And he was terrified.
James pulled on his sweats and opened the door for Pax.
“Hey. I’ll be ready in a sec. I know my other sneaker is around here somewhere.”
“Could we talk first?”
He sat down on the bed and started to put on his shoe. He recognized his camzah’s tone. Whatever he had to say was gonna hurt.
“Troy came back this morning.”
He looked into the brother’s warm browns. “He did? Is he okay?”
“Yeah. He’s exhausted, but he’ll be fine. He and I were talking while Helen worked on the female. He found her in a rogue den in Allston or Brighton somewhere. Well, I guess you can’t really call it a den. It was basically an apartment.”
James slid on his other kick. “Hold up. Did you say the rogues have an apartment?”
He nodded. “When Troy brought her in, she’d been stabbed.”
“Oh, my God.”
“Helen thinks she’ll be fine. The human was able to give the name of the rogue who stabbed her. Look, James, it was Seth.”
He froze. “Seth stabbed the female?”
Pax nodded. “I’m sorry. I just didn’t want you to find out from someone else. With the way shit gets around here…”
He got back to the business of tying his shoe. “No, it’s fine. Listen, I think I’m going to go for a run instead.”
“Want some company?”
“Nah. Thanks, though. I’ll catch you for duty later.”
Troy heard the familiar sound of Helen’s shoes out in the corridor. He kept his eyes closed. If Evy knew he was awake she might want him to talk to her. And he had zero idea what to say, so he just kept his eyes shut and tried to stay out of her emotional business—which, considering most of it was directed at him, was next to impossible.
Helen walked through the swinging door. Troy sniffed at the air. More snacks. He heard her put them down and walk over to see about Evy.
“How is she?” he whispered.
“Sound asleep. How do you feel?”
“Like a Thanksgiving turkey.”
She sat down on her stool. “Sorry, kiddo. Food’s your medicine.”
“I guess there’s worse.”
She dropped her voice. “Listen, how many of the brothers know Evy’s human?”
“What? Why?”
“You talk in your sleep.”
Fan-fuckin’-tastic. “Just X. Wait, what did I—”
“Are you mated to this female? I need you to be honest with me, hon, or I can’t help you.”
His mouth went dry. “I dunno. I found her mostly through the protective instinct.”
“Any headaches or other pain?”
He shook his head.
She leaned against the side of the bed. “Troy, look at me. Are you in love with her?”
He stared down at his hands.
“Oh, Troy. How long?”
“Pretty much forever, I guess.”
She took off her glasses and rubbed her eyes. “She’ll be ready to move upstairs to finish her recovery tomorrow morning. I can keep everyone out of here until then. After that it’s up to you. We’ll put her in the room next to yours. No one ever goes to that end of the hallway. I’ll keep this confidential. They aren’t looking for it. She’s human so there’s not much k’ul to sense. You may luck out. Whatever that means.”
Troy looked up when X came in.
“Hey, bro. You feel up to gleaming?”
“Not particular—”
Before he knew it, X’s huge hand had grabbed the sleeve of his shirt and they were down the compound’s hall in the brother’s room.
“Get off! What the fuck’s the matter with you.”
“Shhh. Keep your voice down. Now, look. You went against orders and rescued Evy without back up. Add to that the fact that she’s human and there’s enough evidence to filet your sorry white ass.”
“They’ll put me on leave? Are you serious? When did I become the designated dickhead?”
“Why the hell didn’t you bring her to a hospital, Troy?”
“You know why!”
“Hey, we’re all here for you, but you got to get your head on straight, dig?”
“You’re here for me? What, do I have a sign on my fucking forehead? Help the poor orphan boy?”
“Look, you got feelings for her. Okay. Then we have to do what’s right. Let’s get her healthy and then take her the hell back where she belongs.”
“Oh, because you would know. You’re so stuck inside that giant melon of yours, I’m surprised you can see daylight.”
He hobbled past his camzah, opened the door, and slammed it shut behind him.
CHAPTER FOUR
“We’re really going to take it down?” Helen asked as she followed Diesel into their room.
Diesel couldn’t help but grin. Man he loved making her happy. “Yep. We’re gonna adios the SOB tomorrow. No more wall.”
“I don’t believe it. Are you sure you don’t want to wait?”
“Yep. The remodel will give me something to do.” He pointed across the room with a crutch. “Take a look at the desk.”
He watched as she looked at the papers and the meaning set in.
“Plans!”
Jenga!
“Oh, my God. Is this the closet? Look at that bathroom. Is that—?”
“The tub?” He leaned in and lightly brushed his lips along her mark.
She turned around and her body was flush against his. She put her arms around his neck and looked into his gorgeous, pale green eyes. “Have I ever told you how incredibly hot you are?”
He barked a laugh. “Once or twice. Never gets old though. Just remember the plans still need X’s seal of approval. We don’t want the compound to collapse.”
“As long as I get my Jacuzzi.”
“I’ll make sure he gets the message. I guess we should hit the lab for a bit before dinner.”
Her face fell and she started to move away. He blocked her path. “Hold up, female. What’s wrong?”
She shook her head. “Nothing. I’m just frustrated with it, I guess.”
