Alpha Hunter (2 page)

Sevrin took a deep breath and dragged her hostile gaze away from Nazerel. No one else dared such disrespect
; no one else refused her. She’d taken Allenton to her bed largely because Nazerel had snubbed her. She was Rodymian royalty and still Nazerel refused to bow to her will. He was a lowly—

She cut herself off and forced away the exasperating subject. When the time was right, she’d deal with Nazerel.
“Did Allenton know the locations of all four team houses?”

After a contemplative pause,
Zacharous shook his head. “I’ve kept my men close and warned them away from Team North. Allenton was always an opportunistic prick. I didn’t see any reason why he’d change.”

“Then Team South can move in with Team West temporarily
and I’ll move back into the warehouse.” She shuddered at the thought. She’d spent six months in that musty ruin while she meticulously constructed a web of false identities and holding companies, allowing her to participate in human commerce without drawing attention to herself or the Shadow Assassins.

Nazerel didn’t look happy about the directive, but he didn’t
argue. “Team East has been basically off the grid since they left Las Vegas. I’ll verify with Darrian, but I think that location is secure.”

Relocating this house was going to be a major undertaking, especially being that they would need to destroy anything they didn’t have time to move. And she would have to send all the way to Rodymia for anything they needed to replace. That could take weeks
, weeks of progress she couldn’t afford to lose.

“How did this happen?” she cried, overwhelmed by the scope of the setback. “All of the team houses are shielded.
How did Lor find them?”

Both alphas shook their heads, but Nazerel answered, “
They obviously intercepted something that gave North away. We’ll have to be more careful. Keep all forms of communication to a minimum.” He paused and then added, “There is one bright spot in this catastrophe.”

“It better be glaringly bright.”

“Angie contacted Tori. We’ve been monitoring all of Tori’s calls, so I finally know where Angie is.”

Sevrin scowled at him. “That’s not even a flicker o
f light. When are you going to give up your obsession with that human? She’s not worth the trouble she’s already caused. Why go asking for more?”

Nazerel arched his brows and tilted his head to an insolent angle.
“Tori and Lor are bonded. He obviously disagrees.”

“How could you possibly know that?” She studied his rugged features, searching for any hint of deception.

“I’ve always found it beneficial to know more about my enemies than my enemies know about me.” One corner of his mouth lifted, but it wasn’t quite a smile.

“Lor’s a Master
Level mage, first son of one of the two royal houses. He would never bond with a female unless she was extraordinary.”

“
My point exactly. And Mystic abilities run in families.” The other side of his mouth rose as well and still there was no warmth in the expression. It was more like a feral wolf baring his teeth at a potential threat.

Mystic abilities seldom developed in half-blood Ontarians.
Tori and Angie’s father must have been remarkable. Nazerel was right. Angie was a prize worth pursuing. “Do you have an exact location?”

“Yes, but the timing could be tricky. Tori has convinced Angie that I’m evil
incarnate. There’s no way Angie will willingly leave a police station with me.”

“What is Angie doing in a police station?” Sevrin halted his explanation with an upraised hand.
“Never mind. I don’t care. Figure out the timing and bring her back with you. I’m honestly hoping you’ll be able to concentrate on something else once you’ve screwed her a time or two.”

“So am I,” he countered.

“Then why are you still here?”

The smile finally reached Nazerel’s eyes. Sevrin blinked and he was gone.

A large, warm hand gently shook Angie’s shoulder, jarring her from sleep. She gasped and twisted away. The touch hadn’t been hurtful, but she was still on edge from the traumatic events of the past few days. Her life had always been chaotic. Still, her spontaneous decision to leave Las Vegas had driven the turbulence to new heights.

“Wake up, sunshine.
Château de
PD is closing. You need to park it somewhere else.”

The
police officer who’d helped her the night before stood over her now. She couldn’t remember his exact name, Jackson or Jonson, something like that. He wore a suit rather than a uniform, so he was likely a detective. His attitude had seemed impatient while his actions revealed a kind heart. “Is my sister here?”

“Not yet, but my shift ended a
couple of hours ago. I’m headed home.”

She swung her legs to the floor and sat up. The break room
was tiny, the couch threadbare and lumpy, but at least she’d been safe. After her deadbeat boyfriend slinked away in the middle of the night and ditched her with the hotel bill, she was damn lucky not to be in a jail cell. “We told Tori to pick me up here. If I move—”

“There’s a
small reception area by the front door. You need to go wait for her there. This is a police station not a hotel. Letting you sleep here last night could get me in a lot of trouble.”

“All right.”
She bundled up the blanket he’d given her the night before. “Thanks for this. I was really in a pickle.”

He smiled a
s he took the blanket from her. “Why do I get the feeling, you’re in ‘pickles’ a lot?”

“I am, but it’s never my fault.” She chuckled,
admitting the irony in her words. She attracted trouble like metal to a magnet. Often her actions resulted in the drama, yet other times she was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. With the wrong person.

“
I’ve heard that excuse a time or two.”

He led her to the ‘reception area’ which was an ancient row of connected seats adjacent to the front desk. He told the
woman behind the Plexiglas shield that Angie had permission to stay there until her sister picked her up. The woman glanced at Angie, nodded and then went right back to work.

The detective started to leave then paused and dug out his wallet. “You’re probably starving.
There are vending machines just off the elevator on the second floor or you can wait until the café opens at 11:00. It’s up on the corner.” He handed her a ten then slipped his wallet back into his pocket. “Are you sure your sister will actually come get you? She wasn’t just saying that to shut you up?”

“Of course she’ll come. She’s my sister.”

