Brandi

by Donna McDonald

  Brandi shrugged. “Maybe. I think I’ve worked with just about every department here at least once.”

  “No. You’ve never worked with this one,” Lane said quietly, but firmly. “This department is different. No one knows what they do—not even me. Yet ironically, they were the ones behind wanting to send an experienced field agent to investigate the wolf abductions. Your need for a break made you the right choice in case things got crazy—which they obviously did.”

  “Wait. You sent me into that crazy shit blind and let it crash on me? If you would have told me what you were after, I might have taken different precautions,” Brandi exclaimed, her gaze raking Lane’s toned body. It was funny how sexual attraction never could make up for a man being an outright ass.

  “It wasn’t my choice. Orders were to let you observe what was there to see. The only survivors found after the explosion were two confused lab technicians. Both vaguely remembered seeing you and two other women just before the place blew. We found a record of your vehicle accident, but no body was found among the charred metal. There were no traces of the two other women either. One of them was a scientist on Feldspar’s payroll—probably your wolf rescuer. We don’t have much on the other female. Our assumption is both burned to death and their remains were removed by whoever Feldspar paid to do cleanup. What we still don’t know is why such extreme measures were taken to destroy all evidence at the building site.”

  “I wondered that myself. I didn’t find a glass beaker shard, a piece of metal cage, or anything of value where the building used to be. I also checked the wooded area surrounding the place. There were a few emptied shell casings… nothing more.”

  “But you got away.”

  Brandi shrugged. “Sure. You know me—I’m pretty hard to kill. So when do I get to meet the expert I’m supposed to work with? I’m kind of anxious to get started looking before the trail gets any colder. Alaska is a very boring place, Lane. I’m ready to have something to focus on.”

  “The expert is just down the hall. I tucked him away until I made sure you were really you. Are you sure you’re up to seeing him now? I could make him come back tomorrow if you want.”

  Brandi shrugged again and frowned at his odd offer. “Why wouldn’t I be ready now?”

  “No reason, I guess.”

  She watched Lane tap a number on his intercom. When the person answered, Lane looked at her as he gave the order.

  “Agent Jenkins is ready. Send our guest in.”

  When Lane stood, she did too. They both turned to the door when it opened. She smelled him before he entered.

  “Travis Black Wolf.” She spoke his name flatly as she glared.

  “In the flesh. Hello, Agent Brandi Jenkins.”

  “Why are you here, Travis? What the hell is going on?” Brandi demanded.

  Travis ignored her questions and her glare, glancing between her and Lane. Finally, she heard him snort.

  “I would say that’s kind of obvious, wouldn’t you?”

  “You work here… like here?” Brandi demanded, unable to believe she was seeing him.

  “Yes. Welcome to your past and my present,” Travis said sharply, frowning at Brandi’s wounded gaze on him. “I only figured out after I got here that we worked for the same organization… just very different branches.”

  Brandi shook her head as she ran a hand over it. She turned to Lane. “How much do you know about Travis? He’s not what he seems. I know for a fact he tried to murder his grandfather. I know because I helped prevent him from doing it.”

  She heard Lane snort before he turned a glare in Travis’ direction. “Hiring cold-blooded murderers is nothing new around here. Nobody from his department is ever what they seem to be.”

  “What is this really all about, Lane?”

  Her boss ignored her query and continued to stare at Travis. She rubbed her nose. Some competition thing was going on between the two men… something she’d walked into blindly. Did Lane already know what she was? She was still pondering how much Lane knew when he spoke again.

  “Okay, Black Wolf. I want answers and I want them now. You want me to believe you just conveniently lived near Feldspar and found my wounded agent without reporting it to me?”

  Travis shrugged. “That area is near the place I consider home. I was studying Feldspar’s activities, just like your agent was. What was going on there sounded like something my department needed to look into so I made a few calls. Though no one seems to have informed her yet, Agent Jenkins now knows too much to stay assigned to regular duty in your area. I’m sure my handler has gone over all that with you. I’m surprised you didn’t see fit to cover it with her.”

  “Oh hell no. I’m not your department’s anything. I work for Lane. That’s final.” Brandi narrowed her gaze on Travis as she spoke. She listened to the steady rhythm of his heart. The traitor was telling the truth about his motives… or at least as much of the truth as Travis wanted Lane to know.

  She looked back at Lane, scanning her handler’s angry face for clues about who she could trust. If Lane had any idea she and Travis were werewolves, it didn’t show itself in any fear he felt.

  “You wouldn’t have watched my agent without investigating her background. Why don’t you tell me why Brandi is so interesting to your group,” Lane ordered.

  She watched Travis’ gaze hold Lane’s without flinching. His presence here didn’t mesh with her memories of watching his ass exiting the alpha challenge ring to get away from fighting Reed. The last time she’d seen him, Ariel had just killed Travis’s cousin and Travis himself had been running away from Reed like the coward he truly was inside his agent suit.

