“She does have vampire in her then?” asked Boomer from the sidelines, surprising Corbin as he’d not heard him approach. How long had he been there? How much had he overheard?
Boomer didn’t like talking about his past and he didn’t like others talking about it, either. Corbin anticipated an issue and began to ready himself for one. None came. Boomer seemed oddly calm, almost disinterested in the knowledge they’d been discussing him. He was dressed as close to normal as Corbin could ever recall him being. He stood there in a black t-shirt and a pair of faded jeans. No shoes, not silver bracelets or studded collars. He looked so young. So vulnerable.
Corbin sighed. “I know Duke promised to stay by her, but Mercy phoned. She needed him. I took his place and have stayed in the hallway. Only James has had contact with the girl.”
Boomer lifted a hand. “The beast got away from me. I’m sorry I attacked you.”
“You couldn’t have helped it,” said James. “Any of us would have done the same in your position.”
Corbin watched as Boomer walked down the hall, his movements very catlike. “Is she okay?”
“I gave her something to help her sleep,” said James as he stepped back from the door. “The tranqs had fully worn off thanks to Boomer’s blood. She needed to rest. I know it goes against your nature, but consider letting her rest. She needs it. I don’t think Haven has had a good night sleep in weeks.”
Boomer surprised Corbin by nodding and then taking a seat on the floor, just outside the door. He tipped his head back, resting it against the brick wall before pulling up his knees and resting his arms on them. “I’ll just sit here until she wakes.”
“Boomer,” James bent slightly. “It might be all night. I gave her a heavy dose. She needs a lot of rest.”
“It’s okay. I’ll wait here,” said Boomer. He didn’t so much as budge.
“They tell me she came here on a mission to try to end you,” said James, surprising Corbin, as James wasn’t known to try to pick fights or goad others. “Sure you want to stand guard over a woman who wants you dead?”
A slow smile spread over Boomer’s face, but it didn’t reach his eyes. A certain sadness fell over him like a shroud. “My own mother wanted me dead. So, I have a longstanding history with women who prefer me six feet under.”
Corbin’s chest tightened. “Miles.”
Boomer’s violet gaze locked on Corbin. “You saved me. You didn’t know what they were like when you handed me off. No one did. And you came back for me. You didn’t have to, but you did. I have never blamed you. Ever.”
Corbin’s eyes moistened. He was an alpha lion-shifter. He didn’t resort to tears. Yet, they were there, threatening to fall.
“You’re one of the few people in this world I trust without question,” said Boomer. “You’re worried about me being around Haven. I’m worried about it too.”
Corbin’s throat constricted.
James took a seat on the floor next to Boomer. “You think you’ll hurt her?”
Boomer lowered his head into his hands. “I don’t know what to think. It’s all pretty fucking overwhelming.”
“Tell me what you’re feeling,” coaxed James, his hand finding Boomer’s knee. Boomer didn’t push the man away. A good sign.
“Confused. Surprised. Lost. Terrified,” confessed Boomer. “What if I did kill her brother? I might have. I don’t remember the name, but how many times do we do what needs to be done without bothering to think of who we’re doing it to?”
“You ever kill anyone who didn’t deserve it?” asked James.
“No. He hasn’t,” responded Corbin for Boomer.
Boomer thumped his head against the wall. “She hates me.”
“She doesn’t know you,” answered James, remaining in place. “She came here with a mission in mind, and from what I hear, she gave it up the minute she learned that you possibly being caged would hurt you. Doesn’t sound like a woman bent on murdering you, does it?”
Boomer shook his head.
“I was able to talk with her a little,” said James softly. “Before I gave her a sedative. I think she has medical training for animals. She was babbling about a jaguar here missing an eye.”
“Scar?” asked Boomer, lifting his head in surprise.
“Don’t know. Only know she started going on and on about him and how extensive his injuries were. She was worried about him. Wanted to get back to check on him again.” James stood slowly.
