Riding on Whispers (the Wolfegang series Book 3) (16 page)

I had Kris’s note tucked into my pocket. I patted it nervously, not sure how this was going to go down. The clothes were comfortable, but they had a lot of memories tied to them for me, and for Wolfe.

When we got to the common room, Ricky went to sit at the table with Wolfe and Celeste. The two of them studied their tablets. Food was spread across the table, and it looked delicious. I stood there, awkward and uncomfortable as I watched them.

“Will this do?” I asked in general.

It got their attention, and when they saw me they both got a weird expression on their faces, like they couldn’t decide how they felt about me in a uniform.

Wolfe cleared his throat. “You look like a regular marauder; you even got the necktie right.”

I shrugged. “Ricky helped.” Before I sat down I took out the note and placed it on the table. Then I sat next to Ricky, and across from Celeste.

“I went over this note again. There’s nothing else on here, nothing specific,” I said. “Just the base and the planet are written on it.”

“Let me see it.” Wolfe took the slip of paper from my hand.

I don’t know why he thought this time would be different. He wasn’t going to unlock some invisible ink, or something else equally ridiculous.

My gaze fell on Celeste as I waited for Wolfe to satisfy his insistent curiosity. I couldn’t deny she was gorgeous. That was probably why I hated her more than necessary. It’s definitely a girl thing. How could someone so insanely beautiful act like such a horrible person? Aside from that, I had no idea what Wolfe saw in her.

Ricky handed me his tablet. The blueprints of the base were displayed in 3D. I looked at them closely as he pointed to the main gates. “Here is where you have to enter through the checkpoint,” he said. “The soldiers will go through your baggage, and then check your ident and genetic prints. Once the both of you are in, the rest is a piece of cake. They have no reason to question you after that point. That gives you, Katerina, the freedom to find your contact while Wolfe monitors the area. Quarters are here.” His finger slid across to the east side of the compound. “The west side is the bar and recreation. The whole north building is used for training purposes.”

Ricky took both hands and slid them away, zooming in. “Each checkpoint further into that building requires a different level of clearance.”

Wolfe nodded, his face scrunched as he leaned forward to get a closer look. I had an odd urge to touch his face and smooth out the lines. I blinked and shifted further away from him.

“Celeste, I want you to create and forge documents for the two of us: a marauder squad captain and his lieutenant,” Wolfe ordered. “Ricky you get into the system and see if you can upload our genetic prints and pictures to correspond with the fake ident chips.”

How did they just
know
how to illegally create what they needed? They were all so nonchalant about it. No one looked worried that the plan might not work. It was as if infiltrating a top secret, special clearance, military base where soldiers were experimented on was no big deal.

Wolfe looked up and met my eyes across the table. The creases in his brow were deeper. He looked worried. I swallowed nervously as I waited for him to say something.

“This is going to be a dangerous mission,” he told me. “I want you to know exactly what you’re getting into. When I left the service, there were a few burned bridges. If those people were to see me again, I’m not sure how they’d react.”

The tension in my muscles released when I realized he wasn’t going to mention our fight. Old enemies would definitely complicate things. I sat back as I took in what he said. “What are the chances someone will recognize you?” I asked.

He winced, and I instantly knew I wouldn’t like what I was about to hear.

“It’s been about five years. There are only three people who might still be on that base who’d recognize me, and their rank would be very high by this point in their career.”

I slowly let out a breath. Three people out of thousands, that was pretty good odds right? “Thank you for warning me, Wolfe. I’ll keep that in mind, but it’s not going to stop me from going through with the plan,” I said.

Wolfe leaned forward, his face serious. “I really need you to understand that this might not go smoothly. You need to be prepared for that. I’ll do whatever I can to help you, but I can’t guarantee we’ll find what you’re looking for.”

The room was silent as they all waited for me to say something. Celeste watched me like a hawk. I looked around the table. They didn’t have to do this for me at all; they owed me nothing, and yet they were doing it anyway.

Wolfe wasn’t angry with me, or holding a grudge. He let what happened between us, and the nasty things I’d said wash over him like they were nothing. He was still helping me, even when I’d questioned him.

Tears pricked at my eyes. When was the last time I had anyone who would do that for me, even back in 2016? I don’t even know that Trent, Victoria, or Kevin would if I acted as crazy as I had been now. I cleared my throat and tried to pull myself back together. “I’m still going,” I said. Nothing was going to keep me from doing this.

We all had skeletons in our closets.

Wolfe almost smiled. “I assumed, although I had to inform you.”

I would do this. Even if all I had to go on were hints from strangers. My brother was only a whisper on someone’s lips. When would he be real, and no longer a ghost?

My eyes were glued to the floor as I slowly breathed, keeping my tears in check, and pushing back the panic – panic that I might fail, and never see Kris again.

Wolfe’s voice sounded distant, but I latched onto it, using it as a lifeline to pull myself out of my thoughts. “Also, your combat training needs to continue until we get to Enzo. We’re supposed to be the roughest people on that base.” Wolfe glanced uncomfortably at Celeste. “I know you’re training session with Celeste had a few hitches.”

“Yes, she is slow,” Celeste commented.

Wolfe glared at her. “And because you couldn’t hold back long enough for her to learn, she is now injured, as well as still healing from her previous wounds.”

Celeste didn’t even look remotely chastised.

Wolfe ran his hand through his hair. “It’s going to be even harder for her to stay alive,” he snapped. Her attitude was really getting to him, and he was losing his temper.

Watching the two of them interact, I could see the signs. Celeste felt close enough to Wolfe to question his authority. She also probably thought she was the more experienced one, and
he
should take
her
advice. Now that they weren’t together, that wasn’t something Wolfe appreciated. He seemed to still value her abilities and intelligence, but there were no clear lines for them anymore.

