Recombinant

by Shannon Mayer

  His coat pocket buzzed and he glanced down at it. “If I don’t answer that, they’ll start looking for us.”

  I slowly reached into his pocket and pulled out the cell. Recognizing the name, I answered.

  “Justin?”

  “Rachel?” he asked, his voice sick with worry. “Are you okay? Is Sean with you?”

  God, I hoped I hadn’t made the wrong choice. I switched the phone to speaker. “He’s with me.”

  “Justin. What’s the damage?” Sean asked, all business.

  “The team’s gone. I’m all that’s left.” He paused. “Sean. I need you to take me off speaker.”

  Sean gave me a knowing grin. “Okay, Justin. I’m off speaker. What’s up?”

  My eyes widened in surprise.

  Justin’s voice lowered. “There’s been a change in orders. Command says to take out the bait.”

  Take out the bait? That was me.

  “Why?” Sean’s tone was brisk.

  “We don’t need her. The vamp knows how to find the facility. She’s headed there on her own. Tracking you.”

  Sean’s eyes found mine. “So why take out the asset?”

  “I don’t like it any better than you do, Sean, but they want to clean up loose ends. What are you going to do?”

  Sean’s gaze still held mine. “I didn’t find her just to lose her. Command can go fuck themselves.”

  “I was hoping you’d say that,” Justin said. “So what do you want to do?”

  “I made a vow to Rachel to help her avenge Derrick’s death and that’s exactly what I’m going to do. We’ll sort out the rest later.”

  Justin hung up and Sean continued to stare at me. “I meant every word, Rachel.”

  “And so do I,” I said reaching for the handcuff key in his pocket. I wouldn’t stop until the person who had killed Derrick paid for his crime.

  Even if that meant I had to face down Lea.

  CHAPTER 27

  LEA

  Calvin kept the Camaro at a perfect distance, all the lights off. A pang of regret circled my heart. I was going to miss him, no matter how much of an ass he could be. Not to mention the fact that I knew he was being fed vampire blood. That alone made him a danger to this mission. I pulled out the things I’d taken from Victor’s safe. I placed them on the seat between us.

  “When we get there, drop me off and go.”

  He glanced at the small fortune piled up next to him. “Just like that?”

  “I release you from your vow.” My jaw snapped shut on the last word as the back of my eyes prickled. If I’d had any tears left, they would have been on my cheeks. Fifty years, and I was saying goodbye. Damn, it never got any easier.

  “You still need me—”

  “I’ve got Rachel now. Whether she likes it or not, she made the blood vow. I will train her.” I stared straight out the window at the blinking taillights of the SUV ahead of us. I rubbed a hand over my face. “One of us isn’t going to make it out of this alive, Calvin. And we both know I’m the one who’s harder to kill.”

  “Lea, you don’t know that. You don’t know.”

  “I do, dammit! Madre de Dios! I see death coming and it isn’t looking at me. And I can’t do it. I can’t be the death of you.” I was yelling, screaming if I was being honest. All the years between us, all the fights, and then that one night...I loved him as much as he would let me, and at least I could do this one last thing for him. “Swear it to me, you will drop me off and leave. Take this money and the jewels and go.”

  His jaw tightened, reminding me again of the young, broken man he’d been. We never talked about it, but I was the one who’d found him that night, cradling his wife as she died in his arms.

  “If I die, then it’s my damn time to go. You think death scares me? I know she’s waiting for me on the other side. My boy, too. I have no reason to run from death.” He let out a sigh. “Why do you keep trying to protect me? Because I’m old?”

  Now or never. “Because I will always try to protect those I love.”

  The words hovered in the air between us; things that had been left unsaid for fifty years.

  “Kind of a shitty time to spit that out, isn’t it?” he grumbled.

  I tried not to smile. “Yeah, but my timing has always been suspect.”

  “You think it’s going to go that badly in there?” Calvin motioned at the car in front of us with one hand.

