Marked

by Dean Murray

  Every IT resource we had access to had been pulled into the battle to keep control of the cellular networks and the satellite surveillance systems, but we were slowly being locked out of one critical system after another.

  The trip to Missouri had taken twice as long as it should have due to the fact that we'd had to vary our course to avoid making it too easy for the Coun'hij's people to predict where exactly we were headed. Even with that and the two million dollars we were spending per day, we still didn't know for sure that the Coun'hij wouldn't have a big welcoming committee waiting for us in Kansas City.

  I looked at the tablet next to Alec's bed, which was showing a risk level of fifty percent, and then rubbed my eyes before responding to Louis.

  "Alec isn't available to speak with you right now, Louis. Like he said when he called you a couple of days ago, I'm fully up to speed on everything that is going on, so you can tell me whatever it is and I'll make sure Alec hears about it as soon as possible—assuming I can't just take care of it myself."

  "With all due respect, Adri, you aren't Alec. I didn't swear fealty to you and I don't have to take orders from you. You can hand me over to Alec, or I'll hang up and maybe when he gets around to calling me back I'll be in a position to pick up his phone call."

  "If you hang up on me you're going to be very, very sorry, Louis."

  "Is that a threat?"

  "No, it's a statement of fact. Alec told you to listen to me when the two of you last talked. If you hang up on me after a direct order to tell me what it is you called about, then you're effectively disobeying Alec. He's not going to forget that kind of thing."

  "That sounds an awful lot like a threat to me, young lady, and it depends solely on Alec being alive, which I don't think is the case, not after some of the things I've been hearing lately."

  I forced myself to smile despite wanting to throw something through a window. The tablet on the table was now showing a sixty percent risk factor, which meant that Donovan's hackers were probably scrambling one or both of the mercenary teams and turning on the other communication suites.

  "Thank you, Louis, for pointing out that I've been too lax with you and the others. From here on out you may address me as Mistress Paige or ma'am. Alec Graves is very much alive and he's going to be very unhappy at the course this conversation has taken. He and I both thought that you were a man of your word, Louis."

  "I am!"

  "Then prove it. Either you're with us or you're against us. This is a critical time and we need to know exactly who we can depend on for the upcoming assault against the Coun'hij headquarters."

  "You've really found them?"

  "Yes, we have. Jasmin Bianchi traced them to a location in Tennessee before she dropped out of sight. There is a good chance that they've moved since then, but the simple fact that we've got them on the run will tend to create opportunities for us."

  "You haven't really found them then."

  "Louis, if I say that we've found them, then we've found them. They may drop out of sight for a little while, but we know how Jasmin did what she did and it's entirely repeatable. That's why I asked you to be on the lookout for Coun'hij enforcers who are operating in small enough groups that you might have a chance of capturing one or more hybrids."

  "You can't just be planning on torturing their location out of them. It's been tried before—the enforcers have all bound their beasts to not reveal the location of the Coun'hij's base. They'll die before revealing anything useful to you."

  "Louis, I simply don't have the time it would take to tell every single one of our people every aspect of Alec's plan. Our communications equipment is holding together with the IT equivalent of spit and duct tape. You're going to just have to trust us that we know what we're doing. Get to your real reason for calling so I can get off the phone and see to everything else that needs doing."

  "There are rumors going around that you're relocating that Del Rio girl—Lori—to wherever you're headed…"

  "I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that the back channel information flow is still healthy despite the fact that every call any of you make puts you at risk."

  "I'm not going to let you dodge this question—that girl is dangerous."

  I simply let the silence stretch out despite the fact that I could still see the monitor slowly tracking up as the risk that the Coun'hij would be able to localize us increased. As hard as it was to waste some of my precious phone time, I wasn't the only one running risks because of this call. Louis' signal was much more traceable than mine and there was a limit to how long he could stay in one place on the phone before he'd have to start worrying about a Coun'hij kill team coming for him.

  When I finally broke the silence, I did so in a way that I hoped still gave me the upper hand. "I don't think you phrased that question the way you meant to phrase it, Louis. My patience is not infinite."

  For a second I thought he was going to refuse to cooperate, but apparently I'd managed to be convincing enough with regards to the threat of what would happen if indeed Alec was still alive.

  "My…apologies, ma'am. What I meant to ask was if the rumors were true, and if you felt that you'd properly considered the danger the Del Rio girl represents."

  "Yes, the rumors are true. Alec started the wheels moving to have Lori meet us on the same day that he last called you. As to the second half of your question, yes, Alec and I are both very aware of the fact that Lori is dangerous. To be perfectly frank, she wouldn't be as useful to us if she wasn't so dangerous."

  "With all due respect, ma'am, that's the kind of thing that is fueling the rumors that Alec is dead and you've engineered some kind of behind-the-scenes takeover."

  "Is it?"

  "Yes, people are saying that there wouldn't be any need for Alec to keep Lori alive if he were really still in control. Alec is already a near-perfect weapon, and with Jaclyn and Grayson to back him up, it doesn't seem justifiable to bring in such a loose cannon."

