Illicit Passions

by Crystal Jordan

  “I just want our work recognized. I never…I never planned to…” He flapped a weak hand toward the unconscious blonde strapped to a gurney.

  Barbara stared at him. He was an idiot, unfit to do the work they needed to do, but she might be able to turn the situation to her advantage. “Fine, then we’ll give her back.”

  “We will?” Shock made his jaw sag.

  “Yes.” She turned her laptop in his direction. “She’s a friend—possibly girlfriend—of a clan leader’s eldest son. Perhaps they might publicly acknowledge the validity of our findings in order to get her back.”

  Of course, that didn’t mean Barbara couldn’t experiment in the meantime. Unholy excitement went through her at the idea. Perhaps she wouldn’t give the woman back regardless. But going through the motions would shut Hastings up until she could find a way to get rid of him. Unfortunately, he’d become a liability.

  His lips twitched as he considered. “That’s blackmail.”

  Really, the man was pathetic. All he did was complain, when they were on the verge of greatness. Barbara ground her teeth, reaching for her usual detached calm. It had been harder and harder to come by lately. “Is it really worse than kidnapping? Everyone will get what they want, won’t they?”

  “Okay.” He nodded, looking the picture of misery.

  Grabbing the swan’s phone, Barbara took a deep breath. Then she made the call. “We have Victoria Haida.”

  There was a pause. This Bastian didn’t ask who she was, didn’t demand if this was a sick joke, didn’t plead. None of the things she might expect. Instead, a deep voice that was as cold and dangerous as black ice came through the phone and a chill went down Barbara’s spine.

  “If you hurt my mate, I will hunt you down and tear you limb from limb.”

  His mate. So not just a lover or girlfriend. That gave them an even bigger advantage here, but a low growl came through the phone and the hair on Barbara’s nape stood on end. Swallowing, she rallied. “Your mate is safe, for the moment. What you do now will determine her fate.”

  “I want proof of life before I do a damn thing.”

  “You’ll get it.” But on her terms.

  The kidnappers had agreed to allow Bastian a videoconference with Tori under two conditions. The first was that no law enforcement was involved and the second was that his father was also there to witness it. Which meant her abduction had something to do with the Alpha. Someone trying to overthrow him? The clan had been fairly stable for years, but this wouldn’t be the first time someone had attempted to stage a coup.

  He didn’t know, but he called his father while driving like a bat out of hell to get to his parents’ place. Terror was a living, breathing thing inside him. Consuming him until he wanted to howl. When he arrived, Paul had already fired up the computer and tested to make sure they’d have no technical issues on their end.

  Tomas and Dominic collided with each other as they rushed into their father’s den. Tomas’s voice was a staccato demand. “Any news?”

  Bastian shook his head. The room fell silent for a few minutes, the tension thick as everyone waited. The waiting was what killed him. Was she hurt? Scared? He refused to think she was already dead. He just…his mind wouldn’t go there. They’d taken her for a reason and contacting him meant they wanted something. So they had a reason to keep her alive. For now.

  “Have they asked for money?” Hector Leonidas asked from where he sat in one corner.

  “No,” Bastian replied shortly. “They haven’t made any demands yet.”

  The leopard-shifter had been there when Bastian showed up, but had decided to stick around for the show. As if Tori’s kidnapping were just some entertaining TV program. Bastian wanted to kick the cat’s ass. It was all he could do not to put his fist through the nearest wall. Anything to make the fear ease for a single moment. The sick dread that had settled like lead in his gut from the moment he’d taken that call got heavier and heavier by the minute. The wolf in him wanted to hunt down and tear apart anyone who dared touch its mate, but the man maintained ruthless control. Now was the time to think, not react.

  Tori’s life depended on it.

  “We’ll get through this, son.” Michael clapped his hand on Bastian’s shoulder, squeezing in support.

  He swallowed hard, grateful for the bulwark of strength his family offered. If he needed them, they came. No questions asked, no hesitation.

