Safe (The Shielded Series Book 1) (13 page)

“Of course,” Vero said, throwing a glare at Tonner. “Besides, we’re happy
to do anything for Foster.”

Tonner nodded, a penitent expression on his face. “That’s true. He’s
given us so much.”

The man was a giver. What he’d given her last night was one of the best
gifts she’d ever received.

“Any news from the perimeter team?” she asked.

“No. Everything’s been quiet all around,” Tonner said.

“Good.” Darina hoped things stayed quiet all around. “Let’s keep up the
designated schedules unless you hear from me.”

“Got it.” Vero gave her a little salute.

Working with genetically engineered humans who had been designed to be
soldiers definitely had its advantages. The government may not want them, but
the police department could certainly make use of them. Everyone she’d met on
Foster’s property had something to contribute. What right did the government
have to create these people then decide they weren’t good enough? She’d always
been pissed at the treatment GECs received, but now, after meeting so many of
them, it was even more ridiculous.

She caught up to Zeke, and they followed his nose until they got to the
kitchen. Estoria stood by the stove, mixing something in a large glass bowl.

“Good morning.” She didn’t look as if she’d given birth only yesterday.
Her stomach was flat, and she appeared well-rested.

“How are you feeling?” Darina asked.

“Empty.” Estoria gave her sad eyes, but then collected herself with a big
inhale. “Thought I’d try to fill the void with pancakes. You interested?” She
glanced at Zeke.

“Yes, yes, a million times yes,” Zeke said, clasping his hands together
in a plea.

Estoria laughed. “If you want to eat them, you have to help.”

“No problem.” Zeke looked over the ingredients she had on the counter.
“Tell me what to do.”

Darina wandered to the big windows in the dining room while Estoria
directed Zeke. Looking out, she surveyed the team surrounding the main house. No
one was getting through that line of defense. Not with each one of them
outfitted with weapons, genetic advantages—even if the government didn’t think
so—and the desire to pay Foster back for what he’d done for them. It was a damn
fine team.

“Tell me you dreamed of me all night.”

She turned to see Foster leaning against the doorframe to the dining
room. Glancing to the kitchen, she said in a low voice, “Maybe, but the dreams
didn’t top the real thing.”

Foster put his hand to his chest. “Wow. I think that’s the best
compliment I’ve ever received.” He stepped into the room. “I know you probably
want to keep a lid on what happened between us last night. I’ll respect that.”

“Thank you.” A part of her, however, wanted to climb the tallest tree on
the property and shout about how she’d been completely and totally satisfied by
this man. That wouldn’t do anything for the leadership she was trying to
establish among the security team, though.

Foster came closer, his movements slow and graceful. He wore black cargo
pants with a hunter green T-shirt that showcased his superior body and
highlighted his eyes.

“The clothes Zeke has on?” She gestured to Foster’s outfit. “Are they
yours?”

He nodded as he came closer, his gaze zeroing in on her. “What’s mine is
yours.”

“How hospitable.” She raised an eyebrow when Foster came to stand right
in front of her. She desperately wanted a good morning kiss, but with Zeke and
Estoria right in the next room, she was afraid of getting caught.

“Are they making pancakes in there?” Foster asked.

“Yes.” She loved how she had to look up a little to see his beautiful
eyes.

“Estoria puts all her focus into her pancakes, so if she’s teaching Zeke,
all his attention is on the task as well.” He reached out a hand and let his
finger trail down the fat braid she’d wrangled her hair into today.

“So anything we might be doing in here would be totally undetected by
them?” She ran her own finger along his bottom lip. “Is that what you’re
saying?”

“Exactly.”

Before she could think about it too much, Foster’s lips were pressed to
hers. Heat instantly flooded her veins when he clamped his hands onto her
shoulders and brought her body against his. She slid her arms around his waist
and held on as if she planned to never let go.

Stupid.
She’d have to let go eventually. Foster would find the
cure. The world would be saved. Maybe she could catch Warres, settle the score,
and end all future threats.

And that would be that.

Foster would have no need for around the clock security if Warres was
caught. She’d have no reason to stay at his lovely Vermont oasis. She and Zeke
would go back to the city, back to their little apartment. At least the plague
would no longer be a threat to her or Ghared. Maybe, with the cure in place,
the world could get its shit together. Maybe she could have a better life.

