Burned In Shadows (Shadow Unit) (6 page)

“Um, I think I said something along the lines of Jesminda can absorb people’s appearances? Hell, what else should I call it? Morph… shift…. blend?”

No one said a word.

“What?” She looked around the room at the questioning glances. “You don’t believe me?”

“No one is saying that baby girl.” Royce said.

“I’m telling you, it was like looking at my twin.
I think we have something here. We need to use it to our advantage. Jes is on board with the idea, and I think it will work.”

“What idea?” The captain asked.

The men in the conference room sat quietly waiting for her to respond. Dravaggio sat with his elbows on the desk pretending to be disinterested in what she had to say. At least the sexy was turned down a notch. His voice still had its overall effect, but it was just a low buzz of warmth that weaved its way through the room. Gabe wore a perplexed look on his face while Hawke and Adam played paper, rock, and scissors. The only two people in the room that paid her an ounce of attention were the ones she didn’t want the attention from. The rest of the team ignored her. Dammit, she was a part of the team now! They were going to show her the respect she deserved, and if she had to do something drastic to get that respect, she’d do it.

“Are any of you fucking listening to me!” Bells screamed.

All heads in the room faced the front where she was standing. That’s better.

“Jesminda can morph into whatever is breathing.” She looked each one of the men in the eye until she was sure they were listening. “We have a plan, a good plan.”

She began walking around the table as she attempted to lay out the plan she and Jes had come up with earlier after they’d left Faith in the capable hands of Ellie. It was going to work, she knew it. Even if the outcome wasn’t the one her friend wanted.

“She is going to assume a different female form. Somehow we have to get the Red Hand Organization to take notice in her.” She continued pacing. They weren’t trying to interrupt her now.

“We need to cause some issues in the community, get others talking about how bad-ass she is. Someone will eventually take notice and want to grab her. Right?”

Everyone was silent, and Belinda bounced from foot to foot. She was burning up inside with excitement, her first real mission. It was the best rush ever.

Hawke took off his ball cap to run his fingers through his black hair. He wouldn’t meet her eyes, and she didn’t understand why. Most of the guys on the team were receptive to her. Treated her like family. With the exception of the bossy twins and Hawke, everyone else was cool. Even Dietrich. Hawke looked down at the table, pushing his ball cap around in a repeated circle.

“How exactly are we supposed to make anyone notice her? Jes is still undergoing extensive training, and she has to meet with Ann once a week.
”

Ann was her head doctor, a quiet mouse of a woman who liked to wear clothes that covered every inch of her body. She’d only seen her once, but she worked here on the premises. She was human and understood how to deal with Jesminda’s trauma as well as her new found abilities.

“I’m sure Ann will clear her for active status. She’s ready. Ask Royce, ask Ronin.”

She looked to the brothers for support in her claim. Jes was ready; this was the only thing that would keep her friend from snapping. Getting Draven back was a top priority, not just for Jesminda but for the team. Why had he switched sides? Did this entire thing go deeper than she even knew? What if Dravaggio purposely put him there as a mole? But why? That was a question of concern, why would he do that? It didn’t make sense to send him in. Draven was known by most the immortal population. Someone would have ratted him out by now.

“We don’t even know if this is going to work Captain. Come on? Sending her in to do recon and rescue Draven? It’s not going to work.” Hawke protested.

“No one asked you for your input Ryu, did they?”

Everyone turned towards the door where the topic of conversation stood. She was dressed in black jeans and a black tee. She’d stopped wearing bright colors and since the disappearance of Draven, she’d been in a perpetual state of mourning. She walked to the head of the table and planted her palms firmly on the surface and bent forward staring each man in the face. She looked relaxed her breathing steady. One moment she was Jesminda Zealand and the next she was Royce, then Ronin, and she continued to show each member of the team their own personal doppelganger. Belinda thought she had to touch the object, but since everyone was seated at the table and in some form or fashion touching the table, whether it be a hand or foot, she had direct access to their genetic make-up. Awesome. You could literally hear when all the heart beats in the room stopped.

No sound circulated
. Mouths were slack, and everyone’s eyes were practically falling out of their heads.

After a few minutes, Jes returned to her natural state.

“Do that shit again, I want to see it one more time.”

“Why should I?” Jes asked in an annoyed voice. “It’s hard to concentrate, and right now I can only hold the form for a short amount of time.”

