The Perfect Ten Boxed Set

by Dianna Love

  That was an understatement. “Who was behind that event?”

  “We only have information from the survivors but from initial reports fae and Weres joined forces to stage the break-in. It’s hard to verify as most of the video cameras were destroyed,” Stone answered. “Or wiped clean by magic.”

  “But these still sound like isolated events,” I said, wanting to hide my head a little deeper in the sand, remembering Ling Mai’s words when she’d first recruited me. There were three ways to deal with the world of non-humans: ignore them and hope they go away, fight them directly, or seek to understand them so should the time come when humans and non-humans became aware of one another officially, hard choices could be made from a solid understanding.

  “The incidents could be isolated, but we’ve received intel from an operative deep undercover in a shifter colony in Europe that there are rumors circulating about one leader being the puppet master.”

  My oldest brother Van was stationed in Europe with NATO. Yeah, he was a shifter, but a lot of shifters and Weres worked for military organizations throughout the world. They could fit into the regimented hierarchy and structured environment easier than a lot of other career options.

  “That sounds like pretty vague intel,” I pointed out the obvious. “Any clue who the leader is? Or what species he is? Or even what he wants?”

  Stone shot a quick glance at Ling Mai who angled her head as she answered me. “Unfortunately our undercover man disappeared before he was able to send details.”

  “Sucks for him,” I whispered, knowing full well what wasn’t said. Some stranger had most likely given his life for his country. That would be the good news. A quick death versus being held captive by non-humans to extract every thought from his head before killing him.

  “Yeah, it does suck for him,” Stone said, his voice suddenly gentle.

  I glanced his way. With his military background, he, more than the rest of us, had to know what it meant to die far from home, with no blaze of glory or heroic flag waving. More often than not an unmarked grave, if there were enough pieces to gather together.

  But none of this really had anything to do with me. My being here or not, given what a mess I was at being a functioning witch, would not change what happened to the missing agent, or the upcoming battle between humans and non-humans. In fact, my being out of the line of fire was probably the best thing that could happen to the rest of the team, given Ling Mai’s acceptance of collateral damage.

  “Not my problem,” I said, straightening my shoulders and looking Ling Mai in her dark eyes. “Last thing anyone needs is a witch who can’t control her abilities. Can you see what would have happened if those echo-demons had escaped the gym yesterday? More human casualties not less.”

  “I’m afraid you’re wrong, Alex,” Stone said, keeping his gaze focused on his clasped hands.

  “Are you kidding? The size and power of those demons could have decimated dozens if not hundreds if they’d—”

  “Not what I’m talking about,” he interrupted.

  “Then what?” I spread my hands before me. “I’ve already killed once. I don’t want to use magic to take more lives, especially those of my teammates. My going or staying won’t make a difference to anyone.”

  “You’re wrong, Miss Noziak.” Ling Mai shot me that even, calm gaze that gave me the willies. “It will matter to one in particular.”

  “Who?” I flung the word out like a dare, not liking being kept in the dark.

  “Your brother,” Stone said, his words so low I had to shift toward him to catch them.

  “Which brother? Are you threatening one of them. . . “ my words trailed off at his shaking his head.

  Coldness started low in my belly and grew. I was proud though that I kept my voice steady as I started putting two and two together. “Which brother?”

  Ling Mai answered. “The missing operative—”

  “Van?” I whispered past a bone-dry throat.

  Ling Mai nodded.

  CHAPTER 5

  There are some times in your life that you can clearly point to a before and an after. Before you enter school and after. Before you have sex for the first time and after. Before I heard Ling Mai’s words and after.

  I couldn’t find anything to say. As if all thought had fled, all ability to speak, all ability to feel. Instead I focused on the mundane: the tick of a grandfather clock behind the closed hallway door, the subtle scent of Ling Mai’s jasmine perfume, Stone’s breathing in the chair next to me.

  Inside I screamed until I was hoarse. Not Van. Please, please, please not Van. Tears acid-etched my eyes. But Noziaks didn’t cry in public.

