The Pack-Retribution (22 page)

Pain sliced Shamira’s back, her chin, and the air escaped from her lungs. She flipped over onto her back to kick him square in the neck with such force he gagged. Pushing up on her arms, her back bowed as Shamira wrapped her legs like scissors around his neck. With a squeeze and a twist, his eyes went vacant. Tendrils of black streaks multiplied on his face and his cindered body fell around her in pieces.

She flipped up and took off toward the dead end. Freaksheap was frantically rubbing his hands on the wall, apparently looking for a hidden exit. The fighting behind her continued, but she only had eyes for him. Shamira charged him. Grabbing a ball from her waist, she threw it squarely at his face. The metal ball opened and a beaded metal web surged forward, slapping Freaksheap’s head securely on the wall with a sickening crack.

Taking several deep breaths, she calmed the angry power just under her skin, pushing it down, and willing herself to keep this man alive long enough to get the information she needed. Disgust filled her at his feeble attempts to remove the metal webbing, whose hooked ends pulled him tighter against the wall.

“Give me information and you may live tonight! Where is Snake? His hideout!”

“Kiss off.” He coughed. “What you’d do to me is nothing compared to him, kid,” he spat, but it didn’t have any power. The spittle dribbled through the webbing around his face to slide down his neck.

Her eyes squinted. “Really?” She reached in her belt and took out a syringe, figuring the truth tick was too gentle an option for him. The syringe filled with the truth serum would work much faster, besides she could make it a heck of a lot more painful for the man who persuaded kids to be sold into slavery.

“Wh-what the hell is that?” A flash of fear crossed his face.

She smirked. “Something kids do to bad guys.” With anger she jabbed the needle deep within his neck until he screamed in pain. Then she broke the tip off, leaving the needle deep within.

“Is there a hit on Special Nobles?! When? Who?”

His eyes glazed over, his lips plumped from the side effect of the drug. He groaned. “Please…take…needle,” he coughed.

“Answer me!” She kneed him in the groin.

“Yes, he will die.” Phlegm fell out of the side of his mouth. “By one of your…own, a friend.”

She grabbed his coat, shaking him. “When? Who?”

“Don’t know who, but…” His eyelids swelled, tears fell from his eyes during a coughing fit. “Tonight, he dies.”

“No!” She stomped on his foot. “The kids, where are you taking them? Who’s taking them?”

“Snake. To make…ash.” His head fell.

“I’ve got to go, get…to my dad,” she mumbled and tugged on the metal ball, causing the hooks to release and retreat within.

His body slumped to the ground as she spun away. Shamira jogged down the alley toward the others who stood waiting, the ashes of their attackers blowing in the wind. Her eyes landed on Valens and a rush of need filled her. She wanted to run into his arms, but instead she bit her lip to regain control of her anger.

“What did you do to him? He was the only lead we had,” Valens asked harshly.

A lump formed within her chest at the unusual roughness in Valens’ demand. She whispered, “I didn’t kill him. I’ve got to go and check on my father and figure out where Snake took those kids.”

“We’re right behind.” Kurt fell in step behind her.

“You, Valens and Mitch meet me at headquarters. I have someone I’ve got to check on.” Shamira bolted into a run and didn’t stop until she got to her motorcycle. The one final thought before she took off was of her father.

Chapter 33

Shamira made it to headquarters in record time. She stood in the hallway, pushing the UP button on the elevator as well as repeating the floor number. “Nineteen. Nineteen. Hurry up. No other passengers!”

Tapping her foot impatiently, she hurried off the elevator in the direction of her father’s room. Heart beating fast, she just had to check, had to make sure that he was all right. Four guards stood in front of his door. More than before. Cold fingers of anxious fear clawed up her back. Something was wrong; she just knew it.

The hallway was a blur, she was running, then slid in front of the guards, who stood ready to fire.

“Let me through, it’s my dad!” Busting past the burly bodies guarding the door, she pushed one, then another who attempted to hold her back. “My father. Dad! What’s wrong? Someone’s trying to kill him.”