“Seriously, you just became my new best friend.” Royce stared back at the others who still hadn’t said a word.

“You can be me and break it to all the ladies, how I can’t sleep with them anymore.”

Bells choked on a cough, but couldn’t hold back the words “asshole” as she did. The men erupted into laughter. Royce included. The smug bastard.

Chapter 5

T
his plan had all the makings of a disaster. It would lead them all straight to hell and back again, on several trips because there would be entirely too much body clean-up for Death to escort them all at once. What the fuck was Dravaggio thinking, sticking the five of them together on this? Shit was going to go down that even he knew he should steer clear of. Sure, he’d get to be close to Belinda, marvel at the Phoenix tattoo on her back. But he needed to focus on this new assignment, especially now that the women were going to get involved.

Ronin
wasn’t prone to pacing, but today was as good a day as any to start. Royce stood in a corner smoking his red while rubbing the back of his neck. He grunted his response when the captain asked them all to be seated. As usual he was playing to his inner demon, being the odd man out.

“This assignment will be off the books. I’ve tasked Hawke with taking care of re-assimilating the missing
Vampiri back into House Deadcrest.”

The Re
gs that had been kept with the Vampiri had not survived the torture and abuse and were put down. It was the only humane thing to do. Belinda didn’t think so, but she hadn’t seen them when they’d been taken out of the warehouse. Some of them had begged for death, others so comatose there was no way they were coming back.

It was an assignment that would have been given to
Draven. He was proficient with Vampiri, sending Hawke was the next best thing.

“Jes you’re new to combat.” Dravaggio looked over at Belinda and nodded.
“ And Surelle, has asked that you return to your Enclave.”

Belinda’s posture went rigid at his words. She searched the room as if looking for a valid reason on why she needed to return. Allowing her to be a part of this assignment was making his chest hurt. His palms were sweating, he felt fucking feverish. Which was total bullshit.

“I’ve told your mother that I will have you to the Enclave at the allotted time and not a moment sooner. I understand your loyalty to the team, and it’s appreciated. But your House needs you as well. Two months it’s all I can give you. How long till your rebirth?”

Ronin and Royce shared a puzzled look with one another. He knew she was next in line to be Matria of House Phoenix. Her house was ruled by women. There was nothing wrong with
that, he just didn’t like the implications. Implications that could mean they would not get their girl and they had to. Anything less was not an option.

“I don’t need to be back for my rebirth for another six months. Why so soon?”

“I’ve told Surelle you’ve already been deployed and that I would have you report to the Enclave when you were due to check in, which is in two months.” Dravaggio dropped his voice and Ronin had to close his eyes and turn in the other direction. Fucking incubus was about to voice her into submission.

“Don’t make a liar out of me Ms. Ignis. Do what needs to be done at the Enclave. Royce and Ronin will escort you.”

Her eyes dropped half-mast and she slouched her head forward like she was being coaxed to sleep

“Okay.”

Her voice was dark and smoky and he realized he was nodding his head right along with her. Mesmerized by her, not the incubus. Her voice slid over the length of his body, loosening the tension in his muscles.

His brother cleared his throat, and it brought all occupants back to their senses.

“Can we please get back on track? I have a hot date tonight.” Royce spoke up from the position he was currently holding against the wall.

Ronin growled at his asshole brother. They’d never get her if he continued to fuck his way into depression. He knew what his twin was doing, and it was going to have the opposite effect if he kept at the games. They both had the same demon and dealt with it in different ways. But the time for sulking was over.

“Dravaggio, please continue, we don’t want to hold up the party in his pants.”

Royce chuckled low and pushed off the wall he was leaning against. He placed both hands on Belinda’s shoulder and turned her to face him.

“Why darlin, you want an invite to the party in my pants?”

It wasn’t
playful Royce that had surfaced. It was dark Royce. Ronin watched the interplay between the two, and he saw the moment Belinda realized that he was no longer playful Royce, but serious Royce.

“Dumbass.”

“I heard that.”

“Good
. Leave her alone so we can get the plans hashed out. I still have training after this.”

“Whatever big brother. Remember you want her just as much as I do if not more.”

Ronin closed their channel.

Belinda lifted her head, like she was about to say something but then thought better of it.

“Captain, you were saying.”

“I was saying that the five of you will work together. Dietrich will be air support and run retrieval when it’s needed. Gabe is working on gathering as much information as he can, but this assignment will start in three weeks’ time….. Jes.” Dravaggio looked in her direction.

