Shifters Gone Alpha (15 page)

Chapter 8

“Silas, what’s wrong?” Jasmine asked walking into the dim room. She’d sensed his disturbed thoughts earlier and decided to see him rather than talk through their link. Gently she took his hand and sat in the black leather bucket chair in front of him.

His dark green gaze met hers and for a few seconds they simply stared at each other. She sent love and affection down their link, reminding him they could get through anything together. He squeezed her hand and exhaled.

“Tyrese found a case of flesh covered bombs hidden in the barn, like the ones Griggs used. I thought we were done with those but apparently not. The police chief has a bomb squad on the premises going through everything. Five bombs are missing, we know about one. That leaves four.”

Jasmine nodded, Asia had already shared this information.

“Tyrese took the laptop and digital equipment to see if there is any information that would lead to the individuals who may have taken the explosives. Hopefully there is some type of list or schedule or anything that can give us a lead.”

“If there is any information on the computer or at that location at all, Asia and Tyrese will find it.”

“True.” He paused. “I received a call from a pack member in the Pentagon. They got wind of the bombs and are demanding details. For some reason they’re upset I didn’t share the information with them sooner. He said the higher ups want to meet with me and discuss the matter.”

Jasmine could only imagine his response. She leaned forward, cupped his short hair covered cheek. “When is the meeting?”

“After they dismiss all of these trumped up charges against me.” He winked and pulled her onto his lap. She snuggled beneath his chin, comforted by the steady thud of his heartbeat.

“You cut a deal?”

“Not really, I placed my terms on the table. They’ll take the bombs from the police anyway and dissect them like we did. But they are behind with the technology and if they want to catch up, they’ll talk to me, or not. Either way, I’ll beat the charges. They’re dragging this out like a bad play.”

She rubbed her cheek against his chest. “You did blow up the labs, they have proof.”

He leaned back, his brow raised. “And the people who matter know why. They understand and agree what the Liege did was barbaric against my pack and I had to take action.”

“But they can’t come forward, just like you can’t, otherwise everyone will know you’re a badass Alpha wolf who don’t take shit.” She giggled when he tickled her.

“Haven’t you learned it’s not a good idea to bait an angry wolf?”

“Think I heard something about that in the story books, but what happened to that wolf in Red Riding Hood? I can’t remember.” She shrieked with laughter as he picked her up, walked to the leather sofa and dropped down on top of her.

“No one will save you from me,” he murmured placing kisses on her lips and cheek.

“This woman doesn’t want to be saved. Ravage me, Wolfie.”

Silas swooped down for a hot, long kiss. Her world narrowed to the fire sizzling along her skin. His fingers grabbed her hair, holding her in place. Didn’t he know there was no place she’d rather be than with him?

Gasping, they broke apart.

“Woman, what you do to me… never stop. You’re the light in my darkest moments.

She melted beneath the husky timbre of his words.

“I need to taste you.”

“Whatever you need, Silas, I’m yours.” She rubbed the back of his head in a slow, soothing, rhythm.

He shuddered and burrowed his face in the crook of her neck. He lay there for several moments, breathing as though he had just completed a marathon. Every once in a while his large body shook.

“Angus is missing.”

Jasmine stilled. She couldn’t have heard correctly. “What?” she whispered.

“The past three hours Chase sent pack into the mountains to search for him.”

She pushed up on his chest and met his sober gaze. “Wait. Start from the beginning. The last I heard, he was on the mission. Did something go wrong? When did you learn he was missing?” She tried to slow her racing heart. Not Angus. Angus was a rock, impossible to bring down. Silas had to be wrong.

He rolled to the side, bringing her with him. “After I got the message about the bomb in Maryland I tried to contact him to let him know Asia and Tyrese were out of the state.”

“And he didn’t respond?”

“No. That didn’t concern me at first. Sometimes when we contact each other, and we’re busy, we talk later. I realized in the wee hours this morning he never contacted me, that’s never happened. So I knew something was off.”

