TrackingDesire (7 page)

Liv gingerly turned the door handle and opened the door,
listening carefully before opening it fully when she didn’t hear any sounds of
nearby footsteps or voices.

Julian rested his hand on her shoulder and breathed softly in
her ear. “Coast is clear,” he said. “Straight down this corridor, there should
be stairs leading to the floor below.”

Liv could feel the warmth from Julian’s hand pressing
against her, the sensation of his breath causing the small hairs on the back of
her neck to stand up in arousal. Now was not the time to indulge, but she
struggled to get a grip on her emotions.

They jogged lightly along the hallway and though the
exertion was mild, Liv felt her heart hammering so hard in her chest that she
thought it might break through her rib cage and fall out onto the plush carpet.
It wasn’t just Julian’s nearness—though heaven knew that sent her heart
skipping a merry little dance—but the thrill of being somewhere forbidden.

Liv struggled to find the mental words to describe the
nearly overwhelming, intoxicating feeling of what she was experiencing. She had
concerns about being caught, and she felt the faint chill of fear run down her
spine when she heard a strange creak or a branch scraping on the window. Even
though these feelings ate at the corner of her mind, the knowledge that she and
Julian were somewhere illegal, that they were doing something good and right
and very,
very
naughty, was a dichotomy that made her feel heroic and
wrong at the same time. Despite her misgivings and her understanding that what
they were doing was not, in the strictest sense, right, her thrill at the acts
they were performing by far overpowered her minor moral objections.

It was a lot to swallow in one hit, and even harder to
describe. She truly understood why Kelly had always struggled to explain this
feeling to her.

“Should be this one,” Julian whispered, and her mind snapped
back to attention. Looking behind her, she quickly counted the doors, then
nodded her assent. According to the blueprints—and so far they had not led them
wrong—this should be the entrance to the basement.

“Open it,” Liv agreed as she snuck cautious glances up and
down the hallway to check that they were still undiscovered.

Julian hesitantly turned the door handle and opened the door
a crack. Together they strained their ears to listen for any signs of life on
the other side. No alarms sounded, no shouting or any other signs that they had
been noticed.

They breathed identical sighs of relief and exchanged grins
at how comical they were, mirroring one another.

“I’m usually the ass-covering man,” Julian reminded her,
seeming to read her mind again. “I’m not used to the heart-thumping adrenaline
rush of being the point man. What’s your excuse?”

“You’re kidding me.” Liv laughed softly. “I’m used to being
given carte blanche. If someone is desperate enough to get something back that
they come to me to Retrieve it for them, I’m pretty much guaranteed entrance to
most places to track it down. I don’t
need
to go skulking about in rich
people’s mansions while they host a charity dinner and break into their office
or basement.”

“I thought you and Kelly…” Julian let his words trail off
suggestively.

Liv raised her eyebrow at him and snorted. “No. Never. It
started as a game when we were kids. She’d steal it, hide it, and I’d Retrieve
it. Then, when I found out what a boys’ club Retrieving is out in the real
world, we continued just to build my reputation—and besides, it was good
training,” she explained.

Liv had never told the entire story to anyone, but she
trusted Julian, and considering where they were and what they were doing, she
figured that telling him her history was not giving him ammunition he’d use for
wicked purposes.

“After that, it was just…habit, I suppose. And a lark.
Nothing too serious,” she admitted. “After the first few years, those jobs
petered off dramatically and Kelly cut way back because she didn’t
need
to do it much anymore. She only continued because it’s something she can’t
quit. An addiction of a sort, I suppose.”

Julian nodded and they returned their attention to the task
at hand. The door opened onto a flight of stairs. Liv pulled a thin flashlight
out of her jacket pocket, pleased she had recalled the number of times Kelly
had told her about needing one in her kit on different jobs she’d been on in
the past.

Together they entered the doorway and Liv closed the door
behind them.

“We’re entering the basement now,” Liv said softly into her
comm unit, letting Kelly, Flame and Matt know where she and Julian were within
the house. A few brief acknowledgements came across crisply and once again
silence hummed in her earpiece.

Side by side, she and Julian crept down the stairs, the thin
beam of the flashlight concealing as much as it showed. When they reached the
bottom of the stairs, Liv shone the light around until she found a desk lamp
sitting on a bench.

