Shepherd's Moon (18 page)

I shrugged. “I was tired. Things were moving too fast…”

It wasn’t even worth lying about… Of course I questioned what had happened.

“Okay, so I can’t explain it.”

“Let me give you some background, then. For well over twenty years, a very large, very dangerous and very profitable company named Parallax has been working on a project. This project has resulted in some unnatural and dangerous results — and it’s my aim to destroy them.”

Parallax.
Where had I heard that name before? I suppressed a groan, remembering Meg and her connection to the group.

And just like that, we were back to Richard’s damned cat. Something told me it wasn’t coincidental.

“What have they developed, exactly?”

“I’m not sure.” His hair fell over his eyes when he shook his head. “For years, they’ve focused on pharmaceuticals. VW is their specialty—you’ve heard of it?”

I nodded. Of course I had. You can’t live with the preternatural without knowing about the drug. Vamp-Were blood, known for it’s healing and restorative qualities, but more importantly, it was a long-awaited cure for cancer.

“It’s something I run across in my line of work,” I said. VW had also become the new designer drug of the rich and famous. Not only did it provide a very expensive high, it made you look ten years younger. The only drawback? A vial of the blood costs millions.

“I’m guessing this is a bigger operation than a few Hunters sitting around in the dark waiting to ambush a shifter. So, where are they getting their supply?”

He shrugged. “Don’t know, don’t care. That’s a minor part of their operation. We’re more concerned about their new technology.”

I took another drink of the cooling coffee. “I hope this is where finding my Handler fits in.”

He nodded. “Finding your Handler is the easy part. First, we need to get on the inside and you have the ability to do that. They don’t know how to control these monsters, and they have recently been given some highly classified information on someone who may be able to help.”

I groaned. “I suppose that would be me.”

He nodded. “We send you in as a potential candidate, your new feline friend goes in as a lab animal.”

“No way.” I shook my head. “No way I’m putting any animals in there.”

“It’ll be done whether you cooperate or not. You either have a hand in protecting your pack, or you stay out of my way.”

Staring at him, I opened my mouth to speak, but nothing came out.

“C’mon, now — look on the bright side. Once you’re in there, you can protect those abused little animals. There’s nothing you can do for them out here. You can also determine which ones are real—if you can’t read their thoughts, we want them.”

I shook my head slowly. Where the hell did this guy come from and how did he find me? “I need to think about this.”

“Time is not a luxury we have, so it’s probably best that you handle your due diligence quickly.”

I nodded. “You’ll have my answer soon enough, and the sooner you leave, the sooner I can do some research.” I picked the gun up off the table and motioned him away. “Run along, now.”

He stood and backed away as I watched with a certain unavoidable adoration, then smiled. “It has been a real pleasure, Alexandra. I expect we’ll be seeing a lot of each other in the near future.” With that, he disappeared into the shadows.

Brock was at my side a second later, his frustration at being left out of the night’s events evident. “What did he want?”

“To be completely honest, I’m not sure. I think he wants to hire us.” I dropped my feet from the patio table and stood in one fluid motion.

Brock growled, a sound that would be menacing if I weren’t so familiar with it. “What do you want us to do with the cat?”

“Take him off the property and turn him loose. I’m guessing our new friend will be waiting on him.”

I stood and placed the pistol in my waistband, entering through the patio door as Brock followed. “Have Jace do some research and see what he can find out about Nephilim.”

He stared at me blankly. “What the hell is a Nephilim?”

“The offspring of archangels and humans,” I answered distractedly.

There was too much to do. I needed to get hold of Richard and find out how much he knew about his newest employee. And if he
did
know more, chastise him for not sharing the information with me in the first place.

“Have Billy call Richard and schedule something first thing in the morning.”

“Just, wait a minute!” The frustration strained Brock’s voice. “What the hell’s going on, Alex? These guys enter our territory without permission and you’re not going to let us do a goddamn thing about it?”

I wasn’t in the mood to argue—especially not with Brock. “There’s not much more that can happen tonight and I’m tired. Just let them go and we’ll figure things out tomorrow.” I also needed to research the Parallax Corporation and find out what the group was in to.

Rage swept through him, I could feel it thick in the air. Cursing softly, I grabbed his arm as he moved away. “Before you turn him loose, remind him that it’s illegal to trespass.”

He paused, a look of satisfaction crossing his face as he cracked his knuckles, anxious for an outlet. “Do you think it’s such a great idea to let those two roam the city?”

I shrugged and tossed the cold coffee into the sink. “Doesn’t matter if we let them or they take their leave. Either way, we haven’t seen the last of them…”

Early the next morning, I sat in Richard’s office, dark sunglasses covering the bags under my eyes. Brock and Billy sat in the hall of the police department, waiting on me. After a sleepless night, it wasn’t my first choice of places to be. A thin line of sunlight cut across the large oak desk as tiny dust particles flickered in the air. Richard focused on the file of research I had brought to him. The slow, methodical tapping of his pen brought to mind Poe’s lament about a raven tap-tap-tapping on a door. I yawned, then stared hard at his hand until he finally glanced up under the weight of my glare.

“What?”

Lowering my sunglasses, I glared pointedly at the hand that held the pen. “Are you beating out a dirge, or can we make at least a small attempt to not worsen the pounding in my head?

Taking the hint, he lowered the pen.

Two very uncomfortable chairs faced his desk and I was sitting in the one furthest from the door. He observed me for a long moment, reminding me of a predatory hawk as we sat in silence.

“Rough night?”

