Lawful Claim

by Marie Johnston

  Mercury’s thick arms wrapped around him in a bear hug, damn near lifting him off the ground. E flung his head back, butting Mercury in the nose, righteously satisfied when he heard the sharp crack of bone.

  Expecting Mercury to howl in pain, throw him down, and jump on him, E wasn’t prepared for the stabbing sensation in his upper arm. Energy drained out of his movements as Doc removed an empty syringe. Shit.

  His head lolled back onto Mercury’s shoulder and rolled to the side as he strained to keep his thrashing mate within view. The doctor had already turned from him, concentrating on the woman in pain, who was still screaming in a now hoarse voice.

  “We’ll take care of her.” Mercury repeated in E’s ear as blackness won the battle and claimed its victory.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Elephants. It must’ve been an elephant stampede and Ana got caught in it. In fact, one might have even stopped and done the samba on her body. Which one of those gray fuckers poured acid down her throat? It burned like embers still smoldered in her tonsils.

  Ana blinked her eyes open. The room was blessedly dim. Were her ears muted or was the room really was that quiet? She squinted and peered around, seeing the room she was in for the first time. A hospital?

  “Mrs. Esposito?” a deep voice addressed her.

  Who called her that anymore? She went by Ms. if at all possible. People assumed with that title that she was either divorced, widowed, or a righteous feminist and never made personal inquiries. It only took a few awkward conversations before she chucked the Mrs. out the window.

  She slid her gaze toward the voice because turning her head made the drums within it beat harder. He was a familiar tall, lean male. From his scent, he was a shifter, and, oh yes, the pseudo-doctor who worked for the Guardians.

  With that last thought, all of her memories came flooding back—her fiancé’s plan to hurt her, her dead husband she was now mated to, Sigma’s capture, and…oh. That last memory would have been damn near embarrassing if the situation hadn’t been so critical and she hadn’t been in so much pain.

  “Julio? E?” She croaked through her scratchy, parched throat.

  The male gave a small reassuring smile, laced with a trace of guilt. “Julio is playing with Sarah’s dog, Apollo. Your mate is resting. You were having complications from your treatment and he got upset. We had to sedate him.” She didn’t miss the change in his expression. Yep, it was guilt. “Unfortunately, my doses are pre-measured for shifter males and Agent E is not exactly one. So it knocked him out for longer than expected.”

  “I imagine his biochemistry is still a bit more human when it comes to drug interactions. The shifter and vampire traits his DNA has incorporated, can tolerate the dosage and heal any overdosing, but cannot metabolize them differently otherwise.” Maybe she should be alarmed, but talking drug interactions was actually the most normal thing that had happened to her in weeks.

  Appearing extremely pleased, Doc gave her another small smile. “My thoughts exactly and I would love to look into it more with you. I haven’t had time to conduct much research, I’m still building my lab. With blood samples from you, Agent E, and only with your consent, little Julio, I would love to gain further understanding into what Sigma has developed for enhancing their Agents.”

  “That. Would be. Fascinating!” Her pounding head and body aches forgotten, Ana’s excitement overrode them both. “Like, how much is supernatural and how much is chemistry? It can’t be as simple as, I put my blood in yours. Otherwise there would have been human conversion accidents as long as there’s been vampires and shifters.” Ana tried to sit up, captivated by the topic, when she winced at the sharp pain in her ribs. Examining herself for the first time, she saw she was wearing nothing but the robe E had thrown around her. Thankfully it was tied shut, with wires attached to stickers hooked on her chest and winding out from inside the closure. “What did you mean by treatment?”

  “I think you’re on the mend, but of course I’d like to study your blood work in greater detail.” Ana nodded absently at his inferred request. “After Agent E knocked you out so he could rescue you,” He did what? “your body continued to fight itself over the Agent’s bond and the cocktail Sigma gave you. And while under the influence of the sex drugs they administered, it was too much too soon. On a hunch, we injected another dose of your mate’s blood, hoping it would strengthen the bond that was already there.”

