by Laken Cane
Yeah, Jack needed that little girl.
“That’s a perfect name,” Ellis said, still crying. “Help me get her back into bed, Jack.”
“Now,” Rune said. “What’s your name, doctor?”
“I’m Dr. Fred Crabtree,” he said. He crossed his arms and leaned against the bed. “Are you the child’s parent?”
“We all claim her.” She gestured to the group in the room. “And she’s been through some bad shit.”
He nodded. “She certainly has. I haven’t had time to do all the assessments we need to do, but the initial examinations are showing extensive damage. I suspect that she was injured continuously because her handlers wanted to see her heal herself—or to see if she could. And she did, to a certain extent.”
He barely paused to take a breath. “Because of her age, poor health, and mental status, she was unable to properly reknit some of her broken bones. I can take care of those. She was also unable to remove some of her burn scars and other injuries. One of the x-rays showed a silver shard lodged in her upper leg. She hadn’t been able to push it out, and her flesh healed around it. We’ll have to remove that. I suspect once that’s gone, she’ll find her power—whatever that may be. She’s a very intriguing case. Very intriguing.”
He paused in his eager recital and cataloguing of the child’s horrific injuries, and looked around at their pale, shocked faces. “Shall I go on,” he stuttered, uncertainly, “or would you rather not know the specifics of this subject’s…um…challenges?”
“You’re an idiot,” Rune said, finally, when she could speak past the lump in her throat. “And you’re fired.”
His common sense seemed to kick in at last. Perhaps it was the grief in Jack’s eye.
Or maybe it was the death in hers.
None of them spoke for five long minutes after he slipped from the room.
“It’s good she has Jack’s name,” Levi said, finally. “She’s his, really, isn’t she?”
Rune nodded. “Yeah. Because we—the ones who helped make her—we don’t deserve her.”
Denim turned, and without a word, walked with wooden stiffness from the room.
“I’m ashamed of myself,” Ellis said, his eyes dry at last. “But I can promise from this moment on I’ll be here for this tortured child just as I am here for you and Kader.” Unable to look at anyone, he followed Denim.
“She’ll be okay,” Jack murmured. He slipped his finger into her palm, hoping she’d grip it. She didn’t move. “Won’t she?”
Roma, with her blunt outspoken honesty was the one to answer him. “No, she won’t be okay—she’ll never be okay. But perhaps she’ll live.”
He nodded. “Reign Slaughter. Isn’t that something?”
“It’s a good, strong name. The name of a warrior.” Rune went to stand on the other side of the bed. She caressed Reign’s soft cheek, then her small head. Her fingers came away covered in sticky goop. “And these people are going to start tending to her like she matters,” she muttered.
A small crowd of nurses were in the hallway, and they watched her stride toward them with more than a little fear.
“Wait,” one of them said, and Rune realized it was the green-eyed redhead who’d been there a few hours earlier. “We will care for her. But you and your friends have got to stop bullying us. You don’t need to frighten us into doing our jobs.”
“Don’t worry about us,” Rune said. “Take care of her—no more of that pain stimuli shit. And Dr. Crabtree—”
“He has no bedside manner,” the nurse said, “and he has never managed to grasp the concept of tact or—”
“Common sense?” She put her hands on her hips.
“Exactly. But I promise you, he’s one of the finest doctors you’ll ever meet. If he wasn’t, the Annex wouldn’t have him—you know that. If anyone can help that little girl, it’s Dr. Crabtree. Please, Ms. Alexander. Give him the chance to prove it.”
She looked at Jack, who’d walked out with her. “Jack?”
He stared down the hallway where the doctor was ensconced behind the nurse’s station, peering into a computer monitor and pretending not to listen to them. “All right,” he said, finally. “But you might want to warn him—that kid isn’t to be a test subject. He can’t experiment on her or cause her more pain.” His voice, low and gruff, became lower still. “And tell him to be careful that his lack of diplomacy doesn’t get his head ripped off.”
