by Amelia Jade
“Are you sure?” he said, looking regretful.
“Yes!” she said firmly. “You’re still supposed to be working, so they’re probably going to fire you for slacking off to come take me to dinner. I refuse to be responsible for you losing your job.”
“They might find firing me a bit difficult,” he said with a grin. Then he sagged in a combination of relief and apology. “Thank you,” he said, pulling the phone from his pocket with one hand.
His other hand reached out, resting gently atop one of hers for a long, drawn-out moment as he put the phone up to his ear. Shay couldn’t hear what was said, but it wouldn’t have mattered if they were yelling in her ear. Her attention was focused on the table between them, where Justin’s hand was casually folding around hers, as if completely at random.
She jumped when his hand suddenly tightened. Her eyes jumped to his face, which was also looking slightly drawn. He said a few words into the phone, then put it away.
“You have to go.” It wasn’t a question.
He winced. “I have to go.” His voice was tinged with frustration.
“Work?” she asked.
“Family.” He frowned. “Which is also sort of work.” Justin shook his head. “It’s complicated.”
Shay smiled gently. “Come find me when you’re actually off work,” she teased, using her hands to shoo him toward the door. Shay didn’t want him to leave, but whatever it was, it seemed important. The fact that he had already skipped out on work once to spend time with her was charming enough. She could tell he would prefer to stay with her, but obviously he had a strong sense of loyalty to whatever, or whomever it was that had called.
So mysterious.
“I’ll find you again,” he promised, rising from the table and looking unhappy about it.
“I know. Now go!” she urged, not wanting him to get in trouble on her behalf. Any more trouble, that was.
He hesitated, then dropped his hand back over hers, gave it a gentle squeeze as he looked into her eyes, then darted from the restaurant with a speed that surprised her. Whatever it was, it must have been more urgent than she imagined.
She watched him go.
Who are you, Justin Renne?
***
Outside, the sun was beginning to set. Bright yellow light was beginning to give way to the familiar orange of the early evening hours, though the comforting embrace of the heat was still present.
A server came up, asking if everything was okay. Shay smiled and told them that unfortunately she wouldn’t be staying after all. Apologies said, she wandered from the restaurant.
It was still early enough; perhaps she could continue looking for her father. Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out the picture she had of him somewhere along the waterfront. She could see the word “Shipyard” on a building behind him. Unfortunately, that was her only clue.
“Considering every other building along the waterfront has the word Shipyard on it, I could be in for a long search,” she muttered, weaving her way through the throng of humanity that still surged along the sidewalks. It was harder now without Justin along to force a path for her.
She looked at the picture again. It was the middle of the day—she could tell that much by the bright sunlight everywhere. Being back in the press of bodies, Shay realized something about the picture.
There were far fewer people visible in the background.
Wherever this was taken, it wasn’t around here. Her strides lengthened and she began to head away from the center of the harbor marketplace. After half an hour of walking, as the shadows began to deepen around her, she found herself slowly leaving the craziness behind.
She kept looking at the picture and comparing it to the various places she went by. None of them seemed to fit the description, however, which was making her more and more annoyed. Had her father actually been somewhere else when he sent it?
At last, she saw one place that somewhat matched what she was looking for. Hesitantly she approached it. Most of the lights were off, and it didn’t look like anybody was around. Perhaps it was closed for the day, she thought. That would be just my luck. Her senses tingling for some reason, she located and approached the sole door that wasn’t the big gate that slid aside for the trucks.
There was a buzzer next to it, and she pressed it.
After waiting half a dozen seconds for an answer that never came, she jabbed her finger down on the button again, holding it for a little longer this time.
There was no answer.
Angrily she stabbed it down one last time, holding for a solid double handful of seconds. There had to be someone in there.
“Go away.”
Shay blinked at the crisp rudeness of the response.
“Hi, I was wondering—” she began to say, hoping politeness would win her the chance to speak.
“Leave. Now.”
“I’m trying to find my father, Charles Lyon,” she said into the speaker. “Is he here? Do you know who he is?”
There was a long pause.
“Please,” she said. “I’m his daughter. He hasn’t contacted anyone in months. I need to know if he’s okay.”
“Charles? He—”
Shay felt hope surge through her as he spoke. Had random luck paid off?
The voice was abruptly cut off, and another one responded. This one was cool and hard, giving her the shivers as it darkened the flare of hope that had sparked inside her. What kind of place was this?
“There is no Charles Lyon here. Now please leave.”
Shay frowned at the speaker. “The other guy, he sounded like he knew him. Can you put him back on please?”
The cool voice returned. “He was mistaken. Now leave.”
“You’re lying. Why are you lying to me? I just want to make sure he’s okay.”
There was a pause.
“I do not have the answer to your questions. Go look elsewhere,” the voice said.
“Fuck you,” she swore angrily. “Just tell me where my father is. I know you know!”
“You’re wrong,” the voice said. “We don’t know.”
