Body Thief (23 page)
Authors: C.J. Barry
Ernest cut a glance at Roberts. “You’ll find everything you need in the communications devices.”
Griffin made a mental note to take the communications devices apart when he got home. He handed a duffel bag to Cam and hefted the other two. “Talk to you soon.”
Roberts escorted them to the door of the detention center and watched as they left. Gray skies threatened rain. Cam was nearly bursting by the time they got out of earshot.
“I hate Roberts almost as much as Harding,” she said bitterly. “Do you know he followed me into the ladies’ room?”
“Probably the highlight of his day,” Griffin said. “We need to check the gear thoroughly before we use it. I don’t trust anyone.”
Cam scowled. “I hate this.”
“So do I,” Griffin said. And he did. Because basically, the only people he could trust were Ernest, Lyle, and Cam. “How’s your father?”
Her expression turned serious. “The same.”
Griffin popped the trunk of his car and felt growing guilt. “Is there anything I can do to make his stay better? Different room? Different place?”
She handed him her bag. “No, but thank you. Thank you for thinking of him.”
He got points for asking, but still, he didn’t want the old man to suffer. Griffin only hoped he found Thaniel before he got worse.
Roberts gave Harding his report and left. Mercer and Solomon were going underground to find the Shifters. Ernest appeared to be behaving himself. Everything was going according to plan, but Harding was still not happy. He had a leak somewhere, and Braxton still hadn’t located it. And an infiltrator on the loose could ruin everything he’d built for the past year.
He dialed the number on his cell phone. As soon as it picked up, he said, “Did you find him yet?”
“I’m going through all our operatives now. So far, they check out,” Braxton replied.
Harding tapped his fingers on his desk. “The final shipments are coming in now. If any of them are stopped, our timeline will be delayed and so will my report to the senate committee.”
“I’m doing the best I can to plug the leak. I can’t be certain who is responsible—”
“Then don’t be,” Harding interrupted. “If you even think for a split second that someone is double-crossing us, I want you to get rid of them.”
There was a pause. “Sure.”
Braxton didn’t understand the gravity of the situation. Any delay now would mean that the report would be late, and Harding did not want to miss this opportunity for the president’s ear. Especially since Mercer and Solomon were getting closer to the Shifter cell. Harding had to spring this before they found out too much. “You cleaned up any trail back to us?”
“You have nothing to worry about.”
“The hell I don’t,” Harding replied. “I did my part. I got you the protection you needed, the funding, the contacts, the men, even the best scientists. It’s your job to make sure that the operation runs undetected. I shouldn’t even have to be involved.”
“I’m doing my fucking job,” his partner said, his voice rising.
“Then find that infiltrator!” Harding said and hung up.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
C
am sat across from Mercer on his living room floor. Between them lay a pepperoni pizza, miscellaneous weapons, and protective gear. Cam marveled at the trouble XCEL went to to kill her people.
am sat across from Mercer on his living room floor. Between them lay a pepperoni pizza, miscellaneous weapons, and protective gear. Cam marveled at the trouble XCEL went to to kill her people.
Mercer was carefully taking everything apart that could be taken apart. Cam leaned back against the couch and stretched her legs as she watched him. Bruce Springsteen was playing through the sound system. A football game was on the TV, but the sound was muted. And they were going through their weapons, preparing for battle.
“So, is this a typical evening for you?” she asked.
Mercer lifted his gaze to look at her, a fringe of sleek black hair nearly covering his eyes. “You want to go dancing?”
She laughed, and he smiled.
“Mercer, I don’t think you dance. I can’t imagine you ever dancing,” she said and grabbed another slice of pizza.
“I used to once,” he said, and then the shadow of the past swept over his face. The laughter was gone, replaced with memories. She hated seeing it.
“Maybe we should try dancing sometime,” she said, more to see his reaction than anything else.
His eyes focused on her with riveting intensity. Dark eyes watched her every movement, her every breath. The pizza slice was getting cold in her hand, and she didn’t care.
“I’m not sure that’s a good idea,” he said, his voice husky.
The intimate, highly charged moment in the bar came back in a flash. Her body perked up in a hurry, making her feel bold and reckless.
“Why?” she asked. “Are you afraid you might be attracted to a Shifter and ruin everything your world is built on?”
His eyes narrowed as if he was confused by her logic. “I’m not afraid of anything, Cam. I’ve already lost—” He stopped as if realizing he was heading into dangerous territory.
She set down the slice, suddenly latching onto a significant clue. “You’re afraid your life will never be back to normal. Or whatever you consider normal, which I haven’t yet figured out.”
Mercer gave her a hard look and then went back to disassembling his communications device. “Not in the mood for twenty questions, Cam.”
“Okay,” she said. “You ask the questions.”
For a long minute, he concentrated on removing the front of the comm. Then he said, “Why did your brother leave?”
And she immediately regretted her offer. “Wouldn’t you rather know what my favorite color is?”
He shook his head and unsnapped the cover. “Nope.”
Cam sighed. Well, she asked for this. “Thaniel and I disagreed on what to do once we crash-landed here on Earth.”
Mercer set the cover down on the floor and brought the comm unit closer to study it. “What about your father?”
