BirthMark (7 page)

A sick feeling rose in his stomach. He walked toward the door as though tethered by an invisible string and opened it. The smell of burnt flesh, acid, and blood pinched his nostrils. What had they used to make that bomb? He wondered as additional scents assaulted him. There was nothing left of Boggs. Every part of the unfortunate man painted the walls and dripped from the ceiling. Silas stepped back when heard a shout from Hank.

“Found him.” Silas heard a curious scraping against the concrete and went to investigate. Hank dragged a bloody, unconscious Brad into the hall and released him gently onto the concrete. “He got hit with something in his chest that torpedoed him down the hall. He hasn’t shifted yet.”

Silas looked at Brad and searched for his wolf. The animal whined and snapped to break free. “Easy…easy,” Silas said softly as he pulled Brad’s wolf. The animal whimpered and lay on its side for a moment. Silas walked over, stooped and placed his palms on both sides of the wolf’s head to hold him steady. Closing his eyes, he sent a steady stream of healing energy into the animal. The damage to Brad’s chest had been severe, he’d probably need to rest for a day or so, but after that he should be fine.

He removed his hands and stood slowly. The room shifted for a second before he got his bearings. Tyrese didn’t touch him but he did take a step closer. Silas straightened and looked at Brad lying on the floor. “Take him to his room so he can rest. Let him stay wolf until he crawls into bed. He can shift later.”

Hank nodded and snapped his fingers at the wolf. The wolf didn’t move, instead he looked at Silas and then at Hank.

“Go with Hank now so you can heal. I need you at one hundred percent.” The wolf whined but stood slowly. As he walked off, he looked back at Silas repeatedly as though asking him to reconsider. Once the wolf and Hank turned the corner, Silas looked at the room and then at the twins.

“When I looked inside, it activated whatever was inside Boggs.” Tyrese’s brow rose. “I heard a soft whirring noise, which I assume was a trigger.”

“No…” Tyrese said as his finger tapped his jaw. “You were the trigger. Whatever was inside Boggs, was attuned to you specifically. Damn it,” Tyrese growled as he smacked his fist against the wall. “We didn’t pick up on it.” He looked at Silas and then Tyrone. “They have a device that we cannot detect until it’s activated.”

“Not good,” Tyrone added, staring at the door to the room.

Silas agreed. How had the Bennetts come up with such a sophisticated device? Remembering his short visit with them not too long ago, he wouldn’t have thought they had that much brain power between them collectively.

“Something’s off,” Tyrone said. “I met my kin and I don’t see them doing this.” He looked at Tyrese. “Think, did Boggs say the Bennetts sent him or was it the rebels?”

Tyrese frowned in apparent concentration. “He was nervous, said they didn’t trust him. He wanted to prove his loyalty to the pack. Claimed I smelled like a Bennett, but he never came right out and said the Bennetts sent him.”

“I bet someone else sent this guy.”

“Someone working alongside our dear kinfolk?” Tyrese asked Silas.

“Could be, or it could be whoever started this whole fucking game,” Silas said, pissed they still had no clue who'd started breeding humans and wolves and why. “The guy in the caves who took Jasmine said he had two offers…”

“That’s right,” Tyrese said. “One to save mom and one to kill her and her pups. He said two men offered him a deal if he’d kill mom. I wondered why he told you that. He had to know it would be his death warrant.”

Silas had wondered about that as well. When he'd found the man, Tyrese was right behind him with a gun pointed at the guy. So it wasn’t as if he'd had a chance to escape. “You think someone’s trying to organize the rebels? This seems like a coordinated effort. They gambled one of you or one of my inner circle would show up. Then this guy shows up on a kamikaze mission, starts a conversation, says enough to get you hooked, and then allows himself to be taken by you and brought into the compound.”

Tyrese ran his hand over his face. “When you say it like that, I feel like a damned sucker. I should’ve picked up on… something.”

“It was a precise plan with lots of players. They tested you, made sure you were the real deal, and then served Boggs up for a death mission. Poor guy probably had no idea he was packing whatever that was inside him,” Silas said, slapping Tyrese on the back.

“So the woman and those guys, they were a part of it?” Tyrone asked.

“Probably,” Silas said. “They followed Tyrese last night and watched him and Boggs enter his condo in town. From the reports I have, they are still watching the building.”

“I bet they try and break in to look around,” Tyrese said, smiling.

“If they do, they won’t be leaving. That unit is set to destruct,” Tyrone said.

“Yeah, but they’re probably feeling pretty good since this bomb went off. And knowing you were the only possible trigger might make them over-confident,” Tyrese added.

“We need to know what was in that explosive, and find a way to detect and destroy it. I don’t want to think what could happen if that thing was placed inside a lot of wolves and they were sent out to play or fight. It would be a disaster. Too many people would get hurt.” Silas looked at the twins. “Get the cleaning crew and forensics down here. I want this area treated like a crime scene. I want everything tagged and bagged. Tell them to find some clue as to what was in that fucking bomb and how we missed it.”

“Yes Sir,” Tyrone said, whipping out his phone to call Rose.

“I want to talk to one of the people from the other night. Make it happen. Find him or her and bring them to that room after it’s clean.” Silas looked at Tyrese. “Got that?”

“Yes Sir.”

Silas walked out and took the lift to find Jasmine. He was ready for that kiss and grope.

