Emergence (The Primogenitor Chronicles Book 1) (30 page)

He led Robin over to a large pile waiting against the wall and rested his hand on it. “There’re some medicines in here that will need refrigeration as soon as possible. And be careful of the boxes with blue tape, they’re fragile. It’s all we’ve been able to manage so far, though we hope to have another drop ready in a few weeks.”

“Anything is always appreciated. You know that, Jays. Just don’t get yourselves in trouble right now.”

“I don’t know if there’s any avoiding that, Robin.” He chuckled mirthlessly. “And this may be the last shipment we can put together.”

They stood silently for a moment.

“I should get back. The guys will be close to done loading the truck. We’ll be out of your way in a few.”

“We still need to make the data transfer,” Robin said.

“Just watch it. Nick’s really acting odd.”

Robin snaked an arm around him and pulled him into a tight hug. “Thanks for the warning.”

He stiffened before allowing his arms to slip around his friend’s waist and return the hug, then stepped back. The physicality of the Valkyries still threw him at times.

“Thank you, Jays…for all you do.”

Not sure what to say, he looked into Robin’s hazel eyes, then shrugged and turned, walking to the door. He stopped when Robin called his name and looked over his shoulder at his old friend.

“Be careful, Jays. And please take care of Jessica.”

Nodding, he raised his hand in farewell. “I’ll do my best.”

Bright sunlight struck his eyes when he exited. He squinted and jogged across the alley to slip back into the warehouse he had left his Valkyries in.

He eased the door closed, then made his way swiftly up the back stairs to the office. After riffling papers to make it look like he had been there for a while, he searched through a file drawer to locate the current requisition sheet. A quick glance showed him a few extras tacked on from what Ian sent him to bring back. He jotted down their location in the warehouse then made short work of the removed inventory sheet. He grabbed up his note and headed back out to find the others.

He took the stairs down from the office three at a time and nearly ran straight into Nickolas at the bottom. Skidding to a halt, he stepped back. “Whoa, sorry. Didn’t mean to almost run you over.”

Nickolas gave him a queer look then slowly paced a circle around him, sniffing. Jays stood straighter. The image of a feral dog examining him flashed across him mind…if he made one wrong move…

He cautiously met Nickolas’s eyes. Ian’s training kicked in. His voice echoed in his head.
Always maintain dominance. Never drop your eyes, for even a second. If it comes to a battle of wills, you have to come out on top or you’ll lose control of the group. Redirect them. Because if it turns physical, you don’t stand a chance. Not against their enhanced strength and speed.
Plastering a cocky self-assuredness across his face that he didn’t feel, he raised his eyebrow at the Valkyrie.

Still staring at him, Nickolas spoke so softly Jays had trouble hearing him. “We’re almost done, I came to find you and see if there was anything else?”

Jays took a step forward into Nick’s space; the fey look in his eyes worried him, with Ian’s warnings still loud and clear. “Are you all right, Nickolas?”

The Valkyrie lifted his head up, scenting the air again before he replied. “I feel like I’m being watched.”

Startled, Jays responded. “Excuse me? Watched by whom?”

“I’m not sure.”

Goose bumps rolled across his skin, and he walked past Nickolas, hoping to get the Alpha to follow him. “It’s probably a side effect of all the time you’ve spent with Jessica this week. Her fear and paranoia rubbing off.”

After a glance at his list, he turned down an aisle, scanning boxes as he went. “Try to ignore it.”

“I feel…”

He looked over his shoulder at Nickolas and stopped to study the vagueness in his eyes. He watched a shiver ripple the length of his wings, then the vagueness faded.

“You feel what?”

“I feel like there’s another Hunter around,” he said, scanning the ceiling and surrounding aisles.

Damn it. He’s one step away from going feral.
So he snapped, “Don’t be ridiculous, of course there are. They arrived with us.” Then pointing to a box at random, he drew Nickolas’s attention. “That box, Nick. Take it up to the truck and send the others back here. There are a few more I need to locate.”

The Valkyrie hesitated, scanning the area, then shrugging, he picked up the box. Jays watched him turn the corner at the end of the aisle and his shoulders fell with the gust of breath that whistled past his teeth.
Close.
He searched out the other items on his list and set them on the floor for the rest to cart back.
The sooner we get out of here, the better.

Chris and Donald arrived on the run. They loaded up, leaving one last box that Jays carried when he went to join the others at the loading bay doors. He handed his box off to Donald, then turned to lock up the doors and caught a glimpse of movement out of the corner of his eye.
No. You idiot!

Growls erupted all around him. Jays whipped about and yelled at all of his mantling charges. “Everyone in the van now. Move it. In the vehicle,” he snapped. Robin’s Hunter had only been visible for a split second, but that had been enough to send his boys into an uproar. He pushed each of them, one by one, until he got them in the vehicle. As he slid into the driver’s seat, he glanced at Nickolas.

“I told you there was a Hunter,” he said.

Jays shivered. Nickolas’s reactions really brought home how different a non-controlled Valkyrie behaved. The brief contacts he’d had with Robin over the years had given him warning, but Robin stayed on his best behavior when they met, Jays knew. He just wanted to get Nick back to the Facility—now—and without any more problems.

He started the engine and shot gravel into the concrete bulkhead. “Let’s just get home.”

