Critical Intelligence: 2016 Anniversary Edition (Immortal Ops)

by Mandy M. Roth

  “Gee, he hasn’t outgrown that a bit,” Wilson said sardonically. “I wonder how many more times Jon will get to shoot him today.”

  “I thought Roi was going to kill you, Captain. When we got back from our mission and that little girl, er, Missy was gone.” Jon smiled slightly as he shifted his gaze to Roi. “I told you that you’d see her again.”

  “Yeah, see her get the shit beat out of her. Let me go!” Roi fought so hard to break free of Eadan’s magical hold on him that he began to shift.

  “Control yourself, Majors, or she’ll catch your scent.”

  “Good. She needs to know that we all won’t leave her at their mercy.”

  Nodding, the general touched Eadan’s shoulder. “Inform her that they are not friendlies and that none may be permitted to leave. Do not tell her that the I-Ops are near or that we are either. She’ll avoid doing what she can for fear Majors and the others will think less of her. And if she realizes you are near, Eadan, she’ll worry more knowing you will no doubt want to confront her about Majors.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Missy dropped her head down, waiting for the next blow. It came and she winced as pain shot through her jaw, radiating through her face. The man grabbed her by her hair and held her head back, his hazel eyes boring into her.

  “You’re in pain, aren’t you?” He didn’t wait for a response. “Why don’t you just tell us about each of the I-Ops? Tell us everything you know about the six of them.”

  Missy stared up at the man, not letting on that he’d just indicated that he didn’t know anything about them. There were only five I-Ops now. And if he was PSI who had been sent by the middle-level heads there, then they’d know exactly who the I-Ops were and that one had passed on.

  Another man came forward and shook his head, leaving his shaggy blond hair bouncing everywhere. “She doesn’t know shit. She’s been nothing but terrified of us from the moment we snatched her, Rex. She’s just some girl with special gifts. Hell, she’s probably one of the thousands who see the future. It’s looking like she was in the wrong place at the wrong time. That’ll teach her to leave a bar with a man she doesn’t know. I hope that fuck was a phenomenal one cause it’s got her mixed up in some heavy shit.”

  The big man holding her hair laughed. “Well, she’ll die even if she doesn’t understand what’s going on now. There is no way she walks out of here knowing our names and faces.”

  “Then kill her and get it over with. I’m sick of hearing her cry.”

  Missy bit back a smile as she continued her terrified little girl routine. It kept their guard down. The second Rex stepped back and nodded to another man, she knew what was coming next and welcomed it.

  “Cut the bitch loose and we’ll at least have some fun with her,” Rex said, laughing.

  “Aww, hell yeah. When do you think we’ll run across another piece of ass that fine again?”

  Melissa did her best to not roll her eyes. It was hard. She concentrated on looking terrified instead.

  A man with a shaved head dropped down before her, staring up at her with hungry brown eyes. He licked his lips and undid the cords tying her ankles, hissing as the silver coating began to burn him. “Mmm, you better be worth this.”

  He freed her feet and moved around to the back of the chair. Staying still, Missy kept her terrified expression and added some shallow breathing for effect. The smug look on Rex’s face said it was working.

  Two other men ran up and stood next to her. They stared at her like she was free for the pickings. In their minds, she was. Carefully, Missy recounted what she knew about each man so far. She’d been trained to keep mental notes on what known weapons each opponent had. It was easy to tell the ones who were packing because they favored that side of their body just a hair more than the other. In her experience, men who were up to no good tended to treat their firearms like their dicks—when they spotted a woman, they adjusted them. The two next to her had been adjusting for the last forty minutes.

  Instantly, the weasel who untied the cords wormed his way in front of her again. As he brought his head in between her legs, she gripped the back of the chair tight, knowing it looked as though she was scared and trying to keep him away. She let huge tears fall from her cheeks. They were easy to pull up since her entire body hurt.

  Missy, they are not on our side. I repeat. They are not friendlies.

  Eadan? The sound of Eadan’s voice in her head was music to her ears.

