by Faith Gibson
Shaking his head, he looked around to make sure he was alone and adjusted his dick before pushing away from the tree and heading back to the hotel. He had lots of work to do. On his way, he called Julian and gave him the name of Lucy’s boss. Once he had all the pertinent information on the man as well as a recent photo, he could set things in motion for when he found where Lucy was being held. He had to find her first, and if her tracker wasn’t being blocked, the Hounds would be able to help him.
“What do you mean you can’t contact her?” Rory yelled into the phone, interrupting Maveryck’s call with his brother. Mav would much rather deal with Ryker than their mother.
“Mom, please. Lucy’s text to Monk stated she was being relocated. We followed her when she was moved from her dorm, so we know where she is. But her phone is either dead, or they took it from her. We have the area monitored.”
“By monitored, you mean you don’t have eyes on her.”
Ryker said, “Mom, please let me handle this. You’re emotional, and it doesn’t help anything.”
Rory cursed a blue streak, and a few seconds later, the sound of a door slamming came through the phone. Mav might not be there, but he felt her ire all the same. He was glad he’d offered to go watch after Lucy, because when Rory got in a snit, the whole compound felt it.
“Damn, brother. I know she’s worried. We all are, but it’s not like Lucy can’t handle herself against a human.”
“We all know that, but Rory’s overprotective when it comes to her Little Dove. If Lucy had been raised with us, I don’t think Mom would be this bad. Now that we’ve all seen the shitshow down in Lucius’s secret room, she’s worried about Lucius’s influence over the years.”
“So, what? She thinks Lucy is tainted or something? That she isn’t smart enough to separate that madness from how normal Gryphons act?”
Ryker let out a heavy sigh. “I think it’s more like she feels like she let Lucy down by not fighting harder for her. Screw Harlow’s wishes. Her words, not mine. Anyway, I’ll deal with her later. Or better yet, I’ll let Pop deal with her. Now, tell me what you’re doing about Lucy.”
“Like I said, we have the area monitored. Monk took to his eagle and hasn’t left the area since Lucy was taken into the building. If she leaves, we’ll know it.”
“I don’t like that we don’t know what’s going on inside the building. Is there any way at all to get inside?”
Mav ran a hand down his face. “I’m working on it. But Lucy didn’t sound like she was in immediate danger. I think we need to trust her right now. If it gets too bad, she’ll shift into her lion and take out everyone in the vicinity.”
“Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that. Hang on a second...” Mav pulled the phone away from his ear and placed it against his chest. “Let me call you back.” He hung up and strode into the front room of the suite where they were staying. Mav stared at the man standing in the hallway asking if he could come in and speak with them. Spyder had his hand on the pistol at his lower back, but Maveryck knew it would be useless against the male.
“You’re that Garg—”
Tamian St. Claire pushed his way into the room and closed the door behind him. “I would appreciate if you wouldn’t announce that bit of information out loud. I’m here about Lucy.”
“What about her?” Maveryck waved his hand at Spyder to stand down.
“I just spoke with her a bit ago, and she is in trouble.”
“How did you speak to her? We’ve been trying her cell phone, and it’s dead.”
Tamian touched his temple. “In here.”
“Right,” Hawke snarled.
“Explain,” Maveryck said to the Gargoyle. He didn’t want to piss him off. Yet.
“Some Gargoyles have the ability to speak to others silently. At first, I couldn’t reach Lucy, but after a few tries, Lucy was able to open her mind to me.”
“That doesn’t explain why you’ve been stalking her.”
“I wasn’t stalking her, exactly. As I told Lucy, Gargoyles have one mate for life, and she is mine.”
When Spyder and Hawke took a step toward Tamian, Maveryck held up his hand. They didn’t need a confrontation. “You two wait in the hallway.” Reluctantly, they did as instructed, and Mav gestured to the sofa. “Please, have a seat. Would you like a drink? I know I would.” He went to where several bottles of liquor were arranged on the counter and poured a hefty glass of bourbon.
“No, thank you. When Lucy was in Norway, the Gargoyles there thought she was spying on them. Holmesvik is predominately a shifter town, and the residents had no idea Lucy is a shifter herself. When Gargoyles find their mates for the first time, we get a feeling. It’s a pull to our mate that can’t be denied. I saw Lucy’s picture on a computer monitor and felt the pull just by looking at her onscreen. I had to find out for sure if she was my mate, so I traveled to Norway. She figured out I was following her, and she gave me the slip.” Tamian’s smile grew larger as he told his story. Maveryck had no reason to doubt him, but neither did he have reason to believe him.
“Anyway, I followed her home. She saw me through the woods, and I’m guessing that is when she alerted your family that I had been there. Not that it’ll make you feel any better about the situation, but my sister is the one who put the cameras in the woods. I wasn’t aware Lucy had family to watch out for her, and I wanted to be able to keep an eye on her. I’m not the most outgoing male on the planet, and instead of knocking on her door and asking her out, I pretended to be a neighbor looking for my dog.”
“That was you?”
