Wicked Flames (Solsti Prophecy) (40 page)

She turned, casting a smile to the backseat where Brooke sat between Ria and Kai. The three of them had been trading fight-and-escape stories non-stop since they got in the car.

Brooke met Gin’s eyes, angled her thumb toward Ria, and mouthed, “Love her.” She grinned before going back to amend one of Kai’s statements. “Yes, I saved your ass
twice.
And then …”

Gin turned back to Mathias, whose face was a pensive mask as he drove. She couldn’t read him. He must have hundreds of fight-and-escape stories. She wanted to hear each one. But now, he was too quiet. “What are you thinking?” she asked.

Hazel eyes flicked to her, and his sensual mouth turned up into a smile. “Just going over the plan.”

“Oh.” The plan relied a lot on Rhys’s hacking and security-camera-tampering skills, and on Mathias’s mind scrub skills. Mathias would lead them to Xavier, and somewhere along the line Gin had to figure out what, if anything, he’d been doing to the water supply. It sounded kinda crazy to her, but the Watchers had executed similar tasks before.

“How about you?” he asked. “I’d ask if you’re ready, but I get the feeling you’re tired of that question.”

“You’re right.” She sat back in her seat. “I’m completely ready. I remember how we practiced on Tarsa.”

He reached across the console to lay a warm hand on her thigh. “I’m proud of you.”

“Thanks.” She dropped her hand on top of his. “We make a good team.”

“When this is over, I’m taking you out.”

“On a date?”

“Yep. We’re going dancing. Don’t you have a hundred-year-old ballroom dance place somewhere around here?”

“Yes!” Excitement colored her voice. “The Willowbrook Ballroom. You’re on. Step one, eliminate Xavier. Step two, go dancing.”

He looked over at her. “This is why I love my job. Kill the bad guy and end up with the pretty girl.” His eyes held a question she didn’t understand. They searched her face, looking for…

“What?” she asked.

“Nothing.” He looked back to the road. “We’re almost there.”

“Well.” She twisted a lock of her hair. “What if I have to kill the bad guy?”

“Gin.” He blew out a breath. “I can take a hit and recover. Not sure of your healing abilities yet. I’m trained. You’re…learning. I’ve done thousands of jobs like this. I don’t want him to lay his greedy eyes on you again. Fuck, I don’t want him to even be able to
scent
you again.” His fist clenched the wheel and his tone softened. “But I can feel your strength. It’s rolling off you in waves.”

“It may come down to it,” she whispered.

“I know.” His hand flexed on her thigh. “If you get a clean shot, take it. If not, I will. But if he lays a hand on you, this deal changes. I will ensure he learns a new definition of agony.”

His last words dripped with menace, but Gin couldn’t fault him for it. She even felt…thankful. For all his bossiness, he seemed to know when to dial it down a notch, at least with her.
Compromise.
She needed a man who could push her when she needed it and back off when she didn’t.

I need Mathias
.

Blinking fast, she willed her suddenly-dancing heart to settle. They had to focus on this job. The hearts and flowers could come later. But she could sneak in one little show of affection. She raised his hand to her lips and pressed a quick kiss to his knuckles. “Okay. Deal.”

From the backseat, Kai dialed Rhys. “We’re almost there.” He was quiet for minute, then leaned forward and rattled off their fake names. “You’re both professors from Stanford. You’re on the visitor list, and the guard will only remember you two being in the car.”

“Got it.” Mathias said.

He left the highway and followed the calm directions of the female voice on the GPS. “Your destination is on the left in five hundred feet. Turn left to arrive at your destination.”

Gin stifled a giggle.
Turn left to meet your psychotic demon kidnapper.

Mathias raised an eyebrow and looked at her like he was about to say something. She shook her head. “It’s nothing.”

He steered the car into a long driveway. Several yards from the road, a gated guardhouse sat between the two lanes. Mathias rolled his window halfway down.

“ID and purpose for your visit today?” a guard asked in a voice that managed to sound gruff and weary at the same time.

Mathias leaned an elbow on the window frame. “John Alton and Diana Jennings. We should be in the system.”

The guard turned to his computer with a scowl. “Alton…ah here you are Mr.—excuse, me, Dr. Alton. And Dr. Jennings. Take this road around the curve there, and park in the first lot on your right.”