Jessica paced the confines of her cell, her arms wrapped about her stomach. She stopped and took slow, shallow breaths to ease through the nausea. When the wave passed, she continued pacing and reflected while she could on the fragmentation of her mind. At the moment, she had a clear patch and could see her deterioration, but more importantly, she could see how the effects seemed minimized when Nickolas was near.

Where is he?

He hadn’t brought in her breakfast like usual. And the change of routine left her unsettled. She gripped her stomach when a strong surge twisted it. Not a lot in there for the drug to work with.

Jays’s face swam across her memory. Concern warred with exasperation when he had come in to clean up the breakfast tray she had refused.

That had been hours ago. Immediately on the heels of that, Ian had joined them and committed his exam on her. Now the side effects from the inhibitor pulsed through her system.

She steadied herself with a hand against the wall and hissed a breath through clenched teeth. Once she had it under control, she stood and stretched her miniscule wings.

The air pressure changed, and she looked up to see the door swing open. Kieran stepped through, a full tray in his hands. She gulped in a breath and held it. He set the tray down then shrugged a black canvas case off his shoulder and leaned it against the wall. He turned to her, his eyes downcast, his face a mottled yellow-green blotchy mess.

“What the hell happened to you?” Opening her mouth had been a mistake. The air, filled with the aroma of the food, hit her. “Oh god.”

She slapped a hand over her mouth as her stomach rebelled. She couldn’t force it back down this time and spun, dashing for the toilet. Muscles heaving, she retched over and over. Gentle hands held her hair out of the way, and he supported her straining body, murmuring how much he had hated this part of the change too.

Mortified, she shivered, still panting. Tears pricked her eyes. Kieran brushed a hand over her sweaty forehead. As soon as the tremors subsided enough to stand, she pushed away from the toilet and the Hunter. Leaning heavily on the sink, she cupped water in her hand and rinsed her face and mouth. She stood over the sink, water dripping off her face, for what felt like hours.

Eventually she turned to face him. The compassion emanating from his eyes struck her, and she turned away from it, pacing again.

He cleared his throat, and the slide of plates scraped across the table. “Look on the bright side, the worst of the day is over. You should be able to keep food down now.”

She bared her teeth at him and kept pacing. A flush crept under the bruising and he looked down again.

“I’m sorry, Jess. I didn’t want to do it. Ian insisted, and I…” He sighed. “Please…”

She glanced at his injured face again. “You didn’t answer my question. What happened?”

His finger touched the half-healed split in his lip and he shrugged. “Nothing you need to worry about.”

“Really?” The sudden upsurge of possessive anger caught her by surprise and she turned to stalk him. His eyes darted a look at her then turned down again. He stood his ground, but she noticed his wings slick tight to his back. “You drugged me last time, Kieran. You owe me something. Now, what happened? Who beat the crap out of you?”

She stopped in front of him and put her hands on her hips. He was only a few inches taller, but she could still look up into his downturned face. A sudden thought rushed in. “It wasn’t Nick?”

His eyes widened and met hers squarely. “No.”

Relief softened her spine. “You know I don’t want to be here, but with how much time you’ve spent with me, I had thought we’d become friends.”

Hope brightened his eyes and he bit his lip. “I’m a Wing leader. I have rank. And that means responsibility. I had to protect the others.”

He turned away and fidgeted with the plates again. “I knew you wouldn’t trust food I brought in, so I brought two plates. You pick and I’ll eat the other. Ok?”

“What’s to stop them from just knocking you out too?”

“Nothing, I guess. But I think Ian learned his lesson. I expect you’ll see it coming from now on.”

She grunted then picked a plate and sat on the floor opposite the bunk. “Go ahead and have the comfy seat. So, I’m still waiting to hear why your face is the color it is and who I’ll have to look up when I’m out of here.”

He grumbled under his breath while he got settled. “You’re just not going to let it go, are you? It’s not someone you can take on. And none of us would let you if you tried.”

“No I won’t let it go. I’m probably more stubborn than anyone you know.”

“No one’s more stubborn than Nick.” He chuckled. “But so far you’re giving him a run for his money.”

“Speaking of? Where is he?” She started to pick at the food in her lap and ignored his pointed look. It took work to give the impression that she wasn’t overly interested in his answer.
What’s up with this, anyway? Why should I care? I need to focus on getting out of this trap while I can, not on how I feel about the one who put me here.

“Ian sent him and a couple of the others on an errand with Jays. He should be back in a couple of hours.”

Fog slithered through her thoughts, and she pushed it back. As meat juice slid down her finger, she licked it off, and then her nose twitched as the air currents shifted. She glanced up at the air register in the ceiling.
Maybe.
She left the thought to stew and turned her attention back to Kieran. “Errands, huh? That seems a little mundane. Valkyries aren’t thick in the streets, after all. As I’m sure you know being the ‘face of the Valkyries’ as you are. You’ve been on all the major news programs, haven’t you? How’s it being famous?”

She leaned her head against the wall and chewed another bite of food. Kieran fidgeted on the bed and ducked his head to his plate but not fast enough to hide the red blotches that overtook his cheeks, even through the dark clouds marring them. He cleared his throat.

“Thank my sister Siobhan for that. Let’s just say I’m glad Ian reassigned me for a bit. Not that I could have worked right now anyway.”

“What? You don’t think anyone would want to see your pretty face at PR events at the moment?” she said with sweet venom.

The look he cast her gave her some insight into why he was a lieutenant. The sharp edge he usually kept carefully contained showed through. “You’re not the only one who gets to do things you don’t want.”