Hour of the Lion (The Wild Hunt Legacy #1) (45 page)

Alec? He‘d never given her anything but joy. And love. Like the other half of her soul, he

understood her like no one ever had. In return, she‘d cut him beyond healing.

Surely her loss wouldn‘t turn them feral…but no, they still had each other. And Jamie. Her

little Jamie who called her MomVee. Becoming a mother had been like finding a coat hung by

the door, just waiting to be slid on. Vic managed a smile and tasted salty tears on her lips. The

thought of mothering someone had scared her spitless until she‘d realized Jamie had enough love

to forgive any stupid mistakes.

Maybe not enough to get past this. At least Vic hadn‘t had to see the betrayal in the kid‘s

eyes. Or had to face Thorson. Would her honorary grandfather spit when he said her name now?

With that fresh pain, she realized she wouldn‘t turn feral. Her ties to others weren‘t gone.

No, the bonds were still there and hurting so much they felt like burning brands on her heart.

Okay, then. She hiccupped a little and increased speed as the taillights in front of her turned left off the main road. Yes, Wells was heading for Vidal‘s place.

Because of her, Wells wouldn‘t have called in back-up or documented anything. He‘d have

wanted to give her the benefit of the doubt. So all the information he‘d acquired would probably

be on his laptop. Convenient. If Vidal‘s damning evidence disappeared, Wells wouldn‘t quit, but

he‘d have trouble getting anyone to believe him. After all, he‘d never seen a shifter himself.

Vic sighed and made the turn after Wells. She‘d screwed up, and before she took herself off

to somewhere very far away, she‘d do some damage control. She almost laughed. Her life might

be in chaos, her heart broken, but the call of duty still sounded like a fucking trumpet. Go figure.

* * *

Calum‘s rage had died; now only coldness remained. Determination. A sick feeling down

deep. It was far easier to kill when the blood was hot. He walked into the section containing the

jail cells. Two cells. One occupied. ―Swane.‖

Swane stood. As he looked at Calum, his eyes widened, and he took a step back. ―Fuck,

man, I only did what he told me to. No need to get all upset. Just promise to let me go, and I‘ll

tell you everything you want to know.‖

Alec locked the station door behind him. He walked over to Calum, standing close enough

that their shoulders rubbed. No heat here either, only cold as the cahir said quietly, ―Tell us

where Vidal is.‖

* * *

Wells had pulled off to the side of the tiny dirt road. Good thing she‘d stayed back, Vic

thought, as she pulled over quickly. Branches scratched the paint as she inched into the deep

brush to hide the patrol car. She got the engine shut off a second before he got out of his car.

A short way ahead, lights glowed from the windows of a one-story building in the middle of

nowhere. Vidal had obviously wanted an isolated location where no neighbors could hear penned

up shifters. The nearest place was at least several acres away, and the tiny dirt road was private.

Yeah, the city boy had done a fine job of ensuring privacy.

Wells worked his way toward the house slowly, barely visible even to her cat‘s eyes.

After unscrewing the overhead light, she waited. He could scope out the situation first. If

Vidal had guards, Wells might as well do her work for her.

She could only hope that this half-assed plan of hers would work. Damn the shifters and

their reciprocity crap, but the need to pay back what she owed drove her hard. She‘d definitely

bought into their morals, hadn‘t she? Her chest ached as she remembered Jamie‘s solemn face.

“The balance is fair.” Or how Calum had forced Thorson and Baty...

She shook her head furiously. No time for regrets, for grief. She‘d led Vidal and Wells to the

Daonain; now she had to remove that danger. Leave emotions behind. This mission is a go.

The car stayed dark as she slid out. From her regular gear and the equipment in the trunk,

she assembled a bag of necessities.

She stripped quickly, shivering in the rapidly chilling night air. Only patchy clouds covered

the quarter moon in the east. More light than she liked. With a sigh, she tossed her clothes into

the back seat and laid the keys behind the front tire.

