Act of Command

by Mandy M. Roth

  “What the fuck does this guy eat for breakfast?” one shouted.

  “I didn’t think he was ever going down.”

  “Load him in the truck. We’ll take him to Felix.”

  Chapter Eight

  Mae came awake with a start and clutched her chest, her heart racing. There was a thumping from the other side of the room and it took her a moment to realize the noise was Brad at the window, hitting it. She fumbled for her glasses and put them on, bringing Brad into focus.

  “Mae?” he asked, worry in his voice. “Are you okay?”

  Confused, she glanced around and then took a calming breath when she realized she’d had a nightmare. “I had a bad dream. Woke up and turns out, I’m actually living a nightmare.”

  Brad offered a warm look. “I understand. Want to talk about it?”

  She put her feet on the cold floor, but stayed seated on the bed. Her heart was still going a mile a minute and she didn’t trust that she wouldn’t pass out if she stood too quickly. “There was a man in it.” She thought harder on her dream. It had been the blond man from campus. “Oddly enough, I dreamt of a guy I only saw briefly and from afar the night I was taken.”

  Brad simply watched her from the window.

  She continued, “He was searching for me. He knew I was being held against my will. But he was going the wrong way.”

  Brad’s gaze narrowed. “What do you mean?”

  “I don’t know. Just that I knew deep down he was trying to find me. That he was really upset that I’d gone missing and that he blamed himself for some reason. And then it just felt like he was headed in the wrong direction. I called to him and in my dream, he answered in my head. He said I needed to stay strong for him, that he was coming. He also said he’d kill anyone who touched me. But I think something happened to him.”

  Brad exhaled slowly. “Have you had dreams in the past? Anything like this?”

  “No.”

  “Tell me more of the man.”

  She stood and walked slowly towards the window. “I don’t know him. I only saw him for a few minutes from afar. He just, well, I can’t explain it. He sort of called to me from across campus. Weird, huh?”

  Brad put his palm to the window once more. “Not weird in the least, Mae.”

  “Why would I dream of him searching for me? When I saw him he was dressed like a rich professor, but in my dream, he had on Special Forces gear.” She tipped her head, thinking more on her bizarre dream.

  Brad kept his hand pressed to the window. “I’ve been worried about you. I told you not to drink the water they brought after the guards changed shifts. It was laced with sedatives and other shit.”

  Mae had been so thirsty that she’d given in and drank it. She rubbed her throat. “I don’t know why I’m so thirsty here.”

  “The drugs cause it,” he said. “You get used to it.”

  Her heart ached for him, knowing he’d spent so much time as the captive of maniacs. “How are you sane? I wouldn’t be in your shoes.”

  He met her gaze. “I was in grad school when I was taken. Before that, I was a frogman.”

  “Frogman?” she asked.

  “Navy SEAL,” he offered, a quirky grin spreading over his face. “When Vic and I decided to continue our education, we thought we’d put the most dangerous part of our lives behind us. We were wrong.”

  “Vic?” she questioned, wondering who the other man was.

  “Fellow frogman, best buddy from childhood and guy who was snatched with me. There was a woman too at the time. Kimberly.” He closed his eyes a moment. “I could hear her when we were first taken. I remember the guards then talking about taking Vic to try to breed her. That was the last I saw of either Vic or Kimberly. And that was months ago.”

  Her stomach clenched. “They’re probably safe, right?”

  He sighed. “I’d like to believe so, but history has shown me that the women held like this don’t fare well.” He closed his mouth and glanced away. “Some they manage to get knocked up. A few of those I’ve seen go to term and they die during delivery. Others die during the pregnancy. I haven’t seen one woman they’ve bred make it past any of that. I’m sorry, Mae.”

  Mae stiffened, realizing he’d stopped talking because he’d confessed women like her died in this environment. He didn’t want to scare her. Too late, she was already terrified. The longer she remained in the place, the more she began to realize how warm her body was starting to feel. She also felt as if she may be sick at any moment. Bringing a hand to her forehead, she swiped, coming away with sweat.

