by Camryn Rhys
Her eyelids drooped and she slipped away into a safe place.
Chapter Thirteen
Luther woke to a knock on the door. He reached for Maggie and found her still with him. She’d moved closer to him in the night, and they were touching everywhere their bodies could touch, like they were almost one person.
He could handle this. Really.
“Yeah?” he whispered across the room.
The door opened and a crack of light splintered the dark. He looked at the windows, but there were black-out curtains. He had no idea what time it was.
“Are you awake?” a female voice whispered back. “Maggie?”
“She’s asleep.” Luther pulled his head up just enough to see the Asian wolf with the blue streak in her hair standing in the door with something in her hands.
“I have coffee,” she said.
Hannah. That was her name.
“Thanks, Hannah. I’m gonna wait for Maggie to wake up if you don’t mind.”
“I’m up,” Maggie croaked, and his chest expanded, like his heart was Grinch-growing or something. He slipped his arm around her waist and hauled her against him. He wanted her to be closer.
“I have coffee,” Hannah repeated in a slightly louder voice. “We waited to wake you until my dad got here.”
“Your dad?” Maggie groaned, sliding her hand down Luther’s arm and patting him. “Your dad is, like, in this apartment?”
“We called him last night, when you got back.” She set the mug on the dresser near the door. “I’ll bring you another one. I just didn’t know if Luther liked coffee.”
“I’m good, Hannah. Thanks.” He threaded his fingers through Maggie’s and squeezed her hand in his. “If you can give us just a minute, we’ll be right out.”
The door closed and she snuggled her shoulders back against his chest. One leg wrapped itself around his and, for the first time, Luther realized that nothing hurt. Anywhere. He held up his arm, disengaging from Maggie’s fingers, and surveyed every inch. There were faint scars, but barely.
This wolf thing wasn’t bad at all.
“Your scars will heal.” She traced one of the jagged ones with her fingertip. “I had deep ones, once, that took a couple of weeks, so I don’t know when. But they will heal.”
“All my scars? Or just the ones I got yesterday?” Luther almost pulled up his shirt to check the bullet hole in his side. He could do that later. It didn’t matter.
What mattered was that Maggie was there, with him, and he was alive, with her. Wolf or not, he was a lucky man. A blessed man.
“I don’t know. I bet Dr. Lee would know.” She turned in his arms and faced him, her dark eyes searching his face.
Luther turned his head so she wouldn’t have to smell his morning breath. “But we apparently still have bacteria. I can taste mine and it’s still gross.”
Maggie giggled and snuggled against his chest. “We’re still human, sort of. And yes, we still have morning breath.”
“So, there isn’t a special brand of fangpaste I will need to brush with in the morning?”
“Luther. You don’t have fangs.” Her laugh filled him with hot energy.
He loved to make her laugh. She had a musical laugh.
“Well, not as a human, anyway,” she said.
“Well, this human-slash-wolf-slash-male-slash-whatever needs some fangpaste.”
Maggie slipped an arm around his waist and pressed herself closer. “I don’t care about your morning breath.”
The corners of his mouth pulled up and he slid her across his body, to the other side of the bed. “Well, Hannah’s dad might.”
She kissed his t-shirt. “I have some mouthwash in the bathroom if you’re that worried about it.”
He sat up and she kept her arms around him, moving with his body. With a swoop, he lifted her up, off the bed, and deposited her on the floor. “Wow. I like this being a wolf thing. I died yesterday, but today, I have abs of steel.”
She punched his shoulder. “Don’t make me regret saving your life by making bad jokes.”
Luther sat forward and pulled her to stand between his legs. “There she is,” he whispered. “There’s my funny girl again.” He eased her head down and took her lips in a kiss.
Maggie gripped his face with her hands and ravaged his mouth. She laughed against him and pushed herself toward the bathroom. “You’re right. We both have morning breath.”