Boomer jumped to his feet. “She was in with Scar? He’s not good with people. Not even good with shifters. Hell, he and I went a round already since his arrival. Did he hurt her?”
Corbin grabbed Boomer, holding him in place. “She’s fine.”
James laughed. “She called Scar a sweet kitty.”
Boomer’s eyes widened. “My mate wants me dead and she’s delusional.”
“Ah well, mine has purple hair this week,” said James dismissively. “Join the weird club.”
Boomer seemed to calm somewhat.
Corbin nodded to him. “You good here?”
“I’m good.” Boomer touched James lightly. “Thank you for checking in on her.”
James cleared his throat. “Miles.”
“Yes?”
“After talking with her and seeing her tests, I think Haven might have been part of that Asia Project the Immortal Ops uncovered. The one that tested on babies before they were even born.”
Boomer stiffened. “The one the I-Ops broke up only to find out evil fucks had been conducting the experiments on a huge scale?”
“Yes.” James nodded. “And the children were placed all over the world. Most hidden from the I-Ops and us.”
Boomer took a deep breath.
James coughed lightly. “She has many different strands of supernatural DNA in her. The tests aren’t fully done.”
“You’re working with equipment that won’t hit the mainstream markets for a decade,” said Corbin, wanting to point out James knew what the hell was going on and what Haven was and wasn’t. “Just tell him. He needs to know.”
“The largest part of her makeup would be vampire. Not enough to make her live off blood or unable to be in the daylight, but enough that she’s probably sensitive to full day sun, and obviously she has some bloodlust issues. My guess is she’s run herself into the ground—exhausting herself, not eating properly, not taking care of herself—so she probably has more control over that side than she showed here tonight.”
Boomer rubbed his jawline. “What else?”
“She has wolf DNA, some small amounts of tiger and even some Fae,” James said, taking a deep breath as he did. “She’s powerful and she’s scared and she’s rundown.”
“Why do you think she was part of the Asia Project?” asked Corbin. “Did she say as much?”
“No.” James shook his head. “She didn’t know what she was. She’s afraid of what she carries in her. Terrified of it, actually. She begged me to sedate her. She was worried she hurt Boomer when she bit him.”
“She can have as much blood from me as she needs,” said Boomer, his gaze moving to the door to Haven’s room. “I’ll give her whatever she needs or wants.”
Pride welled in Corbin, knowing what that statement cost Boomer and knowing the man meant every word of it.
James stepped back. “There are so many strands of things in her DNA that honestly, I’m sending samples to Dr. Green over at I-Ops. I’ve never seen anything like it. The closest I’ve seen before was when I was reading over Asia Project information. This was done to her, Boomer. Nature didn’t do this.”
“Can you check her samples against those our clean-up crews collect?” asked Corbin, a knowing look coming over his face. “If we had a hand in killing her brother, we more than likely have something genetic on file.”
“I’ll look into it,” said James. “In the meantime, the Sentinels are in town. I think it would be wise to ask at least one of them to check in on her. Their team medic would be the obvious
choice. He’ll know best how to care for her and he might be able to help her learn to control her vampire side.”
Corbin glanced at Boomer, expecting a protest.
Boomer pulled his cell phone from his back pocket and dialed a number. There was a pause. “Auberi, it’s Miles Walsh. I need your help. Can you come to my animal rescue tonight?” Boomer turned in a small circle. “I think I found my mate, or rather, she found me and, Auberi, she’s got vampire in her. She needs help. I don’t know how to help her.”
He hung up.
“He said he’ll be here before sunrise.”
Chapter Eleven
Thor pulled Belial up from the ground as the man finished expelling the contents of his stomach once more. “I warned you to let the human be,” said Thor, slightly aggravated by the young one’s lack of control. They’d been on their way to the location of the target when Thor had stopped to fill his truck with gas. No sooner had he stepped out to do so when Belial had burst free from the passenger side and attacked the attendant. Thor was fast and strong. Yet he’d been unable to do anything other than tear Belial from the dead man’s remains as Belial feasted upon them.