Lonely, but better.

Because she would be lonely. She realized that now as she kissed Foster. Something
had surfaced with his sweet lovemaking, something that had made her understand
she’d been craving companionship only a man like Foster could provide. But she
couldn’t actually
have
a man like Foster. They were too different. He
was a brilliant scientist, and he’d be a hero once he found the cure. The whole
world would know who he was. Know him and love him. She, on the other hand, was
just an average cop. Only criminals would know her, and they certainly wouldn’t
love her once she caught them.   

A low rumble sounded in Foster’s throat now as he ended the kiss and
rested his forehead against hers. “You make my knees weak. Even the one I
built.” He tapped his right thigh. Sighing, he said, “Let’s have some
breakfast… unless I can convince you to let me carry you back to my bedroom?”

“Breakfast, Doc. We need breakfast.” She took a step back, but he caught
her arm.

“Will you come to me again tonight?” His green eyes lasered into her.
“Please.”

A man who didn’t hide what he wanted. Interesting. She couldn’t say she
knew too many men like that. It was refreshing to have Foster be so direct with
her, but a voice in her head told her to keep her distance. Falling for him
would be dumb. Super dumb.

“We’ll see,” she said, laughing at his pout. Damn, his lips were
gorgeous.

His shoulders slumped as he let go of her arm. “You say that a lot.”

“Yeah, and didn’t you get what you wanted last night?” She arched an
eyebrow at him.

A slow grin worked its way across his face. “Actually, yes, I did.” He
crossed his fingers. “Here’s to hoping
we’ll see
works in my favor
again.” He tugged her into the kitchen, dropping her hand as they crossed the threshold.

Darina paused, taking a moment to compose herself. If Zeke looked
directly at her right now, he’d totally know she’d been kissing Foster… and
loving every second of it. She didn’t need her teenage son knowing that about
her. She was Officer Darina Lazitter. Logical, practical, focused. She didn’t
do daydreaming or kissing or whatever she should call what she’d done last
night with Foster, because it couldn’t happen again.

But she wanted it to.

Oh, she was in trouble here.

“Mom?”

“Yeah.” She snapped her gaze up to Zeke, now standing in front of her.

“I asked if you wanted blueberries in yours.” He held up a handful of the
berries. “They’re from the property.” He popped one into his mouth and dropped
a few into her hand.

The berries actually made a sound when she bit into them. A snap that
indicated their freshness, their perfect ripening. Juice shot onto her tongue
and filled her mouth.

“Wow.” She stole a few more out of Zeke’s hand. “These are amazing.”

“Let’s put them in her pancakes, Estoria.” Zeke walked back over to the
stove. “I now know how to make pancakes, Mom.”

“And he’ll be in charge of making breakfast tomorrow.” Estoria laughed at
Zeke’s wide eyes. “What? Did you think I was showing you how to make them for
the hell of it?”

“She’s tricky like that,” Foster said, stealing a few blueberries and
winking at Darina when he caught her watching him. “You’re having a good time
cooking with her and then
bam.
You’ve got the spoon in your hand, and
you’re doing all the work.”

Estoria laughed again. “You make me sound like a manipulator.”

“And?” He held his hands out to his sides.

She picked up a towel and threw it at him. “Jerk.”

Zeke chuckled and looked at Darina. “They sound like you and Ghared.” His
face grew serious as he turned toward Foster. “You haven’t heard anything from
him, have you? About Mareea?”

Foster dug into his pocket and pulled out his tablet. He swiped his
finger across the screen, causing Darina to remember his fingers gliding across
her skin. She grabbed more berries and stuffed them in her mouth to focus on
something else.

“No messages from him.” Foster looked up at Zeke. “But that could be good
news, right? Like everything’s okay.”

Zeke nodded, but Darina could tell the boy was still concerned. “If we
don’t hear anything by tonight,” she said, “we’ll contact Ghared. It might be
good to have some information from the outside too.”

“Sounds like a solid plan to me,” Foster said. “Now let’s eat so we can
get into the lab.”

He shot Darina a quick glance followed by a grin, which heated her entire
body in two seconds flat. Apparently working on the cure was not the only thing
on his agenda for the lab today.

