Chapter Sixteen

 

Lucy was surprised to have the lab to herself. All day, she kept waiting for her boss to barge in and demand to know what she’d been doing. What she had been tasked with was bad enough, but it was nerve-racking to constantly listen for the sound of the lock engaging. Lucy didn’t require eight hours of sleep on a daily basis to function well, but her night had been troubled with horrible images, making it impossible to sleep soundly. She wanted Tamian’s voice in her head. They’d said good morning, however briefly. His presence soothed her, but she also didn’t want to seem needy. He had told Lucy what he wanted her to do on her end, so she left him alone to carry out his plan in getting her free.

She had everything she needed to replicate the serum using her uncle’s formula, but she didn’t bother making any more. If Tamian was successful, Lucy would be out of the lab before the thirty days were up. Instead, she focused on looking for anything that would tie Ramey to the experiments. After some toast and coffee, Lucy decided to tear apart the computer. The scientists before her had mostly handwritten their notes, but there were files on the laptop going back a few years. One of the first things her friend Anna had taught her was nothing is ever completely deleted from a computer unless the user had more than average skills.

After a couple hours and not coming up with anything tying Ramey to the experiments, Lucy set about printing off everything pertaining to what she was supposed to be working on. What she did find that worried her was how the notes abruptly stopped. Not just with one scientist, but with a couple who’d been adding their input on the computer. She searched the written documents but couldn’t find where they had added anything. Why had they stopped? All she could come up with was they hadn’t been successful, and Ramey had replaced them.

Taking the printed sheets, Lucy added those to the notebooks and sorted them regarding the type of ability they pertained to. She then put everything in one spot so she and Tamian could easily grab it all when the time came. If Ramey asked, she would explain it as her way of organizing things to make it easier to sort through. She had no intention of carrying through with the experiments, but she had come up with her own plan of making it look as though she was working diligently. She’d read through enough of the notes to know what Ramey would look for should he come back to the lab.

 It sounded crazy in her head, but as she cut into each torso, taking samples from each one, she apologized to them. Lucy knew in her heart they were victims. There was no proof indicating the torsos belonged to those who volunteered their bodies. When she got out of there, she vowed to find out where they came from. If Ramey was having people killed in the name of science, she would somehow prove it. Her family spent their time working against the Ministry, doing their best to rescue anyone who was being held against their will. She would ask them to aid her in this endeavor as well. If they couldn’t help, she would ask Tamian.

Then again, if she and Tamian were mates, and if they were compatible and ended up together, maybe she should ask him first. That’s what couples did, wasn’t it? Thinking about her grandparents, she knew she was right. Sutton had been the president of the Hounds, but that was the club, and like any other MC, only members had input, and Rory wasn’t a member. In all other facets of their lives, they were a team. Rarely was one seen without the other unless it was a time like when Rory came to visit at Lucy’s behest. And when Rory found out about Lucy’s problems, she had immediately shared them with her husband. Lucius and Vera had been close. Lucius might have hidden his work from Vera, but when it came to the way they interacted on a daily basis, there had been no doubt what they meant to one another.

Hell, even her father had put his wife’s wishes before everyone else’s. Lucy didn’t know the type of relationship her parents had, but if his actions didn’t speak of love, then what did? She had never thought about it that way. She’d only seen it from her point of view. Maybe she’d been too hard on her father. And maybe they could sit down and have a long talk once this ordeal was over.

Lucy wanted that type of love for herself. She wouldn’t jump right into a relationship with Tamian just because the fates had deemed them to be mates, but she wouldn’t dismiss it either. She didn’t have a lot of experience when it came to dating. She’d gone out with a handful of guys in college, but most of those dates ended with the men wanting sex and nothing else. Not that she’d been opposed to the sex, but only one of the guys had offered up a friendship before trying to get her into his bed. That had lasted part of her sophomore year. He’d been a senior, and when he graduated, their relationship had ended. After that, she focused on her studies.

Being an agent hadn’t afforded her much time to pursue another relationship, and now, she was glad. It would have sucked for her to have fallen in love only to have Tamian come into her life after the fact. From the little interaction they had and the way she’d already felt drawn to him, Lucy had a feeling she wouldn’t have been able to avoid him despite being with someone else.

The phone on the desk rang, pulling Lucy from her musings. As much as she wanted to ignore it, she thought it best to answer in case it was her boss. “Hello?”

“Agent Ball, how are you progressing?”

“It’s a slow process. Considering the short time I’ve been here, I’d say I’m making good progress.”

“Tell me what you have under the microscope.”

What? How the hell did he…? Lucy looked around and found several cameras mounted to the wall. “You’re watching me?”