Maybe Pierre was right. Maybe Belial was a liability that would never serve the cause in any real way. Thor didn’t want to believe as much. There was something about the kid that Thor felt almost sorry for. He wanted Belial to succeed, to win the master’s favor and to live. The fate that awaited him should he not do as tasked was grim. And if the female they had been sent to deal with got the upper hand on Belial, he’d die. Either way, his future wasn’t so bright.
Belial looked up at Thor, the man’s eyes filled with black, indicating he was not in control of the vampire side he now carried. “I’m so hungry. All the time.”
Thor knew the hunger the man spoke of. He shared it. But he was not weak. He did not submit to it. Nor would he. Then again, Thor was much different from Belial, didn’t matter that they both were shifters to start with before the master’s gift.
“How is it you don’t feed?” asked Belial, touching his stomach and bending as if he might be sick once more.
“When the urge comes over me I channel it into something else,” responded Thor, as he’d been fighting the very urge Belial questioned since seeing the gas-station man bleed out. “I focus on a mission, if I have one. If I don’t, I work out.”
“Explains the abs,” said Belial with a half-smile.
Thor arched a brow. “You checking out my abs?”
“Master does,” answered Belial. “He doesn’t look at me that way.”
No. He didn’t.
Thor wasn’t comfortable with the line of discussion. He took a deep breath in. “Do you understand your mission?”
Belial nodded. “Find and kill the female.”
“Correct.” Thor paused and then glanced down at the man. “Belial, why do you suppose Master had us follow the woman, feed her information on the enemy, only to kill her later?”
A dreamy look came over Belial’s face and Thor sighed. He’d seen that very look on many others under Pierre’s command and control. It was the look of someone who was bespelled fully. Something Thor wasn’t. At least not to the level Belial and the others were.
The weak.
“I do as Master bids,” chirped Belial, sounding like a minion.
The harder Thor stared at the man, the more he began to see the situation with more clarity. Belial could kill those who couldn’t fight back, but deep down Thor suspected the female could give Belial a run for his money.
She could win, he thought, the clarity washing over him more. Pierre must have sensed as much too. Thor had met her before. He’d watched her from afar, shadowing her, learning her routine. She had seemed nice enough. Not like an enemy. In fact, she seemed the type to do anything for someone in need.
Protect her, his inner voice said, sounding far off but there. He shook the thought away. It was absurd. He had a task. He’d complete it.
“Come. We have a drive ahead of us yet. And I’m not sure we’ll make it through by dawn,” Thor confessed. “We may have to find shelter for you to ride out the day and then carry on with the mission tomorrow night.”
“Master said tonight,” said Belial.
“Then Master will need to send reinforcements. You’re of no use to anyone,” snapped Thor as he reached for his phone. He’d call in additional men for the attack. His gut told him the location they were headed to would be better protected than Pierre believed, and Thor wasn’t taking any chances.
“I can do it,” said Belial. “I have to do it. Master will kill me if I don’t.”
Thor bit his tongue, knowing Belial would more than likely die either way. He didn’t want to watch it happen. What choice did he have? One didn’t stand against the master.
He dragged Belial to the vehicle and loaded him in with a thrust before going to the driver’s side. They were running out of night. Thor would be fine. Uncomfortable, but fine. Belial wouldn’t. They needed to find shelter for the day and ride it out until nightfall. They’d be late completing their task, but they’d stand a better chance of success.
The drive to the location went by slowly, even though Thor had exceeded the speed limits. Belial hadn’t said a word, instead clutching his stomach and moaning in pain. He’d never be what Pierre had wanted him to be. Maybe it would be better to show the kid mercy and send him into the enemy’s hold to die a quick death there, rather than a slow death by Pierre’s hands.