How was she going to resist him?

“How hard did you hit him, Dugan?” Mikale asked, walking a wide circle around
Ghared Timms’s body still prone on the floor of the apartment. The apartment
adjacent to Darina’s.

Lucky bastard.
Not that Mikale had any desire whatsoever to live
in such squalor, but to be that close to Darina was definitely an attractive
option. He’d be that close to her, only in the comfort of his private rooms
back at headquarters. She was going to love being able to leave this lifestyle
behind and fulfill her destiny with him. Together they’d rise to the top of the
new world he built.    

“Socked him in the jaw. No harder than I hit anyone else, sir.” Dugan
crouched and poked Ghared in the cheek.

Ghared moaned and slid his arm up to his head.

“Ah, it awakens.” Mikale sidled up to Dugan and bent over Ghared’s body
as the man tried to wriggle up to all fours. “Nasty headache there, Mr. Timms?”

Ghared flicked icy blue eyes in his direction. Blood glistened on the
man’s bottom lip, and the early shading of a bruise had bloomed on his jaw. “Where’s
Mareea?”

“Oh, she got hysterical when you didn’t wake up right away and started
making too much noise. We had to quiet her. Too much noise and the lower class
humans who live around here will come out of their holes to investigate. Can’t
have that.” Mikale shined his flashlight to a corner of the room where Mareea was
tied to a chair and gagged. Tears still streamed from her eyes, and her
shoulders shook.

Ghared struggled to his knees, his eyes squinting in pain. “What do you
want from us?”

“Information.” Mikale swooped the flashlight beam to Ghared’s face, and
the man raised his hands to cover his eyes.

“Get that out of my face. The overhead lighting is enough.”

“Of course you’ve grown accustomed to this dimness. You no longer
remember what it’s like to have things that work on full power.” Mikale shook
his head.

“Are you pitying me?” Ghared got to his feet now and Dugan took a step
forward, but Mikale signaled him back.

“Yes. I do pity you. I pity the life you lead down here.” He opened his
arms wide to encompass the dingy apartment. “I pity the fact that it’s only a
matter of time before you catch my plague. I pity the fact that you’ll be dead
soon.”

At that sentence, Mareea let out a wail that could be heard over the gag
in her mouth. Choking noises emanated from her throat, and she hung her head
forward so her hair covered her face.

“At least someone will mourn your passing before she joins you in death.
Such a loyal niece,” Mikale said. “She didn’t want to call you when we asked.
She fought us, but Dugan here can be very convincing.”

Dugan reached to his back pocket and pulled out a wicked looking dagger. “She
immediately understood her face wouldn’t look so pretty after I got done with
her.”

Ghared charged toward Dugan, knocking the dagger out of the larger man’s
grasp. He pummeled his fists into Dugan’s gut until the man couldn’t stand
anymore. With a few kicks to the ribs, Dugan was out cold, and Ghared turned
his attention to Mikale.

“You’re next.” He stepped forward, but Mikale was ready. He had his gun
in his hand and pointed at Ghared’s chest.

“Dugan likes knives and the hand-to-hand stuff. Me?” He shrugged. “I like
to have the technological advantage.” He regarded the gun. “This is special
issue. Military-grade. Developed for close combat and maximum damage. I
developed it myself when I worked at Emerge Tech. Want to see a demo?”

Ghared put his hands up and shook his head. “Not today.”

“Good, because I need you to do me a favor.” Mikale had, after all, lured
the man here for a reason.

“A favor?” Ghared smirked. “I’m not doing shit for you, man.”

“Fine.” Mikale marched over to Mareea and pressed the gun to her temple. The
girl’s muffled cry sent a shiver of anticipation over Mikale’s body. “Do it for
her then.”

“If you hurt her…” Ghared’s fists clenched by his sides.

“There’ll be no need to hurt her if you cooperate.” Mikale took a section
of Mareea’s long hair and combed his fingers through it. He remembered a time
when women’s hair smelled like fruit and was as soft as silk. This girl’s hair
was neither. It was cleanish, but it didn’t shine. It didn’t slither around his
hand with a hushed whisper.

The time for a new order has come.