“It wasn’t a cozy evening in front of the fireplace, if that’s what you’re asking.” I flashed a biting smile. “I had visitors last night.”

“Who?”

“Your new ‘
negotiator
’ and his enforcer made an unwelcome appearance.”

My comment was met with a blank stare as Richard processed the information. His lack of surprise clearly illustrated that he had full knowledge of the event.

“Tristan came to your home…”

I nodded once, watching him carefully. “You don’t sound surprised. Do you know what he wanted?”

Richard shook his head. “An educated guess would be that he got curious.”

“And I could have sworn I had an unlisted number.” My voice was thick with sarcasm. “Last time I checked, I was a little more difficult to locate. You know — a
not someone you would be able to find if you’re just curious
type of person.”

“What do you want me to say, Alex?”

“I want you to tell me the truth, Richard. You know more than you’re telling me.” I refused to plead for information — it just wasn’t my style. But, he stayed silent.

Seeing that he wasn’t about to reveal anything, I sighed in resignation. “Fine. Why don’t we start with something easy — like how your
Negotiator
found out where I live.”

A very complex firewall, dozens of cameras and gadgets, and an encrypted network kept a virtual wall around me and my pack, so locating me at home would have been difficult at best. At the very least, I would have been alerted if anyone attempted to bypass the system on a quest for classified information. Despite last night’s unannounced entry onto our property, which would be remedied by this evening, our pack was very attuned to any unusual activity within their territory.

Richard cleared his throat, as though he were about to say something, but then couldn’t get the words out.

He wouldn’t lie to me — I knew that much. He may omit some key facts once in awhile, but if I asked him a direct question, he would answer truthfully—of that, I was confident.

Mostly confident…

“Out with it, Richard.”

“Tristan gets what he wants. And frankly — he outranks me,” he finally murmured. “The truth is he outranks everyone here, and if he doesn’t have higher security clearance himself, then he has friends who do.” Richard leaned back in his chair and threw his hands up. “If he wants access to classified documents, he gets access to classified documents. If he doesn’t get it from me, he’ll get it from someone else. But, if he does get it from me, I’m able to control the flow of information.”

I tapped a pen on the desk impatiently, then stopped when I realized what I was doing. Huh.
Apparently it only irritates me when other people do the tapping.

“You should have told me.”

Richard shrugged. “I didn’t think he would take it this far. And even if I suspected he would, I wouldn’t have been able to tell you about it.”

“Why not?” I raised an eyebrow.

“He made a classified request, Alex. You know the rules better than anyone. It’s always been this way.”

Okay. He had me there whether I liked it or not.

“Which acronym is he associated with?”

He straightened up in his chair. “They’re called LUNA. And don’t ask me anything else.”

I could only push Richard so far. Anything else I wanted to know would require an official investigation, and neither of us had time for that right now.

“Fine,” I sighed. “What else did you tell him? Anything that could potentially endanger the pack?”

His face fell. Whether it was due to disappointment that I would suspect him of passing along information that could potentially hurt me, or frustration at having to get me involved with someone like Tristan, I couldn’t tell.

“Nothing he wouldn’t have eventually found on his own.”

Our eyes met briefly and I knew there was nothing for me to worry about. Richard would never do anything to hurt the pack, or me, and I should have known better than to push him. I motioned to the file I had brought in with me. It contained a brief overview of the day’s prior events, and the bit of research I had done on Parallax before falling asleep in front of the computer.

Like all Shepherds, I had been well-trained on the importance of documentation.

“Here are the Cliff notes. Read through them, then tell me not to be concerned.” I felt like I owed him an apology for suspecting him of wrongdoing.

Richard is generally not in a rush to review my notes, and when he is, he generally isn’t a fan of what’s in them. Today was no exception if his troubled expression was anything to go by. Reaching for one of the many pairs of reading glasses he stashed in various locations throughout the office, he opened the file and glanced through the security footage from the house cameras.

As he scanned the notes, I closed my eyes and leaned my head back, stretching my sore arm in front of me.

After several long minutes, he cleared his throat then leaned back in the chair.

“So, you’re telling me we’ve got someone creating shifters and trafficking VW, and Tristan is interested in recruiting you and Meg’s cat.” He said the words casually, as if this sort of thing happened every single day.

It was a little
too
casual for my taste.

“Seriously… That’s all you have to say?”

He massaged the bridge of his nose, the leather of his chair squeaking as he leaned back. He suddenly looked older. I had never thought of Richard as old until just now, but the dark circles under his eyes and the indent on his nose from reading glasses just made him look tired, the long years of sitting behind this desk were finally catching up to him. The knowledge saddened me.

“Up until this moment, I believed that keeping Tristan away from you and locating Azrael’s Handler were my two biggest problems. What do you want me to say?”

“I want you to say, ‘Alex, I’m sorry for not telling you my newest employee is a bored, psychopathic, government-employed Nephilim.’ That’s what I want you to say, Richard.”

“You know I won’t do that.” He grunted and reached for the folder again, flipping through the pictures from the video surveillance once more. “Besides, I thought you might pick up on the fact that the guy is dangerous from our prior conversation.”

“
Dangerous?
Richard, he’s an immortal creature who is recruiting me to infiltrate a private corporation. We passed dangerous a few days ago—”

He pushed his hand out, palm up, motioning a stop to my verbal assault. “Enough, Alex. In my defense, that’s not exactly information I knew.”

Despite my concern for his health, I was reaching my limit on being patient and understanding. “You knew that Parallax had more going on in their labs than basic research. Come on, Richard—you sent me over to Meg’s house for a reason.