Unleashing the Storm (36 page)

“You
sick fuck.”

“Really,
son, I thought you’d have more class than that.”

“You
can blame the genetics.”

Alek’s
laughter grated on every one of Dev’s nerves. “Devlin, we shouldn’t be doing
this over the phone. Let’s meet. We can bond over a glass of Clynelish.”

Dev
clenched his teeth before his surprised intake of breath let the other man know
he’d hit a mark. There was no way Alek could know Dev’s favorite, very rare
Scotch whiskey. Sweat broke out on his forehead, and one glance across the desk
told him that Oz had become just as uncomfortable. He sat stiffly in his chair,
his grip on the armrests scoring the leather.

“I’m
not impressed by your psychic parlor tricks,
Dad,
so I think we’re done.
Just know that I’m on to you.”

“I
don’t think you are,” Alek said softly. “But I’m on to you.”

Desperate
to be rid of the man and wondering what the hell he’d been thinking when he
called, Dev reached for the disconnect button but froze at Alek’s next words.

“I’ll
give Ryan your best.”

Dev
stopped breathing. Oh, Jesus. Oh,
holy Jesus.
No one at ACRO but Dev had
known about Ryan’s insertion into Itor, a measure Dev had taken to keep the
mole from learning about it. But Itor knew. Which meant that either Ryan had
fucked up, or…

“You’re
a little slow on the uptake, son. You must get that from your whore of a
mother.” Alek rattled something that sounded like ice cubes in a glass. “A man
named Darius put some sort of protective thought-shield on you when you were
still in the womb. I finally broke it two years ago. It’s been nice to get to
know you. And ACRO.”

“No,”
he whispered. He swayed in his chair, feeling like he was bleeding out. And in
a way, he supposed he was. His thoughts had been bleeding out, right into
Alek’s mind. Dear God, he’d been searching for the mole for two years, when all
he’d had to do was look in the mirror.

DEV
DIDN’T REMEMBER HANGING UP THE PHONE, cutting the connection between himself
and his father. He wished it would be that easy to cut off his mind from Alek
as well, but no, that was going to take some massive work.

He
doubled over and retched into the garbage pail. Oz was next to him in seconds,
stroking his hair, wiping his mouth, bringing him water.

He
couldn’t stop his hands from shaking. And all he could hear was Alek’s laugh
echo in his ears.

“Oz,
I’m…oh, God, I’m the fucking leak at ACRO,” he whispered. “How could this have
happened? All this time, I’ve put my entire staff at risk.”

“You
didn’t know—you couldn’t have known,” Oz said, and something in his tone made
Dev start.

“You
knew.” Dev’s voice shook.

“No…I
suspected, but only since I banished Darius. I’d never put you and ACRO at risk
like that. Never,” Oz said fiercely. “You have to believe me.”

“I
do. But shit, he’s reading everything…I have to—”

“I’ve
had a mind-shadow on you ever since Darius left—I’ve basically been monitoring
your mind, so I’d know if Alek tried to break in.”

“And
did he?”

“He
tried. He’s trying right now.” Oz took a deep breath and Dev knew that a
mind-shadow wasn’t easy on the person doing the shadowing. No, this would drain
all of Oz’s energy if he did it for too long.

“This
isn’t going to work forever,” Dev said. “We need plans. Alternate plans.”

The
muscles along Oz’s neck and arms showed his strain. “You’d better do it fast,
then. Unless you want Alek to know.”

“I’m
going to need you, Oz. I know you said you didn’t want to come back to ACRO…”

Oz
was breathing heavily. Alek was really fucking with him, with both of them, and
it was time for Dev to stop giving Oz a choice. For both their sakes. “You’re
going to take over ACRO for me,” he told his lover. “I’m going to sign papers
giving you authority until I come back. You’re not to tell me anything that
happens at ACRO.”

“Fuck,
Dev, that means I can’t even be near you.”

“Not
for long. I’ll get help.”

