by Zahra Stone
"But you don't know for sure?"
"Okay fine, I don't know for sure, which is why we'll bring her in for questioning. In a couple of hours, because right now, I'm done. I need some shut-eye."
"I'll join you." Brax followed me up the stairs and into the bedroom I'd claimed here.
"No sex," I warned him, "just sleep."
"I promise I'll be the perfect gentleman. Unless you request otherwise." His lips curled into a wicked smile as he stripped and slid between the sheets stark naked. I swallowed, trying to ignore the potent response my own body displayed to his nakedness. Oh, who was I kidding?
Ripping my clothes off, I slid beneath the covers and reached for him. "Just a quickie then." I smiled against his chest. "And keep the noise down. Rae and Jordan are in the room next door."
"From what I recall, you owe them an earful anyway," he said, trailing his lips across my collarbone to nuzzle at my neck. I shivered in his arms.
"Good point." I smiled before surrendering to the tempestuous riot of desire that was already threatening to consume me with carnal bliss.
Chapter Nineteen
If I didn't know that Elva Petrov was a witch, I would never have guessed it. Goes to show that appearances really can be deceiving. Elva was tiny. So petite she could have passed as a child. And with a surname of Petrov, I'd conjured images of dark hair, yet Elva was so blonde, her short pixie hair practically glowed white. But her eyes. Man, they were so dark you could barely tell the pupil from the iris, and with her equally dark lashes and brows, it was a stunning combination with her fair hair.
She sat now in our interview room with her arms crossed. She hadn't appreciated being dragged into SIA offices this morning and, so far, was refusing to cooperate. Rae hadn't been able to get anything out of her, and I watched through the two-way mirror as Jordan took a turn.
Brax walked past, slapping my ass as he did so. "Coffee?"
God, yes. Two hours of sleep had taken the edge off but was nowhere near enough for me to be fully functioning. I needed as much caffeine as my body could handle. "That'd be great," I said over my shoulder, keeping my eyes on Elva. Rae's phone began vibrating, and she looked at the screen before lifting it to her ear, then looking at me. I met her at the door.
"It's the lab. They've got your results." She handed me her phone, then closed the door.
"Shelton." Retreating to my desk, I looked at my screen, searching my emails for one from the lab.
"Got the results from those dirt samples you sent," the technician said. "We've run geothermal scans and can tell you that it appears the soil came from the Gawler Basin. Can't narrow it down any further than that, I'm afraid."
"Got it. Thanks."
"I've sent the full report via email; you should be getting it any second. There's something else you should know."
"Oh?"
"The Gawler Basin is where Section 27 is reportedly located."
That had my interest. "What's Section 27? That sounds military."
"It is. It's a highly classified military base for the development and testing of experimental aircraft and weapons."
"What? Like Area 51?"
"The rumor is, and this is a rumor, I have nothing official to back it up, but it is possible that Section 27 outgrew their location and were moved to Area 51."
"So, Section 27 is closed?"
"Abandoned in 1968—reasons unknown. From what I can determine, it remains heavily fortified and off-limits. Most records are redacted, and despite further digging, I've been unable to discover anything more than what I've already told you."
"Okay, thanks, you've done great." Disconnecting the call, I leaned back in my chair and read his report, lingering over the words. Dirt from the Gawler Basin was found in Mrs. B's car. And Section 27 was located in the Gawler Basin. Allegedly. It couldn't be a coincidence. "What better place than an abandoned military facility to conduct experiments," I said out loud, jumping when Brax sat my coffee in front of me and kissed the top of my head. I hadn't heard him come in.
"What's that?" he asked, having heard me talking to myself. I told him what the lab had discovered, and he hurried to his laptop, pulling up a topography map and displaying it on the case board. We stood in front of it, my initial excitement waning. The area was vast, and with no coordinates, Section 27 could be anywhere within a two-hundred-mile radius.
"You don't think it's possible that all this stuff with the Red Witch and the Gunslinger...that's not a distraction technique, is it?" I asked Brax, my brow furrowing. "Because I don't buy that they want our help to stop Ridgeway. She's a shifter; she doesn't have insurmountable powers; the Red Witch could easily take her out."
