The Beast Within (27 page)

“Don’t get all that comfortable, there. Director Braven wants you in her office in fifteen.”

Aaron exchanged glances with Tony, who tossed the file back onto the desk with a roll of his eyes.

“Do we have to?” Tony asked.

“She did give us two weeks off despite having told me I would be having no personal freedoms for the rest of eternity,” Aaron said.

“Fine.” Tony kicked to his feet. “Let’s get it over with. You know what it’s about, Rob?”

“I can guess.” The technician came closer. “It has to do with your werewolf friends.”

“Carlos and Matthew?”

“Yeah.”

“What about them?” A twinge of panic flashed through Aaron. “Are they okay?”

“I don’t know. Haven’t heard from them. But you remember on the night of the attack when you told Carlos he could stay in op-tech with me and you suggested he look around for something to help out?”

“I do.”

“Well, I think he found something else.”

“Like what?”

“Some classified things. Things he shouldn’t have been able to get a hold of. But, he did. And he took them.”

“How do you know?” Tony interjected. “Op-tech was a wreck during the attack. We all ran in, grabbed what we could and ran out.”

“I was able to find everything we used that night, either the weapon itself, the shell casings or evidence of detonation. I crosschecked it all against my master inventory list. And those things weren’t there. And they weren’t even weapons, so no one should have been putting their greasy monkey paws on them.”

“If they weren’t weapons, what were they?” Aaron asked.

“Can’t say. Classified above my pay grade. Braven might tell you. At the very least she’s going to hand you your collective ass over it.”

“Great,” Tony said. “I can’t wait.”

“Why is she asking for you?” Aaron turned away from Robert to face Tony. “You had nothing to do with it.”

“Maybe we get to share blame from now on. Part of a partner-in-all-things package deal.”

“I don’t understand why Carlos would do this.”

“Braven will have some ideas, I imagine.” Tony gestured toward the elevators.

“No. I need to know now.”

Aaron pulled his cell from his pocket and flipped through his contacts.

“Is this a good idea?” Tony asked as he found Carlos’ number. “Braven’s not going to like you going off protocol, especially right before we meet with her. You know if we piss her off enough she’s going to put
us
behind those containment cell doors.”

“I have to hear it from him.” Aaron hit the call button. The phone rang eight times, then Carlos’ voicemail picked up. He ended the call and found Matthews’s number. The shifter picked up on the second ring.

“Hello?”

“Matthew? It’s Aaron.”

“I was expecting your call.”

“You were?”

“Yes. I figured once the dust settled you would notice something had gone missing from your vaults.”

“You knew he was going to take them?”

“I didn’t like the idea, but I was beta, not alpha. I could do nothing to stop him.”

“Where is he?”

“I don’t know.”

“Come on, Matthew. Don’t treat me like I’m stupid. You two are never far apart. I learnt that pretty quickly.”

“Circumstances have changed. Carlos and I no longer see eye to eye.”

“You broke up?”

“Yes, and split custody of the kids, so to speak.”

“Are you saying you’re alpha of part of Trinity?”

“Those who felt we should not meddle in the things Carlos wanted to meddle in stayed with me and made me their alpha, yes.”

“And the others?”

“Are with him.”

“And you don’t know where that is?”

“Somewhere in California, still, if my intelligence is true.”

“And what is he going to do with what he took?”

“I don’t know. He wouldn’t even show me what it was. He’d already stopped trusting me by the time I left your bedside.”

“And how can I know to trust you, that what you’re saying is true?”

“That’s impossible, Aaron. You know that. But, if you come to California I will support you in your search.”

“What’s he into, Matthew?” Fear twisted his stomach.

“Nothing good.”

A horrible realization surfaced in his mind. “Matthew?”

“Yes, Aaron?”

“Did Carlos come to the hospital after I was mauled with the intention of using me to work his way into Kapre?”

A strained silence filled the line. Tony watched him carefully, his expression inscrutable.

“He pushed me not to retire, but to take this job here in the Maryland office.”

“He did.” Matthew’s voice was soft, tired.

“Did he want the attack on this office to happen?”

“A month ago I would have said of course not. I would have defended his intentions to my death.”