  I swallowed past the lump clogging my throat. “When. . .”

  “Two days ago,” Stone answered.

  “And no one told me?” Find a convenient punching bag. Stone was close, and he could take it.

  “We were, right after the demon summoning.”

  “Which I screwed up and ended up in the infirmary.” Crap times ten. I couldn’t even point the finger at someone else. I raised my head, spearing Ling Mai with a tell-me-and-tell-me-straight look Noziaks’ learned before they learned to crawl. “Is he alive?”

  “From everything that we know,” she replied, softening her words as if that would soften their blow.

  I slammed to my feet, grabbing the edge of the chair to keep from toppling. Stone was right beside me, his left hand steadying me, his expression harsh, but not for me. “We’re doing everything we can to find and bring him home,” he said.

  Did I believe him? Or trust him?

  “I want…I want…oh, hell.” I sank back into the chair, knowing full well I was the only one who really gave a damn if Van lived or died.

  So if he was to be saved, I was his best bet.

  “Where was he last sighted.” I was already planning how I could get from Maryland to Europe.

  But no one answered. I glanced at Stone, then Ling Mai, then back at Stone. I asked him, “What?”

  Ling Mai answered. “You cannot leave the compound or the agency, Miss Noziak.”

  “Except for prison,” said Stone,’ voice brittle as ice.

  I pressed back into my chair. Moments ago prison was exactly what I’d wanted. But now? Van needed help and I was jammed tighter than a bear in a badger’s hole.

  It was Ling Mai I faced. “You’d hold me to that agreement? Now?”

  “Yes.”

  How could one word gut a person?

  She continued, “This is not a personal decision, Miss Noziak; this is a pragmatic one. Our agreement was clear. A year as an IR agent or prison. You leave here and it will be to the PWCC.”

  Pocatello Women’s Correctional Center. Yeah, I knew that, but knowing and wanting it, now, was a world apart.

  “So you’d send me to prison rather than let me help Van. And what about him? If I choose PWCC?” My tone was bitter, scalding acid biting from deep inside me.

  Stone shrugged, a wealth of words unspoken but needing no translation. If I bailed, Van died for sure. If I stayed? What then?

  One small step away from prison and walking away from the only group that stood a chance going up against non-humans. And we sucked.

  I scrubbed my face with both hands before I spoke again. “If I stay, is there anything we can do?” I raised my head then, knowing I looked as desperate as I sounded. “Anything?”

  Ling Mai nodded and I’d have sold my soul for her, even as I loathed her with a hatred so deep it burned black within me. This woman didn’t care about me, or Van, or anyone. Pragmatic my ass. She was a lethal bitch and she held my life hostage. My life and Van’s.

  Van wasn’t just my older brother; he was my best friend. My protector. The one I could cry on when I missed the mother I barely knew. The one who would fight my battles for me until I got big enough and strong enough to fight my own. The one who explained to Dad why I was disappearing into a shadow world no one could speak about until my time was served. Or I died.


  Van was my hero and I felt so damned useless sitting here, trapped but still safe even if I was banged up, but only because of my own failures as a witch.

  Ling Mai cleared her throat. “We need what your brother knows. We also need your abilities.”

  Yeah, right.

  Stone added, “We won’t stop until we bring him home.”

  A smidge of unexpected compassion. I wanted to believe him, but my trust level was at an all-time low. But what choice did I have? Leave, knowing my actions doomed Van, or stay, and give him what small thread of hope I could.

  “I’ll stay,” I said, the words a vow and an oath. I could be as cold as Ling Mai. As long as her goal was to save Van, I’d do whatever it took, use whoever I had to.

  And if her goal changed? I’d cross that bridge when I got to it.

  Right then and there I wondered how human Ling Mai was. She had all the attributes of a vampire: cold, calculating, and without remorse, no matter whose life was on the line. If she was human, she was a sociopath. Bad news was, she was also my best chance to save Van.

  When I was sure my eyes were not tear-bright I lifted my head and asked, “What now?”

