The Alphas Game - Complete Set (18 page)

Chapter4

If you ever get the offer to endure magical healing, do yourself a favor and don’t take them up on the offer. The movies make it out to be this nice pleasant experience, but the truth is that it hurts. Imagine having the healing process sped up and your body starts to move against itself, forcing the painful effects of recovery into an impossibly quick time frame. Every ache and pain, every sleepless night, every part of the process, jam-packed into a single evening. I’m sad to say that it isn’t the first time I’ve been through that and every time it happens I swear to myself that it’s going to be the last time I ever endure this. Part of me knows that these promises aren’t true, but they make me feel a little better at the moment and this time isn’t going to be any different.

Healing was expedited to an unbearable speed as Rosie screamed through her recovery. The healer did his best to calm her, so that her screams didn’t attract the neighbors while Kevin listened from another room. Every time her pained noises echoed into his ears he found himself fighting off the urge to fly into action, breaking down the door and rushing in as a vengeful hero. She didn’t need saving however, she was in the process of being saved.

He paced and waited and paced some more as the healing continued. It wasn’t exactly an easy thing for him to do. He worried and wondered about what the future was going to hold and no matter how much he wanted to stop himself he just couldn’t make it happen.

When she came out of the room, he resisted the urge to pull the woman into his arms and swing her around happily. The woman looked exhausted as she limped into the light, pushing the hair out of her face. She had definitely had better days. “Let’s go.” 

Kevin looked down, this wasn’t something that she really wanted to do. “We need to talk about that, I don’t think that I should take you back to your house.”

“I’m not going to hide. These people aren’t going to win that easy.” Rosie stomped and Kevin couldn’t help but be reminded of a small child.

“Look, we’re going to be going back out as soon as everything gets cleared, I just think you should stay hidden in the meantime.” Kevin explained, launching into a drawn out argument about all of the things that they had already planned.

“Look, I know that you’re just trying to help.” She sighed. “I just don’t think that this is a good idea.” It was a fight to get Rosie to go into a safe house. She wasn’t the type of woman to willingly go into hiding and hated the fact that she could be perceived as a coward. “It’s a thousand times harder to get respect in this job as a woman and the second I go into hiding I lose everything I worked for all these years.” But she had already given in so it really didn’t matter.

“I won’t tell anyone.” Kevin promised, but he knew that things like this had a way of getting out.

“I didn’t think that you would tell anyone, but why can’t we just head south again?”

“We will in a day or so, but we all need a bit to recover.”

“Where am I staying, anyway?” They moved off to the side as they spoke in strained whispers.  Too many people could overhear what they were saying and their attention to keeping their words hidden didn’t seem to go unnoticed as the healer walked out of the room and watched them.

Kevin’s voice grew even quieter as he cast a furtive glance at the eavesdropper. He didn’t want to give too much information away. “We’re going to find a place. They told me not to share your location with anyone.”

“What’s going on?”

“We’re operating outside of the office. We were told to file false reports and make sure that nobody knows what we’re doing.”

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Rosie knew how dependent the government was on a steady supply of paperwork and it just didn’t feel natural to be working with two agents who weren’t supposed to report to anyone.

Kevin shrugged as he continued to drive around town, hoping to lose anybody or anything that might be tailing them. He circled and circled again, skillfully weaving through traffic and doing everything in his power to make sure that none of the cars around him stayed constant. Rosie remained silent as she contemplated the idea of working the case without government oversight. The only thing that would stop them would be conscience and need to follow unenforceable rules that were carried by the two shifters she was working with. Still, she imagined the way this case could go if they had just listened to her, not worrying about the chain of evidence, or not leading people that they were questioning. She relished the idea of breaking down doors and shaking down suspects with two shifter enforcers behind her. She sighed and scratched her nose. It would never come true, Kevin was just too square to go along with it, but she might be able to get Grey to go for it.

She tried to tell where he was going, but gave up because it didn’t really matter. Wherever the lion would take her, she would be able to find her way out.  She had tracked everywhere in this town over the course of her job. It had been a necessary consequence of her learning and studying the population where she lived. He placed her head back and waited for him to decide on a location. Finally he sighed and admitted the problem. “Do you know any place that isn’t going to ask to many questions?”

