Act of Brotherhood_Paranormal Security and Intelligence_PSI-Ops an Immortal Ops World Novel

by Mandy M. Roth

The vampire snorted and grinned, showing the slightest bit of fang in the process. “Tell me, Viking, did both apples not fall far from the tree? Is there a part of you that is as twisted as your brother?”

  James cleared his throat. “I think we know that isn’t the case.”

  “Do we?” asked Auberi. “I seem to recall a time in this one’s past when his loyalties came into question—or was it not him who stopped me from ending the life of his brother over a century ago?”

  Garth remembered the day as if it were yesterday. Auberi really had nearly killed Garth’s twin brother, Grid. Auberi had blamed Grid for the death of a young woman whom Auberi had held close to his heart. To this day, Garth still wasn’t sure who the woman had really been to Auberi, only that she’d mattered to him.

  A lot.

  And Grid had been suspected in her gruesome death.

  There had been a time when Garth could never fathom the idea his brother could harm a woman at all, let alone in such a manner. The woman had been butchered. There was simply no other way to put it.

  Recent events had shed new light upon his brother and it was like history was repeating itself. Grid had hurt women. He may have even killed some for all Garth knew. Grid was deranged and an animal. He’d sided with pure evil, and from what Garth had learned recently, Grid was as bad as, if not worse than, the men he worked for.

  It felt as if the sins of old were coming back with a vengeance, scratching at scabs that had never fully healed over. Each revelation brought with it remembered pain. Garth had been so blind to his brother’s true nature all those years ago. He’d believed that a kernel of good was still in his brother. That wasn’t the case. There was nothing left but rot.

  His brother was a cancer that needed to be removed.

  Like the vampire had wanted to do long ago.

  Too much water was under the bridge between Garth and Auberi. It was impossible to form the words telling the man he’d been right about Grid all along.

  Grid was a monster of the worst kind.

  The type who came across as caring and invested in others, but who really lived to torture and inflict pain. His mind was twisted. Had Garth not had it all thrown into his face in the last few weeks, he’d have continued to live in ignorant bliss, assuming Grid was off living his life in peace all these years.

  No.

  His brother was aligned with an organization hell-bent on world domination. They had achieved great headway in making that a reality. Every day there seemed to be new information coming to light about The Corporation and just how far and deep their reach extended. He held little doubt that they actually controlled a fair number of governments fully. He wouldn’t put it past them.

  They did unspeakable things.

  And his brother was with them.

  The thought twisted Garth’s gut.

  Plus, that meant the annoying fucking French vampire had been right a century ago. But that didn’t mean he was right now.

  “I’m nothing like Grid,” said Garth, his tone harsh, his fists clenching as he stared at Auberi.

  James eased between the men as if expecting trouble.

  Auberi leaned, looking past James. He licked his lower lip. “If you say so, Viking.”

  “Enough,” warned James as he put a hand on Auberi’s chest and eased him back to the other side of the room.

  James and Auberi began to speak and the medical jargon sounded like gibberish to Garth, so he ignored them. Focusing on his friend, a pang of guilt hit him. Gram wouldn’t have been in this situation if he’d still been Garth’s second-in-command. If Garth would have refused to sign off on Gram’s transfer, the man wouldn’t be where he was now. In a medically induced coma.

  He’d be safe.

  But then Malik’s daughter might not be. After all, she was the child Gram had given his all to save. The very little girl that Gram saw as a stepdaughter. Garth had been right all those years ago when he’d thought Gram would make a great father. The man’s caring nature and fierce need to protect those he loved had left him taking the brunt of a blast while shielding Bethany, Brooke’s daughter, from injury. Still, all of it happened because Garth had okayed Gram’s transfer off Team Eight and to the Shadow Agents side of things.

  The thought made Garth tense.

