Bonded (54 page)

Reno glanced at
Brandi, shrugged and looked away. “Thanks, but no thanks. I’m an
Enforcer and you know what we’re like. No ties, no involvement.
Pack life and me—we just don’t mix.”

Brandi struggled
to keep the disappointment from her face. She knew what Reno was
trying to tell her. He wanted her to know there’d never be anything
between them. An occasional hook up perhaps, friends with benefits,
but nothing permanent.

Feeling the tears
she’d been holding off start to well in her eyes, she walked
away.

Chapter
33

Reno firmed his
jaw and forced himself to not stare after Brandi despite the fact
that his wolf was urging him to chase the female down. Hell, he
himself wanted to chase her down, but he didn’t. Instead he gripped
the door handle of the truck he was beside more firmly, not in the
least surprised when he felt it begin to pull loose from the actual
door.

Klaus looked at
Brandi and then at him. “You know, boy, Enforcers are supposed to
be real smart but that was a dumb-ass thing to say.” He shook his
head and walked away.

The comment stung
yet Reno said nothing. He might be a dumb-ass but it was the only
way. Emotional attachments didn’t work. They distracted you from
your duty. He repeated those phrases like a mantra. Just look at
how he’d hesitated to act on the conveyor. His concern for Brandi
had made him indecisive and Enforcers couldn’t afford that.

You’d have been
concerned no matter who was below the conveyor,
his wolf
pointed out.

Maybe, he argued
back, or maybe not. The fact is I hesitated and now we don’t know
where Victor is. They’re still digging through the rubble trying to
find his body. What if he escaped? If he did, it’s my fault.

His wolf growled
at the idea of Victor still being out there.
The bastard was
interested in our female.

Not our female,
Reno countered. Rogues don’t have long term relationships,
remember? Why pursue her if it’s not going to last? She’ll just end
up miserable and hurt when we show our true colours.

It could
work
, the animal insisted.

Reno shook his
head. It’s too dangerous. A DC officer’s job wasn’t easy but it was
relatively safe. Enforcers, however, encountered all kinds of
Lycans. What if someone discovered he had an attachment to Brandi
and tried to get revenge on him through her? Just look at what
happened here.

This was all
her own doing
, his wolf pointed out.
She stumbled into the
nest of Purists on her own. We had nothing to do with it. In fact,
we helped keep her safe.

True. He frowned
and rubbed his forehead, unsure of what to do. One minute
developing a relationship with Brandi seemed the only logical thing
to do but the next he was sure it would never work. It had been a
nice fantasy for a while but in reality—

Someone dropped
their hand heavily onto his shoulder and he jerked out of his
reverie. See? Even thinking about Brandi was messing him up. As an
Enforcer, it shouldn’t have been possible for someone to sneak up
on him.

He turned to see
Captain Fielding standing by him. “I just talked to Klaus. He says
you turned down a Beta position.”

“That’s right. I’m
an Enforcer. Pack life isn’t for me.” He stated the words firmly,
as if injecting conviction into his voice would make the decision
more palatable.

Fielding grunted.
“Can’t say I’m sorry. You’re a good officer and I’m pleased to keep
you. But...” He looked towards where Brandi was talking with her
human pack mates. His hand tightened painfully on Reno’s shoulder
and the man’s voice took on a foreboding sound. “I think you and I
are going to have a long talk once this mess gets cleared up.”

“About what?”

“If you don’t
know, you’re a bigger idiot than I already think you are.” The
captain rolled his eyes. “We’re loading up in five minutes. Hop
into a van or walk back to town.” With that, the man nudged him out
of the way and climbed into the vehicle Reno had been abusing. “You
can pay for this wrecked door handle out of your next pay
cheque.”

Reno stepped back
as the engine roared to life. No way was he getting in the same van
as the captain when the man was in a pissy mood. A long talk about
what? Maybe the fact that a relationship with Brandi had made him
vulnerable? Was the captain going to lecture him on the dangers of
women? He snorted at the very idea.

Turning, Reno
hobbled over to where Damien was leaning casually against a truck.
The man was just bidding farewell to a group of fellow Enforcers.
As Reno neared, Damien stepped back and the truck pulled away.

