by Amber Lynn
“Well, we might as well make this a full family outing. The sun is setting so I don’t think anyone will get burned. With him in tow,” Alex says gesturing towards Clyde, “I don’t think there will be any issues of security, but I like the idea of us all being there. Hellhounds in this realm are unheard of, unless they are snatching a soul, so people are going to wonder about us having a demon somewhere in our back pocket.”
“Would it be okay if I sit this one out?” Smitty asks. “I haven’t fed for a couple of days with everything that is going on, and being in dusk level light doesn’t appeal to me at the moment.”
“Of course,” Sebastian says turning towards Marcus with a questioning glare.
“I am with you, my liege.” Being spared his life has really turned Marcus into a little puppet. I am going to have to work on him.
“Great. Let’s go,” I announce dragging my pet past the guys towards the elevator. Clyde gives a little growl to everyone he passes to assert his place in the hierarchy. Sadly, the little fellow is a bit confused on his size.
We get down to the ground level and I am not sure where to go. Clyde seems to have it figured out and he drags me along with beaus and guards following close behind.
While he leads us around, I decide it would probably be a good idea to have a silent talk with Alex about Ben’s idea for relinking me and Sebby.
“Not really much to say about it,” Alex says picking up on my thought.
“It is something I am going to have to do. As much as I love him, I cannot be around him all day, every day,” I reply.
”Exactly, there isn’t anything I can do about it and I told you before that I know you guys will be sleeping together at some point. Might as well get something good out of the deal. It really isn’t that big of a thing. We all knew going into this thing there were three of us involved. I don’t think you would be up to having us both in the bedroom with you at one time, so one-on-one time is expected.”
From the way he is rambling, I know he isn’t as cool about the situation as he is trying to play. He is right, though, we knew this would eventually happen. I didn’t expect to live forever still as intact as the day I was born. I just thought it would be something that came a little more naturally.
During feedings and playtime, me and Sebastian have gotten close to taking it to the next level. Maybe we can try to reenact one of those moments. I imagine Sebby is experienced enough to make the task pleasant. I hope that we can find a romantic moment and take care of business.
Clyde finally stops tugging and lifts his little leg, having found probably the only tree in a ten-mile radius.
“Good boy, Clyde. Who is mama’s good boy?” I ask leaning down to pet his head.
“Where is my camera?” Jake asks. That garners a middle finger on my part. If he doesn’t stop running his mouth, I am going to sic Clyde on him.
“Now children, that’s enough,” Jonas adds. “I think we have probably gotten enough stares for one day. Why don’t we get back so we can go to that meeting we had scheduled?”
I guess I was too busy being dragged around and talking with Alex, I didn’t even notice any other people about. Looking up now, I see a lot of gawking going on.
That is definitely our cue to head back. I quicken my pace and everyone follows. I can see walking Clyde twice a day is going to be loads of fun.
Chapter 6
Back in the thick of things
Back at the compound, Alex gives me a quick kiss and tells me to be safe, then heads off to wherever he goes when he isn’t around me.
“Well, it seems I have the night off, so I am off to have a little fun,” Jake says before jumping into his personal vehicle and peeling out of the parking garage. Lord, I don’t want to know what that boy does with his time off. It would be another one of those moments when I have to wash my brain.
“I guess he doesn’t like us as much as I thought he did,” I say looking down at Clyde. “Do we have a kennel or something for him? I don’t really want him running free around the apartment.”
“The only place we could store him that he wouldn’t wreck is the dungeon and I doubt you will allow that,” Sebastian says.
“No. That seems a little extreme and he is just a baby. I guess he will have to go with us. Will that be a problem?” I ask.
“If you can keep him quiet, he should be fine. Jonas did you happen to get that sweep done today?” Sebastian asks.
“We are good. No trackers or listening devices on the vehicle. We should probably get going, though. I have a feeling things are going to be a little hairy,” he replies.
One of these days, they are going to start speaking English. Until then, they should at least provide me with a dictionary so I can try to keep up.
They lead me over to a black old school Chevy. It says Impala on it, but it isn’t a year I am familiar with. Sebastian opens the passenger door for me. I climb in and settle Clyde onto my lap. The guards fill the backseat and Sebby climbs behind the wheel.
“So, are you going to clue me in on this mission?” I ask as Sebastian puts it in reverse to start our little adventure.
He reaches under the steering wheel and flips a switch. I see no effect, but for all I know it could have set off an atomic bomb in D.C. After my recent trip there, I wouldn’t mind seeing it fall off the face of the earth.
“It just ensures our conversation stays between us. You know very well it is a feature built into all of our vehicles,” he says reading the question in my eyes. “We aren’t really going to a meeting, per se. We are carrying out the assassination we wanted to send you on. Any one of us could do it, but the mark is going to be a little bit tricky.”
“So, who is the guy?” I ask excited that I am going to see action.
“The mark lacks the proper equipment to be considered a guy. Jonas has told us you are familiar with Jake having a girlfriend. What he hasn’t told you is that she is a Collective agent.”
