by Mikayla Lane
There was a small pause and just when Devon thought that she would have to explain more, Mikey spoke. “I understand. You are correct, with all that we give up, once in a while, we need something for us that is our own. I have done… almost everything you have asked and I will see this through. For you,” he said, wishing now that he hadn’t beaten the hell out of the Tezarian when he scented her innocent blood in her room.
He would make it up to her though, by ensuring that he carried out her request. No matter how hard it would be to do so. At least he wouldn’t have to worry about her finding out that he had roughed up the Tezarian.
Devon sighed, grateful that he understood and would ask no more questions. She honestly wasn’t sure if she could explain it any better without crying. And crying was not an option around Mikey. He wouldn’t take it well at all.
“Thank you Mikey. That’s why you’re my favorite,” Devon said teasingly, hoping to add some humor to the conversation and redirect it away from Drago and her new lack of virginity.
Mikey laughed loudly into the phone. “Whoever is doing your bidding, is your favorite! I am immune to your manipulations, so play them elsewhere. Now tell me, what are your plans for tomorrow?”
Damn, Devon thought, he’s going to make sure he hits all her sore spots tonight. So much for a distraction from Drago, she thought to herself. Resigned, she told him about the slight change in plans and wasn’t the least bit surprised when he balked at it.
“Damn it! This doesn’t seem right, I don’t think you should go. It isn’t like the boss to just pop into town, demand to be seen and then start changing plans,” he said with concern.
Since she wasn’t willing to admit her own misgivings about tomorrow night, Devon tried to assure him. “Mikey, this is beyond typical of his arrogant ass. Trust me, there’s nothing bad going on,” she said with a laugh. Then added. “At least not with me. There’s no telling what fool he plans on screwing with tomorrow night, but it won’t be me.”
Devon could almost hear the argument Mikey was going to come up with next and tried to head it off before he got a good roll going and ruined everything for her.
“Besides, according to his email there will be a long list of who’s who in DC that will also be attending. I seriously doubt he’s going to be too much of an asshole with the cream of society there. He likes his reputation kept very pristine, as we both know,” Devon said with a smile, knowing that she was changing his mind about arguing with her. She knew him all too well and could sense it in his silence.
She loved Mikey, but he could be a real domineering prick when he wanted to be and even though Devon was in charge, he would bulldoze his way all over her if he thought he needed to. She seriously hated that and preferred not to go behind his back if she didn’t have to.
Mikey sighed dramatically. “Fine. But if anything, and I mean anything, changes between now and tomorrow, you aren’t going. Do you hear me?”
Devon tried to smother her giggle. She was going no matter what anyone said. The boss told her to and she listened. Like always. She was just really glad she wouldn’t have to put up with one of Mikey’s fits over it. Even if there was another change in the plan, she had no intention of telling Mikey about it. Or anyone else for that matter. She knew her job and didn’t need anyone telling her how and when to do it. That’s what the boss was for.
“I hear you Mikey. You finish up and meet me when you can. And be safe. Even as annoying as you are, you are preferable to my normally friendless existence,” Devon said with a grin, knowing he would take it as the affectionate compliment that it was meant as.
Mikey laughed heartily. “Yes, you are also preferable to abject loneliness. So be safe.”
Devon heard the phone click and knew he had hung up on her. She threw her hands in the air and shook her head. What the hell was it with men just hanging the hell up? Didn’t anyone show any courtesy anymore and at least say goodbye, she thought as she reheated her now cooled tea water.
Her thoughts continued to drift from Drago to her meeting tomorrow night and right back to Drago again and she shook her head to try and clear it of all thoughts but her work. And her damn tea, she thought as the microwave light flashed that the water had been done. For several minutes. She turned it back on for one more minute and grabbed the tea bags, determined to forget about Drago and finish making her cup this time.
She stared at her cup at it went around in the microwave, thinking about what could have brought the boss into town on such short notice. But thoughts of work, did nothing to settle her mind either.
Devon wasn’t a fool. She knew Mikey was right. Something was wrong about this visit from the boss. John Rothfeller never came to DC during the winter. The social scene that he normally ran with, did not struggle through the harsh DC winters like normal people. They tanned themselves in the world’s hot spots, following the warmth and their fellow elitists. She would have been much less surprised if he had called and demanded she meet him in Ibiza.
The only reason she could think of for this strange modification in the boss’s normal behavior had to be the arrival of the Tezarian’s and the Prime. If that was the reason, then she was sure to be grilled as to why she hadn’t told him that they had moved in down the street from her.
Devon panicked. She hadn’t thought of that. He was sure to know they had arrived. And if he knew they were there, then he knew that she had neglected to tell him of their arrival. Damn, damn, damn, she thought as she tried to think of a valid excuse to why she had let them slip through her fingers.
*****
Drago paced the floor while everyone else tried to locate the estate of Devon’s boss. He knew his only chance of finding her and figuring out who the hell she was, would be to find the man she called her boss. The man they assumed was Satalis. The Dark Prime.
