When her dad nudged her shoulder to pay attention, Ryleigh was embarrassed. Thank God Dragon’s couldn’t read minds.
The eye-catching woman, Ryleigh, spoke and her sultry, smoky voice did nothing to help Jacks condition. “No problem. Dad is sometimes a bit dramatic,” she joked patting Senior on the chest.
Wow, that got a look from the ever-stoic man. Holy crap, this woman was insane, Jacks thought. She just laughed and called the most dangerous man in the room dramatic. He looked around the room and the others guys had the same puzzled looks on their faces.
What next? Maybe she wasn’t as meek or nervous as he initially thought. All Jacks could do was stare at the woman. He thought she might disappear at any moment. No way could she be real. Hot, sassy, and stacked, that was Jacks’ lethal combination. Milo had already saved Jacks from participating once with his questions and he did so a second time.
“Ma’am, Senior, could you please elaborate on the situation here?” Milo asked. “As it stands, I don’t think I’m alone in wondering why we’re working a case that is well on its way to being solved,” Milo said, indicating the dry erase board. Then looking directly at Senior, he added, “And once you’re done addressing that question, can you also explain why you’re pairing up the NAC and the Holly Group. Has the Holly Group helped NAC in other ventures? Is the NAC really a front for The Holly Group? Should we be looking for other jobs?” Milo laughed without the humor reaching his eyes, “Maybe we’re the ghost group.”
The Boy Next Door Badass got up from his seat and walked over to the coffee maker and said, “I agree with Milo. Why keep any of this from us? We would have welcomed the help. We all have the same goal. Why keep us in the dark? More importantly, why waste our time with paperwork when we could have been back with our teams working other cases?” he said, turning around and leaning against the coffee station. “This isn’t what I signed up for, you guaranteed full disclosure, and now we are getting all of this?” He gestured to Ryleigh. “What is the game here exactly?”
“Watch yourself, Carter,” Senior snapped.
Ah, so this was Carter Shadow, Ryleigh thought. She wished she could tell what his Shifter animal was. If she had to guess, this man was a feline of some sort. He moved with a grace that reminded her of a cat, but he could very well be a wombat. She really should have discussed this with her Dad more. Speaking of her Dad, his booming voice quickly brought her out of her flight of fancy.
“I run this agency and you better not forget it, or you will find yourself on that unemployment line Milo was talking about. Get me!” Senior said in his best CO’s voice.
Dang-it, Ryleigh thought, she needed to get her crap together and move this along. She had only been in the room for five minutes and the situation was already unraveling. She knew the men would have questions, and she was prepared to answer them. However, she wasn’t prepared for the heat her Dad was getting barely five minutes in. What the hell were these guys going to do when they got to the awful stuff?
“No, it’s okay. I understand where Milo and Carter are coming from,” Ryleigh said, placing her hand on her dad’s forearm. She added a little squeeze, hoping to calm him. She needed to get to know these men without alienating them. If what she and her Dad planned was going to work, they all needed to work together. Her Dad had their respect and loyalty. Ryleigh would have to earn it. She needed to play this close to the vest. She wouldn’t be happy in their position either, but she also wouldn’t allow her Dad to play the fall guy in this either.
Ryleigh was still standing at the door and really wanted to sit down, but wasn’t it supposed to be chivalrous to offer a lady a seat? Guess not when you’re in a room filled with pissed off Shifters. “I realize that you all have questions. I’m here to share what I know. I know that I don’t need to remind any of you,” Ryleigh said, briefly looking at all the men, “but these proceedings are subject to the confidentiality agreement you signed with NAC.” She jumped when a few of the guys growled loudly at her statement.
“Who do you think you are?” Businessman Badass asked.
Ryleigh was going to refer to the man as BB because the other was too much of a mouthful. The previously reclined man was now sitting straight as an arrow in his chair.
“We’ve been working with Senior and NAC in some form for years. All of us at this table.” Pointing at Ryleigh, BB said, “You are the unknown here. We’ve proven our loyalty through blood, sweat, and fucking tears, little girl, what have you done? What gives her the right to come in here and demand we follow the confidentiality agreement?” BB wasn’t looking at her but rather at Senior.
