat. “Yes, Scarface, what gave me away?”
Drew’s eyes narrowed but he ignored her little dig. “No one has a body like you do, Tansy. Those big, plump breasts, tiny waist, perfect rounded ass made for fucking, and lips created just to make a man come between them,” Drew said with a dark, hot gaze.
Tansy reached up and carefully undid the dark brown wig she was wearing palming the tiny, silver balls and clips in her hand. She plucked the pins out of her own rich red hair and let it cascade down her back. Shaking her head, she let the heavy length hide the fact she was pocketing her stash in a small slit in her gown.
She smiled coolly at Drew. “You forgot to mention my hair. Men love my hair,” she breathed out in a husky voice known to cause a man to harden just from the sound. “And you, Two-face, will never know what it is like to have my lips wrapped around you,” she finished coldly.
“You fucking bitch,” Drew said raising his hand to back-hand her.
“Stop!” Craig’s sharp tone sounded loud in the quiet of the limo. “You can have her after I am done with her. I don’t care what you do to her then but I want her before you start marking her up.”
Tansy’s eyes narrowed into a deadly glare at Craig Knapp. “You know I’ll kill you before you can do anything? What is in it for you? Why would you betray your country?” She asked coolly.
Craig drew in a deep drag of his cigarette and blew a smoke ring at Tansy. She fought back a cough and waved her hand to dissipate the smell. Drew chuckled at her obvious distaste.
“I am loyal only to myself,” Craig said with a smile. “Money can give a man more comfort than being a patriot, isn’t that right Drew?”
“Damn right,” Drew answered relaxing back as the limo turned down a side street toward a length of old warehouses along the Potomac River.
Tansy looked out the darkened windows and grimaced. She was really beginning to hate warehouses. These didn’t look any better than the ones in Moscow. It wasn’t quite as cold outside but it was still colder than what she was looking forward to. She tried to bring a picture of a nice warm beach with silky white sand under her as she lay in the sun, enjoying a cool drink while she soaked up some rays. She closed her eyes for a moment and wished her life had been a little different. She was right back to where she started just weeks ago.
She released a tired sigh as the limo slowed down. It inched through an opened gate that was quickly closed after the limo passed through. She knew this was going to be her last assignment. She had fought for closure ever since Hannah was kidnapped over ten years before. She had wanted justice for Branson’s death. Now, it looked like it was all coming together. She would have closure and peace at last.
And don’t forget you wanted to know what it was like to truly love someone one more time, a small voice in her head murmured.
She had found all of it. The only thing she wouldn’t be able to do is say goodbye to her family in person. She hoped they knew how much she loved them. She was sure they would once RITA gave the message she left for Cosmos to give to them. She had left one for Mak too. She regretted never telling him out loud that she loved him. She knew she couldn’t leave this world without telling him how much their short time together had meant to her.
Tansy turned her head to look at Craig Knapp who was sitting so arrogantly next to her. “Why did you order Branson’s death?” She asked suddenly needing to know the truth. “Why? He was no longer working on any projects for CPAT.”
Craig looked intently into her eyes before he snuffed out his cigarette butt in the glass of whiskey he had poured earlier. “He was getting too nosy. He was working as a consultant for a company working for CPAT in the same region of Africa that he had been in when he was hurt. When his team pulled him out of the Congo I knew it was only a matter of
time before he made a connection to the ties I had there. The nice thing about being almost the boss is no one really pays much attention to you but you know what everyone else is doing. Avilov, San Juan, and I had a very lucrative business going. The U.S. backed the money to the rebels, Avilov supplied everything from drugs, to girls, to guns, and San Juan transported it all where it needed to go. All I had to do was make sure nothing interrupted the flow of things like the U.S. getting suspicious when the items they were supporting didn’t end up where they thought it was going to,” Craig nodded to Drew. “Drew here was my main man. He eliminated anyone who got too close. Branson was sniffing around and had discovered information that should have been destroyed… from you. You got him curious about San Juan which is where he followed the link to me. I have to admit I was surprised by you. You were just some naïve little girl set on revenge. I never expected you to survive Branson’s training much less a year in the field. When you took out San Juan, I was more than a little curious about you. That is why CPAT drafted you into their program. It made it easier to keep an eye on you.”
