Homecoming (12 page)

“But, Papa!”

Laura squirmed around on the man’s shoulders, “I have information about her Fated Mate!”

Both Jennifer and her father spun instantly and stared at the tall, dark haired human. “What did you say?”

“You heard me.” Laura continued to hit at the man’s back until he turned around. She was now facing the wrong way. “Put me down, dammit!”

Jennifer pulled her father aside, “It is possible, Papa. When I was there—”

“What?” He pulled Jennifer closer and lowered his voice. “What happened?”

She shook her head in confusion. “I-I just…when I turned, I saw my reflection.” She lifted her eyes to his and he knew.

“Who is it?”

Jennifer shrugged. “I do not know. There were a handful of people there. I know of at least four men.”

Her father placed a hand on each of her shoulders and stared deeply into her eyes. “This is a very unfortunate twist, my dear.”

“Why is that, Papa?” Her confusion was evident as she searched his face.

“I am about to take steps to attack those who held you.”

*****

Jack settled into the private quarters that both he and Nadia shared. He closed the curtains of the window and sat down on the floor next to the bed. Reaching under the large wood framed bed, he pulled out an ornately decorated, hand carved box. Sliding it in front of him, he carefully opened the lid and stared at the bundle inside wrapped in simple cloth. With both hands he carefully lifted the bundle out and placed it onto the floor, then slid the box out of the way.

Very carefully, Jack unwrapped the cloth and lifted the large polished stone from its wrappings. He placed the stone gently on the floor and smoothed the textile beside it. Jack closed his eyes and recited a short chant that he had been taught, then blew lightly on the cloth. Slowly, letters began to appear on the cloth, taking shape and forming words then sentences.

Jack held the cloth up to a candle and tried to look through the letters. There was something else to this…if he could only…oh yeah! Taking a corner, he gently folded one side across to the other. Then he folded it the other way. Jack lifted the cloth again and looked at the flame through the gossamer material. The letters that had previously made no sense to him now created words that he could read. Jack quickly read the lines and committed them to memory.

He picked up the polished stone and rubbed it while repeating the phrase he learned from the material.
Please work.
He continued to rub the stone and soon saw an illumination appear within the stone itself. Jack continued rubbing the stone, and without warning, it became transparent.

He placed the stone gently on the ground and spoke into it, “Loren? Are you there?”

He waited patiently until the Wyldwood’s face appeared in the stone. “Chief Jack, it is a pleasure to see your face again.”

“And yours as well, my lady.” Jack made a slight bow to her with his head, and she repeated the gesture.

“To what do I owe the honor, Chief Jack?”

“I’ve come to ask a favor once more.” He couldn’t tell if she was totally displeased or not, but he pushed on. “The favor I ask is purely a personal one and not for myself.”

Loren still appeared unfazed. “Speak to me of this boon, Chief Jack.”

“I’m in need of some hired muscle, and I’m hoping you can reach out to some mutual friends of ours.” Jack smiled as he spoke.

*****

Little John waited for the second verification on the vampire threat along with the rest of his team. While he waited, he mulled over the different things Spalding had said to him. Making him part of the squad regardless of what Apollo wanted, accepting him the way he was, taking him based on his abilities and not just how well he played with others…it all seemed a bit opposite of how Apollo painted the teams.

John glanced at his watch and pushed away from the wall he was leaning on. He searched out Spalding who was going over final checklists with the Duty Officer. Jericho Jones would be their Mobile OPCOM liaison. He was packing his own gear for the AC-130 that would serve as the Command in the Sky and a launch point for any drones that may be needed.

“Need a hand?”

Both men turned when Little John offered, and Jericho shook his head. “Just finished up, but I appreciate the offer.” He finished securing the large metal storage box with the nylon straps along the back of the HUMVEE truck, then slapped the side. The driver started the truck and rolled out of the hangar. “You ready?”

John nodded. “As I’ll ever be.”

“Good, we expect a secondary any minute now. The second spotter arrived a little bit ago and is en route to the location. Best grab your gear and be ready. The Huey will be here shortly.” Jones whistled and another HUMVEE roared to life. He jumped into the passenger side and gave both men a thumbs-up as the truck pulled away.

Spalding turned to John and assessed the man’s cool demeanor. “I take it something is on your mind.”

“Am I that transparent?”

“Well, you’re obviously not nervous about the op. You aren’t overly excited.” Darren gave him a sideways smile. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you were debating which movie to pick on TV.”

“Yeah, that’s me. Cool cucumber, all the way.” The sarcasm wasn’t missed.

“So what’s on your mind?”

“I was just curious…why the total turnaround?” Spalding stopped in mid-step and turned to give him his full attention. “I mean, according to Apollo, if I don’t play well with others, then I’m a liability. But you? You’re cool if I just do my job. That seems…”

“Counter-intuitive?”

“Counter something.” John’s eyes watched his team leader carefully but detected nothing that indicated the man was being misleading.

“Let’s just say, I once knew a guy a lot like you. He was pretty quiet, kept to himself a lot, but in the thick of things, I wouldn’t want anybody else to cover my back.”

“Who is he?”

Darren shook his head. “Who
was
he.” He inhaled deeply and stared off into nothingness for a moment. “He was a friend of mine.” His voice dropped to nearly a whisper as he remembered the Padre.

“What happened to him?” Little John watched Spalding’s features harden slightly. “If you don’t mind my asking, that is.”

“No, he…” he paused trying to find the right words, “he met his end trying to defend us all from a very bad character. He and another operator were cut down in the process. We don’t really like to talk about it.”

John nodded knowingly. “In the desert…”

Spalding gave him a sideways look. “So you’ve heard?”

