by Honor James
“We’ll load you down, darling,” Zhubin said from behind her, his hands landing on her hips. “But we need to get moving. We have to get to the scene before Briar moves the body. I want to see it in place. So grab your boots and jacket, we’ll take my truck.”
“Sounds good.” She grabbed her boots and put them on, then pulled on her jacket. “We will take your truck because it is bulletproof and mine isn’t.” Her car was low and fast, not armored at all, where their trucks were heavily armored and fast as well.
“Kind of my idea by suggesting it,” Zhubin told her, moving past her to pull on his boots. He crouched to tie them. “Don’t need to give this asshole stalker of yours any more ways of getting at you. This way he’s got to get through us both and the truck.”
“Which, given the additional tweaks we’ve done to them both, won’t happen,” Ansell said, shrugging into his jacket. He moved to the door and pulled it open. “No human will ever get their hands on most of the tech.”
“Which is likely for the best. Yes there are some good people out there but honestly humanity as a whole…sometimes I wonder if we are worth fighting for.” It was sad to say but even worse to feel. When she saw some of the things that happened because of “humanity,” it broke her heart into pieces.
“People as individuals are decent, kind and generous. People in groups are assholes who do whatever the strongest personality amongst them says. They stop thinking as individuals and turn into a hivemind. Just look at your Salem witch trials, prime example,” Zhubin said as he locked the door and moved with them to his truck. “As a whole I’d say no, flat out, humanity isn’t worth bothering with. But it’s the individuals, the good ones like you and Briar, that I focus on. We can’t save everyone and we can’t save the world. But if you focus on one person, one soul and do everything you can to make that person’s world better you end up making everything a little better on the grand scheme.”
Lacey sighed and nodded. “And I hate that people as a whole are like that. We will do whatever we can to hold that line because it simply has to be held. We will do whatever we have to in order to ensure that people are able to live and enjoy their lives, right?”
“Of course we will,” Ansell told her softly, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. He was leaning back against the door as Zhubin drove and tugged her in closer. “But stop thinking about them as a whole. Focus on that one person you need to make a difference for, someone that needs it and deserves it. If you make their life better, then you choose another.”
“The only person who I keep thinking of is poor Briar. I just want to make the hurt that she’s feeling to ease a bit for her. I worry for her, so very much. I just hope that she will be able to emotionally heal from what has happened to her.”
“Then she is your focus, making her world a better and safer place. We’ll help you with that and we’ll ensure she is safe. Whatever we do, including getting your stalker out of the world, will help make her a little safer,” he said, brushing his lips over her cheek.
“I think that sounds like a damn fine idea then.” Lacey closed her eyes and sighed. She could seriously become accustomed to this, to being held by one of these two men. She just hoped that she didn’t bring them more harm than good into their lives. They deserved far, far more than that.
Chapter Nine
Zhubin walked in with Lacey straight for the body. Ansell started walking around the walls, working his way in. Zhubin moved off ten feet before they reached the body, leaving Lacey to move to Briar and find out the scoop on their latest corpse. He didn’t stray far, just stayed out of range and where Briar could see him.
Lacey nodded to Briar. “Hey, Doc,” she said with a smile. “So what were you able to figure out about our John Doe here?” Since they hadn’t found a chip with the missing hands they were at a loss as to how to ID this guy.
“I’ve done a dental impression and sent it back to the lab already,” she said. “I don’t feel like having another of these blown up and making it all the harder to identify. Just what is he doing?” She pointed a gloved finger to Ansell.
“He’s checking for explosives,” Zhubin said. “His nose can pick up such things even with the layers of blood. He’s one of the few Luhpyne that can separate scents and follow only the one he wants to.”
“He’s doing it to protect me,” Lacey explained. “As you heard already, I’m sure Zhubin and I were kind of hit with explosives. If not for Zhubin’s quick reflexes and my hard head we would not be here to discuss this guy with you.” She watched Ansell and then looked back to Briar. “What do you think the possibility of figuring out who he is, well, is?”