Pierre would make the man pay. A pound of flesh wouldn’t do. He’d break whatever spirit was left in Belial. There would be a husk of a man there, begging for death to be granted. A death that would draw out for months.
It was Pierre’s way.
The location came into view and Thor killed the lights of the vehicle, slowing his approach. Belial lifted his head and touched the door handle, as if ready to leap out and do his best. His best wasn’t good enough. Far from it.
Thor caught him by the arm. “No. We find a place to tuck away from the sun for the day. Then we attack come nightfall.”
“Master said,” started Belial. He stopped when he noticed the number of vehicles in the parking area. “How many are in there?”
“My guess, the entire team,” said Thor, a sense of familiarity with the situation coming over him. He had those a lot. Moments where he felt strangely connected to the enemy. As if he was somehow bonded to them in some fashion. That was ridiculous. The same feeling had overtaken him several days prior when on a mission to retrieve a young female who had a direct connection to the dead. Thor had struggled with that mission more than others—wanting to see the young woman off to safety rather than captured and before his master. Of course, he spoke none of his concerns to Pierre. He simply took a team out to the field to try to figure out where the first team had gone wrong.
Thor had tracked the enemy, a man who had paired up with the female, across several states before finally losing their trail. He’d not been displeased. In fact, he’d had to fight a smile. Perhaps he was a defective model after all.
He pulled to a stop a few miles from the facility, near an old car that looked almost abandoned by the side of the road. He could smell that it had been in running condition not that long ago. Its back seat was filled with bags. He hopped out and took a look. Another smile came over him as he realized what was in the bags and where they were. The bags held camping gear and they were parked on the edge of a large, deep, wooded area. Between the tree canopy and the tent, Belial would have enough coverage from the sun to survive the day.
Thor punched open the window, paying no mind to the sting of the cuts from the glass as he yanked the bags from the back seat. Belial joined him. He threw the bags to the man. “Take these and head into the woods. I’ll hide the vehicles and meet up with you.”
“Yes, sir,” said Belial.
“Help will arrive shortly and then we will go in with force,” said Thor. “We will teach them.”
His inn
er voice screamed at him, demanding he see reason. That this shouldn’t come to be. That all of this was wrong. He had to take a long, deep breath to regain his focus. “We will do as master has ordered.”
Chapter Twelve
Haven opened her eyes and blinked several times, her head feeling much less heavy than she remembered it being before sleep. Boomer was there, in a chair, near the side of the bed, his violet gaze on her as he sat unmoving, like a statue. He reminded her of the statue in the entrance to the rescue. The same one she’d thought was breathtaking yet lonely in some respects. She wanted to reach out and touch him, and then beg to be held, but she didn’t dare. She’d come to kill him. To punish him for being evil.
Hugging wasn’t supposed to be on her mind.
She squeezed her eyes shut and fought tears. They’d all been so nice to her despite the fact she’d come to hurt and kill them. The doctor they’d brought in to look at her had let her shower and had even given her a pair of surgical scrubs to change into. The rescue facility’s name was embroidered on the front. They’d been so good to her and she’d lost her mind. Was she really such a bad judge of character suddenly, or had she been lied to, her strings pulled by someone else? Someone with an ax to grind against these men. Whatever was happening, she’d failed at her one mission. “I couldn’t even avenge Harper. I’m worthless.”
“And Harper would be the brother, yes?” asked a voice that held a decent French accent.
Gasping, Haven sat up in bed, and before she could blink, Boomer was there, next to her, her hand in his. “Shh,” he said softly. “This is Auberi Bouchard. He’s a friend.”
She looked toward the doorway and found a tall, well-built man there, his skin like alabaster, his eyes a deep blue. His long brown hair hung over his broad shoulders. He had a strange scent. Not bad. Just unique. One she didn’t recognize, yet it somehow felt familiar to her. Confused, she sat back more on the bed, clutching at Boomer’s hand, feeling safe with him.
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