John shrugged. “Just bits and pieces. The other new guys were afraid there was some big conspiracy since nobody liked to talk about it.”

Spalding shook his head again, his mouth in a tight smile. “Ya know, John, we’ve lost people. Hell, we lost nearly a whole squad once.” John’s shock and wide eyes caught Darren off guard. “Oh yeah, it was just a little while before the deal in Nevada. One of my best friends was the only one to survive. And before you ask, he’s no longer with us. It’s a long story, he married another wolf and moved on. But the deal in the desert hit a little closer to home because…” Darren collected his thoughts and took a deep breath. “Well, because for the first time in ten years, we had a female on the team. She was actually Apollo’s girlfriend. She was killed there, too. It hit us all pretty hard.”

“A female operator?” John kept shaking his head. “I didn’t think there were any.”

“There aren’t. At least not in the military. No, she was LAPD SWAT. And she was a tough little spitfire. Little Latina with balls the size of grapefruits.” Darren chuckled as he remembered Sanchez. “She had Apollo wrapped around her pinky finger though.”

“He must have really cared about her.” John hadn’t realized he had spoken his thoughts.

“Oh yeah, he did.” Darren stood taller and squared his shoulders. “I think we all did in our own way. She was like a kid sister to most of us. And when she died, a little piece of all of us went with her.”

“I’m really sorry to hear that.” John fought not to remember his own nightmare. His hand instinctively went to his breast pocket, and he felt the stiff paper of the photograph behind the fabric of his BDU shirt pocket.

Although Darren said nothing, the action didn’t go unnoticed. “I take it that you can relate?” He was fishing, and he knew it, but he hoped that the big man might actually open up a bit.

John snapped from his reverie. “Uh, no, not really. But I can see where something like that can really affect morale.”

Spalding nodded slightly and patted the big man’s shoulder. Maybe in time he’d share his own story. “Let’s get ready for the op. Maybe when we get back we can swap some more stories.” John shot him a nervous smile. “I’ll buy the first round.”

*****

Foster stepped off the boat and immediately felt the relief of no longer being cooped up with the two oversized guards. Two large men greeted him at the end of the dock, one to take his bag, the other to inform him that his guards would have to stay in the guest house outside the castle. Foster started to balk at the idea, but he knew if Rufus wanted him dead that no amount of body guards in the world could truly protect him. Thorn was older and now that he had control of Paul’s own people, his power had increased exponentially.

Foster simply nodded and followed the large wolf through the stone walled gate and into the large foyer. “Mr. Thorn will meet you in the dining room.” The wolf indicated the large double doors to the right and turned to leave, “I’ll see that your bags are unpacked for you.”

Paul started to protest but thought better of it. He inhaled deeply and stretched his neck.
Better to just get this over with.
He stepped to the large double doors and gently pushed one open. Inside, Rufus was going over a stack of strewn papers with his new Second, Jack Thompson. Paul fought back a shudder as he stepped inside the dining room. “You summoned me, brother?”

Rufus looked up, and a smile slowly spread across his features. “Paul, so glad you could make it.”

“You know you could have just picked up a phone and called me.”

“And risk you not coming?
Non
, I couldn’t take that chance. I needed you here.” Rufus stepped from behind the table and grasped his adopted brother with both hands, kissing him upon each cheek.

“You know I dislike that,” Paul whispered, grimacing.

“
Exactement
. Precisely why I enjoy it so.” Rufus chuckled. “Come, come. Let me show you what we are planning.”

Paul hesitantly stepped forward when Rufus suddenly turned on him, “Oh, where are my manners. Are you hungry? Would you like something to drink?”

Paul held up a hand. “I’m sorry, brother, I’m still having difficulty with the conversion to animal blood. I’m afraid…it isn’t a pretty site to watch me feed.”

“Allow me to introduce you to my chef. He can prepare a mixture for you that…well, you will be hard pressed to tell that it is not human,
oui
?”

Paul gave him a doubtful look. “If he can pull that off, I would be forever in his debt. Or…at least in his debt until you release me from our agreement.”

“You will enjoy it. I promise.” He leaned out through the single servant entrance and called to his chef. He ordered something in French then returned to the table. “Please, have a seat. Jack and I were just going over some plans for Geneva.”

Paul paled almost perceptibly. “Geneva?”

“
Oui
, we are going to meet with the Council.” Rufus pulled another sheet from the bottom of the stack and Paul felt his legs go very weak.

“Brother, why on earth would you go to the Council?” Foster nearly fell into his chair.

Rufus never missed a beat. “Why, to remove the edict, of course.”

Paul began shaking his head. “Brother, as much as you and I both would like to do so, there is nothing we can do to convince the Council to remove the edict. You know this.”

Rufus paused and gave Paul a soothing smile. “Ah, but there is.”

Paul suddenly felt his life wasn’t worth a bucket of warm piss. He could feel his hands begin to shake so he held them under the table, out of sight from those who might see his nervousness. “Nothing we could do or say would…”

“Yes, there is, and we will.” Rufus sat on the edge of the table and lowered his gaze at Paul. “And believe me when I tell you that it will not bring the edict upon your head either.”

“No…no, this isn’t possible.” Paul tried to push the chair back and found that he had no strength.

“
Oui
, it is possible.” Rufus stood and came across to Paul’s side of the table. “For the longest time, I tried to think of a way to remove the edict without using force and without transferring the edict to your head.” He sat on the table next to Paul and stroked his shoulder. “You have changed so much these past months. I’ve finally gotten my brother back. The brother that our father wanted from the beginning,
oui
? There is nothing I wouldn’t do to protect you.”