Rogue Alliance (23 page)

             
Carmen was silent and shook her head with a dumbfounded expression.

             
“Well she did. She couldn’t take it…any of it. So i
n a way, maybe I killed her too,
”
Shyla felt like the world was getting smaller and closing in around her.

             
“Don’t
say that,” Carmen said quietly, “y
ou were just a kid. It’s not your fault that your dad was a sick
-
o. Your mom probably felt guilty for what you went through, not angry with you for what you did.”

             
The alcohol was clouding Shyla’s mind and toying with her emotions. She wanted to end this conversation before she regretted saying anything further.

             
“Look, Carmen, I’m not proud of my past and I don’t talk about it…
ever. But I’m glad you know. M
aybe now you will choose to make other friends. I’m not someone you want to hang out with.”

             
“But I do want to be your friend. I don’t have any other friends and my parents never want me around. I don’t care what you did all those years ago. I just want to learn kung fu and kick some ass.”

             
Carmen broke into a huge grin inviting her to share her good humor.

             
Shyla gave a thin smile.

             
“Suit yourself, kid. Now get on home. I’m beat.”

             
“I’ll see you Friday?
” Carmen asked.

             
“Yeah. Friday. G’night.”

             
Shyla closed the door and leaned against it with a
small
smile on her face.
She liked the kid.
A
moment later, she walked toward the kitchen
and jumped when a loud knock resounded through the apartm
ent. What did tha
t kid want now, s
he wondered
.
She must have forgotten something.

             
She flung open the doo
r and stood shocked
as she s
tared up at
Shawn.
He looked angry.

             
He brushed past her and stepped into her apartment.

             
“What in the hell
were you thinking going
down
to L
.
A
.
?”

             
“Well hello, Shawn. How are you? Nice to see you, too
. Won’t you come in?
”

             
Shawn stood in a wide stance. H
is
hands
were fisted.

             
“Drop the sarcasm, Shyla. I’m in no mood for you
r
attitude. You know what I’m talking about. You were supposed to go to San Fran
, not make a side trip to LA
a
nd get your targets arrested before we even have a case
.”

             
Shyla walked past him and down the hall.

             
“Well
,
I see that rumor spreads fast. How did you hear?”

             
“Eli gave Hal a call and he talked with us about an hour ago.”

             
Shyla poured herself a shot and downed it.

             
“Well that’s nice,” she said,
“n
ow I don’t have to.”

             
Shawn stomped toward her.

             
“Is this a fucking joke to you? You could have
been killed. And for what? We all know that they’ll get out on bail
.”

             
“Don’t get your panties in a wad, Shawn. It all goes on the books regardless. It’s all part of building a case. When Victor finally does go down, all of this will be accounted for. It’s not a waste. Now chill out.
Besides, its not like I had a choice,
they were going to kill Ricardo
if I didn’t do something fast. I did the best I could given the situation.
”

             
Shawn was standing practically nose t
o nose with her. She looked up. S
he’d never really noticed how tall he was. The look on his face took her by surprise. It was a mix between anger and concern and she suddenly realized that he was going to kiss her.
It occurred to her a moment too late.

             
The force of the kiss took her by surprise. It was forceful and intense. She could sense that he was angry with her for his own feelings. He obviously didn’t want to feel whatever he was feeling toward her.

             
“God damn it!”
He said through gritted teeth, pulling back quickly,
“I…I have to go. Forget I even came by.”

             
He turned and marched down the hall and through her front door, slamming it shut behind him.

             
Shyla brushed a fingertip over
her lips. She didn’t know what
to think or feel. She hadn’t seen that one coming.

TWENTY-THREE

             
Brennan paced the
eight-by-ten
cell in which
he was incarcerated. He’d spent
a decade
and a half
imprisoned in the institute and had always imagined that if he ever was caged again he’d go stark raving mad.

             
He was agitated. He was on edge. But he was perfectly sane and his brain was on high alert. He had no doubt that Victor’s contacts would have them out within days. What he was concerned about was
how they would move forward once released. Business would carry on as usual, but there were new question
s
which needed answers.

             
When Ricardo had shouted at Shyla, he hadn’t called out her name, but there had been recognition there in his eyes. Where did he know her from? Was he mistaken? And who in the hell had called the cops?