I looked over at Ricky. He didn’t seem to like Wolfe’s plan to get me back into training with her. Oddly, I wasn’t as angry about it as I was the first time it was suggested. I was only nervous that I would never be as fast as I needed to be.

Ricky’s fists clenched as he listened, and I understood exactly how he felt.

“Ricky,” I said softly. “I know you wanted to go to Enzo for me, but you can’t. It just won’t work, but I appreciate your intentions,” My hand brushed his, trying to calm him. Too much contact and it might upset him more. Touch seemed to amplify a person’s feelings.

The ship was full of people on the verge of losing their patience. The air was sharp as a knife’s edge. Everyone had something that made them crazy, made them angry; and it seemed like it was all happening at once.

I took another breath to try and relax, and not soak up too much of the tension. My own emotions were bad enough.

Wolfe cleared his throat. “In spite of all this, you still have to train,” he told me. “You can train with Celeste, or you can train with me; whichever you prefer.” Wolfe waited for me to decide.

My throat felt tight as I looked at him. He was giving me a choice; something he hadn’t done last time. I didn’t think the choice was all that much better though. After his words left heavy questions in their wake, I wasn’t interested in spending more one-on-one time with Wolfe than necessary.

There was no way I was going to choose him and he knew it. He was giving me the option so he could torture himself…and to show me I
did
have a choice with him. There was an ache in my chest as I stared into his eyes.

I didn’t want to hurt him, but it was too soon. There was a chance I would lose it on him again, and he didn’t deserve that. Not after everything he was doing for me. Wolfe was risking his own life to help me find Kris.

I couldn’t look at him when I said it. I turned away and let my gaze fall on literally anything else. “I’ll work with Celeste. If you feel there is something I need to know military-wise in my fighting style you can come and work with us,” I said.

Celeste looked like she might fall out of her chair with shock. I think me choosing
her
over the Captain was the last thing she’d ever expect.

Ricky stood up in anger, knocking his chair over. “Excuse me?” he yelled.

I’d never seen Ricky look at me like that before. He shook with fury, and all I could see were his teeth as he bared them in his frustration. My hands trembled despite myself.

Wolfe and Celeste stared at Ricky in horror. His mask slipped for just a second, and they were stunned.

“You didn’t know she’d say that?” Wolfe asked quietly.

“No! I didn’t know,” Ricky yelled. His hands clenched and unclenched as he tried to calm himself. “Does that make you happy that I don’t know everything? Or does it worry you she is the only one I can’t seem to hear?”

Wolfe stared at me, his mouth slightly open in shock. His skin had lost color, and he was an odd, ashen grey. His normally warm, mocha skin drained of all color. “How is it possible he can’t hear your thoughts?” Wolfe asked. His voice was so quiet.

My breathing accelerated as I began to freak out. Even in my messed up imagination, I hadn’t thought Wolfe would react this way…
scared
. He was
afraid
of me.

Ricky waved his hand impatiently. His nails looked longer and sharper than I remembered. “She is not the first, Wolfe. It is just very rare.”

I didn’t know what to do, but Ricky being angry seemed dangerous for all of us.

He spoke before I could do anything. “Chase.” Hearing the captain’s first name on his lips was chilling. “I didn’t know what she would say, but your undying faith that I know everything, and will tell you, is getting tiresome. I can’t keep your secrets, and then turn around and tell you Katerina’s.”

Ricky sounded like he was in more control of himself, but that flash of rage was still waiting in the corners. I could feel it. My hands gripped the table, my knuckles turned white as I braced against the storm.

He actually listened to me. Ricky was starting to see the hypocrisy of it all. I was thankful, but really didn’t expect it to manifest like this.

Wolfe’s expression went blank. He knew more about Ricky than he let on to Celeste. She still sat there with her mouth open, her eyes flickering from person to person as they spoke.

“Ricky, if this was something that bothered you, why didn’t you ever mention it?” Wolfe asked. His body language shifted. His arms crossed, and he was sitting up as straight as possible; he was defensive.

Ricky said nothing. Tension cracked like lightening through the room.

Wolfe cleared his throat. Clearly, he realized Ricky didn’t plan on answering. “Then at least tell me why you can’t hear Kat. What if she needed us and you weren’t able to hear her calling for help?”

Ricky scoffed. “She can contact me if she wishes.”

We were starting to hit dangerous territory. This would only lead to more questions. I stood up and grabbed Ricky’s hand, mindful of the sharp nails. “Wolfe, I didn’t even know I could reach out to him, even if he couldn’t hear me.”

Ricky’s hand squeezed mine, and his shaking started to cease. He sighed. “I don’t know why, Chase. Something about brain wavelength patterns,” Ricky tried to explain. “It’s not common, but sometimes when the pattern shifts, all I get is white noise from that person. Higher brain activity tends to be the common denominator.”

I wanted to stick my tongue out at Celeste. So there! I was smart after all. Instead, I shifted a little closer to Ricky. My proximity appeared to calm him down.

Suddenly Ricky’s body tensed and his long fingers wrapped around my hand completely, and tightened. His nails pricked my skin and I winced. “I do not want her training at all. Weeks, and then she can train. You are trying to kill her,” he spat at Wolfe.

Wolfe stood up from his chair and leaned forward on the table. “You really think I would put her in that kind of danger?” he hissed.

Whoa, things were escalating quickly. I wasn’t sure what to do. I stepped in front of Ricky, tall enough to break their eye contact. “Look,” I said. “This is my choice. I want to do this mission right. If there’s something I need to learn to do it, I will.” I had everyone’s attention then. They all watched me with intensity; I could feel it prickling on my skin.

“Celeste is rough, and hard on me,” I continued. “But if what I need is a crash course, I think this is the best choice.”