Clarity (The Admiral's Elite Book 3) (17 page)

“So what do you think that means for us?” Becca sounded hopeful.

The senator exchanged glances with Michael then met her gaze, the smile on his lips anything but pleasant. “It means we find out who, get our own leverage, and bury this thing.” 

Chapter 14

“When is this all supposed to go down?”

“This afternoon,” Michael answered, making a point not to make eye contact with Kenneth.

“Then tell me again why I can’t go out.”

“You’re like a broken record, Kenneth,” Ryan growled from his stone seat on the edge of the courtyard.

Gabrielle crossed her arms, leaning back against the white stone archway cutting a path through the Old Post Office.

One side of the arch opened onto a courtyard filling with the lunch time diners hoping for a quiet outdoor bite. At the far end tourists and locals zipped around on foot, by car, and even the occasional pack of helmeted segway operators.

Ryan and Gabrielle stood sentinel, their backs to the humans milling to grab something from the stands while Michael’s post lay within the shade and blocked Kenneth’s path to the street and unsuspecting pedestrians behind him. Kenneth paced between them, turning abruptly toward the street.   

Michael moved just barely and Becca, leaning heavy on the cool stone, pushed off to back him up.

Becca noted Kenneth’s disgust as his cold eyes passed over her, his attention captured by a child’s shrill cry. The vampire turned again.

Gabrielle shifted her feet, shoulders lifting off the stone. Becca watched her demeanor make the subtle change from disinterest to alert, so col
d
Becc
a
felt goosebumps pimple her arms. Ryan rose to his feet in one fluid motion, the air around him shivering with barely restrained energy.

“Not happening, you crazy fucker,” Ryan’s arms dropped from his chest to his sides and he seemed to grow another foot.

The crazy fucker in question snarled, taking another step and hunching his shoulders like a linebacker aiming for an unsuspecting quarterback.

The blonde werewolf closed ranks forming a line no sane person would dare cross.

Kenneth, neither of those things, kept moving. Whether it was stubbornness or bloodlust wasn’t clear. Wha
t
wa
s
clear was that Kenneth was going forward, then he was moving back. Fast. He stopped suddenly, with a very loud crack. Ryan’s big hand gripping his neck, further evidence of why he’d stopped his maneuvers.

Michael advanced, his bearing tight, but face carefully blank. The conflicting combination was terrifying. And Becca knew why, it was the cold face of a killer.

“Control.” Delivered quietly, his warning was doubly ominous. “You are not a fucking animal, stop acting like one. I know you’re doing this just to be a pain in the ass.”

The hint of a guilty smile played at the corner of Kenneth’s mouth.

“You stop being a slave to your animal instincts or I will put a leash on you, and a silver collar.” Michael grinned. “A pretty one that sparkles, it’ll bring out the green in your eyes.”

“Fuck you, you’re the dog.” Kenneth spat, more than a hint of fear behind his witty response.

“No,” Michael replied coldly, stepping into the smaller man’s space, “fuc
k
yo
u
. You know I’ll do it.” He paused. “Again.” Blue eyes never wavered. “Ryan, let him go.”

“You sure, Mike?”

“Yes.”

There was no movement but for the hesitant retreat of the big Marine’s arm as he eased off to stand on alert, every muscle tense. Waiting for the smaller man to make a move. He would be more than happy to take the problem child down, to end him even in broad daylight in the nation’s capital where every third person belonged to an alphabet agency or was tied to law enforcement. Somehow Becca didn’t think Ryan was concerned about legal ramifications or political entanglements at that moment. Frankly, she wasn’t either. Not normally violent, she had to admit a certain desire to see the mad vampire taken down
.
I’d live longer
.
A shudder ran up her spine and she swallowed hard. She glanced over at Gabrielle and caught her eye.

It seemed like lately Gabrielle was watching her every move. Every wobble, every waver being cataloged for future use. Was she reporting back to Black? Becca felt her stomach tighten, the constant light show she had a loose grasp on these days danced that much faster, all that hard work to beat it to the sidelines lost in her growing weakness. Her world tipped, she took a quick step to catch herself.

A hand was at her elbow, his cool breath at her ear. “Are you okay?”

Her eyes shot to Gabrielle, not bothering to hide her interest. Becca’s vision cleared, relief filled her and Gabrielle tipped her head. Becca stiffened, removing her arm from his grasp. “I’m fine.” Loss of his touch brought a surge of nausea, acid burned the back of her throat, but she stood firmly on her own two feet.

Michael let her pull away but didn’t withdraw, he remained at her back. Becca equal parts loved and hated him for it and for herself for knowing she needed it.

Boom

The ground beneath her feet vibrated and Becca thought for a second she was collapsing, then she heard the screams. Distant and only a few at first, then more. They grew closer. On their heels, sirens.

As a unit, Kenneth suddenly adhering to their necessary cohesion, they jogged through the courtyard. Running full speed would draw attention. For the other four in her unit holding back had to be painful. Diners were no longer eating, most were getting up, others looking around, unsettled chatter filled the air.

