BirthStone (14 page)

Silas yelled Jennings name again as he heard
the explosion in his head. The following silence cut into him like
a sharp knife. Disbelief that someone had gotten to Jennings that
quickly ripped through him. How was that possible? Stumped, Silas
sat on the step leading into the gym. He couldn’t believe or accept
Jennings had just exploded at the police station.

“
Silas?"

He swallowed back the bitter taste of defeat
and looked up at the beams in the ceiling to gather his thoughts.
He had not been able to save one of his own. His enemies had taken
Jennings, locked him down and loaded him with a bomb with the
intention of sending him back into the public. What if he had been
at the park where there were no detectors?

“
Silas?”

Or the grocery store? How much longer before
his people realized he was a failure, that he could not protect
them from their enemies.

“
Dammit Silas, thinking like won’t help,
answer me,”
Jasmine shouted through their link.

“
Yes?”

“
Where are you?”

“
I want to be alone right now.”

“
No. Where are you?”

“
I have to go to the police station.
Jennings just exploded. Part of the police station’s destroyed,
some deaths, some injuries. I…I need to go assess the
damage.”

“Okay.”

He turned toward the entrance. She stood
framed in the arched entryway. Overhead lights created a soft glow
behind her making her appear angelic in a light pink dress that
fitted her curves. For a moment he stared at her image wondering
how she could appear so clean when the world had turned so dark, so
dirty. His chest burned with anguish over the loss of innocent
lives. Good men and women had died needlessly. Today was a dark
mark for his people.

She moved toward him, dropped to her knees,
and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. Inhaling deeply, the
scent of gardenias mixed with her natural scent and filled him. He
closed his eyes as she pulled him close and pressed the side of his
face against her breast. The solid thump of her heart anchored him
as he struggled to maintain his composure. Her warmth seeped into
his skin, chasing away the cold that had started the moment he
heard the echo of the explosion through the link. Flashbacks from
the previous month ran in a continuous loop in his mind, the
deafening sound, the shaking of the ground, the bloody
aftermath.

“We’re losing,” he said, his throat so tight
the words sounded garbled.

“We’re just starting,” she countered,
drawing her fingers through his hair. The steady strokes on his
scalp soothed and steadied him.

Releasing a long held breath he spoke. “They
have weapons we can’t match.”

“We have weapons they don’t have.”

He glanced up at her. “Like what?”

Their gazes met and for a second he thought
she wasn’t going to answer.

“Wolves, baby. We have wolves and all that
goes with that… they use wolves. There is a big difference. I bet a
wolf would’ve smelled those bombs a mile away. Why not have
security work in teams. One in wolf form and the other in human.
Allow the wolves to scent what a bomb smells like, have them patrol
public areas.”

Silas stared at Jasmine for a few moments,
stunned by the simplicity of her suggestion. The top minds in his
nation worked on a solution and he had overlooked something as
basic as this. When in wolf form, their senses were much stronger
than when human.

“What about the humans? What will they think
when they see wolves on leashes?” It could work.

She waved it off. “They live in our back
yard, chances are they’ve seen wolves already, if not they’ll get
used to seeing them do security work, like police dogs, only
bigger.”

He scowled at the reference.

She smiled and threw up her hand. “Just
saying.”

“It could work, I’ll have Froggy look into
it.” He pulled her close and hugged her tight. “Thank you.”

“You hurt, I hurt. You’re blaming yourself,
and I can’t let you go through this by yourself. How could I not
come to you?” Leaning back, she cupped his face in her hands. “No
matter how hard this gets, we are going to beat this thing. You are
La Patron.” She nodded, emphasizing her point. “A Goddess-given
position. We both have your back.”

He nodded slowly. “You’re right.” Losing,
being at a disadvantage was new for him. The technology, implants,
humans invading his world to such a degree… mind-boggling. But
Jasmine was right, he had been so intent on fighting his enemies on
human terms he had all but neutered his wolf. It was time for him
to use the innate talents of the wolf and have the scientists
create weapons that complemented their natural abilities.

“I wonder…”

He looked up at her when she remained
silent. “What?”

“Why Jennings? I mean he was a cop, so that
gets the police involved. But obviously they’re not worried about
that, so why Jennings? Why blow up the police station? Was there
someone locked up they wanted taken out?”

Silas grabbed onto her words with the
tenacity of a lifeline. He needed to channel his thoughts into a
more productive arena. “They could’ve found an easier way to take
out one or two people in prison. I think this was more…Jennings had
left to go see Merriweather—”

“Merriweather?” She stared at him.

He nodded slowly. “Yeah. The guy whose
brother or son was in the cave, he’s been pestering me for a
meeting. I told Jennings to close the case.”

“I talked to him. Rose wasn’t feeling good,
remember?”

Silas turned to face her fully, remembering
she had shut him out of an exchange that upset her. “Rone had the
shot, go on.”

She repeated the conversation she had with
Merriweather for him. “What do you think?”

“I agree with you, he’s crazy. But he did
say talking to you confirmed the timing or something, next thing I
know Jennings is taken and a bomb placed inside him.”

“Are you going to pick up Merriweather?”

“I bet he would love that. No doubt he’s
locked and loaded as well. I can’t chance anyone getting close to
him. Not right now anyway. But he will be dealt with, that’s for
sure.”

“What if you sent in a team?”

Silas shook his head. Jennings’ death was
too fresh to contemplate allowing any wolves to go after the man.
“Too dangerous. I need Jacques here now; we need a new set of eyes
on the information.” He stood and assisted her up.

“He’s on his way,” she said, looking around
the empty gym.

