Shadow Soldier

by Kali Argent

  “Oh, my god,” Abby whispered in her ear, her voice filled with barely contained horror. “Is his…is his head missing?”

  Too shocked to form a verbal response, Roux bobbed her head in slow motion. She’d seen a lot of shit in her life, but never anything so gruesome. Her stomach cramped, and bile rose in her throat, but she couldn’t drag her eyes away from the body. Going by the reaction of the guards, this wasn’t normal territory for them, either.

  “How does this happen in the middle of the freakin’ day?” Abby demanded. “I mean, someone just strolls into town, rips some guy’s head off, and nobody notices?”

  It would seem odder if the city hadn’t become a virtual ghost town of late. “Who’s actually in the Square today? Peter? Maybe a guard or two?”

  “Fair point,” Abby conceded. “And if they came in through the alley over there, even Peter wouldn’t see them.”

  “Maybe it’s your Others,” Roux quipped, but a part of her still believed this bogeyman might not be so imaginary.

  “Look.”

  Just as Abby pointed, three Wardens emerged from the mouth of the alley, distinguishable from the city guards only by the blazing red of the Coalition emblem on their sleeves. Three more Wardens appeared—seemingly from nowhere—at the end of the street that led into the Square, and still, two more came from the alley near the Red Dragon Chinese restaurant. The two women and six men, all carrying modified, military tactical rifles, converged on the group around the fountain.

  “We’ll take it from here,” one of the women said, using the barrel of her gun to point at the body. “Everyone return to your homes or posts. The Square is on lockdown.”

  “On whose authority?” Deke asked, drawing himself up to his full height with his shoulders back and his chest forward.

  Abby pressed even closer to Roux’s back, nearly toppling her over. “Where’s Lynk?” she whispered. “Why are they quarantining the Square?”

  “Quiet, Barbie.”

  “On mine,” the female Warden answered.

  “And just who the fuck is she?”

  Roux stifled a snort at Abby’s indignant tone. The blonde made an interesting point. Tall and muscular, with smooth skin the color of creamed coffee, cropped, ebony hair, and blunt, severe features, the Warden made a striking image one wouldn’t quickly forget. Roux had never seen her, though, and from the look on Deke’s face, he didn’t recognize her, either.

  “You are?” With his hands still hanging loosely at his sides, Deke appeared calm, but Roux knew better.

  “Captain Brianna McLemore.” She didn’t offer a hand or move closer to Deke, but stared at him as if he were something she’d found on the bottom of her shoe. “Just transferred here yesterday from Cornwall.”

  Ranks between the city guards and the Wardens didn’t cross over, meaning one didn’t necessarily outrank the other. The private army acted as more of a security detail from what Roux understood, leaving Deke and his team to oversee everything beyond the gates of the Diavolos’ estate. They rarely ventured beyond their posts, and only once had she seen a Warden other than Lynk inside the Square. She’d also never known them to carry so much firepower.

  As she watched the exchange, the crisp autumn wind kicked up at her back, and Roux stiffened. “Shit.”

  “What? What is it?” Pressing up on her tiptoes, Abby peeked over Roux’s shoulder. “Do you see something?”

  “Not exactly, but I think we’ve been found out.”

  Sure enough, Deke lifted his head just fractionally, his nostrils flaring as he sniffed at the breeze. He didn’t turn to look at her, didn’t acknowledge her presence in any way. If he’d caught her scent, however, it stood to reason the other Gemini in the crowd had as well.

  So focused on the guards in front of her, Roux didn’t hear the approaching footsteps behind her until it was too late. Abby yelped when Lynk lifted her off the ground and tossed her over his shoulder. Then the shifter’s massive hand gripped Roux’s upper arm, jerking her away from the brick building.

  “Put me down, you overgrown gorilla!” Kicking and squirming, Abby beat against Lynk’s back with her tiny fists. Lynk barely blinked at her efforts.

  “Trust me,” he mouthed to Roux.

  Seeing no other alternative, she nodded. In theory, she did trust Lynk, but people who came in contact with Wardens had a bad habit of going missing in the city.

