Protector: The Elect, Book 1

by Loribelle Hunt

  “Not then. If they’d suspected, we would have known. The scientists and guards were easy to read,” Elias said. “I suppose they could have figured it out later, once DNA sequencing became available, but they’d have to use modern samples. We didn’t leave anything behind.”

  Brax held up the papers. “Are you sure about that, Pop? This isn’t supposed to exist.”

  He was still livid that something like this had been kept from him, but he had calmed enough to feel Pop’s regret. “As far as I knew, it didn’t. I found them when I was going through Garret’s papers.”

  Garret was a contemporary of Elias’s who’d died a few weeks ago. Brax frowned. The original Committee members had been secretive about the early years, though Elias had once told him that was more because of disorganization and trying to figure out how to work together than a need to hide information.

  “Wasn’t he in charge of security from the beginning?”

  His grandfather nodded. “Until things settled down. He backed out of the picture by the late sixties.”

  And he hadn’t passed on the list, or anything else he’d kept, because the founders had been so convinced they were free and clear. It was frustrating as hell. Brax could have been ahead of this—whatever this was—but he couldn’t change that now.

  “If your list exists, you can be sure something else survived. Someone knows something.” He was certain of it. None of this made sense otherwise.

  Elias shrugged, and Brax knew he was going to play devil’s advocate. “Possibly. Or maybe it’s as simple as Esme having a stalker or her brother having an enemy. Soldiers do collect them.”

  “No.” Esme shook her head decisively. “Stalkers don’t send teams after their prey.”

  “And Carter?” Brax asked.

  She took a deep breath, the action tightening the fit of her shirt in a way that made his palms ache to reach for her. “I’m sure he has enemies, but even that doesn’t make sense. Enemies wouldn’t have waited for him to get back in the country. They would have just taken Kaden out of that temporary foster home. They might even have come after me if they knew who I was. Might have trashed my house and set my condo on fire, but what about Dr. Franklin? It doesn’t fit. This is about the blood tests. Someone is pissed about no longer having access to Kaden.”

  He couldn’t fault her logic and agreed with her conclusions. Pride in her swelled in his chest and he winked at her before turning back to his grandfather. He tapped the file on the table. “It starts with this.”

  Elias gave him a sharp look. “Is that a guess or certainty?”

  “A guess.” Most people, human or Elect, had flashes of instinct. A sixth sense or déjà vu, he didn’t care how it was defined. He knew when he ignored it, it usually bit him in the ass.

  Esme tilted her head and studied him with curious eyes. “Precog?”

  “Not quite. Call it a hunch, but my hunches are usually right.”

  She accepted that without argument. “Can you get me a copy of that list of scientists?” she asked Elias. “I’ll start researching them.”

  She gave him a shrewd look that had Brax hiding a besotted smile. She was sharp. No one would be able to push her around or manipulate her. Not even him. He needed her in his life. She reminded him why he’d spent his life protecting his people.

  “What else do you have, Elias?”

  His grandfather shrugged one shoulder, a gesture that put Brax on alert. “Not much. Since my retirement, I’ve started a genealogy database of known Elect members. You might find it useful in your research. Zach wasn’t really interested.”

  Brax guessed from the way her eyes widened and took on a far away look she was pretty damned interested. “I’d love to have a look at that,” she finally said.

  Elias, smiling and nodding eagerly, wrote down her email address, and Brax stepped out of the room to take a call. He kept it short and returned to find Esme bent over the table studying his grandfather’s files. Her hair glowed like a halo in the morning light. Appropriate, since she was his angel, quickly becoming the light at the center of his heart.

  His grandfather met his gaze, eyes shining with approval. He’d been sure his family would love her, but the acceptance made something loosen in his chest, a tension he hadn’t even been aware of.

  “We have to go, baby.”

  “Why?”

  She straightened with a calm look on her face, but he’d felt her heart skip as she repressed the fear something else had happened. Smiling, he held his hand out, thrilled when she took it and let him pull her into the shelter of his shoulder.