Tears ran from her eyes. The doctors were covering his face with an oxygen mask, fighting to hold down his convulsing body. “God! What happened! Who did this?”

“Please, Cadet Nobles, you have to stay back. Stop fighting us!” Elite Officer Lloyd slid slightly from her push.

“You will move out of my way before I hurt you. I have to see him now!” Shamira screamed. She couldn’t lose him again. Her insides felt like they were being ripped in two. The pain so unbearable, she sank to her knees and sobbed.

Warm hands tentatively touched her shoulders. Valens soothing voice, her haven for this last year, whispered softly to her, “It’ll be all right. My father’s in there with him.” With a gentle squeeze, he lifted her and turned her into his arms. “He’ll let us in as soon as your dad is stable.” He hugged her tightly. “Shhh…”

Gradually she composed herself and unraveled her fisted hands from his shirt. “Than…thank you. I’m okay now.” She pulled out of his arms, the back of her hand wiping away her tears.

“You sure?” Valens studied her, concern, longing and love showing brightly in his eyes.

Shamira nodded, afraid to speak, because she’d probably beg him to take her back right then and there. But she couldn’t, she chided herself, risking telling him until she figured out who, on their team, would try to murder her father. Freaksheap had taunted her in his truth telling, and his threat had come true. Someone may have killed her father tonight. Somebody she called friend.

With a sigh, she turned away and stood quietly in front of the wall of guards that protected her father. On her tiptoes she peered over one of their shoulders and spied Special Andrews shooting medicine into her father, which caused his convulsions to subside.

“Even though we aren’t together. I’m here for you. I wish I could do something to make you…to take all of your pain away,” he said quietly.

Shamira swallowed. “You being here right now is helping—a lot.” She tilted her head to the side, unable to bring herself to look him in the eye when she asked, “Please, Valens. Can we still…can we be friends? I really need you to tell me you are still my friend.”

Valens stepped close, almost touching and whispered. “Always.”

At a lost for words, she smiled. “Thanks,” her voice cracked and a hopeful smile bloomed on her face.

Special Andrews came up behind one of the guards. “Let her in. It’s her father, and she may not…just let her in.”

Numbness enveloped her. It was as though she was walking in a fog. Her father’s bed lay flat, his brown thick muscle-corded body lax as a breathing apparatus protruded from his mouth. Her voice cracked. “Has my mother…is she okay?”

Special Andrews stood next to her. “We had to sedate her. She crawled out of her bed and down the hall to see him when she heard the alarm. We didn’t want her recovery to be in jeopardy. Whatever device they used to disable the technosuits is also weakening the underlying muscle tissue, even organs.”

Confusion marred her face. “Why didn’t I…suffer like them?”

“They had a house fall on them. But the innate power you hold within protected you. I was there when they administered the enhancement drugs into your deceased body when you were just a baby. It was more than any grown man had ever taken. When you came back to life—I could have sworn you glowed with energy. Before I could blink, it was gone. When your technosuit was inactive, that power rose up in you again and protected you. We never took the time to study the effects of your recovery. Your father kept your powers a secret from us.”

She nodded. “I know. He didn’t trust the Earth scientists to leave me alone.” Her hand caressed his cool jaw. “Will he be okay?”
Will I be okay?

“I’m going to stay here all night until he is. Trust me, if there is anything I can do to save him, it will be done.”

“Thank you.” Her eyes were glued to her father’s form, watching for any sign of recovery. “What happened? How’d they find him?”

“He was on the floor. Like he’d been fighting with someone. But no one was here. By that time,” Special Andrews, shook his head as if deciding not to share his thoughts, but put a hand on her arm, “I’m sorry though, you and Valens must go.”

Valens came up beside her and reached out for her hand. Without a fight, she placed hers in his. They walked out of the hospital room and down the hall to the elevator in silence, hand in hand.

