Someone who’d put that much effort into concealment wouldn’t skimp on surveillance, so we didn’t attempt to apprehend the employee there. Instead, Bones waited across the street before following the blond, bespectacled young man after he climbed into his vehicle and drove off. Ian and I were on foot, stationed at opposite ends of the street. No matter which way the man turned, he’d pass one of us.
I got the lucky drive-by and made the most of it by breaking my heel and pretending to stumble into the street. The young man’s car screeched to a stop only inches from where I crouched.
“What the hell, lady?” he snapped, rolling down his window.
I kept my head lowered so that my hair concealed my face. Who knew if Madigan had circulated my picture to his employees?
“My ankle,” I said in a shaking voice. “I-I think it’s broken.”
A car horn blared behind him, and he made an exasperated noise.
“Broken or not, you gotta get out of the street.”
I rose, still keeping my hair in my face, and then crumpled with a fake cry when I put weight on my ankle.
“I can’t,” I wailed.
A few people watched from the sidewalk, but none of them offered to help me. God bless society’s indifference. If I hadn’t been blocking the road, Madigan’s employee would’ve been equally unconcerned, as his thoughts revealed, but I was an obstacle that needed to be removed. With a huff of irritation, he got out of his car and came toward me.
“Give me your hand, I’ll—”
That’s all he said before I hit him with my gaze, noting with relief that his eyes glazed over immediately. I’d been half afraid that Madigan had indoctrinated his employees against mind control by giving them vampire blood.
“Don’t speak. Get in the car, passenger side,” I said in a low, resonant voice as I climbed into the driver’s seat. The blond employee complied, sliding into the seat next to mine without a word.
A few gasps sounded from the people watching this turn of events, but then Ian sidled up to the group.
“Mine, mine, mine,” he said as he collected cell phones from the onlookers, flashing his own mesmerizing gaze to still the instant protests. Now, at least, we wouldn’t have to worry about video of this ending up online.
I sped away without waiting for Ian. He knew where we were going. Then I drove long enough to ditch the car in a dark, deserted area before yanking the blond employee close and vaulting upward into the night.
Too late, I realized my mistake. I’d ordered the man not to speak; I hadn’t ordered him not to be afraid. When we were about a mile up, something warm soaked through my jeans. A glance down confirmed my suspicions.
“Eww, you peed on me?”
Squirty didn’t reply, of course. I shoved him back as far as I could without dropping him, belatedly commanding him not to fear. He stopped hyperventilating, but the stain in front of his pants kept growing. Appears once the faucet was turned on, it would keep running until it was empty. To make matters worse, no matter which way I turned him, a wet spot kept brushing up against me.
Ian would laugh himself silly when he saw this.
I gritted my teeth and focused on where I was going, glad the wind kept the smell from hitting me. Navigating by bird’s-eye view was difficult since street signs were unreadable from this height, but after a couple adjustments, I landed in the grass next to our RV, only tearing up a small clump of earth with the impact.
“You’re getting better, Reaper,” an English voice noted behind me. “Though it took you long enough.”
Damn, Ian was already here. I braced myself as he came out from behind the RV. He sniffed, his nose wrinkling. Then he looked over me and my blond captive, grinning.
“Managed to squeeze in a golden shower along the way? How lecherous. I’m impressed.”
“Save it,” I said crisply, releasing Squirty after commanding him not to run. Since I’d also ordered him to be silent and unafraid, he stood there, his thoughts transmitting only mild curiosity at being trapped in the woods with two glowing-eyed creatures.
I gave him the full weight of my hypnotic stare before I spoke again.
“When I ask you a question, you will answer with nothing but the truth, do you understand?”
A firm nod while the word “Yes” echoed across his mind.
“What’s your name?” was my first question. I couldn’t keep calling him Squirty though my pants were proof of the moniker’s accurateness.
“James Franco.”
“Like the actor?” I couldn’t help but ask.
His expression eased into a smile. “Yes, but poorer and uglier.”
I didn’t want to find James funny. With his job, this likely wouldn’t end well.
“Don’t speak beyond answering my questions,” I said in a stiff voice. “Do you know what we are?”
“Yes.”
A wooden reply this time. I gave a brisk nod. “Good, that saves time explaining. Now, do you know who we are?”
“No.”
Guess I hadn’t needed to conceal my face earlier. “Ever heard the name Cat Crawfield?”
“No.”
Ian and I exchanged a surprised glance. James’s thoughts were cottony beneath the mind control I’d whammied him with, but they agreed with his answer, not that I thought he was faking being mesmerized.
“What do you do at your job?” Just our luck to have captured a clueless pencil pusher . . .
James began to detail a complicated description of DNA analysis, gene splicing, and cross-species genetics. I didn’t understand half of what he said, but the gist was clear: He was right in the thick of Madigan’s experimentations.
“Does your facility have people like me trapped in it?” I asked, baring my fangs for emphasis.
“No.”
“Why the fuck not?” I snapped in frustration. If Tate and Juan weren’t there, then Dave and Cooper weren’t, either. Dammit, this had been our best lead!
