Born to Love (The Vampire Reborn Series) (Entangled Ignite) (18 page)

Chapter Twenty-nine

With Weasel all cleaned up and tucked safely into a holding cell, the whole team gathered around the conference room table in the war room, eating the heroes, pizza, and salads that Ryder had ordered in. Between bites, they discussed the information Weasel had finally spilled about a meeting tomorrow night of the half-bloods plotting the coup against the collective shifter pack leaders.

“So let me get this straight,” Diana said as she munched on one of her favorites, an eggplant parmigiana hero from Luigi’s. “The half-bloods have lesser status than full-blood shifters?”

Brendon nodded, and swallowed a big bite of extra-meat pizza. “Lesser status because they are inherently weaker in many ways. Physically and genetically.”

“Genetically?” Maggie asked. Diana suspected her friend was intrigued on several levels—scientist, human, neo-shifter.

“Full bloods breed full bloods—full shifters,” Brendon replied. “Even when a half-blood mates with a full, there’s no guarantee the offspring will be shifters. Unlike vamps.” He shot an uneasy glance at Diana.

She unconsciously rubbed a hand over her belly as his words registered. That very issue had been simmering in the back of her mind for months, but she had chosen not to dwell on it. She had no desire to think about it now, either.

“I’m assuming continuity of leadership is important in your pack structure,” she mused around her bite. “How long have you ruled?”

“My line has been the rulers of our pack for nearly a hundred years. We breed alphas beyond challenge, and life has been good under our reign.”

“Until Jefferson came along,” David muttered.

Brendon’s fingertips touched the scars beneath his shirt, and he glared at David. With a laser-like stare at her partner, Brendon said, “Trust me. I won’t make that mistake again.”

“You’ll be boosting your protection?” Jesus asked.

“Already done. But more important, we’ll be at the half-blood meeting tomorrow to put an end to this coup.”

Diana regarded the shifter, then Rafe, who sat at his right. The firefighter was in training, but there was something telling Diana that Brendon appreciated a great deal about the newly turned half-blood. Rafe was physically powerful even as a human, and after last night she knew strength ruled the wolf world. Moreover, from what she’d seen of the firefighter, he was morally and ethically strong, as well as loyal. The wolf leader could count on him to help protect the pack…and his pregnant wife.

“You’re not going to that meeting without us,” Diana warned. When her colleagues echoed her statement, she said, “We have an obligation to bring Jefferson to justice for what he’s done.”

Brendon shook his head and gave a humorless chuckle. “Human justice? Do you really think someone like Jefferson will allow himself to be caught and judged by humans? He’s made a mockery of the rules in both worlds.”

His rebuke stung, but Diana wouldn’t back down. “Justice is our mission. It’s something we won’t compromise.”

…

Ryder knew his wife would not back down. Not about that.

It worried him that the alpha wolf recognized that, but refused to accept it. As Brendon hesitated, eyes nearly slits as he considered her and the other FBI agents around the table, Ryder prepared.

The alpha wolf would not be stupid enough to attack them here, not alone and outnumbered. But Ryder suspected all guarantees were off once the humans stepped into the shifter world. That was the way it was with vampires, and he didn’t think the weres were all that different.

After a long, pregnant pause while everyone at the table waited, Brendon surprised everyone. With a nod, he said, “If you want Jefferson that badly, he’s yours. If he’ll let you take him.”

A safe bet, Ryder figured. Jefferson would never allow himself to be captured alive by the FBI. Which made Ryder fear for not only his wife, but for all her friends going out on the mission tomorrow night.

So he’d be going, too.

No matter how much Diana bitched, he would not let her go on the raid. The question was, who else could he get to help protect her team?

Vampires and shifters avoided each other like the plague. They had for millennia. Getting his vampire friends to put themselves on the line to help the shifters… Yeah, good luck.

Looked like he’d have to call in more favors.

He hated that he’d had to do that so often lately, but then, he and Diana had helped many of them. Life-saving help. And no doubt would again in the future.

So Ryder sat and listened carefully to the plans.