Shay stepped back from the speaker as it fell silent. Above the vehicle entry gate was a pair of lights, illuminating the entryway from the street. They caught her eye, and an idea formed in her head.
After a few seconds of searching the ground, she found what she was looking for. Hefting the piece of broken sidewalk in her hand, she took aim, and let fly.
“Holy shit!” she exclaimed. To her complete surprise, she had managed to hit her target. The light flicked out and glass shattered to the ground.
“Fuck you,” she shouted at the people hidden inside the shipyard compound. “Tell me where he is!”
“That was unwise,” the voice said over the speaker, still calm and unfazed by her actions. “Leave now, or else we will take action.”
Shay rolled her eyes, picking up another, larger chunk of sidewalk from a little farther away. Her arm pulled back, and she hurled it at one of the panes of glass in the building above her. Once again her aim was true, but this time the concrete did nothing but bounce off the window, rattling it slightly before it fell back to the ground.
“Dammit,” she cursed, turning her back on the building in anger as she tried to think of something else to do to get the first man back on the intercom. She knew from his voice that he recognized her father’s name.
She whirled as something metal clunked behind her.
To her surprise, the door opened.
“Thank y—” she began to say, but her voice died as a tall figure clad in security gear emerged to stand at the door.
“Oh,” she said sullenly. He didn’t say anything, or move toward her. He simply stood there, looking imposing. It was an unspoken threat.
“Your boss is an asshole,” she said to the security guard.
He didn’t twitch.
“I don’t understand,” she complained angrily. “Why won’t anyone tell me where my father is?”
<
br /> The guard responded by shifting slightly. At first Shay thought it was just him moving, until she noticed the way it pulled his shirt tight against him, revealing the bulge at his hip.
He had a gun.
Suddenly, smashing the light out and throwing a rock at the window didn’t seem like a good idea. Her arms began to tremble slightly.
“Are you going to shoot me?” she asked, knowing her eyes were wide with fear.
“Not if you leave,” the security guard said.
“O-Okay,” she stammered, shocked by the escalation.
She backed away slowly, heading back up the road that would—eventually—lead her to the busy market area, where they would hopefully leave her alone.
When she felt she was far enough away that he wouldn’t just pull out the gun and shoot her, Shay turned and fled up the road as fast as she could.
She wished Justin were there. Or that she knew where he was, so he could come help her calm down.
Her desire for his imposing presence was so strong it was almost palpable. There was an air about him, one that she knew other men could see. The security guard wouldn’t have even come outside if he’d been with her, she knew that much. Justin was threatening, and not just because of his size. He was dangerous.
As she caught the first taxi she could find, she just wished he was there. It wasn’t until she was back in her hotel room, the door safely locked and barricaded behind her with a thick wooden chair under the handle, that Shay allowed the tears to fall. She was tough, and there wasn’t much that rattled her. But this was the first time she had ever been threatened with a gun, and it had shaken her badly.
She sank into the bathtub some time later, letting the hot water soothe away her shakes, even as she began to picture Justin climbing inside the large tub with her.
After a bit, her shakes turned to shudders as her hand found its way between her legs.
Chapter Six
Justin
He cursed himself repeatedly.
He was angry for leaving his partner alone to go after a girl.
He was angry for leaving the girl all alone.
Justin couldn’t seem to do anything right just then. Hopping on his bike, he slammed the helmet down, the built-in earpiece already buzzing.
“What have we got?” he asked, speaking into the helmet loud enough to be heard over the roar as his bike came to life beneath him. The rear tire squealed as he spun it in a one-eighty turn before gunning it down the street toward where he had left Connor at the Coleforn Yard.
“Two SUVs and a cargo truck just left the shipyard, all headed in the same direction,” Connor said. “I’m tailing them now. We’re heading down Dynast Drive.”
Justin slammed on the brakes, taking a hard right on short notice. He was tilted so far to the right his knee almost scraped across the ground as he took the corner as fast as he could. The engine whined and he shot forward, resuming an upright position, hunched down into his bike as low as he could get his big frame.
“Okay, I’m running parallel to you,” he said. “Let me know if they turn, and we’ll switch off.”
Connor acknowledged, calling out the cross street as they passed it by. Consulting his internal map, Justin realized he was almost a mile behind them.
Time to close the gap.
Weaving his way into the oncoming traffic lane, he jetted forward, slipping back in front of a big truck as a car appeared in his lane. Horns honked, but he continued on, finding the gaps wherever he could. Connor continued to call out their cross-streets as he tailed the mini-convoy.
Justin considered this. Where the heck would a three-vehicle convoy be going? Did they recently get some new equipment shipped in?
“Left turn on Monarch Avenue,” Connor said. “I’m going straight.”
“Roger that,” he said as the street approached. He made the turn and sped up, making his way forward until he spied the convoy. The big black SUVs were a dead giveaway. They weren’t making any attempt to hide their presence today. Not that they ever did, he mused. But where were they going? This route led away from their downtown headquarters, and it didn’t it take them anywhere near the little three-story safe house.