  "Louis, I understand your concerns, but the next time someone calls you to chew the fat, please remind them that when we go in after the Coun'hij, we'll be up against Puppeteer and more than likely a whole host of werewolves. Alec beat Puppeteer's forces at the estate through a very fortuitous set of circumstances. As much as all of us might hope that we'll be able to replicate that when we go in after the rest of our enemies, it would be exceedingly foolish to count on something so out of our control.

  "Lori's defense of our people in Nephi proved that she's got the potential to be a powerful weapon. Neither Alec nor I are inclined to set aside such a valuable tool—not considering the forces arrayed against us. All weapons are dangerous, Louis, it's just a matter of knowing what it is you're up against."

  "Very, well, ma'am. I'll be sure to pass that message along should the opportunity arise."

  "Thank you, Louis. Be careful though. I don't want you to end up with a kill squad in your lap. If you engage the Coun'hij's people I'd much rather it be on your terms rather than theirs."

  I made my farewells to Louis as the monitor edged up to the seventy percent risk range and then looked out the window to confirm that the field we'd been traveling through for the last several hours had given way to the suburbs.

  Andrew was waiting for me just outside of Alec's room. "Are you ready to call it a night, Miss Adri?"

  "I wish, Andrew. Unfortunately I still have one more task to see to now that we've arrived in Kansas City."

  "Well, I won't presume to tell you what to do, but do try not to let yourself get too run down—it seems to me that the best leaders are always the ones who make things look easy. You wouldn't want to be exhausted if we ran into a real crisis."

  "Thank you for the words of advice, Andrew. I'll keep it in mind and try to make sure that I get caught up on my sleep. You're okay to watch Alec for me now?"

  Andrew nodded and motioned towards Dominic and Ruby, who had both headed our direction as soon as I'd opened the bedroom door. "I've got a new novel that I've been
meaning to read for several months now, and I think my trusty helpers are ready to move me inside. I'll be in good shape to keep an eye on Alec for at least the next few hours."

  I smiled my thanks to Andrew and then made my way past him and the girls, carefully working my way towards the front of the RV. Donovan hadn't skimped on our transportation—it was a truly enormous vehicle, but even so it was feeling cramped with so many people living out of it.

  Samantha was unconscious, and Alec wasn't moving around at all, but that still left six other people—plus whoever was driving—to try not to step on each other's toes. I'd considered asking Donovan to pony up the cash for a fourth RV, but I wasn't quite sure who I would move into the new vehicle if I did so.

  I didn't particularly trust Ruby or Addison on their own, and I wanted to keep Dom, James and Donovan close at hand in case I needed them for something, which really only left Andrew and Samantha. I wasn't going to move Alec's mom into another vehicle where something might happen to her, and it didn't seem right to only kick Andrew out, not after how helpful he'd been with Alec. Besides, there wasn't any way to be sure that any of the rest of our people would properly take care of him.

  No, we were all stuck together for at least the next little while. There was nothing to do but make the best of it and hope that we would be able to abandon our transient lifestyle before too much longer.

  "Donovan, are we really in Kansas City?"

  "Yes, Mistress Paige. Addison indicated that we're only a couple of minutes away from the location where we're supposed to be meeting Lori."

  "Thank you, Donovan."

  I hadn't bothered hiding the handgun that I'd taken from Alec's bedroom. There wouldn't have been any point, not given that everyone else in the RV could smell it as soon as I'd opened the bedroom door. Still, I slipped it into the front of my pants as I walked past Donovan and stopped just behind Addison's seat. I was a lot more careful to keep my hand free these days, especially when walking around inside of a moving vehicle.

  "I think that's their vehicle right there, Miss Adri."

  "Thank you, Addison, I think you're right. Bring us alongside of them, please. There's no need to find a parking spot—we're only stopping for long enough to swap out passengers."

  That brought Donovan's head around. "Is that wise, Mistress Paige?"

  "Probably not, but I'm sure Tiffany has some tired ladies in that vehicle with her, which means that they're all going to be even more on edge than normal. Given that I need to talk to Lori, either she needs to come here or I need to go there."

  "Ah, yes, I can see your quandary. It would not be wise to bring her inside of our vehicle."

  "Yeah, my thoughts exactly. So I'll be riding with Lori and her guards for the next little while. I'll want you all to keep a close eye on whomever she sends back to take my spot here. Don't let them back to see Alec, but we will hopefully win some points with them by offering them a place to sleep and a few hours where they don't have to be in a constant state of alert. I'll get a promise from them that they'll obey you for as long as they are your guest—that should go a long ways toward defusing any dominance posturing."

  "Very good, Mistress Paige. We'll do our best."

  "I've come to expect nothing less from all of you."

  I fidgeted with the front of my shirt, trying to make sure that it did a decent job hiding my gun, and then Addison brought the RV to a ponderous stop and it was time for me to disembark. Tiffany climbed out of the passenger side of her vehicle and met me a couple of steps from the RV.

  "I was starting to wonder if you were going to bother showing up after all of the times you changed up the schedule."

  "I'm sorry about that, it couldn't be helped. I suspect that you've got some very tired people in there with you. I'd like to ride into the city with you, but if you'd like to detach one or two of your ladies they are welcome to sleep inside my RV."

