by Tate James
River gave a sharp nod and waved everyone into motion. Without asking, I followed the twins to Caleb’s Mustang. To my surprise, Austin climbed into the backseat with me. I gave him a look, tilting my head as though to ask what the hell he was doing, but he just met my gaze with a steady stare, giving absolutely nothing away on his handsome face.
I was way too tired to pick a fight, so I just shrugged and got comfortable against the door, closing my eyes. As I drifted on the edge of sleep, a strong, calloused hand lifted one of mine and threaded our fingers together. But I must have been imagining it because it was only Austin in the back seat with me, and such a tender gesture of comfort would never come from him.
45
It couldn’t have been two minutes since I’d closed my eyes, when I found myself being lifted out of the car. I cuddled into the strong arms and broad chest. The scent of pine trees surrounded me. Pine trees and safety. I didn’t try to open my eyes as he carried me into the house. I didn’t think I could even if I wanted to.
River deposited me on his huge bed and carefully lifted the hoody to check my side. He ran his fingertips over the tender skin and sucked in a sharp breath. It was almost healed, and I didn’t need to look. Judging by the level of discomfort, I suspected it was just in the nasty, red-purple-scarred phase.
“I need to shower,” I murmured in a voice thick with sleep.
“Love, you’re exhausted. Just sleep,” River urged, but I shook my head firmly, cracking my eyes open.
“No. I need to shower.” I couldn’t bring the lingering feeling of Simon’s hands into River’s bed with me. What I really wanted was to peel my entire skin off like a lizard and start fresh, but given that wasn’t a realistic option, a shower would suffice.
River sighed and scooped me back up. He carried me into the bathroom and sat me beside the sink while he turned the water on to warm up, then came back to me with a concerned frown marring his handsome face.
“I’ll be fine, Alpha.” I smiled weakly, and his eyes widened.
“Why did you just call me that?” His tone was weird, but I was too tired to read any further into it.
“I have no idea.” I shrugged. “Just trying out nicknames for you, and it was the first thing that popped into my head. Now get out; I need to scrub off a layer of skin.”
He stared at me for a moment longer, then kissed my cheek softly. “Cole will stay with you while we debrief. Just yell out if you need him, okay?” I nodded, then shooed him from the bathroom so I could take my shower.
Once scrubbed to the point of almost bleeding, and with fingertips shriveled to prune status, I finally got out and dressed in the freshly laundered men’s sweatpants and t-shirt that had been left on the basin for me. Back in River’s bedroom, I could see Cole’s shape stretched out along the bed, dead still as though he were asleep. It was already daylight outside, but the heavy curtains blocked all but a few strips of light from the room. It gave me just enough light to see his eyes open a crack.
I slipped in and snuggled into his warm body, but he went rigid trying to avoid my injuries.
“It’s fine; I’m almost healed,” I assured him. “It was only those scratches from the, ah, claws.”
“Yeah, you mentioned that earlier. What the shit? Some chick had claws?”
I considered the memory of her grotesquely mutated fingers. “I know, it sounds… insane. But I don’t put much past Dupree and her mad scientists anymore.”
He hummed in thought. “Why do you think it took so much longer to heal? Aus said you got shot as well and it healed in under half an hour?”
“Yeah,” I said around a yawn. Why had those gashes been so slow to heal when, by all accounts, my healing was now quicker than ever?
“It had to be something to do with her claws. Maybe they had some sort of... poison? Venom? I don’t know...”
He hummed. “What did they look like? Like... proper animal paws or something in between?”
“In between. Like a bad eighties werewolf or something, except the tips kind of looked like they’d been dipped in some sort of metal.” It was super weird to be thinking about a person’s metal-tipped, mutated hands.
“Let’s speak with Wes about it later,” Cole decided, then tucked my head under his chin. “Get some sleep, Vixen. You’ll need your strength for the reprimand you’ll be getting in the morning.”
I groaned with dread—and he chuckled, the bastard—but floated into a blissfully dreamless sleep.