  Ling Mai cut a glance at Stone before answering. “We do have a single person assignment for you at this time.”

  “Van?” Hope fluttered like a trapped hawk within my breast.

  Stone shook his head. “You’re in no physical condition to go up against the types holding him.”

  The hawk died. “But—”

  “We’ll be sending your teammates to turn over some rocks.” His tone brooked no argument.

  “Turn over rocks? That’s pretty lame. We need mountains turned over, and now. If you won’t do it I will.”

  “Relax.” Stone raised one hand. “Just checking to see if demon-summoning Alex was on board or pussy-whipped Alex was still hanging around.”

  “Stick it where the sun doesn’t shine,” I snarled, earning a quick cant of Stone’s lips. The man was a sadist.

  It suddenly hit me, “Does my dad know?”

  Damn, it’d kill him if he did. He probably knew something was up, being a shaman with great abilities, but he’d learned over the years not to over react to what he could see through his shamanic sight. There was seeing, and then there was knowing.

  “He’s been informed that your brother’s missing but not the details surrounding the incident,” Stone said. “Or the danger.”

  Thank the Great Spirits for that. I’d have to get ahold of Dad as soon as I could or he’d be knocking down the doors of the compound looking for me to find Van, even if he didn’t know where I was. Dad was that good a shaman, and I didn’t need that complication.

  As for me? Whatever waste of time, for the good of the team assignment they stuck me on, didn’t mean that was all I had to do. If I was out of prison, and alive, I could help Van.

  Yup, Noziaks were bottom-line kind of thinkers and my bottom-line had become save Van. No matter what.

  CHAPTER 6

  Once Ling Mai and Stone believed that I was willing to toe the party line and be a good little, obedient IR recruit in training, or at least act like one, Stone left to round up the rest of the team. Those that were still ambulatory.

  I took my sweet time moving from Ling Mai’s office into what looked like a corporate boardroom. Not that we had all that many in Mud Lake, but once I’d been arrested for murder, I’d seen a number of these places while dealing with lawyers and judges and prosecutors out for blood.

  The agency’s boardroom was more upscale than any I’d seen in Idaho, but still focused on function, with a plasma screen console, comfy leather chairs so your butt felt better before it was hung out to dry, and enough hardwood to qualify as a museum of dead trees.

  Ling Mai didn’t chitchat with me. Not that she would normally, psychopaths didn’t do small talk, but the woman was smart enough to know that I’d probably go for her jugular today.

  It took a few minutes for the other recruits to shuffle in. Jaylene first, giving me a stink-eye look that bounced right off. After the morning I’d had, it’d take more than prissy glances to phase me.

  Kelly came next looking like I felt, ripped apart but still walking. “Oh Alex, I’m so, so sorry,” she said even before she was through the door. She walked right up to my chair as if heading for an execution.

  “Sorry for what?” I asked, backtracking to remember what I’d missed.

  “For. . .” She fluttered her hands. “You know. For disappearing on you. And everyone.” She cast a wary eye at Jaylene.

  I actually laughed. It was more bark than a happy sound, but I’d forgotten about the gym for a few moments. “Kelly, I was the one who called three bad-ass demons instead of one. I should be the one apologizing.”

  “Damn right,” Jaylene snarled.

  I flipped her off just as Vaughn walked into the room and caught the gesture. She rolled her eyes with a children-play-nice look that reduced Jaylene and me to playground brawlers.

  How’d she and Ling Mai do that with just a look?

  Kelly grabbed the chair nearest me, which I thought was very nice of her, given Jaylene had plopped herself down as far away as possible while still being in the same room. That could be my eau-du-demon-slime encrusted clothes reeking, or just her being her. Vaughn took a place opposite me but still within arm’s length. Which let me know where I stood.

  Kindergarten teacher Kelly wasn’t pissed at me, wary but more guilty for her own falling short, so she wasn’t busy casting stones. Team leader Vaughn was neutral, which fit her position and style. The lady might be a former debutante but she was also nine-tenths diplomat, a role her old man had held before he took over the CIA. Jaylene was definitely in the same camp as Mandy. The card carrying blame-Alex-for-screwing-up cadre.

