by Jane Hinchey
"Until this case is closed and Ridgeway is apprehended, I say we keep it quiet."
"Fair enough."
We'd just reached the elevator when Carter's comms unit buzzed.
"Carter." He kept his eyes on me while he took the call and I took the opportunity to admire his handsome face, the stubble that was a little thicker than usual, the way his brows dipped down in a slight frown. Why was he frowning? I dragged my attention back to his call.
"Put Wilder in one interview room, Santiago in another. We'll be right there."
"Nate found him." I couldn't suppress the smile spreading across my face.
"We've got a problem." Carter’s somber words wiped the smile right off.
"What's that?"
"The director. We're closing in on her. We can't have her finding out we have her doctor or Santiago in custody. We also don't know if anyone here is working for her. It's risky."
"Do you think she'd send someone to silence them? Before they could talk? But we've already got everything we need from Keller, she's well and truly implicated."
"Yes, but if she's got someone on the inside, witnesses can be silenced and evidence destroyed. We need to move fast on this. She's in a position of power, and that could work against us. Word is going to spread quickly now that we've got Vince Santiago in custody."
Carter was right. Ridgeway had a lot of power in the SIA and she used it to her advantage.
"You question Vince,” I said. “Do you have your phone on you?" He nodded, pulling it out of his pocket. "Good. Call me. Keep the connection open. We need a backup in case Ridgeway does destroy any audio and video. Get Vince talking about her, screw as much as you can out of him."
I went to pull out my own phone only to realize I didn't have it. It had been smashed on a footpath out in front of my apartment and then planted in my bombed car. Shit! Then an idea hit me. Stepping into the elevator with Carter, I laid out my plan. I'd borrow Nate's phone, keep him isolated with instructions not to talk to anyone, to appear uncooperative. Carter would contact fellow enforcers McConnell, Richards, Augustine, and Darabi and tell them we'd apprehended Nate Wilder. One of them, if not all, would pass the word around and hopefully, the fuss over having Nate in custody would hide the fact that we also had Vince.
"What will you be doing?" Carter asked when we arrived at our destination. He stepped out of the lift while I remained inside, hand holding the doors open.
"Besides recording everything Vince says, I'm going to the Council. Ridgeway could swoop in here and cut Vince loose, destroy evidence, do whatever she wants. We need a higher power to issue an arrest warrant for her, to revoke all access. We don't have time to file reports and put in written requests."
"You think the Council will see you?"
"I have an in. George Kane has spoken with me before. I'm sure he will again. And he already knows that Ridgeway illegally ordered tests on me."
"Yeah, but he did nothing about that."
"That we know of. Things could have been happening behind the scenes." I wanted to give George the benefit of the doubt. He'd seemed surprised and concerned when I'd told him what had been happening. He'd said he'd be investigating the incident and I had to assume he would keep true to his word.
"Wait for my call,” I said. “I'm getting Nate's phone out of evidence. It'll take me a couple of minutes."
"I'll stop in to visit him first, let him in on our plan. And don't worry"—he held up his hand to silence me when I opened my mouth to interrupt—"I'll be discreet. The camera won't pick it up." Stepping up to me, he wrapped a hand around my nape and tugged me toward him, his lips landing on mine.
And just like every other time he kissed me, all thoughts left my head. That we were on a time crunch, most likely in danger, none of it mattered. All that mattered in this time and moment was his mouth on mine, the taste of him on my tongue. I growled and he chuckled, slowly backing away. Reluctantly I let him go. Dropping my hand from the elevator door, I kept my gaze locked on his until the door slid closed between us.
21
Dawn was streaking the sky with pink when I left the SIA. Standing out in front of my apartment, I stifled a yawn. The last twenty-four hours had been surreal. Drugged and kidnapped by Vince, who was working for the director, discovering I was a Druid, watching in awe as the Council had taken control of the SIA, issuing an arrest warrant for the director, clearing Nate of all charges, and making the human hunts our priority. The Council operated like a well-oiled machine and I had to give them credit for it. I'd always thought of the council as figureheads, pencil pushers who didn't bring much value to the paranormal community beyond being simple puppets for their respective species. How wrong was I?