“Of course I am. I can’t be there holding your hand. This is too important for me not to keep an eye on you. So tell me what you have.”

Lucy was pissed. Instead of answering, she laid the receiver down and moved into the apartment. At first glance, she didn’t find any cameras, but that didn’t mean there weren’t hidden ones. When she returned to the phone, Ramey was yelling at her. Interrupting his tirade, she said, “I do not appreciate having my privacy invaded in such a way. If I find out there are cameras in the apartment, I’ll—”

“You’ll do what? You are at my mercy, Agent Ball, and you’d do well to remember that. There are no cameras hidden in the private area, but maybe I should rethink that?”

“No, you shouldn’t.”

“Tell me what’s under the microscope.”

Lucy took a few calming breaths and explained what she was looking at. Now that she knew he could see her, she made the lie believable. She rattled off comparisons between what was on the slide and notes she’d read, praying he wasn’t as familiar with the terminology as he could be. After bullshitting for several minutes nonstop, she paused, waiting for his response.

“I will be stopping by later tonight. Let’s hope you are further along and have something new for me.” The call disconnected, and Lucy stared at the phone before hanging it up. It was all she could do not to look at the camera and flip him off. Dammit! She needed to tell Tamian the lab was under surveillance in case that messed with his plans in getting her out.

Lucy blew some wayward strands of hair off her face. “Tamian?”

God, when had she become so needy? No, this wasn’t needy. This was wanting to warn Tamian.

“Hey, Sweetheart.”

“We have a problem. There are security cameras here in the lab. Ramey is watching me.”

“Okay, don’t panic. That won’t be a problem later, but for now, don’t give him any reason to doubt you’re doing your job.”

“Yeah, okay. I just thought you might need to know.”

“I’m glad you told me. Anything else?”

“No. I’ll let you get back to whatever it is your doing.”

“I’m guarding Ramey’s house so my sister can put cameras inside. A little turnabout being fair play and all that, right?”

Lucy ducked her head to hide her smile. No need to give Ramey any reason to come see her sooner.

“Right. I’ll talk to you tonight.”

“Later, love.”

Love? Nope. Lucy wasn’t going there. You didn’t fall in love with someone before you knew them. Except Rory told her she knew the moment she laid eyes on Sutton he was the one. Still. Lucy turned her attention to the microscope. As long as she was being watched, she might as well see if she could learn something while pretending.

 

 

Tessa took longer than Tamian expected. When she finally emerged from the house, she was grinning. “I might have done a little snooping while I was in there.”

“Yeah? Did you find anything interesting?”

“Let’s just say the man’s taste in porn is hardcore BDSM, and he has his very own dungeon that was locked up tight.”

“If it was locked up… never mind. I forget how skilled you are at breaking and entering. I’m not even going to ask what you found.”

“Let’s just say he’s into pain, and I’d lay odds he’s the one doing the inflicting.”

Tamian got behind the wheel of the rental so Tessa could boot up her laptop and check the connection to the cameras. “Did you find anything relating to what he has Lucy working on?”

“Yes. There’s a hidden compartment in one of his desk drawers. In it was a ledger with names and descriptions of who I’m assuming are the victims. I snapped pictures of the pages before putting things back exactly the way I found them.”

“While you were busy, Lucy informed me he has cameras in the lab. He’s watching her.”

“Is that going to be a problem when we break her out?”

“Not as far as I’m concerned. When we go in, it will be me on the cameras pretending to be him. If he has someone on the outside watching, they shouldn’t suspect anything is wrong. I don’t plan on taking anything other than Lucy when we leave. Before that happens, I’ll evacuate the premises of anyone else present, telling them they have the next few days off. I’ll be ‘encouraging’ them to go away and not speak to anyone of where there’re going or why.”

“Have I told you how jealous I am over your Jedi mind control?”

Tamian laughed at Tessa’s petulant tone. “Yes, just like you’re jealous over my wings.”

“And Lucy’s. Damn, y’all are going to have some badass kids.”

“Kids? Don’t get ahead of yourself. We’re not mates yet. She might decide she doesn’t want anything to do with me once she gets to know me.”

“You’re joking, right? Tam, I have no idea why you don’t give yourself more credit. You’re a Gargoyle with special abilities, and you’re hot to boot.”

“You’re not supposed to think your own brother is hot,” Tamian teased.

“Whatever. I can look at you objectively without being skeevy. Anyway, the cameras are online. Now we just have to wait for Ramey to go home.”

If only they knew where the lab was, they could get Julian to hack into the cameras there so Tamian could observe his mate. He wanted to reach out to Lucy again and make sure she was okay, but he didn’t want her to feel he was being overprotective. She was a government agent as well as a Gryphon. His mate was equipped to handle herself. That didn’t mean he wouldn’t worry about her. She was his to protect, no matter how capable she was. She reminded him of Tessa. His sister was also a badass, but he knew Gregor was just as protective. Tessa’s mood had improved over the last couple hours, but he chalked that up to having something to focus on other than babies.