  The facts Rachel and I had gathered swirled around my head, like pieces of a puzzle I could almost see if I looked hard enough. “I think no matter how it turns out, it’s going to be our last hunt together. The likelihood of us all getting out alive is...not good,” I said the last two words softly, but I knew he heard me.

  “And you would go in anyway.”

  “I have to. Even if it weren’t for the vampires waiting somewhere in there, and whatever testing is being done on them, I have Rachel to think about.” I drummed my fingers on the edge of the door.

  “That bonded to her already?”

  I let out a soft sigh. “She has potential. When I look at her, I see the person I once was, and I...I want to find that person again. She can help me, Cal.”

  He snorted and gave a bitter laugh. “You aren’t ever going to be human again.”

  “No, I know that. But I can be better than what I am. I want...more than this life of a never-ending hunt.”

  “And all this deep conversation is because you think we’re going to die.” Not a question, a statement.

  “Yes, I think there’s a chance. And I don’t want to leave certain things unsaid.” I didn’t reach for him, but my fingers itched to touch him. “I know why you killed Louis. I didn’t realize at first how much he looked like the vamp who took your wife and boy. I’m sorry.”

  His hands tightened on the steering wheel. “They’re slowing down.”

  I nodded. The SUV was pulling over, but there were no buildings. Nothing to indicate a base of any sort. “You don’t have anything to say to me before we do this?”

  Calvin let out a slow breath. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but then shut it again and shook his head. “No.”

  It shouldn’t have hurt, that single word.

  Yet it did, more than I cared to admit.

  So I focused on something that was within my power. Rachel and Sean slipped out of the SUV.

  And Sean wasn’t wearing his handcuffs. What the hell was she thinking? Or was she really fool enough to think she could trust that asshole?

  “Here,” Calvin handed me a cell phone. “I can trace it. You go after her and make sure she doesn’t get herself killed. If I’m getting replaced, at least it’s by someone who’s worth your time to train.”

  I took the phone and tucked it into my back pocket. “Be careful.”

  A big breath slipped out of him. “You, too. You’re about the only vamp worth saving on this planet.”

  My lips twitched. That was as close to an admission of affection that I was going to get from him. “Thank you, Cal.”

  I rolled down the window and slid out the opening, not wanting the light from the door to alert them to my presence. Wherever they were going, they wouldn’t know I was there, but I’d be watching. Waiting for Sean to try and hurt Rachel.

  My fangs lowered of their own volition at the thought. Rachel was in my circle now and I wasn’t about to let him lay a hand on her.

  CHAPTER 28

  RACHEL

  “We’re close,” Sean said, pointing to the forest in front of us. “We’ll slip in the back door, through the hangar. Very little security there, and I think we can rappel down. We need to try to beat her there.”

  I’d holstered my gun when I uncuffed Sean. I wasn’t exactly thrilled about it. Despite the conversation between Sean and Justin, I still didn’t completely trust him. I was either getting smarter or just cynical. Either way was an improvement over my previous naivety where Sean was concerned.

  “What happens if she gets there first?” I asked. />
  “You know what she is, right?”

  I suspected he wasn’t just talking about her being a vampire. I might not trust her, but there was no sense volunteering any information he might not already have. Then again, I didn’t know very much myself. “A monster.”

  “And the murders? They were ordered by the vampire council.” It wasn’t a question. “But why were the bodies carved with symbols?”

  “If you can let yourself believe there are vampires, then why not believe in the power of symbols?”

  “You mean magic?”

  He shrugged. “Call it what you will.”

  I headed to the back of the SUV. “We’re taking weapons with us.”

  “Of course, I wouldn’t think of going in without them.”

  I sorted through a bag in the back of the SUV, sorting through the different guns and ammo.

  “Care to tell me where we’re going?”

  He cast a glance at me before taking the Glock I handed him, checking the safety, and sliding it against his lower back. “Fort Tilden. On Rockaway Beach.”