“You
need to strengthen your mind—it’s not going to be an easy fix. You’ll have to
learn to recognize the feelings, the signs. Since Alek’s your blood relation,
that makes it more difficult.”

“How
can I block him out temporarily? Tell me, Oz,” Dev begged.

“We
can have a team of ACRO’s most powerful psychics surround you with a
mind-shield, stronger than what I’m doing,” Oz said, the strain evident in his
voice.

“The
Mystic Research department developed a psychic-numbing drug,” Dev said slowly.
“Between that and the psychics…”

“You
should be safe. You have to be safe,” Oz muttered fiercely. He closed his eyes,
and Dev noted the sweat beading his brow. And then, the same way it came about,
the tension fell from Oz’s shoulders and he drew in a deep breath and opened
those startlingly dark eyes. “We’re clear for right now. But we’ve got to work
fast.”

Oz
was right—this wasn’t the time for Dev to think about the past two years, this
was the time for action. Dev could handle this. With Oz by his side, he could
handle anything.

Borrowing
the horse hadn’t been the plan, not really, but as Kira stood next to Tom’s
sleek black Mustang while he locked up, Zorro jumped the fence and trotted up
the drive, his shod hooves clacking on the cement.

“Hey,
baby,” she murmured as he nuzzled her hands. “What are you doing?” From the
images she’d gathered from him over the past days, she’d learned he’d been a
police horse, retired now and condemned to living out his life in a pasture
with no excitement.

His
whinny and sharp stomp of one hoof was her answer, and her heart broke for the
proud Tennessee Walker. “You want one last hurrah, don’t you?”

He
tossed his head, and with a sigh, she swung nimbly onto his back. Tom appeared
from nowhere, his expression one of concern. “Kira?”

“I
need to do this, Tom. He needs it.”

For a
moment, his silence worried her, but then he nodded, and though he didn’t say
it, she knew he’d follow.

Zorro
carried her swiftly down the country road to the ACRO base, which was pretty
much a straight shot and off on a back road of its own. As they approached the
gate, Zorro began to get antsy.

“It’s
okay, boy,” she said, but he didn’t believe her. Probably because she didn’t
believe it herself.

This
could be a huge mistake, and for a moment she considered taking off in the
opposite direction, starting somewhere new, like she always had when the towns
turned on her or bad guys tried to shove her into vans.

But
she couldn’t leave Tom, and if he was right, if these people could find a way
to cure her of her yearly heats, she had a shot at an even more normal life
with him. Besides, if she joined, they would help her animals. She only hoped
it wasn’t too late for Luke.

One
guard stepped out of the gate shack while another remained inside, and though
she didn’t spot any weapons, she had no doubt the two men had an arsenal at
their disposal.

“Can
I help you, ma’am?” the first guard asked, eyeing the stallion with only mild
curiosity, as though people rode horses to the fenced compound every day.

She
dismounted but kept her hand tangled in Zorro’s mane in case she needed to
swing back up quickly. “I’m not sure who I need to talk to. Zach Taylor in the
Animal Division, I guess.”

“And
you are?”

“Kira
Donovan.”

He frowned,
and then his eyes shot wide. “Hold on, Ms. Donovan. I’ll make the necessary
calls.”

“Have
someone bring a halter and lead for Zorro. He’ll need to be taken back to his
humans.”

The
guard entered his shack, but while he made his calls, the other one came
outside to watch her warily. She just petted Zorro to keep him calm until the
phone call guy stepped out and reached for her.

“Don’t
touch me,” she snarled, and he yanked his hand back like he’d been burned.

Her
own violent reaction startled her, but she didn’t care. She didn’t want any man
near her. Not touching her, not looking at her, not breathing her air.

The
man looked at her like she’d gone rabid, and extended his hand more slowly.
“Ma’am, you need to wear this ID badge.”

“Oh.
Okay.” She took the yellow badge and clipped it to her T-shirt.