“That son of a bitch!” I shout causing Clyde to jump to attention. “That little punk is our rat?” Clyde seeing there isn’t a threat settles back down, but keeps alert. Any second now, he looks to expect the boogieman to jump out.
“No one said that, but the girl is a threat and she has past sins to pay for,” Jonas says from the back. I turn around wondering if he is referring to his brother’s death. He shakes his head to let me know it isn’t personal for him.
I should have known. The Collective didn’t have any other official, meaning actually making it through training, female assassins. Jonas’ brother died, from what I can gather, a while ago so there is no way she could have been involved.
“What complications are we going to run into? You mentioned things being tricky.”
“We are pretty sure we know where Jake ran off to in a hurry. He will have his chance to defend himself. Hopefully, he doesn’t stand in our way before he gets that chance. He has been spending time with her every time he has a break, so the relationship may be serious,” Sebastian informs me.
Oh Jake. What has he gotten himself into? As annoying as he is, I would really rather not have to shoot him.
Accepting that I will have to do what has to be done, I ask, “What are the specifics?”
“I believe you are familiar with the target. You even pretended to be her when you broke into the Collective earlier this month. She goes by many aliases, but we consider her to be Julie Richards. She has been in the Collective as long as you and once they lost their favorite female assassin they started grooming her. She has been on two single missions, so far, and they were both against resistance targets. One got away, the other was not so lucky.” Well, at least the target tonight isn’t someone I like. As far as Collective agents go, there probably aren’t many that I would have a problem killing.
“We are heading to her offsite residence. It is where her and Jake have been having their little rendezvous. We don’t know what happens, but even if she isn’t gathering information during their times toget
her, we want her dealt with. You can take the lead, but we are all going in for backup, especially with Jake being on the scene.”
As Sebastian finishes his explanation, I glance down and realize I am in my boy shorts and tank. I didn’t even put on a weapon. Killing a wolf with my bare hands is probably a bit much, even for me.
I cannot believe I went out with no weapons. My brain must still be mushy. Why no one else said anything is beyond me. Of course, Sebastian never did get around to putting on a top, so I guess we were both distracted.
“Does this car happen to have any weapons in it? You may have noticed I am lacking a little in that department.”
“I am sure the trunk is loaded with anything you could want, but Marcus does have your holster and guns. We all know how naked you feel without something. You have your own personal little flamethrower in your lap, too,” Sebastian points out.
Too bad I cannot control how that flame is used. “Thanks Marcus,” I say glancing back at him. He nods his head in acknowledgment.
“The chick isn’t going to live through the night, but what do you want to do with Jake if he makes an appearance?” I ask.
“As I alluded to, that depends on his actions. We need him alive to find out what she knows. I doubt she will just tell us everything she has passed on to her superiors. Especially since, she will most likely be staring down your gun barrel.”
No, I don’t think she will give us much. Even as a female, the Collective will have taught her to keep her mouth shut. They have some very not fun techniques to drill the procedure into their agents.
Sebastian pulls off on a noisy, industrial street and stops the car. “We are going to walk in from here. The car makes too much noise.”
When we get out, Marcus hands me my guns. Unsure what to do with Clyde’s leash, I set it on the ground next to him. “You stay right there,” I command him.
I quickly put my holster on and check the rounds to make sure everything is set. I still feel pretty naked in a literal sense of the word. “Can I check out the trunk?” I ask wanting to make up for showing too much skin.
Sebastian moves to unlock it. I don’t see any weapons on him, but he really doesn’t need anything. He could run circles around Julie and while she is busy trying to figure out which way is up, he is able to just rip her head from her shoulders. Maybe a little gruesome, but it would get the job done.
“These might make you feel better,” he says lifting out a pair of one of my usual pants and a pair of boots.
I look down and just now notice my feet are bare. What the fuck? I grab the items and set the boots down while I wiggle into the pants. My boy shorts won’t cause any problems underneath them, so I don’t bother taking them off.
I settle on the ground next to Clyde and put on the socks that are tucked into the boots and then the boots themselves. Clyde seems to like untying my shoelaces a whole lot, so it takes me a few tries to get the job done.
I am still showing my arms, but this is a lot better. Clyde seems to be fine just hanging out so I leave his leash and look into the trunk for some more artillery. I find a machete I like and strap it to my back and then add a boot knife for giggles.
Feeling more prepared for the mission, I look over to the guys. Sebastian has found himself a shirt. He doesn’t bother buttoning the front, but I can see the faint lines of some wrist sheaths that he is probably trying to cover.
Jonas and Marcus don’t look like they have changed anything, but being guards I think they are always prepared and armed.
“Who is leading the way?” I ask. “You said we are walking on foot to the location, right?”
“Yes. It is a couple miles out. I don’t think she has the place wired, so we shouldn’t have to worry about any cameras or booby traps. From the recon missions, we have learned she thinks a little too highly of herself,” Jonas relays. In my experience, all Collective agents think a little too highly of themselves, including me when I was one.
