“Could you tell what they were trying to search for?”
She gave a firm shake of her head, her curls bouncing. Sinclair had a sharp, unreasonable urge to tug her braid loose so he could see the glorious ringlets tumbled around her face.
Or maybe across the pillows…
Shit. He stiffened, slamming the door on the renegade image.
“No. They couldn’t break through my encryption.” She paused, forcing herself to take a deep, steadying breath. “It could have been one of my supervisors checking on my work. Or a random hacker who hoped to piggyback my computer to steal private info from our payroll files.”
Sinclair’s wolf snarled. At the beginning, his animal had been wary of this female, unable to trust a human. But now that it suspected she was in danger, it was eager to hunt down the threat and destroy it.
“I don’t believe in coincidences,” he told her. “Now that the SAU knows the shifters have found the link between the Verona Virus and the human clinic, they’re going to do everything in their power to destroy any actual proof.”
She instinctively took a step closer, unconsciously seeking the comfort of his hard body.
“But how could they possibly know I’m searching for the same information?”
“I don’t know,” he admitted, his hands smoothing up and down her arms.
She grimaced. “Like I said, I could be overreacting.”
Sinclair hardened his jaw. His role as Alpha meant he possessed a fierce need to protect his Pack. And, somehow, Mira had become a part of that Pack.
“I’m not willing to take the risk.”
She blinked. “What?”
“It’s too dangerous.”
“But I’m so close.” Without warning, she pulled away and turned to open her large leather bag. Reaching in, she pulled out a sheet of paper. “Look what I brought.”
Sinclair unfolded the paper, his lips twisting at the letters and numbers that were dotted in random spots.
“I’m looking, but you’re going to have to decipher this.”
She moved to stand close to his side, her light floral scent teasing his senses.
“It’s fragmented,” she said. “I pulled it off an old CDC hard drive.”
Sinclair sent her a startled glance. The outbreak had happened so quickly and with such virulence that there hadn’t been time for anything but survival. And even after the vaccine was created, there’d still been years of turmoil. The last thing anyone cared about was keeping records. So when the SAU had started their crusade to destroy all evidence of the human’s culpability in manufacturing the virus, or the shifter’s assistance in saving their asses, no one did anything to stop them.
“How did you get your hands on it?” he breathed in shock. “I thought the computers had all been destroyed in the fire?”
The shadows were momentarily banished from her hazel eyes as they shimmered with excitement. Once Mira had committed herself to helping the shifters discover the truth, she’d jumped into her task with a passion that had both amused and intrigued Sinclair.
“I told you the last time we spoke that I’d had an idea of how to resurrect the dead,” she reminded him.
Unable to resist temptation, he reached up to tug on one of her satiny curls.
“I thought you meant zombies.”
She looked startled before giving a soft laugh. His humor was so rare it always caught people off guard.
“Not zombies,” she corrected. “Novo-Auction.”
Sinclair had heard of the online website where you could buy and sell items from pre-virus days.
“I don’t understand.”
“I developed a program that would run a search for the recycling service that was contracted by the CDC.”
Sinclair shook his head. “What kind of recycling?”
“The old CDC electronics before the fire. I figured there had to be a few computers that were sent to the recycling center that had research about the virus still on the hard drives.” She flashed a shy smile. “It took a long time. In fact, I’d given up hope. But I finally got a hit.”
“Fuck.” He studied her with a renewed sense of wonder. Sometimes he forgot just how smart she was. “That was brilliant.”
She blushed. “I was lucky.”
“No. There was no luck involved,” he murmured. “Only skill.”
Her blush deepened. He’d never met a woman who was so uncomfortable with compliments. “There were two old computers listed for sale, and I bought both of them,” she hastily continued. “In one, the hard drive had been replaced, but the second one was original.” She pointed toward the sheet of paper in his hand. “That’s how I managed to retrieve that small bit of the original files that hadn’t been fully overwritten.”
Sinclair didn’t even glance at the paper. He’d just realized the sheer depths of the risk she’d taken. She might as well have put a target on her back.
“Shit,” he snarled, glaring at her pale face. “You didn’t have the computers sent to your house, did you?”
“Of course not.” She made a sound of impatience. “I’m not stupid. I used a false identity to buy them and had them delivered to a temporary mailbox.”
“Hmm.” Sinclair swallowed his cutting words.
She’d only been trying to help him. Even though she had to know that she was putting her life in danger.
“Do you want to discuss what I discovered or not?” she demanded.
He forced himself to nod. She would learn soon enough that she’d taken her last risk.
“Tell me.”
She pointed to the top line that was printed on the paper.
“This is an email that’s dated one year before the virus hit. It’s addressed to a Dr. Lowman. I can’t tell whom it’s from, but it mentions the words ‘unstable’ and ‘pandemic.’"
