Divided Loyalties-epub (2 page)

Fucking ass
…

What she really wanted to say was, “Like you, asshole,” but she refrained and squashed her temper down before it got her in trouble. Again. “How sure are you?” she asked in a slightly softer tone.

See? She could be calm and cool.

He peered at her over his shoulder and smiled one of those smiles that held no humor or amusement. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say you were protecting the shifters.”

She narrowed her eyes and wished she had the gift of pyrokinesis so she could light his ass on fire. Okay so maybe that was a little extreme, but she didn’t trust or like him. The darkness he held around him put her on edge every time he was near. “I wouldn’t want to go in and destroy the wrong den when there could be a bigger threat out there. I just like to be sure.”

The truth was Vance had taken all the control of research and strategy from her when he took over the unit. That annoyed the hell out of her, and it also left her feeling as though she was going into an OP blind.

She swore he let out a low growl before he called the meeting to an end. Gathering her notebook and pen, she moved toward the door, only to stop when Vance stepped in her path. She fisted her free hand by her side and silently counted backward from ten. One corner of Vance’s lips lifted. She wanted so badly to punch that smirk right off his face.

Or just shoot him.

If there was a rogue, it was him for sure.

“What’s the rush?”

She stared into his dark brown eyes and squared her shoulders. “I skipped lunch.”

He moved to the side, and she stepped forward. He gripped her biceps and leaned in to whisper in her ear, “Tell the brats to stay safe.”

She jerked out of his grip and stormed down the hall to the lobby of Shield HQ, away from the bastard shifter-acting-human. Only then did she allow her heart to pound uncontrollably and let fear consume her.

Pulling out her phone, she sent a one-word text to an untraceable cell.

Marco.

A few seconds later she got a reply.

Polo
.

Relief flooded her system and threatened to make her knees give out. She had to get a grip. The twins were safe and very smart. But still she insisted on the text codes for her own piece of mind.

Although Vance had just threatened her niece and nephew. At least that was what she took it for, a threat. Maybe he knew they were wolves. No. He’d never met—or even seen them.

She had to get out of Shield and disappear. Fall off the radar for good.

But how?

When she reached the lobby door, she jerked back as it flew open to reveal a large man with black hair and bright green eyes that bored into her as he moved forward. She sidestepped him, but he was too quick. He snaked one arm around her waist, drew her into the hard length of his side, while he held a gun straight out, and fired at everyone around them.

She screamed, but no one heard her over the gunfire. Shield soldiers came from the back offices, weapons drawn. Two more men stepped up beside her and her captor then rushed the wall of Shield soldiers, killing them with ease like trained assassins.

Christa twisted and kicked with no results. The man had a death grip around her waist. “Let me go. We don’t have money in here.”

He didn’t reply, which was no surprise to her. She didn’t expect him to.
Think, Christa
. She scanned the large lobby, and her heart ached for the men and women she’d worked with for the last eight years. They were giving it their all, but it wasn’t good enough. One by one, they fell.

And she was helpless, trapped in the arms of the murderer.

One of her captor’s allies, an auburn-haired man, advanced down the hall. He came back a few minutes later and said, “He’s not here.”

The man holding her firmly to his body growled. “Let’s go.” He shot the last soldier before turning her around to face him.

She gasped. No fucking way. He was a shifter.

The way his eyes reflected off the light told her that. Frantic, she shoved against his chest. He wouldn’t budge. “Let me go!”

He lifted a brow and studied her for a moment or two as though he was trying to read her mind or something. Oh, no he wouldn’t. She yanked her knee up and connected with his balls, hard. He cursed and let go of her as he doubled over.

She didn’t waste time. She ran for the door, only to skid to a halt as the auburn-haired man appeared in front of her. What the fuck? A teleporter? No, he hadn’t materialized in front of her. She’d seen it done before. Fucking shifter speed was what he’d used to reach her so fast.

Christa patted her hip. Damn. She’d left her gun in her car because it was always too tempting to shoot Vance if she took it into the meeting.