  And these ladies were the ones I was to trust with my life for the next eleven months. Lucky me.

  But it wasn’t the next year I was thinking about right then. It was how soon could I find Van and would this team help or hinder me? If they hindered, they’d be under my bus.

  “Ladies.” Ling Mai brought us to order. “In spite of the fact you have not yet finished your official training program, due to the success you had on your last mission we’ve been asked to complete two limited but important operations.” Ling Mai’s smile was tight and on the small side. She did emotion on the level Jaylene did, zilch to grudgingly.

  “Non-human this time?” Jaylene asked, never one to shy away from plain speaking. If I didn’t think she was such a PIA I could admire that about her. But not today.

  Ling Mai’s smile dimmed. “Yes and no.”

  “You want to explain that?” Jaylene pressed.

  “Jaylene, you and Kelly along with Mr. Stone will be sent on a mission that will place you in contact with non-humans.”

  “Hurrah,” Jaylene murmured under her breath. But I couldn’t tell if it was sarcastic or not. Maybe echo-demon butt-kicking hadn’t been enough for her. Next to me I noticed Kelly went very still.

  Ling Mai continued in her precise, calm way. “At this time you’ll be fact-finding only. There will be no interception or interaction with the non-humans if possible. Your training is lacking at this point and we have no intention of throwing you into a world where the threats are very real and very lethal.”

  Yeah, right, like that couldn’t change in a heartbeat.

  We could all read between the lines. We’d barely survived a controlled environment with echo-demons intentionally summoned. Going nose-to-nose with Weres and vamps was a whole different game. And no soothing words such as “you’ll be fine,” or “I’m sure you can take care of yourselves” would change that fact.

  But damn it anyway. This was Van they were going after, what good was a bloody surveillance mission going to do? If he was being held by non-humans there had to be interaction with them to extract him.

  Interaction my ass. I’d show them interaction. Get me anywhere near him and I’d interact unti
l there wasn’t a live body left, human or non-human.

  I glanced beside me where Kelly folded her hands demurely in her lap, but I noted the white knuckles. That same tension knotted my muscles, still so sore I could barely sit.

  “We’ll have Stone with us though,” Jaylene clarified, always watching out for number one, herself.

  “Yes.” Ling Mai angled her head. “But before we get to the recon assignment we have another mission that needs our attention.”

  No doubt Kelly could do the same rap-on-the-knuckles, pay-attention-class tone as the director. Eye and tone communication—I needed to get me some of that mojo.

  Exhaustion was making me punch drunk, even though I hadn’t been out of the infirmary bed that long. But pain and exhaustion weren’t holding the images pounding through my head at bay. Van alone at the hands of monsters. Torture. A slow, painful death as the best option.

  Let’s move this meeting along so we could get to the part where I did something, as much as I could with banged-up ribs and a body full of bruises.

  Was I ready to jump into more of this get-the-crap-beat-out-of-us-again so soon? For Van’s sake? Yeah, in a heartbeat.

  Ling Mai was already passing around a packet of op folders before returning to her desk and activating the HD 3-D visual screen in front of us.

  Ready or not.

  As the screen image materialized into a three-dimensional reality the folder stayed closed on my lap and my breath jammed in my throat.

  Talk about a one–two punch. I even forgot about my ribs long enough to suck in a breath.

  “Hum-a-hum-a,” Jaylene whispered, followed by a low whistle. Even shy Kelly gave a yum-yum grin.

  I simply stared, my mouth dry, my pulse not as steady as seconds ago.

  The man on the screen looked like a cross between a Halleluiah prayer answered and one’s best wet dream. Thick dark hair, killer sky-blue eyes, cheekbones that made my own Shoshone facial structure look flat.

  Danger. Seduction. And trouble with a capital “T.” Woman trouble.

  “Who’s the hunk?” Jaylene asked. “He fae? Or a fallen angel?”