And with one final glare toward the doctor, Jack took her arm. “We need to see Eugene.”
She gave him a quick smile. “Let’s go.”
She was pretty sure he floated all the way to the meeting room.
Chapter Eight
Logan Rees was waiting in the conference room when Rune and her crew walked in. She sat at the head of the long table, holding a sheet of paper.
“Where’s Eugene?” Rune asked.
Logan held up a finger, finished reading her paper, then looked up. “Sit, please. I’ll let Eugene know you’ve finally arrived.”
Rune lifted an eyebrow. “That’d be awesome.”
Eugene strode in, and seconds later, Bill walked in and pulled out a chair at the table. “I’ve put out some queries about Ben Fleming,” Eugene said, without preamble.
“Any hits?” Rune asked.
“Not yet. Bill will lead on this case. Anything you need, go to him. I’ll be here as well, of course, but I have a million things requiring my attention at the moment.”
He wiped his forehead. His skin was pale, his eyes bloodshot. He reminded her of Bill when Bill had been wrestling with his monster.
She frowned. “You sick, Eugene?”
“No. Catch us all up on everything you discovered in Wormwood, Rune, and then I’ll tell you what little bit I’ve discovered.”
She opened her mouth, but Logan spoke before she could.
She glanced at the berserker. “Should he be here?”
Rune tilted her head and answered for Eugene. “Strad? Of course he should be here. He’s one of mine.” She looked from the berserker to Logan. “What the hell is your problem with Strad?”
“Logan,” Eugene said, impatient, “you know Rune hires her crew. Forget about Rune’s men and let’s concentrate on why we’re here.”
Strad tipped back his chair, then folded his massive arms.
No one said a word.
Logan flushed and sat down, not looking at Rune.
“That reminds me,” Rune said, hoping her next words would piss Logan off even more, “I’ll need clearance for Nikolai. He can help.”
“A vampire?” Logan squeaked, aghast. “You can’t be serious.”
“I’m a vampire.” Rune grinned. “Sort of.”
Eugene sighed. “I’ll clear him. Now can we continue?”
“Please,” Rune said. After they were finished, she and the crew would head down to the cafeteria to grab a meal.
She filled them in on everything Gunnar had told her.
“So he’s your enemy because he believes you’re the one who could have saved him,” Logan said, when she’d finished.
Rune glanced at the twins. Almost before Logan finished her sentence, comprehension dawned on their faces.
“Reign,” Denim murmured.
She nodded.
“We don’t want to forget about Sylvia Crane while we’re focusing on Ben Fleming,” Bill said. “That could be the reason she brought him here.”
“A distraction,” Rune said. “I’ll send Nikolai out to question the vampires when he wakes up. If Sylvia and Ben are in River County, someone will know. Someone will have seen them.” She pushed her chair back. “Let’s go eat, and then we’ll hit the streets.”
But then Eugene made her forget about food.
“Rune,” he said, reluctantly.
She could feel herself pale. “Shit, Eugene. What is it?”
“He sent a photo.”
She swallowed. “Ben did?”
“Yes. An hour ago.” He slid the phot
ograph from the envelope.
She held out her hand. “Give it to me.”
He gave her the photo. She’d known it’d be bad, and it was.
The photo was a close-up of Jack. His eye patch was firmly in place, and his familiar scars were vivid and stark. He stared at something she couldn’t see, and the desolation and loneliness—though it hurt her to admit he was lonely when he had his crew, when he had her—in his face almost took her breath.
Ben had carefully carved out Jack’s remaining eye, leaving in its place a perfect, eye-shaped hole. Around the socket he’d colored in blotches of red with a bright marker.
She couldn’t breathe as she read the message he’d scribbled on the bottom.
Be afraid. Because that’s what I want from you.
She looked up and met Jack’s stare. “Jack,” she whispered.
Ben had to know she blamed herself for Jack losing his eye. Ben Fleming seemed to know much, much more than he should have.