  Ana blew out a gusty breath. She almost died and hadn’t a clue. “So did it?”

  “I can only assume yes, but it was quite an internal struggle.” The male gave a rueful shake of his head. “At times, quite an external struggle for us.”

  Thus the reason she was so stinking sore. She reached out and grabbed the doctor’s hand, causing him to nearly jump out of his skin. “Thank you, Garreth. Can I go see my family now?”

  *****

  E felt like he had to use a pry bar to get his eyelids to open, but the intoxicating scent wafting over him roused more than just his consciousness. Once they focused, he was greeted with an image that must have been from his dreams.

  “You don’t know how many times when you were a cop that I worried about this happening, me standing over your hospital bed. But,” Ana leaned back, looking at how he was stretched out over the white blanket, left to sleep off his sedation, “it’s much better than standing beside your casket.”

  Instead of sitting up, because he was still too lethargic, he pulled her down on top of him. His delightful mate spread herself over him, her borrowed pajama pants and top pressed to his grungy clothes.

  Kissing her was heaven, as close as he was ever going to get, as close as he needed to be. She melted into him, cradling his face with her soft hands as her legs straddled his body.

  Releasing her mouth briefly, he asked, “You okay?” Of course she was, she was here. It was the dude in him, he had to ask.

  “Yeah. I just checked on Julio and he’s in little boy heaven. Right now he’s deep into Mario Kart, racing Ronnie. And,” she rocked her pelvis into him, rubbing the already straining erection that had come awake as soon as he had, “I think the good doctor knows we might be in here a while, because he said he was going to the kitchen to eat, and then go for a long run.”

  Hell. Yes.

  Wait. “Are the drugs still affecting you?”

  She whispered into his ear. “Would it matter if they were?” Reaching between them, she undid his pants and palmed his throbbing shaft.

  “Yes? No? Fuck it.” He ripped her pajama bottoms off, positioned her over him, and slammed inside.

  Ana barely had time to gasp before he brought her lips back down to his and thrust urgently until they were both crying their finish within seconds.

  Her hands still fisted into his shirt from her release, she swayed gently coming down from the wave of climax. “I guess we both needed that.”

  “I need you.”

  A sweet smile spread across Ana’s kiss-swollen lips. “I love you. Have I told you that lately?”

  Words he’d die again to hear. E broke out in a triumphant grin. “Hell, baby. I never quit loving you. But to hear you say that me, to Agent E, is beyond my wildest dreams.”

  Ana pulled her top off and granted E the sweet, sweet view of her naked breasts, tipped with those lovely cinnamon nipples that made his mouth water. “Now let me show you.”

  *****

  X assumed the dutiful position knowing a world of pain was heading her way. She was in Madame G’s elegant suite, but her dark master had not yet appeared.

  A yelp perked X ears and she chanced looking up, intending to throw her eyes right back to the floor after a little looky-look. Instead, from a hidden door in the office chamber, Madame G dragged a female out by her long, pale hair.

  The seer.

  Risking the view since torture was sure to follow anyway, X scanned the female sliding on her butt, her feet scrambling to gain purchase, with the madam’s fist twisted in her scalp. Distraught, confused eye
s of the palest turquoise flashed up, confirming X’s suspicions this was a shifter who was gifted, or in her case cursed, with visions. X had been taught as a child that seers often lacked pigment and tended to be light of hair, skin, and eye color, some kind of genetic anomaly to alert shifters to the gifted young so they could be properly handled and trained. It did no population good to have premonitions spewed indiscriminately.

  Only recently had X been clued in to the possibility that Madame G’s foreknowledge was not innate, but stolen from another species. Shifter seers were heavily protected by the shifter council. It was no wonder Madame G kept her prize hidden. If they found out, not only would the council continually attempt rescue, but it gave her the added bonus of perceived omnipotence.

  How in the world had the madam bagged herself a seer?