  “You need to file a police report and let your boss know you’re okay before he files a missing persons report,” he said drily, still amused at the phone call he’d just received from his brother. “I’ll fill you in on the way.”

  Chapter Six

  Brax drove his SUV.

  “So?”

  “We’ll meet the police investigator at your office. The fire department investigator will meet us after that. ”

  “What the hell am I supposed to tell them? I can’t say someone is after me because I’m part of a superhuman race,” she said sarcastically and frowned at him. She radiated irritation and anxiety. He set his palm on the nape of her neck and squeezed gently. He’d meant to offer her comfort, but was surprised at the surge of tenderness he felt.

  “Brax?”

  He realized she was waiting for a response from him. “Both the investigators are Elect.”

  Her expression edged on suspicious. “How many people do you have working for the city?”

  “Too many to name right now. The police captain in charge of the detectives, though, is Aaron Lee.”

  He looked at her expectantly, knowing she’d guess and liking the game they were playing.

  “Your brother?”

  “Mmm.” He was distracted as he answered, weaving through a slow clump of cars.

  “Older or younger?”

  He laughed. “Younger. Be sure to rub that in, would you?”

  “Why would I do that? Or you?” she asked reprovingly.

  He took her hand and lifted her knuckles to his lips. “I call him an infant and he calls me an old man. It’s a joke, baby. We were born fifteen minutes apart.”

  “Twins.”

  “Yep.”

  “Are you close?”

  Close? That was an understatement. He’d expected Aaron to be pissed when he’d filled him in about the crime scene, because he hadn’t called earlier to tell him about Esme. But Aaron had already known. He’d understood his twin’s distraction, and Brax could hear the vaguest hint of jealousy and longing in his voice when they’d spoken.

  “We’re close,” he answered softly.

  Esme curled her fingers around his and squeezed. She changed the subject. “And the fire department? You have people there too?”

  He glanced at her and grinned. “We, baby. We have people there too.”

  She rolled her eyes and he felt the whatever whispering in her mind, but there was also the beginning of true acceptance. She knew what he wanted. Soon she’d believe in him enough to take it.

  “The fire department?”

  “There are several Elect in the police and fire departments, but the arson investigator assigned to your case is actually human,” he said, trying to control the regret he felt at her memory. “Mallory Littman.”

  Esme frowned again. “A relative of Zach’s? I thought he didn’t have any.”

  “No.” He paused. “Mallory is his wife. Her mother is human, but her father and brothers are Elect.”

  Maybe that information would make her curious enough not to ask him more about Zach and Mallory.

  “I had no idea Zach was married. He never mentioned it.”

  “And you shouldn’t either, baby. There’s too much pain there. They’ve been separated for years.”

  She fell silent, and he was afraid to ask what was on her mind. Afraid she was trying to find a way to leave him agai
n. Damn it. When would she admit this was something she couldn’t walk away from? He wasn’t shielding and she easily picked up his thoughts.

  “But Zach and his wife walked away, didn’t they, Brax? So why can’t we?”

  His hands convulsed on the steering wheel. “We aren’t them. More importantly, I’m not Zach,” he snapped.

  Zach had fucked up and everyone knew it. Hell, they’d all told him what a damned idiot he was, not that he seemed to care.

  “What does that mean? You aren’t Zach?”

  He glanced over at her, took in her curious, determined expression.

  “I’m not trying to change you, Esme.” The look she gave him wasn’t convinced, and he mentally reviewed every second he could remember since he’d first seen her. He wanted her. Wanted to possess her, wanted to love her. But… “I don’t want to change who you are,” he said firmly, hoping it was a promise he could stick to but aware of how deep his need to protect her was.

  “We’ll see,” she finally answered softly.