  Lynk marched them across the street to join the others near the fountain. When they passed the body of the poor man on the ground, he angled himself to shield most of the carnage from Roux’s sight. She appreciated the courtesy, but it didn’t make the guy any less dead.

  Captain McLemore spared Roux only a passing glance. “Take them to the estate.”

  “On what grounds?” Deke demanded, stepping forward to place himself between Roux and the new captain. “She’s not going anywhere.”

  “Neither is she,” Peter added, taking Abby’s hand when Lynk sat her on the ground, pulling the petite female behind him. “They’ve done nothing wrong.”

  “In my experience, people who sneak around have something to hide.” Turning her sea-blue eyes on Roux, Brianna lifted her upper lip and snarled. “Who are you, human?”

  “Go fuck yourself,” Roux answered evenly.

  Deke groaned, but Peter chuckled at her outburst. Even Lynk had to cough to cover his snort of amusement. Roux hadn’t intended her comment to be funny. She didn’t quite know why yet, but she seriously disliked the bitch.

  Several things happened in quick succession after that. The Warden behind Abby grabbed her, jerking her away from Peter, who in turn launched himself at the big, beefy werewolf. Another Warden tried to grab Roux, but she was ready for him. Leaning into Deke, she used him as leverage, pushing off his shoulders as she delivered a solid back kick to the vampire’s midsection. Snarling, Deke swiped at the other female Warden when she approached, his long, black claws catching her across the chest and shredding her shirt.

  Roux turned just in time to see Captain McLemore point the barrel of her rifle at the back of Peter’s head. Before she could shout a warning or make a move to stop the woman, Brianna pulled the trigger.

  Blood splattered the nearby guards, and Peter’s eyes widened sightlessly as he crumpled to the ground. The world stood still for a heartbeat, disbelief etched into the lines of every face, even the other Wardens. Then everything erupted into chaos.

  Loud shouts, growls, and snarls rose up to echo off the buildings, but none as loud or tragic as Abby’s cries. Her wracking sobs sliced through Roux’s heart like a hot knife, but Roux wasn’t sad. There would be time to grieve, time to give into her pain. Right then, a pure, white-hot rage consumed her, and she wanted to make the bitch captain pay, make her hurt like she’d hurt Abby. Or better yet, put a bullet through her head like she’d done to Peter.

  Bedlam erupted in the Square. Guns forgotten in favor of claws and fangs, Wardens and guards attacked one another with a terrifying ferocity. One Warden had Gabriel pinned to the ground by the throat while Lynk drove his fist into the vampire’s face who’d first tried to grab Roux. Deke battled it out with two royal guards at once, and Thea leapt at the other female Warden, tackling her to the ground where she slammed the woman’s head against the cobblestone street.

  Only Captain McLemore hadn’t moved or relinquished her weapon. She stood in a classic shooter’s stance, one foot slightly in front of the other, shoulders relaxed, breathing even. Circling around the fight, Roux slipped the handgun from the waistband and crept toward the captain’s back. She’d intended to wound the woman, clip her in the shoulder or the knee. When Brianna swung her gun to the right, training her sights on Deke, all good intentions went out the window.

  Sliding up behind the captain, Roux pressed the barrel of her gun to the base of the female’s skull and snarled. “Drop it.”

  The crazy bitch actually laughed at her. “Who do you think can pull the trigger fas—”<
br />
  The 9mm discharged with minimum kickback, effectively silencing Captain Brianna McLemore…permanently.

  “You talk too much.”

  Turning away from the sight of the captain’s blood spilling out onto the street, Roux searched for Deke once more. She’d just found him—wounded and bleeding from the gut, but still standing—when a hand closed over her mouth, jerking her head back against a wall of hard muscle. Her assailant used his free hand to disarm her, squeezing the bones in her wrist until the gun fell from her numb fingers.

  Kicking and twisting, she cried out for someone to help her, but her screams were muffled against the man’s huge palm. As the man carried her away from the fight, she frantically searched for someone, anyone, but her friends remained engaged in their own battles. Not even Deke looked in her direction.

  As her kidnapper dragged her into the dank alley beside the bakery, she couldn’t help but wonder if she’d ever see any of them again.

