Gareth sighed. “I know. You told me. I wish now I had told you about this, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it. I knew it was going to be like this when you found out. I guess I was being a coward, selfishly wanting to keep you to myself. I’m sorry, Brandi. I should have warned you… or something.”
“Or something? Lane sent me to Crazy Crane and delivered me up as a test subject. You let me come back here knowing damn well I would be collected as a lab rat the moment I arrived. And now, thanks to you—and fucking Travis—these crazy shit scientists already know all there is to know about me. I bet you guys told them about Ariel and Heidi too. Have I got everything about right, Agent Longfeather?”
Gareth rubbed his jaw. “I didn’t know the part about your handler setting you up, but that doesn’t surprise me. That’s how most agents get involved in hybridization experiments. Only a few have volunteered.”
Brandi turned, grabbed an IV stand, and deftly swung it in Gareth’s direction. He ducked of course, but she had anticipated his block, and his defensive reactions. When he dove at her to wrestle the IV stand from her grasp, she quickly released it to his hold. Catching him off-guard, she grabbed his free arm and twisted it behind him until she had enough leverage to put Gareth on the floor. The IV stand clanged on the concrete as it fell from his grasp and rolled away from their bodies.
If Gareth had changed into his wolf during any part of their struggle, it might have been a different fight altogether. She figured regret was making him careless. She wasn’t going to let it do the same to her.
“Pay attention here, Gareth. This is how agents break up with each other.”
She raised his head and sharply slammed it back down on the concrete floor of the lab. Gareth’s sudden stillness beneath her knee was her safe signal to climb off his back and move quietly to the door. She opened it, peeked out, and saw two tall, blond men talking to Travis across the room. With all the noise her tussle with Gareth had caused, she had to believe the room was soundproofed. Whoever was running this place obviously didn’t want other employees hearing the screams of their unwilling test subjects.
She rubbed the spot on her ass where Travis had shoved the needle as she glared at him through the crack. Thank God she never shared Ariel’s conscience about taking out Reed’s family members. If she ever got the traitorous werewolf alone again, she was going to take Travis out once and for all. Reed had plenty of children and grandchildren. One less clone of him wouldn’t harm the Black Wolf gene pool. Plus, Reed would probably kill Travis himself if he knew he was putting his whole pack at risk.
She glanced back at Gareth still face down on the floor. A trickle of blood seeped out from under his forehead. She was still too mad at him to regret her actions in taking him down, but something unfamiliar was tugging at her heart.
Shaking her head over her uncustomary compassion, she grabbed a handful of gauze from some sort of nearby prep tray and knelt to slide it under his forehead. No doubt Gareth would heal and come after her eventually. Hopefully by then she would have gotten away without leaving a trail.
Standing once more, she pondered how best to handle the situation. She felt around on her body for tender spots that might be hiding a tracking chip. Gareth hadn’t confirmed the presence of one in her, but he had heavily insinuated it. Had that been done before she’d gone to Alaska? If so, why hadn’t Lane known where she was? Or had he?
Rubbing her face in misery with each downward spiraling thought, Brandi decided waiting around was no way to constructively handle this. Walking to the door again, she opened it just wide enough to peek out. The two blond guys were still there, but Travis was now nowhere to be found. Telling herself it was a good thing, she shook her head and pondered how to play her escape.
Decision finally made, Brandi finger-combed her hair back into its normal shaggy chaos and walked out of the lab room confidently, heading straight for the two blond guys. Smiling, she waved as she got closer. “Hi. I’m Agent Brandi Jenkins—newest recruit—I guess. Where did Travis go? I wanted to talk to him.” She sniffed the air. “What are you guys?”
“We are very handsome… and my name is Fallon… just Fallon. This is Lars… my partner. He is less handsome, but passably good-looking if you like his type. He is lucky I have bad vision.”
Brandi laughed at the guy’s teasing, but it wasn’t really a joke. Fallon was incredibly handsome… but then so was Lars. They were both quite striking… and Nordic sounding.
“You are Gareth’s woman… his new mate?” Lars asked.
Though usually in perfect control of her reactions, especially while trying to escape captivity of any sort, Brandi couldn’t prevent her mouth from dropping open at his query.
“Mate? Are kidding me? Gareth is good in bed, but he’s also a lying bastard. So no… we’re not mates. Right now, we’re not even friends.”
Fallon chuckled before he turned to Lars. “He didn’t tell her about this. Now she is mad. He is still silent and strong… and just as stupid as ever.”
When Lars huffed indignantly, it made her chuckle at the dynamic between them… before she caught herself.
“If I were her, I would be mad too,” Lars declared. “Did you hurt him when you fought just now?”
Brandi bit her lip. Damn. An open fight with these two did not mesh with her need to get away. “I don’t think so. Gareth’s head is too hard.”
Fallon burst out laughing. “I like you already. The mighty Gareth… felled by a female. This I must see happen sometime.”