“Since we have him still and hopefully will continue to, probability is high. He is human and old enough to have been in the system before the Veil fell. Given the tattoos he has, he was either in prison or a gang so I’m betting he’s in the old system.”
“Zhubin,” Ansell called from in the rafters. “Get everyone out. Now!”
“Son of a bitch,” he muttered, racing for Lacey and Briar. “Sorry, Doc,” he told her, scooping her over one shoulder and Lacey over the other. Running for the door he couldn’t see, Ansell jumped down, flipped a flak blanket over the body and then raced after them.
Lacey reached out for Briar, her hand closing over the woman’s and giving a squeeze. When Zhubin came to a halt, his large body covering theirs, she instinctively covered Briar, putting her body between her mate’s and the woman’s, not just for the woman’s sanity but for hers as well. The explosion rocked the room, the lights dimmed and Lacey felt her ears ringing in the aftermath. “Zhu? Ansell? Where are you?” she demanded of the man that had been in the rafters, of all damn things.
“All present and accounted for,” Ansell muttered from her left. “My ears are fucking ringing but I’m in one piece.”
Zhubin moved off the women. “Still alive and nothing poking out where it shouldn’t, I think. But my ears are bloody ringing too,” he muttered with a groan. “You still kicking Briar?” he asked.
Briar nodded and shook her head. “Damn ears are ringing, but yeah. Thank you.” She then looked at Ansell. “How in the hell were you able to smell that? We were practically on top of the body and didn’t smell it.” She was thankful, damn thankful, but still it amazed her.
“Skills, doc, mad skills,” Ansell said, rolling to his knees, and sat up. He leaned back, arms in the air and let out a groan as he cracked his back. “Like Zhubin said, I can separate out smells. Hopefully I managed to salvage your body too. I tossed a flack blanket over it but I didn’t stick around to ensure it was fully covered.”
“Good.” Lacey moved to Ansell and checked every inch of him before doing the same with Zhubin. Satisfied that they both were okay, she frowned, “Now, who the hell is it that is determined to piss me off so badly? Messing with our crime scene, rigging bodies to blow. I’m seriously about to rip this fuck’s head off myself.”
“It was the same as the other, but this time it had projectiles built in,” Ansell told her before he collapsed on the ground again. “I should have stayed home with the wolves. It was safe, warm, cozy and didn’t have shit blowing up.”
“If you had we’d all be dead,” Zhubin pointed out, getting on his feet and bending to touch the ground with a groan. “I’m rather thankful you came along and kept me and Lace in one piece. Hell, I think even Briar’s thankful I dragged your mangy ass along.”
Briar nodded. “Damn straight I am.” And for the ME to say that with the feelings she had for his race meant a lot.
“Ansell,” Lacey began but stopped. Later, she would tell him later. “Thank you. For coming, for being willing to protect us as you did. Both of you. Briar and I are far easier to kill than the two of you so we have to figure that either this guy is gunning for me, or Briar since she’s the ME that would come to the scenes.”
“It’s the same as the last one, but that was aimed at us,” Zhubin said, straightening up. He reached out a hand to Briar
and gently pulled her to her feet. Immediately, he stepped back. “This one was aimed for more damage. We should get in and take a look at the damage. He’s going for a kill and not to destroy evidence, so we’re going to have to figure another way to catch this bastard.”
“Then we have to figure something out quickly because it was one thing when this fucker was toying with me, it something else altogether when he’s trying to kill the men I love. I will not stand for it.” Lacey brushed her hands over her pants and nodded. “All right, is it safe to go back in and have a look?”
“Bomb went boom, there’s nothing else to go boom with,” Ansell said. “What?” he asked when she just glared at him. “I was being serious. If that”—he pointed toward the smoking interior of the building—“didn’t set off more, doubtful anything will. But I will do another sweep before you guys go back in.” He headed for the door, “I don’t get paid enough for this shit,” he muttered under his breath.
