BirthStone (22 page)

“Yes, Sir.”

Silas and Jacques left the room, both quiet
and locked in their own thoughts. “She was willing to die,” Jacques
said softly as they stood in front of the elevator.

Silas glanced at him. “What?”

“When you were in her mind healing her.
Blood ran down her nose and I called you because she fell over onto
the bed. She stopped me from calling you. Her words exactly, 'he is
Patron and knows what he’s doing.'” He paused and gazed at the
concrete wall.

“I asked if she were dying, just to gauge
her response. She grimaced and said yes. It was obvious she was in
a lot of pain but she would not allow me to stop you. That scared
me.” Jacques licked his lips. “It was too close to how I felt…with
you know.”

Silas wasn’t sure if being compared to
Arianna, the crazy bitch, was a fitting example, but Jacques was
talking and that was something he had not been willing to do in a
long time.

“She trusts you implicitly…I do as well…but
it was difficult to see. I apologize if the comparison to that
woman offends you, I merely used it as a point of reference.” He
glanced at Silas, who remained silent.

Jacques continued. “I am over that, at least
I believe I am over the incident. And now… now that the Goddess has
allowed me to find my mate, I know it is just a matter of time
before that period of my life is a distant memory.” They entered
the elevator and Jacques turned to Silas. “I know I am being a
nuisance with Victoria. In my defense, I will say I do not trust
this Mark fellow. He is always looking around and smiling too big.
He acts as though Victoria will disappear if he takes a step back
so she can breathe, it’s rather infuriating how he tries to control
her every move.”

Silas hid his smile and nodded.

“I merely suggested that he take himself for
a walk if he wanted to see the gardens, Victoria had already
complained of a headache. He took offense and for some reason she
did as well. Your mate ushered them into the nursery and I came
here.” He glanced at Silas and then looked away. “I’m making a mess
of this aren’t I?”

“Yes, my friend you are. If Mark is an ass,
he will be found out, but you cannot be the one to point it out.
That’s like saying she cannot chose a good man. I have every
confidence that my mate’s mother is as smart as she and will
eventually notice you are the better man. But…” He put up a finger
when Jacques started to speak.

“But you have to back off. Let her see you
without anger clouding her vision. Be close but not too close. I
know you can woo her from a distance, the trick is this…don’t make
her so angry she will deny you even if she wants you.”

Jacques cheeks turned a light shade of red
as his eyes widened. “She would do that? But…but we are mated,” he
stammered.

“And she is human.”

Chapter 18

Tyrese and Leonidas sat in the small room on
the top floor of the hospital, monitoring the halls leading to
Julie’s room. So far, a barrage of doctors and nurses had done
tests, taken blood, and a number of other things to the woman.
Through it all she remained in a state of near stasis. She answered
no questions, and if it were not for the blinking of her eyes,
Tyrese would think she was dead.

He hoped this plan worked.

“How much more blood will they take from
her?” Leonidas asked, watching as a male nurse stuck a needle into
Julie’s arm.

“I don’t know, but I doubt she can take much
more.” Tyrese watched the nurse secure the blood, but instead of
placing the tube with the others on the tray, he stuck it in his
pocket. Tyrese jumped up and headed for the door. “Keep watching,
open our links,” he yelled at Leon over his shoulder as he headed
to Julie’s room. The distance between the surveillance room and her
room was the one set-back in the plan. He had to maneuver around
slow-moving gurneys and sick people to reach the stairwell. He
hopped over the railing twice down to her floor.

“
Where is the nurse
?” he asked Leon
through their link.

“
He is headed down on the
elevator
.”

Tyrese raced down the stairs to the first
floor and looked around. “
I don’t see him, did he get
off?”

“
He’s changed. He’s wearing black pants
and a dark shirt. I don’t see him either.”

“
Damn.”

“
See if you can scent her blood.”

Inhaling, the faint scent of Julie hit him.
He turned and ran toward the parking lot on the other side of the
building. He saw a man headed at a fast clip toward a large navy
blue suburban and ran after him. The man looked over his shoulder
and ran to the truck. Two men, much larger than the nurse, stepped
out of the truck from the back seat and ran toward Tyrese as if
they were linebackers protecting the quarterback.

“
I can be there in a flash
,” Leon
said. Adrenaline pumped through Tyrese, preparing him for the
confrontation. He had forgotten the other man was still monitoring
the cameras.

“
Still need to keep eyes on her in case
this is a distraction. Get the license plate number
,” Tyrese
said as the truck drove off and the first man reached him. Without
slowing down, he cocked his fist and slammed it into the oncoming
man’s chest with as much force as he could before pulling it back.
His fist throbbed at the impact and he stumbled slightly. A loud
crack accompanied the punch as the man flew past his companion and
bounced on the ground, his hand holding his chest. Tyrese barely
had time to catch his breath before the other guy closed in.
Inhaling, he watched.

The other assailant pulled out a gun, aimed
and fired. Tyrese jumped up and flipped forward as the bullet
whizzed beneath him. His opponent’s eyes followed him and tried to
get off another shot. But Tyrese landed to the side, his foot shot
out and kicked the hand holding the weapon, sending the gun to land
a few feet away. Disarmed, the man charged. If the fight wasn’t so
public, Tyrese may have engaged the guy a little longer. It had
been a while since he’d sparred with anyone other than his brother.
But with one man on the ground, possibly dead, and cameras on the
parking lot, he decided to end this immediately. When his assailant
closed in, he punched him in the stomach, face, and then got behind
the man who was too weak to do anything. Tyrese placed his arms
around the man’s neck, and twisted.