Drew grinned as the limo came to a stop inside a warehouse along the edge of the river. “I was a little put out when I showed up to kill San Juan only to find him dead. His men were scrambling to find out what happen. That was slick making it look like a heart attack. The only thing I could get out of the guard I had to kill instead was that San Juan had a beautiful red-haired senorita with him. No one knew what happened to her. All I found was that little bitch dead in his bed,” Drew chuckled out.
Tansy exploded at his nonchalant attitude of the death of a little girl. She reacted in fury. Kicking her leg out, she let the spiked heel of one of her delicate but deadly sandals pierce the neck of the man sitting across from her. She ground her heel in, twisting it.
Craig pulled a handgun out and pressed it against Tansy’s temple. “Let him go,” he said calmly ignoring Drew’s gasping as he struggled to breathe.
Tansy dug the sharp point of one heel into his neck a little deeper while the other one cut into his groin. “Her name was Sonya,” she hissed out coldly, not moving either one of her heels until she had made her point.
Craig pushed on the barrel again to remind Tansy he was there… like she needed a reminder. She slowly released Drew, watching as he grabbed the hole in his neck trying to stem the flow of blood. Only when she was seated back against the soft leather of her seat did Craig lower the gun.
“You bitch,” Drew snapped out hoarsely. “I am going to skin you alive and enjoy listening to you screaming while I do it.”
“Hey Drew,” Tansy said with a smile, flipping up her middle finger at him at the same time. “The lab called, your brain was too rotten to save so they want me to put you out of your misery.”
Drew pulled a knife out of his pocket and flicked it open. His eyes narrowed dangerously as he glared at her. He started to lean forward but stopped when Craig turned the gun on him instead.
“I told you, after I am done with her,” he repeated in a calm, cool voice.
Drew closed the knife and put it back in his pocket. He pulled out a handkerchief and applied pressure to the wound on his neck. The dark promise in his eyes sent a shiver down Tansy’s spine. Against her will, she reached out to Mak needing to feel his warmth one more time.
I am here, je talli, Mak responded in relief to her touch.
I just wanted to tell you I love you, Tansy whispered as she thumbed one of the silver balls and hair pin in the palm of her hand. I wish things could have been different. Goodbye.
Chapter 19
Mak turned and gripped Cosmos by the shirt pulling him to a stop. He could tell from the fear and resignation in his mate’s voice that she did not have much time. He had to get to her and he had to get to her now.
“Do you have the portable gateway with you?” Mak asked grimly.
“Yes, but you know you can’t use it to get to her from here to there. It is too dangerous,” Cosmos said drawing in a deep breath.
“True but I can use it from your world to mine and back again. Do you have the coordinates to Tansy?” Mak insisted.
“Yes,” Cosmos said excitedly as he realized where Mak was going. “But, if you go to her this way, you’ll be alone.”
Mak’s lips curved into a dangerous, deadly smile. “Then I won’t have to worry about killing the wrong people,” he said in a tone that sent a shiver of dread through Cosmos.
“Take this,” Cosmos said thrusting the portal device and the GPS tracker he had for Tansy. “RITA can program it in while you get what you need.”
Mak nodded taking both devices. He slid the GPS into the pocket of the jacket he was wearing. “Find the others. Tell them to stay clear of where they have taken Tansy. I will kill anyone who is near her.”
Cosmos nodded. “Mak…,” Cosmos said reaching out and placing his hand on Mak’s thick forearm. “Bring her home safe.”
Mak gave a sharp nod and turn the dials on the portal. He watched as the gateway shimmered. Without another word, he strode through it into the portal control room on Baade. Within seconds, the portal had closed behind him.
Cosmos stared at the darkened space for a moment before he opened communications with Rico and Team One. They had two other women to rescue and three aliens to send back home before anyone discovered them.