Julian walked over to it and switched it on. The bulk of the
room lit up with an eerie orange glow, a few of the far corners still darkly
shadowed.

Even so, most of the room was visible, and Liv felt her
mouth drop open. Benches ran the length of the basement, plants covering almost
every available surface. Only thin pathways had been left, crossing trails that
made it possible to move around the basement.

“Damn,” Liv said with ill-concealed irritation, “it’s just
where she fiddles with her plants. What a pain in the ass. Now what do we do?”

“Well, babe,” Julian replied with more than a little
sympathy, “we’re here. We might as well look around. It’s
possible
she
may have hidden the drugs here.”

Liv flashed her light around, her heart heavy with
disappointment and the crushing defeat of her hopes being squashed. She had
felt so
sure
they would find something useable, that they would uncover
a sample of the antidote Will wanted so badly. Liv had been all but able to
taste it, and now she faced the reality that they probably wouldn’t find it at
all.

“I guess,” she replied, discouraged.

Julian headed straight to the lab benches and pored over the
notes, lists and assorted papers spread over every conceivable surface.

Less eager, Liv shone the beam over the room and looked at
the different varieties of plants, peering into corners and crevices, nooks and
crannies as she nosed her way around the room. It seemed this was a
mini-greenhouse where Blossom grew, spliced and modified her plants. Many were
in various stages of grafting and harvesting, most of them with tags and notes
explaining in a barely decipherable shorthand what they were.

It was only at the very back of the basement, against one of
the far walls, that she discovered fume hoods had been installed and not
mentioned on the blue prints. Liv touched a button on the side of the hood and
a light appeared inside the glassed-off cavity. One switch was marked “Light”,
the other “Fan”.

Not wanting to draw undue attention to herself, Liv decided
not to turn on the extraction fan. Aside from not really needing it—there was
no detectable smell and she sure as hell would not be sticking her head inside
the hood to sniff anything—Liv was not certain how noisy it would be, and even
whether it might be audible from the upper levels of the house. Having the
lights on so she could see clearly what lay inside was enough for now.

The first fume hood she came across was full of more plant
materials. Liv didn’t really have a clue whether what she saw was important or
not. There were a few undeterminable items ground into beakers, grafts in
solution and a couple of petri dishes. The clear bases with matching lids held
what she assumed were different colors of agar, and tiny, fuzzy,
brown-and-green things growing within the plastic. She assumed they were
experiments of some sort, but it was well beyond her understanding.

Curious and more than slightly freaked out, Liv looked in
the second fume cupboard.

It took a moment for her eyes to take in exactly what she
was seeing. More beakers and glassware had been scattered around the large
cavity in the wall, and the glass door had been pulled down to protect the
contents from spilling out or contaminating the basement itself. But very
clearly the scales, titration units and paraphernalia were drug-related, not
plant-related.

“Julian,” Liv breathed excitedly, her adrenaline once again
surging as her heart sped up in excitement. “Julian, come here. Look!”

In an instant Julian was standing beside her, his hand at
the small of his back, ready to draw his gun if need be. When he looked inside
the lit fume hood, it took him only a moment to realize what she had found.

“That plastic bag of ochre powder,” he said instantly, his
tone high with eager excitement. “Do you think it’s…that could be the antidote,
couldn’t it?”

“We don’t know what the antidote looks like,” Liv reminded
him. “Jolt itself is a lilac-purple color, but the antidote could be anything,
really. We don’t have any means of testing this, do we?”

“Not here, we certainly don’t,” Julian agreed. “And we’d be
insane just to leave it behind. Not when it could be exactly what we’re
searching for. Why the hell are they keeping it down
here
?”

“Maybe it needs to be kept in a certain climate? Or maybe it
smells after a while and they need to keep it in the fume cupboard. It’s
impossible to know, but I really think we should take a sample of it. I’m not
sure I like the idea of taking the whole bag. That would be far too noticeable
and they’d know their security had been breached. It could easily lead back to
us and backfire. The whole point of this course of action is to remain under
the radar.”

“Agreed,” Julian said briskly.

Liv pulled out one of the plastic baggies they carried for
exactly this purpose from a zippered pocket in her jacket. They had all packed
the snap-lock style bags to take any samples they believed would be helpful, so
the lab could analyze them. Liv pulled off the leather gloves she had worn to
keep from leaving fingerprints and to protect her hands.