"I think there is a lot more going on here than we know," Brax agreed. "The Red Witch had some interesting things to say about you. She knew about your daughter. Why would she even know that? And that Ridgeway wants to get her hands on you."
"When Paige was snatched in Redmeadows, they said they were planning on taking me. But then they discovered Paige wandering around unprotected and took her instead. And Elva Petrov?" I played with the end of my hair, twirling it between my fingers as I thought out loud. "Is the Amulet of the Alliance pertinent? Because that sounds like something the Red Witch would be very keen to get her hands on. I'm thinking she's been leading us to Petrov the entire time, wanting us to retrieve the Amulet."
Brax nodded. "Then swoop in and steal it from us once we have it."
My eyes snapped to his as the pieces began to fall into place. Ridgeway was a means to an end for the Red Witch. "What about the Gunslinger?" I mused. "What's he doing here?"
"Hanging out with his ex?" Brax suggested. "Maybe they've reconciled. Or maybe he wants her to do something for him, something that needs more power than what she has, so she needs the Amulet to boost her magic."
"What could he be planning?" I began pacing back and forth in front of the case board. To one side were the animal attack victims that Rae had been working on. We were sure their deaths were due to supernatural causes. Vampires, shifters, ghouls, or a combination of all three. "The last time she did something for him, it was to spell Maxxan so vampires could walk in the sun."
"Right, but that was because of the Deadnettle crops, wasn't it? So, what if he's setting up again? Somewhere bigger. Needs a more powerful spell so his minions can withstand daylight, to tend the crops."
"Say somewhere the size of Section 27? That's rumored to be fifty square miles if not more."
A smile slowly lit up his face. "Field trip?"
"Field trip," I agreed. "But first, we've got a witch who isn't talking. And I have a bad feeling that Duke is about to step into a whole world of trouble."
"How do you want to handle it?" he asked.
"You're more experienced than the rest of us in interrogation. Make Petrov talk. Send Rae and Jordan out here; we'll prep for the field trip."
Brax spun on his heel, and I listened as he made his way down the hallway. Minutes later, Rae and Jordan joined me, slightly dejected from their lack of progress with Petrov. I filled them in on the breakthrough and Section 27, which perked them up no end.
"Jordan, make sure the vehicles are ready to go, enough fuel, water, and camping supplies. This won't be a day trip. Rae, log our plans with HQ," I ordered.
"What are you going to do?" Rae asked, swiveling in her seat to begin typing.
"I'm going into town to get a new phone and plant a tracker on Duke. We can't give him a protective detail, but we can keep an eye on him remotely."
"You think he'll find this Amulet fast then?" Jordan asked. "You think he knows where it is already?"
"Duke is a man of many talents, and finding ancient artifacts is right up his alley. He has a host of contacts, and I'm sure he has his finger on this particular pulse, so yes, I'm going to assume that it is only a matter of time before the Amulet of the Alliance is in Elva Petrov's witchy little hands. And then the Red Witch will strike. We have to prevent that, but we also need to get Ri
dgeway. This has gone on long enough. I think somehow the Red Witch got wind of what Ridgeway is up to and is using it to her advantage."
"You think she's playing us?" Jordan asked.
"Most definitely," I replied, snatching up my car keys and a new swipe card. "I'll text you with my new cell number. Give me a list of what supplies you need from town, and I'll grab them while I'm there."
Chapter Twenty
Fitting a tracker onto Duke's truck had been easy. Planting one on him personally had been a little challenging, but I'd managed to slip one into his wallet when he left it with his keys on the bar. Yes, we were at Stanley's, and yes, it was ten in the morning, but in my own defense, we were drinking coffee. Strong, black, wake-me-the-fuck-up coffee.
"You're sure about this?" My concern was genuine, and my face reflected it when Duke returned from the bathroom.
"What? Getting the Amulet? Pft, that's easy," he assured me. I looked at his face, the strong, handsome face of a good friend. It niggled that he was being dragged into this.
"You know where it is? Already?" Surprise colored my voice.
