SWAT Team Seven: Goddess of the Circle [The Men of Five-0 #5] (Siren Publishing LoveXtreme Forever)

by Dixie Lynn Dwyer

  Melena paused as she heard the muffled voices below. She was now over the makeshift conference room she’d discovered a few days ago in her first recon mission of the joint. Son of a bitch, they’re here tonight. Perfect.

  Melena felt her heart rate increase. This was so freaking dangerous. It thrilled her. Wasn’t that sick? She had learned that revenge required commitment, determination, and obsession. She would get her revenge on Morago. She would.

  Melena made her way to the next room, the office. The fact that Dashkin and Lunvolk were directly next door excited her. If all went well, they would be dead or behind bars tonight.

  She quickly, but quietly opened the screen metal vent in the ceiling. She felt her chest tighten. Maybe I shouldn’t have had those three chocolate cookies today?

  She inhaled and squeezed her way through, grateful that the table was slightly to the right of the floor. She just made it as she quietly stepped down onto the table then floor. Swiftly, she secured the door, placed the chair under the knob as a precaution then turned toward the doorway that led to the vault.

  Smiling wide she made her way to it and took a deep breath. She pulled the small bag from her waist and got her tools. In no time at all the door clicked and she was in.

  “Holy shit.”

  There were so many sparkling items she thought it looked like a scene from some Indiana Jones movie. It was amazing and somehow as she scanned the area and her belly quivered with anticipation, she spotted the small wooden chest, her family heirloom, and still hopefully it contained some of the pendants and jewels of her ancestors.

  She grabbed it and gave it a shake. It was heavy but she was determined.

  Very easily she could take more right now, but that wasn’t why she was here. The bricks of gold, the stacks of money were not earned but taken. It was drug money. This chest belonged to the Mahalan Family.

  She climbed back up onto the table and placed the chest onto the shelf ceiling. Leaping upward, she swung her legs and got back up. She closed the screen metal grate and made her way slowly through the ventilation system. Right before she exited through the outdoor screen, she heard the commotion as the old, rusted, metal screen hit the ground. Shit!

  They were there. The authorities were raiding the building. She needed to hurry.

  * * * *

  “On three!” Gideon called out then counted as they kicked open the side doorway.

  Edric was taking up the rear when he heard what sounded like metal falling to the blacktop. He turned to the right and thought he saw something, but he couldn’t investigate it now. Team Two would do it. They were human and local to the area.

  As they made their way inside, there was little resistance. But then in a matter of seconds that all changed. The bullets began to fly toward them. Edric lowered to his knees, aimed, and fired a round of shots, taking down multiple men with firearms. Chance stuck to the side wall and shot down two other men who were heavily armed and firing shots at Chordeo. Edric watched as Gideon and Mano were jumped on by two big men. In a flash his brothers tossed the large men like rag dolls as more officers entered the building.

  Task Force One, their cousins, joined them and helped to secure the area.

  It was Edric, Gideon, and Mano who entered the offices in search of their two main suspects, Dashkin and Lunvolk. As bullets whizzed by their heads, Edric turned and fired, taking down two men in business suits.

  Carefully they approached.

  “They’re still alive, Edric, but nice shots anyway,” Mano teased him, and Edric shrugged his shoulders.

  “They were going to kill you guys. I had no choice.”

  “And we appreciate that,” Mano added, and they continued to secure the area.

  * * * *

  Gideon stood inside the surveillance room of the building and looked at the video surveillance. He was tipped off that something suspicious was going on as they entered a separate office and found a large vault, wide open. After backtracking to the sequence of events and the fact that a ventilation screen in the ceiling swung open while they were in there, they suspected something fishy was going on. Then Edric mentioned hearing a metal grate fall outside, right before they entered the building.

  “What do you think, Gideon?” Van Fagan asked as they watched the video.

  “He’s slick and he knew what he was searching for,” Gideon replied.

  “Sure did, ’cause he entered and exited like a professional and he came here with a purpose. Not that I really give a shit since it was criminals who got ripped off,” Van replied.

  “That’s no guy. That’s a woman,” Mano stated and Miele pushed him out of the way so he could take a better look.

  “Fuck, he’s right. Pause the tape right there. See, she’s got curves,” Miele stated.

  “Interesting,” Van replied.

  “Let’s scan to the outside of the building where Edric heard the metal grate fall. She obviously escaped through there,” Gideon said with an attitude.

  Sure enough they saw the woman escape through the side of the building then drop down like some cat woman three stories high. She landed perfectly and into a roll, while holding something in her arms.

  “Impressive,” Mano whispered.

  “I wonder who she is and what exactly she took,” Van stated.

  “I guess we’ll need to find out. Some of the items in there belong to families in were hierarchy.”

  “These men were into a lot of shit. They have a lot of money, too, so buying and collecting these items could just be a hobby,” Mano said.