  They arrived a few minutes later and went upstairs to her lab. Several uniformed officers and a detective were moving around taking notes or photographs, and he saw one with a fingerprint kit. Brax didn’t stop to speak to them, though a couple nodded as they passed. He led her straight to what was left of her office, where his brother was waiting for them.

  “Dr. Esme Durand, this is my brother, Aaron. I’m not sure why he’s here, though. It’s a bit above his pay grade.” Brax had been expecting a property crimes detective, not the captain in charge of major crimes. He supervised; he didn’t investigate anymore. And he picked the thought up from Brax easily.

  Aaron grinned. “There’s nothing in the rule book that says I have to supervise from my office. Besides it’s easy enough to justify my checking up on things here. Dr. Durand is involved with you, and my bosses would prefer to keep the city’s movers and shakers happy. It’s all politics,” he added drily. “Of course, certain things won’t be in the official report.”

  Like the mysterious team of armed men who’d come looking for her the night Brax had sought her out.

  “That’s enough to involve your people instead of one of the district detectives?” He knew from talking to Aaron over the years that this should have gone to a district detective, not his team.

  “Yeah. Even if the fire wasn’t enough—and it is—we have the homicide.”

  Brax narrowed his eyes. “I don’t want her name linked to that.”

  Aaron shook his head. “It won’t be if we can help it.”

  “Aaron,” he said dangerously.

  “Don’t worry, old man, the fire’s enough.” He rubbed the back of his neck.

  “Someone want to fill me in?” Esme asked. She didn’t bother to hide the sarcasm, and Brax smothered a grin. Damn, he loved a woman with bite.

  “My unit works homicides, shootings, rapes. Violent crimes. There are other detectives, assigned to the patrol districts, who specialize in break-ins, car thefts, robberies, that kind of thing,” Aaron told her. “Normally we’d see a scene like this, in a medical research building, and suspect it was a random drug burglary. The fire at your house makes that unlikely, though. Not to mention the murder of Dr. Franklin.”

  She pressed her lips together as she looked over the destruction, distracted, but Brax felt the dismay and confusion she tried to bury. He moved his hand to rub her back, offering the only comfort he could right now. She settled a bit at his touch.

  “It doesn’t make any sense. None of my research requires the use of any drug.”

  He nodded, making a note in his little book. When he looked back up at them, he wore a carefully bland expression. “My understanding is some of the research done in this building is…sensitive. Either funded by private corporations or the government.”

  Brax went still inside. He’d considered it, of course, but there was nothing to indicate any of the researchers were doing anything dangerous. Esme laughed, but Brax knew it was faked.

  “You’ve been misinformed. My research isn’t earthshaking. I’m just trying to identify what genome does what. My colleagues…” She shrugged. “There are some whose fields might be co-opted for secret research, but I wouldn’t trust them to keep the secret. We don’t think that way, detective. We search out answers because we want to share them.”

  Aaron didn’t question her assertion, and Brax wouldn’t have either if he didn’t know what she’d left out. Most of her recent research focused on the Elect and she had no intention of sharing what she discovered.

  “Any particular reason you aren’t being forthcoming? ”

  He got the impression of a mental wince. “Sorry. I guess I’m just used to keeping this a secret. ”

  “It’s okay. He’s one of ours, remember? ”

  She sighed. “Most of my current work is with Elect DNA,” she said softly. “It’s not classified, but obviously I’m not sharing it with anyone.”

  Aaron gave her a gentle smile. “Brax filled me in.” He looked around the lab, took in the disarray, and sighed. “I don’t have any more questions at the moment, but we’ll need you to go through here and see if anything is missing.” He handed her a business card. “Let me know if there is. I’ll be coordinating with Mason,” he added.

  She nodded. “Of course. Thank you.”

  Nodding, he returned to the lab and joined his officers. Esme and Brax followed, and after a moment Aaron sent his men away and rejoined Brax. Brax turned to watch as Esme wandered around. She looked lost, and it made his heart hurt.

  “Baby, you can do this later,” he called out.