There were layers to the Council no one was aware of. They had their own secret service, soldiers trained in war. I couldn't believe the SIA hadn't known about them, but I guess that was the point, wasn't it? For situations like ours where someone in a position of power becomes corrupt.
Carter slid his arm around my waist and tugged me into his side. He had to be even more exhausted than I was.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" He was gazing at the sun cresting over the horizon, light dancing in a magical display as the sunrise chased away the night.
"Sure is."
"I'm beat," he admitted and I chuckled.
"Me too."
There was so much more to talk about, so much more to sort out, but exhaustion tugged at me. We'd talk later.
Later came sooner than anticipated. I'd been asleep for what felt like minutes when there was a banging at my front door. Struggling out of bed, I slipped on a tank and pair of tracksuit pants and made my way downstairs, brushing my hair out of my face as I went.
"What?!" I demanded, flinging the door open. Nate stood there, fist raised ready to begin another round of pounding.
"Ah good, you're awake." Pushing past me, he headed for the kitchen, making himself at home.
"What do you want?" Closing the front door, I followed. "And did you bring breakfast?"
"I didn't, but I'll make you something." He grinned, opening my fridge door and peering inside. "How do you like your eggs?"
"Prepared by someone else," I grumbled, climbing onto a bar stool and watching as he placed the eggs on the counter and fixed coffee. "What do you want?" I asked again.
"I have a feeling what I'm about to say is going to piss you off." He stopped what he was doing and faced me, arms crossed over his chest. Great. Now what?
"Just spit it out. I'm tired. I've had what? Three hours sleep? I'm not in the mood for word games or dancing around the topic."
"So I'm the temporary Director of the SIA," he said, watching me closely. Okay. Not what I was expecting, but I shrugged, so what? Someone had to be. May as well be him.
"But you have no SIA experience," I pointed out.
"They wanted someone clean. New. With my special ops background and the resources I have at my disposal..."
"Yeah, fine, whatever." I cut him off. I really didn't care. Unless he was about to fire me. "Wait! You're not firing me, are you?"
Laughing, he shook his head. "No, I'm not firing you. Or Carter," he added before I could ask. Right on cue, Carter appeared at the top of the stairs.
"What do you want?" He sounded as grumpy as me. I smiled, leaning in for a kiss when he slid onto the stool next to me.
Nate continued making the coffee, sliding two steaming mugs across the counter to us.
"He's here to tell me something that's going to piss me off." I updated Carter, taking a sip of my coffee.
"Oh?" Carter cradled his own mug and watched Nate with narrowed eyes.
"How about the good news first?" Nate looked at a spot just beyond my shoulder. He was nervous. Which made me nervous. What did he have to say that was so terrible?
"Spit it out." Carter didn't catch the undercurrents, eyes on his coffee instead.
"The night you two were taken? There was no human auction. So we don't have any more miss
ing humans. And with Vince on lockdown, the ring has been disbanded."
"That's good." I nodded, still on edge. "What else?"
"By combining resources we were able to make significant headway in determining Ridgeway’s plans."
"We know her plans. To make a super supernatural."
"I meant, why she chose those particular humans. They were specifically chosen. Vince told us she gave him the names. They weren't random. And they were kidnapped off the streets, not as part of an auction sweep which consisted of snatching the homeless."
"I'll bite. Why those particular humans? And where are my eggs?"
Rummaging around in my cupboards, Nate retrieved a bowl and began breaking eggs into it. "Because all of the victims have the Cennit6 gene. It's rare. Very rare."
"Okay. That's not news. Our own lab confirmed something about a rare gene." I shrugged.