Quickly, she tugged on a pair of latex gloves instead. They
did not know whether the powder was corrosive or dangerous in any way—Will had
even suggested that the drug might be absorbed through skin contact—so despite
the time ticking away, she knew caution was far more important than losing a
minute or so being careful. She had decided to not keep her leather gloves on
for protection as they were porous, and she didn’t want the possibly dangerous
drug to contaminate her favorite—and very expensive—pair of gloves.

“We’ve found something,” Julian said into his comm unit as
Liv snapped the second glove on. “An ochre powder, possibly the antidote, down
in the basement. It’s a horticultural laboratory, by the looks of it, but
there’s drug paraphernalia in one of the fume cupboards and we’re about to take
the sample to be on the safe side. Liv is going to take it and we’ll bring it
with us.”

“There’s a walk-in safe up here in the en suite,” Kelly
replied over the comm. “It has wooden ceremonial masks, likely illegally
brought through customs. No sign of the drugs. We’re almost done here. We’ll
need five minutes to go through Erik’s office and we’ll meet you at the
rendezvous point.”

“Got that,” Julian answered and grinned happily at Liv. An
answering surge of happiness rushed through her system and suddenly she felt as
if she could conquer anything. The high had returned and she had discovered her
second wind.

Feeling like the proverbial conquering heroine, Liv lifted
the glass door of the fume cupboard and reached inside for the plastic baggy of
ochre powder. Her hand had barely closed around the bag before Flame broke in
over their comms, her voice low but her tone urgent, her words sharp and
rapidly spoken.

“Abort. Repeat, abort. Silent alarm has been tripped. We’ve
been notified over the Enforcer frequency. It’s in the basement. Julian. Liv.
Get the fuck out of there right now.”

“Oh shit. Shit, shit, shit, shit,” Liv swore vehemently and
looked around the glass door of the fume cupboard, expecting to see a red
flashing beacon or some indication that she had tripped a wire or something.

Julian grabbed her shoulder and shook her gently.

“We have to move. Right now,” he rapped out insistently, all
softness and sweetness drained from his tone. Only the protector remained, the
loyal back-up man, and he had fallen back on doing what he did best—protecting
their collective asses and making sure everyone got out safely.

Liv closed her hand around the entire pound or more of ochre
powder. If there had been a silent alarm in that cupboard, it was there for a
reason. There was no time to dally around and take samples. If they were going
to get caught, they’d damn well get caught with exactly what they’d come for,
she decided.

Liv shoved the entire bag down the front of her zippered
black jacket and freed her hands. Wordlessly, they ran across the laboratory
and back up the stairs, snapping the light off as they passed the desk lamp,
and Liv twisted her flashlight back on again.

“Gilroy and Philyra have been informed,” Flame said
breathlessly, the sound of running footsteps coming over the comm line as she
and Blade raced outside in the gardens. “They are en route to the basement from
the main dining area,” she continued sharply. “ETA two minutes or less. Blossom
has also has left the main area and is heading toward the basement. Unika and
Ceil have been called in from the western quadrant as backup. Blade and I have
been ordered to seal off the southern half of the property. Lindon and Katie
are sealing off the northern end. Inform me when you’re leaving the grounds and
make sure you come down our end. Except for those calls, I will remain radio
silent and communicate on the other Enforcer channel to cover our asses.”

“Shit, we need to get moving.” Julian panted as they made it
to the top of the stairs. They all but flew out of the door, closing it quietly
but firmly behind them. They sprinted down the hallway and almost stumbled over
each other in their haste to race into the conservatory.

“Plan B, buddy,” Matt said over their comm units. “Kelly and
I are skipping Erik’s office and are already on our way out by our alternate
route. We’ll rendezvous at Julian’s apartment when we can get there. Except for
informing Flame when we reach the gardens, we’re going radio silent. Good luck
and be safe.”

“Got it,” Julian said breathlessly as they entered the
conservatory. “We’re in the conservatory and on our way out. See you at my
place. Going radio silent.”

“This way,” Liv said softly once they had switched off their
comms. As quickly as they could, they made their way through the dense
vegetation. Liv focused on the door at the other end of the room and led them
toward it as best she could.

