Chapter 2
Hurry the fuck up! Bellis’ eyes darted to where his hostage lay unconscious on a cot in one of the cells below the stables at StoneCrow Estates. Bellis drew himself up to his full height, standing at attention facing the doors as footsteps approached. The package was delivered, the job was done, and he waited to be dismissed from assignment. Again, his eyes shot back to the woman, and traveled down her petite frame. Bellis gritted his teeth at the odd stirring low in his groin. Unconscious, she looked vulnerable, and it tugged at something deep inside of him, something that he was going to fucking ignore if it was the last damn thing he did. Still, he couldn’t deny that the figure-hugging latex suit she wore was sexy as all fuck! Once he laid her down, he’d studied her face up close only to discover that her skin wasn’t as flawless as he’d originally thought. A smattering of freckles sat high on her cheeks, but she’d covered them up with that makeup shit that women wore. It appeared to be the only makeup she had on though, because her full, pouty pink lips weren’t shiny like they were glossed, and there wasn’t any of that black shit around her eyes. Honestly, she didn’t need it. Her dark lashes were so full that they made her skin look even paler where they rested against her skin.
Commander Remy McCabe’s frame filled the doorway.
Bellis clipped out impatiently, “Crow?”
Smirking, Remy shook his head. “Seems he’s not inclined to rush to interrogation.” He jerked his head over Bellis’ shoulder. “You’re to remain with the hostage until Monroe can get free.”
Already shaking his head, Bellis responded with a simple, “No.”
Remy grinned. “Wasn’t a request, Sentry.”
“Not a Sentry,” Bellis countered angrily. “An assassin. Remember that.”
Remy snorted and stepped into the room. His eyes slid from Bellis to the unconscious traitor that Bellis’ big body had shielded from his view. “Can’t be that hard to guard a…”
Bellis turned, nostrils flaring, as Remy’s words died off, the scent of confusion, anger, and betrayal swirling in the air. Canting his head he studied Remy as the Commander blinked in clear shock, his eyes locked on the female.
Remy breathed out a barely audible, “Sam?”
His recognition made Bellis tense, and when Remy stepped forward and knelt, lifting a hand to touch her cheek, Bellis ground out. “Hands off!”
Jerking his head around, Remy’s face flushed with anger. “Fuck you! I know her!”
Bellis couldn’t keep his nostrils from flaring repeatedly as he continued to drink in the telling scents wafting from Remy. There were many, but betrayal, anger, and hurt were fighting for dominance.
“How?” He clipped out as his fists clenched at the many ways Remy could know this woman. He was a well-known playboy, and for some reason the thought of him knowing the woman in that fashion was infuriating, and not just because she was StoneCrow’s traitor.
“Fffffuck!” Remy buried his hands in his hair and held on. “Sam,” he repeated again as if he couldn’t believe what his eyes showed him. He spun on Bellis, eyes narrowing to thin slits. “You’re sure?” He stood and fully faced Bellis, jabbing a finger behind him in Sam’s direction. “You’re a hundred percent fucking sure she’s the one? Maybe you’re wrong. Maybe you grabbed the wrong person.”
Bellis’ own eyes narrowed as he regarded Remy curiously, his head slowly shaking back and forth. “Never wrong. She’s the traitor.”
Remy paled and cursed loudly. “FUCK!” He turned back to face Sam, squatting down on his haunches. “Go out and tell Bodi to contact Monroe. Get the Dominant down here, now.”
Bellis shook his head again. “No.” He jutted his chin toward Remy. “You tell Bodi.”
Remy shot to his feet. “Goddamn it, Bellis! I know her! I…” He swallowed hard. “I took her to Apex! I brought her here when Sky McDonnough stole her truck!”
Tilting his head, Bellis felt his fists tighten. “It’s your fault? The attack? The wounded? The dead? Monroe’s Angel?” His eyes cut to the female and then back. “You brought her?”
“I didn’t know,” Remy snapped in fury. “How could I fucking know?”