“I overheard what
just happened, the way you turned down Klaus.” Damien shook his
head. “I thought the senior partner was supposed to be the wise
one.”

“What’s that
supposed to mean?” Reno glared. “You want me to quit so you can get
a new partner?”

“No. I don’t want
a new partner. But...” He paused and seemed to be searching for the
right words. “Life is what you make it, Reno. That’s what Beth told
me once.” He shrugged and looked a bit sheepish but continued on.
“She said you never pass up an opportunity for love even if you
don’t know how long it will last because the chance might not come
again. ‘Never forget to love.’ It’s her favourite saying. I know it
sounds sappy but I’m starting to believe it’s true.” Damien gave
him an uncharacteristically serious look. “Don’t let what you think
you are ruin your life.”

“I’m an Enforcer.
How’s that going to ruin my life?”

“That’s not what I
mean. You’ve got the whole ‘I’m a rogue’ bit down pat.”

“So? Facts are
facts.”

“Are they? Or are
you too scared to let go of the whole rogue mystique?”

Scared? Reno
scowled, searching for some sort of reply but before he could think
of one, Damien’s phone signalled that he’d received a text. After
glancing at the message, his partner gave him a distracted
smile.

“Sorry, I gotta
go. Beth’s waiting to start our honeymoon.”

Reno stared after
Damien wondering what was going on. Why was everyone dumping on
him? All he’d done was turn down the position of Beta. It wasn’t
like he didn’t already have a good job. And there was no reason to
stay in Kolding’s Pass. Sure, Klaus would have his hands full
turning the pack around but it had been done before. They weren’t
inherently bad people, rather a group that had become caught up in
something without totally realizing what was going on. Knowing how
the Purists operated, he could just imagine the snow job Victor had
done.

He massaged his
aching leg wishing he had someplace to sit down. Aran had said a
few weeks of rest and some moderate exercise should have the leg as
good as new. That suited his plans. It would give him a chance to
get caught up on all the paperwork that was probably waiting for
him. Damien would be back by then and they’d have new data to go
over based on the information gained during the interrogation of
the Purists they’d just rounded up. There’d be plenty to keep him
busy while he got back in shape. Yep, his future was at Lycan
Link.

His wolf grumbled
in protest, recalling how it hated the confines of Headquarters,
the endlessly bland hallways and stuffy offices, the presence of so
many other wolves, the constant travelling. The creature had loved
its time here. Plenty of space, a challenging terrain to expend its
energy on. A perfect location for a wolf to form a pack.

Reno chuckled as
he listened to the wolf expound on the virtues of mountain life.
True, the beast had been relatively well behaved these past few
days. No outbursts, no questioning of who was in charge in their
relationship... Well, a few times the creature had wanted to rip
into Victor, but that was understandable given that the Purist had
shown an interest in Brandi. Defending one’s mate was totally
justified.

Whoa. Stop that.
Reno ran his hand through his hair and scowled. How had that ‘mate’
business slipped in again? They were
not
mates.

He tried to ignore
the feeling that twisted his gut when he said that. It was like he
was denying a part of himself, and that was just plain dumb,
romantic drivel. Wasn’t it?

The sound of a
door slamming drew his attention, and he turned to see Brandi
already seated in a van. She was in profile to him, staring
straight ahead. His fingers itched to trace the line of her jaw, to
cup her face and brush his thumb over her mouth.

They’d been
through so much these past twenty-four hours, thrown into constant
contact as they traversed the tunnels, survived the cave-in,
cavorted in the pond... He recalled the feel of her in his arms,
having her warmth and softness pressed to his body, the spicy scent
of her wrapping itself around him. He closed his eyes wondering how
he’d live without that feeling.

As he opened his
eyes, the van began to move. It came closer and Reno kept his gaze
fixed on Brandi. Would she look at him as she passed by? And if she
did, what would he do? Give a smile and a casual wave? It hardly
seemed appropriate. After all, he’d pushed her away... Unless she
hadn’t wanted to be with him, anyway. Maybe she was relieved. She’d
been angry with him up on the mountain. Perhaps the relationship he
thought they’d developed had only been situational. A false sense
of closeness that was more a reflection of the danger around them
rather than a true emotional connection.

