Chapter Eighteen

 

“I have eyes on him,” Tessa said from where she was seated at the table. While Tamian was pacing the living area waiting on the alarm to indicate movement in Ramey’s home, Julian had been working nonstop to hack into the GIA’s security cameras, and at Tessa’s announcement, he’d succeeded. Tamian tried not to feel bad about the number of hours Julian was spending helping with Lucy, but Julian was paying him back for his assistance in rescuing Katherine. Deep down, he knew Julian would do it anyway, because that’s what family did.

Before the Stone Society came into their lives, Tamian had observed his parents together as well as how Jonas and Caroline acted. He’d seen the lengths Xavier had gone to in keeping Elizabeth out of the hands of her human husband. Tamian had skirted through life watching out for Tessa. That bond went deep because he was her clone. He was part of her in a way he thought would never be duplicated. He’d been wrong. He and Lucy had barely spent any time together, and already he knew what the two of them would have would outshine his love for his sister, and that was saying everything.

Tamian sat down next to Tessa and studied the man on the screen. Ramey strode through the hallways with purpose. The split-screen showed Lucy’s boss going from the front door to the elevators to his office. He was stopped a couple times by other agents, giving Tamian insight to the man’s demeanor. It wasn’t pleasant. Not once did he smile. The conversations lasted a few seconds with Ramey clearly annoyed at being interrupted.

A knock at the door took Tamian’s attention for only a second. “I’ll get it,” Tessa said, placing a hand on his shoulder to keep him seated. “Uncle Vitto!” Tessa called out when she opened the door.

“Buongiorno, Andrea.” Vittore grabbed Tessa up and swung her around like he had since she was a little girl, bringing a smile to Tamian’s face and laughter from his sister. Vitto was one of the few people who still addressed Tessa by her given name.

Tamian rose to greet his father’s best friend. Holding out his hand, Tamian said, “Vitto, thank you for coming.”

“You are doing me a favor, my boy. Martina remodeled the kitchen, and our home has turned into a bakery. With me as her guinea pig, my waistline is paying for it.” Vitto patted his flat stomach before pulling Tamian in for a tight hug, slapping him on the back, surprising Tamian. Vitto and his mate had never had children for whatever reason, and they doted on Tessa the more for it. Tessa called them “aunt” and “uncle,” although they weren’t related by blood. Tamian knew blood didn’t necessarily make one family.

“Tell me what you need from me,” Vitto said as he stepped back.

After relaying all that had happened up to that point, Tamian said, “I’d like for you to follow the Hounds. They have yet to give us the coordinates for where Lucy is being held. The meeting between Rafael and their leader should be over by now, and either it didn’t go well, or they’re just being obstinate. If you can find out where the lab is, we can proceed with our plan as soon as the prosthetic arrives.”

“Yes!” Vitto pumped his fist in the air. “Finally, something to make me feel useful. Other than visiting the chalet to make sure all is well when you aren’t there, your father has left me to my own devices, and we all know that never bodes well.”

Tamian and Tessa grinned, knowing Vitto had a habit of trying to find hobbies to keep him occupied and out of trouble with Martina. His last endeavor – boat building – had amounted to a basement full of wood scraps when he couldn’t get the hang of cutting curves into the pieces correctly.

“I take it you never got the longboat finished?” Tessa asked.

“Hah! One day while I was gone to visit your padre, Martina made use of my tools, and all the wood wound up in small pieces she used to fill the fireplace last winter. I should have let her show me how to properly shape the boards.” Vitto’s face was filled with nothing but love and respect when speaking of his mate. They were another example of how life as a couple was supposed to be. Martina humored him no matter how inane she felt his latest hobby was. “Now, tell me about the Hounds.”

Taking a seat at the table so Tamian could keep watching Ramey, they came up with a plan for Vitto to shadow the Hounds, hoping it would lead them to where Lucy was being kept. Tessa put in a call to Rafael to see how the meeting went, but it went to voicemail. Tamian was tired of waiting for Lucy’s family to get on board with helping. She was his mate, and he was responsible for her well-being. He’d do whatever it took to get her away from her current situation, even if it meant going up against the Hounds.