“Yeah but you love me and want me safe,” Lacey called out to the stubborn man. She smiled at Briar. “Sometimes you have to make sure that they know how they feel for you, stubborn men sometimes forget that we women like the words,” she teased.
“That’s because women are apparently forgetful,” Zhubin said with a smirk. He gave her a wink and walked toward the doors, “Well?” he called in.
“Are you smelling that smoke, asshole? Cause it’s not making it easy. For the love of the Gods, go find something to do for a few minutes. If I don’t come running out screaming like a lunatic at high speed soon you’ll know it’s safe. So fuck off!”
“Someone’s testy,” Zhubin said and then ducked as something went whizzing past his head at high speed. “And got crappy fucking aim too. Geez, you throw worse than a girl, Ansell.”
Lacey frowned. “Is he okay?” Her worry was clear in her tone, in the way she stood. “Zhubin, is he okay? I don’t like seeing him like this.” Cranky, moody, testy. “What in the hell is going on that has him and you even, so fucking testy?”
“You mean besides the fact someone tried to blow us up? Again, I might add?” he asked and then let out a breath. “Full moon is coming, remember? We’re not exactly our normal selves at this time of the month. And human males bitch about female troubles.” He gave a snort. “They obviously haven’t had to deal with Luhpyne on this side of the Veil before or they’d never make such crass remarks again.”
“Crap, true.” She had that quickly forgotten all about the moon and its pull on her men. “Are you boys going to be all right?” She needed to know that they would be okay, that they weren’t going to have issues because they were where they were right now instead of going back to their home behind the Veil.
“Yeah we’ll be good.” He nodded, moving toward her. “We’re just a little shorter on the fuses than normal. So if we snap at you just smack us, I hear a rolled newspaper works well.” He smiled. Touching her shoulders, Zhubin leaned in to kiss her gently. “We’ll be beyond the Veil on the full moon so it will be all right.”
Lacey nodded and bit her lower lip. “Will I be there?” she asked softly. “I know that we have dinner to go to with your parents but will I be there as well?” Since she wasn’t certain, she had to ask. She needed to know that they would be together, somehow and some way.
“Of course you will be.” He frowned down at her. “We’ll go for dinner, you can see some of my realm, my home and we will spend the night. In the morning we will have breakfast with the family and then come home. By then the main pull of the moon will already be fading and while we might not be fully back to ourselves, it will be close enough.”
“Good. I look forward to it,” Lacey said with a smile. “I want this, I want to be able to have this time with you guys on the other side so that we don’t have to worry about the dictates in place here on this side to protect humanity.” She spoke with air quotes.
Chuckling, he shook his head at her. “Yeah. Pretty much my thoughts,” he said with a wink.
A whistle split the air, causing them all to turn. “It’s clear in here if you don’t mind a little smoke. And doc, good news, only a couple extra wounds from the explosion but the bodies are mostly intact.”
Lacey heard Briar mumbling and smiled. Shaking her head, she looked up at Zhubin. “Good. All right, let’s go in and finish processing the scene so that we can get this shit all worked up and together and get home. I’m more than ready to get out of here.”
“Quit bitching, doc, at least you have a body this time to work with,” Ansell said with a glare. “You’re lucky I even bothered to take two extra seconds. Now get your cute self in there and deal with it. And one snivel about the feet and I swear I’ll put bubble gum in all your machines in the lab.”
Lacey had to hide her grin and shook her head. “Don’t piss her off too much, she might put another cadaver in your desk and hang a sign from it again.” That had been utterly priceless. Briar had gotten pissed off at Ansell so she put a female body in his chair at his desk with a note on her saying something along the lines of, “since you are being such a pussy, thought she would represent you better,” but that was the Briar before she had been attacked.
Ansell didn’t say anything as Briar went past him, giving him a good-sized berth. Looking to Lacey as she and Zhubin walked up he shrugged. “I’d prefer to have that Briar back than this ghost,” he murmured under his breath. “If poking at her a little does it, so be it. I won’t push too far, I never would.”