When they were almost halfway through, the sound of high
heels clacking on the wooden floor boards came in their direction.
Instinctively, Julian and Liv froze. Julian reacted first, more used to
responding to these situations and protecting his partners. He wrapped his hand
warmly around the top of her arm and tugged her gently off the thin path and
into the thickly planted garden foliage.

The sound of the woman approaching got louder and, scared
now, Liv let Julian lead her deeper into the cover that the trees, palms,
fronds and other vegetation provided for them. Liv looked at her feet, worried
about the impressions they were leaving in the soil but unable to do anything
much about it. On instinct she picked up a half-dead palm frond that had fallen
to the ground and brushed it lightly over the impressions their shoes had made
in the soft soil. Once she’d covered their tracks as best she could, they
crouched low under the leaves and out of sight.

Liv barely breathed as she squatted next to Julian and hid.
The sound of footsteps got nearer and nearer. Julian wrapped an arm
protectively around her. Liv had the impression that he was holding her for
equal parts comfort and security. His large, lean body would for the most part
hide her from anyone who might manage to spot them. Even though Liv was not
some cowering, defenseless little girl, she instinctively took shelter in the
warmth and safety Julian’s embrace offered. She might be a strong, powerful,
independent witch, but she would not deny in that moment that she felt scared
of what being caught and the subsequent exposure could do to them, physically
and professionally.

The hurried steps slowed then stopped only a dozen or so
feet from where they were hiding. Liv’s heart leaped into her mouth and for a
moment she worried she’d be violently ill. Julian stroked his hand over her arm
and down her back in a soothing, calming motion. It took Liv a moment to
realize it, but she found that she was shaking, her terror was so strong. She
pressed her lips firmly together and tried to breathe and get hold of herself.

After a moment, Liv lifted her head. In her utter
petrification, she had been staring at the soil beneath her feet, unable to
think rationally let alone move or register what her eyes were sightlessly
staring at. Curious, she raised her eyes and tried to check who was standing
out there. She couldn’t see clearly, which she decided was both good and bad.
Good because if she couldn’t see them, they couldn’t see her. But her curiosity
urged her more strongly to peek out, and now she
wanted
to know who was
standing there—who seemed almost to sense her and Julian.

Silently, Liv moved her head around and tried different
angles until she caught a flash of black shoulder-length hair, layers of gold
chains against a hot-pink wrap-style dress. The woman had pale-brown skin, that
of a rich, pampered Thai woman. Once again, Liv ducked back into the safety of
Julian’s embrace.

Without consciously thinking about it, Liv found herself
seeking out Julian’s large, warm hand and she clung tightly to him as their
fingers linked together. They remained there, crouched and hidden, for what
felt like an eternity but could barely have been a minute or two. The sound of
leather-soled dress shoes and another set of high heels clacking on the wooden
floor soon sounded in a quick rush, the owners of the shoes obviously running.

A male voice called out from the far end of the
conservatory. “Blossom! What are you doing here? Philyra and I have this
covered. You can go back to your guests.”

“No, I need to check my laboratory,” Blossom replied.
“Gilroy, you and Philyra need to search this area.”

The hurrying steps met where Blossom stood and the Enforcers
breathed heavily for a second before replying.

“The alarm is silent,” Gilroy continued. “Chances are that
if it isn’t a false alarm—which personally I think it is—the thieves have no
clue they’ve set it off. If we hurry, we can catch them in the act. That will
give us a lot more prosecuting power with the Tribunal and harsher penalties
for the offenders. Let’s go.”

Gilroy and one of the women started to move again, but the
third person remained rooted to the spot.

“Blossom!” Gilroy called, frustration in his tone. “I’m
telling you—we need to hurry if we’re to catch them.”

“I just thought…” She hesitated, clearly torn. “Well, I
thought I sensed—”

“I’m sure you’re in tune with your plants, Blossom.”
Philyra’s voice came out crisply, her skepticism all but dripping from her
tone. “But this is what we are trained to do—this is where our talents and
magical skills lie. You hired us for tonight for that very reason. Now you need
to trust us, and we want to catch these plebeians who would dare to ruin a
charity function. If we don’t hurry now, we’ll miss them and they might escape
into other areas of the house, or worse the grounds. We’re short-handed since
we pulled two of our operatives in from the gardens. We really need to go.
Right now.”