Jesus, she was under so much pressure. At this point, two fucking tubs were in order. “It’s not going to happen overnight. It took two obsessed scientists to come up with the shit in the first place.”
“I know. I just can’t stop thinking about that female in there. She’s probably scared out of her mind. They have to be stopped.”
He wrapped an arm around her and pulled her in close. “We’ll get ‘em, Doc. We’ll get ‘em.”
Troy leaned on the bathroom sink and looked in the mirror. He felt somewhat better after a shower, but it wasn’t going to wash away who he really was. From the neck up he was as all-American as you could get. Light brown, slightly shaggy hair, blue eyes, smattering of freckles across his nose. Below the neckline was where the nightmare started. He shook his head and walked into the closet. He took a quick look down the rack of long-sleeved shirts, pulled one off the hanger, and finished getting dressed. Then it was back to the surgical ward.
The closer he got, the jumpier he was. Jesus, she made him nervous. He had no clue what to say. It was Sadie Hawkins all over again. He may as well have been trying to talk to her in the high school hallway. Hey, how’s it goin’? You might remember me from high school? That’s right, the clown who screwed you over for that dance? I just rescued you from a buncha monsters and brought you here to another buncha monsters.
How else could she think of him after what she’d seen that morning? She had to be terrified. Man, he needed more than some Irish luck to break the ice. He needed a goddamn miracle. But all that was erased by the wall of panic that slammed into him when he walked in the door.
“Evy!”
What the fuck? She was halfway across the room and about to kiss the tile. He gleamed behind and caught her just before she hit the deck and lost her hospital gown. Not that it was a bad thought. He rolled what he was pretty sure were glowing eyes. Jes
us, Troy. What the fuck is wrong with you? He gently laid her back in bed and covered her up. “Are you okay?”
“I woke up and no one was here. You weren’t here.”
She wanted him there. His heart literally went off rhythm. “I’m sorry. I thought you were sleepin’. I didn’t wanna wake you. Next time I’ll tell you, okay?”
She nodded.
He could feel her panic ease and he helped it along a little. He looked around. What to do. The large screen TV was still there from Diesel’s recovery. “Do you wanna watch TV?”
“Sure.”
Troy pulled the TV around and sat down in a chair next to her bed. The DVR had a bunch of marathons saved. He’d never really had a lot of time for watchin’ TV seein’ as he spent most of his free time watchin’ Evy. He shrugged his shoulders. “Game of Thrones?”
“Yeah, okay. Have you read the books? They’re really good.”
He shook his head.
“Let’s start it at the beginning then.”
As they watched, he listened while she explained the different families. Well, sort of. Mostly he just looked at her. She’d been kidnapped, stabbed, and Christ knew what else, and she was still so beautiful. They were halfway through the first episode when he felt her delicate hand cover his own on the bed. His first instinct was to pull away. He didn’t want to be a dick about it, but he wasn’t real into bein’ touched. Okay, that was the fuckin’ understatement of the year. And then she slid her soft hand along his skin and he realized her touches were…different. Her hand felt warm and suddenly, he went from wanting to jump through the ceiling to wanting to jump on her. He stood up and walked across the room to the counter with all the snacks. Maybe she was hungry. Shit. Her purse was still on the counter. Helen had forgotten to give it to her. By the time he was back over to the bed she was fast asleep. He laid it down on the chair.
That’s when the first headache hit. Red hot searing pain went right through his skull like it was gonna slice it in half. Fuck. He grabbed his forehead and slowly made his way out to the main corridor. The fluorescents on the ceiling hit his retinas and cut through his eyes like knives.
He sensed Helen walking toward him as he fell sideways against the wall.
“Troy? Oh, my God. Come with me.” She led him slowly down the corridor to her room.
“Ah, fuck, this hurts.”
“I know, hon. Lie down on the bed. I’m going to get you some water.”
She came back with a glass of water and a syringe.
“What’s that?”
“Just a very mild tranquilizer. The pain will ease if you calm down.”
His freakin’ gift was moderating the emotions of those around him, but he could barely deal with his own. Ironic much?
“How do you feel?’
“Like ass, but it’s comin’ down. Holy shit.”
She shook her head. “I was afraid of this.”
“Why now? I mean, after all this time?”
“Well, you weren’t spending time with her before now and you were nowhere near this close to her physically. You can’t keep avoiding the mating call, Troy. It doesn’t work that way. The Goddess Akina wants you to be with her. Believe me. You have to trust in the Goddess. I’ve been there.”
“She’s human. I won’t do that to her. She deserves better.”
“Better? Better than what?”
He rolled over and stood up—barely. “Evy’s good people. She’s about somethin’. I’m not gonna take that away from her.”
“Then you need to stay away from her. It’s the only way.”
“Thanks for the drugs.” He turned and walked out on legs that were barely holding him up. He didn’t care how fucked he was if he didn’t give in to the call. X was right. Evy needed to get well and go on with her life.
And he was not part of that plan.
Adriana handed baby Maya to her mate so she could eat some dinner when Helen came in looking a bit rushed and sat down next to her. “Hey, everything okay?”