Okay then. She closed her eyes, opened the mental cat-door, and flung herself through. She

wasn‘t a one-toe-in-the-lake sort of girl after all. The eerie tingling covered her skin as if she‘d

stepped into an electrified puddle. She felt her connection with the Mother for a second, and her

heart squeezed at the realization that Her love was unchanged. Then her whiskers quivered at the

scent of deer in the night air. Rabbit. Shrew in the grass—very close.

No, no, mission first. She grasped the backpack in her mouth and shook it to get the feel of

weight. Thank God Alec had once made her carry a kill—a small deer—so she knew how much

she could handle. Kitties were damned strong.

She loped through the woods, made a lovely leap over a stream, and realized a chain link

fence enclosed the property. She studied it for a minute. No additional electrical wiring. Piece of

cake. She took a leaping run and bounded up and over, landing lightly on the other side. As she

trotted away, she glanced back at the fence, shining faintly in the moonlight, and let her tail

twitch slightly. Damn, I‟m good.

The rear of the building had little cover. A couple of small trees, a few lilacs in one corner.

In the shadow of the bushes, she paused. Two distinct human scents; one idiot at the near corner

of the house chewed tobacco. She heard him spit. The other was quieter, a dark shadow leaning

against the house.

After shifting to human, she opened her leather satchel and changed into stretchy black

clothing. Quick cammo on any exposed skin, K-Bar strapped at her calf, Glock, reloads and

other toys in a belt around her waist. The police nightstick she hefted a few times to get the

balance and kept in her hand.

A glance at the sky. One nice thick cloud neared the moon. When the yard darkened, she

moved, circling, coming up behind Mr. Dipping Tobacco. Hand over his mouth and a thump

with the baton. He went limp, and she lowered him silently to the ground. Some precut strands of

dark rope from her belt secured him quickly, and she finished with duct tape over his mouth and

a quick pat on his butt.

The next was just as easy. It was almost insulting. She checked for guards in the front, but

Wells had already taken them out. Four total… You‟re a nervous guy, Tony Vidal.

Would she find Swane here too? She could only hope.

The back door was locked, and someone moved inside the room. No entry there. However,

the bathroom window wasn‘t secured. She slid it open. The opening was too small for a guy, but

hell, her boobs and butt would squish. She landed on the floor in the bathroom almost

soundlessly. Her nose wrinkled. Jesus, one of the guards must have had beans for supper.

She cracked the bathroom door slightly open. Wells sat in an armchair, head in his hands.

The posture, so different from his erect one, gave her a pang. Ignore it. The chair faced the front door; his back was to her. Couldn‘t get much easier than that.

She coshed him. And ignored the tears that seeped from her eyes as she tied him securely.

She started to duct-tape his mouth and stopped. He was congested; he‘d suffocate if he couldn‘t

get air through his nose. Hell.

She ripped the tape back off. If he woke up before she finished, she could always whack him

again…assuming she had the heart. She did a quick search, relieving him of his pistol and the

tiny computer in his pocket. The pistol went in her bag.

The room had a sitting area to watch television and the other half was a token office. A box

of files lay on the floor. A laptop sat on the desk surrounded by papers. She dumped Wells‘

belongings beside it.

In a back bedroom, a tied-up Vidal moaned and groaned, only half-conscious. Thanks,

Wells. A chill ran up her spine. This was too easy—something was bound to go wrong.

When Vidal opened his eyes, she considered killing him then, but she might need more

information. She dragged him to the living room and stashed him out of the way in the corner

behind the desk.

All the rest of the rooms were empty.

Before starting a fire in the big stone fireplace, she removed her pack. Flames and

ammunition—so not a good thing. Then she went to work. Folders and pictures. Vidal had

accumulated information about her—a pleasure to burn. The blaze grew as she tossed in paper

after paper, and when it was roaring well, she started on the DVDs and CDs. She didn‘t bother to

look, just dumped it in. Hell, most of it was porn.

Black smoke and God, what a stench. She threw in Wells‘ micro-computer.

―It won‘t take long to collect more information.‖

Vic spun. Wells stared at her, eyes clearing rapidly. She must have pulled her blow. Stupid,

Sergeant. ―I know. But it will slow you down a little.‖

―You intend to eliminate me?‖ He struggled to sit up from where he‘d slumped.