“Yes.” Her voice was firm and determined. She was ready to start a war over her man. And Ronin knew she’d need that anger and her strength to get through whatever fire they were about to walk in to.

“Ronin is going to drag you through the mud with the help of Dietrich for the next three weeks. Pay attention, because I am sending you in front and center to retrieve Draven. Are we clear?”

“Crystal.”

“I’m warning you now if I pull you out, you better get your ass to the pick-up, or things will go dark. Understand.”

She gave a firm nod, but Ronin had to wonder if she actually knew what dark meant. If she got left behind, there would be no search and rescue, no attempt to get either of them back. Things had started to heat up for all the units, and not just theirs. Everyone was trigger happy and it made them all anxious.

Dravaggio laid out the rest of the plan. Team one consisted of just Jesminda with team two for ground support. That consisted of himself, Royce and Belinda. Team three was air and telecommunications. Gabe had already started to gather what they needed. No one knew how they were going to find out where Draven went or even how the job was going to get done. But the goal was clear. Retrieve Draven Stone at all costs.

Chapter 6

B
elinda stepped from the shower and grabbed her towel. She was tired, bone tired. Dravaggio made it clear that until they could get all their residences safe that they were all to stay on base. Which meant she was surrounded on all three sides. Jes was in a lower level of suites that housed family. The Shadow Unit was generously funded. Each room was decked out with the latest gadgets. There was a system of caves below the building that was built to accommodate most anything. Including an entire hive of buildings all connected by a central command post Gabe manned. There was also an alternate mode of travel, via a sort of subway system. She’d tried to follow how the system worked exactly, but wasn’t entirely sure. She at least caught onto the basics. The energy from the mantle created hot spots and at these hotspots were gateways or ports. Ports that lead to other places on the globe. They were closely guarded, and Gabe didn’t want to go any further than that, which was cool with her. She was restricted from the lower levels.

She just wished she could have stayed topside. Her primary feather tingled at the base of her neck, and she moved her hair to the side to allow the brisk air to reach it. The air conditioning unit was b
lowing cold air. It reminded her of flying high in the stratosphere with her little sister Aria. She thrived in the open air. She didn’t like the feeling of being caged. Royce on one side of her suite, Ronin on the other with Dietrich across the way. If she didn’t know any better she’d say it was done on purpose, and because of the new schedule and training, they were all stuck here for the next three weeks. The implications that they were in danger was laughable. The Enclave had never been compromised for as long as she could remember, and that was a long time.

The walls inside the rooms weren’t thin, but to an immortal they might as well have been. She could hear everything, including the woman in the room next to her with Royce, the music blaring from Dietrich’s room across the hall, and the steady breathing of Ronin from his room. He must be sleeping she thought. Both brothers had an appeal she couldn’t deny. Ronin was quiet and untamed, Royce, loud and attention grabbing, if the noises in the room next to her were anything to go by. He
wanted her to hear it. She knew it and refused to let it bother her.

The twins were two opposites of the same coin. Their only difference were their eyes. Ronin’s a liquid silver that sometimes seemed subdued with blue undertones when he was focused on someone; Royce with flames of amber that sometimes seemed suffused with a sort of orange starburst around the pupils. Their goat-tees neatly trimmed, surrounded lips meant to tease a woman. The silent silver eyed devil was bald. The loud mouth, narcissistic fool who-wouldn’t–stop-talking-if-you-paid-him-to-twin, kept his hair sexy, with his just-got-out-of-bed-after-a-good-fuck look. Ronin exuded an intense savage confidence and Royce was a sexual magnet you could only stand to be around in small doses.

She wasn’t going to think about their sculpted bodies or the bulge she couldn’t help but notice. She shivered at the thought. Nope, she wasn’t going to think about that at all. The one time she’d ever had sex, was the time she and the idiot currently housed across from her had taken her virginity. That had been almost three hundred years ago. He was a dick back then too. She’d been so attracted to his bad boy image. Dietrich Johnson was an enigma and just as quickly as Surelle had announced they were to be mated, he’d left even quicker. One minute she’d been head over heels, the next broken hearted on the day of their mating ceremony. Soon, she’d be the next Matria and originally it was thought Dietrich would be her consort. Could she question herself and say she still had feelings for him? It was him who’d left her. He’d promised her the world, and then when it came time to deliver on those promises he’d disappeared, reduced her to nothing more than a girl he’d fucked. He used to call her his, and now she was just a female. If she thought she’d love him then, she knew now what she felt for him was a girl’s flighty infatuation.