  The abandoned military base. It was brilliant. That part of the peninsula was pretty much uninhabited.

  “We can contain…research there.”

  “Monsters of your own.”

  “No. Not monsters, Rachel. Or, rather, only a special type of monster. Vampires.”

  “Why?”

  “Their blood…it’s special.”

  “What does it do?”

  “I’d rather show you.”

  That remained to be seen. “And you’re keeping vampires here?”

  “Yeah.”

  “So, Lea…the symbols…they’re for what? To make her stronger?”

  “We don’t know. But we do know she’s a dangerous rogue vampire and we need to test her blood.” He cast a glance at me.

  “Are you using vampire blood to create the monsters?”

  He released a short laugh. “No. Their blood is going to save the world.”

  I started to ask him how, but my phone vibrated in my pocket. I wasn’t surprised to see Tom’s name on the screen when I dug it out and took several steps away, keeping my eye on Sean as I answered. “Yeah.”

  Tom hesitated. “You’re not alone.”

  “No.”

  “Then I’ll keep it short. I have more information on the pill.”

  Sean was pretending to focus on the gun in his hands. “Go on.”

  “I told you we thought it was a suicide pill, but I don’t think it’s for humans.”

  “Then who—” But I didn’t finish. I already knew what it was for.

  “The chemicals are overkill for a human. I would say it’s for an animal, but it would sure be a strange way to kill one. It’s full of a variant of VX, a nerve toxin that was supposed to have been wiped out by now.”

  “What do you mean, ‘wiped out’?” I cast a quick glance at Sean, but his eyes were sweeping the area.

  “VX was a nerve toxin used in the ’50s. All the stockpiles were supposedly destroyed. Tell me you used gloves when you picked up that bottle.” His tone made sweat break out all over me.

  “Yes, but they were thin.”

  “Shit, Rachel, this is bad. Wherever you are, you need to get tested to see if you have any of that stuff on your skin. Now.”

  “Thanks.” I hung up and stuck the phone in my pocket. I swallowed hard. There was nothing I could do about it now.

  “Business?”

  “Yes and no.” I debated how much to tell him, but my skin was already crawling with the thought of that nerve toxin. “I may have come into contact with a substance similar to VX.”

  Sean’s jaw tightened. “Then it’s a very good thing you’re coming with me. We have the antidote in the lab.”

  I would have felt relieved. If his superiors hadn’t just told him to kill me.

  He didn’t ask any more questions and I didn’t volunteer any more information. We walked in silence through the forest the rest of the way to Rockaway Beach. I tried to guess where his allegiance truly lay. Or if there was an antidote for the VX...and if I would actually be given it.

  When we were close, he motioned for me to slow down. We were in a forest in the middle of nowhere, and he wanted me to be quiet. A shiver of unease crawled up my spine.

  “We need a plan,” he said.

  “You know the facility. I presumed you had one.”

  “I wanted to sneak in through the hangar, but I think we should be more straightforward. We’ll go through a security checkpoint. They know me, so they won’t question me being there. I want you to pretend to be unconscious. I’ll bring you in as a bite victim.”

  I lifted my eyebrows, keeping a blank expression.

  “I know. You’ll have to trust me. Do you?” His face gave nothing away.

  “I don’t trust anyone, right now.”

  He took my hand. “Fair enough.” His free hand cupped my cheek. “I know we’ve had our differences, but I loved you once, Rachel. I still do. We have a second chance, you and I. Let’s avenge Derrick’s death and then we’ll start over.”

  “It’s not that easy.”

  “Why not? We have something. You feel it.” He leaned forward and kissed me. I tried hard to resist, but Sean had always had a pull on me that defied logic.

  I pulled free, panting. “Now isn’t the time, Sean. I could be covered in that toxin shit.”

  He blew out a breath. “You’d be dead already if you’d touched it, Rach. Just tell me there’s hope. Please.” His thumb stroked my cheekbone.

  “Why?”