His soul screamed at him to find her. To keep her safe. From herself and her own poor decisions if necessary and it was driving him crazy to stand here and do nothing. He ran his hands over his face and his head in frustration before he stormed to the front door.
Dread quickly followed. “Where the hell do you think you’re going?”
Drago turned angry eyes to his interfering brother. “Outside. I need some fresh air!”
Dread ignored his brother’s flash of temper. “The hell you are! That Windwalker could be out there waiting to finish you the hell off! You’re staying right here until we find out where Satalis is. Then we’ll go and try to find her.”
Drago stormed up to his unflinching brother, not realizing that the room had gone deadly quiet as everyone stopped what they were doing in order to watch the brothers. He stopped, just inches from Dread and looked down into his eyes.
“You will not tell me what I can and cannot do. Nor will you stop me from going anywhere,” Drago growled through gritted teeth, daring his brother to try and stop him.
They both knew who the winner would be if Dread tried, but the thought of losing painfully, did not even enter Dread’s mind. His sole concern was his brother’s well-being.
Luckily, for all of them, Viper interrupted excitedly. “I found the estate!”
Drago continued to stare down his older brother, while Dread held his gaze unflinchingly. It took Lara to break the standoff.
“If you guys slow the testosterone roll, we can figure out how we’re getting in there and how to stop Devon… Drago’s mate, from meeting him. If she’s not there already,” Lara said, sending enough energy in her words to snap the brother’s out of their personal battle of wills.
Drago finally broke eye contact with Dread and went back into the living room while Viper flicked a picture of the estate onto the wall, using his comm.
Everyone stared at the image of the large estate as Lara said, “Let’s see if we can find the building plans for the place. They should be on file with the county.”
Mir and Viper spent several more minutes looking for the plans and came up empty. “We can’t find anything,” Mir sai
d, shaking his head in frustration.
Lara stared at the image of the house. “He probably paid to make sure the plans were not put on public file. He’s extremely wealthy, which means local and state government officials are more than willing to be bought off. We need some major recon before we can get in there.”
Drago also stared at the image and using his own comm, he signed in to Grai’s satellite network and pulled up the aerial picture and flicked it beside the other one on the wall. He studied it for several minutes before walking up to the wall.
He pointed out the extensive gardens in the back of the house. “This is the most vulnerable point. Even if he saturated the garden with security forces, it would still be easy to hide in the shadows and take out the personnel on the way in.”
Lara nodded. “I agree. But if we know that’s the weak spot, so does Satalis and he probably has a contingency plan. I think we need to go with something a little more obvious because it’s the least likely scenario that he would expect,” Lara said, deep in thought.
Dree stared at the images, trying to think of the easiest way a normal human would get inside. “We can illusion us as delivery people,” she suggested.
Lara shook her head. “This is a gated estate. You can’t get in without getting through the gate, which will be manned. The guards at the gate would take packages and stop anyone from getting inside.”
“Whoa, wait a minute,” Viper said as he tapped furiously on his comm before flicking a document onto the wall.
It was an email being sent from a corrupt senator to a community agitator about a surprise invitation to a party with one John Rothfeller. For tomorrow evening.
“Damn he’s a brazen bastard,” Trick said.
Lara nodded her head. “He fits right in with his elitist friends in that regard. Their narcissism is the stuff of legends. That’s why it doesn’t bother me in the least that Satalis is probably killing them off and robbing them blind. Can you get any more emails? Find out the whole guest list?” Lara asked, curious as to what the Dark Prime was up to and if the guests would give her a clue to his intent.
Viper shook his head. “It looks like it was sent only to a select group and they were warned not to tell anyone of the invitation. This senator is really brave or really stupid for sending it to someone not on the list.”
Lara chuckled. “He’ll probably be really dead by the end of the evening if Satalis finds out. It wouldn’t be a loss for the country either. The guy is one of the most corrupt there is. But he’s not our problem. We need to figure out if Devon is already there and if not then how can we stop her from getting there.”
“We also need some recon to ensure that John Rothfeller is Satalis. We can’t engage him, especially not with potentially innocent humans or hybrids in there. But we can gather as much information as we can and possibly recover some captive hybrids,” Lara said, trying to refocus everyone.
Lara wanted nothing more than to find Devon and get her away from Satalis so that she could be safe with Drago. But she knew that the most important thing they had to do was confirm the identity of Satalis. So when she built up her Prime forces, they could end his existence and his threat to the world.
Drago looked at the blank surveillance monitors and knew that Devon had never returned to her home. His fear for her was eating at him, causing his beast, Jinba to pace restlessly in his mind.
He didn’t give a damn about the guest list, corrupt politicians or anyone else that may or may not be in that house. Only his mate. He no longer even cared if she was the real Devon or not, he just wanted her safe. He would deal with everything else later, he thought, confident that he could help her through anything.
His mind worked overtime to try and think of a way to get inside, until finally he looked at Dree and grinned. “Can you pull off catering staff instead?”