She tried to fake a left and then moved right to move around him when the other man gripped her by the arm. A sharp stick in the arm made her jerk. She peered at the man as he pulled a needle out of her arm.

Son of a bitch.

Her vision blurred, and her legs wobbled, no longer able to hold her up.

“Bastards,” she managed to say before everything went black.

****

“What the fuck did you do that for?” Hayden gritted out as he straightened, his balls still throbbing.

Damn female.

Kirk, the leopard sentry, capped the needle and slid it into a red plastic bag. “She’s a runner and a liability. Unless you preferred me to let her go, because I wasn’t going to be the next one she racked in the balls.”

Tanner, who was currently holding the female steady, bent to scoop her up in his arms, but Hayden sent him a warning growl and halted his brother. With a raised brow, Tanner waited for Hayden to hobble over and take the female from him.

Hayden led his brother to the Range Rover while Kirk stayed behind to wait on Blaine, the new leopard Alpha of Ashwood, to teleport in with another sentry to clean house. Blaine normally couldn’t teleport to a place he’d never been, but he could flash to someone who was linked to him. Kirk, as well as Tanner and Hayden, were tied to the leopard Alpha by a blood bond. So Blaine could teleport to them without effort.

It was a good thing too.

Hayden had left a mess of dead, mutant-infected humans in that office building.

He tossed the keys to Tanner and climbed into the back seat with the female. Before he settled himself in for the long drive back to North Carolina, he checked her pockets. He found a small zippered wallet and a cell phone. Opening the wallet, he smiled as he pulled out her driver’s licenses.

Christa Baker. Age thirty-nine.

He slid the card back inside the wallet then handed it to Tanner. “When we get to a secure place, call Dane and see what he can pull up on her.”

“Will do.” Tanner opened the console and tossed the wallet inside before starting the Range Rover.

Hayden slid her cell phone into his pocket and propped Christa up the best he could and fastened her seatbelt. He leaned his head back on the seat and closed his eyes. This had been one fucked-up operation. Not only had they failed to catch Vance, Marshal of the rogue Pack Onyx, but Hayden had stooped to a new low.

Kidnapping.

Good one, asshole
.

A dull ache throbbed in Christa’s head as she opened her eyes. Where the fuck was she? Taking in her surroundings, she groaned as the realization of what had happened settled into her mind. The Memphis unit of Shield was no more. Well, for the most part anyway. It’d take them months to rebuild.

Why did she care? She finally had her out.

Movement beside her made her sit up and cast a cold stare at the man next to her. Her captor.

Leave one hell and enter another.

She ran a hand through her hair and tried to think and not look at the man next to her. There was something about him, something familiar, yet she’d never met him before. She lifted her gaze to meet the driver’s eyes in the rearview mirror. There was a hint of compassion in the depths. Then again, she could be suffering from shock and the effects of that drug they’d given her to put her out.

She leaned her head against the window and sighed. There was nothing she could do now but play nice—if only for a little while. She had to find the twins and haul ass somewhere.

The setting sun made her realize that she’d been asleep a lot longer than she first expected. Lifting her head from the cool glass, she peered over to the man who had kidnapped her. His eyes were closed as he rested his head against the seat; his black hair was cut short on the sides and slightly longer on top. She let her gaze roam down to his broad shoulders and hard chest covered by a black cotton tee then farther down...

Good God, what the hell was wrong with her? Ogling her kidnapper? She must have hit her head when she passed out.

Forcing her gaze to his face, she asked, “How long have I been out?”

One shoulder lifted in a half shrug. “About two hours, give or take.”

She clenched her jaw together while she patted her pockets. “Where’s my phone?”

“You don’t need it.”

Like hell. She needed to contact the twins soon, or they’d come looking for her. It was the one argument Christa lost with them. They might be only sixteen, but they were wolves and very strong fighters. She’d made sure of the latter. Trained them both herself.

“Where are you taking me?”

