by Tia Didmon
Racheal put the case on its side. “I don't understand why he helped us,” she said as she examined the locking mechanism.
Hunter rubbed his chin. “I'm guessing he despises his boss as much as we do but why stay with her. Why fuck her?”
Racheal ran her fingers over the number lock, running scenarios in her head. “There's something familiar about him. I can't put my finger on it.”
“You've met him before?”
“No. Just something about his voice. His eyes. I can't explain it.”
“Don't worry about it now. Garrett can go through the files. Maybe there's a connection to a project that you worked on.”
Racheal clicked in a combination. “Maybe.” The mechanism didn't open. A digital display turned on with a five-minute countdown.
“Shit!”
Hunter leaned over. “What?”
“Jordan put a timer on it. I have to enter the correct code in less than five minutes or it explodes.”
“Can you figure it out?”
Racheal sat back on her knees. “Let me think. Jordan typically uses important dates in his life as codes.”
She typed in a new number sequence. The case didn't open as the timer erased a minute off the clock. “I was wrong and if I enter an incorrect number again, we will have less than a minute before it explodes.”
Hunter placed his hand on hers. “Try once more. If you're wrong, leave the case and crawl to the roof.”
“We can't get out that way.”
Hunter winked. “Trust me.”
Racheal stared intensely at the ticking case. “There are two dates besides the one I entered that are important to him. I'm entering the date he met Kevin for the first time.”
She pressed enter, watching in horror as the timer flicked to ten seconds. She was wrong. She didn't have time to apologize to Hunter as she entered the new number sequence.
Hunter grabbed Racheal's arm, preparing to pull her down the shaft if she entered the wrong combination.
He watched in horror as the case buzzed, resetting the countdown to ten seconds.
Racheal punched in a new set of numbers before he could pull her from the case. She whispered. “I'm sorry,” as she hit enter.
The case clicked, sending the countdown to zero.
Hunter growled. “What were you thinking! I can rejuvenate. If you had been wrong. You'd be dead.”
Racheal let out a slow breath. “If I'd been wrong, we'd both be dead. There are enough explosives in here to disintegrate this section of the building.”
“He would take that kind of chance with his own life?”
“I'm guessing that as soon as I entered the wrong code Jordan relocated to the opposite end of the building.”
“Without informing his mother?”
They listened to the faint sound of Cortez's lovemaking. “I guess not.”
“Okay. Check the case for what we need.”
Racheal inspected the vials, reading the individual codes, attempting to descramble them. “He hasn't changed the codes for these since I left. He told me he had mobile sample cases for emergencies but I didn't realize it was his briefcase.” She turned each sample in turn. “All the samples from shifters they've had contact with are here. Along with the tranquilizer and a few test serums I don't recognize. The coyote sample isn't from Aiden. It's Razel’s.”
“How do you know?”
“The code is for test patient thirty-six. Although I didn’t know his name, that was Razel. I took this sample myself.”
He heard the embarrassment in her voice. “Do you think he still has one from Aiden?”
Racheal nodded. “He wouldn't dispose of it. He would keep it in the animal lab or possibly in another sample case.”
Hunter glanced down the shaft. “What was the combination sequence? You said it was a date of importance to Jordan.”
Racheal looked away embarrassed. “He said that despite it not going as planned it was a momentous occasion. That someday I would understand.”
He spoke through clenched teeth. “What was it?”
“The day we had sex.”
Hunter's claws burst from his fingers before he could reign in his angry animal. “I'm going to kill that fucker.”
Racheal looked back, concerned. “We need to get Aiden's sample.”
Hunter growled low. “Jordan is most likely in the animal lab since it's on the other side of this building. What will he do when the case doesn't explode?”
Racheal rubbed her forehead. “He'll assume there's been a malfunction. He'll come back to retrieve it.”
Hunter considered her words. “Then we go to the animal lab. As soon as Jordan leaves, we retrieve the sample we need and get the fuck out of here.”
Racheal felt Hunter's anger emanating from him. They needed that sample and she was determined to get it without being seen. “Let's go. We need to get to the other side of the building as fast as possible.”
Hunter muttered under his breath but allowed her to take the lead. She crawled through the metal shaft quickly, reaching the grate above the animal lab in no time.
She swore under her breath when she saw Jordan typing furiously into a tablet.
Racheal noticed a blinking light in the corner. She lowered her voice. “I think he's waiting for the timer to go off.”
Jordan moved over to the desk, pressing an intercom. “Mother. The brief’s explosive will detonate in thirty seconds. I suggest you get whoever is meddling with it to stop.”
There was fumbling before a winded Cortez answered. “No one is here but us. We haven't touched it.”
Jordan's face was one of disgust. “One of your playthings obviously has.”
Cortez hissed. “They were too busy to... it's gone. The briefcase is gone!”
Jordan leaned close to the intercom. “I beg your pardon.”
“You heard me! The case isn't HERE,” she shouted.
Jordan straightened. “Then we are about to have a very large explosion. I suggest you take cover.” He punched a number sequence into the tablet.