“Yeah, I just got held up.”
Diesel picked up her plate. “Filet, Doc?”
“Just a small piece, my male.”
“You got it.”
“What’s everyone talking about?” Helen whispered.
She nodded toward Viktor. The males were definitely giving him the business, although they were doing their best to be well behaved. Sort of.
Pax picked up his glass. “So Vik, where ya been? You’re not afraid of lil’ old us, are you?”
“It’s Viktor and hardly. I was detained on business in Russia.”
“And working on your combat skills while you were there, I hope,” Reyn said. “I don’t feel the need to get ganked any time soon.”
“I can hold my own.”
Adriana noticed an odd look on Helen’s face. She didn’t think too much of it until Troy sat down at the table with a similar mug. Something was up.
The brother took a slice of homemade bread. “Just keep your stick on the ice, Vik, and you’ll be fine.”
She couldn’t help but smile at the look of aggravation on Viktor’s face. The males were barely on five. What was he going to do when they were on ten? She looked down to the opposite end of the table where Dimitri ate in silence. She sighed. It wasn’t right that he had to do that in his own home, even if Viktor was his brother.
SE poured himself some wine. “So, Viktor, will there be any females around we should be forewarned about?”
“You mean other than you?”
“That’s enough!” Dimitri bit out.
Everyone looked at him and froze. Dimitri made eye contact with everyone at the table then went back to his plate. Adriana looked around as they finished the rest of the meal in silence. Now there’s a first.
SE walked upstairs with Ana, Dimitri, and Richard. At the end of the second floor hallway they rounded the corner and Richard unlocked the door to his suite.
“Who needs a beer?” he asked and made a bee line for the small fridge.
SE took a bottle and sat in the recliner. “Jesus, I’m so sorry, D. I don’t think he got that I was asking a serious question.”
Dimitri shook his head. “It’s not your fault, bro. I just popped.”
Richard sat down on the sofa. “So I take it there’s some bad blood between you two?”
“That shit’s personal. This is our job. One shouldn’t affect the other. Look, there’s really no reason he shouldn’t be here fighting. At least that I know of.”
Ana sat on the arm of the recliner. “Do you want me to check him out for you, D? It wouldn’t take long.”
“Thanks, partner, but I’ll pass. Look, what we have between us shouldn’t matter.”
“But it does, Dimitri,” SE said. The brother’s generosity was legendary. There’s no way the Order was gonna do him like that.
“I’m afraid I’m going to have to go with SE on this one,” Richard added. “It’s not right for him to be here if it makes you crazy in your own house.”
Dimitri ran his hand through his hair. “I can deal. It’s for the good of the Order. We need the numbers.”
SE rubbed his mate’s back. “Not that badly, my brother. Say the word and I’ll take him out with the rest of the trash.”
Ana nodded. “A-to-the-men.”
CHAPTER FIVE
Victrixa walked down the hallway of the new laboratory facility. The move was a necessary precaution after the Order had penetrated the old mental hospital. She wasn’t particularly sorry to part with that disgusting place, especially now. She would be spending a lot more time here and far less at Toltec’s central headquarters. Not that her main office was useless. It still had that wonderful camera hidden in the wall by her traitorous wretch of a daughter. That would most likely come in handy again. But with the Initiative practically running itself, it was time she turned her full attention to her own goals. She closed the door to her new second office and looked out the window.
As she stared into the darkness
, she felt the stiff pull of her scar as her lips tried to form something of a smile. This was what she’d been waiting for all along. All that time spent helping Toltec achieve its goals while having to put her own endlessly on hold. But now, with everyone busy with the war and the aj k’o’ol satisfied with the number of souls being gleaned, the timing was perfect for her to make her move. The New Breeds were chasing their own tails, preoccupied with the false Intel she was feeding them, thanks to her wretch of a daughter. But they would figure it out soon enough. She had to act.
There was just one thing standing in her way. The serum had to be perfected. That would take time and she wasn’t the most patient of shifters. Roman had gone to work on it immediately after their discussion and she knew he was the best human for the job. He helped create the original after all. She ran one of her long fingernails along her half mangled lip. She would simply have to wait.
The Rogues.
They were something to take into account. If they continued to gather more aberrations like themselves, they could form an unpredictable third faction in the war. The outcome of this plan needed to be precisely controlled. She could not let an uncontrolled variable change her end game. Although…the rogues were draining shifters of all their k’ul and leaving them dead in the streets of the city. That would most certainly be an issue for the Order. Why not simply let the New Breeds take care of them? Check mate.
Adriana walked into the enormous library just off the study. While her male was upstairs trying to get a handle on the Viktor situation, she was going to do some digging. Maya cooed in her wrap carrier. She was always so calm and happy in the library. Maybe she loved the smell of old books. Adriana breathed in deeply. Richard was always joking that Maya was going to be just like her and get into an Ivy League school someday. She smiled. Being accepted to Stanford seemed like a lifetime ago. She’d phased and become mated to Richard all within a couple days of high school graduation. She smoothed Maya’s fuzzy dark hair. She wouldn’t trade her life for the world. Well, minus the kidnapping thing.
Mating Call Page 3