When Tessa mentioned him and Lucy having kids, he couldn’t deny the warmth that spread through his chest at the possibility. He’d never really considered having a family of his own. Now that it was a possibility? He wanted a houseful. If that’s what Lucy wanted. The Montagnon line was being carried on with all of Jonas’s grandkids, but it didn’t mean Xavier wouldn’t want grandchildren of his own. Tamian was interested in getting to know Lucy and her family. Did any of her uncles have children? Or was Lucy the only one? With her being twenty-five, Tamian doubted she was the only grandchild. And if they were to have children, would they be Gargoyle or Gryphon, or a new hybrid of both? Tessa was right; their kids would be badasses. That made Tamian smile.

“What’s got you so giddy over there?” Tessa asked, breaking into his thoughts.

“Giddy?”

“Yeah. Whatever you were thinking about made you chuckle.”

“I don’t chuckle.”

“Dude, you so were chuckling. Spill.”

Tamian couldn’t tell her the truth. With her previous admission to worrying over not having kids of her own, it would only bring her mood down, so he lied. “I was considering Lucy and I being King and Queen of Italy, sitting on our thrones in our crowns while all our Clan members bowed at our feet.”

Tamian pulled into the parking lot of the hotel and found a spot near the back entrance. When he put the car in park, he looked over and found her grinning. “You are such a goober. There’s no way you’d sit on a throne.”

“Of course I wouldn’t, thus the chuckling. Now, come on. We have work to do.” Tamian intended to keep Tessa’s mind preoccupied with all things Ramey so she wouldn’t have time to dwell on her own problems.

 

 

Drago stood on the balcony of his hotel room, letting the sound of the waves wash over him. The water wasn’t the clear blue of the seas back home, but it was settling nonetheless. The males who’d migrated from Greece were hanging out in the hotel. Drago had found a more upscale one that hadn’t been abandoned. He was putting the shifters up for the next several days until he could decide where to house them on a more permanent basis. It had only taken meeting them once to decide who his second in command would be. Arden had immediately stood out as the most alpha of the group, and the others took direction from him without question.

The Unholy, while widespread, were few and far between the farther south Drago had traveled. They needed an army, but they needed to put one together as quietly as possible. After a long discussion over shitty liquor, Drago had instructed Arden to take the serum and distribute it to a few Unholy in the area so they would have males who would be able to travel when the time came. He hated to use one of the vials, but it was necessary to the cause. Dr. Craven was already working on the next batch, so Drago didn’t begrudge using a little to ensure the Unholy they found in Florida would be good additions to their growing group. Eventually, he would spread them out across the country, but first he had to take down Rafael Stone and his family, which was mostly situated in New Atlanta.

The beach was practically deserted save for the handful of people out walking. Female laughter echoed across the waves, reaching Drago’s ears. It had been too long since he’d let himself enjoy the feel of a soft body. The laughter was only the beginning of a stirring within, and when Drago got a delicious scent on the wind, he bent over and placed his hands on his knees. Inhaling deeply, the aroma sent his beast into a frenzy.

Not having found his mate after all those years, he’d resigned himself to a life of fucking random women. Having heard how the Stone Society was finding their mates in humans, Drago knew what was happening. Now was not the time for him to take a mate. He had too much to do in regard to building his army, but his beast was demanding they take what was theirs.

“Fuck!” he seethed through gritted teeth. If he didn’t follow through with claiming the female, his shifter would try to take over, and that couldn’t happen. There was too much at stake for Drago to be at odds with the beast. Stepping back into the hotel room, Drago got a look at himself in the mirror. Dressed in military fatigues was not the way humans dressed as they strolled along the water’s edge. Luckily, he’d bought swimming trunks, knowing he would at some point want to swim along the waves. Drago changed quickly, and with another look at his reflection, he appreciated the male staring back at him. Snagging the room keycard, Drago secured the plastic in the inner pocket of his trunks while making his way to the elevator. As he strolled with purpose toward the beach access, he breathed deeply, hoping to calm himself. When his mate’s scent found its way to him once again, it had the opposite effect.

The two women were farther down the beach than he would have liked, but with his shifter vision, Drago was able to keep his eye on them. Taking off at a jog, he was able to catch up with them considering they stopped every so often to dig in the sand at their feet. “Good morning, ladies,” he purred as he slowed his steps. Both women were pretty, but it was the one with blonde hair who held all his attention. When she smiled at him, he knew he was fucked in more ways than one.