  Yeah, honey, it’s me. The men in there are PSI but they weren’t sent by any of us. They’ve turned and they cannot be permitted to leave the area. They already know more than they should about the I-Ops. If they’re freed, then the entire team will be in danger. Are you good to proceed?

  Missy stared down at the man between her legs and let a slight smile splay over her lips. There was no way these assholes were going to jeopardize any of the men’s lives. Oh, I think I’ll be fine.

  Be careful.

  I always am.

  The man drew in a deep breath. “You have the sweetest…”

  “I’m sick and fucking tired of hearing her cry,” the man to her direct left said as he swung out a clawed hand at her face.

  Her natural instincts and training kicked in automatically. She caught his wrist a second before it would have struck her and jerked it hard to the left. The bones cracked and the man bent forward fast. Missy stared into his now-swirling eyes and stopped pretending to cry. Instantly she was emotionally stable and smiling at him. “Yeah, and I’m sick of pretending to be afraid of you assholes, so I’d say we’re close to being even. Once you’re all dead I’ll call it a day.”

  Taking the man’s clawed hand, she raked it over the side of the bald head between her legs, slitting the man wide open in the process. Letting go of the hand, Missy grabbed hold of the back of the metal chair. She shoved her body down fast, hitting the face of the bald man between her thighs a second before she dropped to the floor. Swinging the chair up and over her head, she kicked off the man’s body and slid backward on the tile as she slammed the chair into his head. It hit so hard that his head split.

  Jerking it up fast, she caught the one who had punched her repeatedly in the face. Turning ever so slightly as she kicked the chair up with all her might, she caught the man’s neck with it and sent him flying backward.

  Missy twisted fast, sweeping the legs out from another man who had run up next to her hoping to get a free screw. As he fell, she took hold of the handgun he’d been so keen on toying with while he’d watched her being beaten. Seeing a flash out of the corner of her eye, Missy kicked the chair up and caught it while still lying on her side.

  Instantly, a large mass was on her. Looking up, Missy found herself face-to-face with a partially shifted werewolf. The only thing that prevented it from biting her was the chair now lodged between them. She lifted the semiautomatic pistol and fired a shot between its eyes while simultaneously thrusting the chair up, pushing the beast off her.

  Her senses warned her that someone was about to start shooting at her. The shot went off and time seemed to still. Hearing the direction it came from, Missy used her inhuman speed to roll fast the other way. The bullet grazed her arm. Pain radiated through it but she ignored it, knowing it would heal.

  “Damn it, shoot her!”

  “I’m fucking trying! She’s too fast!”

  Holding tight to the handgun, Missy charged at one of the two long tables in the room as bullets whizzed past her head. She did a fast run-jump and vaulted off the table using one hand. As her legs moved above her, she aimed and fired a shot into a man moving in on her, scoring a direct chest hit.

  Extending her body out, she then landed and stood straight up. The second she saw the whites of another attacker’s eyes, she fired a direct shot at his head a second before he fired at her. Time seemed to slow again as she twisted to the side and seized hold of the dead man before he could fall to the ground.

  Bullet
s continued to come at her, only now she held the dead man as a shield, allowing his body to absorb them. Reaching quickly to his side, she yanked his handgun out of his hand a moment before his fingers loosened. Letting the man fall away, Missy instantly began firing with both weapons as she ran at the men full-force.

  Two dropped from direct chest hits. Another lost a hand as she shot the weapon out of it a second before aiming at his head and pulling the trigger.

  One of the men foolishly tried to meet her head-on. As he turned ever so slightly, she knew what he was planning on—he was going to try a front kick. As he drew his leg into his body and went to extend it, Missy aimed at his exposed groin and pulled the trigger. She smiled as he dropped like a ton of bricks. His screams filled the room. Aiming at his head, she put him out of his misery.

  “I don’t like to be kicked, asshole!”