“You should change, by the way.” He sat still on the edge of the bed and watched her movements. She was so graceful, so athletic, and he could watch her forever. “Not that I dislike seeing you in my clothes—to be honest, that’s the dream—but I’d prefer if everyone on earth didn’t get to look at you half-dressed like this.”
She gargled and spit in the sink. “Speaking of clothes, Donovan probably has something you can borrow. You’re about the same size.”
“Only…I’m bigger than him, of course.”
Maggie stood in the bathroom door and pulled the shirt over her head. “Of course you are.” She crossed one leg in front of the other, seductively. “Not that I would know.”
“That was not a euphemism.” Luther crossed the room and put his big hands on her tiny shoulders. “Nevermind. Let’s not go there. I’d rather be able to look Donovan in the eye when I meet him.”
“I have some clothes in my room.” She stepped past him, the shirt in her hands. “I’ll meet you in the living room.”
“Hold on, hold on.” He ran after her and grabbed the shirt, slipping an arm around her waist. “No woman of mine is going to prance around in front of other men with no clothes on.”
She smiled up at him and twisted her body back and forth. “It’s nothing we haven’t all seen before.”
“I don’t care.” He forced the shirt over her head and pulled it down past her waist. “You’re mine now, Mag.” He took her hand and placed it over his heart. “And I am yours.”
Her lips parted and her eyebrows rounded. She looked at their hands, then kissed the rough skin of his exposed thumb. “Who knew you were so controlling? I guess I should’ve asked more questions before I saved your life.”
Luther smiled and held her hand tight as she walked away. “You’ll learn for next time, I guess.”
“There won’t be a next time.” She stopped when they both reached maximum armspan, but neither would let go.
He wanted to pull her back into his arms.
“Let’s count on that.” He released her hand and went in to the bathroom. He used the head, washed his face, gargled, and tried to make himself a presentable human for the world. Only he wasn’t human anymore.
He’d known he felt something different—that the world was different—after he’d woken up in the road on that island. Luther glanced in the mirror. He was still the same old Luther. Same lines on his face. Same faint scar from the monkey bars in third grade. Although, maybe that would go away.
Would being a wolf erase everything from his past? Like a clean slate?
He traced the old scar. Was it fainter than it had been yesterday? He couldn’t tell.
Did he want it to be? That was the real question.
The bedroom door opened and Maggie called out to him. “I found some shorts, at least.”
“I have clothes, y’know. Not many. But I brought a pair of jeans at least, I think. I don’t remember much from last night.”
“Well, you can wear these for now. Donovan won’t miss them.” She tossed the black shorts toward him, followed by a t-shirt.
He set the clothes on the bed and began to undress himself. Maggie’s eyes followed his naked body, and he could feel the spark igniting between them again.
Something urgent was always pushing him toward her, but now, it was more visceral. Like someone’s hands urging him into her.
Luther pulled on the shorts and the t-shirt and looked around for his shoes. He couldn’t remember where he’d left them. It felt strange to be without shoes. On the boat, everything was wet
, and he was always wearing something on his feet. But the apartment had a solid floor, and a dry one at that.
Would he miss the boat?
He glanced up at Maggie. “Are they waiting on us?”
“I imagine so.” She picked up the coffee cup and blew on the surface. After the first swallow, a look of pure bliss crossed her features. “Oh wow. I needed this.” She turned back to the hallway and inclined her head. “Coming?”
Luther stood still and stared at her. He felt like he could spend his life just watching Maggie. The way she moved, the things she said… how had he come to deserve a woman like this?
A wolf like this.
“Coming.” He stepped out of the circle of his old clothes and followed her down the hallway to the living room. Her hand swung back and he caught it, squeezing her hand.
They were going to do this together.
Someone was in the middle of speaking, and all Luther caught was the tail end of a sentence. “And there is no way back on to the island to see the conditions.”
“That’s right,” Alex’s voice rang out.