River sliding into bed next to me woke me later. He planted his freezing cold feet against mine, and I yelped. Chuckling, River slid his equally cold hands over my waist and tugged me out of Cole’s embrace.
“River,” Cole muttered, cracking one eye open. “The fuck are you doing, man? You’re like a goddamn ice cube; I can feel you from here.”
“I know,” he replied smoothly, and I could almost hear the smile in his voice. “It’s why I need this hot little thing to warm me up.”
I grumbled under my breath, but his hands were starting to warm up where he touched me, so I let it slide. Cole must not have had any good arguments because he went quiet for a moment.
“How’d debrief go?” he asked finally, rolling to us. His head was on my pillow, and their warmth bracketed me.
River made a noise of frustration. “It didn’t. Director himself wants to debrief with us so is apparently going to be in touch tomorrow. In the meantime we’re all to stay put.”
Cole made another masculine-sounding hum in his throat as he lifted a hand to lightly stroke my face. His eyes weren’t fully closed as I’d thought earlier; instead, they were open a fraction so he could watch me. The soft brush of his fingers relaxed me.
“How are the boys?” Cole continued his conversation with River, giving me more appreciation for his place as second-in-command.
“Aus is pretty bruised up, but nothing seems broken. He’ll be a hell of a sight for a few days, though, based on how dark some of those marks are already. Wesley wanted me to fetch him if Kit still hadn’t healed those cuts, and Caleb is sulking that he has to sleep alone tonight.” River’s chest vibrated with laughter, and even Cole cracked a smile.
“Poor kid.” He grinned, then leaned in and kissed me tenderly on the mouth, lingering far longer than I would have expected given I was still encased in his friend’s arms. Though stunned by the bold move, I returned the kiss and then gasped as River pressed soft kisses to the back of my neck.
“Go to sleep, you two,” River commanded as Cole broke away from our kiss and winked at me.
“Yes, sir,” we respond in unison, and River made an irritated noise. Now wasn’t the time to push him, so I took River’s hand from my waist, then threaded my fingers through his and hugged it to my chest. Cole took advantage of the gap and rested his hand over my waist so that I slipped once more into a blissful, dreamless sleep, feeling safer lying between them than I can ever remember.
46
I woke alone but well-rested, lying in River’s massive bed, surrounded by the smell of pine trees and bonfire embers. I smiled to myself. How had I gotten so incredibly lucky to have met these guys? Even though I knew deep down they wouldn’t have let me go to Dupree without a fight, the fact that they’d come for me still seemed a bit surreal. The fact that they cared enough for me to risk their own safety and jobs... was unexpected and a little overwhelming. Yet I couldn’t escape the sensation of rightness.
My sleepy bliss was doused like a bucket of water on a campfire as my fingers skipped over the still puckered flesh of my side and the horrible events of the past day and a half came pouring back to me. My breathing accelerated, and I desperately tried to get a grip as my ears started ringing with the beginning of a panic attack.
Breathe, Kit. You can have a major freak out later. First things first: call the hospital and check on Lucy. Second… fuck, I didn’t even know where to go from there. May as well work on the first thing then, and I used the landline phone on the nightstand to call the
hospital.
“Oh, Miss Davenport,” the nurse said when I finally got through to the right department. “Yes, I was the one who spoke with you when your friend came in. How are you doing? You were pretty shaken up, dear.”
“Me? I’m fine.” If we weren’t counting the last twelve hours of madness, that was. “How is Lucy? Do you have an update for me?”
“Oh, gosh! I’m so sorry; I left you a voicemail, but you must not have heard it yet,” she exclaimed, and a stab of fear sliced through my gut. I had no idea where my phone had ended up, but I hadn’t seen it since Lucy was hurt.
“No, I haven’t. What is it? Did something—” My words cut off with a strangled gasp, and I took a breath. “Did something happen? Is she not okay?” I swallowed hard, and a tear slipped down my face.