“Where are they going?” he asked Connor, wondering if the other shifter had any ideas.
“Nowhere that I’m aware of,” he said, the reply coming fast enough that Justin knew he was thinking the same thing.
The headset buzzed. “Bravo, Charlie, this is Alpha. I am en route with Delta. We’re about ten minutes from your position. Any change?”
“Negative,” Justin replied. “Alpha, do you have any ideas where they might be headed?”
Jared’s voice came back. “They’re heading to the industrial warehouse district, Charlie. That’s as good a guess as anything I’ve got.”
Justin nodded, more to himself than anything. He continued to follow the convoy as Jared drew closer.
“Alpha, they’re making a right turn. How close are you?”
“Check your mirror, Charlie,” the answer came back.
Chuckling, he looked over his shoulder to see Jared’s blue truck two vehicles back to his right. Even as he watched, they slowed, the blinker turning to follow the convoy.
The rotation continued as they moved through the city. Connor, Justin, and then Jared all took turns following the convoy. It was a tactic used with great effectiveness to ensure that the people being followed never realized they were.
Finally they turned off the streets into a warehouse lot. Behind him, Justin noticed the sun about ready to set. It had taken them almost an hour to reach their destination, a combination of the distance and the city traffic.
The team parked a few lots down the road. Justin exchanged nods with Alpha and Delta as they disembarked. Together, the four of them approached the warehouse, doing a slow, stealthy circle to see if they could see anyone, but to their surprise, there were no men posted outside.
“The trucks are inside, as well as the men,” Alpha said as they met up on the far side. “Any ideas?”
“There’s a roof we can get on top of,” Justin said quickly. “Set of windows halfway up. Should allow us a view of the inside. Another ten minutes and it’ll be cloaked in shadow anyway, so we shouldn’t be visible.”
Nobody else had any better suggestions, so the quartet followed Justin as he pointed it out. There was no easy way up to the roof. The metal lip was a good twelve feet off the ground. With his enhanced strength, Justin could get a portion of the way up there on his own. But to get high enough to actually be able to scale it? He needed some help.
“J—Delta, you and Bravo give us a boost,” Jared said, pointing to the two shifters and the base of the wall.
“Charlie, you’re up first,” the leader ordered as he turned, looking around to make sure nobody could see them.
They were on the east side of the building, and with the sun now below the horizon, shadows abounded everywhere, concealing even the large shifters from most eyes.
“Ready boys?” he asked, taking a few deep breaths as he prepared.
“Yeah, yeah,” Connor grumbled, settling down into a crouch, his arms interlinked with Josh’s.
With a nod, Justin backed up two steps, then moved quickly toward them. He planted his left foot on them and jumped. At the same time they exploded upward, throwing him straight up into the air.
Justin cleared the roof with ease, landing on a crouch on all fours to spread his weight around and reduce any noise. The metal creaked a little, but for a man of his size, he could move about very lightly when he needed to. Looking around, he signaled the all clear for Jared and then moved away from the lip. No matter how stealthy he was, two of them in the same area was going to be more than he wanted to make the roof work.
Together the pair of them crept forward to the set of windows. The closer they got, the slower they went, until they were just inching themselves up the slight incline.
“They aren’t tinted,” he hissed at Jared.
The big man just nodded and slowed his progress even more.
His heart was beginning to beat rapidly. Justin urged it to calm, not wanting it to make any noise against the metal roof. That was silly of course, because it would never happen. But he always got like that in high-tension situations like the one they were in now.
Nobody had a clue what was going on inside. There could be a veritable army of Agents, ready to take the entire team down, for all they knew. Caution was the name of the game just then, which was fine with Justin. Although he had gone through the same training as his fellow Sentinels, and had done so before, he preferred it when things didn’t have to escalate to violence.
No, that wasn’t exactly true. It was what came after that gave Justin a hard time. He found that out of his entire team, he had the hardest time with taking someone’s life. It wasn’t that he thought less of them because they could do it with seemingly fewer reservations than he had. It was just that he had never grown comfortable with that aspect of his world.
It’s never going to go away, it’s never going to stop. But the day I no longer regret having to end someone is the day I lose my humanity.
He often wondered if his team felt the same, if they had the same nightmares and self-deprecating thoughts. But how did he approach them over it? They all seemed to be at ease with what they were doing. Why was he so different?
Justin had killed before. He would do it again, if he was forced to. That was understood, and he wasn’t trying to fight against it. The question that plagued him was why? Why was it necessary for him to kill? Why did those who did bad things force him to go down that path?
He just wanted to know why.
“Charlie,” Jared hissed, getting his attention.
Shaking his head, he focused on his team lead. Now was not the time to get distracted. If he did, the entire team could be put in danger because of his lapse. He gave Jared a questioning look. The leader motioned inside.
He wanted to know what Justin thought.
His blood seemed to be flowing so fast because of his racing heart that he could hear it roaring through his system. Steeling his nerves, he craned his head up just enough to be able to see inside the warehouse.