“Don’t they realize what that was?” Becca looked to Michael beside her, not minding his arm at her back now as he propelled her through the thickening crowd.

“It wasn’t loud enough for most humans to hear and those who did don’t want to believe it’s real. They want to think traffic accident or construction.”

Becca glanced up to catch his eye. He nodded at the question in her eyes.

“People don’t want to think bomb. Not here.” Eyes turned front again and he maneuvered them around a fast moving cluster of men in suits going the same direction. “Unless they’ve seen action before.”

Becca noted the way their suit coats pulled and stretched over wide shoulders and tapered in at trim waists. Operators, they moved in well practiced unison toward the explosion. Toward Pennsylvania Avenue.

A phone rang.

“Sir,” Michael had his phone to his ear. “We heard it, we’re heading that way now.” Lips tightened, his feet slowed. “Any thoughts on who might be responsible?” Pause. “Right. See you in a few minutes.”

“What’s going on, Mike?” Ryan dog trotted closer to their commanding officer. The others closed ranks to hear. Becca remained pressed to his side, their brisk pace taxed her already failing body and she naturally sought support from the one she was becoming all too dependent upon.

Michael grunted and came to a stop, eyes trained on the chaotic scene they found once they hit the street. The unit cloistered, eyes aimed out. Law enforcement; uniformed and plain black suits moved through the stationary and slow moving clusters toward the source of the sound. A bomb on US soil. Those who knew enough to fear more were on its way moved in the opposite direction. Tourists gawked, hands over brows they tried to see what happened over the back and forth crowds. Phones were up and filming. Good to know the apocalypse would be well documented when its time came.

“Black.” Michael’s voice brought all eyes back to him.

“How does he know already? Half the town is still eating lunch.” Kenneth shook his head.

“We’re dialed into the same networks as our top agencies,” Ryan said, not hiding the pride behind his words. When he was back at the estate it wasn’t uncommon for him to station himself at the helm of their second to none monitoring programs.

“What was hit?” Gabrielle asked, all business.

“Private car heading back to The Hill.”

Becca felt her stomach clench. Somehow she already knew. “No,” she said softly.

“Senator Bill Jordan. Car bomb.”

Swallowing hard, Becca felt the prick of tears behind her eyes and the telling sting in her nose.

Ryan cursed and Gabrielle crossed her arms.

Kenneth checked his watch. “Now what?”

Becca seemed the only one offended by the cold question. From a tactical perspective she could agree, but as a human she wanted to bite him. The feel of his skin giving way under her teeth, the warm spill of blood in her mouth. Saliva coated her tongue and Becca’s lip curled. She took one step, then two. One more and she would be close enough to attack. Her hand reached out for his thin neck.

“What the hell?” Gabrielle stepped back, watching.

Michael moved fast, slapping her hand away just before it made contact with Kenneth’s flesh. Following her body’s spin from his connection, Michael wrapped his arms around her and walked them several feet away. Curling her into him, he put a hand to the back of her head and pushed her face into his neck.

She gasped, shocked by the sudden redirection, and her nose was filled with the scent of him. Earthy vampire mixed with male. A scent she associated with love and sex. Mouth open, she ran her tongue up the side of his neck and groaned.

“Becca, love, not here,” he whispered against her ear. “Fight it.”

Her answer was a frustrated whimper. But she fought it down, the vampire influence threatening to take her over one impulse at a time.

Feeling her gain control, Michael’s hold loosened and he kissed her cheek gently as he let her go. One arm remained around her back, whether offering support or in preparation of another freakout she couldn’t be sure.

“You got one crazy witch there, Michael,” Kenneth taunted. Becca watched his features twist in his cruelty. “Does the admiral know how close she is to breaking? Maybe he’ll put her out to pasture to rot like he does his other failed experiments.” Eyes wide, mouth gaping in feigned horror, he held up a hand covering the poisonous opening in feigned shock. “Or maybe she’s too far gone and he’ll have to retire her.” He let the hand drop and leaned in. “Maybe he’ll even mak
e
yo
u
do it.”

Beside her, Becca felt Michael’s entire body go tight. “You sure you want to get into a debate about who’s near breaking, Williams. Admiral Black hasn’t decided what to do with you yet, it might b
e
you
r
neck I have the pleasure of snapping. Soon.”

A shadow crossed behind pale green eyes before clearing and he smiled. “All I have to do is be less of a problem than that one.” He pointed at Becca. “And you’re burying that sweet piece of ass.”

Body locked tight, she could feel Michael struggling with himself
.
Black too. He won’t let Michael mess with his plans
.
The thought sent ice burning through her veins. Looking up, she spotted a drop of blood about to fall from his nose. Her hand pressed to his chest.

“Michael, please. You won’t have to do it. I can control this.” Her hand pressed harder on his firm chest, determined to get his attention. “I promise.”

At that he turned to her, unblinking. Vampires didn’t have the need to blink like their human counterparts but Becca still found the unblinking gaze unnerving. Michael did not perform his usual kindness of breaking off to ease her discomfort. No, it appeared every ounce of his control was tied up with an internal struggle for control being micromanaged by the admiral.