Phoenix's Fate (RARE Series, #2) (2 page)

Just then, Phoenix came through the door.  “Tell me ya got something, Angel,” he demanded. 

“Nothing,” Angel said.  “Nothing.  I can’t connect with Rikki.  I tried again this morning.  For some reason, I just can’t.  It is like there’s a block.”

“What about Serenity?” Trace, one of RARE’s team members, asked.  “Can you connect with her?”

“I doubt it,” Angel said.  “I only saw her the one time. I would need something of hers like a piece of clothing.  Without anything, there’s no way.”

“Please, try,” Phoenix said.  “Please, for me.” Angel looked over at Phoenix and the pain in his eyes. She could not imagine what he was going through right now.  To Angel, Rikki was like family; but Phoenix had not only lost Rikki, whom he had loved like a sister, but he had lost his mate too.  She just could not imagine it.  “Yeah, Phoenix,” Angel sighed, “Yeah, I’ll try.”

“Nico,” she called out.  “Get a hold of Jenna and see if she can talk to the women who were at the facility with Serenity.  See if they have anything, anything at all, that belonged to Serenity.  Hell, anything she even touched might help.  Get me something that will help me connect with her.”

“I’m on it,” Nico said as he grabbed his cell phone and walked over to a quiet corner of the conference room. 

“I know it’s a long shot, but thank you for trying, Angel,” Phoenix said.  Angel nodded, as she pulled out her cell phone to listen to Jeremiah’s messages.  He needed an extraction of course.  Unfortunately for him, RARE was not available.  Since it was the third message he had left, she decided she had better call him back.

J
eremiah Black tugged on his tie and then adjusted the collar of his white button down shirt.  He hated dressing up.  He hated the bureaucratic bullshit of his job.  He was tired of manipulating everyone and everything in the system to get things done.  But where else could he track down bad guys and make them face justice the way that he did for the FBI?  Fuck, he was just trying to save lives. 

Yeah, he was tired of it.  He was tired of a lot of things.  Most of all, he was tired of staying away from his mate.  His sexy, gorgeous, tough as hell mate.  Jeremiah had met her just over a year ago, but he had not allowed himself to follow through on the mate bond, not yet.  His mate seemed so young, and he could tell that she had ghosts in her past.  She had not been ready for him, and she definitely had not been ready for his bear.  So, he had decided to wait.  But he could not fight the bond any longer.  No, Jeremiah refused to fight the bond any longer. 

The funny thing was, she had no idea that Jeremiah was her mate.  She was human, and while shifters instantly recognized their mates, humans were slower to acknowledge the bond.  She would feel a pull towards him, but probably did not know why.  Chances were she thought it was just attraction, and if that were the case, there was no way in hell she would ever act on it. 

Jeremiah had met his mate the first time RARE had contracted a mission for the FBI.  After he realized who she was, he had delved in her background.  Jeremiah found out that she had grown up in foster care. She had constantly been moved to different homes until she had run away at age 15.  She lived on the streets until she enlisted in the army at age 18.  She had served two terms, becoming one of the best snipers the army had ever seen.  After an honorable discharge from the Army, his mate joined Angel’s team.  That was two years ago.  She lived a life of danger now, and he knew without question, she would continue to work with Angel even after she and Jeremiah bonded.  The question was, how was he going to get her to recognize their bond?  She was so damn stubborn, but Jeremiah liked that about her.  He liked, no loved, so many things about her; he loved her loyalty to her team, her courageousness, her expressive dark brown eyes, her beautiful long brown hair, her plump fuck me lips that he wanted wrapped around his dick.  Jeremiah groaned softly.

Yeah, the next time Jeremiah saw her, he was not going to be able to hold himself back.  He didn’t want to, and neither did his bear.  He could not wait to see her again.  Just then his desk phone rang.  “Black here,” he barked into the receiver.

“Jeremiah, it’s Angel.  Sorry I haven’t answered your calls.”

“It’s alright, Angel.  I got a job for RARE.”

“I’m not taking any jobs, Jeremiah.  Not now, not for a while.”

What?  What the hell was she talking about?  “I need ya on this one, Angel.  A well-known government official was kidnapped two days ago and we haven’t been able to locate him.”

“I can’t do it, Jeremiah.  I’m sorry, but I have to pass.  One of my team members has been taken.  Until I get her back, no jobs.”

Jeremiah froze.  “Taken?” he ground out through clenched teeth.  “Who?”