“No, honey, oh no, I am so sorry; my brain is just fried today. Lucy is doing great! I left you a message to say she had pulled through really well and is out of the woods. We are just keeping her sedated a little longer to give her body a chance to recover, but she should be awake tomorrow if you’d like to come and see her?” The nurse’s words took a minute to soak through my terrified mind, but when they did, I was overcome with relief.
“That’s great,” I sobbed out, all of my emotion crashing me into hiccupping tears. “Thank you s-so m-much.”
“Oh, it’s my pleasure, Christina. I have to go, but I’ll see you tomorrow.” The warmth in her voice made me cry even harder as I disconnected the call and wiped my face on the hem of my borrowed t-shirt.
Dizzy with relief, I hopped in the shower once more because I still felt disgusting, despite the extended loofah session the night before
Dressed in clothes I’d stolen from River—boxer shorts and a crisp, white dress shirt—I headed out to the kitchen while towel drying my long hair. I couldn’t help the broad grin on my face because Lucy is going to be fine!
When I reached the open-plan living space, I paused mid-step when I found my guys, er, I mean the guys, all sitting around looking decidedly rigid and uncomfortable, their faces like sheets of steel. A tall, distinguished gentleman with perfectly styled silver hair and a custom-tailored suit was the only person standing, and he faced them all as though in the middle of a lecture.
Recovering from my surprise quickly, I wandered across the room, giving a challenging glare to our guest as I headed into the kitchen to make a coffee. My favorite mug was broken and so was the marble countertop. I had to make do with a pathetic, normal-sized mug with a picture of Grumpy Cat on it. I tapped my fingers on the counter while my coffee brewed, deliberately ignoring the thick silence from the men. They can wait, this is about me anyway.
When it was ready, I poured myself a mug then carried it out to the living room. The others watched me with varying expressions of panic. I hummed my way past the silver-haired gentleman and skipped the empty couch space in favor of Caleb’s lap, which earned me a strangled noise of shock from him. Once I’d wriggled around to get comfortable, I tucked my cold toes under Cole’s thigh, then tilted my chin up with a stubborn glare at the sharply dressed man.
River coughed, garnering my attention, and he gave me a pointed look. “Kit, this is the Director of Omega Group, Mr. Pierre,” River introduced the man, who was now scowling at me.
“Hey, dude,” I greeted him casually, and he released a long-suffering sigh, just as River’s eyes widened.
“Nice of you to finally join us, Kit,” Director Pierre remarked dryly, “I don’t suppose you planned on offering anyone else a coffee when you made your own?”
I snorted a laugh, almost choking on the coffee in question and nodding to the empty cups on the coffee table. “Uh no, they’ve clearly already had one. Besides, you only drink tea, you weirdo.”
He smothered a smile and frowns of confusion appeared on the guys’ faces at our interaction.
“Oh gosh, sorry, where are my manners today?” I rolled my eyes, “Guys, Director Pierre is also my dad, Jonathan Davenport. Good old secret identities, hey, Daddy-O?”
He cringed. “Don’t call me that, Kit. It’s creepy.”
The guys were a mixture of confusion and panic, though Caleb seemed the most panicked since it was his lap I’d chosen to sit in while wearing nothing but River’s shirt and boxer shorts. I could mess with them a bit more, but I’d already done enough damage over the last day or so.
“Wait...” River frowned. “What...?”
“Alpha Team was just in the process of telling me how they happened to stumble across a highly illegal human genetics laboratory in the middle of nowhere. Your presence here suggests there may be a few holes in their story though.” Jonathon gave them a stern look of reprimand before focusing on me. “I should have guessed you’d be neck deep in this, Kit. River, we’ll be having a discussion about why you thought it was appropriate to harbor a fugitive within your team and omit key details in your reports.”
Jaw clenching, River nodded once.
“As for you,” Jonathan gave me his serious Dad face. “You remember our deal: no more thieving, and I expect to see you in the class of new Omega recruits after you graduate.” There was a barely disguised gleam of triumph in his eyes, and I groaned painfully, dropping my head onto Caleb’s tense shoulder.