  X dropped her gaze back into place, conveying the proper amount of respect in her mistress’ presence. Any little way to boost her standing could only help her after she had helped E bust out his family. She was pretty sure she wouldn’t be killed over it. Not completely confident, but whatever. Her odds usually sucked anyway, and allowing E to be systematically destroyed as his family was manipulated and mutated was not worth her life. Their value far outranked hers. So she risked a little six-feet-under to get him out of these oppressive walls.

  “Madam,” the seer pleaded, “I don’t understand.” The seer was dragged in front of X and released with a fling that sprawled her face-first into the marble floor.

  Saying nothing, Madame G stood over the seer in front of X, her arms crossed into the kimono sleeves. The same high ponytail of ink-black hair hung off the top of her head, and a calm, assessing façade was planted on her porcelain face. But X could sense her erratic breath and the fury roiling off her aura in waves.

  The seer righted herself, surprising X by rising to her feet instead of remaining on her knees. She must have some level of esteem with Madame G not to be prostrate like a recruit. How long had she been held captive? Her clothes appeared used and worn, nothing more than a nightgown with a tie robe. Her light straw hair hung to her waist, and except for being used to drag the female across the room, looked well cared for and healthy.

  “Seer,” Madame G stepped forward and grabbed X’s chin, nails digging into her jawbone, and jerked her face up, “tell me if I need to keep this traitorous failure alive.”

  X’s eyes widened. She stared at Madame G, heeding her volatile demeanor. What if the seer shrugged her existence off? Should she take her chances now and attack Madame G? Was this the moment she’d been planning and yearning for, stabbing Madame G while she was somewhat distracted with her rage? Somehow, she thought her final battle would be more significant, not an underhanded last minute attempt.

  Now is not your time.

  Her gaze darted to the seer. X almost sent a questioning look to the older female, as if to ask, “Was that you? And are you talking about taking out the raging bitch in the room?” but she schooled her expression, waiting for the seer’s response to Madame G’s question.

  “I see…I—I see…” The pale shifter stammered, her voice shaky, unlike the calming one that floated through X’s mind.

  “What?” Madame G nearly shouted. The air thinned in the room, like it was being sucked out as the female’s temper rose. X had never personally witnessed Madame G lose her temper; they’d likely suffocate if she threw a tantrum. “What do you see?”

  The seer took a cleansing inhale and turned her head slowly toward Madame G. “I do not see your success upon her death.”

  Madame G ripped her hand away from X’s chin, causing her head to fling back, droplets of blood hitting the marble. She loomed over the seer, who didn’t shrink back. The seer, X surmised, was used to the madam’s outbursts.

  “You told me to spare this pathetic creature when I killed her parents. That she would serve me well. Did you see her insubordination? Her treachery?”

  This female was responsible for X’s capture? That night ran through her mind. Dragging herself through mud made from dirt and blood, laughing Agents standing over her, kicking her so she stayed down. No eighteen-year-old girl, even a shifter female, could take on three trained fighters.

  “Madame G,” the seer replied in an even tone, like she had to repeat for the twelfth time to a five-year-old why they could not have chocolate for breakfast, “I obtain no visions of your enhanced Agents, only shifters. Hence why I can see your domination of our species. When I foresee your ascension over the shifters, I see Agent X at your back.”

  X didn’t smell deceit from the seer, so were her words spoken true. Or was she blowing smoke up their mistress’ kimono?

  Your time will come. Persevere. The seer’s voice drifted through her mind.

  That totally didn’t answer her question. Smoke rings or serving up the shifter species on a platter?

  X came back with her own question. Were you responsible for what happened to my family? As in, did this female lead Sigma to her doorstep to slaughter her family because she saw X in a vision?

  A flash of sadness answered X’s question. It was the only way to hide you.

  For what? Did you turn in E’s family, too? Tell her they were with the Guardians? X challenged, trying to decide if she should hunt the seer down before she went after Madame G or, if she had any pulse left, after facing Madame G.

  “Go back to your room.” Madame G waved the seer off, centering on X, who went back to inspecting the floor in proper reverence.