The knock at the door took her from her thoughts, and she pulled the towel closed and bunched it at her breasts. It had to be Jes, it couldn’t be any of the others, she could hear well, but her sense of smell wasn’t that illustrious. What she wasn’t expecting to find was Dietrich on the other side of the door. She grabbed her towel tighter to herself as he walked past her into the room.
Why is he here?
She thought to herself as she stood by the door. It was still open, and she’d hoped he’d turn around and walk out. But today just wasn’t her lucky day. He seemed agitated and uncomfortable. This was normal for him of course, had been since she’d first laid eyes on him all those years ago. They were barely out of their maturation cycles. He’d come from a prominent family and crossing the species was not a grievous thing. It ensured survival. Belinda was sure had she and Dietrich had offspring they all would’ve been of the watcher variety with maybe one or two baby birds intermixed. She’d been looking forward to it back then. Now, she was glad life had turned left instead of right.

“Why do you walk in as if we are familiar with one another? Less than two months ago you treated me as if I was dirt beneath your boots.”

He smirked and moved toward her kitchenette. He didn’t say anything as he forcefully opened her fridge and poured himself a glass of water. The cup was empty before she could even think of something else to say.

“Calm down.” Dietrich cleared his throat. Sunglasses still attached to his head, she could feel the heat of his stare. She wondered if anyone else knew what was behind the shades. His eyes were milky-white, with the smallest of pupils. She knew because she’d looked into those eyes, said things as she stared into what she thought was the heart of him. Things she thought she’d always feel.

“I am calm. Do I look like I’m not?” Belinda moved to the closet and grabbed another pair of yoga pants and a top. She walked over to her dresser and pulled out underwear and headed toward the bathroom.

“I didn’t mean to hurt you.” He said harshly when she’d almost closed the bathroom door. It had been such a long time that the pain had dulled to nothing. She turned and looked over her shoulder. He’d taken off his glasses, and his ghostly stare was focused on her in a way that held her immobile. She didn’t know wha
t she saw as he stared at her far longer than necessary. But she did know he no longer made her feel alive and adored. These were different times, in another life maybe, but not this one.

“It’s in the past. Let’s leave it there, alright?” Belinda closed the door and quickly dressed. She didn’t have to wait long. He was gone as soon as she c
losed the door. She let out a long sigh, resting her head against the doorframe frame. She knew life was never meant to be easy. She’d figured that out the hard way a long time ago when she’d almost lost her primary.

To a Phoenix, immortality was truly a gift, something that could be
taken away at any moment. In a moment of complete stupidity, she’d foolishly left the safety of the Enclave walls. A woman on the street had liked the feathers in her hair and had tried to pull her primary out of her ponytail. Luckily, Ryan had been there, he’d taken hold of the woman and shoved her away. The woman had been human and hadn’t known better, but had she’d taken the primary, Belinda would have been dead long ago.

When she was younger there had been more than ten Houses, now there were only five. House Benu, Simurgh, Ziz, Turul, and then Magyars. All five Houses were now housed under one Enclave. Before, they had their own, but their numbers had decreased so rapidly, they’d all agreed to combine the Houses under one umbrella. Each member from each house sat on the council and voted Surelle the Matria of House Phoenix. Her heir would be next in line to take the seat as long as the heir was female. Belinda hadn’t gone through her nesting phase and wouldn’t for a while. It would bring about her rebirth, and she’d be put on display until her death was activated.

# # #

Damn, he was a bastard, and he knew it. Something could be said for his stupidity because any other idiot would not have had the balls to do what he was currently about to engage in.
You’re not even a couple.
Yeah, that was true, but he still wasn’t doing the right thing. And the woman he currently had tied in a supremely delicate kinbaku position shouldn’t garner an ounce of his attention. But it was either that or the darkness would run rampant and cause more damage than was necessary. Hawke had been courteous enough to give him some rope for his evening entertainment. The woman on the bed couldn’t move and the entire time he sat at the edge of the mattress watching her, he thought of Bells. With her striking features and luscious lips. Her body was formed for pleasure. Curved, sensual hips with an elegant neck that arched in such a way said she was bred from a majestic stalk. But it was her eyes that were the point of seduction. An amazing shade of purple that pulled him deeper inside her carefully spun web. He didn’t know how else to act. She’d sucked him in and held him captive, cutting off all rational thought. It was a crazy thing. The only solution was to fuck her out of his system with the current available snatch on his bed.
Bad idea Royce. Real bad
.