It was going to be a long night, he thought as he picked up speed to intercept the van.
*.*.*
Mak burst through the portal into the control room in the palace. Derik was talking with their father, Teriff. The look on Mak’s face was enough to let both his younger brother and his father know that something bad had happened. He ignored both of them as he brushed pass them.
“Mak, what is it?” Teriff asked jogging up behind him. “Is there danger to our world?”
“No, my mate has been taken by human males who wish to kill her. I must go to her,” Mak snarled out slamming through the door to his living quarters.
He shrugged out of the leather jacket he was wearing, grabbing the GPS unit out of it first before throwing it against the wall. Walking over to a clear panel, he muttered a phrase and watched as it slid back. Inside, he had a cache of weapons. He quickly began pulling items off the shelves.
He snarled out when he felt his father grip his arm in a hold that stopped him. Few men on any world were strong enough to hold him. His father was one of those few. He looked at Teriff with a look of defiance, daring him silently to try to stop him.
“I will come with you,” Teriff said with a grim smile. “It has been a long time since I have had a good fight. I like my new daughter’s family very much. I have seen the pain that human males can inflict. Your brother Borj almost lost his mate to one. I will not lose you or my other daughter,” Teriff said gruffly.
Mak stood frozen for a split second before he gave a jerky nod of appreciation. “I would be honored to have you fight by my side,” Mak said as he slid a harness over his head and adjusted it across his massive chest.
The harness was quickly filled with a wide variety of weapons. He would not take a chance with his mate’s life. His only focus was to find her and get her to safety. He didn’t care how many men he had to kill to do it. He quickly slid two short swords into their sheaths on his back.
Teriff ripped his shirt off and reached for an assortment of weapons of his own. He gripped a couple of laser pistols before sliding them into the holsters on his hips. Reaching for a long double-sided blade, he couldn’t keep the grin from his face even as he prepared for battle.
“Did I tell you that I did almost this same exact thing when I kidnapped your mother from her village so many years ago? It took a while for her family to accept me because of that. They wanted her to mate with a male from her clan but I knew she was mine the moment I saw her,” Teriff said as he adjusted the sword.
Mak turned looking at his father with his mouth hanging open. “You kidnapped mother?” He asked sharply.
Teriff grinn
ed at his son for a moment before he turned to grab a handful of small explosives. “Yes, I was hunting when I came upon her village and decided to take her. Remind me to tell you about it when we get back,” Teriff said as he turned around to head out the door. “Tilly says it was love at first sight. Did you know she captured her mate as well? She said something about tying one on and having her wicked way with him. I had never heard of such a thing before.”
Mak shook his head and grabbed a Med kit from the shelf before he gave the command for the panel to close and followed his father out the door. It would seem there was a great deal he did not know about his own family. He only hoped he and his mate survived long enough to learn more.
Mak and Teriff pushed back through the door of the control room. Both of them stopped and frowned at Derik who stood next to the doorway holding up three portable devices. That was not what stopped them. What did that was Derik. He was dressed in full battle gear.
“What are you waiting for?” He asked defiantly.
“You are staying here!” Both men growled out at the same time.
“No! I have just as much right to help as you,” Derik said looking at his father in anger. “I am a Prime warrior,” Derik growled out in a low voice.
Teriff looked at his youngest son. It was true. By the time he was Derik’s age he had already been to battle several times. There was no way he could deny his youngest son’s desire to protect the human females. He was very attached to them, especially the one called Tink.
“You stay focused and listen to your brother and me. If you get hurt your mother will be angry with me. I… do… not… want… her… angry! Do you understand?” Teriff growled back pointing his thick finger into Derik’s chest.
Derik grinned. “What are we waiting for? RITA, do you know where Mak’s mate is?” Derik called out.
“Already programmed the devices, sweetheart. I’m putting you as close as I think it is safe based on the satellite images I have in my databases. Don’t worry about your mom. I’ll keep her occupied so she doesn’t know you are gone. Bring Tansy home safe,” RITA said even as she opened the gateway door.