“Hold up,” Austin, of all people, spoke up. “You mean to say you’ve known the identity of The Fox all along? So why assign so many agents to finding her? Was this some sort of test?”
Austin’s angry frown eased when Jonathan pinned him with an authoritarian gaze before responding. “That’s exactly what it was. A test. And congratulations, Mr. King, your team passed where so many others have failed. You should be very proud of yourselves; you’ve taken a potentially very dangerous criminal off the streets.” This last part was delivered with just a small dose of glee. My dad, the smug bastard.
“Such a gracious winner.” I scowled at him, sulking just a little. “I suspect you cheated though. It seems too coincidental that they knew which client I would accept so they could plant that tracker.”
“I did nothing of the sort.” His eyebrows almost hit his hairline as he gave me an outraged look. “You know perfectly well that I have always kept our deal and never given away any inside information. But fair is fair, Kit. My team caught you, so you will be joining Omega in six weeks. As per our agreement, you may continue your vendetta, albeit under my watch. God knows I didn’t expect you to evade capture this long, though.”
I really had nothing else to say. He was a man of his word; if he’d really wanted to cheat, I would have been caught years ago when we first struck our deal. He knew from almost day one what Lucy and I had been up to. After all, he didn’t become the director of a secret agency by not being observant. We’d had plenty of fights about it in those early days until we had reached our arrangement; I was allowed to continue working through my anger and trauma by hitting those assholes in the wallet, but if I ever got sloppy enough to be caught by an Omega spy, then I would have to join the agency and do things by the book.
At least Lucy will be coming with me! All for one and one for all. Unless this mysterious plan she mentioned really does work out.
“Speaking of,” he continued, “where’s your demonic partner in crime? It’s not like you two to be separated.”
“She…” I didn’t even know where to begin. “She got hurt, during all of this. But I just spoke to the hospital, and they said she’s going to be okay and we can visit tomorrow.” I was smiling at the good news, but tears started rolling down my face again at the guilt associated. It was still my fault she had ended up getting hurt in the first place.
Jonathan gave me a stern look, then handed me his cotton handkerchief from his suit pocket. “Give me the name of her doctor, and I will check in with him. Also, let Jill and Frank know what’s going on.” Of course I needed to contact Lucy’s guardians. I couldn’t believe I hadn’t done it already. Stupid, Kit.
“Mr. Morgan, a word in private please,” Jonathan commanded, tu
rning his attention back to River and wiping all traces of kindness from his weathered face. River rose and led my adopted father outside. The tension in the room dropped measurably.
“Why were we all so worked up?” I asked playfully, wiping my face on the soft handkerchief and pretending like I had not just been crying in front of them all. “Jonathan’s a big pussycat.” I wiggled again in Caleb’s lap, and he puffed out a pent-up breath.
“Are you seriously trying to kill me, Kitty Kat?” he muttered, picking me up and depositing me onto Cole’s lap before standing to not so subtly fix his pants. “I’m going for a cold shower before the director gets back. The last thing I need is Director-fucking-Pierre questioning my intentions toward his daughter.” He stalked out of the room in a huff, and I tried not to laugh.
“That was cruel,” Austin commented with an unexpected hint of admiration. “Caleb idolizes Director Pierre. He looked so torn between his hero worship and your provocative outfit I thought his batteries were malfunctioning.”
Wesley snickered at the robot joke, and I rolled my eyes.
“Hardly provocative,” I grumbled, looking down at my borrowed shirt and realizing that my wet hair had turned the white shirt translucent, and it was clinging to my breasts in a rather, er, provocative way. Whoops. Explained the exasperated look Jonathan gave me. Oh well, he had definitely caught me in worse situations over the years; this was nothing in comparison.
“I think it’s a particularly good look on you, Vixen,” Cole murmured in my ear, his huge hands sliding under the fabric to meet my bare skin.
“Ugh, can you two lay off while we’re in the room?” Austin scoffed. “Watching this is making my head hurt, and I’m sure you’re making Wes uncomfortable.”
I stole a look over to the shy man in the armchair, and he flushed beet red.