  A huge shadow came at her from above. Lifting the pistols, she fired. One discharged a shot, the other didn’t. Tossing the empty weapon aside, she dove forward a moment before a huge gray wolf fell to the floor. She hit it. It was hurt but it wasn’t a fatal shot. She went to fire at it and discovered her only weapon was now empty as well.

  “What will you do now? You have no guns to hide behind. And you can’t possibly stand toe to toe with us,” Rex said, laughing. “Give me the I-Ops names and descriptions and I’ll let you walk away. It’s that easy.”

  Missy stared at the wolf, not wanting it to get the upper hand. “You don’t really expect me to tell you anything, do you?”

  “Do you know what the wolf before you can do? He’ll take hold of your neck and rip your throat out if you’re lucky. He could always take his time with you. Tell us what we want to know and I’ll be sure to make your death as painless as possible. One as young and as new to all of this as you can’t possibly expect to win against us.”

  Smiling, Missy kept her gaze locked on the wolf before her. “Hmm, who wants to sing with me? I believe we’re now at three big bad bastards on the wall when we started at twelve. Take a bad guy down and pass him around… Yeah, I could never hold my own. Anyone else feel like I need a bottle of rum and an eye patch?”

  No one answered.

  “Guess it’s just me.”

  “Tell me, do you have a death wish?” Rex asked, sounding a smidge closer than before.

  Shrugging, Missy snorted. “Dying hadn’t crossed my mind, but I have no problem doing it to keep them safe.”

  “Why? You are nothing to them. They aren’t here to help you. None of them care if you live or die.”

  “And your point is what?”

  “That you’re not only a fool but clearly in love with one of them. Let me guess, it’s the one you left the bar with.”

  Sitting still, Melissa laughed slightly. “Oh, wait, this is the part where I’m supposed to spaz out on you and confess some undying love. Give me a minute and I’ll do my best to drum up another award-winning performance.”

  “You can’t expect to win.”

  Missy did a fake yawn and nodded at the wolf. “Does he always ramble like this? I’m thinking of bashing my head against the wall and killing myself just so I don’t have to listen to his mouth run anymore.”

  “Kill her!”

  The wolf bared its teeth and lunged at her. Missy smacked its open mouth hard with the butt of the handgun, sending its head twisting to the side. Kicking up hard, she connected her boot with its ribs, breaking them easily. Missy sprang to her feet and straddled the wolf. Taking hold of the sides of its head, she snapped its neck fast and let it drop to the floor.

  Turning her head slowly, she met Rex’s hazel gaze and smiled. “Yeah, about that can’t-possibly-win thing. Willing to take it back now?”

  Rex gave her a lecherous smile as he tucked his arms into his sides. Knowing he was up to something she wouldn’t like, she felt out, trying to sense exactly where the last man was. The second she found him, she arched her brows and smiled wide.

  “Is something funny?”

  Missy nodded. “Yep. Your boy is scared shitless and thinks you are a fool. He’s also got me in his sights. Now, I wouldn’t be worth a damn at my job if I went and let myself get shot, so I’ll be back in just a minute.”

  Not waiting for Rex to respond, Missy ran at the man with the speed of every cat mixture in her. The man fired and the shot went wide. He reeked of fear and it only served to drive Missy onward.

  Chapter Thirty

  Roi watched with wide eyes as Missy ran straight for the man shooting at her from the corner. He was already so shocked to see his tiny Missy drop nine men and a partially shifted one that he could do little more than stare.

  “Holy shit, she’s fearless,” Wilson said softly.

  Eadan let out a soft laugh. “Yeah, that’s a serious character flaw of hers.”

  “I agree,” the general said.

  Missy ran directly into the man. Roi watched as she thrust the hand with the gun in it against the wall. The weapon fell to the floor as the man started to shift. Missy leapt backward fast, springing up and onto the table. She looked so lethal standing there staring down at the half-shifted man, but she also looked stunning. The second Missy yanked her turtleneck off, Roi’s stomach tightened. Wearing only a tiny black tank top, she wrapped the turtleneck around her forearm.

  “Damn, she’s fine!” Wilson whistled and made a small odd sound.