Since Maveryck and the others didn’t know Vitto, he went down to the hotel lobby and asked for a room on the same floor where they were staying. The plan was for him to give a sexy smile to the desk clerk and a romantic story about the room number he requested. It worked, and Vitto was given the suite next door to the Hounds. Using his shifter hearing, he would listen in on the Hounds’ conversations and follow when one of them left the building. With his mission in place, Tamian was able to focus on his own part in the plan.

Julian had managed to find an old interview when Ramey first started with the GIA, and Tessa got busy working on the voice modulator. After a few seconds, she paused. “Can you not use your mind control on the Hounds to get them to tell you where Lucy is?”

Tamian bit his bottom lip, thinking about being in the room with Maveryck. “I had to tell them I was capable of speaking to Lucy with my mind. When I admitted my ability, I felt his mind close up as loudly as if someone had closed a door. He locked his shit up tight after that. Let’s hope they give us her whereabouts willingly, or Vitto is able to follow them and find out the location that way. I really don’t want our families fighting before we even become a family.”

Tessa tipped her head to the side, studying him. “I get it. Merging two families who see things differently isn’t a cake walk. I know.” She returned her attention to the voice modulator, and he studied the monitors. When Lucy’s boss left the building, Tamian got busy with a little online shopping to purchase a suit, some hair dye, and colored contacts. He left nothing to chance for this mission. It was too important to overlook even the smallest detail. Ramey was slightly broader than Tamian, but it was nothing a little padding couldn’t take care of. All he needed was the prosthetic and a location, and he would be ready.

 

 

“Agent Ball, what do you have for me?” Ramey asked as soon as the door closed behind him.

Lucy squared her shoulders and pointed to the microscope. “I’m afraid it isn’t good news. Whoever you had working on this project before me must have been an idiot. Take a look for yourself.”

“What do you mean? I hired the best scientists I could find to replace your father until you became available.” Ramey didn’t bother looking under the microscope. That was Lucy’s first clue he wasn’t knowledgeable. Excellent.

“I don’t know what to tell you, Sir. The samples I took from these four candidates show no signs of having special genes. There are no indicators they are any different than you or I.”

“That’s impossible. I paid good money to make sure I got what I wanted.” Ramey paced the room, hands pulling at his hair. He paused to glare at her. “Maybe it’s you who isn’t competent.”

“I assure you, I know what I’m talking about. I graduated first in my class, but you already know that as well as knowing what my final thesis covered. Genetics is my specialty, and if I hadn’t been thrown into something as mundane as computer infiltration with the GIA, I would have continued my studies.” Lucy tapped one of the journals, taking a big chance. “Your previous colleagues’ inabilities aside, I compared samples from all four torsos to Subject 26, thinking mislabeling was a possibility.” Lucy stepped up to the microscope and swapped out the current slide for a new one. She had taken samples from all four victims, but she’d only used cells from one of them on all four slides – the one which didn’t match Subject 26. “None of your victims contain the same genetic makeup as Subject 26.”

“You can stop referring to them as victims, Agent Ball. Trying to make me feel guilty about what we’re doing here won’t work. Have you never heard the phrase ‘try to see the big picture?’ What we’re doing is going to change the world. The US will finally get back to the great nation we once were before the world tilted off its axis. Don’t get me wrong, I applaud Jonas Montague for paving the way by cloning the first human. I would love to shake his hand were he still alive. He, like Lucius, was a genius who had no trouble seeing the big picture.”

Lucy knew all about the famous scientist who’d cloned the world’s first baby. Not only had she studied about him in college, Lucius had lauded the man on more than one occasion. Lucy didn’t blame the clone or the ones who came after for the near-destruction of the world as they’d known it some thirty years prior. She hadn’t even been alive, but she had read enough about it to know the fallout which came after was at the hands of the Ministry. The baby clone hadn’t been to blame, and Lucy couldn’t find it in herself to even blame Montague, even if he had been playing god. After all this time, the world didn’t know who the clone was or who he’d been cloned from.