Racheal saw the ‘Deactivated’ sign pop up on his tablet.
“Impossible,” he said, re-entering numbers only to have the same sign appear.
Jordan reached down to the intercom. “The case has been deactivated.”
“Who could have cracked your code?” Cortez asked.
“Racheal is the only one who would have known that code. She must be in the building.”
“How?”
“I'm not sure. She must have help from those animals outside. Make sure your men cover all the exits in the building. I'm contacting Kevin.”
Cortez hissed. “Don't tell him what she is.”
“We won't know if the experiment worked until she spontaneously transforms and lives through it, besides I wouldn't undermine my position with him by telling him.”
“Don't kill her Jordan,” she said seriously.
Jordan sneered. “Weren't you the one who said I wouldn't kill her.”
“That was before she outsmarted you. We both know how you react to someone besting you.”
Jordan looked away, pausing before answering his mother. “I won't kill her until we get what we need.”
Racheal felt fear squeeze her in a vise. Jordan’s complete lack of compassion cut her to the core. She had always believed he had a shred of decency. That something she had seen in him had been real. There was nothing. She had been nothing more than a lab rat.
Hunter touched her arm, speaking low. “He isn't leaving. Tell me what to look for so I can retrieve it.”
Racheal shook her head. “You can't. I know the codes he uses for the coyotes but I don't know Aiden's test subject number. I will have to decipher by dates. Also, the animal codes are in the middle of his date codes. You wouldn't be able to tell one from another.”
Hunter swore. “We need that sample. Can you just take all of them?”
“That's a good idea. There will be too many to grab all of the C
oyote samples but if I take all the samples with the date range we're looking for we can test them later to see which one matches Aiden.”
“I'll go first. If he sees me then I'll take him out...”
“No. It has to be me. He will believe he has the upper hand If I go. You could drop down from behind him. The samples are in the corner so I will distract him first. He will move towards me.”
Hunter hissed. “No way I’m using you as bait.”
Racheal put her hands on her mask, preparing to pull it down. “You don't have a choice.”
Racheal secured her mask, hearing it click into place as the suit reactivated. She mentally psyched herself up for what she was about to do, placing her fingers on the grate to help Hunter lift it.
He lowered her down to the floor slowly, releasing her hands once her feet hit solid ground.
Racheal knew her way around the lab. She went to the first lit up glass fridge, examining the vials for the codes she was looking for. The number of samples had doubled.
She noticed that there were several new codes on the vials. She wasn't sure if Jordan had come in contact with another species or if he simply had a new test subject. Jordan had changed some of the code sequencings on the vials as well. While she recognized several, which were probably older samples, there were dozens of new ones. She saw the code for a coyote sample.
As she moved closer, she realized there were over thirty coyote samples. Far more than he had for other species. She couldn't take them all. She proceeded to decode the dates. She looked back to pinpoint Jordan's location in the lab, hoping he was looking away so she could grab a vial for closer inspection.
Jordan was looking directly at her.
She straightened, hoping he couldn't see her.
Jordan motioned to the fridge. “Those are only coyote samples. Why would you come here for those?”
Racheal's mind blanked. “How can you see me?”
Jordan glanced at his tablet before returning his gaze to her. “The suit is ingenious. I'll be sure to reverse engineer the tech after I take it from you.” His smile was cold. Smug. “Your suit emits a low level of electrostatic energy. The Weapon Deactivation System can pick it up when you are in close proximity. I will have to boost the WDS sensitivity in the future. I didn't detect you until you were in the room with me. I didn't even see you open the door.”
Racheal hoped Hunter stayed where he was until she was ready. He was safe and undetectable only if he remained in the shaft. She deactivated the suit and pulled back her mask. “The WDS is here?”
Jordan looked her over, anger flashing through his eyes before his calm facade resurfaced. “The main server is here, yes. Where is the case, Racheal?”
Racheal prepared for his anger. “My partner left with the case. He got what he wanted but I didn't.”
Jordan's jaw clenched. “What were you looking for. I know it isn't coyote samples.”
“I want the antidote to the poison you injected into me.”
Jordan typed into his tablet before giving her a scary look. “You won't die until I will it.”
Racheal took an aggressive step forward. “What did you do to me!”
Jordan's smile was akin to a snake. “I injected you time and time again with the female mating hormone. Well, what we hope is the female mating hormone.”
Racheal squinted. “You never had a female cougar.”
“No. We did have a lioness though. We modified it using Cyril's DNA. The feline species are so similar we are hoping this one takes.”
“This one? There have been others?”
“Of course. I wanted there to be a reasonable chance of working on you before I started your injections.”
“Why?”
“We need a breedable female that is unmated. Once the males mark them, we can't seem to breed them.”
“You've captured other females?”
“Just two actually. The lion and another. The lioness killed herself. We were more careful with our other subject. She, however, has some undesirable genes. I needed to make a specimen worthy of carrying my prodigy.”
Racheal huffed. “Me.”
“Yes. You will either transform and live to bear my future son. Or you will die and I will autopsy your body to gain the information I need for my next experiment.”