  He wasn’t a fan of small children, or children at all, but he had to admit Bethany had grown on him quickly too. Her father, Malik Nasser, was a man Garth had called a friend for centuries. They had a long history and trusted one another without question. It had always pained him that Gram and Malik could never find common ground before the recent tragedy. Both men were close to him, yet neither could tolerate the other. At least that had been the case prior to the explosion. Malik visited Gram’s bedside, wanting the man to heal. Garth knew Malik was thankful Gram had acted so selflessly.

  Just like Auberi and Garth, Malik and Gram had a lot of water under the bridge between them. Maybe the two alpha males could mend fences. In order for that to happen, Gram had to live.

  It took Garth a minute to realize both Auberi and James were staring at him.

  “What?” he asked.

  James scratched his chin. “Never mind. Nothing.”

  Auberi rolled his eyes. “James has come up with something he thinks will help Gram, but he’s worried about testing it on him with as weak as he is. I offered to let him test it on me, but seeing as how I’m not a dog-shifter,” he gave Garth a wicked smile, knowing being called a dog would piss him off, “the results won’t be worth anything. James can’t try it himself because he has amped-up healing abilities that The Corporation gave him during his involuntary stay with them. He was about to go ask Duke to test it, but you’re here. We can test it on you.”

  Garth stood quickly. “Yes. Test it on me.”

  James sighed. “They tell me you were there when Malik lost his shit in Egypt five years ago. Back when he tested those suppression drugs for PSI.”

  Garth had been there. Malik had lost control of his shifter side back then. He’d claimed his mate, and, in the process, his beast had broken free. Garth remembered the incident vividly, as he’d been one of the men who’d been forced to pin the ancient Egyptian to the floor of his hotel room while the man was in full lion mode. That had lasted nearly two hours and wasn’t something he wanted to see repeated anytime soon.

  During the entire event, everyone thought Malik was nuts because he’d claimed a woman they’d all thought was human. Turns out, she wasn’t human after all, but the suppression drugs that Malik had volunteered to test had monkeyed with his senses. They’d thrown his beast off-kilter, making it unable to detect what was right before his eyes. Not to mention, Brooke’s mother had apparently suppressed her natural abilities in order to hide her from the enemy.

  Garth took a deep breath. “I was there. I saw the drugs fuck with his head and senses.”

  James gave Auberi a sideways look and then inclined his head. “You know I took some blood from Brooke, and that I’ve been trying to engineer it to help Gram because her healing abilities are off the charts, right?”

  Again, Garth nodded. “Auberi told me as much.”

  “I think by playing off the research and the drug PSI was testing five years back, I might be able to help Gram. I just don’t want to chance testing it on him. If it has a weird side effect, I’m not sure he’d be strong enough to survive it. Testing it on you, a fellow wolf-shifter who’s healthy, will let me know if there are any major side effects.”

  Garth put his arm out. “I already said you could test it on me. Do it.”

  James sighed. “Okay, but just a small amount. I don’t want to be responsible for the next mating mix-up around here.”

  With a snort, Garth tossed his shoulders back, standing tall and proud. “I don’t have a mate, and I haven’t left Gram’s bedside lately. Kind of hard for me to happen upon my future wife if I’m in here nonstop.”

  James watched him. “About that…”

  Auberi snickered. “We f
eel it’s best you take a day or two away from here. One of us will call if Gram’s condition changes.”

  “You just want me gone period,” growled Garth, glaring at the vampire.

  “Yes. There is that.”

  James caught Auberi’s arm and tugged him back, looking tired. “Garth, this isn’t healthy for you or Gram. You have unwarranted guilt.”

  “My brother was partly responsible for this,” argued Garth. “That makes it my fault. Damn right I have guilt.”

  “No. It makes it your brother’s fault. You are not your brother,” stated James.

  Auberi huffed and mumbled something derogatory under his breath about Garth being exactly like his evil twin.

  Garth clenched his fists, wanting to pummel the vampire into little bits. Partly out of fear Auberi might be right. Did Garth have it in him to be evil?