Angie was shocked by the question until she looked into his eyes. Shadows and suspicion clouded his gaze. “That doesn’t always mean what it should.” It must be horrible to deal with the dredges of society day in and day out. Well, night in and night out in his case, but the result was still the same. He was seriously jaded.

“I’ll be
long gone by the time your next shift starts. I guarantee it.” She held up the money and smiled. “Thanks again.”

He nodded in return
then retraced their steps into the belly of the building.

She wasn’t really hungry, but her caffeine addiction wouldn’t wait until 11:00.
She approached the front desk and waited for the woman to look up. “I’m dying for a cup of coffee. Can you break a ten?”

“
Hold on.” Obviously annoyed by the interruption, the woman pushed away from her desk and walked out of Angie’s line of vision. She returned a short time later with a Styrofoam cup of coffee in one hand and packets of creamer and sugar in the other.

“
Thank you.” She took the coffee and packets from the woman and smiled.

The woman waved her away then turned to answer the phone.

Well, good morning to you too
. Angie fought back her annoyance. Starting a fight would be counterproductive at this point. Hopefully, she’d be out of here in an hour or two. Instead of telling the grumpy woman what she thought of her attitude, Angie shoved open the heavy glass door and stepped out into the cool morning air. Mature trees shaded the wide approach area and then a double set of concrete stairs descended to street level. The detective told her she was in Provo, Utah, though all that really meant was she was somewhere northeast of Las Vegas.

With an Old Towne charm, the area felt safe and sort of sleepy.
She spotted a stone bench near one of the massive trees centered in the lawn bordering the sidewalk. She could see traffic approaching from either direction and the setting was infinitely more appealing than the dreary reception area.

She
hustled down the stairs and sat on the bench then took her first sip of coffee. The bitter taste scrunched up her face, but at least the beverage was steaming hot. Both packets of “cream” powder and sugar took the taste from unpalatable to nasty, so she focused on the improvement and tried to enjoy the peaceful surroundings.

Each
moment that ticked by made her feel heavier, more encumbered by dread. Tori was sure to be pissed. Tori was always pissed when she had to swoop in for a rescue. She’d lecture and glare all the way back to Las Vegas. She’d tell Angie how irresponsible she was, how immature and selfish. And for the most part she’d be right. Angie didn’t spend a lot of time worrying about other people. If their mother’s death had taught her anything, it was that living life according to the expectations of others was an utter waste of time. Life could be stingy and cruel. What happiness Angie found had been wrested from fate’s clutches through sheer force of will, and she didn’t see that changing anytime soon.

A car turned the corner and headed toward her.
Finally! It was a red Honda Accord. But rather than her sister’s pale face and slender frame behind the wheel, Angie saw a large, dark-haired man. She tensed for an instant, then reality kicked in, releasing her pent-up breath. Honda Accords were as common as ants; this was simply the wrong car.

Unable to silence her suspicion, Angie looked at the
license plate. Nevada, 678 TTD. That was Tori’s plate. What was this man doing with Tori’s car? Angie stood and ducked behind the tree. The trunk wasn’t wide enough to hide her completely. Still, she felt less conspicuous.

The parking s
paces in front of the building were reserved for employees, so the man pulled into the lot across the street.
Don’t panic
. Angie pressed her hand against her throat and took a deep breath. There had to be an explanation for why a stranger was driving her sister’s car. There was no way this was coincidence. Had Tori sent him in her place? If so, why hadn’t Tori come in person?

Angie automatically reached for her cell phone then cursed under her breath. She still couldn’t believe she’d run off without it. The lack had been a minor nuisance while she was with
Jordan. Now, without the ability to contact anyone, Angie felt isolated and vulnerable.

The driver’s door swung open and the stranger got out. He was tall and broad-shouldered, with unfashionably long hair. His features were blurred by the distance between them, but his size alone was intimidating. He shut the door and looked around.

Angie glanced at the stairs. Could she make it to the front door before the stranger crossed the street and caught her? Or should she stand her ground and confront him about the car? He was a head taller than she was and out weighted her by at least fifty pounds. It wouldn’t be much of a confrontation.

Before Angie could determine her best course of action, a flash of light momentarily blinded her. She blinked away the brightness
, then found a second man facing off with the stranger. The second man’s back was to her, but where had he come from? It was almost as if he’d just…

They circled each other
, staying just out of reach. As they rotated, Angie saw the second man’s face. Her heart dropped into her stomach and she shrank deeper into the shadows.
Naz
. The name echoed through her mind like the ominous rumble of thunder. She’d only seen him once before. They’d flirted briefly at the casino where she used to work. But Tori insisted he was dangerous, that Angie needed to stay as far away from him as possible. Tori had no reason to lie or exaggerate the danger, so Angie had listened and left the state.

Naz
swung and the other man twisted, barely avoiding Naz’s fist. Angie could hear their angry voices, yet she couldn’t make out their words. Naz made a sharp gesture and the other man grinned, his teeth starkly white in his tanned face. The stranger obviously didn’t consider Naz as much of a threat as Tori did. Naz lunged, but the stranger—zapped from one side of Naz to the other. Angie felt her eyes widen and her throat went dry. There had been no blur of motion. He’d instantaneously shifted from one place to another.

The
coffee cup slipped from Angie’s hand and landed in the grass at her feet. She covered her gaping mouth with one hand and grasped the tree trunk with the other. She must be dehydrated. She was hallucinating. That couldn’t have been real. Yet Naz’s arrival had been just as bizarre. He’d just blinked into view as if he materialized out of thin air.