  Brad watched the act, his eyes widening. “Shit.”

  “Brad?”

  He sniffed the air and took a step back from the window. “They laced your food with fertility drugs, and if I’m right, aphrodisiacs. Way more than I’ve ever smelled them give another before.”

  Mae swayed, her stomach cramping as she did. She leaned against the window. “I hurt.”

  Brad eased closer to the window, looking hesitant, as if he feared he might actually be able to break through the thick glass between them and harm her. Maybe he could. She didn’t know. She wiped sweat from her neck and he watched the act as if it were soft-core porn.

  “I shouldn’t have drank the water,” she said, cramping more.

  “Look at me,” he said.

  She did.

  “Focus on me and just breathe.” He touched the glass. “Relax.”

  She was burning up from the inside out and he wanted her to relax? Was he insane? All she wanted to do was crawl on the floor and submit to anyone at the moment who was willing to take her. The thought scared her. She sank to the floor, no longer able to see Brad through the window. She drew her legs up, her knees going to her chest as she began to shake uncontrollably. It took her a moment to realize Brad was humming near the vent, much like she’d done when he’d been on the verge of losing control.

  Oddly, it helped.

  Closing her eyes, she thought first of her sculpture and then of the man with the long blond hair. The more she concentrated on him, his face, every detail she could recall, the more her body heated as if it wanted him to be who fulfilled its need, not some random person.

  Crying out, she thrashed.

  Brad hit the window. “Mae, look at me. Please. If you keep yelling they’ll come in and they’ll know this is the best moment to try to breed you.”

  She managed to look at him through the pain. She just wanted to wake up back in her dorm room, laughing with Alice about how blessed her sculpture was. This was all a horrible nightmare that she couldn’t seem to wake from.

  The door to her cell opened and she glanced up, hoping Caesar was there to help her. It wasn’t him. It was one of the other men. Brad slammed against the window, yelling and carrying on to no avail as the man came straight for Mae.

  He laughed as he bent, raking his gaze over her. “A bitch in heat.”

  She glared at him and shook more, the pain unbearable.

  He touched her leg, running his hand up it, and the pain intensified. Screaming, she kicked out at him, trying to get his hands off her. He caught hold of her ankle and then leaned in and slapped her face, knocking her glasses from her. They scattered to the floor.

  “Leave her the fuck alone!” shouted Brad. “You piece of shit!”

  The man with Mae sneered and touched his belt loop. “They want you bred, bitch. I got a dick. Seems to me, you need what I got.”

  Something built deep in her and the pain increased tenfold. The urge to lay her hands on the man was so strong she couldn’t have ignored it if she tried. She did and at the same moment she began to sing, her focus on the man. She could almost feel herself directing the sound at him and no one else. The minute the words left her mouth he jerked. Snatching out, she caught his upper arm, and the moment her palm met his skin he shrieked, ripping his arm back. The smell of sizzling flesh filled the room, making her nauseous.

  “You burned me, bitch!” he yelled, standing and then d
rawing back a foot, kicking her in the midriff so hard that she lifted off the floor. The air left her lungs with a swoosh, pain holding her so tight she couldn’t manage a scream and she certainly couldn’t sing—not that it would do much good with as little control as she had over it.

  “Denis, what the hell are you doing in here?” a man asked. She didn’t recognize his voice. “Her chart clearly states no unmated males are to be in this wing. Why is she on the floor like that? What is that smell? Smells like someone held a barbecue in here.”

  “Fucking cunt is in heat,” snapped Denis, kicking her again. “And she burned me!”

  “Whoa, dial it down,” said the other, dragging Denis back. A handsome man bent, his green gaze finding her. He reached out to touch her cheek and then stopped as she whimpered more. “Shit. She’s having an allergic reaction to something given to her. Get one of the doctors!”

  “That bitch burned me!” yelled Denis. “I’m going to cut her up and teach her how to behave for a man.”

  “Go!”

  “Fuck you, Ezra,” Denis ranted. “You aren’t my boss. You aren’t mated. Neither is Caesar, so how come the two of you can be by her? Huh? Keeping her all for yourselves?”