A
moment later, Zach showed up. He carried the tack she’d requested, and he gave
her a friendly smile as he placed the halter and lead on Zorro. “Glad you’re
back, Kira. You’ve decided to sign on, I hope.”

“That’s
yet to be determined.”

He
winced. “I hope your indecision doesn’t have anything to do with my behavior
before.”

“Not
at all. My fevers affect all men that way.”
Touch me today, however, and
you’ll have to die.

Startled
once more by her reaction to a man, she stepped back, putting more distance
between them. What was wrong with her?

“It’s
over now, isn’t it?” When she nodded, he added, “Well, if you sign on, I can
guarantee that once a year you’ll be taking a vacation, like it or not.”

“Thank
you,” she said, and almost smiled, because just a few weeks ago she wouldn’t
have considered the time off a vacation. Now, with Tom, her yearly heats would
no longer be a problem.

Bored,
Zorro tossed his head, and Zach calmed the horse with words in a language she didn’t
know. “I’d better get him home.” Long fingers stroked Zorro’s neck as Zach
turned to her. “I wrote up your training program, so we’ll be seeing a lot of
each other. I hope I can convince you to stay. We need you.”

He
led Zorro away. Two women waited next to the shack, and how long they’d been
there Kira had no idea. The dark-haired Amazonian smiled, but the shorter one,
a stunning blonde whose gaze could freeze lava, simply glared.

“Hi,
I’m Janice.” The statuesque brunette didn’t hold out her hand, but did give a
brisk nod at the other woman. “That’s Annika. We’re your trainers. The ones you
didn’t hang around to meet when Ender brought you in.”

“I
had some issues with your accommodations.”

Annika
snorted. “I’d think someone who spent time in a jail cell wouldn’t be so
picky.”

Yeah,
this Annika person was going to be a blast. “I’m fine now.”

Annika
crossed her arms over her ample chest. “Then why is Ender trying to arrange it
so you won’t have to stay on base for your training like everyone else does?”

Dammit.
She hadn’t wanted him to do that. Those little rooms wouldn’t bother her now
that her life wasn’t on the line. Still, his concern was sweet, and reminded
her of one of the reasons she was here.

He’d
said she needed to be, and she trusted him.

“Ender’s
an asshole,” Janice said before Kira could answer Annika.

Annika
studied her fingernails, which were long but unpolished. “No argument here.”

Kira
bristled. Tom might be an asshole, but he was
her
asshole.

“Is
that a growl?” Annika asked. “Are you
growling
at me, Kira?”

Startled,
she blinked. She hadn’t realized what she’d been doing, but something was
clearly very wrong.

“Does
it bother you that everyone here thinks your lover is an asshole?”

Kira
ground her teeth. Tom had warned her not to let Annika catch the scent of
weakness, but within moments of meeting the woman, Kira had done exactly that.

“I
can’t help what people think of Tom.”

“Tom?”
Annika laughed. “I wonder how many of his other women call him Tom.”

Other
women.
The very idea made her hackles
raise.

“What
do you think, Janice? Do his one-nighters call him Tom?”

“I
doubt they exchange names at all.”

“He’s
not like that,” Kira snapped, and instantly regretted her outburst. Not only
might they be right, but the spark in Annika’s eyes told her she’d walked into
a trap.

Red
flashes burst in Kira’s vision, and a shot of adrenaline sizzled through her
veins. Her brain knew Annika was messing with her. But something fierce and
primal inside didn’t care. It wanted the blood of the woman who dared talk
about her mate like that.

Mine.

She
lunged as Annika turned away. She hit the other woman in the back, and then
suddenly Kira was flat on her back in the grass beside the road, her body
twitching and her mind scrambled. Annika’s voice drifted down to her.

“What
the hell? Why did you attack me?”

Groaning,
Kira pushed to her feet, her muscles still contracting with tiny tremors. A
bitter burning scent hovered in the air. “What was that?”

“Just
a little electric shock. I sometimes respond like that to surprises. You’re
lucky I didn’t fry you like a strip of bacon.”