Neither man answered. Surprise, surprise.

She guessed she’d find out soon enough. Right before they killed her no doubt.

She pressed her head against the glass again and watched trees, the occasional car, and the asphalt race by. Well, she had asked for an out. She just hoped she live through it to finally have a normal life with Brenna and Bryce.

Her eyes lids felt heavy, and finally she lost the fight to keep them open and submitted to sleep. She’d figure out her escape plan later.

Christa opened her eyes just as the Range Rover pulled to a stop. Sitting up, she pulled on the door handle. Locked. Of course.

Her captor opened his door then grabbed her hand to tug her across the seat. She yanked her hand from his. “I’m capable to getting out by myself.”

His lips twitched before he turned from her to get out of the vehicle. However, he didn’t go far. He waited outside the SUV. She scowled at him as she slid across the backseat. She hopped out and sidestepped him when he reached out to her. To her relief, he let it go and didn’t touch her.

That only made her suspicious of him. Was he experiencing remorse about holding her prisoner? She hoped he did.

Jerk.

“Where are we?” she asked as she scanned her surroundings. It appeared to be, or at least had been at one time, a town or small community hidden in the mountains. Debris littered the cobblestone streets and overgrown yards where most the houses sat, either burned to the ground or looked as though a very large truck had driven through them. “What happened here?”

“Rogues.” The gruff reply was all she got before he gestured to her to start walking.

“Rogues? As in shifters gone rogue?”

He grunted then said, “You ask too many questions, human.”

She whirled around, and her breath caught. He was beautiful, but she’d noticed that in the car. Well, beautiful for a man. Under the full moon’s light, she could make out his handsome features. High cheekbones, full, kissable lips. She wondered if he’d let her bite his lower lip…

Whoa. She really needed to get a grip on her hormones. She turned away from him. Insanity sure settled in fast. Or was it the fact that she hadn’t had a lover in…how long? Oh hell, she was domed.

He growled low as if knowing where her head was and, none too gently, grabbed her upper arm and pulled her to one of the few houses that looked livable. Once inside, darkness enveloped her, and she started to panic. It became hard to breathe, and her skin tightened. She hated the dark. It was the only time she was completely vulnerable. Things happened in the dark; people became monsters in the dark.

The man pulled her to him, and she screamed and slapped at his chest.

“Christa!” He gripped her face in his hands and held her steady. “Open your eyes.”

They were open, weren’t they?

“Come on.” His voice was softer, soothing.

She calmed a bit, gripped his wrists where his hands still held her face, and opened her eyes. The room was filled in a soft glow of candlelight. She met his green gaze and lowered her shoulders.

“Sorry. I haven’t had an attack in years.” Not since she started training for Shield—because she knew how to kill an attacker.

Only now she felt weak for the first time since that horrid day that changed her life forever. Then her sister’s death had pushed her to stop the monsters once and for all.

She stepped back, breaking all contact with the man to peer around the room. It had furniture, although it was dirty, mostly from sitting for so long unused. There were broken lamps on the floor and overturned tables. It looked as if there had been a fight or someone had robbed the place.

From what little she could see outside, with the partially torn-down buildings, she’d say the small neighborhood had been attacked. By who she wasn’t sure. Shield hadn’t had OPs in the mountains until Vance came on board and started talking about Ashwood.

Yet, this place looked as though it had been abandoned for some time.

“There won’t be any running water or electricity until the morning.” The man paused, frowned, and then said, “My name is Hayden. The male with me is Tanner, my brother.”

Then he walked outside, leaving her alone.

She sagged into herself and wrapped her arms around her middle.

You know how to find trouble, don’t you?

****

Hayden stepped outside and looked up at the dark sky. His mate was afraid of the dark. Not just afraid, terrified, as though something very bad had happened to her when the lights went out. He knew that because he’d seen that type of fear before, once with Addyson, the Pack Scribe, who’d spent about one hundred years as the Onyx’s captive before she arrived in Ashwood Falls.