Chapter 5

Jasmine stood waiting in the hall to meet him. Her eyes roamed over his tall frame searching for anything out of place. She knew it was overkill; she had already examined him through their link and on a mental plane, knew he was fine. But still, she needed eyes and hands confirmation that he was okay. Flashes of him buried beneath the rubble hit her at the most inconvenient times, reviving the breathtaking fear she had felt that day.

Once he reached her, he pulled her into a tight embrace and just held her for a few seconds. Inhaling, she breathed him in, basking in his earthy scent, watering her dry areas. He opened his link and she felt him breathe her in as well. He shared a thought of her warmth filling him, causing him to open as the rarest flower. She smiled at the imagery and held him tighter.

“I love you,” she whispered, kissing his shoulder.

He pulled back, his eyes twinkling as they looked down into hers. “If you’re going to say those words, your kisses should be on my lips.”

“I agree.” She leaned up as his mouth slanted across hers and delved into hers. He tasted so good, like coffee with lots of cream. His hand eased down her backside and squeezed as he broke the kiss.

“I said I wanted to grope you,” she complained good-naturedly while rubbing his rear cheeks.

“Yes you did, but then I got to thinking of this voluptuous –”

Laughing, she covered his mouth as Rose walked by chuckling. “Silas, behave,” she whispered.

“This is me behaving,” he said, squeezing her again.

“I know.” She stepped back and gave him one last look over. “Okay, you can go back to work now, I’ve gotten my fix.”

He grabbed her and pulled her close. “Maybe you have but I haven’t, let’s go to our room for a quickie?” He rubbed against her, allowing her to feel his desire.

She looked at him with true regret. “Sorry I can’t. I’m on my way to talk to Julie and Siseria while the babies are taking a nap. Miracle of miracles, they are all sleeping at the same time. You know how rare that is?”

He pulled her toward their bedroom. “That’s because they want daddy to bury himself in mommy. Come on, you don’t want to disappoint our pups, do you?” He looked at her with a saucy grin and winked.

“Using your kids to get laid? That’s low, Silas.” She slapped his chest and ran around him, headed down the hall. “Keep your ears open for this and for the other…” she pointed to his crotch. “I’ll take care of that later. You can count on it.”

He shook his head and walked down the hall toward his office.

“
Don’t pout baby, it’s not attractive
,” she teased through their link.

“
I’m not pouting.”

“
Yeah, yeah you are,”
she countered. She made her way through the underground tunnel to the security complex, pretending she didn’t see the guard following her.

“
What do you plan to ask these women?”

She smiled at his change of subject. The man did not appreciate being teased.
“We went over this last night
,” she chuckled. When he didn’t join in she rolled her eyes and answered seriously.
“I will discuss human breeders and see if they have any information regarding how the mating began.”

“
There may be something else they know, but I’ll wait and see how the conversation flows. Is Jaree behind you,”
he asked, referring to her behemoth guard. She would swear Silas had grabbed this guy off a farm somewhere, he was that massive. Standing at almost seven feet, he was as wide as Tyrone and Tyrese standing side by side. It didn’t make any sense. Silas said he was some type of rare wolf breed. She believed it.

“
Yes, he’s behind me. I’m almost there, don’t distract me.”

He snorted but didn’t say anything.

Her guard strode in front of her, nodded and proceeded to unlock the gate leading to the security wing of the estate. Once he swung the gate open he stood to the side, allowing her to walk in, and then relocked it behind them.

They walked in relative silence, the sounds of their footsteps clicking on the concrete the only noise. Jasmine touched her voice activated recorder and inhaled. Collectively, these women had information that was critical to the health and well-being of her children. That meant she would be as ruthless as her mate to gather the data.

Beads of sweat graced her forehead from the hotter temperatures in the tunnel and the lengthy walk. She rubbed her palm against her pant leg as they stopped once again. Jaree punched in a code and they entered the much cooler section where the women were kept.

Her security guard opened the door, walked in and did a sweep. He returned and waited for her to enter. She thought about asking him to wait outside but knew that wouldn’t fly, and Silas would be pissed. So she motioned for him to stand near the door as she walked further into the area.

“Julie? Siseria? Are you ladies decent?” she called out, and sat in the overstuffed visitor chair facing the cells. Each cell had a bed, shower, sink and toilet. She watched as the women rose from their beds slowly, blinking against the light until they saw her clearly.

“Jasmine?” Julie said hesitantly as she scooted to the end of the bed. “How have you been? I see you've had the babies. That’s wonderful.” She paused. “Are they all okay?”

Jasmine thought the framing of that question was strong, but before she could answer, Silas spoke through their link. “
Tell her
they are all fine. I don’t want them to know about David.”

As if she would tell them that, she scoffed. “They are well, how are you?” She looked at the thin woman and wondered if she had lost weight since her capture or if she had always been that thin.

“Eh…I’m as good as can be expected.” She tipped her jaw at Jasmine. “For a prisoner.”

Jasmine nodded and glance to the next cage. “And you Siseria? How are you?”

“Same as Julie, same as Julie.” The woman’s eyes darted around the room as she rocked back and forth. Jasmine stared a few moments longer, wondering if the woman’s mind had been broken from mistreatment at the hands of wolves.

No one spoke for several moments. Jasmine was content to let them start the conversation and then she’d lead it in the direction she needed it to go.

“How many children did you have?” Julie asked.

“Four.”

“All the same? Boys? Girls?”