  * * * *

  The gashes in his side from the Warden’s claws had started to heal, but it still hurt like a son of a bitch. Dried blood flaked from his skin, and two of his ribs had been cracked, but Deke wouldn’t let the pain stop him.

  His best friend was dead, and his mate had been kidnapped. He couldn’t even properly mourn Peter’s loss because every part of him demanded the blood from the Wardens who had taken Roux. They would pay, every one of them. He’d tear apart the entire fucking state to find her if he had to, and the goddess help anyone who stood in his way.

  Only Lynk had stopped him from charging the Diavolos estate when he’d found Roux missing from the Square. They were outnumbered, outgunned, and most of them were barely standing. Lynk didn’t know of any type of jail on the grounds, and he couldn’t say where the Wardens would keep Roux and Abby. Without a plan, they’d only end up getting themselves captured or killed, and that wouldn’t help anyone.

  The longer they sat in the second-level basement of the Bastille without any progress, the more anxious he grew. It had been almost three hours since the confrontation by the fountain, and though Deke couldn’t see outside, he knew the sun would be setting soon. While everyone had been bandaged, stitched, and otherwise patched up, they were no closer to reaching a decision than when they’d started.

  Once he’d realized Roux had snuck into the Square, he’d wanted to strangle her. When Lynk had marched her right into the middle of the fray, it had taken every ounce of willpower he possessed not to eviscerate the man where he stood. He understood why Lynk had done it, but that didn’t mean he had to like it.

  Everyone around the fountain had caught her scent. Deke had seen it in Captain McLemore’s eyes. If not Lynk, then another Warden would have grabbed her and Abby, and he doubted his little hellcat would have come as willingly. To add to the clusterfuck, they’d still needed Lynk at his post within the estate, and disobeying an order from the new captain would have raised a few eyebrows.

  Then everything had gone to fucking hell. Deke should have expected that the Wardens would want Roux. It had been his fear all along that someone would use his mate against him, and he’d fallen right into the trap. There had been no way to win, though, no decision he could have made that would have led to a different outcome. Even if Roux hadn’t ventured into the Square, the captain would have sent someone for her.

  It was just a gut feeling, nothing he could prove, but Deke’s instincts told him this was personal. The Wardens had been watching him. A new captain had come in to take his place. His best friend had been murdered and discarded like day-old leftovers. Then, to pour salt in the wound, they’d taken his mate, only to dangle her just out of reach, before offering her up to for slaughter.

  “This is bullshit!” Jumping up from the metal, straight-back chair, Cade kicked the seat, toppling it over with a loud clang. “What the fuck are we even doing? The longer we sit here, the less chance we have of seeing Abby and Roux alive.”

  For once, Deke actually agreed with the male.

  “And if you get yourself killed, it won’t matter.” Standing as well, Gabriel dragged his fingers through his hair and growled. “I want to get them back, too, but we have to be smart.”

  “We need supplies,” Brody added in a quiet, reserved tone. “Once we get them, we’re going to have to haul ass, and my guess is that we’ll have every Warden in the city chasing us.”

  “So, we need to move quickly.” Gabriel bobbed his head. “We’ll need vehicles.”

  Deke shook his head. “We only have access to two SUVs.”

  “So?” Cade shrugged. “With Abby and Roux, there are only eight of us. Even with supplies, we’ll fit.”

  “And what if we find more survivors?” Gabriel questioned, folding his arms over his wide chest. “Zerrik is still out there, and aren’t a couple of your people missing as well? Or have you already written them off?”

  “It’s been weeks.” Cade’s upper lip curled as he snarled. “Yeah, it fucking sucks, but I’m being realistic.”

  Fighting amongst themselves wouldn’t get them anywhere. It sure as hell didn’t get them any closer to finding and rescuing Deke’s mate. Maybe they were looking at it wrong. Everyone wanted to storm the gates and rescue the girls, but a stealthier approach might work to their advantage.

  “I’ll go,” he announced, raising his voice to be heard over the bickering. “Alone.”

  “No.” Lynk shook his head defiantly. “I know you think you’re invincible, but you’re not.”

  “We can’t all go. I’ll have a better chance if I go on my own, and I can feel Roux. I can find them.”

