Deadly Target [IAD Agency 3] (Siren Publishing Classic) (29 page)

Sal was a big, dangerous-looking man. His unique amber eyes always reminded Mikayla of a deadly beast walking on two legs. But out of the two of them, Sin was the man that caught her immediate attention. As one of the IAD commanders that coordinated all of the divisions around the world, Sinclair “Sin” Hamilton was one of the only individuals that could instill fear in any of the hard-hearted IAD agents. His short hair was dark as midnight, with eyes to match and a dark shadow covered his chiseled jaw. It wasn’t his appearance that set him apart from the group. It was the aura of power he wore like others wore clothes.

No one exuded pure intimidation better than Sin.

Sal was the first to see Mikayla and Gage standing in the hallway. He smiled held out his mug to her. She took it gratefully and gulped down the dark brew like it was the elixir of life.

“Hi there, Lynx. Good to see you’re still able to walk,” Sal said with a grin then headed back into the kitchen to get some more coffee.

Damn it, she was going to kill someone. She had to force herself not to shift in embarrassment as Sin swung his piercing gaze her way.

“Commander,” she said as she straightened.

Sin waved a hand at her as he sat down at the table. “Seriously Lynx, you aren’t going to go all formal on me now after all of us have been listening to you have sex for the last few days, are you?” he said dryly.

“Shit…” Yeah, she was definitely going to have to kill someone.

Sin raised an eyebrow as he looked at Gage. “Pretty impressive stamina, Hollywood.”

“Oh, I don’t know,” Lucian said with a grin. “The soundproofing in this place is pretty impressive. But you are loud, Lynx. Who knew you were a screamer?”

“Tara?”

Tara reached out and slapped Lucian hard on the back of his head, making him curse. “I’ve got your back, girl,” Tara said with a wink.

A loud bang had them all turning to where Brett had leaned down to smack his head on the table. “No, no, no. We talked about this. It’s like
Fight Club.
You don’t talk about it, then I don’t have to think about what’s been going on in there for the last few days. It’s like it never happened.”

Mikayla snorted out a laugh and joined them at the table, with Wulf following her like a loyal sidekick.

“I think I’ve been replaced as his favorite,” Gage murmured to her.

“He’s a good dog.” She smiled at him and rubbed Wulf’s head as he stared up at her in adoration. Avoiding eye contact with everyone, she lowered her aching body into a chair. Once she was settled, Wulf draped himself over her bare feet, keeping them warm. She gritted her teeth as she heard the snickers of amusement as Gage sat down slowly beside her.

Slade, Rock, Julian and Dylan also joined them at the table and she quickly made introductions. She did a double take when she finally got a good look at Sebastian’s impressive two black eyes. “What the hell happened to you?”

Mikayla shot a glare at Rock, who held up his hands.

“It wasn’t me this time. I had my fun when we went through this with Tara.”

“Fun…?” Julian muttered.

“This one,” Sebastian said, pointing to his right eye. “Was a gift from Slade. And the other one was from Adrian.”

Mikayla frowned at the men in question then settled on Brett.

“What?” Brett said innocently. “I didn’t touch Sebastian. I got mine out of my system when I punched Gage in the hospital.”

“Yeah, thanks for that,” Gage said, sarcasm all but dripping from his voice.

“Good times,” Brett said then tapped fists with Slade, making Mikayla roll her eyes at them.

“I think you are forgetting something,” Slade said casually as he stared at Sebastian.

If a man could blush with two black eyes, Sebastian was certainly doing so. “I did deserve it. I’m sorry I was such a dick to you, Mikayla. Please, forgive me.”

“Of course. You were just protecting your family. I understand.”

“See, she understands,” Sebastian muttered then shifted in his seat as hard eyes focused on him from all around the table.

“Yes, this all sounds very familiar,” Julian King said dryly. He turned to give Gage a sympathetic glance. “Joining up with this bunch requires a strong constitution and a need for hazard pay. And that’s after they start calling you a friend.”