Dree laughed while Lara said, “Hell yeah! Hack into the local catering companies until we find the one that will be doing the job tomorrow night!”
Dree shrugged and looked perplexed. “What is a catering staff?”
Viper continued tapping on his comm and answered, “People who are hired to bring and serve food and drinks to event guests. It’s a perfect way in, especially if you can alter our appearance.”
Dree smiled and rubbed her hands together in excitement. “I can make you look like a Jantarian Hell beast if you want!”
Everyone stopped what they were doing and stared at Dree in surprise at the suggestion. A Jantarian Hell beast was a horrific creature that lived in the volcanic pits of the Tezarian planet. It resembled the descriptions of a Cerberus and was a walking inferno that could kill with a touch. The creature was highly intelligent and preferred to torture and play with its victims, inflicting a long and painful death.
Dree looked at everyone and shrugged her shoulders. “Ok that was a bit much. I can do normal humans too.”
Drago grinned and shook his head at her, while secretly cheering the way she was thinking. He didn’t give a damn what illusions she created as long as it got Devon out of there safely. He could not and would not consider anything else. Not even Satalis and the threat he posed to everyone. His mate was his only thought and he couldn’t bring himself to feel bad about that even though it stunned him.
She had become his world so fast, it was shocking to him. He had always been the more level headed of his siblings and here he was, willing to go with his friends and family into mortal danger and his only thought was of the beautiful and sweet blonde thief who had stolen his heart. And his common sense.
Viper interrupted his thoughts and he breathed a sigh of relief for the distraction. Like Dree, he wanted action and the quicker they got their information the faster they could start implementing a plan.
“Uh guys… we have a problem,” Viper said, still tapping on his comm. Everyone waited for him to explain and just as Drago was getting ready to wring his brothers neck, Viper spoke again.
“The catering company is owned by a company, which is owned by dozens of other shell companies. That are owned by Freedom Enterprises,” he said with grimace.
Dread smacked his forehead, while Lara groaned. Dree looked around puzzled before asking, “What’s the problem?”
Drago laughed. “Karma keeps knocking Lara,” he said to Lara before turning to Dree and answering her question. “Grai owns Freedom Enterprises and as you know, Lara pissed him off. I will speak with him and ask if we can replace the normal staff for the party.”
Lara smiled wryly and said, “Thank you.” She knew the man was still really pissed off at her and although she knew she needed to fix the relationship, it would have to wait. Besides, Grai wasn’t so angry that he wasn’t bending over backwards to help in any way he could.
For her it was proof of his genuine concern for not only his people, but the humans. She respected that and once the identity of Satalis was confirmed, she had every intention of apologizing and explaining things to him.
Still smiling over the irony, Drago reached out to Grai T’Alq through the Shengari’ and wasn’t really surprised at the immediate reply and questions over their well-being and safety.
He assured Grai that they were well and unlike Lara who was keeping secrets from Grai, Drago told him where they were going and about his mate, Devon. He turned away from his family as he explained everything they knew up to this point and the danger they weren’t sure they would be facing at the estate.
Drago wasn’t really surprised at Grai’s next words. “I have a team in place that uses that catering company as a front for other operations in the DC area. They are the closest team and the most trained. If this Satalis is as dangerous as you think and you are unsure of what to expect at that estate, this is the team you will need.” Grai paused for long moments and Drago knew he was fighting within himself over something.
“Drago, this is the most secretive team we have. Their identities and even their existence can never be known by anyone else. Their very lives depend on th
eir anonymity, even from their own kind. If I send them to you, you must promise that none of you will ever speak of them,” Grai said, his tone deadly serious.
Drago had no doubt that if he said the wrong thing, Grai would send another team, even though they may not be as qualified to help them. He briefly wondered what the hell was so special about this team, but his fear for Devon outweighed his curiosity and he immediately responded.
“I will take the secret of them to my grave. As will the others,” Drago assured him.
Grai knew that Drago could be trusted, but he was still concerned for this particular team. Their skills were not in question, Grai had overseen their training himself. He had trained them hard, until each one could beat even him. Still he hadn’t been satisfied and had sent each to be trained by every training expert that money could buy.
They were equipped with the latest weapons and gear, including new items that were still in testing. Still, he worried for them. For their identities and safety. Not from Satalis, but from the hybrids and other alien personnel.
He warred with himself, but in the end he could not justify sending any other team for this situation. If Drago was right and this Dark Prime was truly as dangerous as suspected, then this team may be their only hope to save Drago’s mate and the other possible hybrid captives. He would never forgive himself if he didn’t send them and the Tezarian’s failed. The team wouldn’t forgive him either.
“Someone will be there in less than an hour. But Drago, I am warning you now, if anything happens to them because of who they are, I will kill you and your whole family myself in order to protect them. Are we clear?” Grai said dangerously, the threat startling Drago.
“Uh… maybe you should give me a heads up so I can be prepared then? Who the hell are they?” Drago asked, now worried about just who the hell could be coming to help.
Grai sighed heavily. “They are Dranovian’s. Beast Killers.”