Sinclair studied the garbled note, trying not to jump to conclusions. The CDC, after all, had worked with dozens—maybe even hundreds—of pandemics over the years. Still, if this Dr. Lowman had known anything at all about the Verona Virus before it started to spread, they needed to see if they could track him or her down.
“Did you do a search on Dr. Lowman?”
“Of course.”
“And?”
“He was a doctor at the CDC,” Mira said. “He died of an unexpected heart attack just six months before the virus started to spread.”
Sinclair sucked in a sharp breath. He didn’t want to leap to conclusions, but then again, he didn’t believe in coincidences.
Had someone tried to warn the doctor about the dangers of the research going on at the Verona clinic? And had the doctor tried to stop it? Or had he known too much?
“Any family?”
“He had a wife and two sons.” She paused, tilting back her head to meet his gaze. “One of the sons worked for a private research lab.”
A prickle of premonition inched down his spine. “In Verona?”
She gave a slow nod. “Yes.”
Okay. This was no longer a leap, but a genuine clue. The room was suddenly filled with the scent of wolf as his animal strained to be released.
“Can we find him?”
“He disappeared during the chaos after the virus,” she said, gently taking the paper from his hand and carefully folding it before returning it to her bag. “I couldn’t find any trace of whether he’s alive or dead.”
Frustration exploded through him. It was always one minuscule step forward and two huge leaps back.
“Damn,” he growled.
“I’ve pulled off a few more fragments, but it’s a slow process,” she said, clearly trying to soothe his irritation. “I’m also trying to find out who sent the original email.”
He gave a shake of his head. If Doctor Lowman’s son were still alive, Sinclair would find a way to track him down.
“Where are the hard drives?”
She arched a brow at his abrupt question. “At my home.”
“I want you to gather them and any eq
uipment you need to finish downloading the information and move into my lair.”
She stilled, clearly caught off guard by his command. “Excuse me?”
“Fort Collins is no longer safe for you,” he said, too anxious for her safety to consider his words. “We can protect you.”
“Oh.” She turned away, but not before he glimpsed the disappointment in her eyes. Shit. She’d thought he was inviting a more intimate relationship between them. Now she was hurt and eager to push him away. Exactly what he didn’t need. “I can’t just leave.”
“Of course, you can.”
“No.” She kept her rigid back turned toward him. “I can’t.”
Sinclair knew he’d screwed up. What he didn’t know was how to fix it.
“Why not?”
She gave a short, humorless laugh. “I realize you think my life is as boring as I am, but it’s important to me.”
He reached out to grab her shoulders, gently tugging her and turning her around to meet his frown.
“Mira.”
“I have a job and a house that I love,” she continued, standing stiffly in his grasp. “I have a cat.”
Dammit. The woman had a genius IQ. She had to know that she was in danger.
“You already suspect that someone searched your computer.” He leaned down, allowing his wolf to glow in his eyes. “What happens when they realize what you have in your precious home?”
She pressed her lips together, but she couldn’t hide her sudden shiver.
“I told you that I wasn’t sure if it had anything to do with my work with you,” she ridiculously muttered. “And it’s going to be a lot more suspicious if I simply disappear.”
“You’ll be alive.”
“And then what?” she demanded with an unexpected burst of independence. “I can’t hide forever. I promise I’ll be careful.”
He stepped back, folding his arms across his chest. She’d just challenged him. His wolf accepted.
“I’ll give you two weeks.”
Her eyes widened. “What?”
For the first time, he allowed her to experience the full force of his Alpha nature.
“Give your notice at work,” he said, his voice slow and crisp. He didn’t want any misunderstandings. “Tell them that you have a sick relative you have to take care of. Then pack whatever you can’t live without, including your damned cat, and I’ll pick you up.”
“But-”
“Final offer, Mira.”
Chapter 4
Nicole was furious. No. She was beyond furious. Whatever that was.
How dare the damned bear encourage her to spill her guts, pretend as if he sympathized with her, and then refuse to let her go?
It was…torture.
Plain and simple.
Lost in her fury, she launched herself the short distance between them to pound her fists against his chest.
“Damn you,” she rasped, indifferent to the fact that she was hurting herself more than she could possibly be hurting him.
With a grimace of regret, he reached to grasp her wrists, easily halting her attack.
“Hold on,” he murmured softly.
It only pissed her off more that he took such care to ensure that his fingers didn’t dig into her flesh.
“No.” She bared her fangs. “You have no right to keep me here.”
He held on to her, his expression difficult to read. “Would you please listen to me?”
“Why should I?”
“Because I can help you.”
She froze, studying him with a wary gaze. “How?”
“There are a few of us who have managed to infiltrate the SAU.”
Her heart leaped with excitement. She knew that there was an Unseen wolf who was working as a guard at the facility. He’d helped Soren and Cora escape. And it only made sense that the Pack had managed to sneak more than one spy into the enemy camp.
But she’d never dreamed that one of them might actually help her penetrate the heavy security.
“You can get me into the building?” she breathed in excitement.