  “Or, this woman in black could be connected to the robbery in the gala last weekend. A lot of items were stolen. Let’s move. Van, you and your team look into the prints found at the scene. Our uncle is concerned that a similar hit may take place this weekend at the gala.”

  “We’ll look into that, and Dani has some pull on the streets. Maybe we can get an identity on the mysterious woman in black,” Van replied, and they chuckled. Gideon, however, didn’t like the direction this was going in. It seemed to him that the city was running amuck. Weres were going rogue, people weren’t following the were laws and looking to prosper illegally. The last few cases they showed up on didn’t go well at all. Something strange was going on.

  Chapter 2

  Melena awoke with a start again. Same thing every night. It was a wonder how she even functioned during the day, yet it seemed that her body could survive on very little sleep. She wondered when that would catch up with her. Last night had been a bit scary. She didn’t want to get caught, but she did stick around to see the huge were SWAT team make their way into the building. The word on the streets was that Dashkin and Lunvolk survived. They weren’t taken out. Too bad. She wouldn’t have given their death a second thought. She also heard that the items in the vault were transferred to a holding facility at one of the local precincts. Thank God she had gotten her items when she did or she may have lost the opportunity forever.

  As she looked at another folder, sitting on the table by the window, she wondered if she would ever really be free. Could she ever lead a normal life, even after she destroyed and killed Coriano Morago?

  Melena investigated the reasoning behind Morago killing her father and family. Although Saxton tried his hardest to keep her at bay, she pushed. She learned that Morago nearly lost everything as Melena’s father exposed Morago’s plan. The Brothers of Were killed over a dozen of Morago’s men. Morago got away with the jewels and members of the Brothers of Were exposed the terrorists. The book remained missing and knowledge of the existence of supernatural beings was exposed to her. Men who could shift into wolves, vampires, fairies, healers, and magic of all kinds actually existed. That had taken some time to get used to.

  Melena was still trying to get over the fact that were packs existed, and Saxton and Tango could shift from human to wolf in seconds. It had come as an even greater shock to learn that her family had were blood running through the bloodline.

  If I were a wo
lf, I would rip Morago’s throat out.

  Melena could feel the burn of hatred practically in her throat as she stared out at the city. She missed Hawaii, even though she was only a child when she was forced to leave. She missed learning about her Polynesian family history and what could possibly be hidden within the family genes. Whenever she tried to remember her childhood and the life she had in Hawaii, she couldn’t. It was as if her mind blocked out the memories. More than likely it was a coping mechanism brought on by the trauma of her family’s massacre. A therapist would have a field day with her.

  She knew she was a lot like her father, Zeikele. Saxton often reminded her of that fact when she stubbornly rejected his direct order. Once or twice, Saxton or Tango had referred to her father as Sir Mahalan, but that stopped very quickly.

  Melena chuckled to herself. Saxton and Tango were excellent trainers and powerfully strong men. During her training, she learned to not only fight against men more powerful and stronger than her physically, but also against weres. Although, supposedly there were more good weres working for the government than against it. All she knew was that whenever she was in the heat of a fight she sensed a change within her. It was just beneath the surface but seemed unobtainable.

  Melena sighed. Saxton and Tango were going to be pretty pissed off about her sneaking into the facility last night and taking her family’s heirloom chest without their assistance. She’d needed to do that. She’d needed to show them that she was more than capable of handling things on her own. She had yet to go through the things inside the chest, but she knew she needed to get them out of there. Something was pulling her to take the chance and break into the building. She couldn’t explain what it was, but it was strong. Besides, no one but a Mahalan had the right to possess such treasures.

  She didn’t trust people or weres. She was after one thing and one thing only. Melena would not rest until Coriano Morago was dead and his entire organization destroyed. If she could take out the count, then the world would be a better place.

  She clicked on the remote to the television and watched one of the local news channels. She immediately saw the words “special report” glowing in red at the bottom of the screen. The reporter was standing in front of a building, there was a lot of smoke, and the sound of gunfire echoed in the distance. The reporter looked scared.

  “I’m standing about fifty yards from the scene now. You can hear the exchange of gunfire between police and a group of gang members. One of the officers I grabbed on the way over here explained that there was a drug bust in process that went wrong. The fire raging behind me that continues to burn cannot be extinguished. The gang members started the blaze in an attempt to destroy evidence. It is believed, but not confirmed, that this factory was a cover for cocaine production and other drugs and may be connected to last night’s SWAT team raid. Millions of dollars in gold and antiques were found in the building along with large stacks of money. That has not been confirmed. Right now, I have confirmation that seven officers have been seriously injured and multiple others killed.”

  Before the reporter could continue, another explosion rocked the building and the reporter fell to the ground, the camera man must have fallen, too, because the picture showed an upside down version of the ground and then went back to the main studio.

  Melena turned off the television. This was exactly why she wanted Morago and the others taken down. She just couldn’t figure out why the circle of elders, who represented all weres, wouldn’t issue the command.

