by Amelia Jade
“Oomph,” he grunted, taking a hit to the stomach as the price for getting Arianna clear of the danger.
Out of the corner of his eye he saw her bounce on the couch, flip over once, and end up in the lap of another girl who hadn’t moved fast enough. Knowing that she was safe, and ignoring the mixed look of fear and loathing in Arianna’s eyes, Ajax went to work on getting them out of there.
He stepped back abruptly, driving his left elbow hard into the guard coming up behind him. Ajax had meant to hit him in the stomach, but he felt and then heard ribs cracking under the blow. The man cried out, the sound silenced as Ajax spun in place, driving a solid forearm into his face. Bone broke and blood began to spray freely from his mangled nose as the guard collapsed into a heap.
Large, powerful arms closed around Ajax from behind, pinning his arms to his side. With a roar, Ajax jumped, pulling his feet to his stomach, then lashing out with them to hit the shifter coming at him. This combined to send all three shifters flying. The one he hit tripped over his prone comrade and went down into a nearby table, glassware and liquid flying everywhere.
Ajax and the shifter whose arms were around him were less lucky. They went backward, right over the edge of the lip and down onto the dance floor, scattering patrons as they went. His rage slipping free of its cage, Ajax got to his feet first, grabbing the man he had landed on and with another triumphant roar, he hurled him across the dance floor and into the bar. The shifter thumped off the top of the bar and half-slid half-flew into the wall of alcohol bottles behind it. The sounds of dozens of bottles breaking was deafening, and it told the crowd that the night was over. A panic ensued as they stampeded for the exits.
With a growl, Ajax leapt back up to where he had been, tackling the remaining shifter before he could close on Arianna. With the civilians dispersing she was no longer hidden among them, and he knew they would use her for leverage if they could get their hands on her.
He hit the man in the waist, and they both went down, falling awkwardly among the furniture. Ajax felt one of his fingers give way as it caught on the corner of a table that was bolted down, but he shunted the pain aside, pulling back his other fist to deliver a blow.
It never landed, though, as the shifter who had taken his feet to the chest returned to the fray with a kick to Ajax’s ribs that sent him sprawling.
“Ajax come on. Let’s get out of here!” Arianna shouted from behind him.
“I am in complete agreement,” he muttered, taking a deep breath and then wincing as his right side protested the movement.
He needed to end it, and end it now. His initial thought that the shifters were just big, untrained lackeys was turning out to be slightly unfounded. They had enough to make the odds against him unpleasant.
Readying himself, he began to circle his opponents, banking on them not having any true combat training. As he stepped slowly to his right, the pair of them shuffled to keep him in front of them. He breathed a sigh of relief internally. If they had known what they were doing, they would have split up, preventing him from doing that.
Behind him he heard glass breaking and sliding all over the place. The music had gone quiet at some point he realized, allowing him to hear the third shifter getting to his feet. Arianna was sticking behind him, and he was relying on her to let him know if anyone came at his back.
With a roar, Ajax charged, giving no warning at all to his opponents. Just like he had hoped, they flinched at the noise. It wasn’t much, but the hesitation was enough for him to exploit. He bodily slammed into the first shifter, the force of his charge sending him back to collide heavily with the wall. The second turned, throwing his fist at Ajax’s face, but he brushed the blow aside, taking just a grazing hit off the shoulder.
In return, his fist slammed into the bottom of the man’s jaw in a vicious uppercut that knocked at least one tooth loose, and sent the guard into the air and then straight down to the floor in a heap.
“Time to go!” he shouted, picking Arianna up off her feet before she could protest and making a mad dash for the door.
Behind him, the guard covered in shards of glass recovered enough to come at him, vaulting the bar and charging after them. He was too far though; they would be outside before he caught them.
From his arms, he heard what sounded like a giggle.
“Are you…laughing?” he asked, shocked that she didn’t seem more worried at the situation.
“Actually, I’m trying not to,” she said.
They burst through the doors without issue, the regular security well aware that they were outclassed by Ajax and not even bothering. The sight of what awaited them made Ajax slow his run, and then come to a halt.
“So,” he asked, trying to diffuse Arianna’s reaction. “Just why is it that you’re trying not to laugh?”
“It’s not often that I’m right like this,” she told him, sticking close by his side as she too surveyed the view and came to the same conclusion he did.
“Umm, and how exactly is it that you are right? Did you see this coming?” he said with a wave of his hands. “Because if you did, I really would have appreciated a warning.”
Now Arianna did laugh. “No,” she said as they slowly backed away. “Not that. But just think what this means!”
Ajax was confused. “Ari,” he said without thinking, “this really isn’t the best time to make me have to puzzle something out.”
“Oh, right,” she apologized, her arms clinging tight through the crook of his elbow. “It means that I was right, that there is some sort of organization behind all of this.”
His gaze flicked between her and the four new shifter guards that had been waiting for them out front, on either side of a large black SUV.
“You know, you might be on to something there,” he said slowly.
To their right, two guards emerged from within the club, looking bruised and sore, but more than ready to continue the fight.