"Got a strong lead, yeah. But this one is going to take me a while due to distance."
"Oh?"
"Peru."
"Right." I studied my coffee cup as if the answers to the questions of the universe could be found in the dark liquid. I was glad I'd got the tracker into his wallet because the one on his truck was now useless. He wouldn't be driving to Peru.
"Shelton?" Duke leaned sideways and nudged me with his shoulder.
"Yeah?"
"You look like shit," he told me.
I choked out a laugh. "Yeah? Well, I look better than you." Knocking back the rest of my coffee, I stood and slapped him on the back, hard, like he did to me. "You be careful out there—if you die, I'll kill you."
"Ditto."
I headed back to my truck, reeling when I opened the door, and the stench of stale, fermented rum escaped. Next on the agenda, another shower. And body scrub.
It was midday by the time I returned to the SIA offices, my skin tingling from the torture it had received in Paige's shower. I'd used all of her almond and coconut body scrub, but at least I no longer smelled of alcohol. I'd packed a backpack with the essentials, bought a new phone, and was back in my second skin, my SIA uniform. I'd stopped by the store and purchased the camping supplies Jordan had requested, and as I pulled up, he met me at my door.
"You get everything?" he asked, holding the door open for me.
"Sure did." I jerked my thumb to the bed of my truck.
"Sweet."
Hopping out and slamming the door, I headed toward the house, then stopped and swiveled. "How did it go with Petrov? She still here?"
"Brax released her. I assume he got what he needed, but he said he's not talking till you get back."
Heading inside, I paused in the hallway while my eyes adjusted to the dimmer lighting indoors.
"Oh good, you're back." Rae brushed past me, carrying a large box. "We're almost done loading up the vehicles, and then we'll be ready to head out."
"Cool. I'm good to go." I indicated the backpack I'd slung over my shoulder. "Jordan is sorting through the supplies I picked up in town. We'll head out in a few minutes then. Where's Brax?"
She nodded toward the conference room, and I looked at her in surprise. We hadn't used the conference room yet, had no need to. What was Brax doing in there? Opening the door for Rae, I waited until she'd passed through before joining Brax.
"I hear you had success with Petrov?"
He was leaning on the huge conference room table, studying a map he'd laid out on it. Glancing up, he smiled. "I'm satisfied." He nodded.
"Do tell."
Straightening, he looked up at the ceiling as if recalling his interrogation with Petrov before speaking. "She swears she isn't in cahoots with the Red Witch, but she had heard via another coven that the Red Witch is looking for the Amulet. Petrov's plan is to get the Amulet first and use it against the Red Witch."
"Ballsy move." I was surprised. The petite little witch would be pulverized by someone as powerful as the Red Witch.
"I thought so. She has a backup plan, though. If she can't use the Amulet against the Red Witch, then she plans to trade it."
"In exchange for what?"
"Immunity."
I nodded, impressed. "Smart witch." Moving around to stand by his side and study the map, I asked, "This is Section 27?" He'd outlined an area with a yellow highlighter pen.
"Yeah, the Secret Service doesn't have much intel on it either, so this isn't one hundred percent accurate, but I believe Section 27 is within this radius."
"I'd imagine it's still protected? Guarded, you think?" I studied the map. The area he'd outlined was on the edge of the desert, a mountain range along one border.
"I doubt there is active personnel. I've requested satellite imagery for heat signatures, but I'd say they'd have electronic surveillance. Fences— most likely electrified. Possibly landmines. Anything to stop anyone from getting too close."
"We've got equipment to get past all of that."
"Me too." Folding up the map, he shoved it into one of the pockets on his cargo pants. "Ready?"
"Yep." I was turning away when he stopped me. "Wait, Katie."
"What is it?" I asked.
He didn't answer. Instead, he kissed me. This kiss felt different than all the others, not that they'd been bad. They'd been epic. But this kiss was soft, poignant, full of emotion, and I felt it. Everywhere. Even my hair tingled.