I pick up Clyde’s lead and motion for them to guide the way. We operate in silence, not wanting to alert the target. This assassination by team is really odd for me. I am used to doing all the recon work and killing myself. I don’t know that I like having to keep my eyes on others when I am trying to focus on the kill.
As we get closer to our final destination, I can start to pick up Jake’s scent. I guess he really did head straight to her. When the smell starts getting really strong, I am able to pick up audible on what is going on in the house.
“Oh yeah, oh yeah right there,” a woman says moaning. It is followed by male grunting.
Somehow, this is actually a first for me. I haven’t interrupted someone in the act and I don’t really want to start now. I don’t expect they would be all that willing to talk if they were denied completion.
I look over to Sebastian, who in turn is looking to me for directions. Wait, I mouth to him and he nods. I hope that they have either been at it for a while or they are quick in general.
Other than some panting, they stay pretty quiet for the next couple minutes and I hope that indicates they are both coming down from their finishing point. That thought is blown away when a female wail rents the air followed closely by another long male grunt.
That has to mean it is over, right?
“Thanks babe, that was great. I am going to take off,” I hear Jake say.
“Can’t you stay? You are always leaving afterward,” I hear the girl whine. God does she sound pathetic.
“I have a feeling I am going to have some work to do tonight. The sooner I can get it done, the sooner I can potentially make it back to you,” the prick tells her.
“If you leave now, I may not be all that welcoming when you come back,” the bitch claims. Prick, bitch, my vocabulary knows no bounds tonight.
“I think you need my cock, more than I need you, so we’ll see just how welcoming you get if I decide to not show up for a couple weeks,” Jake says coolly. I hear some doors open and see him jog out of the house and down the street away from us. I don't see his car around so he must be heading for it.
Maybe he isn’t all that into her and won’t be an issue. He has at least removed himself from the scene. I don't foresee him jumping in front of a bullet to save her.
Once he is out of range, I motion to the guys and give Clyde a little tug on his leash. It's time to get this party started.
Chapter 7
My new favorite bullet
We don't hear any more movement as we head towards the house. As we get closer, we can make out a female voice muttering nonsense. It seems she really is upset about Jake leaving her.
I almost wish Jake had stuck around. I have a lot of things I would like to say to the boy and me stewing about them are just going to make them less coherent. Maybe I can get Alex to write them down while I think them. I am always looking for a way to make the telepathy thing useful.
At the side door, the front would be way too obvious, I test to see whether it is locked and feel the knob turn freely. Wow, she really is a dumb bitch. Really, what assassin trained worth even half a damn just leaves their doors open?
I open the door and we make our way in. I have my Beretta out and ready. It doesn't take long to find the bedroom Julie is currently passed out in. Seriously, this is what the Collective is training these days. Maybe it is a good thing I left when I did. I sure as Hell wouldn’t have put up with this laziness.
The room itself is sparsely decorated, as was the rest of the house when we walked through. It is basically just the bed in here. Maybe she hasn't had time to make her love nest feel like home.
“Hey Julie,” I say trying to wake her up. I never take a life where I am not able to look into their eyes while I am doing it. It’s a general rule and tonight isn’t going to be the first time I break it. I move further into the room and the guys follow.
“Hey Julie,” I repeat giving her a little nudge with my gun. Collective agents are taught not to fall asleep on the job. If they could see he
r now, I bet they would do the killing for me.
She stirs a bit and tries to focus as she opens her eyes. “What? Oh it's you. What are you doing here and why are you dragging around a shrunken hippopotamus?” She focuses on the ground and then the other people in the room.
Oh no she didn't just offend my little guy. Clyde doesn't care for the remark either because he starts growling and lunging towards the bed. I tug on the rope to get him to calm down.
“Do you think you could get out of bed, or at least sit up, so we can have a little conversation?” I ask the still prone woman. I am happy she managed to get under the covers. I don’t expect her to be wearing a lot in the clothing department.
She manages to sit up a little bit, moaning as she moves. “Too tired,” she whispers finally sitting up. Man, Jake must have really given her a workout. I didn't know this level of exhaustion was possible from a little romp in the bed. If I wasn’t pissed at him, I might actually offer him congratulations on a job well done.
Now that she is up, though still not coherent, I want to get on with this, but before I get a chance to try to ask a question, I hear a shot followed by witnessing Julie's head explode. Well, that takes away my interrogation.
I spin towards the perpetrator, and find Jake standing in the doorway. My gun focuses on him. “You better start explaining yourself,” I demand not too happy at all that I won’t get my chance to kill anyone tonight.
“That was why you guys came over tonight, right? You got tired of her trying to take out our guys. She wasn't going to be able to tell you anything. The drug I slipped her was going to keep her asleep for at least four hours. You couldn't have parked too close, so I just saved you dragging her for miles,” he says lowering his gun and giving his usual annoying grin.
“You seem pretty happy for yourself, being a traitor and all,” I tell him refusing to lower my weapon. The rest of the guys are just letting me run the show. Good move by them. I was set to kill someone tonight and since it looks like the program has changed, no one wants to get in the way of this crazy.