“He wasn’t involved in the discussion.”
Mercer seemed to spot something in the comm. “So what did
you
want to do?”
you
want to do?”
She closed her eyes and tried to get the words out without choking on them. “I just wanted to survive like we did on the last planet.”
“You mean take advantage of the situation.”
She opened her eyes to glare at him. “It sounds so wrong when you say it that way. I prefer to take advantage of opportunities. Besides, it’s not like I chose the spotlight or anything. Think about it, I could have been the president. As it was, I wanted to fly under the radar. I didn’t want to become the prime targets in someone’s sights. And you see how well
that
worked out.”
that
worked out.”
Mercer smirked. “What did your brother want to do?”
“Thaniel wanted to save Shifters here on Earth. Make a peaceful existence. Be model citizens,” she said, feeling the bite of her own words. “It was . . . is . . . was my father’s dream.”
Mercer used thin pliers to pry something out of the comm. “So you argued and he left?”
She grimaced at the sharp stab of regret in her chest. Thaniel had been right all along. It just took her a few years to figure it out. “Yes.”
“And now you need him,” Mercer said and pulled out a thin, square piece of plastic.
“Yes,” she said with a heavy sigh. “I screwed up.”
“We all screw up, Cam. That’s life,” he said, turning the plastic piece. “SD card.”
She scooted across the floor to kneel next to him. “Ernest hid it?”
Mercer slid the card into a slot in the device. “Probably the only way he could get us the info.”
The screen on the device loaded. Cam took a seat next to Mercer so they could both look at it. His thigh was hard and warm against hers, and she did her best to keep her attention on the files popping up on the screen.
“Maybe I should print these,” he said, his voice sounding rough.
Cam covered a smile. “Afraid of me?”
Mercer opened the first file. “Small print.”
Liar,
she thought, and she leaned against his shoulder.
she thought, and she leaned against his shoulder.
“Analysis on the customer lists,” he said. “Looks like the human hits are companies that openly support Shifters.”
She scanned the report Ernest had written. “Shifter sympathizers.”
“That would explain why they were targeted or by who,” Mercer said.
Shifter haters heavily outnumbered Shifter supporters. “It would have to be someone who knew to remove those hits from our list, who knew the MO of the Shifter attacks well enough to copycat them.”
Mercer nodded. “Could be anyone in XCEL with enough clearance. But why?”
She shrugged. “More wood to add to the Shifter fire? I put my money on Harding,” she said. “He’s running the show.”
He shook his head. “Harding? He’s a prick, but he keeps his hands clean. He wouldn’t take the chance of losing his position.”
She had to agree with that, especially the prick part.
Mercer scanned down the document to the analysis on the customers that the Shifters had hit. “No sympathizers on the list of Shifter attacks. In fact . . .”
Cam put her face inches from his to read the tiny screen. “What?”
He took a deep breath. “Cam.”
She turned to look at him, so close she could feel the warmth of his breath. “Problem?”
He stared at her for a few beats and then put his arm around her to draw her closer. She sucked in a breath at the intimate contact. Their eyes were locked on each other.
Mercer spoke, “Some of these companies have been vocal about their position on Shifters.”
“Against, I assume,” she said, noting the hush in her voice.
“Against,” he concurred. “And if you get any closer, you’re going to get what you want.”
She felt her eyes widen. “And what is it I want?”
Mercer’s palm wrapped around the back of her neck and brought her lips to his—a fraction of an inch away. She felt the fire ignite in her belly with anticipation.
“Trouble,” he whispered. “And not the kind you’re looking for.”
That intrigued her. “You want it too.”
He peered into her eyes. “No, I don’t. I’m already in as deep as I want to get.”
“Really?” she said and brushed her lips against his.
“You can’t just take whatever you want,” he said, but his pulse was getting faster by the second. Maybe he was right and she shouldn’t be pushing him. Still, curiosity gnawed at her.
She ran her lips over his and breathed, “Chicken.”
He grabbed her arms and pushed her away. His eyes were narrow and hard. And that’s when she saw the anger. It was there underneath the façade of civility. She saw the truth. He worked with her because he needed her to get his life back. To get rid of her and her kind. Her people. Regardless of how kind he was toward her or her father, the bottom line was that he was condemning them all.
Somewhere deep inside, the fire that burned with lust twisted and turned, changing into something she hadn’t felt before—loyalty. With that loyalty came a surge of pride and protectiveness for her people.
“Fuck you, Mercer,” she said, and wrenched herself from his grasp. She moved a few feet away from him. “You’ll never understand us.”
She grabbed a slice of cold pizza and proceeded to eat it. What had she been thinking? She needed to quit thinking about the fantasy she had about a human male falling madly in lust with her knowing full well what she was. Never happen. Her father was wrong. There would never be a man like that for her.
For the next five minutes, it was silent in the room while Cam fumed and Mercer checked the gear.
“So the human hits are on companies that sympathize, and the Shifter hits are on companies who don’t,” he said casually as if nothing had just happened between them.
“Maybe it’s some kind of secret war, and these are retaliations back and forth,” she suggested with a shrug, careful not to look at him if she didn’t have to.
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