  “Brandi showed up in Wasilla in a lab coat. She had no ID whatsoever. And she wasn’t talking to anyone. It took me a bit to match her up to the blown up truck and missing person. By that time, I’d guessed enough of her story to report it. We agreed only to me delivering that information to my handler and to you… which I did. The decision to recruit her was not my choice.”

  Lane shook his head. “Brandi was never supposed to be abducted in the first place. You were supposed to keep anything from happening to her.”

  Brandi’s gaze came back to Lane… her betraying ass handler. “What am I missing here, Lane? I’m not stupid or deaf—but this is making me feel like both. What the hell was I really doing in Alaska? It’s past time to come clean with me.”

  She watched a muscle ticking in Lane’s jaw. His anger was escalating. The more calm Travis acted—the madder Lane seemed to get. If she hadn’t wanted information so badly, she’d have found their pissing contest entertaining.

  “Travis Black Wolf’s handler is the one who talked me into sending you up there. I’m going to make some calls. Watch yourself with this guy in the meantime. You probably already told Black Wolf too much.”

  Brandi nodded as she turned and looked up into Travis’ steady gaze. His expression gave nothing away to Lane, but his eyes were speaking volumes to her. What power did Travis have in her organization? Did Ariel and Heidi’s fates hang on how she handled this surprise?

  Glancing back at Lane, her gut warned her about letting Lane find out the real truth about what happened. She wondered why Travis hadn’t already told him. That would be a question for when she got him alone.

  “While you talk to the top, I think I’ll have a chat with Mr. Expert here. He probably has a lot he wants to tell me, don’t you, Travis?”

  Brandi smirked when both men snorted at her sarcasm. Damn it, her life hadn’t even taken a side trip in Alaska. The most interesting men always ended up being deceitful, manipulating assholes. Why was that?

  Some days it was barely worth getting out of bed. That was especially true today. She should have just crawled back on top of Gareth and let the world go on without her. If she had realized she was returning to a job that had screwed her over royally, she might have done just that.

  Brandi shrugged as she looked at the attractive young male watching her intent
ly. She could tell he was a bit nervous, probably because he’d seen her kill his and Hanuk’s beta in the fight ring. According to werewolf sociology, she and Travis were related as well as being packmates. But Travis Black Wolf certainly didn’t seem like family to her, no matter how much he smelled like Reed.

  “Come on. Let’s get something to eat while we talk. Airplane food sucks.”

  “Absolutely. Lead the way… I’m still new in town,” Travis said, opening the door.

  She could feel Lane staring a disbelieving hole in her back, but refused to let herself be bothered anymore by the emotions of either male. Whatever was going on, she would find a way to deal with it herself.

  When the needle entered her hip on one sharp jab, Brandi swung instinctively to grab it, but it was far too late.

  “You fucking bas…”

  She heard Lane calling her name in alarm as her limp body fell neatly into Travis’ waiting arms. Blackness claimed her as Travis laughed in her ear.

  Chapter 4

  When Brandi woke, she was strapped to a medical gurney. Déjà vu washed over her, making her feel stupid and inept. The one consolation was her clothes were still on this time.

  Looking around the room, she saw sinks, IV stands, and extensive lighting mounted on movable fixtures. Science had never been her favorite subject in school, but everything she was seeing pointed to the fact she was in another freaking lab.

  “Shit, ” she swore, staring at the ceiling and feeling like six kinds of a fool.

  She was going to kill Travis Black Wolf’s betraying werewolf ass, maybe even before she found out what the hell he had really been doing in Lane’s office. She didn’t for one minute believe he was just another agent like her.

  She wiggled her wrists and found them bound securely. Squirming, she felt pain where Travis had stabbed her with a giant hypodermic needle full of knock-out juice.

  When the door opened, she turned her head to glare at the person who entered. Her wolf strained inside her, wanting to attack. Brandi snorted and tested the restraints on her wrists again. They were canvass and strong, but not nearly as strong as she was now. A tall, thin man wearing glasses and a falsely apologetic expression approached the bed. She could practically hear him rehearsing his lines before he spoke.

  “Hello, Agent Jenkins. I’m Dr. Santiago. I’ll be doing the research on your hybrid conversion experience. It would save us a lot of trouble, and you a lot of drugs, if you decided to cooperate with our investigation. I apologize for our rather unorthodox methods of recruitment. We weren’t sure you would go along with an official transfer. Your previous handler has reluctantly, but finally, agreed to release your contract to us.”

  Brandi snorted and looked at the ceiling. “You must be smoking something really good to think that makes any sense to me at all. Being drugged, apprehended, and strapped to a gurney for scientific examination does not qualify as a work transfer. You’ve merely made me your prisoner, Dr. Santiago. I don’t intend to be one for long.”

  She saw him hug the computer tablet to his chest and ponder her like a strange bug he’d pinned to a display board in biology class. Dr. Santiago was just another version of Crazy Crane. Fortunately, he was also human and easily killed, whether she used her wolf or not. Her gaze narrowed on his throat as she contemplated ripping it out. Her wolf danced inside her, ready to help. Brandi decided she just might let her.