“Rikki,” Angel whispered. “Son of a bitch got her.  We couldn’t get to her in time.  We have been trying to hunt her down, Jeremiah, but we haven’t been able to find her.”

“What the fuck,” he roared.  “Talk to me, Angel. Tell me what’s going on with my mate!”  Ah shit.  He hadn’t meant to acknowledge to anyone Rikki was his mate.  Especially since Rikki didn’t know.

“Your what?” Angel asked in shock. “My mate,” he growled.  “Rikki is mine.  You tell me what the fuck is going on.”

Angel just sat there.  “She’s yours?  Why didn’t you say anything?”

“She wasn’t ready.  Where is she?  Who has her?” Jeremiah growled, trying to get his bear under control as his fangs threatened to drop.

“You better come to my house.  The team and I will tell you everything.  It’s not good though, Jeremiah,” Angel whispered.  “It’s not good.”

Jeremiah replaced the receiver, and immediately picked it up again, calling to have the plane ready for takeoff as soon as possible.  He was going to get his mate back.  No one was taking her from him.  And when he got her back, he was not letting her go. 

Jeremiah got up and walked out of his office.  “I’m leaving,” he told his agent, Cord.  “I’m not sure how long I will be gone.  You’re in charge for now.” 

“What are you talking about?” Cord asked.  “You can’t leave.  We have this huge case on the verge of exploding and..”

“Yeah, well I have something more important to take care of,” Jeremiah interrupted.  “I’m leaving. The big boss man can fire me if he wants, but I’m outta here.”

“Where are you going?” Cord asked in confusion.  “To save my woman,” Jeremiah growled as he slammed out of the office.

Jeremiah went straight home, loaded up one duffle bag with clothes and another with various weapons and supplies he might need to rescue his mate.  He may have been an office boy for a while now, but he still knew how to kick ass.  He was going to join RARE on this one whether they wanted him to or not.  Rikki was his, dammit, his.

“W
hat’s going on?” Nico asked as Angel hung up her cell phone, slowly sitting it down on the table. 

“Well isn’t that craptastick?” she whispered, her big blue eyes wide with surprise. “What?” Nico asked.  “Jeremiah Black is Rikki’s mate,” Angel said as she sat there letting it all sink in.

“Oh shit,” Jaxson said.  They all knew Jeremiah Black.  Good man. Bear shifter.  Tough as nails.  He was going to come in guns blazing.  But Angel was thrilled.  She needed him.  She would have asked for his help before, but she hadn’t been sure she would get it.  He worked for the FBI.  He was under their rules and regulations.  RARE did not answer to anyone.  They
did not
answer to the FBI, the CIA, not even Homeland Security. RARE did its own thing.  They contracted work out to several different agencies, but they handled things their way, with no questions asked.  As long as the job got done, everyone was happy.  Jeremiah Black worked for the FBI, but he was a badass bear shifter.  All bets were off now.  Someone had taken his mate, and Angel knew he would do whatever it took to get her back. She was glad he was on their side.

Just then, Nico’s phone rang.  He answered, listened for a few minutes, and said, “See ya as soon as you can get here.”

Turning towards Phoenix he said, “We are in luck, my brother.  A couple of weeks ago a new girl, Summer, showed up at the facility.  She was really young and scared to death.  Becca, a scientist that worked there, snuck her into Serenity’s room the first night to comfort her.  Serenity had a necklace that she had been wearing when the General’s men stole her from her pack.  For some reason, they let her keep it.  She gave it to Summer that first night and told her it would help keep her safe.  Chase is getting the necklace and bringing it here.”

Phoenix did not want to get his hopes up, but this was their best bet so far.  If Angel could connect with Serenity, then maybe they could figure out where the hell she and Rikki were.  It would take Chase a good 45 minutes to get the necklace and get to Angel’s, so Phoenix decided now was a good time to go beat the shit out of something. 

Nodding once at Angel, he turned and walked out of the room.  Going up the stairs and into one of the guest bedrooms, he quickly changed into some shorts he found in one of his bags.  He was going to hurt someone if he didn’t get rid of some of his anger.  As Phoenix slammed out the back door, he heard Nico call his name.  He just kept walking toward the barn.  He could not talk.  Could not breathe.  Phoenix walked into the barn, grabbed the tape off a shelf, and started wrapping up his knuckles.  Nico came in behind him.  Not saying a word, they walked over to the punching bag.  Nico held it while Phoenix pounded the piss out of it.  After thirty minutes, he finally stopped, grabbed a towel, and wiped the sweat off his face and the blood off his hands.  Then, while Nico waited by the door, Phoenix dropped to his knees in the middle of the old barn and prayed.  He prayed for the life of his mate, the life of his sister, and his own soul if anything were to happen to either of them. 