Ryleigh didn’t give her Dad a chance to reply.
“Listen, I get where you are coming from, but please hear me out,” she said, lifting her hands in a placating movement. “You’re right, I don’t have your history, but my team and I do have the same goals and aspirations. You have to understand my position here. I don’t know you any better than you know me, but I am trusting Senior, my Dad, and his assertions that you are all good and honorable men. I would hope that you would do the same for me. Yes, I am his daughter, but I am also a colleague. Please understand the information I’m about to give is personal as well as professional. I don’t think any of you would respect me or what I have to say if I just blindly blurted it out.”
Ryleigh didn’t expect the world, but when BB put his hands up in the air like he was saying I give up, still not making eye contact with her, she was starting to get mad. She didn’t owe these people anything and if they couldn’t even muster enough respect to treat her as a colleague or even a person then what the hell were they going to do when she got to the really tough stuff?
Chapter 8
“You’ve heard of the Holly Group, that much has already been determined,” she continued, deciding to be the bigger person and continue as if her treatment meant nothing. “We, like you all, are committed to helping women and children out of dangerous situations. One of the many things you don’t know is the reason. Every member of my team has suffered some of the same atrocities as the people that we’ve vowed to protect. Another thing that is unique about The Holly Group is that we are all female. For safety, we keep that information and our whereabouts secret. I hope you can see that is why I must insist the confidentiality agreement is upheld. I am letting you in, telling you our secrets.”
Several of the men grumbled and growled. Ryleigh was even pretty sure she heard a hiss in there somewhere. How weird. Jacks knew the others didn’t like what they heard any more than he did. In their culture, females were cherished, even coveted. Thinking of a group of women putting themselves in danger didn’t sit well with him, and the fact that Senior allowed it with his daughter didn’t jive. Shifters considered it the male’s obligation to protect. The female’s role was hearth and home. Even he knew that idea was antiquated, but it was what he had been raised to believe. The idea that these women were putting themselves in harm’s way was distasteful.
“Our track record speaks for itself. We’ve never suffered a casualty. We have also been trained in the same fashion as many of you.” Ryleigh had felt the Alpha vibes before, but she hadn’t known what they really were. Being in a room with seven Alpha’s was like putting your head in a vise and squeezing tight. If she didn’t get a seat soon, she would probably fall to her knees, but she couldn’t resist a slight jab. “And before you get your panties in a twist, only a few of us go out in the field. We are not stupid, gentlemen, just motivated.” Her frankness made the men uneasy, but she no longer cared. Walking forward she finally took a seat. If they weren’t going to offer, she was just going to take it. To her relief, none of them seemed to mind, and her Dad followed suit taking the seat at the head of the table.
“When past missions have required a more physical touch, we called on the talents of more aggressive agencies. We’re not trying to prove any feminist points here, gentleman. We are keenly aware of our skill sets and work within those parameters. We don’t have the mi
litary training NAC has and don’t strive to be a paramilitary force, either. Mainly, those missions have gone to NAC. Bravo team supported one of our cases last month. I want to thank you personally, Kayden.” Ryleigh looked around the room. Her Dad had given her a brief description of the men in the room before the meeting started. Kayden was one of the men she actually knew a particular physical attribute for, purple eyes, and there he was, Biker Badass. Ryleigh looked to the man she hoped was Kayden Walker. “Your team handled that mission quickly, professionally, and discreetly. I appreciate your efforts. Those men were legitimate monsters.”
“Just doing our job, Ma’am,” Kayden replied. “I knew there was something different about that mission. Everything was laid out for us. All we had to do was recover the victims and apprehend the perps. I don’t think we’ve ever had a case go so smoothly.”
“I’ll let Mia know you appreciated her preparation and planning,” Ryleigh chuckled.
“Mia, huh? Well, Bravo was happy to be of service,” Kayden added.
Yeah, Biker Badass was a bit cocky and a little smug, but she got the sense that he was a kind man, well, Shifter.