  Growling, Roi felt the beast within rising up. “You are not to look at her like that. I will—”

  Wilson put his hands in the air. “I know, I know. You’ll beat the shit out of me until Lukian or Green take pity on me and pull you off.”

  “I won’t stop him this time. That’s his wife you’re talking about,” Green said softly.

  “She’s amazing.”

  Hearing Jon say that made Roi smile. Jon wasn’t prone to say much about anyone. Though he did comment when Wilson was being an ass.

  Roi stared at his wife. “Yeah, she is.”

  Missy tapped her arm lightly. “Argent_tus.”

  “What did she just say?” Roi asked, as he watched the turtleneck around her arm change from black to silver.

  “Silver-plated,” Green and Eadan said simultaneously.

  The half-shifted man came at her fast. She spun around and struck it with the now silver-plated, cast-like weapon on her arm. It sent the man hurtling in the direction of the wall. She was on him instantly, kicking him hard and repeatedly slamming the silver cast into his face.

  He sank to the floor. There was no doubt in Roi’s mind that the man was dead. The only question on his mind was how in the world Melissa had managed to make something silver-plated.

  “Bravo, young one. Tell me how you learned that little trick,” Rex said, his voice grating on Roi’s last thread of sanity.

  Melissa turned slowly, looking every bit the hellcat he thought she was. Smiling, she winked. “Just a little something my ex-husband gave me to help in situations like this.”

  “Ex-husband?” Roi couldn’t remain silent.

  “Shhhhh, do you want her to go head to head with the man while she’s afraid of what you’ll think of her?” the general asked.

  Roi narrowed his gaze on Eadan. “You. You’re the ex-husband.”

  Eadan nodded, and the slightest hint of amusement twinkled in his eyes.

  “Eadan?”

  Roi glanced quickly at the general, wondering why he seemed shocked by the news. “Hey, are you just finding out now too? Tell me I’m not the only one Missy lied to.”

  “Did you ask her if she’d ever been married before?” The smug look on Eadan’s face made Roi want to bash his face against the wall a few billion times.

  “No.”

  “Then how did she lie to you?”

  Goddammit, I hate it when people go all logical on me.

  General Newman struck out hard and fast, hitting Eadan and sending him flying backward. Roi couldn’t help but smile. Eadan rose to his feet magically, not appearing hurt in the least.<
br />
  “She may not have lied to Geoffroi, but she certainly lied to me!”

  All the Ops watched the general.

  Eadan nodded slowly. “I know. She didn’t want you to separate us.”

  “That is exactly what I would have done. I knew you cared for her. I even suspected that something small might have gone on, but I never expected that you mated with her.”

  Mated? Ohmygod, that’s how Missy knew she could still walk away if he wasn’t her true mate. She’d been through it once before.

  “How long were the two of you married?”

  Eadan didn’t answer the general.

  “I asked you a question. You will answer it.”

  Eadan’s jaw tightened. “Sir, Missy forbade me from discussing this with you. I will honor her wishes.”

  The general stepped back and shook his head. “You—you were the one she was protecting.”

  Protecting?

  Eadan looked away from the general, a sure sign that he was the man in question.

  “What the hell is going on?” Roi asked, needing answers.

  General Newman looked at him and let out a sigh. “You said that you loved Melissa. After hearing she was mated to another, do you still?”

  Roi’s mouth dropped open. “How can you ask me that? Yes, I still love her. I’m beyond pissed at the moment, but that doesn’t change how I feel about her. Now tell Blondie to let me go. I need to help my wife.”

  “Before you set foot through that door you need to answer one question for me.”

  “I really don’t give a shit that you’re the head of PSI. I’m tired of the games. Let me go.”

  The general ignored him. “Have you and Melissa discussed children yet?”

  Instantly, Roi knew where he was going with this. “Yes, and I’m fine with adopting. I already told her that.” He stopped in mid-sentence and thought about how this subject had come up. “Blondie has something to do with why she can’t have children. Doesn’t he?”