Mathias thanked the man then paused, resting his fingers on the open window. The guard’s stare turned blank and peaceful. Mathias rolled his window back up.

“What was that all about?” Gin asked.

“I’ll tell you in a minute.” He shot her a grin. “Bet I’ll do it again before we leave.”

Kai was on the phone to Rhys again, relaying their position. Kai switched the phone to speaker and Rhys’s sarcastic tone echoed from the phone.

“…I know where you are, dude, I see you on the GPS. Geez.” Fingers tapped in the background. “There’s one camera on that parking lot and…you’re good. I put it on a five minute continuous loop of nada.”

“Excellent.” Mathias steered the SUV into a parking space. “Now for the fun part.”

Gin’s veins buzzed. She was actually excited for this. She had no fear….even if they ran into Xavier, how could he hurt her? She had three Watchers and her sister at her back. She reached for the door handle, only to be stopped by Mathias’s voice.

“Gin.” He reached for her hand. “Stay with me, or one of the others. Don’t go off on your own.”

“I wouldn’t—”

“If you see a test tube out of place, or a new kind of microscope—anything at all, you bring one of us with you if you want to investigate.”

She nodded. “Okay.” It’s not like she wanted to spend hours in there. It was all pretty standard stuff…except for whatever Xavier was plotting. That intrigued her, and she didn’t even know what it was. Yet. Her hands itched to get into his work.

He flipped the unlock button and they all piled out. Heaps of dirty gray snow lined the perimeter of the lot, shoved there in huge scoops by the plows. She walked next to Mathias, peeking up at his face.

He radiated a formidable aura. Still handsome, but lethal and calculating.

He took her arm as they approached an icy patch. “Later, I want you to tell me what you’re thinking.”

How does he do that?

They reached the door and he opened it for her. The others came through behind them, and Mathias moved to the front of the group. They stepped through a second set of doors to a room where a perky blond receptionist sat behind a U-shaped desk. Two of the beige walls were decorated with enormous framed pictures of rivers. The rest of the room was empty save for a few chairs and another closed door behind her.

She looked up from her computer, eyes going wide at the sight of their group. “Can I help you?”

“John Alton from Stanford. We’re here for a tour.” Mathias flashed a smile at her.

The woman blinked, peering at him as a faint blush colored her cheeks. “ID, please.” A coy smile played across her pink lips and her eyes roamed Mathias’s chest.

Oh, hell no
. This blond was
not
flirting with her man. Gin clenched her fists at her sides and stepped forward, brushing against Mathias. “And Diana Jennings. We should be in the system.” She nodded at the woman’s computer screen.

“Oh. Yes, let’s see.” Blondie turned to her monitor and started typing.

“And, miss?” Mathias held up one hand in front of him, seemingly to catch her attention. He leaned closer. “That’s Alton, spelled with an o-n, not e-n.”

Blondie opened her mouth to speak, then abruptly closed it. “O-n,” she murmured, turning to her screen. But she remained motionless.

Gin’s eyes snapped to Mathias. “Is that the thing you did to the guard? What did you do?”

“I took her memory of us walking in and talking to her. We have five minutes before she realizes she’s been staring into space. The guard at the gate doesn’t remember us either.” His face was all business as he turned to Kai. “You still got Rhys?”

Took her memory that quickly? Whoa.

“Yo, I’m here,” the other demon’s familiar drawl came through the phone. “There’s a white button under the top edge of the receptionist’s desk. Look next to the keyboard. That’ll open the door to the back.”

Mathias was already halfway around the U of the desk. “Got it.” He pressed the button and a quiet buzz emanated from the door.

Ria darted over to open it. “Let’s find this guy. Visually or by scent.”

Mathias released the button and jogged around the desk. “Follow me.” In two long strides, he was through the door.

Gin stayed close behind him, with the rest of the group behind her. Anticipation surged through her at the thought of getting into Xavier’s work, whatever that may be. The halls were bathed in white—white walls, white floors, and white fluorescent lights overhead. Mathias walked with long purposeful strides, as if he’d been there before.

A bald man in a lab coat rounded a corner down the hall and started toward their group. A tingle of apprehension swirled through Gin. They’d planned for this, of course, but what if—

“Morning!” Mathias called out. He stuck out his hand, and the man reflexively extended his own. “Dr. Alton from Stanford. We have a meeting with Xavier Martin—do you know where I’d find him?”