“Silas, that was yesterday afternoon. You haven’t heard from Angus since yesterday?” she asked slowly, realizing he never mentioned it to her. Not last night or this morning and it was lunch time now. Almost a full twenty-four hours had passed.

“No, I haven’t. Somebody either took him from the fight location or he wandered off, which doesn’t make sense because of the plan.”

“Were the other bodies still there? Did the rebels take him?” She didn’t like the sound of this at all.

“Yes, the other bodies were still on the ground. If the rebels took him, they did something that limits him from making contact with anyone. I can’t access his wolf, or our link. That’s not supposed to happen.”

Jasmine refused to think Angus was dead, besides, Silas would feel it. “We need to link together and do a deeper search for him.”

“Sweet Bitch, I’ve sat here all morning searching –”

“And we’ll search together this time.” She slapped his chest. “And don’t try to sweet talk me, after my brother is found and is safe, we’ll have a heart-to-heart talk on you keeping important family matters from me.”

“Jasmine.”

“No, Silas I mean it. Angus missing for a few hours, okay. But for twenty-four hours? No, that’s something you should’ve shared with me. I love him too, he’s my brother.”

Silas pulled her close and placed a kiss on the top of her head. “You’re right. The time slipped away, and last night I needed to lose myself in you, away from everything going on outside our bedroom. Forgive me.”

“We’ll talk about that later. Link with me so we can find him.” She wasn’t going to allow him to get off so easy. Silas needed to remember he wasn’t an island and sharing didn’t make him less effective as a leader. They had several versions of this conversation in the past and he always apologized, but he needed to change.

Familiar heat slid down their link. Jasmine grabbed it and entwined her energy with his. Mentally she prepared for the jolt that occurred when they were fully combined. Her back arched with the sizzle anyway. Now Silas could deepen his search.

“Look in Maryland first,” she said ignoring his sigh at her remark.

“Focus on Angus, not the state,” Silas said.

Images of Angus floated through her mind, jokes they’d shared, long talks on Asia and Damian, his hopes for his future. Jasmine had no idea how long they lay together thinking about Angus when Silas jerked.

“Got something. Looks like an abandoned, house. No, the shape is hazy, maybe a barn.”

“Can you get the coordinates?” she asked.

“I’m working on that.”

Jasmine rolled her eyes at his snappish tone and continued focusing on Angus.

“I cannot see him, but I sense he’s in that building which is more than I had before. Chase has pack members who live within miles of the place, they’re on their way.”

“Is the plane on the way?”

Silas placed a kiss on her forehead. “Not yet. I need to verify it’s him.”

“It’s him, Silas. Place the jet on standby to bring him home.”

“Yes, Ma’am.”

She ignored his teasing tone. “Can Hawke examine him?”

“Yes, but why not Dr. Passen?”

She shrugged. “Hawke has more experience with being tampered with and will know what to look for. Dr. Passen will need to ask questions and Angus may not be up to that.”

“Good point, once Angus is in the air, I’ll have Hawke on standby. Asia and Tyrese don’t know about Angus and I don’t want them to know. I told Tyrese Angus wasn’t available to talk,” Silas said.

“Okay. Searching for the bombs is important too, they don’t need to be distracted and go looking for whoever took Angus. That will happen soon enough.”

Silas nodded, his chin rubbed against her head. “If someone got to him before he could defend himself, he won’t stop until he finds out how they did it and why. He’s going to be one pissed off wolf.”

“Pissed off I can live with,” she said in a soft tone, rubbing against his chest, comforted by his warmth. Together in an easy silence they waited for more information.

Silas tensed and then relaxed.

“They found him?” She leaned back to search his face and checked their link.

“Yes. He’s in wolf form, lying on top of a table. Chase sent for a paramedic’s truck so they can lift him safely and put him on the plane. It should arrive soon. I want to try and reach his wolf.”

“Is Chase there?”

“No, not yet. I have to wait for him, but before they put Angus on the gurney, he needs to be awake. If he wakes while in transit it could be dangerous for everyone in the van.”