  Just…persevere, came the final message as the shifter scurried back through the hidden door.

  So…don’t die while I mettle in your life some more. And then what?

  The next breath X took was devoid of air, choking her instantly. An invisible blow to the midsection dropped her to her knees as she gagged and gasped, searching for a scrap of oxygen. Be a good girl and don’t attack the wicked witch. Be a good Agent and take your punishment, X thought to herself, the echo of the seer’s words still in her mind. Could she trust the shifter? Would her time really come, and what would it bring?

  The ding of the elevator brought two Agents who X couldn’t sense while she was starved for air. The world dimmed and going unconscious around this place never ended well. One tended to wake up naked and defiled.

  Before X’s brain winked out for good, she heard Madame G’s instructions to the Agents. “Teach her a lesson and let her think about it for a while.”

  Relief, cool and soothing, rushed through her even as she suffocated. The piñata treatment.

  Oooh, even better. One of the Agents was a female. They’d delight in beating the sass out of X, but were less likely to try to teach her a sexual lesson and lord their dominance over the preferred Agent X. Most experienced Agents didn’t try to mess with X’s body. They knew there’d be a reckoning as soon as X was recovered and field ready. It also put them close to her and in a vulnerable position. And that had ended poorly for the last few who tried to use her body as their new toy.

  Madame G released her hold on X’s air supply, and as X swallowed in giant mouthfuls of stale indoor air, her sides were pummeled by heavily-booted feet. Locking the pain into a corner of her mind, she withstood the beating, pulling in lungfuls between kicks. It was standard to beat down an Agent so they had no fight left when hauled down for a “lesson.” X would allow it to happen, knowing that even with the beating, she could overcome these two Agents and be back in her rooms in ten minutes.

  Make it twenty. She would have to crawl back, but she’d get there.

  Be a good girl, she reminded herself, spitting up mouthfuls of blood and wiping them off onto her shirt as they dragged her to the elevator to get to the lower levels. The less blood exposed to Madame G, the better. Her head pounded, her vision was hazy, and it felt like, well, like she’d been repeatedly kicked in the ribs. X was actually looking forward to the afterglow from the thrashing she was getting dragged to. While she was hanging out between beatings, maybe she could piece together all the new
information dangled in front of her today. Persevere. She’d persevere the shit out of this punishment and make sure Madame G met her demise.

  Epilogue

  Commander Fitzsimmons was pacing. E couldn’t help but think that was a bad thing. The male was always alarmingly still, quiet, observing his surroundings and the interactions between those around him. During the times E fought with the formidable Guardian leader, the male never wasted his movements. Once the commander uncoiled to strike, his hits were planned, precise.

  Now, the grim commander was wearing a damn hole in the hardwood of his office with those black combat boots of his.

  E’s gut wrenched as he thought of how much the commander’s actions reminded him of his partner. Old partner. Fuck. Friend? What was X to him? He’d never had a sister, no siblings, but X would be like if he had a brother and a sister all in one. They’d talk shit to each other, patch up the other’s bullet holes, and then she’d ask if her hair was messed up, or if Sigma’s leathers made her butt look big. Course she didn’t care, but it wouldn’t stop her from asking.

  Back to the pacing commander. His restless energy was much like X’s. She was always fiddling with something—her weapons, her hair, her nails. She never quit moving, whether it was walking a hole in the carpet, or moving her body to the beat of music only she could hear.

  “You wanted to talk?” E finally broached the question because he’d been standing there almost ten minutes after the male had called him and told him to come to his office. He had arrived, nodded to the intense male, and then waited. And waited. The commander had ping-ponged off his office walls the entire time.

  “We need to get her out.” The pacing never slowed.

  “Ooookay.” E watched the commander, his concern no longer for what worked up the male, but for X. Because something was going on with her that was making the male distracted, distraught. “She stayed behind to finish the job we set out to do. I don’t doubt she was punished for helping me and my family escape, but we’ve been through all of Madame’s G’s, I’ma-teach-you-a-lesson specials. X’ll be okay.”