  "With all due respect, I'm not sure I want to be driving through a city this size down two guards, not if you're their only replacement. One human with a broken arm and a gun isn't going to be enough to stop Lori if she decides to turn the city against us."

  I very carefully didn't look down at my left arm, which I'd taken to carrying around in a sling because it seemed less unnerving to those around me. "It's paralyzed, not broken, but maybe when this is all over I'll sit down and tell you the story about how it got paralyzed—I think it would change your mind about just how capable I am."

  I watched as her nostrils flared. She could taste the truth of what I'd said, but she was still having a hard time believing there wasn't some kind of double-talk in my statement.

  "Are you really trying to tell me that you're a match for two experienced hybrids?"

  "That all depends on the circumstances, Tiffany. Out in an open field with nothing but my bare hands, I'm nothing more than a sitting duck, but there are circumstances where it's entirely possible that I could give your girls a run for their money. It's not like your people can really utilize the full range of their abilities while sitting in a vehicle like that—there's nowhere near enough space for you to shift in there. The best you could hope to do is partially shift and kill Lori with your claws."

  "You're not wrong, but you're leaving out the fact that we can move as fast as Lori—you can't."

  Tiffany's hand shot forward as she tried to make her point, but I'd come down the steps of the RV knowing there was a chance that I would be dragged into exactly this kind of dominance posturing. She'd seriously underestimated me. If she'd been in her hybrid form—or even if she'd put everything she had into the blow in an attempt to really hurt me—I would have barely seen the blow coming, but as it was I was not only ready, I had the advantage.

  I stepped to the side as I grabbed for my pistol, and then as her fist went screaming past the side of my head, I stepped forward and put the barrel of my gun directly against her forehead.

  "It's a good thing I know this was just more juvenile chest-beating, Tiffany, or you'd be dead right now."

  "I've never seen any human move that fast before."

  Her expression was so shocked that I figured I was safe putting my gun away, especially considering that I didn't want anyone to call the cops.

  "I'm not surprised—you probably won't ever see another human move that fast. Are you going to let me ride with you or am I going to have to bring Lori inside of my RV with all of those hot-blooded males she's so good at manipulating?"

  "Fine, you convinced me. Alec Graves knew what he was doing when he picked you to be our next queen."

  "Does that mean you're ready to swear fealty?"

  Tiffany snorted. "Not hardly."

  "It's only a matter of time, Tiffany. Pick two of your people to go get some sleep, but I want a promise out of them that they'll obey Donovan while they are in there."

  "You're not bashful about asking for the moon and the stars, are you?"

  "Alec has high expectations and he's not going to want to be disturbed for anything."

  Tiffany knocked on the window and motioned the driver and another of the women out of the car. They'd apparently all seen me draw down on Tiffany, because both of the women that exited the SUV looked at me with the wary postures of shape shifters who weren't sure how the dominance hierarchy was going to play out.

  "Miss Paige has kindly offered us a chance to get some shuteye in there with her people. We'll sleep in shifts just like we've been doing, but with the added benefit of bunks and not having to worry about someone slitting our throats while we sleep."

  The taller of Tiffany's companions, a solid-looking woman with a mohawk hairdo that was uncomfortably close to the kind of thing a Coun'hij enforcer would wear, gave me a sour look.

  "How do we know we're not going to wake up and find one of her people's claws around our throats?"

  I gave her what I hoped was a cold, imperious stare. "Because you have my word that my people will treat you with the utmost hospitality—as long as you follow the
orders of my man Donovan."

  "Graves' cripple?"

  It was all I could do to keep from going for my gun. The derision in her tone touched off all kinds of protective instincts inside of me.

  "Not a cripple anymore, but then again he never was—not in the way you're implying."

  I turned back to Tiffany and motioned towards the taller woman. "I withdraw my offer of hospitality for that one. If you have another of your people you'd like to put forth for consideration you can."

  "Now listen here! I've earned a break. I've been watching that little whore for the last thirty hours straight."

  Mohawk took a step towards me, but I already had my hand on my gun and she was still four long strides away from me. It was a gamble after what she'd seen me do already, especially if she wasn't willing to shift. She froze in place, but it was hard to tell whether that was because of the possibility that I might be fast enough to shoot her, or if it was because Tiffany looked like she wanted to tear someone's head off.

  "Get back in the car!"

  "No, I want what's coming to me."

  "What's coming to you is a coffin if you don't do what I say."

  "Are you going to put me down now? After all we've been through together?" Mohawk stepped into Tiffany's space. It was time to intervene.

  "Tiffany isn't going to have to put you down."

  "Why? Are you feeling lucky, little woman?"

  "Actually I am, but I don't fight peasants. I've got more than forty people sitting in the cars you see parked around us. If you really think that they aren't listening right now you're sadly mistaken." I called out a single name without breaking eye contact. "James!"

  More than half a dozen doors opened in unison as my people exited their vehicles. James was at my back before anyone else could move. "You called, Adri?"

  "Yeah, Mohawk over there is deciding whether or not she wants to be difficult. She insulted Donovan and then had the gall to be offended when I withdrew my offer of hospitality."