“I know.” Lacey sighed and shook her head. “I wish I knew how to help her. She’s been hurt, and it’s not good.” She looked at the woman and shook her head. “Do you think she has mates out there?” she asked softly. “If so, will they be able to help her, do you think?”
“It’s possible,” Zhubin said in a low tone. “And if she does and she can accept them for who they are they can help her to truly heal. But that won’t be today or tomorrow. Hopefully soon though, it would be nice to be able to walk into a room with her and not have her scoping out the exits and available weapons.”
“Yeah, I want the cheerful and playful Briar back. She was interesting and witty, and could tell a wickedly good joke. Do you know how hard it is not to ask for the newest joke? I miss that, a lot.” The ME had a wicked sense of humor before the attack, now she was just as Zhubin said, a ghost of herself. Going through the motions but not much else.
“We know.” Ansell gave a heavy sigh. “Go and find out what else she’s getting from the body. I’m going to let the crew know it’s safe to come back from whatever hole they are hiding in.” Leaning over, he kissed her cheek. “Won’t be long.”
Chapter Ten
“Please tell me that you have some good news, Doc.” Lacey spoke from the door to the ME’s office. “At least tell me that the dental imprints came back and we have an ID on our John Doe?” It was driving Lacey nuts, the waiting. She was far too impatient by half.
“Patience is a virtue you know,” Briar said in a low murmur from her spot in front of a microscope. “But yes, I have an ID.” She turned and picked up a data pad. Getting up, she moved to the drawer and pulled it open, flipping back the sheet. “Meet Mr. Graham Donovan. Age thirty-six, lawyer, jogger and good Samaritan who does charity work and pro bono work for a local shelter of battered women and children.”
Lacey frowned. “That name rings a bell.” She tilted her head and thought, the expressions on her face showing that clearly. “Wait,” she snapped. “I remember this guy. He was in the press heavily last month. He was going to run for mayor or something like that. Swore that he could prove dirty dealings and would do whatever it took to clean up the town. Remember that?” she asked the ME.
“Yes, he’d just announced he planned on running, what? Two months ago maybe.” She frowned. “He said he had evidence of underhanded dealings, construction site passes without proper inspection and dozens of other charges. He didn’t name names but said once he was in place they would all be outed and removed facing charges ap
plicable to their crimes. That would have made him a target, but why would they, whoever they are that killed him, want to make it look like a Luhpyne kill?”
“Because of his wife,” Lacey said and slapped her own forehead. “His wife’s godfather is a Luhpyne. Her family goes back to the first ones that made friends with the ones from the Veil, her godfather is one of the Originals that came over and fought in the War, and if they would turn on him, it would mean that they would turn on anyone, see what I see?”
“You’re not thinking,” Briar trailed off, shaking her head. “Lacey! If it’s what you’re thinking. Fuck me,” she said before her eyes went wide and she slapped her hands over her mouth. “Apologies,” she squeaked out. “I didn’t mean to say that.”
If she was right, then it was someone that wanted a war. It was someone that was more than ready to start a war with the races of the Veil once more and that just was so not good in more ways than one.
“They barely let us live the last time,” Briar whispered, holding out a shaky hand before she caught the back of the chair and fell into it. “You know that if we start another with them not a single human will survive.”
“You are telling me. Well no, the mates will all survive. Once a mate is found they are the most precious things alive. They would do anything to save their mates, anything.” She knew that Zhubin and Ansell would at least. “I’m just trying to figure out how my stalker fits in,” she whispered. “And I have to tell my guys. They will know what to do.”
“May whatever God or Gods there be bless us all,” Briar said, crossing herself. “Those that are mated will survive but everyone else is fair game. Our world won’t survive another war Lacey. All that will be left would be less than ash. They could and can decimate us should they choose. The fact they didn’t the last time was luck more than anything. Trust me on that,” she whispered.