―I rarely tie up people I‘m planning to kill.‖

―If you‘re hoping for me to change my mind, you are in error.‖

Right. Even as the words sliced her open, she had to smile. He‘d been unconscious, probably

had a splitting headache, hands and feet were tied, and he still had the same arrogance as if he sat

in his own office. Damn, but she loved him.

The thought brought her hand to a stop in midair over the flames; the scorch made her jump.

Loved Wells? Well, duh. She really did. Calum and Alec had managed to open the way to her

heart, and now she could see all the ways love appeared. Damn them anyway. She grabbed a

camcorder and threw the whole thing into the fireplace, sending up a flurry of sparks. And

simply stood there, watching it burn.

―What are you going to do now?‖ he asked, breaking the silence.

―Don‘t know.‖ Don‟t care.

―As I left, it sounded as if the werelions were unhappy with you for some reason.‖

She glanced at him as she slammed the laptop down on the desk, splitting open the bottom.

―They heard what you said—cat ears—and reacted, oh, pretty much as you‘d expect.‖

―Excellent.‖

Damn him. Even knowing it would hurt, she prodded at him like she‘d picked at scabs as a

kid. ―Never seen you get so upset. Always thought you were so uber-cool.‖

Color surged into his face although his expression didn‘t change.

She pulled out the hard drive and the motherboard. Threw them on the fire. ―Did you feel

betrayed by your favorite agent?‖

He gazed at the far wall, a muscle twitching in his cheek.

While checking over the house, she‘d found no info storage other than this room.

Information gone.

One bad guy left. She should deal with Vidal without a witness. Time to go back to sleep,

boss.

She picked up the weighted nightstick and hesitated. Wells had been her recruiter, her

handler and more.... He‘d trained her, been there for her when she needed him—although he‘d

pretended it was duty. He‘d brought her junk food in hospitals with an expression of distaste,

flown her back to the states against her wishes…just to make sure she was all right. Truly covert

even in never showing that he cared.

It wasn‘t his fault Lachlan had turned her into a furball. In some ways, she had betrayed her boss. He was owed.

Damn the shifters and their fucking reciprocity law. Releasing a pained sigh, she knelt in

front of Wells. With her K-Bar, she sliced through his bonds. So much for the easy part.

He didn‘t move, just lifted his eyebrows inquisitively.

―The kid you saw on tape—the one who bit me? Before he died in my arms, I made him two

promises,‖ she said softly. ―I promised to inform his grandfather what had happened to him. I

also gave my word not to tell anyone about the shifters. I did my damndest to discover whether

they were a threat to humans or the U.S. If so, I‘d have told you, broken promise or not.‖

His eyes narrowed slightly. He was listening at least.

―I...I couldn‘t figure out how to uphold my obligations and still not betray the kid. I

didn‘t…‖ She felt her lips quiver and firmed them immediately. ―I never meant to hurt you.

You‘re—‖ After a breath, she managed, ―You‘re more like a father to me than mine ever was.‖

His gaze lowered as he massaged his wrists.

Hell, she‘d tried. She rubbed her face dry and started to rise. Maybe someday he‘d get

past—

―I loved a woman once.‖

She froze, and then slowly knelt again.

―I‘d just started in the CIA and was appallingly naïve. We lived together. I planned to marry

her.‖

Unable to speak, Vic waited.

―I discovered… She was breaking into my briefcase every night. Selling information to the

highest bidder. I confronted her, and she tried to kill me.‖

―Fuck.‖

His eyes were red, but the tiniest curve of a smile appeared on his lips. ―Succinctly put.‖

―So you figured I‘d betrayed you too.‖ She shook her head, warmth melting some of the ice

surrounding her heart. ―Gee thanks, sir.‖

On each side of the front door, the windows shattered inwards with a crash. Two mountain

lions landed, blurred, and shifted into human form.

Alec. Calum.

Alec‘s breath caught as he stood upright. Vicki rose, her big brown eyes wide with shock.

The urge to take her into his arms and bury his face in her hair infuriated him. How pitiful could