“Stay behind me,” he urged.
One the six shifters moved to confront him, their half-circle contracting to ensure there was no escape. With a low but very audible growl, Ajax rolled his shoulders and went to meet them.
Chapter Six
Arianna
Two emotions warred within her.
Giddiness at being proven right, that there was something going on behind the scenes with regard to Benjamin’s disappearance, buoyed her up and gave her confidence that perhaps the past six years of her life hadn’t been a waste. That maybe she was a good journalist.
That feeling battled constantly with the bubbling terror rising within her as six huge, dangerous men closed around her and Ajax. The crowd was long gone, wanting no part of the looming confrontation. Some bystanders were still nearby, but the parking lot was emptying at an alarming rate, and anyone who couldn’t get out that way was just fleeing down the streets. They were in a rich part of town, and there was no harm in walking the streets this late at night.
In front of her Ajax stopped backpedaling and strode forward toward the security team. She froze, fearful for what would happen next.
It might have been the fact that she knew she couldn’t escape...not this time. Or it might have been some sort of supernatural sixth sense. Either way, she noticed something off about the guards.
“Ajax.” Her voice rang out sharply in the night, bringing him to an instant halt. “They don’t want to fight us. You,” she corrected, knowing that she wouldn’t be able to put up much of a fight. “Is that correct?” she asked, moving forward to once again stand at his side, her eyes focusing on each individual shifter.
At first she thought she had read it wrong, but then one of them snarled and gestured the others to back off. As if on cue, the door to the SUV opened of its own accord, and yet another man stepped out.
“He’s not a shifter, is he?” she asked Ajax quietly, sizing the newcomer up.
He was dressed in a suit, but whereas the ones worn by the security detail were functional, his was all about styl
e. Kind of like Ajax’s had been, before he tore it up fighting. It was pure black, but with a glimmer to it that made him stand out. He had a white shirt on underneath, buttoned up except for the collar. Everything was crisp and looked freshly pressed.
“No, he’s not,” Ajax answered. “But he’s obviously somewhat important. He’s also the same man I saw behind these goons inside.”
“We appear to have gotten off on the wrong foot,” the man said as he approached, with a suave calmness that seemed to instantly soothe the tension between parties. “For that, you have my apologies. It appears that we may have something in common. Please, if you would accompany me, I can promise that we mean you no further troubles.” He gestured back toward the SUV.
“Okay,” she said before Ajax could say anything, and pulled him forward. They were screwed one way or another. If the man was extending them an olive branch, she intended to take it, and at least learn as much as possible. If he wasn’t telling the complete truth, then at least they might find themselves presented with a better chance to escape than what they had currently.
Ajax practically yelped in surprise as she physically dragged him along after her, but he didn’t force her to stop.
“Sorry about that,” he said without remorse as they passed by the shifter who had gone into the bar inside, his face and body covered with thousands of scratches. Even as they watched, he pulled another piece of colored glass from his face. His lip curled upward angrily, and she yanked hard on Ajax to ensure he didn’t slow down.
“Please, take a seat,” the man said with a wave of his hand. They climbed inside.
The inside of the SUV had been customized heavily. Instead of two rows of seats, there were two benches—the rear one faced forward, while the middle one faced to the rear, creating an open space between the two, so that all parties could see each other as they drove.
“Okay, talk,” she said as soon as the door closed. After everything that had happened, she was in no mood for friendly banter or games.
“May I have your names first?” he asked politely. “My name is Flint.”
She sat back at his forwardness, having been expecting more resistance. “Ajax, Arianna,” she said, pointing at the two of them respectively.”
“Thank you.” He sat back, crossing one leg on his knee as he looked them both up and down. “The long and short of it is that I know Benjamin. We were friends. He came by here from time to time, though the atmosphere was not to his…liking, shall we say?” He smiled at the small joke.
“We know. We’ve seen his preferred style.” She saw no need to hide that bit of information, and hoped that she might learn more from Flint’s response.
“Ah, you must mean those dreadful bars he was at? Yes, I thought you might,” he said after seeing the recognition in their eyes. “It will probably cheer you up then to know that he hated those almost as much as he disliked my club.”
“What the hell is going on here?” Ajax rumbled dangerously. “Spit it out.”
“The long and short of it is that Benjamin and I are working together.” He frowned. “Or we were. His disappearance means either we were right, or that he’s gone crazy. I fear it is the former.”
Ajax’s hand shot out to hold her back as she half-lunged across the space at Flint. He was giving them information, but he wasn’t giving them answers, and his attitude was beginning to infuriate her.
“Easy!” Flint said, waving his hands at her. “There is a lot of backstory here, and I still am not completely sure who you two are and why you care so much about his disappearance.”
“So you admit that he’s disappeared then? That you have no idea where he is?” She wished she could take out her notepad, but that would probably be frowned upon. She committed every word to memory as best she could.
“Pretty much. That’s where our little misunderstanding came from. My guards, under my orders I’m afraid, were told to detain anyone who came asking after him. You see,” he smiled apologetically, “we thought you were working for the same people that took him.”