"Brax." I broke the kiss, moved back. That kiss had been full of love, and despite how he made me feel physically, I wasn't sure I could go there with him. I wasn't sure I could put my heart on the line again. We were about to head out on a dangerous mission, and... he stopped my train of thought by placing a finger over my lips. I frowned.
"Shhh. I can hear you thinking from here. Overthinking, if we're being honest. I just want you to know that as long as you want me, I will be by your side."
"Right," I whispered, more confused than ever. He chuckled, winked at me, then led the way out of the conference room. I followed behind, silently assessing what the hell had just happened. He'd surprised me by not confessing his undying love.
Outside, three vehicles were lined up, ready and waiting.
"Three?" I directed my question to Jordan, standing by the open door of Rae's pickup truck.
"We need to take Bear with us. But we also need all of our supplies, and those fill up two vehicles on their own. Rae and I will go together. You and Brax can take the SUVs."
I nodded in agreement, opened the door to the front vehicle. "Brax, do we have coordinates?" I'd need to punch them into the GPS, or we'd be driving blind. My phone vibrated, and I glanced at the text message—Brax had sent the coordinates. "Smartass." Hauling myself into the driver's seat, I slammed the door and buckled in. This was it. I could sense it, feel it in my bones, that we were heading toward something big. Ridgeway had been several steps ahead of us the entire time, but now I felt like we were finally catching up—that we were in with a shot. Gunning the engine, I waited, watching in my side mirror while Brax climbed into the SUV behind me, and Rae and Jordan settled into the pickup. I grabbed the radio, pressed the button. "All set?"
"Let's do it," Jordan replied, followed a second later by Brax's curt, "Affirmative."
Releasing the handbrake, I eased out, ignoring the feeling of unease that settled over me with each mile we put between Maxxan and us. The landscape changed the further we traveled, and soon I saw the same red dirt I'd found in Mrs. B's car, confirming what I already knew. We were on the right track.
We'd been traveling for over five hours when the radio crackled, and Brax's voice filled the cab. "We should set up camp for the night," he said. "There's a clearing up ahead, to the left."
"Gotcha," I replied, taking my foot off the accelerator, and slowing. Tall, grey trees bordered the road. How anything survived out here was
beyond me, but I guess the plant life had adapted to the desert-like conditions. I saw the clearing Brax mentioned and turned in, driving the SUV around in a large circle before killing the engine. My neck and shoulders ached, and I stretched, easing the kinks and knots.
The other two vehicles pulled up, and I covered my nose and mouth from the dust cloud that came with them.
"We made good progress today," Brax said, joining me where I leaned against the front bumper of my vehicle. "I've calculated that we'll reach Section 27 around lunchtime tomorrow."
"And then the fun begins." Pushing away from the bumper, I flung open the back door and hauled out my sleeping bag and backpack. "The temperature is going to drop tonight," I said to no one in particular. "We're going to need a fire for warmth, so gather as much wood as you can."
We got busy setting up camp. Soon a fire was blazing within a circle of rocks, sleeping bags rolled out, a pot of water suspended over the fire. I was dying for a coffee, and it seemed I wasn't the only one, judging by the grumbling coming from Rae.
"I hate camping." She slapped at a mosquito, then another. "Did I mention that?"
"Only like a thousand times." Jordan rolled his eyes.
"Yeah, well, I don't do camping. I do plumbing. And electricity." She slapped herself in the face, and I laughed, dug around in my backpack, then tossed the insect repellant at her.
"Use this. Seems they like you."
"Don't know why," she bitched. "You'd think my blood would be all dark and twisty, not something nice to drink."
"Maybe they like dark and twisty," Jordan soothed, spraying some insect repellant onto his hand and running it over the back of her neck.
"You like dark and twisty." She lowered her chin to her chest while he massaged her neck.
"I love dark and twisty," he flirted, and she leaned back in his arms, her face reflecting her bliss. I looked away only for my gaze to collide with Brax, who was watching me across the campfire. I arched a brow in query, and he shook himself, as if he'd been daydreaming, then busied himself with the can of now boiling water, pouring some into the cups lined up with coffee and the rest over the freeze-dried dinners we'd packed. Mmmmm. Gourmet.