Something wicked was churning inside Bellis now, but the thought of Remy endangering Walker lives for the sake of a fuck wasn’t the main source. No, rage was simmering at the fact that Remy had endangered Skin Walkers for a sexual relationship with Sam, and there was no question that they’d been intimate. Remy kept women close for one reason and one reason alone. Everyone knew he’d been trying to fill the void left when Mason EnemyHunter mated Remy’s Amanda. Remy had unrelentingly believed his fellow Walker had stolen his Angel, but that wasn’t the case. It couldn’t have been. There had never been an affliction, which meant Amanda Chandler had never been Remy’s.
Angered, Bellis shoved Remy aside and planted himself in front of Sam. “You risked us all for a fuck?” Even saying the words felt wrong. They felt like an attack on the defenseless female unconscious behind him, and that enraged Bellis further.
“I was looking for my One!” Remy argued. “She wasn’t just a fuck!”
“Charming.” The word, spoken groggily, had both men turning to stare at Sam as she used shaky arms to push her upper body off the cot. Her eyes pinched closed and she inhaled sharply as if the movement hurt.
“Sam! What the fuck?”
Remy took a step closer, but Bellis slammed his palm into Remy’s chest, stopping him. “Get away from the prisoner!”
“I know her!” Remy repeated on a growl, but Bellis countered with one of his own.
“I said,” Bellis’ lips curled back to reveal elongated incisors. “Step away from the prisoner.”
“Boys, boys.” Sam clicked her tongue. “Tsk, tsk, tsk. Arguing over little ‘ol me?”
“You used me!” Remy accused, glaring at her. “You fucking played me.”
Her playful tone vanished. “You let yourself be played, Skin Walker. Worse, you were an easy game.”
Bellis watched as angry color suffused Remy’s face.
“Easy?” Remy balled his hands into fists. “I trusted you. I cared for you!”
“You never cared for any of us,” Sam sneered. “You used us. We bought you time while you looked for her.” She planted both hands on the edge of the cot and glared up at Remy. “Being used doesn’t feel so good, does it?”
Remy turned with a snarl and stalked from the room muttering, “I’m getting Monroe!”
Bellis watched him go, then turned to frown at Sam. She was staring at him now, her head cocked as she let her eyes slide up and down his large frame.
“Where’ve they been hiding you, handsome?”
He growled in response.
“Mmm,” she hunched her shoulders and feigned a shiver. “A Demon Walker. I like.”
Bellis growled louder, peeling back his lips to bare his teeth at her. To his utter confusion, Sam smiled and then winked at him.
Flustered, he exited her cell, slamming the door behind him as he went out to the command center. Remy was facing the wall in a trance. Bellis knew it meant he was contacting Monroe through the mist, Skin Walker telepathy. He waited.
Finally, Remy blinked and hissed. “He’s not coming.” Turning, he faced Bellis. “You’re to remain with the prisoner.”
Bellis shook his head.
“She’s a fucking flight risk,” Remy argued, “and she’s your charge, so if she escapes it’s on you. You want that?”
Fuck no. But he didn’t want to remain near Sam any longer than he needed to. He pointed at Bodi. “Put him in charge of her.”
Bodi didn’t even look up from the monitor he was studying. “Can’t. I’ve gotta type up my daily report and get it to the Dom. No time to babysit.”
“I’m not doing it,” Bellis ground out, but when he turned to frown at Remy, the asshole was smirking and holding a cell phone out to him. “Who is it?”
Remy shook the phone. “Monroe.”
Snatching the phone from Remy’s hand, he snapped his teeth, causing Remy to jerk back.
“What?”
He could only set his lips into a grim line as Monroe commanded he stay with Sam. Apparently, the attack on the Estate hadn’t gone unnoticed by local authorities and officials from the nearby Air Force base were coming to meet with Monroe. He didn’t have time to deal with Sam right now, and that left Bellis in charge of her.
“She’s caged,” he argued. “There are Sentries outside the cells in the Command Center twenty-four/seven. What’s the big fucking deal?”
“She’s the big deal,” was Monroe’s cool response. “Stay with the woman, Assassin St Croix. It’s not a request!”
The line went dead and Bellis crushed the phone until pieces broke off and fell to the ground. Remy failed to hide a smirk before turning to walk out of Command.
Fucker!