He was going after her crew. He wanted her afraid.
And she was afraid.
“No wonder my gut is screaming,” she said.
She realized she was standing but had no recollection of leaving her chair. She also realized that Strad stood behind her. He was so close that her body would have touched his had she so much as taken a deep breath. She was tempted, so tempted, to lean back against him, to sink into his warmth and comfort and strength.
She pulled in a long breath, then let it out slowly. “Jack, I want you to—”
“Not one single chance in hell, Rune.”
She stomped toward him, and he rose from his chair to meet her. She slammed the photo against his chest. “He’s going to blind you, Jack. And then he’ll kill you.”
He glanced at the photo, then crumpled it into a ball and tossed it onto the table. “I’d rather be dead than hide in a fucking cell waiting for the rest of you to catch this asshole.” He gentled his voice when he looked at her. “I know what I signed up for.”
“Don’t be asking us to hide,” Roma said, retrieving Jack’s photo. “We fight with you.”
“No matter what,” Levi agreed.
“We chase the bad guys,” Jack said. “We don’t hide from them.” He lifted his chin and stared down at her from his one good eye. “We’re fucking Shiv Crew.”
Raze’s smile was slight, but it was there. “And that is what we do.”
Rune nodded. Of course they wouldn’t hide. Not ever. But Jack…
She clenched her fists and turned away from him. “He’s one fucking man. One fucking man.” And there was no way he’d get his hands on Jack. Or Jack’s eye.
She whirled and pointed at Eugene. “Stop torturing the old lady. You may need to turn her over to Sylvia.”
He recoiled, and his eyes lit with surprise, but he recovered quickly. His face fell into its normal impassive lines. “That will be all. Go have your dinner.”
She opened her mouth to argue, but Bill stopped her.
“Rune,” he said. “Don’t. You have enough to worry about.”
She looked at him, torn.
“Go,” he said, gently.
Then the loudspeaker blared, and decided for her.
“Shiv Crew, report to monitor one. Shiv Crew, monitor one.”
Dinner would have to wait. So would arguing with Eugene.
She and her crew hurried to monitor one to get their orders. She’d never wanted anything so badly in her life right then than she wanted to fight. She needed to hurt someone. She needed to kill someone.
A battle would take her mind off the photo of a lonely, scarred, sightless Jack.
Five minutes later the dispatcher was explaining that COS stragglers and hunters and had invaded Wormwood, and from the reports, the number of attackers was anywhere from fifty to a couple of hundred.
River County’s magical, sacred place was once again being battered by humans.
The Others—not just River County’s but the world’s—were being tormented, hunted, and killed, and Rune had reached the end of her patience.
So had the Annex.
“Kill anyone you find in Wormwood who doesn’t belong there,” Eugene said, pacing the floor in monitor one. “Let’s send a message.”
“What about human law enforcement?” Raze asked. “Are we going to clash?”
“No, we are not,” Eugene said, his voice hard. “They’re with me on this. We want to rebuild our city. If we have to destroy half of the humans living here to do it, we will. Things have gone too far.” He pinched the bridge of his nose. “It’s like the world has regressed back to nineteen-fucking-sixty.”
Rune loosened her shoulders. “We don’t have a problem with taking out the trash that’s been thrown into Wormwood. We will protect our Others.”
Eugene hesitated. “Rune, be careful in there.”
“We will.”
“I’m sending two other crews out as well.”
“Two,” Levi exclaimed. “Shiv Crew can handle a few trigger happy humans.”
“I’m not taking any chances,” Eugene said, flatly.
“We’re going in to kill,” Raze said.
Eugene nodded. “Any human caught inside Wormwood knows the risks. I sent Logan to do a news conference, and had signs posted all over the place.”
“You did?” Rune asked, surprised. “When did this happen?”
He lifted his chin. “A couple hours ago—and I don’t care if it’s short notice. Humans not bent on going hunting know better than to go into Wormwood since the trouble. And the hunters…” He shrugged.