This world wasn’t operating properly anymore. It hadn’t been for a long
time. The government and Emerge Tech said they were working on restoring
balance, but it wasn’t happening fast enough. The government couldn’t be
trusted to do anything right and Emerge Tech wasn’t much better.

Mikale’s plague was the only thing speeding up the restoration process
and what re-grew in the aftermath would be better than anything of the past.

But he had to have Darina first.

“What do you want?” Ghared’s voice brought Mikale back to the present.

“Your neighbor.”

Ghared’s eyes narrowed then widened as he looked at the wall joining his
apartment to Darina’s. “You want her?”

Mikale nodded once.

“Why?”

“She’s destined to help me with my mission.” He’d always known there
would be a woman involved in his plans. He didn’t know who until he’d seen
Darina’s picture. She’d stirred something inside him, and no other woman would
do now. It had to be her.

“If you think Darina Lazitter will help you with anything, you’re
insane.” Ghared laughed. The man actually laughed. He stopped when the split in
his bottom lip began oozing fresh blood, but his eyes still held amusement. “You
obviously know she’s guarding Dr. Ashby. She’s chosen her side, dude, and it
ain’t yours.”

“It’s your job to get her to switch sides.”

Ghared shook his head. “Warres, you don’t know a thing about Darina. Once
she’s made a decision, there’s no flipping her. Besides, you’re a lunatic. She
doesn’t like lunatics.”

“Then I guess today is the last day on this planet for you and your
niece.”

Mikale flicked the setting on his gun to maximum power and made a show of
preparing to pull the trigger. Mareea squealed in her chair, water pouring out
of her eyes like a faucet on full blast.

“Wait!” Ghared put his hands out. “There’s no need to involve Mareea.
What does she have to do with any of this? She doesn’t know where Darina is.
I’m the only one who does.”

“Mareea is the incentive to get you to cooperate.” Again, he pressed the
gun harder into the girl’s temple and twitched his finger on the trigger.

“I’ll cooperate.” Ghared took a step closer. “I’ll do it, but you have to
let Mareea go. Completely. She’s out of here or you get nothing from me.”

Mikale shook his head. “She’s not going anywhere. You’ll help me find
Darina, but this girl comes with us. I may need her again to properly motivate
you.”

Ghared let out a growl, and Mikale had to admit he feared the man.
Without a weapon, he would definitely not have an advantage. Ghared was bigger,
more muscular, and had a fierce edge that was barely contained by his skin.

And were those skeletons beyond the barbed wire tattoo on his arm?
Something about the hollow eye sockets of the skulls made Mikale uneasy.

But I have a weapon.
As long as he had the gun and the girl, he
had the power. He just needed it to stay that way.

“What do you say, Mr. Timms?” He wrenched Mareea to her feet, poking the
gun into her side now. “Are you ready for our field trip?”

Ghared’s expression wrestled with several emotions Mikale didn’t care to
waste time deciphering. The man clenched his teeth and wiped blood off his
split lip. “Fine. I need gas for my hovercopter.”

“Do you really think I’m going to allow you to chauffeur us?” Mikale
rolled his eyes. “My pulsejet is charged and ready.”

Dugan moaned from the floor as he regained consciousness.    

“And it appears my driver is nearly ready to act as pilot.” Mikale
shuffled Mareea closer to Dugan and nudged the man with his boot. “Shake it
off, Dugan. We’ve got to go.”

Dugan rolled to his back and rubbed his eyes. “I think my rib is broken.
I can’t drive the pulsejet in this condition.” He sat up, pain etched into his
features as he wheezed on each inhale and exhale.

Mikale decided right then and there that Dugan wouldn’t be around for
repopulation. The man had been loyal and effective in his role so far, but if a
mere broken rib could ground him, he wasn’t worth the trouble.

“My offer to drive still stands,” Ghared said.

Mikale shook his head. “Dugan is not my only associate. I have many loyal
people.” He dug out his tablet and summoned Trevis, his next in command. After
a brief conversation with him, he said, “It’d be nice if I could handle all
this myself, but it takes people to put plans like mine in place.”

“People like Darina?” Ghared flexed his hands by his sides, and Mikale
could tell the man felt something for the beautiful officer.

“Yes. She’s a centerpiece to my plans. Her role is pivotal to its
success.”