“Does Gareth need medical attention?” Lars asked.
Brandi reached out and patted his arm. “You are a very good man, Lars.”
“No. Do not tell him that,” Fallon protested. “He has the big head already.”
Laughing, Brandi took a step back. “So… are you two going to let me go?”
“Depends. Are you going after Travis? He said he was returning home and Alaska is very far away. You would make it a very expensive chase if we had to collect you from there.”
Brandi shook her head and sighed. “Then I guess I’m not going back to Alaska just yet. It’s tempting to go kill Travis Black Wolf’s betraying ass, but I suppose it can keep until next time. But I do need some time alone to think about what kind of shit pile I’ve landed in here.”
“I hear much anger between your words. Your friends in Alaska… they are quite safe. You keep them that way by willingly being here,” Lars declared quietly.
Brandi blew out a breath, not happy with the advice, but she felt the truth of it in her gut. “Did you guys get the same deal from the people in charge?”
Fallon and Lars exchanged long looks before they both shook their heads.
“Not exactly. We are special… two of a kind,” Fallon declared.
Brandi snickered at Fallon’s bragging. “Well, I made creepy Dr. Santiago piss himself a few minutes ago. How much trouble am I going to be in for it? He announced he was going to reverse engineer me and my animal side didn’t react well to the news.”
Fallon snickered then covered his mouth with a hand to laugh. Lars smacked his arm. Brandi grinned. Friendships formed quickly and lightly had always suited her well. She was glad to find such friendships here because she’d surely made some whopping mistakes trusting people in Alaska.
Fallon shrugged as he spoke. “Santiago is a little fish scientist. You need to see the big fish. I don’t know how he will feel about your intimidation methods.”
Brandi lifted her hand. “Fine. Let’s get the introduction over with and see what he says. Point me in his general direction.”
She saw Lars shaking his head. “What?”
“You might want to give that some thought first. His name is Sheldon Crane—as in slightly better scientist brother of Randall Crane. I believe you have already had the pleasure of Randall Crane’s acquaintance.”
“Brother? Well, fuck me for being a complete idiot,” Brandi exclaimed in anger, running both hands through her hair as she groan
ed in disbelief. She had only been in Virginia a matter of hours, but she already knew who had most likely been funding the man who experimented on her. It had been her own damn government—the government she’d served most of her life already. Could she have been anymore blind?
Fallon gave her a wicked smile. “Unfortunately, I cannot accept the lovely offer of enjoying your body. You are very attractive, but you smell too much like Gareth.”
“You would cheat on me with a wolf woman?”
Lars landed a hard punch on Fallon’s shoulder which had Brandi reluctantly chuckling again, despite her shock.
“Hopefully Gareth’s stink will wear off after a while,” she declared.
Lars snorted. “Why bother trying to remove it? Gareth will just put it back. He only came back for you. After what happened to his last mate…”
Brandi saw Lars wince when Fallon punched him—and hard.
“Paska! I was not going to tell her all the man’s secrets, Fallon.”
Brandi looked between the two of them, wondering what Fallon had stopped Lars from revealing.
Not that it mattered.
What mattered was keeping Ariel and Heidi safe until she could figure out how to deal with what was going on. These two acted blasé about her staying, but their unsteady heartbeats told her it was best not to run. She imagined they wouldn’t hesitate to do what was necessary to retain her when they felt the urge.
“It’s okay, Lars. Gareth’s past is none of my business. But I guess I need to go wake him up if I’m staying.”
“We’ll help you. I can carry him. I’ve done it many times before,” Fallon declared.
Following her instincts to gain all the sympathy she could, Brandi nodded as the three of them headed reluctantly back to the lab room. With nowhere else to go in Alexandria, she was going to need all the allies she could get where she was. Lying, traitorous, bastard ones would have to be included.
“Guys… I have an apartment… shit. Or at least I did. Can Gareth and I get a lift there to see if my key still works for it? I need time to sort this out.”
“You are taking Gareth home with you instead of to his hotel?”
When Lars looked surprised at her seemingly abrupt change of mind, it made her laugh. “Yes. I’m just going to put Gareth to bed, see that he heals, and then make him help me tomorrow. Trust me… what we had in Alaska is over now… completely over after he lied to me.”
“But what if it is not over for Gareth?” Lars asked.
“Trying to change my mind would not be wise unless he has a death wish. I do not forgive betrayals.” She heard Fallon chuckling and turned to face him. “I’m not joking, Fallon.”
“Of course not. You are a dangerous lover. I can respect that,” Fallon declared with a smile.
Brandi smiled back at the flattery, appreciating Fallon’s observation, even though the words were offered with a good deal of sarcasm. “Yes. I suppose I am a dangerous lover. But I’m also a great friend.”
“Good. We need more of those even if they are wolves,” Lars declared.
“Hey—I like being a wolf. It’s better than being a… being a… ” Brandi sniffed as they opened the lab room door. “You’re some sort of exotic cat.”