  “They wanted you here to witness this.” He met his father’s gaze. “Do you think someone’s staging a coup? Do we have any enemies I don’t know about?”

  Unlikely, but he had to ask. It wouldn’t be the first secret his father had kept.

  The Alpha shook his head. “The last problem we had was back when Derek conspired with that bird-shifter to ruin us and kill Celeste. But he’s long dead and he had no family left.”

  Bastian pinched the bridge of his nose, fighting to remain calm. Who had taken his mate and why? But more importantly… “Why Tori?”

  “Maybe she was a target of opportunity,” Dominic suggested. “Maybe anyone close to the Alpha would do. She did leave the house when Mom and Dad were there.”

  Michael shook his head. “How did they know she had any kind of relationship with me? We haven’t made any big announcements about Bastian being mated.”

  “I don’t know,” said Dom.

  “We’re just chasing our tails with this,” Bastian growled. “We need more information. I’m not getting the cops involved, but we have our own contacts that can track these bastards down. I want her found. I want every resource we have thrown at this. Is that clear?”

  Everyone nodded silently, even the Alpha, who wasn’t used to taking orders from anybody. It would have been funny if it weren’t so fucking tragic.

  The computer trilled and Paul nodded. “You’re on, Brother. I have some software running that should be able to trace their IP address. Depends on how good they are at covering their digital tracks.”

  “Here’s hoping they don’t have a computer expert.” After grabbing his father’s arm, Bastian escorted the older man over to the monitor, so they’d both be clearly visible over the video. He tapped the button to answer. “Where’s Tori?”

  “Here.” Her voice was clear and then the camera turned on and her face appeared. Behind her was a blank white wall and he could only see her from the waist up, but she was wearing the same clothes she’d had on earlier in the day. She looked pale but healthy. And pissed.

  The anger on her face did more to relieve him than anything else. If she’d been scared, it would have been so much worse. But it was bad enough.

  “I’m okay,” she said. “They drugged me, but otherwise…”

  “Good. That’s good.” He nodded, keeping his voice as calm as possible. “What do they want?”

  She glanced to the side at something or someone beyond the range of the camera. Then she refocused on Bastian. “These are the scientists fired from MIT when they reported discovering human-animal hybrid DNA.” Her throat worked and rage tightened her features. “They’ve told me that if you don’t immediately confirm their scientific findings to the press, then they will kill me. Dr. Powell says that she’ll perform a recorded vivisection of me and release the video to the media.”

  A choking sound was Bastian’s answer to that. They were going to cut his mate open like a frog in science class while she was still alive. Bile pooled in his mouth and every sense of rational calm he had drained into a puddle of panic in his belly.

  “We’ll do what they say,” Michael said smoothly.

  Tori shook her head, locks of hair slapping her cheeks. Determination mixed with the anger in her expression. “No. I can get myself free. Don’t do what they say. Bastian, don’t—”

  A needle slammed into her arm and she collapsed out of view.

  Bastian felt that needle as if it hit his flesh, and the breath exploded out of him. The noise that wheezed from his throat was that of a wounded animal. The wolf within him rage
d, barely leashed, and Bastian quivered with the need to hunt down and kill those that hurt his mate.

  An older woman stood in front of the camera. The slicing and dicing Dr. Powell, no doubt. “You have two hours, and I had better see it on CNN. Local news simply won’t cut it. My findings are correct and I will prove them any way I have to. Even if it means ending Ms. Haida’s life. For the advancement of science, of course.”

  She had a detached coolness to her expression, but a terrible triumph flashed in her gaze. He had a feeling if he stood in the same room with her, the air would reek of madness. This woman would do exactly as she said—she would kill his mate without a qualm. For the advancement of science, of course.

  Her gaze went to one side of the screen, to the Alpha. “Jeff Nichols and I are both of the belief that you, Michael Lykaios, are responsible for the information we’ve been given about hybrids. By not coming forward and confirming my results—results you clearly wanted me to find—you made a laughingstock of me and my research partner.” A small smile twitched at the corner of her mouth. “When you play with people’s lives, animal, this is what you get.”