“Well, that is one of the reasons we are here today,” Ryleigh continued. “I realize that none of you has a reason to trust my group or me, but know that my Dad, Senior, has vetted everything I’m about to tell you. As he said previously, Cassie Larson was taken from her hotel room on June 10th around midnight. The perps obtained the key to her hotel room from her friend Jenny, who was beaten and sexually assaulted, then left to die in a custodial closet at the hotel.”
“Jenny was discovered by the hotel staff early the next morning. Although she was still conscious, a broken jaw prevented her from successfully communicating with the staff or paramedics. A search for her identity and room was launched immediately. She had been stripped of all identification and personal belongings.”
“While in route to the hospital, she repeatedly tried to communicate with the paramedics using sign language. One of the paramedics recognized what she was trying to do and called ahead for an interpreter to be waiting upon arrival. Before being rushed into surgery, she was able to tell the interpreter about herself and what happened to Cassie. Unfortunately, Jenny did not survive her injuries.” God, Ryleigh felt for both girls. Jenny had been through so much, but stilled tried her hardest to help her friend. She wished that she could have saved the girl and hoped she would be able to save Cassie.
“Police were dispatched immediately to Cassie’s hotel room, but found nothing. There were no signs of forced entry because, as we now know, the perps had the room key. But what’s puzzling is Cassie disappeared after midnight and the room appeared to be untouched. The bed was made. There was no sign of a struggle. Hotel security tapes were inconveniently down for maintenance between midnight and 4 am.”
“As you’ve noticed, we’re not following standard protocol in this case,” Senior addressed the group. “Normally, we would have boots on the group, a logistics team set up and or hackers going at it, but this case is different. Cassie Larson has something in common on a genetic level with everyone standing in this room. She has shifter DNA.”
You could hear a pin drop. All six men looked stunned and were apparently speechless, at least it appeared that way for all of thirty seconds. The first thing Ryleigh noticed was the neon glow in all of their eyes. The next was their skin seemed to be stretching becoming tighter almost like it was unable to contain the being beneath it. The quiet was eerie and the air was thick, triggering her fight-or-flight instinct. She desperately wanted to run from the room. Placing her hands on the conference room table, Ryleigh was prepared to push her chair back and do just that, but her Dad put his over hers, silently asking her to wait.
“Wait a minute!” Solider badass broke the silence. “Males alone carry the shifter trait. Shifters are incapable of producing female offspring. That’s been the case for generations.” He looked around the room asking the others if they knew differently. For one thing, except for a few well-placed military leaders, they thought the existence of Shifters was unknown by the outside world. For the other, so far as they all knew, female Shifters did not exist. When no one spoke, he turned his chair to face Senior.
“What the fuck, man? Who else knows about us? Since when is it fucking A-Okay to let an outsider know what we are, let alone a whole fucking group of them. If just one of her people fucks up, we’re screwed,” Jacks hissed.
Solider Badass was maintaining himself barely. His tone was hostile, but he stayed seated, although stiffly. His hands were clutching the armrest of his chair so tightly that Ryleigh was pretty sure they would break off soon. He was also breathing really hard, almost like he was forcing his body to act unnaturally.
Her dad didn’t fare as well. He vaulted from his chair and pointed at Solider Badass.
“You’d better check yourself, Jacks! Ryleigh is my daughter, not an outsider,” he stated vehemently. “She has as much at risk and at stake as any of us. And she has paid a higher price than you for that knowledge, asshole!” Senior exploded.
So, Solider Badass was Jackson Thorp. Good to know, Ryleigh thought. She wished that she had thought to ask which alpha went to which team. This dude didn’t seem feline or even wolf-like, he seemed bigger and badder. She knew he wasn’t a dragon. He also didn’t seem like he had feathers or scales, at least that was what she was assuming. She really couldn’t put the finger on his animal, but something in her really wanted to know. There was something about him. Something that drew her like an invisible thread, made her want to protect him, but that didn’t make any sense. This man didn’t need anyone to defend him. He wasn’t helpless, he was formidable. So why did she have these feelings? Why did she know that, without a shadow of a doubt, she would place herself in front of him if he were in danger? Even if that threat came from her Dad. It didn’t make sense. She wanted, no needed, him to be safe.