“Test subjects are housed elsewhere,” James replied to my rhetorical question.
“Where?” Ian asked before I could.
James blinked. “I don’t have clearance for that information.”
Bones walked into the clearing right as I grabbed James by the shoulders and lifted him off his feet, almost shaking him with my sudden surge of hope.
“Who does?”
The two words were spaced from my vehemence, but they merely earned me another slow blink. Then James spoke, and my short-lived hopes were crushed.
“Only the old man, Director Madigan.”
I yanked the tiny shower door open, then cursed when it ripped off. In my foul mood, I’d forgotten to check my strength, a rookie mistake I hadn’t made in years. Next I’d flash fang at a tourist and tell him in a Euro-trash accent that I wanted to drink his blood.
“All isn’t lost, Kitten.”
Bones appeared in the RV’s tiny bedroom. I wrapped a towel around me as I shot him a jaded look.
“You’re famous for your honesty, so things must really be bad if you’re lying to make me feel better.”
A smile ghosted across his lips. “Not lying, luv. James knows more than he realizes.”
I went over to the narrow closet and picked out another outfit, glancing behind me to make sure Bones had shut the door before I dropped my towel. Ian would shamelessly peep on a free show, family ties or no family ties.
“Aside from making my brain hurt over the intricacies of genetic code and DNA splicing, I don’t see how his knowledge will help us find our friends. If Madigan hasn’t already killed them.”
From the lingering looks Bones gave certain parts of my body, he wasn’t above admiring a free show, either, despite the seriousness of the topic.
“While you were showering, James revealed that new blood samples are shipped to the b
uilding every two weeks for testing. The last one was eight days ago, so soon, a new one will arrive. That courier will have information on where it came from, and we’ll find the facility from there.”
“You think Madigan’s dumb enough to have a return address stamped on a FedEx label?”
My question was brusque to cover the spark that flickered within me. Please, God, let this work, we don’t have anything else . . .
Bones took the clothes I was about to put on and threw them aside.
“No, but the courier will either be coming from that facility, or he’ll tell us who he received the package from. That will leads us to Tate and the others, Kitten. I promise.”
Then he pulled me to him, his mouth slanting across mine. One by one, shirt buttons popped open until nothing but hard, sleek flesh rubbed against my bare skin. My moan turned into a gasp at the demand in his kiss, and when his shields dropped and lust poured over my emotions like hot caramel, I shuddered.
“Ian,” I managed.
A chuckle vibrated against my lips. “Don’t fancy him joining us, sorry.”
I shoved against his chest, but it didn’t move him. “He’ll hear us,” I got out before Bones’s mouth stole away my voice. Then his hand stole my reason when it slid between my legs, stroking flesh that swelled and slicked beneath his touch.
Another chuckle, this one distinctly wicked. “Yes, so don’t be stingy with the compliments.”
I intended to argue more. Then his hands weren’t the only things caressing me. Power swept over my body in delicious tingles, making my flesh hum before settling on my most sensitive parts with sensual intent. I barely noticed when Bones lifted me onto the bed, his body blanketing mine before my back hit the mattress. By the time his mouth scorched down my stomach and lingered between my thighs, I didn’t care what Ian heard.
All I cared about was that Bones didn’t stop.
Nine
The woman wore a UPS uniform, but her plain sedan and thoughts revealed that she worked for another employer. Still, if Bones and I wouldn’t have had our senses lasered on everyone who entered that parking garage, we would have skipped right over her.
For starters, she parked at the sidewalk instead of inside the garage even though that’s where she was headed. Furthermore, everything about her seemed designed to be forgettable, from her short, lackluster hair to her average build and her pleasant-yet-plain features. Dress her in another uniform, and she could serve you pancakes at the local diner without once piquing your curiosity, yet her thoughts were in stark contrast to her appearance. She took note of her surroundings with military precision I’d worked hard to drill into my men when I commanded my old unit.
She’d never fall for the broken heel in the street act. She’d run me over first and check to see if I was an actual threat later.
Which meant we needed a new plan.
“We need to switch tactics,” Bones stated, echoing my concerns.
I gave the sunlight a frustrated glance. If only she’d made her drop at night! With the cover of darkness, we could snatch her up and fly her away with minimal chance of anyone noticing. But revealing our species to humanity with a splashy supernatural kidnapping in broad daylight would make our current predicament look mild by comparison. There was a reason vampires had stayed in their metaphorical coffins for millennia. Anyone who threatened the secret of our existence ended up dead the messy, painful way by the Law Guardians.
“We could follow her home, take her there,” I suggested.
“She doesn’t live around here,” a sleep-thickened voice stated from the backseat.
Ian. I’d almost forgotten he was here, probably because he’d been napping the past seven hours while Bones and I staked out the parking garage. Now he sat up in a slouch, sliding his black satin sleep mask up to his hairline.
“She’d live near the pickup point, not the drop-off location,” he continued, blinking at the bright sunlight streaming into our car. “Which one is she?”