  Then the screen went black.

  A red haze filled Bastian’s vision, his hands curled into fists, and his talons pierced his palms. He turned to look at his father, who’d gone pale and tight around the mouth.

  “She’s not wrong, is she, Dad? You are the one leaking information about werekind.” To hell with the intervention they’d planned. He wanted this out in the open here and now.

  Arrogance flashed across the Alpha’s face and his chin lifted. “What does it matter now who—”

  Restraint snapping, Bastian had one fist balled in his father’s shirtfront and the other hand wrapped around his throat in the blink of an eye. He slammed the Alpha back against a bookshelf, a roar breaking free. “Admit it! I want to hear it from your mouth. You and Hector Leonidas have been leaking information about the werekind.”

  Fangs bared, his father snarled. “Yes. We’ve been controlling the release of information that would have inevitably gotten out anyway.” He wrapped a hand around Bastian’s wrist, but couldn’t break his grip. “Now get your hands off me, boy.”

  Bastian’s fingers tightened until his father gurgled. Exclamations from his family were shocked and scared, but he kept his gaze locked on his father. The words that came from his mouth were far calmer than he felt, the kind of terrifying calm that came at the eye of a storm. “You’re a traitor. When this is all over—no matter what the outcome—you will retire as Alpha.”

  Michael’s eyes narrowed. “You can’t—”

  “If you don’t retire willingly, I will challenge you for leadership. Do you honestly think you can beat me in hand-to-hand combat?”

  A flicker of doubt crossed the older man’s features.

  Bastian continued, relentless, anguished. “Because of you, these scientists got our DNA in the first place. Because of you, they had to prove their results at any cost. Because of you, my mate has been kidnapped and her life is in danger. If she dies…” His voice trailed off in a growl. He couldn’t even finish that sentence. If Tori died, he didn’t know what he’d do. It gutted him to even think of her jeopardy. That it was his father’s fault ripped his loyalties in half. Everything he’d ever believed, ever known about his world, was crumbling to dust around him. In his world, the Alpha never put his people in danger. In his world, his father was never wrong.

  His world had come to an end. Now he just had to pick up the pieces.

  It took every scrap of discipline he could muster to ease his grip on his father’s throat and step back. A collective breath went out from behind him. He turned and saw varying degrees of wariness and fear on his family members’ faces. Hector looked blandly uninterested.

  Michael tugged at the bottom of his shirt to straighten it. “I’m giving the news conference.”

  “Yes, you are.” Bastian stabbed a finger at both Michael and Hector in kind. “You will be demonstrating how people shift into animals, and you’d better make it a damn good show.”

  Hector rose from his chair, eyes narrowed. “A clan leader isn’t a circus sideshow performance.”

  Eyebrow arched, Bastian snorted. “You made this mess and you will take responsibility for it. Publicly. You wanted the truth to come out and so it shall. All of it.”

  A husky feminine voice came from the doorway. “I agree with you. But I’ll do it if he won’t.”

  Miranda spoke for the first time, her eyes red-rimmed. “Who are you?”

  “Phaedra Leonidas.”

  There was a slight hesitation on the surname, but Bastian could see the sharp resemblance to her sons. The green eyes were the exact same shade and shape, and though her inky black hair had a few threads of gray, its color reminded him distinctly of Jason’s. Bastian wondered if she might also be a melanistic leopard like her eldest son.

  “What are you doing here, Phaedra?” Hector asked, his voice sounding like gravel in a blender. He took a stumbling step toward her, looking as pale and shaken as if he’d seen a ghost.

  She arched an eyebrow. “I told you I’d only come back when you weren’t the clan leader anymore.”

  “I stepped down several years ago,” he said gruffly. “I assumed the boys would tell you. I know you’ve emailed them.”

  “I’ve been out of contact for several years. My work takes me away from civilization, you know.”

  “I know.” There was a resignation with just a hint of old bitterness to the simple statement. “Studying wild leopards in their natural habitats.”