Racheal shook her head in disgust. “You're sick.”
Jordan's eyes flashed fire. “I am brilliant!”
Racheal moved into the row of fridges, forcing Jordan to move with her to keep her in sight. “That's what makes this so sad. You could have used your brilliance for humanity yet you choose depravity instead.”
Jordan laughed coldly. “Humanity. Your petty little ideals are useless. Men understand power. I will wield it and you will bow down before it.”
Racheal sneered. “Spoken like a true Kallan.”
Jordan laughed. “Compliments are irrelevant to me.”
“It wasn't a compliment. Your family is a disgrace. I can't figure out which one of you is worse.”
Jordan's hands fisted at his sides. “I could kill you right now!”
Racheal shrugged. “Why haven't you? I'm nothing to you. I realize that now. I can't even figure out why you used the night we slept together as your code sequence.”
Jordan stilled. “You are mistaken in thinking you aren't important to me. Your genetic code is perfect. Physically and mentally you represent all the characteristics I want for my progeny. As for the date itself. It wasn't because I had sex with you. It is the night I first exposed you to the hormone.”
Racheal replayed that night in her head. She had been excited and nervous. He had done everything right yet she had felt ashamed and awful after. “You didn't inject me that night.”
Jordan sneered. “Not with a needle.”
Racheal gagged with the realization. “You experimented on yourself? Were you trying to get me pregnant?”
“I augmented myself with acceptable and reversible levels of the hormone. You had no chance of getting pregnant at that time. I leave nothing to chance.”
“I'm nothing more than an incubator for you. All the discussions we had about projects, family… our dreams. I had thought that some part of you liked me as a person. That you admired me on some small level.”
Jordan huffed. “That's a typical female delusion. I honestly thought you better than that. I am incapable of feeling pity for you.”
Racheal nodded, feeling hunter close. “That's unfortunate because I do pity you.”
“Why? I will have the world at my feet.”
“No Jordan you won't. It’s already too late for you.”
Hunter’s claws appeared in mid-air. Racheal turned as they swiped at Jordan's neck.
Chapter 10
Hunter’s cat was furious, wanting to repay the pain inflicted on his mate. His cat wanted the threat both physical and mental removed immediately. His claws whipped through the air.
Jordan sidestepped, turning his body in one motion, deflecting the blow across his chest. Bright red blood gushed, soaking his white shirt, as the crimson stain spread across his chest. He hissed as Hunter swatted the tablet from his hands, cutting off his access to his security. His eyes flashed orange before subsiding.
Racheal held out her hand, motioning Hunter to stop his attack. “You have added more than nominal amounts of shifter DNA to your body Jordan. You know what will happen,” she said concerned.
Hunter growled. He hated the caring tone in her voice, knowing it was simply her nature.
Jordan pulled the shreds of his shirt to the side. His skin knit together, leaving an angry red scar. Fury radiated in his eyes as he looked at Racheal. “You know nothing. Your ideas make you short-sighted. There is no gain without a certain amount of risk.”
Racheal shook her head. “I almost feel bad that Hunter has to kill you but he will be saving you from going mad and insane like the others.”
Jordan's laugh twisted in Hunter's gut. “Oh, Racheal. You were such a
n asset when you were on board with our plan but it's the things you don't know that will destroy the race you are so keen to protect.”
Racheal hissed. “I was never on board with your plan. You forced me. Beat me.”
Jordan's eyes narrowed. “Did I also rape you?”
Rachel looked down ashamed. “No.”
Jordan smiled. “Do you sleep better at night, telling yourself that you didn't fall all over yourself and me when I hinted at the possibility that a new species existed.”
Racheal looked up. “I was naive and idealistic to believe you would use that research for the betterment of man.”
Jordan's head tipped to the side. “On the contrary. Our research will indeed be used for the betterment of man. We will help any man or woman who has the resources to pay for our services.”
Racheal's eyes flashed. “You would augment people for money?”
Jordan shrugged. “Not just money. Some people have influence or power so their station in life can be exchanged if they swear fidelity to me.”
“To you? Not your father?”
Jordan huffed. “Kevin is a means to an end. I will have my birthright soon enough. We will not be able to find a cure for his disease in time.”
Racheal's face scrunched. “You're disgusting.”
Jordan attacked quickly. Hunter barely had time to swing him around. A gun sprang from a retractable device in his sleeve. Hunter kicked the gun away, then kicked Jordan to the ground. He backed up, deactivating his suit and removed his mask.
Jordan got back on his feet.
“I want to look you in the eye when I kill you,” Hunter growled.
Jordan ran his fingers over the serrated partially healed flesh on his chest. “Even if you kill this body. My work will go on. I have ensured it's longevity.”
Hunter looked up as an internal alarm went off.
Jordan smiled smugly. “Looks like your time is up.”
Hunter flexed his claws. “So is yours.”
Racheal knew they were out of time. She ran back to the fridge, trying to decipher the codes on the vials. She heard the men fighting as she picked up a vial with a blue label.
Hunter called out in pain, pulling her attention back to the fight.