Arianna reared back in surprise. “You know who did this?”
Flint looked uncomfortable. “Yes and no. It’s difficult to explain, since we don’t actually have any answers, but Benjamin’s disappearance sort of proves that our theories are right.”
She looked across the interior at him. “There is a government agency kidnapping shifters,” she breathed. “I knew it!” She slapped a hand down hard on Ajax’s leg. The shifter looked at her oddly, until Arianna realized she hadn’t removed her hand from where it rested on his upper leg.
Snatching it away from him like he had suddenly burst into fire, she refocused on Flint. “Tell us everything you know.”
“He knows what I know,” Ajax said then, to her surprise.
“You know something that I don’t?” she asked, a little hurt that he had kept secrets from her.
“Just one thing,” he told her, but his eyes were focused on Flint. “There is an organization out there. It’s mainly been rumors—nobody knew for sure until now, I guess. You have that right. But we know why they’re after shifters.”
Arianna perked up at that, always interested in more knowledge. “Oh?” she said far more calmly than she felt.
“They want your blood,” Flint said, looking at Ajax for a moment longer, before fixing his eyes on Arianna. “So that they can put it in you.”
She rocked backward in the seat, eyes wide at that revelation. “They want to put shifter blood in humans?”
Flint nodded, but it was Ajax who spoke.
“Although there are a few shifters who work for the government, they are usually the castoffs of our society. The weaker elements, so to speak. The government wants more than that. Ever since we revealed ourselves, they’ve wanted us to come work for them.”
“Why?” she asked.
“Think of the benefits. Our strength, speed, reaction time. All superior. If I truly wanted to, I could kill both of you before either of you could do a thing about it.” Ajax snarled. “The government wants that power, and are angry that we aren’t just willing to give it to them. I didn’t think they would stoop this far though.”
It suddenly clicked. “They’re using your blood to make drugs that give humans your powers?” she asked in disbelief.
“We think so,” Flint answered.
“So, what do you do?” Ajax asked while Arianna sat back, trying to digest all this new information.
This was going to be a killer story. She would make headlines all across the internet. This would guarantee her all sorts of new opportunities. This was it, her big break that she had been waiting for! Finally.
As soon as that hope flared in her though, it died out. If she published this, she would be going up against the government. If they had no problem kidnapping shifters, what hope would she stand? The answer was absolutely none. Glumly, Arianna came to the swift conclusion that she wouldn’t be able to tell this story. Not with any of the proof she had, at least. She could probably twist it to be vague and crazy enough to be a story, but it would never be the story. Not if she wanted to survive, at least.
Flint spoke again, interrupting her inner thoughts.
“I am a... facilitator, I guess. If a shifter feels that the government is after them, or if we get word that they may be next, we seek them out. I then help them get out of the city, and start a new life.”
“How noble of you,” Ajax said dryly. “And what do you take from them for this service?”
“Nothing,” Flint said, his voice turning to steel. I am not some sort of extortionist.” His eyes blazed, focused directly on Ajax.
“Then why do all this?” she challenged.
“We all have our reasons,” he replied quietly, though he didn’t elaborate.
Arianna wanted to press him further, but she felt that whatever it was, he wished to keep it private. She would just have to be thankful for his help then.
“Sorry,” she said into the silence.
Flint nodded in thanks, rolling his shoulders and straightening his spine as he attempted to calm himself. She watched as Ajax dipped his head in apology.
Men, she thought. They get mad so easily, but all it takes is a head tilt and they’re fine with each other. Her eyes lingered on Ajax, admiring the clean, strong lines of his jaw, and the keen intelligence lurking in his eyes. This one is different than the rest.
She found herself unconsciously leaning closer to him, remembering the way he had effortlessly scooped her up in his arms. If he could do that, then there were other things he could likely do as well…
Her face began to heat as certain images blossomed in her mind, and she scrambled to get her emotions, and her body, under control. Now was not the time to begin pining after someone like Ajax. Besides, he probably already had a mate, like most shifters his age.
“So what information do you have on this group?” she asked Flint, trying to distract both herself and the two men, and get them back on track.
“Not much,” he admitted. “We know they’re here, and have been for about three months now. In a city this big though, it’s hard to track things. Thankfully the shifter community is small anywhere you go, and even the outlier non-social folks are at least known. We’ve been watching them, a combination team of humans and shifters, and we noticed the first one go missing two months ago. Since then, we’ve managed to get at least sixty percent of the shifters they find and then target safely out of the city.” He sighed in exasperation. “But for all that, we’re no closer to finding these guys or their base. All we have is four letters. We’re not even sure it’s a word.”
“What letters?” Ajax asked.
“F-O-R-N,” he said, spelling it out for them. “That may not mean anything either. It was on a coded message on a chat forum where people are talking about this. It could be gibberish, we don’t really know.”
“It’s not gibberish,” Arianna said. Two sets of eyes swiveled in place to look at her. She smiled weakly. “It’s just not complete either.”