The man’s eyes flicked over their group and his brows knitted together. Kai and Mathias easily towered over him. “His office is around the corner, second door on the left. Room 142.” He frowned. “I thought he was testing samples from storage this morning.”

“Yes, we’re a bit early.” Mathias didn’t miss a beat. “I have his cell number. Thanks much.”

They continued onward to Xavier’s office. Mathias grabbed the doorknob and twisted. “Locked.” He peered closer. “It just takes a regular key, not a swipe card.” With a sharp twist, metal ground against metal and the doorknob hung loose in its socket. He pushed the door open.

“Wow,” Gin whispered as she entered the room. Breaking and entering? That was all in a day’s work for Mathias. She found herself strangely unperturbed at how easily he’d done that.
It’s part of his job
. She knew he was one of the good guys, but—

Her attention snapped to a rack of test tubes on a table. Like a beacon of familiarity, and dangling the possibility of a breakthrough, they drew her. She walked across the room to the table.

Today’s date was written on some tubes. The others were labeled with previous dates. Each one contained a small amount of clear liquid.
Samples? I need a microscope
.

Swiveling, she scanned the rest of the room—
A-ha!
A gorgeous electron microscope sat tucked in a corner. “Bertha’s twin,” she murmured.

Brooke sat at the desk and shook the mouse, waking the computer from its sleep. “I’ll start with his email.”

“Hold on, baby,” Kai said. “Rhys said he went through them. Said there’s a lot of references to an LE.”

“What’s LE?” Brooke looked at Gin. “Is that an element?”

“Nope.” Gin shook her head. “Not on Earth, anyway.”

Brooke shrugged and studied the items on top of Xavier’s desk. “That’s kinda morbid.”

Gin paused as she passed on her way across the room. “It’s just a lily.”

“A
black
one. And look at these leaves—they’re black and jagged, like they’re falling apart.” Brooke leaned forward, inspecting it. “It
looks
real. So he’s a weirdo kidnapper scientist who also collects black flowers?”

“Lemme look.” Elegant, pointed leaves spread out from a midnight blue center, just like a stargazer lily. Gin touched a petal and a sprinkle of fine onyx powder transferred to her finger. “Calla lilies can sometimes be black, but the shape of these petals is all wrong…those leaves aren’t right, either.”

“Kai?” Brooke didn’t look away from the flower. “Do black lilies grow on Torth?”

Kai stopped rifling through a file cabinet drawer and turned to Brooke. “Black? No.”

Ria turned from her position at the window, her blue eyes wide as she spoke slowly. “They
used
to.”

A strange expression crossed Mathias’s face as he turned narrowed eyes on the flower. “Not on Torth. On Evena.”

Ria fixed her eyes on the lily. “You don’t seriously think that’s—”

“It’s possible.” Mathias joined them at the desk. “Motherfucker.”

“You mean, the old story about the black lily?” Kai crossed his arms. “Some people stopped believing it ever existed.”

“Either it started growing again, or someone genetically engineered a new plant that looks just like it.” Mathias rubbed the back of his neck.

“You think someone resurrected an extinct plant species?” Gin asked.
 

“Possibly.” Mathias held her gaze. “Too many strange things have been happening. I wouldn’t rule anything out at this point.”

“Okay then…” Gin glanced from him to Ria to Kai, who all wore deadly serious expressions. “Tell me about this flower.”

Mathias grimaced. “The speed-date version is, the extract can be ingested to give enhanced strength and healing abilities to the user. It died out after a war decimated the one place it was able to grow.”

Gin blinked. A supposedly extinct magical plant? She looked at the flower. “How much time do we have?”

“Rhys?” Kai asked. “You got a visual on Xavier?”

“Yup,” Rhys drawled. “He’s at storage tank A. I’ll let you know if he moves.”

Four pairs of eyes swung their focus to Gin. “I need to take a look at this.” She grabbed the lily and sat down at the big microscope. “Um, you guys can keep looking through his stuff while I do this. I have no idea what I’ll find, if anything.” Finding latex gloves and a knife, she quickly cut a cross section of the stem and slid it into Bertha’s viewer.

“Whoa,” she whispered. The plant was healthy, hydrated, and teeming with internal activity. Like the grass Mathias had brought her, the channels used for hydration were much larger than in most plant stems. “The cellular walls are flexible and strong. And there’s an enzyme attached to them I’ve never seen before.”