"From Keller's notes we can see that he believes that gene is the key to a successful mutation, but they needed—a bridge, so to speak, to successfully marry that gene to the paranormal DNA."
"Okay." I nodded. I didn't know a whole lot about genes, DNA, and science, but what he said sounded feasible.
"You're the bridge."
"Okay," I said again. I already figured they thought my DNA was the key.
"Buried deep in your DNA, you have what they call building blocks. Well, they don't really call them that, they have a long scientific name I can't pronounce, but the gist of it is, they are building blocks."
"And what does that mean? Precisely?"
"It means that you can mix any other DNA with yours and create a hybrid species. You know how vampires can't be born, they're created? By one vampire turning another? And werewolves and shifters are born, not created through a bite or a scratch? Your DNA turns all that on its head. You can give birth to a vampire baby. You can give birth to a werewolf or shifter baby."
Riiiiiight. A thought drifted across my mind about the first time I'd had sex with Carter and how pissed I'd been that we hadn't used protection. Seems I had a sixth sense after all.
"So Keller was right then. I am the key. But why would that piss me off?"
"We know what you are. The Council knows."
"What?!"
"You're a Druid. Or more precisely, a Banduri," Nate said, watching me.
"You're a Druid?" Carter gasped, choking on his coffee.
"Yeah. How did the Council find out?"
"They have records. Going back hundreds of years. The Druids were thought to be extinct."
"They went back to their own realm due to the persecution they received here," I said.
"And how do you know that?" Nate arched a brow.
"Because when I was beaten almost to death, I visited their realm. Discovered the truth. They abandoned me here as a baby. They thought their species might have more success surviving here if they integrated from infanthood." And I was still pissed about it. I needed to find a way to get back to their realm and have it out with them.
"The Council asked me to give you this." Nate handed over an official document, complete with red seal. Tearing it open, I read it, then looked at him in disbelief.
"What does it say?" Carter leaned over, trying to read the paper in my hands.
"They want me on the Council. To represent the Druids. My species." It was ridiculous, of course. I was the only Druid. I'd be representing myself.
"No thanks." I tossed the paper back at Nate.
"Would she have to leave the SIA?" Carter asked at the same time. Nate turned his attention to Carter and nodded. "Yes. But I have a sweetener."
"Oh?"
"Positions for both of you on the SS. Secret Supernaturals."
"No," I responded immediately. I liked my job at the SIA. I liked my colleagues, I liked my life. This was all too much.
Carter grabbed my wrist to hold me in place when I went to slide off my barstool. "Think about it for a second, Raven. You—we—could do a lot of good, especially if you're on the Council."
"It's ridiculous they'd offer me a position on the Council," I scoffed. "I'm the only one of my species. It's a waste of everyone's time."
"Not true." Nate cleared his throat. "A woman named Enna turned up with half a dozen Druids at the Council." Turning his attention back to the eggs, he began to beat them with a fork.
"What?"
"They followed you back, confident that since you reached adulthood unscathed it was safe for the Druids to return."
"Oh my God." I dropped my head into my hands. This was why the Council wanted me. The Druids hadn't been on Earth for hundreds of years. They'd have no idea how to survive here—our technology, our laws. They needed someone to show them the way and the Council had chosen me. Even though the parchment in front of me was an invitation, I was aware it was a thinly veiled order. Refusal was not an option.
"There's another positive," Carter whispered, his breath hot against my ear.
I looked at him out of the corner of my eye. "Do tell," I muttered, not at all enthused at this turn of events.
"It could get the pack off our backs. If my mate was not only on the Council but also able to birth wolves?" His words hung heavy in the silence. It was true. I was sure the pack would welcome me with open arms if my status changed from that of an ordinary SIA agent to a member of the Council. As for the other? "They'd be hybrid babies," I pointed out.
"But with all of the traits of both species. Am I right, Nate? If we had a baby, it would have all my wolf abilities?"