  Ezra stayed near Mae, avoiding making contact with her but she got the sense he was keeping his rather large frame between her and Denis. “Denis, you’re a simple man. That much I get, so ask yourself—would Felix want your lowbred spunk in her? She’s a big money item. Think of what he’ll do when he learns what you were going to do.”

  Denis stopped ranting and lowered his voice, “I wasn’t going to touch her.”

  “Bullshit!” yelled Brad, pacing the other cell, looking crazed. “He was going to force himself on her.”

  Denis snarled. “I’ll deal with you later, asshole.”

  “Yeah, I’d like to see you fucking try,” snapped Brad. “I’m not a defenseless young woman. I’ll hand you your ass.”

  “Enough,” countered Ezra. He brought a hand near Mae’s forehead. “Can I touch you?”

  “I hurt,” she managed.

  He sighed. “I know. Your skin is pale. Too pale. Sweat is dripping off you and I smell something is wrong. I think your body is rejecting what the doctors are administrating to you.”

  “The bitch burned me,” said Denis. “No one told me she had the power to burn.”

  She didn’t have the power to burn. Did she? What had they done to her?

  She locked gazes with Ezra. “Please make the pain stop.”

  A radio crackled and Denis turned, speaking on a handheld to someone. “Shit. We have a problem. Some shifter guy breeched the perimeter. They managed to sedate him but he’s a badass. They need more hands to help.”

  “Go,” said Ezra. “I’ll handle her.”

  Denis approached and grinned. “Gonna fuck her yourself?”

  Ezra was quiet a moment before smiling. “Yes. That is my plan. Go help the others and give me privacy.”

  Brad hit the window more. His shouts and rants combined into inaudible noises and growls.

  Denis left and Mae cried, the pain still great, her fear even greater. Ezra bent and put his hands up. “Shh, no, I said what I did to get him to go. I’m not with them, hon.”

  “You look pretty fucking with them to me,” said Brad harshly, seeming to pull himself together at least briefly.

  Ezra glanced over his shoulder. “There are bigger things at work here. I won’t hurt her. Caesar called me in when he was pulled away on another matter. He didn’t want Mae unprotected here.”

  Brad calmed somewhat.

  Mae touched Ezra lightly. “Hot. I’m so hot and thirsty.”

  “I know. You need medical treatment. You, wolf,” he said to Brad. “Calm yourself and allow me to see to it that Mae is cared for.”

  “Hurt her and I will find a way free of this room,” warned Brad.

  Bending, Ezra scooped her up in his arms and walked her out of the cell, down several halls and into a large room with medical equipment and cells with clear walls. Ezra set her on a bed that wasn’t in a cell and touched her forehead. He stepped away and when he returned he had a bag of something in one hand. Mae didn’t fight him as he stuck a needle in her arm and hooked her to the bag of fluid, hanging it on a hook at the top of the bed.

  He vanished for a moment more and then returned, taking her vitals. She blinked through the haze around her, her head heavy, her body hot, and her vision blurry as her glasses were back in her cell.

  He smiled softly and winked. “I sent Denis to find a doctor, knowing they’re all off site right now.”

  She glanced at the IV drip and back at him, wondering how he’d managed that with ease.

  He grinned again. “I’ve been through medical school more times than I can remember. And beyond that, I’ve had field medic training. Even without medical school I could have handled an IV. I’m going to give you something to help you sleep and I’ll be here to monitor you. Caesar is working with our contacts outside of here. We’re trying to get you all released.”

  She touched his hand, closing her eyes. As she drifted off, she could have sworn she heard Alice’s voice. It was faraway and pissed. That couldn’t be. Alice was at school, probably worried about her. She wasn’t in this hellhole.