  Her head tilted in acknowledgement, but her green gaze pinned him in place. “You’ve made a mess, Hector. I always told you arrogance would be your downfall.”

  “I’m so overjoyed you’re here to witness it, then,” he replied drily.

  Her lips twitched up in a smile.

  Ignoring the older couple, Dominic turned to his brothers. “I hate to be the one to point this out, but haven’t we been fighting to keep this kind of exposure from happening? Isn’t that why Jason and Adrian are coming tomorrow? To help stop these two traitors?”

  There was an awful silence in answer to that, and Bastian drew in an unsteady breath. He swallowed hard. “You’re right.”

  When he spoke, Michael’s tone cracked like booming thunder. “What have you—”

  “Stop talking.” Bastian didn’t raise his voice, didn’t so much as meet his father’s eyes, but the Alpha’s teeth clacked together as he shut his mouth.

  “I’m sorry, Bas.” Dominic faced him squarely, a muscle twitching in his cheek. “Someone had to say it.”

  “I know.” Hell lived inside of Bastian. He could all but hear the ties that bound his family beginning to shred and snap. But all the wolf within could focus on was the fact that Tori’s life was on the line. The minutes she had left were slipping away, and the wolf cared nothing for politics. Animal instinct said his mate won out over all other considerations. He met each of his brother’s gazes in turn. “My objectivity is shot. We all know it. I’m not going to stand in the way of the news conference. I can’t. Don’t ask it of me.”

  “We won’t,” Tomas replied.

  Dom’s face twisted in protest and Bastian lifted his hand. “I won’t stop you if you try to prevent it. But I could never forgive myself if it’s what would have bought the time needed to save her life.”

  “They’re going to kill her anyway,” Dominic fired back. “The moment you’ve given them what they want, they have no reason to keep her alive.”

  Paul punched his youngest brother’s shoulder. “What the fuck, Dom? It’s his mate you’re talking about.”

  “You’re all thinking it too!” Dom threw out his arms. “You don’t know we can’t track them down first. You haven’t even tried anything else yet.”

  Tomas sighed. “You also don’t seem to realize that what we’ve found this week means the information leak is far bigger than we suspected. We’re using Dixie cups t
o bail out a sinking barge.”

  The younger man rounded on him. “So now you think this is inevitable too? You’re on their side?” He jabbed a finger toward Michael and Hector.

  This was normally the time Bastian would step in to break it up, but his brain was spongy with panic. He didn’t know what was the right thing to do, didn’t know which brother to back. He was used to the occasional divided loyalty, between family needs and clan needs, but this was the first time his personal needs demanded precedence. But at what cost?

  “It wasn’t inevitable until those two made it so. A self-fulfilling prophecy.” Tomas scrubbed a hand down his face. “If this has to happen, I’d rather do it in the name of saving a woman’s life than in the name of catering to Dad’s whims. If this buys us more time to track them down before they try to kill her, I’m in favor of that.”

  “I agree,” Paul put in.

  “No. No, no, no.” Dominic jammed his fists down on his hips, but then his cell phone trilled, and he fished it out of his pocket. “Shit. I need to take this.”

  He stepped away, but didn’t leave the room. There was a brief conversation before he hung up and turned to Bastian. “The shifter we have in the police department says they’ve found Tori’s car abandoned off of northbound I-75. They’re starting a search for her, but our guy has met her before on vacation at Refuge Resort. He knew she was werekind and he could smell you’d been in the car recently, so he called me.”

  Northbound. No wonder Bastian hadn’t seen the Impala on his way here. He’d gone south. Meeting Dominic’s eyes, he asked, “Can you join the search? You’re the best tracker in the clan. If anyone can find her…”

  Dom tapped his phone against his thigh, his brow furrowed. “Aurelia Rossi and Cyrus Vallas are also damn good. I want them on the search too.”

  Speaking up, Michael pinned a look on his youngest son. “Does that mean you’re not going to try to stop the news conference? Call in the birds for reinforcements to silence me?”