“Yes. I have access to prosthetics and can disguise myself to look like anyone. That is the reason I’m here, but I’ll get to that in a few minutes. When Lucy left her office, she texted me that she was being relocated. I attempted to follow, but I was caught at a traffic light. By the time I made it over the Potomac, the van was gone. She told me you have a tracker on her, and I was hoping it was still operable. There is a transmission jammer in the building where they’re keeping her, and that’s why her phone isn’t working.”
“Let’s say I believe what you’ve said so far. It wouldn’t be too hard for you to figure out we put a tracker on her, especially if you were hanging around her home and looking through the windows. I know about Gargoyles’ extraordinary abilities. Tell me what kind of trouble you believe she’s in.”
“Lucy is being kept in a basement, and it is now her job to carry out a task Lucius was performing for the government before he died. She indicated it’s the same type of work she found in a secret room below the office in her home. Her boss is keeping Lucy sequestered with no outside contact. I don’t know where that building is, but if I did, I could get in and get her out.”
“How would you do that?” Maveryck was beginning to believe the male was telling the truth. How else would he have known about the horror story at Lucy’s?
“With the prosthetic I was speaking of. Lucy gave me the name of her boss. I need to follow him for a bit. Study his mannerisms and get a recording of his voice. My sister and I will take care of that aspect, but I need your help finding the building.”
“And when you get her out? What then? Lucy is under contract with the GIA. If you help her escape, they’ll just come looking for her and throw her in jail.”
“I will hide her out while we are amassing the necessary proof to have her boss thrown in jail instead. What he is doing – what he’s having Lucy do – is not only illegal but unethical.”
Maveryck poured another drink and slammed it back. “What exactly is he having her do?”
“Create super soldiers from the cells of dead subjects. The way she described the lab, there are four torsos on a slab with whole bodies being held in some type of liquid container.”
“That sounds like what she found at home.”
“I was hoping while those of us here in New DC are working toward getting Lucy out of the basement, those back in New York could search the room in her home for anything tha
t could tie Lucius in with Lucy’s boss. “
“I’ll see to that. Now, back to rescuing Lucy. Where do you plan on hiding her? No offense, but our family isn’t going to let her out of our sight with you just because you claim to be her mate.”
“I would expect nothing less. I have several places in mind, but ultimately, I’ll leave that up to Lucy. Since she and I haven’t had the opportunity to spend time together and get to know what the other likes, I won’t assume she’d prefer a European chalet over the Garden District in New Orleans. She seemed to like Norway, so that’s also an option. Where is the least of our worries. Getting her out and collecting proof against her boss will take careful planning, and I would love it if you and I could work together. If things go the way I believe they will, you and I will be seeing quite a bit of each other in the future.”
“Yeah? Just because you claim she’s your mate, doesn’t Lucy get a say in all that?” That didn’t sound like something the Hounds could get behind. Everyone should be able to choose who they spend their life with.
“Like I told her, she absolutely has a say. If she and I spend time together and she decides I’m not the one for her, I’ll respect her wishes.”
“But if you only have one mate, won’t you be lonely without her?”
Tamian shoved his hands in his pockets, doing his best not to think about that scenario. “Yes, but I won’t force something she doesn’t want. For now, let’s worry about getting her away from her boss. I won’t do anything without your direct input. I’m not trying to step in and take over Lucy’s life or your family’s role in protecting her. I know how that feels, from both aspects. I watched over my sister until she found her mate, and when that happened, I felt as if I was no longer needed. Tessa has made me see the error of my thinking.”
Maveryck’s unease from when Tamian walked into the room was gone, which was odd. He didn’t trust everything the male said to be true, although he’d been pretty damn convincing. Mav would need to run this conversation by Ryker, but somehow, he knew in his gut things were going to work out.
“You have a deal.”
Tamian stood and held out his hand. “Thank you, Maveryck. I look forward to working with you. Here’s my phone number. If you’ll text me the coordinates of where Lucy is, I will get one of my Clan to pull up the blueprints so it will be easier to get inside. And I give you my word; I won’t go after Lucy without you there to help.” After they swapped numbers, Tamian showed himself out. It wasn’t until he had his phone in hand that he realized Tamian had called him by his name. He was already dialing Ryker when Spyder and Hawke walked back into the room, acting like they hadn’t just met a Gargoyle.
“Talk to me, Mav,” Ryker answered.
“You’re not going to believe this shit.”
Chapter Thirteen
When Tamian arrived at his hotel, he noticed several motorcycles parked in the back lot. He sat in the rental and called Julian who had tapped into the hotel guest registry and located the room the Hounds were staying in. He knew he was taking a chance in confiding in them, but he figured their distrust of him would be overshadowed by wanting to protect Lucy at all costs. He’d been right. On his way out the door, Tamian had “pushed” the two males in the hall with his mind. Rarely did he use his ability to manipulate people’s thoughts, but he needed all the Hounds to be cooperative, not combative, if they were to work together in getting Lucy away from her boss safely.
Tessa looked up when he walked in the door, and she smiled at him. “I take it your time to think was lucrative?”