  James groaned. “Enough, you two. Garth, I’d like to try the serum out on you to check for side effects. I’m also kicking you out of here for a couple of days. Should something come up regarding side effects, reach out to me at once. In the meantime, we’ll keep a close watch over Gram. There isn’t anything you can do here for him anyway. By testing this serum, you’ll be doing all you can for him.”

  Auberi laughed wickedly. “I really hope this fucks with you like it did Malik. And I hope you walk out that door today and right into your mate. When that happens, I really fucking hope you find a way to screw it up as badly as Malik did.”

  Garth cringed at the idea of being mated. “Bite your tongue, you walking-dead douchebag.”

  Auberi snarled.

  James pulled on his cheeks in a dramatic fashion. “You two make me tired. Garth, come on. Let’s get you set up with the serum.”

  Corbin Jones entered the room. “Oh, Garth. I was looking for you. Can you fly down to Savannah to handle a prisoner transport?”

  Garth sighed, knowing full well the request was coming more out of a desire to see him leave the infirmary than necessity. They had people for that stuff at PSI, and his pay grade was well above that.

  Maybe they were all right.

  Maybe stepping away would help to clear his head…and maybe without Garth hovering nonstop, Gram would heal.

  “I’m getting an injection of something that will probably make me get stuck in wolf form and want to hump everything that moves, but if all goes well on that end, I’ll do it. When do I head out?” he asked of Corbin.

  Corbin gave him a questioning look. “How about we not get stuck in shifted form, and do our best to avoid humping everything, okay?”

  Garth shrugged. “No promises.”

  Corbin checked his watch. “Wheels up in two hours. James, I need to speak with you.”

  James looked to Auberi. “Can you handle administering the serum?”

  “I want him sticking me with something about as much as I want crabs.”

  Auberi grunted. “How about I give you something to make you sleep, and then take you to get neutered? Isn’t that what should be done to dogs?”

  “I’m not a fucking dog,” snapped Garth.

  Corbin leaned towards James. “You’d think this feud would get old.”

  “It does for the rest of us, but apparently it doesn’t for them,” said James as they headed out of the room.

  Chapter Five

  “Pick up dry cleaning tomorrow. Call the locksmith to look at the back door lock. We’re almost out of soy milk. Wait. Was it soy milk or tofu? Or was it fruit snacks?” Nicolette paused on the sidewalk as she tried to remember everything that had been on her to-do list. A list she’d taken time to make and then promptly forgot on the kitchen counter.

  With Clara gone on another of her seemingly endless business trips, the task of remembering important things fell to Nicolette. She didn’t own a car. There wasn’t need for one. She had a bike she rode around for most of the year, and if the weather was iffy or too chilly, she took one of the public transportation options provided by the city. She tended to use the buses and the ferry the most. The only time she borrowed Clara’s car was when she had a number of errands to run in a row. What she needed now was all close enough to the house for her to walk to without issue. That was another perk of living in the historic district of Savannah.

  The night was perfect and there were a large number of people out and about, as was normally the case in the area. When she’d been on Congress Street, there had been even more people because of the live music provided at a local hotspot. Not to mention a restaurant super popular with the tourists was in the area as well. She was a fan of their signature cocktail.

  It was nearly impossible for her to avoid smiling as she walked down another street on her way to the bakery. She tended to avoid this particular route after hours because it housed a fair number of the small parking areas for the businesses. That meant most of the view on the walk was of cars. Not people. And she loved to people watch.

  As she came upon the square, her smile grew wider when she spotted a man standing out on the brick walkway, playing his guitar and singing.

  He was handsome with his ear-length dark brown hair and dimpled chin. He glanced up at her and winked before stepping in her direction and continuing to sing. He had a great voice. Deep, smooth, and very sexy.

  As he stepped into an area that was lit better, he glanced from beneath thick lashes and for a second, Nicolette thought his eyes went from a deep blue to jet black.

  When she looked at him harder she saw she was mistaken. His eyes were royal blue.