             
Ricardo had seemed just as shocked when they burst into the warehouse. But he was also smart enough to know what their ultimate intentions for the meeting had been.
Chances were good that he had been the one to make the call. Still, it was all suspicious.

He gripped the cold bars and leaned his head against the cool metal. Even in jail, he felt freer and more liberated than he’d ever been under Shinto’s
reign.

             
Fortunately he’d had his supplement the morning they’d been arrested. It had been twenty-four hours since and he was growing weak. The crav
ing was raising its ugly head, b
ut he’d been deprived many times before.
At least this time
,
he would have food and water.
He was confident he would make it until after the arraignment.
He’d be sick and weak, but he’d make it.

             
If
,
for some reason
,
they weren’t released at that point, then he would be in a whole
hell of a
lot of trouble. But there was no point in worrying about that now.
Thinking of his need brought back hateful memories. He shuddered and tried to shut them out.
Thoughts of Shyla filtered in and mixed with memories of the institute; the look on her face as they’d been escorted out the building and then again when Ricardo had spotted her.
Not to
mention the way she’d behaved in the warehouse. Her actions were brave, fearless, not the woman she seemed.

             
He closed his eyes and replayed it o
ver and over again. When Ricardo yelled, she hadn’t been
overly distraught. Worried maybe, but
not
to
t
he degree the situation warranted. The feeling that had lived in his gut ever since he’
d met her
was inflamed and raw
now
. There was something about her that was not what Victor thought.
His instinct to protect his friend was strong, but the pull to protect her was nearly as magnetic. He’d felt it when he’d seen the bruises on her neck.

             
The sounds of the jail echoed and hummed. He turned and started pacing once again.

*

             
Brennan was dizzy
as he walked up the stairs and o
nto Victor’s plane. They were going home
,
but the only thing
he could think about was retrieving
his supplement from the small refrigerator on board. Visions of violence and blood filled his mind. Thoughts of the warm, metallic taste that would drip down his throat poisoned his thoughts. Even Victor’s safety was at risk while he was in such a state.
He’d warned him to keep his distance
when they reunited in the jail parking lot where their driver had picked them up.

             
Victor watched him from afar as he reached into the fridge and
pulled out a bag
. It was
filled with
a dark, viscous fluid
.
He heated the contents quickly, his mind obsessing over his need.
Without waiting another seco
nd, Brennan pulled out a needle,
slid it into his vein
,
and tapped the intravenous tubing to the bag.

             
Minutes later, coherent, rational thought slowly returned and his mind settled. The fog of his need ebbed and he felt himself once again.

             
He glanced at Victor, whose
expression was pinched.

             
“Better now?”

             
Brennan nodded.

             
“Good. We’ve got things to talk about.
First- what are
your thoughts on matters? Do you think Ricardo made that call?”

             
“I t
hink there’s a good possibility,” Brennan nodded,
“i
f he was already nervous about us finding out what he’d been up to
, and then he assumed we were the ones who killed his girlfriend, yeah, I think he could have definitely made the call.”

             
“But…?” Victor prodded.

             
“Well, is there anyway to find out who made that call
for sure
?”

             
Victor leaned his head against the back of the seat and closed his eyes.

             
“I’m working on that,” he said,
“m
eanwhile, Ricardo recognized, or thought he recognized, Shyla.
What do you make of that?”

Victor threw him a sidelong glance.
Brennan flexed the arm
receiving the infusion.

             
“I think that we had better find out which of the two it was.”

T
WENTY-FOUR

             
“What do you mean they’ve been released?”
Shyla shouted into the phone.
Wincing, she rubbed her temple. Last night’s retreat had been cheap vodka.
She had purposefully chosen the lower grade alcohol, like a punishment.

             
“
Their arraignments were first thing this morning,
” Eli said,
“
you know that. Judge dismissed all evidence on the tape,
concluded that there is no qu
antifiable evidence to show
there was mal-intent toward Ricardo, and let ‘em go.”

             
Shyla stayed silent.

             
“Come on,” Eli prompted,
“
you can’t be
shocked
? You know as well as I do
, that Champlain has the means to have a judge or two in his pockets
. I warned you about this
. It’s gonna take a lot more to get where we need to be with this case
than what we’ve currently got
. This is only the very beginning to a long cause.”

             
He paused.

             
“Do you think your cover is blown?”