When he came around the corner, the sight that greeted him was strange and macabre. Someone had set up a big table—looked like a massage table—in the middle of the room, and all the lamps from the room had been gathered around the table between a large group of people.
Or wolves.
Most of them, anyway. He could sense the signature Maggie had talked about. Julianna was obviously human, but the others were all wolves.
“Ahhh, here’s the intrepid couple.” A man’s deep, cultured voice greeted them.
Luther kept walking until he found the source.
The crowd parted.
In the middle of the table, with a scalpel in his hand, was a large, broad-faced Asian man. His signature was different from the others. More powerful.
“Dr. Lee, good to meet you at last. This is Luther.” Maggie stepped between her friends and stood across from the powerful man. Luther put his hands on her hips and repeated the nod.
“I’ve heard lots about you, Luther.” The man smiled over his glasses, then looked down. On the table, in the midst of the crowd, lay the girl who’d died on the island. Faye. There was a cover over her, and in the very center of her chest, a flap of cloth was open, and Luther could see inside her body.
The autopsy.
“What have you found?” Maggie asked.
Dr. Lee pointed into the flap of cloth with his long, silver tongs. “There’s some kind of pocket in here. Her body remodeled around it, so I think it was placed there at such an early age, there have been years of healing around it.”
“A pocket?” Luther asked, looking for what he described. But he wasn’t a surgeon. He couldn’t understand what he was seeing.
“Yes.” The man pointed again. “Right here, near the heart, it appears as though there was something here.”
“But it exploded,” Alex said, matter-of-factly. “Or part of it did.”
“That’s likely, yes.” Dr. Lee nodded. “They were recounting, for me, what happened when the young woman passed last night, and I have two theories.” He put down the scalpel and pulled the cloth down so her whole body was covered. “One is that someone saw you escaping and set off some kind of self-destruct device that had been implanted in her.”
“Like Mission Impossible,” one of the men said.
Several of the wolves rolled their eyes and one of the women in the back spoke up. “Everyone knows what self-destruct means, Donovan.”
Snarky. He liked her, whoever she was.
“And the other is…?” Maggie asked, leaning toward Dr. Lee.
“And the other is, that there was some kind of serum or drug or something that was contained in that pocket, and when she got a certain distance away from the source of a radio frequency, the pocket automatically opened.” He held up his fingers in a circle, as though there was a quarter inside them. “There’s a small opening in one side of the pocket, and it appears to have been full of liquid of some kind—I’ll have to run tests back in Seattle to be certain what kind—and it sits close enough to the artery, that could have been the target.”
“Why would someone have this inside them?” Julianna asked.
When Luther finally clapped eyes on her, he saw the disgust lined into her pretty face.
Her hand at her throat, she added, “Did my father do this?”
“We can’t be certain,” Lee said. “But you certainly are not responsible for his actions, Julianna.”
The man’s words had a gravity to them that Luther couldn’t place. Like what he said was more important than what anyone else said. Julianna did not relax, but Luther found himself slipping toward ease. He wanted to be at ease.
“He doesn’t want her to leave the island, obviously.” Niko crossed his arms. “Why, we can only guess.”
Maggie released a breath. “Marco.” She looked around the circle. “Elise. Lani. That’s why.”
Luther didn’t recognize any of the names, but they appeared to mean something to everyone else. He squeezed Maggie’s hips in his hands. “So, how do we stop him?”
“You don’t.” Dr. Lee backed up from the table. “We’re grateful for this team, and for the work you’ve all done. You’ve sacrificed so much to come here and chase this man, and all because your alphas told you to go.” He put his hand on Hannah’s shoulder. “But we won’t ask this of you any longer.”
“We?” Luther asked.
“The alphas.” Dr. Lee pulled Hannah into his chest. “Your mission was to discover Adrian Rossi’s identity and location, and you have. But this mission has moved into the realm of danger that none of you are prepared for.” He nodded at Maggie. “We almost lost you yesterday, and your mate. We don’t want to lose anyone.”