  She’d worked her way to the opposite side of the long room. She shook her head, kneeling to shift through the papers that had been pulled from her file cabinet. He turned back to his twin.

  “I want this fucker,” he snarled, low and mean, careful his voice didn’t carry to her. Aaron’s answering smile was just as malicious.

  “We’ll get him.” He paused. “She isn’t what I expected.”

  Brax snorted, trying to convey a lack of concern over his twin’s opinion, but his hackles rose anyway. “You don’t approve, brother?”

  Aaron elbowed him in the ribs. “How’d you get her is what I want to know. Smart, beautiful and stacked. Maybe she picked the wrong twin.”

  Brax growled. “It’s a good thing Mom likes you so much or you’d pay for that.”

  Aaron snorted. “Bring it on, old man. I can take you any day.”

  “Thankfully, that won’t be necessary,” Esme said. Brax hadn’t even noticed her approach. She watched them like two particularly perplexing samples under her microscope. But she couldn’t hide the lines of strain around her eyes, the haunted look in them. He held his hand out to her and drew her to the protection of his arm.

  “Let’s get out of here, angel.”

  “I need to start cleaning this mess up. I can’t work like this.”

  Like he was letting her come back here? There was a perfectly good lab at the compound. He hadn’t meant to share the thought, but it was too late now. She narrowed her eyes and tugged free.

  “I don’t work for you, Braxton. I have a job.”

  “I need to get going,” Aaron interrupted. “Call if you need me, bro.”

  He watched Aaron until shut the door behind him then turned to her. Her chin was tilted stubbornly in the air, her expression mutinous and ready to argue, but she’d let her shields slip a bit. She expected him to try to refuse her and was prepared to fight him over it. Fuck.

  “This place isn’t secure, Esme. It isn’t safe for you or your research, and you know it.”

  “Everything is destroyed,” she pointed out. “They won’t come back. And the college president assured me security is being increased.”

  Not to his satisfaction. There was no way the college could afford it. Unless they were to receive a very private endowment for just that purpose.

  “What are you thinking?” she asked suspiciously.

 
; “What do you mean?”

  “I can tell something is going through that sneaky little mind.”

  He stalked closer. She retreated until he had pinned against a long counter. Her eyes darkened, nostrils flared. He could scent the heat rising in her.

  “Now is not the time for this,” she whispered, her hands clutching in his shirt, nails digging through the material to his skin. Oh yeah. He liked that. Liked wearing her marks, the signs of her passion.

  “Not the time or place,” he agreed, dipping his head to nibble her neck.

  He released her reluctantly, but he didn’t give her room to get away from temptation. He had no escape; why should she? Hell, he didn’t want to escape. But he couldn’t have her miserable, couldn’t allow her to risk her safety if there was something he could do to add to it. Besides, he wanted to see her eyes light with happiness. Wanted her to know she was safe and protected without being smothered.

  And it wouldn’t just be her safety. He’d seen the interest in her eyes when Pop had talked about his genealogy project. Knew they both wanted to see what their combined efforts might reveal. Which meant the old man would be spending a fair amount of time here too.

  “I can build you a new lab inside the compound,” he offered.

  “You’re just determined to take over my life, aren’t you? No, Brax. I work here.”

  “Fine.” He rolled the possibilities over in his mind. “But not like this. Not like you have been.” She opened her mouth to protest. “No, baby. I will not compromise your safety. Don’t even think about it.” He sighed. “Besides, I have a feeling you’ll be seeing a lot of my grandfather. You can’t expect me to let him walk into danger no matter how determined you are to do it.”

  Okay, he was a little put out by her stubborn streak. He wanted to take the words back as soon as they were said, even before he felt her hurt and responding anger.

  “I didn’t ask for this,” she snapped.

  And that was the problem, wasn’t it? He had hoped, prayed for so many years for a woman of his own; he didn’t understand why she wasn’t just as eager.