“Listen, I know this is all coming out of left field, but please, if you let me continue it will all become a little clearer,” she pleaded with Jackson. It puzzled her that she couldn’t seem to make direct eye contact with the man, like it was too much too soon or she would get sucked in. She focused most of her attention on his nose or forehead when he was looking at her, but when he turned away her eyes were instantly drawn to him. She needed to see his reactions.
When he nodded to her slightly, like he was encouraged her to continue, she wanted to preen. She had never wanted to preen before in her life. This man, no, Shifter, was affecting her as she had never been before. When he graced her with his full attention, good or bad, her heart would flutter, and her palms would become sweaty. She also felt other things she wasn’t quite ready to examine. Jackson Thorp mattered to her. Nodding back, Ryleigh continued her story without a single stutter. She was so unnerved that she was amazed that she was able to keep some type of professionalism.
“I was created in a test tube 28 years ago, by a man by the name of Dr. Albright Franklin of the Pandora Group. My biological donors,” Ryleigh shook her head, “I call them the Incubators, are rich, eccentric people. They collect stuff: artwork, antiques, trophies… you name it. When the Pandora group approached them about creating a child who could Shift, the Incubators jumped at the chance. They used their wealth and influence to secure first rights. A Shifter child would be the crown jewel of their many collections. You have to understand, I am not the only made-to-order child.”
“What the ever-loving fuck!” This time Solider Badass didn’t stay in his seat. He vaulted out and started to pace. Ryleigh wanted to go to him, but knew it was a bad idea, he needed to get himself under control, it wasn’t her job.
Senior stated, “Jacks?” But Solider Badass just waved him off. Ryleigh expected more talk, but Senior motioned her on. Maybe that one word and gesture was guy speak for something. She had no idea.
“The Pandora Group and Dr. Franklin allowed my Incubators to order me up like a good steak dinner. My hair and eye color, c
omplexion, stature, and gender were pre-determined. They discussed at length what animal I should become. I was supposed to be the first boutique, made-to-order baby/pet, if you like.”
Ryleigh hated thinking about her past. The Incubators had never wanted a child, they wanted a trophy to display when convenient to do so. The thought choked her up. She turned her head, so the men in the room would not see her in a moment of weakness. Thankfully, her Dad noticed and took over.
“As some of you know, I caught wind of Ryleigh’s situation while still in service. I had heard that she was a math prodigy and that they were using her for those abilities. Her living conditions were deplorable. I had also heard the rumors about designer babies with animal DNA. It was determined that I needed to check the situation out. At the time, I was not aware of the experiments or Pandora and Dr. Franklin's involvement in the case. My mission was a fact-finding one, but as you can see it became much more. When Ryleigh came to live with me, she did not show any signs of Shifter abilities or traits. I couldn’t get her tested at the time and over the years deemed it unnecessary,” Declan didn’t like the bitter taste those words left in his mouth.
Ryleigh had been watching Solider Badass, no, Jacks, out of the corner of her eye and was happy to see he had stopped his pacing and returned to his seat. He still looked stiff and uncomfortable, but the pacing seemed to have helped in some small way. She had the urge to soothe him, her hand even moved on the table towards his direction, but she quickly stopped the movement.
“Thanks,” Ryleigh said to her father after she composed herself. “Just to give you a little background, the Incubators got a little more and a little less than what they expected. I had the physical attributes they chosen, and as a bonus, I soon began earning my keep. I was able to talk by the age of five months. By one, I was reading and writing. By the age of two, I was tracking advanced patterns. One of the scientists decided to check my skills with card games, betting pools, and then eventually, the stock market. However, I could not shift. They didn’t want a daughter; they already had a son who was being raised by nannies. What they really wanted out of the deal was a glamour pet, something no one else had.”
NAC & The Holly Group - Box set: Alpha Team Page 6