"Correct. And Raven's abilities."
"Powerful," Carter breathed.
"Yeah, don't get too excited," I shot him down. "We're not creating a mini army. We're talking about having babies. Can you see me with a baby? I'm not exactly maternal." How had we gotten on this topic? Panic washed through me, knowing Carter's pack, heck any werewolf pack, were all about reproduction. That was why I wasn't suitable in their eyes. Would they welcome hybrid offspring into their pack? I couldn't bear to bring a child into the world that was shunned as I was.
"They would love, cherish, and protect any child we produced." Carter swiveled me to face him, hands on my shoulders. "If we had a child they would love and welcome it. They're just being overprotective of me, but if we had a kid? It would be loved."
"I'm not getting out of this, am I?" I turned my attention back to Nate.
"The Council needs you and your people need you. And as the acting Director of SIA, it would help me to have a friendly ear on Council." He winked and I couldn't hold back the snort of laughter. Of course, there was something in it for him.
"I guess I'm joining the Council. Now, about those eggs?"
22
Standing in front of the full-length mirror in my rooms at the Council, I smoothed my palms over the flowing navy fabric draped around my shoulders. The cloak with its golden trim was the official ceremonial robe of the Council and tonight was my swearing in ceremony. I'd agreed to their proposal on the proviso I had a six-month probationary period. After six months, if I didn't like it, I could leave with no repercussions, and likewise, if they felt I wasn't the right fit, they could remove me from the Council.
Neither of those things happened. We'd had plenty of volatile moments, and I'd walked out of more than one meeting due to members bickering over inconsequential matters. In the past, it was normal for them to waste inordinate amounts of time over trivial topics. I didn't have time for that. I now had more than one hundred Druids transitioning into life on Earth. Decisions needed to be made, and quickly.
Apparently, the Council liked my fiery brand of diplomacy, and my no holds barred way of telling them what they didn't want to hear. I shook things up and challenged the status quo, something no one had dared do in the past. I was a hit.
My hands settled on the swell of my stomach and I smiled at the irony. Not only was I serving on the Council and loving it, I was knocked up too. Two things I had never, in my wildest dreams, imagined happening.
The door behind
me opened and Carter stepped inside, his footsteps silent on the plush carpeting. Each Council member had a suite of rooms beneath the council chambers, containing a bedroom, bathroom, sitting room and a small kitchenette. I'd taken to hanging out here whenever Carter was working late with the SS. He too had taken to his new role like a duck to water. He loved the undercover assignments he got sent on, and liaising with Nate at the SIA had helped relations between the two departments, now that the SS wasn't so secret anymore.
"You look amazing." He smiled, stepping up behind me, and wrapped both arms around my waist, caressing my baby bump.
"I look ridiculous. Navy blue is definitely not my color and this thing is so damn heavy."
"It's only for a little while, love." He chuckled at my pout, knowing how much I hated the ceremonial side of my new role.
"I admit, I feel a little nervous." I looked in the mirror again, at my reflection with Carter standing behind me, watching as he brushed my hair back over my shoulder.
"Of the ceremony?" he asked in surprise. I shook my head. No. The ceremony was just a formality, and on some things, I had to bend and do what the rest of the Council wanted. A ball was being held in my honor, officially welcoming me into the Council. That part I was fine with. It was after.
"I don't think they're going to take it well," I said, twisting my engagement ring around and around on my finger. Carter had proposed to me a week after we'd blown Director Ridgeway's diabolical plan out of the water. Unfortunately, she'd fled town and we'd yet to locate her. Distracted with the hunt for Ridgeway, I'd turned him down. Undeterred he continued to propose on a weekly basis until I caved and said yes. And then I discovered I was pregnant. His pack had thawed toward me when they learned how compatible my species was. They'd softened a little more when Carter had told them we were engaged. They were positively welcoming when we announced my pregnancy. They'd been madly planning our wedding ever since.