Lars laughed. “So our noses mean we have no secrets from each other, eh? I like this idea. Tell us… is Gareth a wild man in bed? Fallon and I have often wondered.”
“Gareth? A wild man?” Brandi burst out laughing. “No. Gareth’s just proficient. He gets the job done. Better than some men at least.”
Fallon and Lars both chuckled at her less than sterling summary of Gareth’s bedroom talents as they lifted the still unconscious man from the floor. They positioned him over Fallon’s shoulder. Then out they all trekked out again, heading down the long hall to an elevator. Brandi assumed it would take them to a parking garage.
A familiar figure in a white coat walked towards them. When he passed by, Brandi growled low in her throat. She had to fight the urge to howl and break his ear drums when Dr. Santiago flinched and jumped in alarm. The tablet he clutched flew from his grip and went skittering down the hallway floor. The nervous doctor scrambled after it. She snorted at his fright and grinned as they walked on through what turned out to be a mostly empty building.
As they stepped into the elevator, Fallon and Lars were speculating about whether or not the man would have to go change clothes again.
Brandi told herself she shouldn’t feel so proud.
Chapter 5
She had slept with the bedroom door open, but Gareth hadn’t stirred all night. If he’d been human, she would have worried about him having a deadly concussion. Since he was a werewolf, she decided to risk not waking him when he probably just needed to sleep and heal.
This morning she sipped coffee as she watched Gareth still sleeping. It wasn’t something she had gotten to do much over the last couple of months. Normally he was awake long before her, but the concrete head bashing must have set his internal alarm clock back a bit, not to mention the time change from traveling.
She became wary when he rolled to face her, but her wolf perked up and whined in welcome. Her loud sigh over her internal conflict was unpreventable.
“Want some coffee?” she asked, pointing at her cup. “I promise not to put cyanide in it.”
Grunting, Gareth reached out a hand. “Sure. Give me yours… just in case.”
Gareth snorted in disbelief when Brandi looked longingly at her cup before handing it over. Surrendering her morning brain fuel was as close to an apology as he was likely ever going to get from her given the seriousness of her attack on him. His head was still throbbing, and under the pain, he was hurt and mad.
Not that he blamed Brandi for what she did in retaliation for waking up strapped to another gurney. He just wondered why he’d woke up on her couch this morning. He was on guard now. She needed him for something or he wouldn’t be here.
Balancing the half-empty cup, he rose to a sitting position and drank that first bracing sip. It tasted a bit like her, a fact that had him sighing in frustration. The more he was around Brandi—the more she was being imprinted on his senses. God only knew what fresh tortures would follow a true mating with the volatile she-wolf. If the spirits chose, he might actually start to hear her talking in his head. Mind speak hadn’t happened with his other mates, but the other two hadn’t been anything like the woman staring him down now. It was kind of alarming to know she’d just as soon kill him as have sex with him.
“It’s early yet, but I’m glad you’re awake. Some kind soul left a partial can of coffee in the refrigerator and filters in the cabinet, but there’s no food in the apartment. We’ll have to stop to eat along the way to confronting my doom.”
Hearing her familiar sarcasm, Gareth looked at her over the edge of the cup as he drank. “Are you going along with me willingly or will there be gunplay and bondage after breakfast?”
Brandi shrugged. “No shooting at least. My gun is missing. I assume it was confiscated yesterday.”
She studied him as she watched him enjoy the rest of her coffee. Her paltry few sips hadn’t been nearly enough to banish her restless night. Visions of sex with Gareth had haunted her dreams and made her feel genuine regret for her violence toward him.
She must have woken twenty times or more to check on him, before she’d finally climbed from the bed this morning and gotten dressed.
For the last thirty minutes, she had been willing him to open his eyes and prove he was okay.
She’d also spent that time trying to figure out why she hadn’t killed him. Gareth’s death would have solved at least part of her problems. She could have taken out her betraying handler afterward and quietly disappeared. There were many places to hide in the world where no one would think to look for her. Fallon and Lars might have been ordered to retrieve her, but she had a feeling they wouldn’t have bothered to do so.
But who was she trying to fool? She wouldn’t kill Gareth, or Lane, because she cou
ldn’t run away from the shitty situation she was in. Her sense of self-preservation wasn’t larger than her concern for Ariel and Heidi.
Gareth hadn’t just brought shit down on her head with his betrayal. He’d brought it down on her pack.
Ariel might have what it took to elude Gareth’s department, but Heidi would be picked up before she knew what had happened to her. Heidi’s chances of thwarting men like Santiago… much less another insane Crane… well, they were nil.
Never one to box with shadows, Brandi’s internal soul searching had been more wisely spent on finding a rationalization about Gareth’s presence on her couch. After hours of study, she suspected she had spared his life simply because he was good in bed. The thought made her want to sigh again, but she fought the urge until it went away.
Brandi Page 4