“Well.” Rosie thought about it. “Most people think that the cheap places that don’t ask too many questions are the best, but the truth is that high class or large hotels aren’t going to release the information.”

He considered the information carefully. “That makes sense.” He nodded and pulled off of the road. “I just hope that they aren’t going to charge me the difference.”

“I’ll talk to them if they do. Don’t worry, this is a special case.” She watched as he pulled into the valet parking of the most expensive hotel in town. “These places don’t stay in business long if they share customer information.”

“I know, I know, you don’t have to tell me again. I’m here aren’t I?” Rosie sighed as she spoke.

Kevin looked into her eyes as he realized exactly how much this must have affected her pride to hide. “I know you are, but don’t worry. I won’t get anything out of the minibar.”

“And no room service.”

She sighed, but a small smile had formed on her face. “We’re going to be staying in a high class hotel and eating pizza. I’ve done this before.” The joke made him laugh a little and they were quickly checked in for two nights while they got ready to head back down to the everglades. “Where’s Grey?”

“Finishing up some stuff in the office.” Kevin said. “He’s also got to get some more money.”

“Are they just giving you cash?” Rosie asked, curious as to how this was all going to work. It didn’t seem like their office would have that much cash on hand, but with the special division of the FBI it was impossible to tell. They had a lot of resources that they weren’t exactly willing to share with a consultant like her. The detective tried her best to keep her smile from spreading as she thought about how all of this was going to change, she was going to finally find something about the hidden structure and procedures that existed within the shadow division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

“Well that and a credit card, but we’re not supposed to use too much of that.” The room was lovely, a magnificent suite with two bedrooms. Each of them had two beds in it and she wondered how they were going to arrange their sleep for the night.

Rosie looked up at him, examining his face in the cool light of the room. He was a handsome man, which was something that crossed her mind often, but right then, in that moment he looked exhausted, like someone who had just been beaten down by life. “It’s going to get better. We’re going to get him. I promise.” She touched his arms and could feel the sparks start to rush through them.

He looked at her. “I know we are, I just hope we catch him soon.” The sigh slipped through his lips almost silently. He wasn’t having a good day and it just felt like it was getting worse and worse. “I’m going to order room service, don’t worry I’ll pay cash, do you want anything?”

“Not really.” He sat down, it felt like it was the first time in weeks he had sat down and he wasn’t at a desk or in a car. It felt strange, not to have anything directly in front of him.

She moved away from the phone, walking over to the man and thinking about how she could help him feel a little better. Moving next to him she plopped down on the sofa and kicked off her shoes, placing her stocking clad feet onto the solid wood coffee table that sat close to it. “You’ve got a chance to relax, you should take it.”

“How can you relax at a time like this?”

“Stop it, just stop it. Stop acting that way. The world isn’t ending, we’re going to catch the guy. Don’t worry.” Rosie was pleading with him. “I don’t think that I can take any more of your moping.”

“I’m not moping any.” Kevin insisted, staring at her, unsure of how to really respond to all of this. Not knowing what she wanted him to say.   “I’m not moping, but reality is hard right now.”

“So, reality is always hard.” Rosie felt her words gain the sharp edge of sarcasm. “If you just mope your way through it, nobody’s ever going to want to be around you.”

Kevin felt the rage flare up. “And if you don’t stop running off and getting yourself into trouble, people are going to get tired of saving you.”

“Really?” Rosie stood, her hands on her hips and fire in her eyes, she was ready to fight.

Kevin sighed. “Let’s not fight. We all have our faults, and we could fight over them for eternity. Let’s focus on what we need to do.”

Stepping back, the woman stood to the side, unable to figure out how to respond. He had caught her off guard and she didn’t know quite how to act.  He looked at her face and his eyes glittered with amusement. That was enough to rekindle her humor and reinstate her ability to speak. “What are you talking about?”

“I don’t want to fight anymore. I don’t want to go through this anymore. I’m tired of hurrying and fighting. I’m just exhausted.” She could see the pain in his eyes. Suddenly she felt the urge to wrap her arms around him, holding him until the pain went away.