“The brunette wearing the UPS uniform,” I said, pointing at her as she walked briskly toward the elevator. From our parked position on top of a hill across the street, we had a good view of the multi-level garage, which was why we’d chosen the spot.
Ian stared until she disappeared inside the elevator. Then he glanced back at me.
“Don’t fret, poppet. I’ll get her.”
“We need to do this discreetly. If I wanted to make a colossal scene, I’d just drag her off kicking and screaming now,” I said, not adding, “dumb ass” only because he was family.
“She’ll come without a fuss,” Ian said with confidence.
“You can’t green-eye her in the elevator, it’ll have video surveillance. So will the garage,” I retorted.
“I don’t need these,” Ian said, flashing emerald in his turquoise gaze for a split second, “when I have this.”
With a casual swipe of his hand, he ripped his shirt open, causing buttons to fly everywhere. Another swipe took his sleep mask all the way off. Finally, he finger-combed his shoulder-length hair and smiled at his reflection in the rearview mirror.
“I am, after all, irresistible.”
I couldn’t contain my snort. “I resisted you just fine the day we met, or don’t you remember me sticking a knife in your chest?”
Ian smiled with lazy wickedness. “I remember, but you seem to have forgotten that you kissed me first. And thoroughly enjoyed it.”
Caught off guard, I flushed. Hey, I’d been celibate for over four years at the time—I wasn’t thinking clearly!
“Ian,” Bones drew out warningly.
He waved a hand. “Stop growling, Crispin. I’m well over my former attraction to your wife, but the point remains that I’m stunning.”
With that, he got out of the car and sauntered off with his open shirt flapping behind him like twin mini capes.
“Get back here,” I hissed, not shouting only because we were still trying to be incognito.
Ian blew a kiss over his shoulder and kept walking, heading down the hill toward the parking garage. Bones stayed my hand when I would’ve yanked the car door open to go after him.
“Let him try, Kitten. Hooks work best when they’re baited.”
They did, but the female courier came off as too shrewd to bite into this particular piece of bait. I only hoped Ian didn’t blow our cover after his bare-chested sashaying failed to sweep her off her feet.
“For the record, I tried to stop this,” I said grimly. Then I turned my attention back to Ian.
The afternoon sun gave his copper-hued hair golden highlights and he made sure that the hard lines of his chest and abdomen were on full display as his pace kept his shirt billowing behind him. Grudgingly, I had to admit that several heads turned, and more than a few cars slowed down as female drivers gave him a second, third, and fourth look. Ian responded by flashing them a dazzling smile, making him appear almost angelic to anyone who didn’t know that he was a conscienceless slut.
As he crossed the street, a downward tug on his waistband had his jeans sitting even lower on his hips. Another couple inches, and he’d be flashing groin cleavage, and from the avid stares aimed his way, that could be met with spontaneous applause.
“Have some dignity, ladies,” I muttered.
Then Ian surprised me by grabbing the nearest bystander who wasn’t gawking at him and yanking the man close enough to kiss. For a second, I wondered what the hell he was doing, but Bones said, “She’s back,” and my gaze snapped to the parking garage elevator again.
The brunette got out on the street level and headed straight to the sidewalk where she’d parked. No surprise to see that the briefcase she’d arrived with was now gone. From her thoughts, she was less watchful since the drop had been successfully made, but she still gave her surroundings a thorough once-over as she walked toward her car.
&
nbsp; Which meant she saw Ian the moment he staggered into her path, the stranger he’d accosted now shoving him and ripping at his pants. My brows went up, but then the man snatched Ian’s wallet out of his front pocket and, with a final shove that sent him sprawling, ran off.
“Blasted sod stole my wallet!” Ian shouted.
The brunette paused about a dozen feet away. I was focused on her thoughts, so I knew the moment when her natural—and correct!—wariness was trumped by something else. She stared at Ian, who was on his back with his legs splayed and head bent. Then he flipped his hair back, revealing his face as he sat up so slowly, you couldn’t help but notice the muscles rippling across his chest and abs.
Oh yeah, he was piling it on thick.
“Do you have a mobile?” he asked, his English accent more pronounced. “I should call the police. I’ve just been robbed.”
“Mobile? You mean cell phone?” she asked while Stop STARING, Barbara! flashed across her mind.
Barbara. Now we knew her real name. No one used an alias to talk to themselves.
“Yes,” he said. Then he looked down at his bare chest as if he hadn’t ripped his shirt open himself.
“What a state I’m in,” Ian continued, actually managing to sound rueful and shaken at the same time. “Bloke near tore my clothes off trying to get my wallet. Drugs, I suspect.”
Caution urged Barbara to leave the gorgeous stranger alone, but she ignored that and came closer anyway. I was both glad and disgusted. Way to blow up Ian’s ego and deflate feminism at the same time, Barb!
Then a cluster of people blocked them from view. I tensed, ready to spring into action, but in the next moment, feminine choruses of “You poor thing!” “Are you okay?” and “Let me help you!” rang out.
Ian’s other admirers had descended on the scene.
“Unbelievable,” I breathed. By merely walking down the street shirtless, he’d managed to round up a harem.