“And now?”

“And now I am the leader of half of our pack, and he is gone.” Matthew sighed. “For what it’s worth, I’m sorry.”

“You’ll be hearing from me.” Aaron ended the call without waiting to hear a response.

Carlos had never loved him. He felt dirty, stupid.

“What in the hell is going on? None of this makes sense.” Aaron started toward the elevators.

“When does anything that happens with us make sense?” Tony fell into step beside him. “But we’ll figure it out. You and me.” He clapped a hand on Aaron’s shoulder and Aaron squeezed it gratefully.

“Maybe we’re going to have to take a trip to California.”

“When we’re already tasked with turning monsters like us into fully functioning agents?” Tony snorted. “Braven won’t go for that.”

“Sure she will.” Aaron punched the floor button and turned to Tony with a smile. “Any other agent will have to take hours to fly out there. We can be there in a few seconds. And it would be an excellent opportunity to teach you about portals.”

“I can’t think of any better way to spend my Monday morning.” Tony returned the grin and stepped into the elevator with him.

“Sure, I’ll stay down here. In the dark,” Robert called after them. “Don’t worry about me. Plenty of paperwork to do in my broom closet.”

The doors slid shut. From the other side came the plaintive cry, “Bring me a doughnut. I know you dropped some off upstairs this morning, butt kissers.”

Aaron looked at Tony and he shrugged.

“I do like to kiss your butt,” he said.

“As well you should,” Tony replied with a wink.

* * * *

Aaron felt the gazes on them before they reached the safety glass of the temporary bullpen. A few agents regarded them with outright hostility, but most expressions hovered somewhere between admiration and fear. It wasn’t the most encouraging start to accepting supernaturals into Kapre’s ranks, but the agents had a right to be wary. After all, it was shifters who had caused all of this upheaval in the first place. Aaron made a note to bring in more doughnuts.

Braven, enclosed in her Plexiglas cage, waved them over.

“Inside gentlemen,” she said. “Close the door, if you will.”

Tony pushed shut the door and leaned against the wall while Aaron took the lone seat opposite the director.

“How are you faring? I trust your holiday was lengthy enough?”

“It was very generous of you,” Aaron said.

“Do you know why you’re here?” Braven fixed them with a glare. Polite pleasantries were finished.

“Trinity has something you want back?”

“Your op-tech ally continues to serve your interests at all costs, I see.”

“He worries it’ll be an unfair match if he just sends us up here blind,” Tony explained with a grin.

“And so it would be. Yes, your little werewolf friends, as grateful to them as we are for helping us with the Cerberus situation, have taken something that does not belong to them. I need to know what they are planning to do with it.”

“Maybe if you told me what it was, I could help you a little more,” Aaron suggested.

Director Braven’s steely composure faltered.

“You don’t know what it is.”

Braven cleared her throat and adjusted her chair. “The item is a security level above my clearance. I know several items that combined to make a greater whole went missing, but their exact nature and purpose are a mystery to me.”

“So, call some higher ups and find out,” Tony said.

Braven pursed her lips.

“There’s been too much controversy surrounding this office,” Aaron said. By Braven’s expression he knew he was right. “The Director’s job is in jeopardy. Losing highly classified objects would be the last nail in the coffin.”

“Succinctly, if painfully, stated,
Deputy Director
,” Braven confirmed. “I can only hope you do not have aims for my seat and you and your partner will aid me in this. I will need you to move discreetly.”

“Like without the paper trail of purchased plane tickets or requisitioned vehicles?” Aaron suggested.

“Exactly.”

“Consider it done,” Tony said. “Although, that means the RecAcc job down there in dingy land will have to wait a little bit.”

“Robert can hold down the proverbial fort until you get back.”

“You should probably send him some snacks to keep him happy. And maybe give him a desk outside of the closet, or make it a little bigger.”

“If you do well in this I will knock a hole in the wall myself.”

“We’ll leave right away.” Aaron stood.

“No one is to know where you are going,” Braven said. “Everyone here will believe you are being sent to the Massachusetts branch for supernatural sensitivity training. You will have to move quickly, that training is only two days long.”