“Fuck them,” Rune said, smiling.
“Yes.” He returned her smile, and in that moment, they were closer than they’d ever been or would ever be again.
Despite the fact that they clashed, disagreed, and held a tiny bit of distrust for each other, they were a lot alike, and they knew it.
“They will murder our remaining Others,” Eugene continued, “and we cannot allow that.”
“Rune needs extra protection,” Denim said.
Rune straightened her spine and glared at them all. “I’m the monster—and I’m the last person you need to worry about. Let’s get the fuck out of here so I can prove it to you all over again.”
And maybe so she could prove it to herself.
“I’ll have ambulances outside the gates,” Eugene said. “Just in case. Go weapon up and get out there. And wear your vests.”
Before Rune got into her car, she gestured at Levi. “I need to feed you. You’re still unwell.”
He nodded, a little reluctantly. “I won’t be much good like this.”
She bit her wrist and they went at it right there up against the car, like a couple of hormone-crazed teens too impatient for romance.
For those few moments, she lost herself in the feeding. She shut the world out and embraced every perfect, magical thing the blood and bite had to offer. Strength, speed, life.
Once upon a time, before her monster had been fully realized, feeding someone was torture to her. Gradually, the pain had diminished until it fled completely and all that remained was the bliss.
When she was finished, she licked her wound closed and faced her crew. She could tell by their expressions that her eager, bloodthirsty monster had crawled to the surface and was peeking from her eyes.
Levi slid down the car and sat on the ground, smiling, his eyes unfocused. And already, his remaining wounds were nearly healed
And finally, they headed to Wormwood. To the fight.
Jack, Strad, and Roma rode with her, and Raze, Denim, and Levi followed. On the way to the graveyard, she called in Luciana and Leon. She also had Strad call the assassin, but in the end, he had to leave a message.
“The gargoyles have been missing as well,” Jack said. “Bill said the Annex hasn’t been able to contact them.”
Rune shrugged. “We don’t need the gargoyles.”
Rage and bloodthirsty eagerness swept over her as her monster came out to play, an
d she welcomed it with open arms. It was not the time for control.
It was the time to be her monster.
And when she finally found Sylvia Crane and Ben Fleming, she was going to make them regret the unwise decision to take on Rune Alexander and her Shiv Crew.
Chapter Nine
Gunnar would have taken Dawn and escaped into another graveyard, so that was one thing Rune didn’t have to worry about.
Unless, she thought, they’d managed to snatch him before he had a chance to skip the cemetery. The assassin had caught him once.
Had nearly destroyed him.
But the assassin was special.
The human hunters were not.
The assassin was waiting for them outside the gates of Wormwood.
“Will,” she said, and he stepped up beside her. They’d parked their cars in a line outside the main gates of Wormwood, and the familiar sounds of screams, roars, and gunfire reached their ears. “Stay with Jack.”
“Rune,” Jack said, disgusted. “For fuck’s sake.”
Two Annex cars were parked haphazardly in the road, and she hoped like hell her men weren’t killed by friendly fire. It wasn’t that they weren’t good. They were trained ops who knew what they were doing.
But she didn’t trust any crew except for her own. Not totally.
And Shiv Crew didn’t exactly play well with others—not even fellow Annex ops.
Will gave her a nod, then went to stand with Jack. “Watch your back, Rune Alexander.”
“I’ll watch it for her,” the berserker said.
Roma stepped up beside him. “As will I and Jaclyn.” She hefted her slingshot.
“Jaclyn.” Rune lifted an eyebrow.
“Uh huh. Jackie for short. I decided my weapon needed a name.” She pursed her lips and glared into the distance.
Jack grinned and shook his head.
Roma was so in love with Jack she couldn’t see straight. Unfortunately for her, Jack saw her as a kid sister.
Maybe someday, Roma would change his mind.
The berserker’s arm brushed hers, and Rune shivered. No matter what happened, her body always reacted to his touch. His nearness. His scent.