“I know. But with Rose taking care of Rone,
and Tyrese coordinating security, I’m shorthanded.”

“I’ll work the office.”

His head snapped up and he narrowed his
eyes. What was she up to? She had never worked his office before.
He asked the only thing he could think of without sounding
suspicious. “Who will watch the babies?”

“Their nurses.” She waved him down as she
moved away. “I’ll handle the office and keep things running
smoothly here while you take care of the town. Once you leave, I’m
locking the place down, so let your people know.”

Stunned into silence, he couldn’t think of a
solid reason to say no. He stared at her back as she moved with
purposeful strides toward the elevator. “Yes, ma’am,” he teased,
ignoring her mocking frown and balled fist.

Chapter 12

“I will have him call you, Jayden. If he
isn’t answering his link it’s because he’s in a situation where he
can’t. But I can assure you he is well.” Jasmine wrote the message
on the note pad. In the past three hours forty-nine Alphas had
called, almost frantic because they couldn’t reach Silas through
their links. Once they heard her voice they calmed somewhat, but
were concerned over the bombing incident.

“Thank you, Madam Jasmine. I received my
first shipment of detectors this morning. My people are busy
installing them now. If La Patron requires anything from me, he
only has to ask.”

Jasmine nodded. Every Alpha had offered a
similar remark. “We know you will, Alpha Jayden and appreciate it.
Thank you for your offer and the call. Warm wishes to Maureen and
Callum.” She wasn’t pushing him off, but she was tired of saying
the same thing repeatedly. She had complained about not talking or
interacting with other adults, and now that she was in position to
do that, she wanted the simplicity of the nursery. In the back of
her mind she heard her sister mocking her with a 'be careful what
you wish for' comment.

Once she clicked off, she called the
nursery. Missing her babies, while being happy for the break,
worked her nerves. Guilt and pleasure ate at her. She asked the
nurse who answered, “What are they up to?”

“They're resting. They ate all of their food
and fell asleep.”

Jasmine glanced at the clock and stifled a
groan. It was nap time. She had been so busy she hadn’t noticed.
“Alright, call me when they wake. I want to come over and spend
some time with them.”

“Yes Mistress.”

Grimacing at the name, Jasmine hung up and
went to grab something to drink from the refrigerator when the
phone rang.

“Hold on,” she said, placing the bottled
water on the desk before replacing the earpiece. “La Patron’s
office.”

“Jas? Jasmine?”

“Mom?” Frowning, she straightened.

“Yes. We’re at the airport. But I don’t see
you or the boys.”

What? Her mom wasn’t supposed to be here
until tomorrow. “What airport?” She turned to look out the window,
wondering how she got the dates wrong.

“Yeager. What happened, you forgot we were
coming?”

Jasmine frowned. “No, you and Renee were
arriving tomorrow morning, at least that’s what you said when the
three of us were on the phone a week ago.”

“Oh… I must’ve gotten my dates mixed up. You
want us to stay at a hotel and come tomorrow?”

Jasmine shook her head at her mother’s
antics. There was no way she would allow her mom to stay in a
hotel. “No. Give me a minute and I’ll get someone out there to pick
you and Mark up… he is with you, right?”

“Yes, he’s waiting for our luggage. Give me
a call and let me know what to do.”

“Okay.” Jasmine clicked off, wondering who
was available. She made another call. It was answered on the first
ring.

“Mom?”

“Hi, Rese. Sorry to bother you.” She
explained the situation. “I need someone to pick them up.”

“Alright, let me get cleaned up a bit and
then I’ll head over there. I’m going to take a couple of guys with
me for this pick up. Security is tight and Nana could be targeted
as the mother-in-law of La Patron.”

Jasmine groaned. With the bombing, the
timing sucked. “Security is in place for tomorrow, when she was
supposed to arrive.”

“I know. I’ll call the airport and have them
ushered to a secure location until we arrive. Tell her I’ll be
there in an hour, give or take fifteen minutes for traffic.”

She bit her lip, wondering if him leaving
was the best course of action. “Is this going to cause a problem
with Silas, he said he was short-handed.”

“I finished the job he had me doing and was
on my way back to shower. I’ll let him know, but other than pulling
Rone out of bed, I’m the only other person who can pick them
up.”

“I hadn’t thought of Rone. You think he can
ride with Rose? Or would that be too much?”

“I can do this, plus it’ll be easier with me
scanning them. Rone might not be up to taking them through the
paces.”

“Okay, thanks honey.” Relieved to know he
was going with security to pick up her mom, she breathed long and
deep. “How are you feeling?” She had stopped asking every day about
the aftereffects of the kidnapping when he told her in clear terms
he was fine. It had been difficult not to hover when he returned
from being taken, but Silas had insisted she give Tyrese space to
cope with the changes to his body.

“I’m good. No problems.”

“Have you seen Asia?” She changed the
subject since his tone didn’t encourage more discussion. Jasmine
really liked the young girl and wished Tyrese took more of an
interest.

“Yes, I have. But nothing is gonna come from
it. I don’t like her that way. She’s good people, been through a
lot, and will be a great catch for someone. Just not me, so
please…just stop. Please.”

Had she been pushing? Hearing the sincerity
in his voice gave her pause. “You really aren’t interested?”

“She’s a friend, maybe someone to work with
on a team, nothing more.”

“Okay, I’ll leave it alone. Plan to have
dinner with us tonight. Your aunt is going to want to see you
before the christening, so plan to also spend some time with her
after she arrives tomorrow.”

“Will do, looking forward to it. I hate
Mandy couldn’t come. Maybe next time. So…Nana’s married again?”