His gaze went flat. As if startled she would even suggest such a thing.
“No.”
She muttered a curse, glaring into his handsome face. “Are you just trying to be a dick?”
Without warning, he tugged her clenched fist to his mouth and pressed a gentle kiss to her knuckles.
“There’s no need to go to the building,” he assured her. “We’ve hacked into their computer network. We can tap into the employment files tomorrow.”
Her anger faltered, swiftly replaced by a fragile sense of hope.
Was it possible that she could actually find the identity of the guard without running the risk of being captured by the SAU? It sounded too good to be true.
“Why not now?” she demanded, the pounding need to hunt her prey refusing to leave her in peace.
“Because it’s late,” Tucker pointed out. “And Rios is temperamental, even for a jaguar.” He pretended to give a shudder of horror. “You don’t want to wake him and ask for a favor.”
She leaned forward, forcing herself to say the words. “Tucker, please.”
He stilled, clearly sensing her desperation.
“It’s been seven years, Nicole,” he said, his thumbs rubbing the pulse that thundered beneath the delicate skin of her inner wrists. “A few hours aren’t going to make a difference, are they?”
She bit her lower lip. She didn’t want to reveal any more. Not after she’d already stripped herself bare. But if that was what it took to get Tucker moving, then she’d do what she had to do.
“Today’s the day,” she abruptly announced.
He arched a brow. “What?”
“Today is the anniversary of Bowe’s murder.” She shivered. It hurt to say the words.
Tucker made a strangled sound, looking as if she’d just sucker-punched him.
“Christ.”
Nicole surged to her feet. She’d never traded on sympathy for the death of Bowe to manipulate others; that would have been an insult to her son. But tonight, she needed Tucker to help her get into the employee files. She didn’t care how or why.
“Let’s go,” she urged.
Tucker lifted himself off the sofa, but instead of heading toward the door, he reached out to grasp her hands.
“Wait.”
She scowled. “Wait for what?”
He studied her upturned face for a long moment. “Where’s the father?”
She shook her head. “I don’t understand.”
“The father of your child,” he pressed. “Where is he?”
“Oh.” Nicole gave a lift of her shoulder. She’d met Randall when they were both just pups, and they’d been best friends for years. Slowly, they’d developed an intimate relationship, but it’d never been more than a mutual desire for affection. When Nicole had realized she was pregnant, she was overjoyed, but she’d never expected Randall to take on the role of parent. “We were childhood sweethearts, but our animals never mated. After I realized that I was pregnant, he was transferred to a compound on the west coast,” she explained in impatient tones.
Tucker studied her with a strange intensity. “He isn’t a part of your life?”
“No.” She tried—and failed—to remember the last time she’d even had any contact with her friend. “He found his true mate and started a new family. No bitterness.” She frowned. “Why?”
He squeezed her fingers, heat smoldering in his eyes.
“You know why.”
She felt her mouth go dry. She did know why. Her wolf had been trying to tell her from the minute she’d caught sight of the male that they had a connection that went way beyond lust. Even when she’d been focused on trying to break into the SAU facility, her wolf had been anxious to return to where she’d crossed paths with the stranger.
But the mother in her refused to accept the primitive urges.
She still had a mission to complete. Until then, she couldn?
??t focus on anything but tracking down the guard who’d shot her son.
“Tucker-”
“Later,” he interrupted, as if he’d sensed that she wasn’t prepared to think about the future. Not until the past was laid to rest. Pressing another kiss to her knuckles, he led her toward the door. “Come on.”
She rolled her eyes, a dangerous tenderness squeezing her heart.
“Impossible bear,” she muttered.
Stepping out of the cabin, they circled the edge of the camp; Tucker maintaining a firm grip on her hand. Not that Nicole minded. She might be consumed with her thirst for revenge, but his warm touch was soothing her wolf in a way she’d never dreamed possible.
It was odd.
She’d always assumed that if she were fortunate enough to find her mate, it would be all about the passion. After all, when she’d seen mated pairs, they could barely keep their hands off each other. But while her whole body tingled with an intoxicating desire that was both thrilling and terrifying, it was the feeling of…connection that astonished her.
In just a few hours, she’d gone from a wolf who always stood alone—even when surrounded by her Pack—to a female who had an intelligent, ruthless, dazzlingly beautiful bear who was eager to offer his strength.
It was going to take time to adjust.
Together they moved through the shadows, skirting around a surprisingly large array of solar panels, as well as several small windmills that clearly powered the electrical grid. There were also bunkers that were dug deep into the base of the hill. She assumed they were filled with extra supplies, and maybe even hidden tunnels in case of a siege.
Smart.
They at last reached a cabin that was twice the size of Tucker’s, with more solar panels on the roof, as well as a large generator at the back. At the moment, the building was ablaze with lights.
Tucker frowned, seemingly puzzled by the fact that his friend was still awake at the late hour. But without hesitation, he tugged her onto the porch and rapped on the front door.