  “Most come to us with some reservations about working for our department, but I’m afraid you have no choice, Agent Jenkins. Your physiological changes preclude your agent service being conducted elsewhere.”

  Brandi smiled. It made her examiner visibly nervous just like she hoped. “Okay. Since I’m strapped down and you’re not, I guess you have a point. What do I get if I agree to become your test subject?”

  Santiago sighed. “You’re not my test subject and I am not Randall Crane, Agent Jenkins. I have no wish to make more of you. I just want to see what he’s done in your transmutation and figure out how to counteract it.”

  Brandi snorted. “Who are you trying to bullshit, Doctor? If you’re successful in reversing what happened to me, wouldn’t you automatically learn how to create more?” She watched him shrug at her conclusion. His smirk combined with his non-answer made her furious. Angry heat spread through her.

  One minute Santiago was looming over her. She heard him call out just before his tablet tumbled to the concrete floor. She landed on top of him in wolf form with all four paws pressed into his chest. She growled low and bared her teeth to his wide, frightened gaze. The smell of his urine suddenly filled the air. His complete terror didn’t satisfy her or her wolf enough, but she knew smelling his blood would. She opened her mouth and bared her teeth again, preparing to close them around his neck.

  When the door opened a second time, complete shock instantly robbed her of her blood lust. Morphing back to human form, Brandi never even felt the familiar pain of changing. The buzz of nanos working under her skin went mostly unnoticed as she stared in shock.

  “Gareth? What in hell are you doing here?”

  Gareth rubbed a hand over his jaw as his gaze took in the dangling straps Brandi had broken when she’d shifted. “Would you believe I came to rescue you?”

  Brandi snorted and fisted her hands. “You’re too late. I found out my handler was the one who sent me to Feldspar, only it was to investigate Crane—not the wolves. The dipshit who just pissed himself here intends to change me back. I was about to make sure he doesn’t get the chance to practice his mad scientist skills on me.”

  Gareth rubbed a hand over his head. “I see that… but you can’t kill him, Brandi. He works here.”

  “I won’t be loud. I can do it quietly with my bare hands and no one will know. I don’t need my wolf to end his miserable, needle-probing, dissecting ass.”

  “I know. Sound carrying is not the reason you can’t kill him. Dr. Santiago a scientist… and he works for our side.”

  Gareth walked into the room cautiously and closed the door. He could smell the adrenaline still pumping through her. He could also smell her happiness to see him. What a mess. What a fucking mess.

  Reaching down, he extended a hand to the man on the floor and helped him up.

  “She… she… surprised me,” Dr. Santiago stated.

  Gareth nodded as Santiago positioned himself behind him for protection.

  “I know. She wants to kill you and is trained to do it in more ways than you’re used to dealing with, Doctor. I suggest you wait until you have Agent Jenkin’s full cooperation before doing any testing. It takes her a while to come around to new thinking.”

  “Very well, Agent Longfeather. I’ll just leave you to your… debriefing… of our new recruit while I go change. Good to see you again. Hope you’re enjoying your retirement.”

  Gareth nodded as the doctor hustled around him and out the door. When his gaze returned to Brandi’s, her arms were crossed and her eyes were on fire. Santiago had unknowingly revealed all the secrets he’d been hiding from Brandi in his comments. The error he’d made in waiting was now glaringly obvious.

  “Holy hell. You’re in on this shit too. If I had my gun on me, I swear I would shoot you without giving it a second thought.” Brandi ran a hand over her head as she glared. “Between Lane, Travis, and now you, I’ve had about all the damn back stabbing I can take. Is Matt an agent too?”

  Gareth shook his head. “No. No others from our pack. Just me. I didn’t know Travis was an agent until the day you left. When I called in, I was told he had offered to help induct you. I was told to stand down and let it happen as planned.”

  Brandi snorted. “Induct me into what exactly? Does our government have some kind of secret society that collects the misfit creations of its power mad scientists?”

  She studied Gareth’s guilty expression while mentally gauging what it would take to get around him and out the door. She had no idea what waited beyond it, but she was not going down easily again. In fact, if she co
uld help it, she was not going down again at all.

  Brandi watched a somber Gareth nod and frown.

  “Our department is a monitoring service for human hybrids of any kind. Each newly discovered hybrid is researched and studied so a strategy can be developed to handle them in case they go rogue. There are many other hybrids like you, including those whose experimental situations didn’t turn out as well. They’re all in the database of this organization. Hybrids are chipped so they can be tracked if they escape.”

  “Chipped? You mean I’m chipped… like a fucking vet clinic does to a dog or cat?” Brandi shook her head and groaned. “I swear my taste in men gets worse every year. We slept together for two months, Gareth. I even told you the truth about what I did for a living. Do you know many people I ever disclose my life to? None, Gareth. None. Because the only man I ever told before you used the information to try and have me killed.”