  Strange.

  She could have sworn they’d flashed to black.

  With a shake of her head, she continued down the street. The bakery was only a block away, and then she’d just have a few blocks after that before she was home. She and Clara had never gotten around to watching the chick flick that Nicolette had picked up, so she fully intended to set time aside later to dive into it. She’d even picked up her favorite pita chips and hummus dip on her way home. Combined with her famed gray drink, it would be a party only she could fully appreciate.

  Clara would have dropped dead without a sea of greasy food and loads of sugar at the ready. Not to mention, she’d have spent the evening mocking the cupcakes Nicolette was heading to get. The kids were so excited about the celebration all set to happen in the morning. So was she.

  She added a little skip to her step and then glanced around, wondering who might have seen her. She caught sight of a tall, built man standing off in the distance, part of his body hidden by one of the massive live oaks that dotted the area. His hair hung over his shoulder in a long, thick blond braid. That wasn’t something she saw on a lot of men. Setting aside the fact the man seemed to be well over six feet tall, the hair and his incredibly fit body made him difficult to overlook.

  There was no denying he was a fifteen-out-of-ten kind of guy. He had his arms crossed over his substantial chest. The sleeves of his light gray T-shirt looked to only barely be able to contain him. He stepped out more from behind the tree.

  When she got a look at all of him, she changed her vote to a twenty out of ten. There was a scar just above his right eye that was noticeable even from a distance. It didn’t take away from how handsome he was.

  That being said, there was something about him she couldn’t put her finger on.

  Something not right.

  He saw her watching him, and the edge of his mouth pulled upward. As she began to return the smile, a flutter started in her stomach, making her feel dizzy and somewhat sick. For the briefest of moments she could have sworn that the man’s eyes changed colors. That they went from green to amber.

  The guitar guy stopped playing and singing.

  Nicolette glanced back to see the man with the guitar observing the guy with the long blond braid. The two were a respectable distance from one another, but that didn’t seem to stop the swell of testosterone that came off them in waves.

  Her inner voice screamed at her to move along. To stop staring and just keep doing what she’d
been doing. She obeyed.

  Nicolette quickened her pace and was just shy of moving from a walk to a run. Within a few short minutes, she was at the bakery and safely inside. She looked out of the front window but saw nothing out of the ordinary.

  She laughed softly to herself. “I totally let my imagination run wild again.”

  “I do that all the time,” said the young man near the counter. His shirt indicated he worked for the bakery. “What can I do for you?”

  “Order for Henebury,” she returned.

  He paused and then cleared his throat. “Ah, you’re the one who made the interesting request. We did our best.”

  She waited as he went in the back for her order. When he came out, he had a box with the bakery’s logo printed on the top. His expression was guarded, as if he was afraid of her response. He set the box on the counter and opened it.

  Nicolette peeked inside. The cupcakes were magnificent. “I love them! They look so good.”

  “Don’t taste them. I made that mistake,” he said in a barely there voice. She caught it all the same.

  “That bad?”

  “We’re used to special orders and make a lot of stuff for people with allergies. But we’ve never had a list of so many things to avoid in one order before. What are these for again?”

  “My class of preschoolers,” she returned, beaming at the sight of the final product.

  “Poor kids.” He cleared his throat again, and then rang up her order. He put a finger up for her to wait a second and vanished into the back again. He came out with a lone cupcake that matched the others. “I almost forgot. Here’s one for you to try first. You know, before you subject the kids to them.”

  With a laugh, she took the cupcake and shook her head. The cupcakes couldn’t taste that bad. Could they? She took a bite. They tasted just fine to her.

  The guy behind the counter had a small paper cup of water waiting for her, as if he’d expected she’d need it. With a wave of a hand, she smiled. “I’m fine. These turned out great.”

  His eyes widened.

  The bell to the bakery chimed as the door opened. Nicolette paid little mind to it as she settled up with the man and then turned to leave.