“Ah, honey. What did I tell you about baiting the animals?” Tara quipped as she leaned into her fiancé’s side.

“Does that include you, love?”

“Naw. You can bait me anytime, sugar.”

“Oh my god, stop now before my head explodes,” Sal complained. “First it was Mac and my sister. Then T-rex and Julian. I can’t take anymore.” He scowled at Gage. “If you and I are gonna be cool, you need to promise to cut out the lovey-dovey bullshit or else I may have to hurt you.”

“Are you kidding? Lynx has this one pussy-whipped already. I’m surprised he’s not spouting sonnets and shit from the rooftop,” Rock snorted.

“Hey—” Gage protested.

“Are they always like this?” Robert and Nick asked simultaneously. They got a nod in response from Adrian and Julian.

“Are you kidding? They’re just getting started,” Tara said cheerfully then her expression became thoughtful. “What we do is intense. The friendships we have, the joking around…this bonding helps us know we can trust one another when shit goes down. We get right and tight when in action.” Julian reached out and took hold of her hand. The bond between them was easy for everyone to see.

Sal groaned. “Another one bites the dust. You thinking about keeping him, Lynx?”

“I’m not a goddamn puppy!” Gage snapped.

The tone of his voice made Wulf raise his head in question from where he’d been resting. Mikayla reached down and stroked her hand over his head. She was rewarded with a lick to her hand, and it made her smile. She reached out her other hand under the table and held onto Gage’s. When he turned and smiled back at her it made her heart flutter. “I guess I’m keeping him. Since we’re getting married, I think that would certainly make him mine,” she said, still lost in Gage’s emerald eyes.

Sal cursed again. Pulling out his wallet he slapped a bill into Brett’s outstretched hand. At her questioning glance Sal frowned at her. “Damn it, I thought after the way Gage flipped out about you being a sniper he wouldn’t stick.”

“You know, I really don’t think I like your friends, Mikayla,” Gage muttered to her.

“We’re an acquired taste.” Adrian grinned.

Brett smirked at them. “I knew this would happen. And that was before I knew about the baby.”

The table went silent. Mikayla and Gage both glared at Brett, who at least had the sense to look sheepish at his slip. “Sorry about that, hon. I guess I should have let you tell everyone.”

“You think?” Mikayla snapped.

“This is bullshit!” Sal exploded.

Mikayla’s eyes narrowed at him, but he wasn’t looking at her. His focus was on Brett.

“You fucking cheated, Bishop. Give me back my money! You had intel you didn’t disclose before we made the bet.”

“That was classified information. And besides, I called it before I arrived, didn’t I, Slade?”

“He did,” Slade agreed then grinned. “So, we’re going to have a little Lynx running around here soon?”

“No,” Gage said, going slightly pale. “We can’t have a girl. She’s going to want to date and then you’ll have to arrest me for murder when I kill any boys that look at her. We have to have a boy.”

Brett laughed. “Oh man, you are so having a girl. A little Lynx that we’ll all teach how to handle the boys herself.”

Mikayla laughed as Gage groaned.

“Congratulations, buddy,” Nick said with a grin.

“Thanks. I’ll get back to being happy when I stop being so fucking terrified.”

Sebastian slapped Gage on his back then leaned around him to smile at Mikayla. “Welcome to the family.”

“Thanks.” And she meant it.

Throughout the exchange Sin had simply leaned back in his chair and observed them. Mikayla could feel his watchful eyes studying her and finally turned to meet his gaze. “So, I take it you’ll be staying?”

“Yes, and I’d like to take you up on your offer to run the training facility here.”

“Done. And since I’m here I can see for myself that you made it through the phases of…fight club. I can call your uncle back and ensure him that you are fine. Maybe he will stop calling my cell every fifteen fucking minutes.”

She winced. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be,” Sin sighed. “I was with Ethan when Brett called him to let us know what was going on. We thought it was best if he wait until that shit was out of your system before he came to see you.”