  He inhaled deeply, then pushed out a breath. “Dr. Stravinsky’s research is dangerous. The public needs to be protected. I can’t leak the information, but you can. I want to sneak you in and show you where it’s located.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me that two hours ago?”

  “I wasn’t sure how you’d take it. I didn’t think you would trust me.”

  He knew the carrot he was dangling. I leaned forward, my lips lightly brushing his. “Let’s get going.”

  CHAPTER 29

  LEA

  Following Rachel and Sean through the forest was a snap.

  Their voices slid back to me as they walked, their conversation making me more than a little crazy.

  I hissed in frustration as Sean continued to push Rachel to trust him, cajoling her and teasing her with bits and pieces of info. And the way he didn’t tell her right away that she was clean of the VX shit? “Fucking asshole.”

  Of course, VX was what was in the suicide pills. Something that would literally light a vamp on fire from the inside out. And of course, Sean had the antidote.

  They paused in a small clump of trees, and Sean continued to try and convince her to see his things his way.

  “Dr. Stravinsky’s research is dangerous. The public needs to be protected. I can’t leak the information, but you can. I want to sneak you in and show you where it’s located,” Sean said. I knew what he was doing, holding the ultimate prize in front of Rachel. The chance to break a story that would rock the very beliefs of the human existence. Heady stuff for a journalist of any sort, but especially one of her calibre.

  The doctor’s name shouldn’t have shocked me.

  Stravinsky. The monster maker. I’d never met him, only heard about him through reputation. And even that was enough to make me wary. He’d be able to manipulate the humans into believing him, making them think he was really a doctor. But if this was the same Stravinsky I knew by reputation...he’d understand all too well how to make vampire blood into a cure-all for every disease they had, at least enough to get the humans to believe they needed him.

  “Why didn’t you tell me that two hours ago?” Rachel said, irritation plain in her voice.

  “I wasn’t sure how you’d take it. I didn’t think you would trust me.”

  There was silence, and then she breathed out a sigh. “Let’s get going.”

  That was my cue.

  I slid out f
rom behind the tree, but my dark clothes still allowed me to blend into the darkness. If Sean thought he was sticking her in there, he had another think coming. It worried me, though, that she thought she could trust him. I shook my head and waited.

  They stopped two trees ahead of me, and Sean grabbed her around the waist. “One more time, for good luck.”

  She gave him a soft smile, far too soft. Shit, she did believe him. Damn love and the strings it pulled. He jerked her tightly against him and they wrapped around each other. Behind her back, his right hand slowly slid up her spine, then back down to his hip and a square metal thing waiting there.

  She’d let him have weapons back? What. The. Fuck.

  His eyes slid sideways as he kissed her and I stepped to the side so he could see me. He stumbled back and whipped out his weapon. It wasn’t even a real gun.

  “Seriously, that is not impressive. A stun gun? You think that would work on me?” I put my hands on my hips and stared him down. It would work, all too well, but I was hoping he didn’t know that. Electricity would fry me almost as much as the bright sun would. “Rachel, you cannot trust him.”

  “And you think I can trust you?” Her blue eyes flashed with anger.

  I spread my hands. “I’ve never lied to you. Not even when the truth made you angry. I didn’t lie to you about Louis’s death, either, but I could have quite easily manipulated you into believing whatever I wanted.”

  Her eyes flickered and I saw the doubt there. “Why did you kill him?”

  “Calvin did it before I could stop him. Louis looked like the vamp who killed Calvin’s wife and boy.” The only way she was ever going to even halfway trust me was if I continued to tell her the truth, even when it wasn’t mine to tell.

  Sean snorted. “Please. You’re a killer, a Cazador. The Cazador.”

  I nodded. “I am. But I gave Rachel my word. That means something to me. I will protect her, with my own life if I must.”

  I kept my eyes on Rachel, watching her for signs of understanding.

  She took a step toward me. “I want to trust you, I do. I want to trust both of you.”