Her voice softened and her eyes brimmed with the threat of tears as she looked at the man. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”

“This case is getting to everyone, and it just isn’t right.” He explained slowly, as if he was chewing on the words. She didn’t respond, instead wrapping an arm over his shoulder as she sat down next to the lion. The silence between them seemed awkward and unnerving, but finding the right thing to say in this situation seemed nearly impossible. They rested in silence, looking at each other occasionally, trying to gain a hint of what the other person wanted to hear, but the answers didn’t seem to come.

Their eyes locked together, their furtive glances having finally met, and it seemed like their souls were reaching out to each other. Rosie felt her breath quicken in her chest as she saw his lips start to close the distance, slowly creeping closer, unsure of his movements and deciding whether he should go with instinct that pushed him closer to her. He didn’t have the power to fight this powerful feeling, it pushed him closer, and as he laid his lips on her soft mouth he realized that this was where he was meant to be. The brush didn’t end after a long moment, with lips moving against each other, moving with what seemed to be their own minds as the kiss started them to embrace, his arms slipping around her waist as they shifted in their seats, moving their bodies a little closer to each other, inch by inch they shifted and moved, their bodies moving closer and closer, slowly cutting away pieces of the gap that had formed between them.

The world seemed to stop and next thing either of them realized, he was on top of her, on the bed without clothing. He trembled as his manhood brushed against her. He looked in her eyes and her body started to move against him, pushing at him and he thrust inside of her, slowly slipping in and out, savoring every moment. They both knew what this was. This was the long sweet goodbye that had been so long in coming. They postponed the inevitable as long as they could, knowing that once she pulled away, out of his arms, she would remain out of his reach forever.

The climax came slowly, building up as a much needed release of pressure. There was a note of sadness mingled in their moans as they shifted, locking their bodies together for their mutual release. He rolled off her and couldn’t find the words, instead he sighed and reached for his clothes. “I’m going to take a shower.” The words were a mumbled mass and she was left alone in the room with just her thoughts for company. There seemed to be a veritable avalanche of ragged feelings and emotions tumbling around in her head as her body settled into the afterglow.

Chapter5

It must have felt like an eternity, sitting in that office, waiting for paperwork that never seemed to come, but that’s what Grey was doing while Kevin and I were enjoying our little stint in the hotel room. The problem with going out of communication of the government will always be the amount of paperwork you have to do before you leave and after you get back. I was lucky, Kevin and I had gone into hiding, but Grey had been banished to the world of endless stacks of paper and a cramping hand. For something that seemed to be so unusual, they sure seemed to have a lot of paperwork handy. I don’t know if he was exaggerating or not, but it didn’t matter much because the entire situation seemed to take him hours to wade through.

“How much more paperwork am I going to have to do?” Grey asked. His professionalism was starting to slip due to the stacks of paper he had already been through and the stacks of paper that he still had to finish. Three times he had thought that he was finished, and three times they had brought more for him to do. He worried, knowing that Kevin was guarding Rosie, and hoped that she wouldn’t get wound up and end up going off on her own once again.

“I don’t know.” The junior agent shrugged his shoulders as he laid down another folder. “I’m just bringing what I’m told to.” The man looked sympathetic, but it didn’t seem to lighten Grey’s mood as he rubbed his thumb with his other hand. There was a shooting pain from gripping the pen so long. He put the pen down for a moment and rubbed his temple. The pain seemed to be shooting through his head as well. He wanted to scream, but it wouldn’t do any good. They were in a highly unusual situation and any strange new situation always brought the consequence of inordinate amounts of paperwork to be properly shuffled into the proper file and never looked at again unless something went wrong.

“I don’t get it.”

“They need their paperwork.” The younger man shrugged.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah.” Grey shuffled some things around, making room for the new papers. Glancing at the top he noticed that it looked almost exactly like a paper he had already filled out. Digging through the papers he found the form that he was thinking about and compared them. There were minor differences, but it was a different piece of paper which meant that it needed to be filled out. He groaned and continued to work for a few minutes.

The junior agent walked away, happy that he wasn’t the one who had to do the mountain of paperwork. “I need a break.” Grey stood up and walked down the hallway, carefully considering all of the papers that he had signed. It felt like he was going undercover with no handler, and pretty much seemed like that was what the FBI was considering it. He groaned as he moved to the soda machine in the break room. “This is insane, why am I even considering this?”