He wasn’t fully convinced she belonged to him and his brother anyway. Okay, he was ninety eight percent sure. But he still needed to account for the other two percent. Hence the woman currently tied down to his bed. She was dripping with need, and he could smell her want for him. He was just about to stretch out on the bed next to her when he heard Bell’s door open. She was either leaving or returning.

“Be right back, hold that pose. Don’t move.”

Like she could, but he smiled anyway as he walked to the door.

Bells wasn’t leaving or coming back, apparently she felt she could entertain guests of the male persuasion. Dietrich was leaving her room, and he could smell the vaporized water floating from her suite. The fucker had showered with her! This seriously pissed him off. It was not okay for her to go out and test the waters. Was she fucking blind? Did she not see how much he wanted her? Didn’t she understand? They’d kissed. Fucking kissed! Royce allowed himself a five second window to calm down. Dietrich hadn’t showered with her, the other man’s skin was entirely dry, his sense of smell told him that much. He’d still been in Bell’s room during an intimate moment. Why?

“What.” D stopped and pegged him with a milky glare, the bastard never took his glasses off, never. Now he was coming from the room of the very woman that was bound to him and his brother, with his shades off.
You have made no claims
. Didn’t fucking matter. His intentions had been made clear.
Not crystal, you banged one chick and you have another tied up in your bed
. Semantics. That’s all it was, just because he hadn’t made the big move didn’t give her grounds to make any of her own with other fucking men.

He didn’t need to question him, he had ways of getting the information without uttering a word, and he’d do just that.
Ask him to his face. He needs to know Belinda is off limits.

“You shouldn’t be fraternizing with other team members.” He said instead. That was professional.

“As if you care where my dick goes.” Dietrich shot back as he leaned against the wall opposite Bell’s door.

Royce walked two steps before he realized he was in the other man’s face. He did fucking care where Mean Mugger’s dick went. Especially if said dick was entertaining
her.

“Funny, I never pegged you for a pussy. But I’ve been wrong before.” D put his glasses back on and looked across the hall at Bells’ door. He’d covered his eyes so his emotions couldn’t be read. As if the bastard had any. Royce let his talent take over, reaching, searching for any information he could gather. Dietrich as always was rock solid, never let his emotions or thoughts get the best of him. He was always clear and trouble free.

“I’m not a pussy. I said what needed to be said.”

“Did you now.”

“Yeah, I did. Besides you’re the love em’ and leave em’ type D. She’s too good for you.”

D chuckled darkly at Royce’s statement. His power was still flowing through him, and he was still sorting through thoughts and other crap that was of no importance. Dietrich was one of the few who knew how to manipulate what he and his brother could or could not read.

“You could be right about that, but we both know you’re no better, and neither is your psychotic brother. But what you should know is that she’d have me before she’d have either of you any day of the week. I am after all her ex-fiancé.”

Talk about dropping the unexpected
at the perfect fucking moment.

Ex-
fiancé? Ex fucking fiancé!

“In your dreams.” He couldn’t get past the wall of nothingness, couldn’t see what he needed to see. He could probe harder, deeper, but that would cause insurmountable pain to the prick.
Pain is not a terrible idea.
When Royce made the decision to dig deeper, Dietrich let his walls down, and memories of Bells in the throes of passion assaulted his mind. Her cries in Dietrich’s ears as she begged for more, their position one of erotic beauty as she came apart at the seams, all had the power to break him, but, he never got the chance.

The door to her suite opened, and Beautiful walked out and stood in the doorway eyeing both men.

“What’s going on out here?” She asked. She was back in another pair of skin hugging yoga pants and tank top. He could see the talons of her phoenix resting seductively on her hips. She could at least put something decent on. Wearing outfits like that only drove him mad. He wanted his hands secured on those hips. Pictured himself with one hand tangled in her long tresses as the other held her in place as he repeatedly drove into her from behind over and over again. A moan almost slipped from his lips. God she fucking blew his mind. He wasn’t going to let the past deter him from his future.