  Their mating bond was the only thing keeping him going. He didn’t know how to explain it to anyone not mated, but it felt like a tiny spark in his chest, just a flicker of life that didn’t belong to him. As long as that flame continued to glow, he knew Roux was still alive, and only that knowledge kept him from losing his mind.

  “Say you do find them.” Stepping back, Lynk held his hands out to the side in challenge. “What are you doing to do then? How are you going to get them out on your own?”

  He hated when the asshole used logic against him. “I can’t do nothing!” he exploded. More subdued, he added, “I can’t lose her.”

  “Captain, we’ll get her back, but…” Trailing off, Gabriel shifted his eyes toward Lynk.

  “We’ll have a better chance of getting them out alive if we wait until they’re moved,” Lynk finished. “In fact, it might be our only chance.”

  The rational part of Deke’s brain agreed. The part of him willing to do anything to save his mate—even die—wanted to tear out the shifter’s throat.

  “You said you can feel her?” Relaxing his stance, Cade approached him with caution. “So, you know she’s still alive?”

  Deke nodded.

  “Then there’s a chance. They’ll know you’re coming for her, so they won’t keep her at the estate, not for long.”

  “They won’t risk it,” Lynk agreed. “They’re ruthless, but they’re not stupid.”

  “It makes sense, Captain.” The muscles in Gabriel’s shoulders tensed, but he looked resolute. “They’ll move her soon, Abby, too, and like Lynk said, that’ll be our best chance.”

  “They won’t kill her.” Lynk spoke slowly, drawing out each word as if tasting them before he spoke. “If they killed her, it would only make you more dangerous. With her just missing, you’re distracted.”

  It sounded plausible, but Deke couldn’t pry his thoughts away from Roux long enough to see the bigger picture. Which was exactly what Lynk had just hypothesized.

  “Distracted from what?”

  Lynk arched a pale eyebrow. “That’s what we need to find out.”

  “As much as I hate that Roux and Abby are caught in the middle of this, I have to agree.” Scrubbing both hands over his face, Brody sighed. “We’re missing something, but I don’t think we can worry about that right now. Whatever it is, we’ll deal with it whe
n we get there.”

  “Agreed,” several men said at once, and even Deke bobbed his head a couple of times.

  Brody rested his hands on his hips, his gaze sweeping around the room. “I saw a van behind the bakery, one of those big, white delivery rigs.”

  Gabriel snapped his fingers. “Right, Peter uses…used it for deliveries. It only has four seats, but we can load it with supplies.”

  Everyone began talking at once, planning how to get to the van, the SUVs, what supplies they needed, and how to gather everything without drawing unwanted attention. The more they talked, the more Deke’s temples throbbed, and his frustration, fear, anger, and impatience came bubbling to the surface in one explosive wave.

  “Shut up!” he yelled. “Everyone just shut the fuck up!”

  Instantly, the room when tomb quiet, and all eyes turned toward him. They always looked to him, but he couldn’t lead them when all he could think about was Roux. Unfortunately, he didn’t have a choice.

  “Gabriel, take Cade, and you guys get the van. The SUVs are parked behind the Bastille, so at least there’s that.” He turned to Brody. “Thea is standing watch outside. Find her, and you two gather enough supplies for at least three days. Lynk, you’re with me.”

  Gabriel, Cade, and Brody nodded in unison and started toward the exit. They still needed weapons. The Coalition allowed only one handgun and one dagger to each guard, but they maintained a small armory in the back of the unused county jail just a few blocks from where they stood.

  Unlucky for them, it was guarded around the clock by two, armed Wardens and video surveillance. With Roux and Abby’s lives on the line, it was worth the risk, especially if he intended to get them out of the Diavolos’ territory once he had them.

  “What are we doing?” Lynk asked after everyone else had left the room.

  Deke clapped his friend on the shoulder and shoved him toward the door. “We’re going to break into the armory.”

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  Abby’s sobs had quieted hours ago, but Roux could still hear her sniffles coming from the cell across the stone walkway. Other than sporadic reassurances that Roux would get them out of their predicament, neither of them said much. Talking about it wouldn’t solve anything, and it wouldn’t lessen Abby’s pain.