Maggie’s shoulders tensed against Luther and he tried to stop her, but she burst out of his arms and scurried around the table. “No. You can’t do this. The alphas don’t know this place. And I’ve been on that island. I’ve been inside his system for weeks. I know this man. You have to give us the chance.”
Dr. Lee continued to pull on Hannah, and back toward the door. “None of the alphas want to risk your well-being any longer. This is a matter for the Rangers.”
Rangers? Luther walked after Maggie, but she was about half a second from getting in Dr. Lee’s face, and the two guards that flanked the apartment door might not like that too much.
He reached for her and she shook him off.
“They’re going to need us,” she insisted.
The calm-faced Asian man shook his head. “We’re going to raid the island, Maggie, and I’m afraid you all have been ordered to return to your alphas.”
Maggie was shivering in rage. She was going to jump the dude.
Luther grabbed at her arm again and tried to anchor her.
“You can’t!” she shouted. “They’ll all be killed like Faye.”
“We don’t know that.” Dr. Lee’s eyebrows lifted. “None of the alphas want to lose these girls, but we can’t allow you all to put yourselves in harm’s way any longer, when you’re untrained.” He moved around Hannah and put his hand on Maggie’s shoulder. “Look. Your alphas never realized what kind of danger this would put you in when we initiated this mission. Yes, you’re all enforcers, but this island has defenses we never expected, and requires tactical action. We need to contact Bill Cavanaugh in the Defense Department and ask him to send in the Black Wolves.”
Luther stepped between Maggie and the doctor, raising his finger into the man’s face. “You don’t know how brave she has been,” he said. “Or the rest of them. They’ve all been willing to take risks to see this through. And me, you can’t order me around. I’m going to personally make sure that Adrian Rossi can’t hurt another living thing if I have to rip him apart myself.”
Dr. Lee smiled and looked down at Luther’s raised finger. He held up his hand to stop the bodyguards from advancing. “I know you have a special hatred for this
man, Luther, and I can understand it, but—”
“Just give us one chance,” Hannah piped up.
Her father froze and his previously relaxed smile tightened dangerously in the corners. He whirled on her.
“One chance, that’s all we need.” Maggie picked up the mantra. “Let us use Luther’s contacts. I installed a back-door into the mainframe this time, and from the main control access. If I can get back in, I might be able to find out what kind of failsafe caused Faye to die the way she did.” She sighed. “Please, just give us a chance first.”
Dr. Lee glanced around the room at the determined faces, and his gaze landed on his daughter.
Hannah had edged away from him and one of the wolves put an arm around her shoulders.
“I still have a man on the inside,” Luther said. “Let me get ahold of him. If I can get us back on the island, without hurting anyone else, then we might be able to disable whatever killed Faye, and get the rest of them out.”
Dr. Lee released a tight gust of air, keeping his shoulders level. He wasn’t showing fear, which a group of animals—spirit or not—would have pounced on. But he was about to be persuaded.
“I promise, no one from the team will be in harm’s way. And you can always call in your Rangers as a back-up plan.”
The older man nodded, at last, and the entire room gasped a breath.
Maggie’s fingers gripped his and Luther couldn’t help smiling. They were going to get the chance to take down the monster, after all.
Now, all they needed was a plan.
Epilogue
“I want to mate you.”
Maggie swallowed her gum, coughed, and looked up at Luther from over her laptop screen. Snorts erupted from all corners of the living room where members of the team were doing their damnedest to keep from laughing out loud.
“You’ve already done that,” Niko wheezed, covering his huge grin with the palm of his hand. “It’s called sex.”
He glared at Niko, but the Chicago mobster just snickered a little more. The team slowly rose from their respective seats and filed out of the apartment, probably down to Julianna and Alex’s. Still, it was nice of them to give she and Luther a modicum of privacy.