And thank god they did. It was bad enough knowing that her friends had heard her and Gage together. Having her uncle there would have been a whole new level of awkward.

“I appreciate you coming here to make sure I’m okay and, as much as I’m glad to see all of you, I have to ask, what the hell are you doing here?”

“Aw, come on, Lynx. You didn’t think we’d miss out on all the fun, did you?” Tara said with a smile. “It’s been weeks since I’ve killed someone.”

“You poor woman. You’ve been so neglected,” Julian whispered playfully.

“Jesus…” Nick breathed out as he shook his head. “You people are fucking crazy, do you know that?”

“Yeah, pretty much,” Adrian confirmed.

“I came with Trinity,” Lucian said. “Those fuckhead coyotes messed her up pretty good. When I was done with the takedown and she got out of surgery we had her transferred here. She’s in one of the rooms downstairs where we can monitor her through her recovery.”

“How is she?” Mikayla asked, concerned for her friend.

“Not good,” Brett answered with a sigh. “She screams every time the lights turn off. Reflexive PTSD and when she freaks out she’s in jeopardy of pulling her stitches and bleeding out.”

“Damn it,” Mikayla whispered. Gage immediately wrapped his arm around her, pulling her close to comfort her. Her eyes stung with tears, partially because of what had happened to her friend. They all had their demons to face, but Katrina “Trinity” Cross was a strong woman. Bold, brash and beautiful, Trinity was full of life. For that light to be extinguished would be a loss of epic proportions for all of them. The other part that had her emotions flaring was the knowing look Tara sent her.

Not long ago, Mikayla had confided in Tara about her fear that she would never find someone to love her, flaws and all. She had watched Tara and Julian fall in love among the chaos of a mission and saw their bond fuse their lives together, making them both stronger.

She had that now, with Gage.

Yes, she could live without him, but her life was more with him in it.

She allowed herself to lean into Gage, taking the comfort that was offered and found that it was easier to face the daunting conversation with him by her side. “Trinity will be fine,” she said with more conviction than she was feeling.

“Yes, she will,” Sin said. “I came to make sure you were doing okay, but the real reason I’m still here is because I want the head of this lust-dust operation on a fucking pike. Intel is that this shit has already begun to spread. No one has been able to figure out what the hell it was because the drug alters once it’s introduced into the system. I may not get to get my hands dirty as often as I like anymore, but on this one I want to bathe in their blood.”

“That’s…”

“Gross,” Dylan finished when the words escaped Gage. “Totally gross.”

“Umm…I’ve been working with several people in your network, giving them the information they need to treat the victims,” Robert added. “We’re collectively working on coming up with an antidote for the LDX31, but it’s difficult. It’s a very complex drug and it’s going to take some time, if we can do it at all.”

“Director Kane Stryker sent two agents from the LA division to pick up David Henley and the other two assholes. They escorted them to a secured facility where they’ll never see the light of day again. Kane was pissed that his IAD agents hadn’t connected the deaths of all those scientists to the lust dust and kidnapping until now,” Slade said.

“What, is he psychic all of a sudden?” Rock scoffed. “The connection wasn’t there. We might have never known about any of this shit until much later if Mikayla and Katie hadn’t been taken.”

Lucian nodded. “Still, from what the doctor and those we have in custody have told us, a few key groups have paid a shit-ton of money for the drug already. We want to take them out before they use more of it or learn how to duplicate it.”

“Even if another scientist were to get their hands on the substance, it would be highly unlikely that they would be able to recreate it,” Robert argued. “That’s still problematic because if they try to duplicate it and begin testing on subjects, more people are going to die. David had a group of people that got them close, but they couldn’t complete it without me. I’m a genius and it still took me several tries to get it right.”

“Fuck, I hate this,” Adrian said. “No offense, Doc, but you really created some seriously fucked-up shit.”

“I know,” Robert said, his shoulders hunched.