“Because it’s what going to solve this case.” The voice surprised him and he spun around to notice that his boss was sitting there with the door open.

“That’s what I hate about this job.”

“The paperwork.” The division director nodded in agreement. “I’ve always hated the paperwork, and trust me, it only gets worse from here.”

“Why would you ever stop working in the field?” He asked the man. Director Allen wasn’t exactly known for his kind words or gentle demeanor. He had gotten to his position through sheer hard work and determination.

“There comes a time in everyone’s life that they just can’t handle the action anymore. That’s what happened to me. You try to stay close to it, but it doesn’t always work that way, you miss it, you yearn for it, but it’s something for younger and stronger men to do, it’s not for you anymore.” The explanation sounded heartfelt, like it had been stewing for a long time. The older man actually looked sad and it surprised the younger man as he looked at it. Every other interaction that he had with the director had been crisp at best, he wasn’t someone who was stricken with human emotions. “Get your paperwork finished and go check on your girl.”

Grey was dumbfounded. “She’s not my girl. It’s not that, well, it’s…” He didn’t even know what to call her and the realization humbled him. He had been thinking of her as being more than she actually was.

“It’s complicated, I know. The best things in life always are.” The man winked and moved out of the room. Grey rushed through his paperwork and shuffled his way out of the door, still not sure whether or not to officially start dating the woman who occupied every thought, every breath, every moment of his life. Before he could leave he had received a call that seemed to change everything. It felt strange to hold this information in as he climbed into the SUV that Kevin was driving. The government wasn’t going to give them two cars for their life without supervision.

Both men stayed silent for the entire trip, their minds wandered to their individual problems as they made their way, via an enormously circuitous route, to the hotel, a place that Rosie was waiting for them, where Kevin had left her in relative safety and equipped with a small arsenal to defend herself.

They arrived, both parties still mired in their independent silence, not really knowing what was going on with the other person, and barely caring. Rosie greeted them at the door and after verifying their identities allowed them into the room. Her mood was somber as well and the conversation started with several thoughtful pauses, as if everyone seemed to be deciding he best way to say their piece. Grey didn’t wait that long to share his news, piping up first with a sad tone. “They found more bodies.”

Rosie blinked and looked at him. “What?”

“They found more bodies buried near Schmidt’s.” He carefully regulated the speed of his words as he explained it once again.

“Are you sure?” Kevin asked, knowing that it was a silly question, but the answer would give him a chance to process the information that he had just been given.

“They’ve been digging them up since we found the body. It looks like a dumping ground.” Grey looked at their faces and realized that his must have looked the same way when he first heard the news.

Rosie piped up. “Have they identified anyone?”

“Not yet, they still haven’t finished going through all of the evidence.” Grey admitted. “I think that we should head down there when we get a chance.”

“Are you sure?” Rosie asked, but she knew what the answer was going to be. They were going to be heading into a new adventure, one that seemed to signal the end to this fight, to this ongoing confrontation and battle of wills.

Everyone seemed pleased with the news as Grey outlined every detail of the investigation that had been conducted. The bodies were all young women who matched Alfi’s victim profile. “Are we actually getting excited about the bodies?” Rosie was incredulous.

“I’m sorry.” Kevin looked down at his feet. “I just feel like this is a big break. We might be able to put him away for this.”

“We have to catch him first.” Grey reminded everyone. “But once we do we’ll have the proof to lock him up for the rest of his life.”

“Can’t we just put a bullet in his brain and be done with it?” Rosie asked the question that was on everyone’s mind.

“I would love to be able to do that, but I don’t think we’re going to get that chance. He’s not going to be stupid enough to give us cause.” Kevin frowned.

“Speak for yourself. As far as I’m concerned I’ve already got cause.” Rosie sniped, looking for a disagreement, but none came. Everyone seemed to be quietly agreeing, hoping that they found themselves in a situation where they could take the man out of the picture as quickly as possible.

The night passed in uncomfortable silence, with Rosie staking out the couch in order to avoid any sort of confrontation between the two men. She didn’t know how she had gotten herself in this situation as she pulled the covers up over her body, slipping the thick comforter over her shoulders and feeling the comforting weight settle over her form and sleep taking over after what felt like an eternity of worry and planning.