…

Diana had obtained blueprints for the station and the tunnels in the City Hall Loop area where Weasel had told them the half-bloods were to meet. Although the City Hall subway station had been closed to the public since the 1940s, the New York Transit Museum still gave occasional tours. And present-day subway riders who stayed on the train for the loop back could catch glimpses of the old station that progress had made unusable.

“We can enter through the station and a nearby access point, then make our way to this area,” Diana said, drawing a circle around one of the tunnels on the blueprints.

“Why that one?” Jesus asked.

She motioned to the loop track. “This is an active route for the number 6 subway to get from the downtown platform to the uptown side.” She indicated another tunnel close by. “This one is used as a switching point in case of emergencies. They’ll want to meet in that tunnel since chances are it won’t be active.”

After the ADIC’s nod, she said, “We can use our surveillance equipment above ground to confirm their location. Then we go in, cutting off their escape from both ends.”

“How many half-bloods did Weasel say were expected?” David asked, shooting a glance at Maggie and Brendon.

“Anywhere from three to a dozen. He says the size of the group varies. Many of the halfs want no part of this,” Maggie said. “Especially now.”

“Whether they do or not, the damage is done. It’ll be tough for the full-blood leaders to trust the halfs again,” Brendon said, sending an apologetic look to Rafe and Maggie. “Present company excluded, of course.”

Another long silence followed his statement. Diana cautiously asked, “Will there be retribution against the halfs?”

With a heavy sigh, Brendon gave a nod. “We’ve already closed ranks in my pack because of Jefferson, but we haven’t taken out any halfs, nor do I intend to. Despite our wolfman reputation, we werewolves are not that barbaric. But I can’t say the same for the Reggies. There are too many of them as it is.”

“What about the shifters living in Central Park? The avian weres?” Maggie asked.

Brendon lifted a shoulder and wagged his head doubtfully. “They’re so rare, I don’t think they’d hurt their own breeds like that. They’re actually one of the few species who can mate with halfs to produce new shifters with any certainty.”

Diana didn’t like what he’d said about halfs being targeted for retribution, but knew that for now, the team’s focus had to be on catching Jefferson. Handling the fallout from this coup in the otherworld would have wait until they’d gotten the human world back to rights.

“No matter what’s happening with the weres, remember that this mission is about apprehending our suspect. Alive.” She glanced at each person sitting at the table to confirm they all understood. Everyone nodded, including Brendon.

She returned to the map and detailed the areas in which they’d be fighting, pointing out the possible issues they’d have to handle during the raid. “The station and tunnel will be poorly lit. Not a problem for you wolves, but the rest of us might consider using night vision goggles. Plus, we’ll have to deal with the third-rail situation. According to the MTA, there’s still juice on the track at this location.” She circled a spot on the subway map with her finger. “Touching that rail will kill you.” She pursed her lips at Ryder. “Well. Most of us, anyway.”

“Vampires as well, darlin’. It’s like condensed fire,” Ryder said.

Moving to a map showing what lay above the tunnels, she motioned to the three different spots in City Hall Park. “The tunnel has grated skylights leading above ground here, here, and here, but one has a hatch over it. We’ll need to make sure he doesn’t use one of the other two skylights to escape. They’re both in between the two points where we’ll be entering.”

David pointed and said, “We can move a surveillance van here, via Park Row, and position it between the two skylights. That should give us eyes and ears all the way to our two entry points.”

“Great minds think alike. You volunteering to man the van for us? Be our eyes, to walk us through?” After his remarks about being taken for granted, she didn’t want to assign him the task unless he was willing.

“Count me in. I’ve never been a tunnel kind of guy. Claustrophobia,” he said with a feigned shudder, but his light tone sounded forced. She suspected he would have preferred to be agile enough to take part in the raid below ground.

Relieved by his ready acceptance, she flashed him a smile and went on, “Five of us are going in—”

“Us being me,” Ryder corrected. “You are not going underground.”

Diana jerked back as if struck. She’d accepted him being in on the planning, but that didn’t mean he could dictate what she could and couldn’t do.

