She paused, spoon on the way to her mouth. “Well, I guess there is a chance I could be pregnant. I’m not on anything to prevent it.”
She loaded another spoon with cereal and was halfway to her mouth with it when she caught the look of horror on Bray’s face. Clearly, he wasn’t keen on impending fatherhood. Maybe he didn’t want kids or maybe he didn’t want kids with her. Who knew…all she knew was that he clearly wasn’t coping by the look on his face.
“I don’t think the chances are very high,” she said, trying to offer some level of comfort.
“You don’t think the chances are very high. What the hell does that mean?” he demanded.
She continued to eat her breakfast, not at all sure how to handle his display of temper or his unrest. He was normally so calm and controlled. This was really confusing her and her instinct was to retreat and not give him further cause for being annoyed at her.
“Exactly that. I don’t think that there is much chance of me being pregnant.”
“Well, that’s great, Rihanna! Care to tell me why you think the chances aren’t very high?” He emphasised the last five words.
She spun on her stool and faced him. Her temper finally flared.
“Fine. I had my period last week. Therefore I should be most fertile about fourteen days after the first day of my last period. So unless you have super sperm that can live for five days, we should be fine.”
She turned back to her cereal and left him to consider this.
Bloody hell, he thought to himself. What were the chances really? How long did the sperm of a hybrid human/animal last? Crap, he had no idea. Shit, should he talk to someone at the Centre? Then there would be all the questions about why and it would come out that they had been together. Fuck, this was getting messy. He went back to his brooding.
Rihanna finished her breakfast, washed and rinsed her bowl before placing it in the dishwasher. She walked from the room, ignoring him and his dark mood.
***
A few minutes later, he found her lying on the bed in the room she had spent her first night with him. She was facing away from the door, her legs drawn up close to her chest.
He sat beside her and gently stroked her hair back from her face.
“Hey, baby, I’m sorry I was such a prick before.” He wanted to say more but was afraid it would only lead him to tell her more lies.
She eventually looked up from the corner of her eye.
“You were certainly a prick,” she confirmed for him.
“Look,” he said, dragging his hand through his hair, “I just wanted you to know that whatever happens, we’ll deal with it together.”
She flinched at his words. They sounded so final and full of dread. It may have been a poor choice of words on his part but the word “deal” was full of connotations that were not appealing to her in the least.
He stroked her head again. “It’ll be okay, Rihanna.” He needed to reassure her there was simply too much going on in her life and as a result, now his, for her to crack up and loose it. “We’ll make it okay.”
“If I recall, you were the one who was having the spack attack, not me,” she retorted hotly, sitting up.
“You’re right. I’m the one that lost it for a bit,” he admitted.
She wondered how much that cost him. A male admitting they were in the wrong. Mmmm, interesting.
“I guess I was just struggling with how calm you were and the possibility of a baby.”
“Well, it’s science that is actually keeping me calm. Science predicts the likelihood to be very low, therefore I can be calm.”
Then it dawned on him—she was a vet. Rihanna would probably know the answer to his questions about how long the sperm of animals, in particular equines, lasted. But how to ask her? And what impact would the human part of him have on the animal part?
His mind wandered off, trying to think of a way to ask the questions without raising suspicions or her thinking him some sort of perverted freak. Not that the freak part was far from the truth. As he was trying to come up with something plausible, she interrupted his thoughts.
“Brayden, have you called in yet?”
He immediately looked at his watch and realised it was ten past eight. His boss hated tardiness. Shit, now he would be in the doghouse with his boss as well.
And the day got off to such a great start, he thought wistfully. That’ll teach me to let my dick control my better judgement.
Chapter Nine
Brayden dialed his boss’s number and waited for the connection to be made through the secure line on the handset he held to his ear. He risked a glance at Rihanna; she was sitting on the lounge leaning forward, elbows on her knees hands clasped together tightly—he suspected to stop them from shaking.
The phone rang once and was immediately answered.
“Anderson,” his boss announced.
“Morning, boss.”
“You’re late calling in, James.”
“Yes, sir, I am.”
“What kept you?”
“Had a couple of things to take care of, sir.” He hoped his voice would not betray the real reason he had been delayed.
“I’m sure, James. Don’t make it a habit,” his boss replied, sounding unconvinced.
“Understood, sir.” He wanted to ask what his latest orders were but knew better than to rush his boss.
“So I guess you finally decided to call in and collect your latest order.” It was a statement, not a question.
“Yes, sir.”
“Well, the latest is that we have information that the group we are seeking are in fact part of a left-wing Chinese communist faction. They have some ties to the East Europeans and were using them as a courier service.
“We believe that since you put the two out of commission the night before last, and Quade and Rory took care of the crew at the facility holding Mason last night, we’ll now be dealing with the head directly.”
Rihanna glanced up and noticed Brayden was totally focused on the boss’s words. She didn’t know whether he was aware he was doing it, but he was peering intently at a spot on the wall.