  Ten years of being alone, of dealing with hearing her family being brutally murdered, provided her strength and determination to succeed. She excelled in school and landed the government job, working for one of the higher-ups in the city council. It didn’t take long to figure out that the city council was merely a front for a secret program run by Fagan wolf pack members and supposedly a vampire. She never saw the vamp, but heard he was quite the looker and very powerful. That wasn’t her interest in being part of the organization. It was a means to finding out more about Coriano Morago and his associates so she could take them down. The government should eliminate people like Coriano Morago. Instead they continued to allow his freedom and his illegal activities to continue. He killed one of their own. So why was he allowed to live?

  She didn’t have much respect for authority and she sure as shit wouldn’t listen to any were officials, despite Saxton and Tango’s explanation of how were authority worked. She wasn’t able to shift into the ferocious beast so their rules didn’t apply to her.

  She heard the knock on the door and headed over to answer it. She knew it was Tango or Saxton.

  “Good morning, sunshine. Late night again?” Tango asked as he walked into her apartment.

  The building was basically empty and sat on the corner of an old business district street, twenty minutes from Manhattan.

  “I was working on the project and hoping to add the fifth member. It’s been crazy.”

  “I bet. Are you going to work out today or skip it because you’re too tired?” She shook her head at his teasing. Tango was six feet tall, with lots of muscles but very lean. His abs of steel were impressive, and as she processed through puberty, she couldn’t help but have a sort of crush on him and Saxton. Saxton was a big, burly man of steel. He was the serious one while Tango was the jokester.

  “You know that I’m going to work out. Quit it.”

  “I can’t help but tease my little human.”

  “Oh nice. I appreciate that, wolf man.”

  “Wolf man?” he asked then chuckled.

  “Did you get a look at the file?”

  “I was going to look again this morning. I suppose Saxton is waiting on me to go over everything in detail?”

  “He sure is. So whenever you’re ready, meet us downstairs. Oh, and perhaps you’d like to explain why you snuck out last night to do that job on your own?”

  “Oh, I don’t know, maybe so that you two can stop treating me like a child.”

  He looked at her sideways.

  “Be ready to explain and bring along whatever it is you decided to take. You’re lucky you didn’t get caught. All that stuff is drug money, honey. You have plenty of your own money.”

  “I didn’t take money.”

  He raised his hand.

  “I’ll wait until you come downstairs. That way you don’t have to repeat your story twice.”

  She smiled as he left the apartment. She closed the door then walked back over toward the windows. Things were becoming monotonous. She yearned for some change, some excitement and perhaps a bit of revenge on a small scale until she could truly seek the ultimate revenge on Morago. She felt antsy.

  She knew that she needed to be cautious. Even with the city council. But the ones in charge at the city council sniffed her, investigated her, and still gave her the job despite seeming more human than anything else. Her assets had a lot to do with getting hired, too. She was built well and that was what ultimately mattered in the position as liaison for her boss, Xavier Dolberg. He was a newly appointed member to a brand-new program she helped to develop.

  Xavier kept her under wraps. Her identity was well hidden and most correspondence took place through phone and Internet. But tonight would be the first night she would be somewhat exposed. Melena already asked Xavier not to divulge her position of liaison, but instead have her act as more of a company representative. That would give her the opportunity to still support Xavier and the city council’s agenda, but secretly, she could also achieve her own agenda. Count Lumanesque Divanni was attending this evening and hopefully someone from the Filletto organization as well as Morago’s.

  What she still didn’t understand was how the government seemed to operate. There were continuous stories on the news about murders, vicious crimes, and acts of violence. Who had the final say in determining who lived and who died, who was punished and who was allowed their continued freedom?

  Her father was a higher-up in the military and the government. H
ow could they dismiss his death and the death of his family so easily? Did these were mean more than humans?

  The circle of elders was not in charge of her. They were nothing to her because she meant nothing to them, nor did her father. Where were they when she was twelve years old and all alone? How come they didn’t help Saxton and Tango? Not that her two wolves needed help. They meant everything to her. But she couldn’t forget her father. His sacrifice had not placed any of these modern-day criminals behind bars or six feet under. Well, she would.

  Her anger grew stronger as she finished her coffee and rose from the table. She needed to work out, shower, then prepare for tonight’s event. She was kind of looking forward to a more formal affair and getting to know the players in this little were organization. This was the beginning of her revenge.

  * * * *

  “Explain,” Saxton stated, with his arms crossed in front of his chest. He was so worried about Melena last night, but he knew that she was going to go in there. He was completely impressed with the fact that no one had detected her until the surveillance videos showed a person in black. The investigators were asking questions, but he had people to help pull attention away from her. She wouldn’t get identified either way. Now he wondered if the magic spell over her had something to do with this job she did.

  Instead of allowing him and Tango to make the plans, she decided to call him a few minutes before she entered the building to tell him what she was doing and of course it was too late to get there to help her.

  “You know those things belonged to my family, to me. I was just taking them back.” She leaned against the wall.