  Chapter Nine

  Striker entered headquarters and placed his hand on the scanner just inside the entrance. A second set of doors opened as his biometrics were read. He’d never understood all the new technologies. Just when he thought he had a handle on them, they up and changed. Sadly, he was quicker to embrace technology than most of the men he knew. Duke still hadn’t welcomed the advent of the cell phone and computers. Striker welcomed them both. They helped to alleviate some of the loneliness that came from living so long. He’d seen nations rise and fall. He’d fought in more wars than he could count and he’d lost too many people to even begin to hazard a guess at the overall count. To the others he might appear to joke and laugh, but inside all of it took its toll on him and his soul. There were days he had to reach for anything good he could to simply roll out of bed.

  His teammates were his something good. His something to look forward to. Recently, three of them had found mates. And the odds were in Corbin’s favor that he’d found his now too. Striker didn’t dare to hope he had a mate out there. He wouldn’t be able to take the blow when it didn’t happen. For now, it was better he simply continue on his path, find laughter in all he could and when he was able, drink his worries away in several pints of ale and a few bottles of whiskey.

  It was the Highlander way of it for him.

  The doors to headquarters slid shut behind him and he took a long breath, worry over Corbin still gripping him. He’d been out of contact far too long for Striker’s liking. It wasn’t like Corbin. By now he’d have figured out they sent him on a wild goose chase. And he’d be pissed enough to let them all know. He wouldn’t fall out of contact.

  Their search of the possible locations of the women being held for auction had yielded nothing. When the team had met at the predestinated rendezvous point, Corbin had been a no show.

  They’d tried the channel they’d told him they’d operate on, but had gotten no response. Laney had been attempting to reach James the entire mission to alert him that she and Mercy had heard Corbin put out a call on his frequency, letting them know the locations were bogus, but there had been an issue with their communication gear. None could be reached.

  Fucking traitors. Someone had tampered with their equipment.

  PSI had rogues in its midst, and if they didn’t weed out the no good sons-of-bitches, and soon, more people would die. He’d have to bury more of his brothers-in-arms. They were as close to him as his family back home. Though, most of his friends at PSI were not nearly as rowdy as the McCracken clan. To his blood family, Striker was one of the more reserved males.

  He nearly laughed at that.

  He’d barely taken four steps when the elevators across the lobby opened. He set hi
s tactical bag on the floor as Duke and Malik stepped out of the elevator, each looking more worried than the other. It was Duke who spoke first, “No signs of Corbin on campus?”

  “No,” said Striker. He’d gone over the campus, trying to catch Corbin’s scent. He’d even asked students about his captain, flashing a picture he’d taken of Corbin on his phone after an explosion in the lab at headquarters had left Corbin’s hair tinted pink. No one had seen him in the last day. It wasn’t as if the pink hair would keep them from knowing it was him. After all, Striker had asked females. He didn’t know one female who didn’t think Corbin resembled a male underwear model. They’d have remembered him if he was around.

  Malik rubbed the back of his head. “This isn’t good.”

  “No. It’s not any fucking good,” confirmed Duke with his normal finesse.

  “I thought he’d return here,” said Malik. He’d known Corbin the longest. He and Brit had a strange friendship that the other men didn’t question.

  Striker nodded. “Aye, I assumed as much too. No one on that campus has seen him tonight. Several women said they saw him there two weeks back. And I couldnae find any scent of him there recently, so I believe them. Interestin’ thing though, I did find out that both Mae and her roommate went missing the same night. The people I spoke to all thought the two took off on a mini-vacation. They said it’s common for the roommate, Alice something or other, to do so.”

  Malik narrowed his gaze. “Either the roommate had something to do with Mae’s abduction or she was killed when Mae was taken. You know how those assholes like to cover their tracks. We found how many dead bodies associated with the last ring we broke up? They eliminate anyone and anything that stands between them and money.”

  “I was in their dorm. There are pictures of them all over. I brought some with me.” He pulled one from his tactical bag and handed it to Malik. The picture had two very beautiful women, arm in arm, each holding mustaches on a stick out in the air, smiling wide. “My gut tells me the redhead dinnae betray the other. I think they’re both supernaturals, at least from what I could smell. And from what the women who lived next to them said, they were like sisters. Thick as thieves type.”