The van drew even
with his position and he took half a step forward, his heart
pounding heavily, his wolf urging him to do something, to stop her
from leaving. Was it the right thing to do? If she’d just look at
him, he’d know. Expectation grew inside him. She was turning her
head...and then she was past his position. There’d been no eye
contact, no last minute flare of emotion in her eyes. Nothing.

Two weeks
later...

Reno rocked back
in his chair, no longer really listening to what the captain was
saying. The weekly briefing was over and minor questions were being
fielded, nothing he didn’t already know.

The chair creaked
slightly under his weight and not for the first time did he wonder
if Captain Fielding would ever replace it. For eight years he’d
been sitting in the same seat, and it was still as damned
uncomfortable as it had been the first day he’d set his butt down
on it. Maybe, he mused, it was actually a strategy to keep people
from staying too long. He wouldn’t put it past the wily old
man.

“Any other
questions? No? Good. Dismissed.” Fielding ended the briefing and
the other Enforcers filed out.

Reno remained
where he was. He and the captain had a private meeting scheduled
for after the briefing, though Reno couldn’t imagine what else
there was to say.

He suppressed a
sigh and hoped the captain would cut through the crap and get right
to the point. Lately he’d been finding it extremely irritating to
sit through meetings. Hell, lately he’d been finding everything
irritating: the food, his living quarters, the other Lycans around
him. Rubbing his leg he wondered how much longer it would be before
he could shift and go for a good run. Maybe that was the problem.
Being cooped up was unsettling his inner wolf.

Hrmph!
The
beast gave a half-hearted growl and raised one brow in protest over
being blamed for his restlessness.
Not my fault
. It settled
its chin on its paws again and returned to the half-dozing state it
had been in.

For some reason
the creature had been unusually quiet lately, and prone to lying
around doing nothing. Given the fact that he was temporarily
disabled it was a good thing but not at all normal for the usually
feisty beast. Reno grimaced hoping he didn’t have to go see one of
Lycan Link’s psychologists over a depressed wolf!

As the door closed
behind the final Enforcer, the captain began to gather his papers
together and Reno took one final glance at the file before him.

“So Al was our
leak.” Reno summarized in one statement what had taken over an hour
to say in the staff meeting using official lingo. It was strange to
think of the lanky DC officer as being a covert Purist. The man had
always seemed too laid back to orchestrate anything so complicated.
But it turned out he’d been accessing confidential files using
Brandi’s computer terminal and passwords. When a raid was planned,
he’d forwarded the information so key leaders would be out of the
area, and selected ‘fall guys’—men of minor importance within the
organization—remained behind to be ‘captured.’

It was a perfect
set up, leaving a trail that led back to Brandi Johansson, should
anyone ever become suspicious. What Al hadn’t counted on was Brandi
finally leaving the unit. In a rush to gather as much information
as possible, he’d gotten sloppy and Bradley Owen had caught the man
red-handed.

“Yeah, Zimmerman
had us all fooled. We suspected Brandi since she’s from Kolding’s
Pass and it seemed to be the central point around which all the
other eastern Purist pockets were found.”

“And me? I was a
suspect by association?” Reno thought back to how the captain had
questioned him that night at the bar about his relationship with
Brandi. It had seemed odd at the time—the captain didn’t concern
himself with his men’s personal lives—but now it made perfect
sense.

Fielding grunted.
“I’m not a captain for nothing. I could see you were more than a
little attached to her, even if you weren’t willing to admit it.
And your bickering could have been a cover. It wasn’t something I
wanted to think about—I consider you a friend—but I couldn’t rule
it out either.”

Reno nodded, not
holding a grudge against the man. The good of the pack, or in this
case, Lycan society as a whole, always took precedence over the
individual. “You know, Al was always pushing for Brandi and me to
hook up and I could never figure out why. But it makes sense now.
If we were together, she wouldn’t leave and he wouldn’t lose his
source. And, he probably hoped to eventually use me to get access
to inside ACS information as well.”