“How many, sir?”
“Intelligence indicates probably somewhere between ten and twelve in this country. We believe that there is a high-ranking lieutenant leading the operation here with links back to China and also the US, Canada, and Europe.”
“Do we know what the purpose of the operation is yet, sir?”
“The information we have been able to collect leads us to believe that there is the intention to do a hand-off of the canisters to couriers. The destination of the canisters is yet unknown.”
“What is the potential for a bio-terrorism event here, sir?”
“Difficult to tell at this stage; however, we can’t rule it out.”
Brayden shook his head back and forth in concern. Or was it annoyance?
“What is the plan, sir?”
“We’re currently reviewing data, trying to determine the most likely terrorist targets here. We are also trying to gather as much data about this Chinese outfit as we can.”
There was a short pause in the conversation before the boss went on.
“We’d also like Dr Mason to work with some of our bio-terrorism specialists to determine how they may be intending to release the virus. Starting tomorrow, we’ll need you to transport her each day to a facility attached to a private research lab in Brisbane.”
“Why there, sir?”
“The lab has all the equipment and supplies they need to carry out their work. Your contact there is a man named Sullivan. He’ll give you further details.”
“And my role in this, sir?”
“You’re to provide protection, James. Make sure nothing happens to her, you understand? Don’t be afraid to poke around a bit. Use those senses of yours and make sure everything is straight up and down. We haven’t worked with this outfit before and you know how I hate new friends.”
“Yes, sir.” The boss hated worki
ng with groups outside the Centre unless absolutely necessary.
“The Drs Mason are our best chance of preventing or reversing a bio-terrorist attack at this stage.”
“Speaking of Dr Mason, sir, Rihanna would like to speak with her father.”
“I figured as much, James. As long as there is no physical contact and they remain in different states, I’m okay with it at this stage. Top-secret protocol. Secure lines only.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Call Rheeba and she will put you through to him. I understand he has been asking after her this morning.”
“Thank you, sir.”
“Oh, before you go, James, I’ll have Quade and Rory drop off some equipment Dr Mason will need. I’m sending them north to you for backup. They also have intelligence that I need verified which I want them to take care of, but they’ll be close at hand to you if backup is needed.”
“Great, sir. I guess I need to stock up on groceries—those two eat like there’s no tomorrow.”
“Do what you need to, James, but be on guard. We’re not sure how organised or informed this group is at the moment. Quade and Rory should be with you at about sixteen hundred. Check in with me when they arrive.”
“Yes, sir.”
The line went dead, as was customary with his boss. He was military through and through; nobody really knew if he was still active duty or retired but he ran the Centre like a full-scale military operation and they had all responded accordingly.
The words of his boss spelt the end of the uninterrupted time he and Rihanna would have together. He didn’t need to ask; it was standard procedure. Whenever his team members ventured close to him, they bunked in with him. Same as when he had to travel interstate, he stayed with whoever was most convenient. They all had secluded and highly secure properties. The seclusion helped calm the animal senses within each of them.
It was part of them. They needed to escape the crowds and high-density areas frequently or else they began to experience overload on their animal senses. There was no real danger to them per se; they just tended to become irritable and bad tempered. Which was not always the best. Quade in particular hated being amongst crowds for any length of time.
Rihanna looked at him expectantly, no doubt looking for news of her father. From her perspective, the conversation would have been very one-sided. A lot of “yes, sir’s” and not much else.
“Well, can I speak with him?” she demanded, finally no longer able to contain her need.
“Yes, you can. Boss says I just need to set it up through Rheeba. He’s been asking for you this morning.”
“Okay, can we do it now?” she asked expectantly, clearly wanting to speak with her father immediately.
Brayden considered her obvious love and devotion to her father. He immediately realised he envied the man it was directed at. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to have someone care so much about you? It was something he was never likely to truly enjoy. He’d had a good childhood growing up. But he’d always felt different somehow. He felt a distance between him and his “family” because the truth was, he didn’t really have family. Rather a group of brothers and sisters who were of the same basic genetic makeup as him. Not really family but people who had become his substitute family. The only consolation was that they at least understood him, because they were the same as him.
“Sure, I have some other stuff to tell you as well. I really need to tell you about that before we call your dad.”
“Okay, what’s going on?” By now, Rihanna was almost jumping up and down from the desire to get on with the calling of her father.
“Well, the information that the team has gathered and confirmed indicates that the culprits are most likely a Chinese extremist group. The team had identified East European links. It seems those guys were the couriers or the hired muscle.”
“So the guys that grabbed me the other night were these East Europeans?”
“Yes, it seems so.”
“Were they the same guys that trashed the house and lab?” she asked, almost hesitantly. The thought of putting faces to the act of violating her property somehow made it seem worse.