“How so?” Ghared’s eyes narrowed as if his tiny brain couldn’t possibly
understand the complexities of such a plan. Average people were so dull.

“She will be the mother of the next evolution of the human race.” He knew
Darina would see the importance of such a title.

Ghared paused, his entire body growing impossibly still as he stared at
Mikale. “Wait a minute. You mean Darina and you… you’re planning to use her to…”

“Reach my repopulation goals? Of course. I’ve looked into her, Mr. Timms.
She’s superior.”

“No shit.” Ghared shook his head. “But she’s also not an idiot, Warres.
She’ll never agree to your demands.”

“Well, I guess we’ll find out exactly what her son means to her then,
won’t we?” Mikale gestured to Mareea, still blubbering next to him. “I gained
your cooperation by threatening the one person you care most about in this
rotten world. What makes you think the same won’t work on her?”

“Because Darina is always ready. Always.”

“She’s not ready for me.” Mikale smiled, thinking of introducing himself and
finally being in Darina’s presence. He couldn’t wait to breathe the same air as
her.

“Maybe not now,” Ghared said, “but she doesn’t hesitate. She’ll react, and
you won’t know what hit you.”

“I don’t think that’s the way it will unfold.” Mikale’s tablet chirped, and
he glanced down at the screen. “Trevis is here. Let’s move.”

Mareea let out another mournful sound. Ghared stepped closer to her, but
Mikale got between them. “No contact.”

“She’s my goddamned niece. I’ll get as close as I want. You realize she’s
the only reason I haven’t ended you yet, Warres, right?”

“If that’s what you believe…” Mikale waved a hand at the ridiculousness
of his statement. “But I think this gun has something to do with it as well.”

“Go ahead and feel safe with that gun. That’ll be your downfall. Trust
me.”

There was a look in Ghared’s laser-sharp blue eyes Mikale didn’t quite
care for, but he couldn’t let that rattle him. Nothing could detract him from
his goal, his cause, his higher purpose. Finding Darina would bring him closer
to that purpose, and this sub-human was going to get him to her.

Mikale shuffled Mareea toward the door and motioned for Dugan to take
charge of Ghared. Dugan hesitated, his hand pressing to his busted rib, but one
glare from Mikale propelled him into action. He’d retrieved his dagger and
after brandishing it at Ghared, he’d gotten the man to walk ahead of him.

They made it outside undetected by any neighbors. One benefit of the
current world status was that everyone minded their own damn business. No sense
in getting involved in the problems of others when there were enough problems
to go around for everyone. Blind eyes were easy to come by.

Mareea and Ghared were piled into the pulsejet where Trevis waited in the
pilot’s seat. Slowly, Dugan climbed into the copilot’s seat as Mikale got in
with his hostages.

“Let’s review the numbers,” he said to Mareea and Ghared. “Three of us to
two of you, and my people and I are all armed in some form. Try something and
one or both of you will end up dead.”

“Then you don’t make it to your destination.” The smug tone of Ghared’s
voice stirred hatred in Mikale’s gut.

“I always complete my mission. Maybe not the way I originally intended,
but I do not accept failure.”

“There’s a first time for everything.” Ghared settled into his seat, his
muscled arms folding across his chest.   

“Just give Trevis directions to Officer Lazitter’s location.”

The sooner he found her, the closer Mikale’s plans would be to
completion. That was all that mattered.

****

Foster wasn’t accustomed to having a lab assistant as sexy as Darina. How
could cargoes and a tank top make a woman’s body so irresistible? It scrambled
his brain, and he was in no position to have a scrambled brain.

Focus, focus, focus.
If he didn’t find the cure today, he was
putting everyone at risk. It had once been just about the world’s population
“out there,” but now, with him basically a refugee, hiding out in Vermont, all
the residents on his property were in the line of fire as well. If they were
discovered, they’d be confiscated by the government like contraband and
dismantled faster than he could say
fuck you.
Couldn’t let that happen.
No way.

Shaking his head, he concentrated on the beaker in front of him as Darina
held two ingredients for him. She stood close enough that her scent intoxicated
him. Something a little fruity reached his nose, and he immediately identified
it as the natural bath products Rasha made from herbs she grew on the property.
He’d always liked the fragrances she’d experimented with, but combining it with
Darina turned the aroma into something divine.