Jasmine exhaled in understanding. Any wolf would react strongly to returning to life after being drugged.

“Chase is there now and going in the barn. He sent everyone else out.”

Smart man, Jasmine thought.

“Ready?” he asked her, tugging on her energy.

She took a deep breath and then relaxed. “Wake him up, baby.” A strong tingling sensation ran up and down her body as Silas used Chase as a conduit to grab Angus’ wolf.

Her legs shook.

“Almost there.”

She didn’t know how much longer she could continue. Every nerve ending in her body vibrated.

“Got him.”

The sensations stopped abruptly, causing her to hold on to him to catch her breath. They rarely combined their energies and only in dire emergencies because of the after-burn. Sleep and then lots of food and water, were next.

“Angus attacked Chase but didn’t hurt him, not really. I’m talking to him now that he’s returned into human, he doesn’t remember anything, but he’s weak. He wants Hawke to check him out. They’re on the way to the plane.”

Jasmine yawned. “Good, I should be awake by the time he gets here.”

Chapter 9

“Glad we got the pictures of the bombs before the police took them away. No doubt the Feds will step in and take them for research purposes,” Tyrese said while searching the basement of Ruth’s house.

“Danielle is finishing in the barn,” Asia said holding a scanner and moving it slowly across the walls. After they discovered the case of bombs buried beneath the barn floor and contacted Chief Williams, things moved quickly. Ruth’s body lay covered for the next few hours while the bomb squad removed the explosives and left the premises. Danielle arrived during that time and alternatively took pictures and videoed the process for further review.

Karney entered the basement. “Nothing in the bedroom. Solis and the techs are working on the computers. Your guys still working on the laptop?” He asked standing at the bottom of the stairs and wrinkling his nose against the musky odor.

“Yes, we should hear something from them soon,” Tyrese said without explaining Jacques and Hawke had hacked into the computer and were going through the files along with La Patron. So far they hadn’t found anything about the group, members or their next target.

“Okay. This guy you talked to, Herbert Green, he was related to the deceased?”

“Yes, he was her stepbrother, seems they were close,” Asia said stopping in front of a section of wall.

“Should we pick him up? Question him about the bombs? He may know something,” Karney said, chewing a toothpick.

“Probably wouldn’t hurt, but I didn’t get the impression he knew a whole lot about what was going on. He just did a favor for Ruth and watched out for the guy going into the store,” Tyrese said coming to stand near her. “You got something there?” He pointed to the wall.

“Maybe, the reading is a little different here. Move those wood boards and blocks out the way so I can get a better reading.”

Tyrese and Karney shoved the building materials to the side. Asia moved closer and placed the scanner on the wall. “See, it’s different.” She held it so Tyrese and Karney could see.

“Let’s open it up,” Karney said bending to pick up a long board. He ram it into the wall, splitting open the sheetrock. Asia and Tyrese pulled off the tattered pieces. At the bottom, tucked away on the floor, was a medium sized metal box.

“Now that’s interesting,” Karney said as Asia scanned the box for explosive devices.

“It’s clean,” she said in anticipation.

Tyrese pulled the box out and looked at the padlock. If Karney wasn’t there, she would have yanked it off. “We need some type of saw to get this off, or a crowbar,” Tyrese said glancing at Karney.

“There may be one in the barn. I’ll go check.” He turned and left Asia and Tyrese alone.

“Wonder what’s in here?” Tyrese asked, shaking the box. “It’s not heavy, I doubt its money. What could be so important they hid it in a wall?”

“We’ll know soon enough,” Asia said, continuing her scan of the wall.

“I could open this,” he said.

“How would you explain it?” she asked without looking at him.

“That’s why I didn’t open it yet.” He paused. “Dani’s on the way.”

Asia looked over her shoulder at him. “Don’t call her Dani, she hates that name.”

He laughed. “I know.”