His hand slackened and she held his firm. She couldn’t do it, wouldn’t let him slip away without telling him how she felt. “Valens, I’m still in love with you. I’m sorry, but there is something going on that I can’t tell you about. I want to…but I can’t.”

“Shamira, I…”

“I know I can trust you, but I have to do this by myself. J-just promise you will take me back when this is all over? That you forgive me for pushing you away? I promise to tell you everything tonight…at your house.”

He observed her, warring emotions on his face. “Does that mean you are giving me everything? That after tonight, you won’t leave me? You’ll let me in your heart and stop pushing me away? Because I can’t keep doing this, loving you and…fighting you, to love you.”

She nodded, her hand reached tentatively to caress his cheek. Relief flooded over her when he didn’t flinch away, but accepted her touch. “Yes, yes, I love you so much…I was just afraid. After that, I’ll give you everything. All of me like you want. I won’t be afraid to love you back the way you love me. And so much is going wrong for me right now that…everything hurts. The power in me is fighting to get out and when it comes I’m so different. But we can figure it out...”

Valens smiled. “Yeah, tonight.”

Pulling her into his arms, he kissed her. Shamira whimpered as she felt bliss, peace and love. Valens deepened the kiss, tightening his hold on her before she reluctantly pulled away.

Shamira buried her face in his neck. “It seems like forever since I’ve kissed you. I wanted to s-so bad.”

The door to the elevator opened and they walked inside. “Me too.”

The elevator let them off on the main level. They walked through the enclosed connector ramp to the headquarters main building in silence, hand in hand.

Shamira’s mind replayed and now she knew, just saving her life wasn’t so important. Saving those kids that were coerced into getting into that van was just as pressing. “Tonight, Kurt and I saw Freaksheap send some kids into a van. Once they got inside—they didn’t want to go. I saw one being dragged in when the door slammed.”

His expression turned grave. “Not again. Why?” He sighed.

“I know. I felt the same way. Kurt and I couldn’t stop it though, they pulled off, then Freaksheep ran. Now I realized he wanted us to chase him.” Shamira shook her head. “I made a big mistake. I should’ve followed the kids. Saved them…”

“It’ll be all right. You handle what you have to handle, and I’ll get Kurt and the others. Trust me, we’ll find out where those kids were taken, and get them safe by tonight.” He tugged her hand. Turning her toward him, he leaned down for a kiss. “I love you. God, I love you so much it hurts to look at you and know you aren’t mine.”

“I feel the same, and I promise, I won’t push you away again. I…can’t lose you.” Her expression got foggy as the terror-filled look of the little boy that was being pulled in the van appeared in her thoughts. “I know you will do it…save those kids. Can you meet up with me if you have a location?” Reluctantly she pulled away, then licked her lips, before stealing another quick kiss.

He dug in his pocket. “Oh, here, this is something I created last week. It’s a flesh-colored telecom device that’s activated by brain waves. I gave everyone theirs already. You don’t even have to speak out loud for it to turn on and call anyone on the team.” He put the clear colored, sticky device in the curve of her ear. Then he leaned in and kissed her ear. “It can’t be detected and works on a hidden frequency. If I find the kids, and you are busy, meet us here. We’ve got to move fast.”

They arrived at the adjoining hall to the offices at Security Force Headquarters.

She squeezed his hand. “Tonight.”

Valens leaned down, kissed her cheek and whispered, “Tonight.”

Chapter 34

Shamira rushed to her father’s office. Something told her she could find a clue somewhere that would lead her to the assailant who attempted to murder her parents. Thankfully, the hall was empty. She wanted answers and she wanted them now. Reconciling with Valens wasn’t her intention, but with all that was going on in her life right now, she needed his steady calmness to keep her centered. He just…completed her, and understood her without judgment.

If she had to tell him that one of their friends—teammates attempted to kill her father, and was most likely the mole that led the assassins to them at every turn, she had to be absolutely sure. Whoever it was, she didn’t know how she could restrain herself from killing them because of their betrayal. She’d never trusted anyone before the take down of Monev, and to give that trust only to have it used against her…was more than she could take.