“You might say that.” Tamian explained all that happened while he was gone.
Tessa whistled. “Damn, Tam. That’s...” She shook her head, grinning. “So, what now?”
“We wait on Julian to get the information on Ramey so I can follow him and learn everything I can to become him. While I’m doing that, Jonas will produce a prosthetic. Once that happens, I will go to the lab and pretend to be Lucy’s boss.”
“What do you need me to do?”
“I’ll want you to be my backup, just in case there is anyone at the lab who tries to keep me from taking her. It shouldn’t come to that if I do my homework well enough, but I’d rather have you there just in case. I promised Maveryck he could be there when I went in, so between you and the Hounds, I have no doubt we’ll be successful.”
“How is she going to feel about her ‘boss’ removing her?”
“I’ve already warned her about that. She knows my plan, and I’ll alert her beforehand so she has ample time to gather as much proof as she can to bring with her. I want every piece of research that has been documented taken from the lab. We won’t be able to remove the bodies, so we’re going to need to find a way to lock down the building until we can get someone to go back in behind us. Taking photos won’t be enough, because we both know those can be manipulated. We need to prove Lucy willingly had nothing to do with the project, and I’m hoping her boss will be able to provide that evidence for us.”
“How do you propose to get him to cooperate?”
Tamian knew it was time to trust his sister. “Let’s have a drink.”
“Oh, hell. I’m not going to like this, am I?”
“It’s nothing bad; it’s just something you need to know about me.” Tamian poured them both a stiff drink and handed her a glass before taking the space next to her on the sofa. He drank down half his bourbon then angled his body to face her. “You know how I can ‘speak’ to animals and manipulate their fear of Gargoyles?” Tessa nodded. “I can also do that with humans.”
“Say what?” Tamian opened his mouth to elaborate, but she stopped him. “No, I understand the concept, and I don’t doubt your ability, but why did I not know this about you? And is it only humans you can control?”
Tamian shook his head. He didn’t want Tessa to think he’d ever used mind control on her, but he wanted to be completely honest. “You know how Dante can ease the others’ feelings with a gentle push? I can do the same thing, only it isn’t just emotions I can control. I promise you I’ve never used my ability in a way that would be construed as immoral. I don’t convince someone to rob a bank then give me the money. It’s actually the opposite. I only nudge people toward making a better choice than the one they were going to make. Take the Hounds, for example. When I left the hotel room, the two who were standing guard in the hall were feeling a bit hostile toward me. I assured them I only wanted to help Lucy, not harm her in any way.”
“Have you ever used your Jedi mind control on me?”
“Once. Do you remember when you were eighteen and were dead set on wearing those cut-off shorts out to the bar, and I didn’t want you to? I might have suggested you change into jeans.”
“You bastard!” Tessa jumped from the sofa and turned on him. “I remember that. I couldn’t figure out why all of a sudden I decided to change. Why did you do that?”
“Because I knew you weren’t really going to the mall. I was well aware of where you were going and the types of men who would be at the bar. I couldn’t follow you, because Jonas had me working on something. I didn’t want to worry all night about you getting hit on or taken advantage of because of the way you were dressed. I promise that’s the only time I’ve ever done that to you. I mean, think back. Was there ever another time you didn’t understand a decision you made?”
Tessa downed her drink and poured another, chugging it as quickly. He waited for her to think about it, and when she came back to the sofa, she sat back down. “No. But I still don’t like that you did it once. That’s just wrong.”
“We’ll have to agree to disagree. I won’t apologize for wanting you safe.”
Tessa leaned against the arm of the sofa and glared at him. “How long have you been able to coerce folks?”
“I figured it out when I was around nine. I was with Mom and X, and I wanted to stay home instead of going to Italy with them. Mom had been the one adamant I go with them, but I told her she needed to let me st
ay, and just like that, she changed her mind. X was confused by her sudden about-face, but because she has him wrapped around her finger, he didn’t question it. They dropped me off at Jonas’s on their way to the airport. I wasn’t sure if my words had been the cause of her change of heart, so I tried it out on Caroline. I suggested she make biscuits and gravy instead of her regular Saturday pancakes, and she did so without hesitation. Jonas heard the exchange, saw the outcome, and figured out I had the ability. After breakfast, he and I had a long conversation about the moral obligation I had to only use my ability when it was absolutely necessary.”
“And me wearing jeans was absolutely necessary?” Tessa huffed.
“For my sanity? Yes.”
Tessa nudged his leg with her bare foot. “So, this is like Lilly not using her witch powers for personal gain?”
“That’s one way to look at it. I have always tried my best to be ‘good.’ I’ve never harmed another being except to protect our Clan. Helping Julian rescue Katherine. The battle in Greece. War has been around since the beginning of time, and it is a necessary evil. Getting Lucy away from the GIA is necessary for her well-being, and I have no problem with using my ability to achieve that goal. What her boss is doing, or having her do, is not okay. He needs to be stopped, and I’ll do whatever it takes to make that happen. Just like Julian was willing to break the human laws to rescue Katherine.”