“
I can’t believe you killed them on
hospital grounds
,” Leon said.

“
I have a cleanup crew on the way. Any
activity in her room?”

“
No, it’s quiet. No one’s been in since
he left. Any idea who that was?”

“
More than an idea. I know exactly who it
was. I’ve got to call this in to La Patron. Hold down the fort
until I can get back there,
” Tyrese said before he bent to
check the pockets of the dead men.

“
Roger that
.”

Tyrese checked each man with methodical
precision, falling back on his military training. Just as he
finished, a large white van pulled up and Froggy stepped out.

“Wot you got ‘ere?”

“Two dead pawns whose job it was to keep me
from reaching their boss. He got away in a large navy blue suburban
a few minutes ago.”

Froggy nodded and then threw the first man
over his shoulder, walked to the back of the van and tossed him
in.

Tyrese watched to make sure there were no
problems before he contacted Silas. After tossing in the second
body, Froggy saluted him and drove off. Returning to the
surveillance room, Tyrese went over everything that happened,
checking to see if there was anything he could have done
differently to change the end result. Once he entered the hospital
he reached out to Silas.

“
La Patron?”

“
Tyrese.”

“
Merriweather was here, dressed as a
nurse, and took at least one vial of blood from Julie.”

“
Continue
.”

Tyrese went on to give Silas a full
accounting, including the removal of the dead bodies.

“
Have the doctors check to see if he
administered anything to her as well. I don’t think you can get
another angle in that room, but have Leon check. I will contact the
police captain. I’m sure he will want to see the tapes, so make him
a copy.”

“
Yes, Sir
.” Tyrese relaxed a bit.

“
One of you can stand by her door.
According to the doctor she is too weak to attempt to escape. I
want all activity in her room monitored, they may send someone
again.” He paused. “I see Leon sent the plate information on the
truck, I’ll pass that on to the captain as well. Good job,
Rese.”

“
Thank you, Sir
.” Tyrese’s spirit
lightened as he reached the top floor near the surveillance
room.

“Leon, La Patron wants one of us at her door
to monitor traffic in and out of her room.”

Leon stood and placed his cell phone in his
pocket.

“I’ll contact the administrator so they
understand what you’re doing and don’t interfere. In fact, I’ll
have them give you a list of personnel who can enter her room.”
Tyrese pulled out his cell to make the calls.

“I’m on it,” Leon said as he left.

Tyrese returned to his seat and watched the
monitors. Silas had been right; there was only one camera angle in
that room. He couldn’t tell if Merriweather had done anything other
than take blood. He split the view and watched Leon peek inside the
room before resuming his new post next to the door.

The line to the administrator went to voice
mail and Tyrese hung up. He called again a few more times, but
received the same result. Tyrese was observing Julie, when she
jerked and flailed on her bed. Lights and bells went off as nurses
ran by a startled Leon into her room.

“
What the fuck
?” Leon said through
their link as he was pushed out of the way by a nurse bringing in a
cart with a large defibrillator. Dread filled Tyrese’s gut as the
nurse placed the paddles on Julie’s chest two more times. She never
recovered.

Tyrese stared as the room cleared, leaving
Julie just as alone in death as she had been the past few weeks. He
zoned out Leon’s questions as he continued to stare at the still
woman lying on the bed. There was no question in his mind that the
woman had been murdered. Matt would handle the autopsy to see if
there was any trace of whatever Merriweather had given her.

Could I have done something differently?
Nothing came to mind, his instructions had been to monitor from
afar and that'd kept him from being close enough to grab the
bastard.

He slammed his palm against the desk and
turned away from the sight. “
La Patron.”

“
Tyrese,”
Silas answered through
their link.

“
She’s dead. Julie. They tried to revive
her and failed. She’s lying in her room alone. You will probably
receive a call soon. I’m sorry, Sir.”

“
No. You did your job, you both did.
There was always a chance of this happening. With the camera
footage, an eyewitness, and now her death, the human police can
legitimately pick Merriweather up for questioning. This is not the
way I planned things, but the end result is the same, along with a
huge bonus.”

Tyrese faced the bank of monitors again.
Leon remained at his post. The corridor traffic remained the same.
Life went on even in the midst of death.

“
Bonus?”

“
Yes. The van belongs to Virginia
Cochran, one of Corrina Griggs' former names. The police can pick
her up as well. Rone was preparing to search for her and now we
will work with the authorities to bring them both in.”

Tyrese whistled. “
They’re fat cats in the
state, why would they risk something like this? They knew we were
watching, I can’t believe they took that kind of chance.”

“
Eh…who knows? I want to talk to both of
them. If one of them placed the bomb in Jennings, they will pay
through wolf justice. Not human prisons
.”

Tyrese heard the judgment in Silas’ voice
and knew he planned to handle it personally.

“
What would you like me to do now,
Sir?”

“
I’ll update the captain, and a detective
should be there within the hour. You’ll be his point of contact.
Tell him what happened, show him the video in the hospital, and a
portion of the parking lot action. There’s no need for him to see
the destruction of the two men who disappeared. The captain is
aware of this but let’s not broadcast the information. The hospital
security cams have already been altered
.”

Tyrese should not have been surprised at how
fast Silas worked but he was. “
Yes, Sir.”

“
How is Leonidas working out?”