“We can’t say for sure but it’s highly likely that they were.” Brayden was studying her intently as he spoke. He knew something was bothering her but not exactly what. He took her hand in a show of support, hoping to make her feel better.
She looked at their entwined hands and then looked back to his crystal blue eyes. “So what happens now?”
“Well, the team is running down as much information as possible, including information from your dad and what was found forensically at your lab.” He paused briefly before continuing. “We still believe that there is the possibility of a bio-terrorist attack so the Centre wants you to work with a private lab that is attached to the military. The idea is for you to work with their guys to try to determine the possible scenarios that the virus could be used and figure out potential targets as a result.”
Rihanna pondered his words for a second. “But I don’t have any of my equipment or research.”
Brayden nodded his understanding. “All taken care of. You start tomorrow at the lab in Brisbane. Two other members of my team will be arriving here around sixteen hundred or four p.m. They will have equipment for you and they will also be providing additional backup to me.”
“So what’s your role in all this?” she asked, squeezing his hand.
“My orders are to keep you safe. This means we’ll be attached at the hip. I’ll transport you to and from the lab and I’ll be in the same room at all times.”
“So kind of like a bodyguard?” A small, coy smile snuck across her beautiful, full rosebud lips.
“Yeah, I guess you could call it that.” He grinned in response.
“What about the other team members you mentioned?” she asked, directing them back to business. It would be so easy to fall into flirting and the obvious activities that followed.
“Quade and Rory will be staying here with us. They have their own orders and assignments to complete, but they will be around to lend a hand in case anything escalates here with you.”
“Exactly what do you mean by escalates?” The tension had returned to her voice and he could feel her fear starting to rise.
He considered watering it down but knew she’d never buy it, so he gave it to her straight up; after all, she had taken the news about this whole situation well.
“In case there is another attempt to abduct or harm you in any way.” The answer was blunt and to the point. And as expected, she visibly flinched but at least she knew and would be on guard.
“Is that likely?” she asked. He could hear the underlying fear in her voice and it pulled at something deep within him.
His protective instincts were operating at a whole new level to anything he was familiar with. Maybe it was the undeniable attraction and relationship they were forming. Maybe it was more…his baby she might be carrying. It was a definite might but he doubted the possibility would be far from his thoughts until he knew for certain.
“Brayden, answer the question,” she prompted, clearly annoyed that he had drifted off into his own thoughts for longer than was a polite time to answer her question.
“Ah, I guess there is the possibility. What the likelihood of further action against you is difficult to tell without further information.”
“Great, so we have no clue if I am a real target or not.”
“Not really. We just take all the precautions possible.”
Rihanna didn’t want to dwell on the possibilities against her safety at the moment. Clearly Brayden didn’t know what the likelihoods of further attacks against her were. So what was the point in discussing it further?
“Can we call my dad now?”
“Sure, babe,” he said as he reached for his phone again. He pressed a few buttons and then waited with the phone against his ear.
“Morning, Stud,” came the answering voice.
“Hey, Rat Brat.”<
br />
“How’s life treating you?”
“Ah, pretty interesting actually.”
“Do tell, Pony Boy.” Brayden’s comment had tweaked the interest of one of his closest team members. He and Rheeba got on really well and if he were to guess, he would say they had the same sort of a relationship as brother and sister.
“Not now, Rheeba. Rihanna is keen to talk with her father. Can you set that up?”
“Sure, he’s in the next room. I’m working from here at the moment, running down some other leads. I’ll need to brief Rihanna on the protocol for these calls. Boss wants you and me to sit in either end. No mention of logistics at all. You know why.”
“Sure.” Information about logistics was not to be shared between Rihanna and her father in case the worst happened and they were abducted. The less they knew about each other’s whereabouts, the better.
“Okay. Let me wander next door and get Peter on the line with me.”
Brayden hit the mute button on the phone and motioned for Rihanna to sit beside him on the lounge. “Come over here, Minky. Rheeba is just getting your dad and we’re all going to do a conference call.”
Her hackles immediately rose. “Why can’t I speak to him myself?”
“Protocol, Rih. We have to join you on the call to make sure you don’t inadvertently give information to your dad about what you’re doing and vice versa.”
“What’s this rubbish?” she spat, clearly annoyed at the imposed restrictions.
“It’s for your safety and your father’s in case you are abducted again. The less you know, the less you can tell.”
Bray’s words hit her like a punch to the stomach. He was talking about the possibility of one or both of them being abducted and tortured. Stop the roller coaster, please. She needed to get off, but how?
“You there, Stud?” came Rheeba’s light, almost musical voice. Rihanna’s eyebrows nearly rose right into her hairline at the mention of the word “stud.” Was there something between him and this woman?
Bray hit the mute button. “Yes, Rheeba.” His voice was cool and professional; clearly he had picked up on her reaction and was doing his best to cover it up.
Finding Trust (Centre Games) Page 12