Asia shook her head. Classic Tyrese, always pushing the envelope. When she reached the end of the wall she doubled back to be sure she hadn’t missed anything. Danielle and Karney arrived together, he held a tire iron.

“Couldn’t find a crowbar, but this should work.”

Asia agreed and stepped aside to allow him room. Using the iron bar, Karney popped the lock and opened the box.

“Some kind of papers,” Karney muttered looking inside. He pulled out a few pages and then stopped. “Holy shit.”

Asia stared at the Department of State insignia and Top Secret stamp and agreed with him. He dropped the page as if it were on fire. She picked up some of the files in disbelief. Xavier’s ops were in the box, one specifically, she recalled because she had exterminated a high ranking official on holiday during that assignment. Xavier had been her contact person. Fortunately, her name wasn’t in the file.

“
What’s going on
?” Hawke asked.

“
You won’t believe what we found
,” Asia said staring at file after file of hits the CIA authorized over a ten year span. Someone had compiled information against the government that could cause a serious ripple effect across the globe.

“
What?
”

She told him what she was reading.

“
I’ll tell Silas
.”

“
La Patron
,” she corrected automatically.

“
Yeah,
” he said.

The room had gone silent. She noticed no one else read the files, which was smart. Not knowing certain things kept you safe. Karney left the room. Tyrese and Danielle moved to the other side of the basement.

What were these files doing here? If this group had a problem with La Patron, why accumulate old CIA assassination cases? It made no sense. Many of these deaths were highly classified.

Asia stared at a file on the death of a Russian operative. Her stomach clenched in dread. There was no reason to open the folder, not when she could see it so clearly in her mind. The face of Olga Egorov stared at her. Young, beautiful and arrogant enough to believe she was invincible behind the badge of diplomatic immunity. That night when Asia entered her bedroom, the Olga had just taken the life of an American soldier who worked at the embassy. She’d looked at Asia with disdain, as if she were beneath her notice and turned her back.

Asia smelled the metal of the small pistol and leapt out of the way as the bullet whizzed near her shoulder. She and Olga fought for a few minutes but there was never any question to the outcome. Moments later, completely disarmed, Asia smelled Olga’s fear as she begged for her life. A life cut short that night.

Exhaling, she returned all the files to the box and closed the lid. Although her name didn’t appear in any of the records, many held her signature, reminding her of her bloody past.

“Silas said for you to keep the box. No one else is to look in it,” Tyrese said.

“La Patron,” she corrected and then shook her head. Tyrese was La Patron’s son, he could call him what he liked. “Let’s go upstairs, I want to sit down.”

They walked up in silence. Karney looked at her and then the box under her arm and tipped his head in the direction of his partner.

“Solis said there’s nothing about the group on the computer. Probably in a cloud somewhere or a flash drive. Hope your guys have better luck.” He paused. “Do we pick up Green or not?”

“Pick him up, see if he knows who the other four are,” Tyrese said. He and Danielle sat on the sofa.

Asia sat in the chair, her thoughts flying all over the place. “
Asia
?” Jasmine said.

“
Yes Mistress
?”

“
Silas called a pack member in the State Department about the box. They’re concerned and don’t want anyone to read the files.”

“Too late, I read them. Although many of them I already knew.
”

Silence, and then. “
Oh, Asia, I’m so sorry. How are you feeling
?”

“
Honestly, I’m not sure. Part of me accepts my past as the Liege’s executioner, another part cringes in shame at the blood on my hands. How do I hold my daughter at night and teach her to be a woman of honor, when –”

“Stop. Don’t you dare say you have no honor. I swear I will hurt you if you do.
”

Asia’s mouth dropped open. “
Ma’am
?”

“
Well, I wouldn’t hurt you, per se, but it would make me angry. You were a weapon created in the labs of vile, evil men. They operated on you, gave you a metal arm and both legs, even turned your eye into a camera and if that wasn’t the worst, those bastards controlled you with a computer chip in your brain.”

“True, but I still pulled the trigger, or threw the blade, or used the—”

“Why did you do those things?”

“Why
?” Asia asked.