“Our track record in that time window is pretty solid,” Aaron said.

“Indeed. Please replicate that efficiency once more.” Braven nodded at them, then passed them bogus orders. “Do leave these handily in the open for curious fingers to find.”

They each took their paper and left the offices. The bullpen hushed once more, but Aaron took less notice of it. He and Tony were headed to California. He didn’t know what he would find on the other side of the portal he opened, what pain the finding of Carlos would bring, but he had endured far worse. And none of it mattered if Tony was with him.

“You think we’ll have a chance to test out just what kind of strength you and I have?” Tony asked as they made their way to the first floor makeshift op-tech department.

Inside the former conference room an intern nodded into a phone piece. “Yes, ma’am. Robert put the security cameras on a looped feed for the next ten minutes. I…” he trailed off as Aaron and Tony approached his desk. “I, uh, they’re here. Yes, ma’am.” The kid was pale and sweaty and looked like he was about to throw up. He put down the receiver and stared at them.

“Hi,” Aaron said.

“You weren’t here,” the kid blurted. He scurried from the room.

The stores of weapons, depleted from the invasion, still held a few enticing articles. Tony’s smile stretched across his face.

“Caaandy shop,” he sang in an excited voice.

Aaron laughed and watched his partner move from gadget to gadget, plucking up items and stuffing them into a duffel. When the bag could hold no more and he practically staggered under the weight, Tony moved back to him.

“Should we go to our places and pack some clothes?” Aaron asked.

“What? With your pay bump,
Deputy Director
?” Tony hoisted the burgeoning bag onto his shoulder. “You can buy some nice threads when you get there. Not that you don’t look…” He trailed with an appreciative grunt and pulled Aaron in for a kiss.

Aaron savored Tony’s lips for a moment, then moved back. “What about you? Should I buy you some new clothes or are you planning to be naked the whole time?”

“Only in our off hours.” Tony lightly rubbed Aaron’s crotch.

Aaron gently pushed his hand away. He was already hardening. With great difficulty he turned away and led Tony down the hall to an empty space. The battle had touched this room, the contractors had not. The electricity had been turned off. The worst of the rubble was swept into a corner, but bullet holes riddled the walls and faint rusty stains dotted the floor where the cleaning crews had unsuccessfully tried to expunge the violence.

He turned to Tony and took his face in his hands. His partner’s blue eyes locked onto his. A shadow lurked behind them, the same that dwelt in his own. He didn’t know what he was, or what he had made Tony into. But they were together, and they would handle whatever came the same way. He pressed his lips against Tony’s. Tongues of flame leapt into air beside them. The portal hovered, dark and mysterious, within the fire’s depths.

Tony gave Aaron a smile and adjusted his bag to avoid the fire. With his usual fearless adventurer spirit, Aaron’s lover stepped toward the portal. Aaron’s chest swelled with feeling. Tony turned back when he realized Aaron was still standing there, watching him.

“Hey, hellhound. Are you in or are you out?”

Aaron didn’t hesitate, but swept forward, caught Tony in his grip, focused his will on California and propelled them both into the portal.

Also available from Totally Bound Publishing:

End Street Detective Agency: The Case of the Cupid Curse

Amber Kell and RJ Scott

Excerpt

Chapter One

Sam Enderson stood outside his building and smiled with pride. The fresh sign painted on the door in crisp black letters read ‘End Street Detective Agency’. Examining the overall effect, he nodded in satisfaction. This move to becoming a private investigator was as far from being a timid bookseller as he could get. No one would walk all over someone who investigated crimes for a living.

Three months of correspondence school and a shiny new multi-weapon licence had given his confidence a much-needed boost. After the hellish past year, in which he’d found his boyfriend in bed with his now ex-best friend, followed by the death of his favourite uncle, Sam was ready for a new start in life.

Uncle Hanson. Just thinking about him made Sam feel sad. He had fond memories of visiting his uncle at work. The man had always liked Sam. He evidently had carried that affection into Sam’s adult life. After all, he had left Sam an entire building in his will, the building Sam now stood in front of. An office with accommodations over the top, it was worth quite a bit of money despite its proximity to an undesirable area.