Once they got back to the house, Nico went to check in with Angel while Phoenix took a quick shower.  After Phoenix was done, he headed back down the basement stairs towards the conference room.  He heard a loud roar when he hit the bottom landing.  Sounded to Phoenix like Jeremiah Black had shown up and he was one pissed off bear.  Phoenix entered the conference room, took a seat at the table with the rest of his team, and waited for the bear to find his way to them.  It did not take long.

“Where is my mate,” Jeremiah growled as he stood at the entrance of the room.  Wow, he was one big grizzly.  As Phoenix watched, Jeremiah’s fangs dropped and his eyes turned bear.  He had never seen a bear shifter before.  Only wolf and cat. 

“Knock it off, Jeremiah,” Angel growled.  “You can’t shift in here, dammit.  You are too freaking big.  Get yourself under control and sit your ass down.”

Jeremiah continued to growl, but he visibly pulled his bear back and took a seat by one of RARE’s team members, Trace.  While they waited for Chase to arrive with the necklace, Angel gave Jeremiah a rundown on everything that had happened. 

Once she was done, Jeremiah asked in a low deadly voice, “You mean to tell me that some sick fuck has Rikki and wants to breed her?  My mate?” 

“The General wants to breed Serenity.  If he is aware of Rikki’s gifts, then I am sure he will want to use her, too.  We are not going to let that happen, though.” Angel told him.

“You said they have had her for four days, Angel,” he growled.  “Four days!  How can you tell me that something hasn’t happened to her already?”

Just then there was a noise up in the kitchen.  A moment later, Chase stood in the doorway.  His Beta, Bran, was right behind him.  Chase held up the necklace for everyone to see.  “I got it.  Let’s hope this works.”

As he moved over towards Angel, Phoenix got a glimpse of the necklace.  He swallowed hard and then ground out, “A Phoenix.  It’s a Phoenix.” 

Chase nodded.  “She told Summer a shaman made it for her a few years ago.  He told her the phoenix was her future and would keep her safe.”

“Find her, Angel,” Phoenix ordered through clenched teeth.  “You find Serenity, now.  I’m ready to start hunting.”

Angel nodded.  Looking over at Chase she held her hand out for the necklace.

S
erenity cautiously peered around the dimly lit room keeping her eyes closed most of the way.  She was not sure where she was and wanted a chance to assess the situation before letting whomever else was in the room know she was awake. 

“You’re back with the land of the living,” a voice whispered as a hand gently moved her long dark hair out of her face.  Serenity’s brown eyes flew open and she stared up into the face of the woman that she had saved.  “Your fever is gone.”

“Are they watching us?” Serenity whispered.  She sat up and gingerly scooted back to lean against the wall.  Titling her head back, she took in a deep breath, before letting it out again.  The pain in her chest was now just a dull ache.

“I checked the room out.  I did not find any cameras or bugs, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t here,” the woman responded.  “Some scientists were here earlier.  They checked your temperature, took some of your blood, and left.  That was it.”

Serenity nodded.  Her head was pounding.  But, after what she had just been through, she could deal with it.  She just wished she had the ability to heal herself, too.  Unfortunately, no matter how often she had tried in the past, it just was not possible.  She could heal others all day long, but when it came to herself, she could not even heal a paper cut.  “I understand.  At least all they did was take my blood this time.  It could have been worse.  Who are you?”

“Rikki, my name is Rikki.  I was on the team that came to rescue the women from the facility you were being held in.  Unfortunately, we both ended up here...wherever here is,” Rikki said as she gazed around the room.  “How are you feeling?  You were pretty out of it.  You had me worried for a bit.”

“Groggy, tired, but the pain in my chest is almost gone,” Serenity whispered. “I have a headache, but I’ll be fine soon.  I would be perfect if I could just shift, but I refuse to give the General the satisfaction of seeing me go furry.”

Rikki let out a deep breath and closed her eyes.  “Thank God.  I don’t understand why you did it, but I am pretty sure you saved my life.  If you hadn’t done whatever you did, I would probably be dead by now.  No one lifted a finger to help me until you.  With all the scientists around here, you would think someone could have stitched me up.  ”