“
Yes, why? Did you wake up and say, I think I’ll fly to Kalamazoo and shoot so and so
?”

Now Mistress was being silly. “
No, Ma’am, it didn’t work like that. These were assignments, jobs –”

“Like the assignment you’re on now?”

“No!”
She hadn’t meant to yell but there was no comparison between the two.

“
That’s what I mean, Asia. You had no choice before, given a choice, you’d fight on the side of right. That’s what makes you honorable, that’s what you’ll teach your daughter.”

Asia closed her eyes to process Jasmine’s words. Every now and then her past snuck in at the weirdest times but she was learning to handle the fall-out better. “
Thank you for that. What you’re saying is true, sometimes I just need to be reminded
.” Her heart overflowed with gratitude that she had such a smart, compassionate woman in her life.

“
No need for thanks, just don’t be so hard on yourself. I love you and it bothers me to hear anyone say bad things about you, even you
,” Jasmine said.

“
Same here, Mistress
.” Her eyes watered and she squeezed her lids tight.

Jasmine cleared her throat. “
Good, now that we’re straight on that, Silas said someone from the State department will be arriving soon to take the box. It might be a good idea not to tell them you opened the box.”

“We broke the lock, they’ll know. But if it helps, I’m the only one who looked inside and many of these are my old cases. So if they have beef about it, they can shove it up their asses.”

Jasmine laughed. “I’ll um… pass that along to Silas so he can explain the situation. If you need me, call me.”

“Yes, Ma’am. Could you have La Patron tell Tyrese what’s about to happen so he can explain it to the others?”

“He talked to the Police Chief, he’s on his way.”

“That’s even better, thank you.”
Solis entered the room and stared at her.

“What’s up?” she asked, looking at Karney and then back at Solis.

“Chief’s on the way, he wants you to hang on to that box, no one else is allowed to touch it,” he said.

“No problem.” She leaned back in the chair and glanced at Tyrese and Danielle.

“We’re going to pick up Green for questioning,” Karney said heading to the door.

“Hold up on that,” Solis said shaking his head. “Chief wants us to stay here until he arrives.”

“Really?” Karney sounded surprised. “What’s up? He say?”

Solis shook his head and returned to the den where the techs had been working on the computer.

“Hold up,” Karney said following him.

Asia talked to Hawke about the laptop and he said the same thing as Solis regarding a flash drive. The device hadn’t been wiped clean either. He found nothing about the bombs or CorrinaGriggs.

The chief arrived at the same time a large, dark sedan did. Three men stepped out the car and talked to Chief Williams for a few minutes. Two separated, leaving one man to talk with the Chief. Asia, and every other full-blood listened as the Chief defended his actions of removing the bombs to a safer location, no he did not contact the Feds because he didn’t have anything to report while they were still examining the devices. In the end the Chief accepted the news the case was no longer his.

While the Chief had been in discussion outside, the two others walked inside and stood near the door. They zeroed in on the box she held beneath her arm.

“I’m Special Agent Day.” He flipped out a badge to her and then returned it to his pocket. “I’ll take that.” He pointed to the box.

Feeling ornery, Asia shook her head. “Not until the Chief tells me to release it to you.”

Agent Day frowned. “Excuse me?”

“Oh, you didn’t hear me. Not until the Chief tells me to release it to you,” she said slower and louder.

His neck pinkened but his face remained passive as he widened his stance and held his hands in front. “You’re refusing?”

Asia tilted her head to the side. “Yes. Just as you have orders, so do I.”

“He will be here in a few moments. Have you looked inside?”

“Yes.”

He frowned. “The instructions were clear, no one look inside the box.”

Asia released a breath. “Talk to your…boss, they know what happened.”

The other agent continued staring at her but never spoke.

Chief Williams and the third man entered the room. He looked at her and nodded. “Asia, please release the box to Agent Day. They are officially taking over this case.”

“What?” Karney said. “Everything?”

“Yes, everything.” The Chief stared hard at him.