But before she could say a word, the ADIC chimed in. “I agree with Ryder. Reyes, you can’t be a part of the team going into the tunnels.” He held up his hands. “And before you go ballistic, I’d give the same orders to any agent under my command who happens to be pregnant.”

Biting back her angry, knee-jerk reaction, Diana regarded him, needing to be sure of what her boss intended. “You want me on the sidelines? Just watching?”

“We need capable people we can trust in the surveillance van. Plus, we can’t bring in any other agents on account of what we’re dealing with. Harris can’t man the van alone. All told, you are the best choice for the job.”

Diana rose to her full height—not that it would be the least bit intimidating to a big man like him. “What if I’m not on board with those orders?”

He straightened, squared his shoulders, and set his hands on his hips. “Not a factor, Reyes. I’m your boss, and what I say goes.”

“I’m pregnant,
sir
, not incompetent. There’s no reason—”

“Did you not hear me, Special Agent Reyes?” he snapped.

She prepared to argue, but from the corner of her eye she caught a glimpse of her old partner sitting there red-faced, obviously distressed. The sudden realization of her total thoughtlessness slammed into her. She was treating the surveillance van as a demotion. Second string. And that implication hadn’t been lost on David.

God, what a selfish idiot she was. Never had she intended to hurt him or diminish his contributions. She took a giant mental step back. “You’re right, ADIC Hernandez. Surveillance is essential to the success of this assignment. I’m good with helping Harris man the van.”

Jesus arched a brow, plainly surprised, but thankfully didn’t question her sudden about-face. “Business as usual in the morning, people, but reconvene here at 4:00 p.m. to be briefed for the raid.”

After the other attendees had filtered out of the room, Diana hung back. She closed the door and approached Ryder, who still sat at the table.

He stared back at her.

Angry.

She put one hand on the table, the other on the arm of his chair, and leaned in. “Just because we made a pledge of togetherness doesn’t mean you can dictate to me what I do on the job.”

Neon bled into his gaze and a hint of fang burst from beneath his upper lip. “Did you really think you could be effective in that raid?” he asked, the growl of the demon laced in his tones.

“I did. I do.”

He moved then, so quickly she almost couldn’t block the shot he directed at her belly, but she somehow managed to cover the bulge with both hands and spin away, and he just grazed her. Probably because he pulled his punch. But she didn’t even see his next move, swift and powerful. Deadly. He grabbed her by the throat and applied pressure, controlled and tempered, despite the threatening position.

“You have a weakness to exploit,” he ground out. “Jefferson won’t be as kind as I’m being right now. He won’t hesitate to use that weakness against you.”

It would take only a little more pressure to choke her. Slightly more to snap her neck.

She hated that he was right and had gotten the upper hand too easily because of her instinct to protect the baby.

Wrapping her hand around his wrist, she yanked at it, but he held fast. “Let go,” she said. “Now.”

He did as she asked, and she backed away from him, fear coiling in her gut, although she knew he would never hurt her. Never. In her head, across the connection they shared, came the whispered words,
I’m sorry.

She knew that. She could feel it. That didn’t make the situation any easier.

She didn’t like leaving her friends to face such danger on their own. She didn’t like the thought of Ryder risking his life in her stead.

But as she hesitated, considering where they could go from here, she realized what he had in mind. “I know what you’re planning, but that’s not possible,” she said, and walked back to him.

When she stood before him, he put his hands to her waist, the gesture both possessive and loving. “You’re a mind-reader now?”

“I know you too well, my love. You’re calling your vampire friends to help.”

“You make that sound like a bad thing,” he countered.

“While I would appreciate the extra muscle and fang, the last thing I want to do is start an otherworld war. Bad enough the werewolves are roaming all over the were-rat area. Vampires? Can’t even imagine the fallout.”

Ryder plainly understood, but wasn’t happy. “We both need to take adequate steps to stay safe.” He laid his hands on her belly. “This little one needs two parents.”

Diana nodded and caressed the strong line of his jaw. “We will stay safe. City Hall Loop is easily accessible. We should be able to secure the area, no problem.”

She moved away and went to the map. She shook her head. “It pisses me off to think we’ve been chasing this guy all over Manhattan when he literally may have been right under our noses.”