Lucy had taken a psychology class where they discussed cloning and its effects on the children who were only created to save an older sibling. She’d convinced herself she would never do that to a child, but then again, she had never been faced with such a decision. If she were to ever have her own offspring, would she do something so drastic to keep him or her alive?

“Whatever,” Lucy continued, taking a chance on being just belligerent enough to feel good about mouthing off, but not enough for him to get really pissed. “Take a look for yourself,” she urged again as she brought the lens just a little out of focus.

Ramey huffed, but did as she asked and looked through the lens, closing one eye. He didn’t bother trying to focus it before pulling away. “So, if these don’t match Subject 26, which one do they match?”

“I haven’t made it that far yet. I was concerned when I found out it wasn’t a match like you indicated, so I extracted samples from the other torsos. I was just looking through the previous notes, trying to make sense of what I was reading. You should demand your money back from my predecessors.”

Ramey cursed a blue streak, once again pacing the small area. “Find out which subject they do match. I don’t care if it takes you all night.” With that, her boss stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind him. Lucy waited for the sound of the lock and held her breath. The sound never came, and Lucy had to decide whether or not to attempt leaving the lab to find her way out of the building. She didn’t glance at the cameras for fear of giving herself away if someone were watching.

Pretending to read the latest journal, Lucy contemplated reaching out to Tamian. She knew he was busy working on getting her out of there, but if she could do that herself, she could save him the trouble of all he was having to go through. But, if she made the attempt and found herself right back under lock and key, she would have halted his progress, thus making her rescue take that much longer. No, she wouldn’t bother him yet. If she was able to escape the lab, she would contact him as soon as she was on the outside and figured out her location. Then she would ask him to come get her.

Having made that decision, she decided it would be best to wait until it was dark out. That way, if she needed to shift into her eagle, she could do so without being as easily detected. Patience wasn’t her strong suit, so she busied herself until it was time to go.

 

 

Tamian was signing for the package from Jonas which contained the prosthetic when Rafael and Kaya arrived at the hotel room door. “Rafael? What’s going on?”

“Let’s step inside so Kaya can get off her feet, and I’ll tell you everything.”

Tamian stepped back, holding the package under his arm, and allowed the couple into the suite. “Hey, you two,” Tessa said when they entered the living area. “Did you get my message?”

Rafael led Kaya to the sofa and held her hand as she lowered herself onto the cushions. “I did, but we were in mid-flight having a conversation with Ryker Lazlo. We met with his parents as requested, but before we could come to any conclusions on how to handle the situation going forward, Ryker received a call from Maveryck. It seems one of the Hounds didn’t like it when Tamian laid claim to Lucy.”

Tamian growled low in his throat, and Rafael held up his hands. “Easy, Tamian. Don’t bite the messenger.”

“Which one?” Tamian didn’t want there to be bad blood between the two species, but Lucy was his.

“Monk, the one who doesn’t speak. His affection for Lucy was news to the family, and they figured he’d kept his feelings to himself since she was the granddaughter and niece of the Lazlos. Hearing you claim her as your mate set him off, but they don’t think it will be a problem once Ryker speaks with him.”

“And that’s why you’re here?” Tessa asked.

“More or less. Our meeting was cut short when Ryker decided it was best to handle this situation in person. Instead of him catching a commercial flight, I offered him the jet. Not only did it get him here quicker, it allowed us time to get to know one another better.”

“I’m sorry this has pulled you away from Jonathan,” Tamian said. “How’s he doing?”

“As well as can be expected. I’m sorry to say there isn’t anything we can do except make him comfortable for as long as he has left. As for being pulled away, you are family as much as he is. There are plenty of Clan members who can watch over him in my absence. Not to sound heartless, but being King doesn’t stop just because one of our own is down. You needed me, and here I am. Plus, finding out there’s another species of shifters is something I needed to address. The timing could have been better, but there’s nothing any of us can do about that. Lucy’s your mate, and as such, our Clans are going to be connected. It’s better to get to know them now so we’re all of one accord when we get Lucy away from the lab.”

“Were you able to convince Ryker to get the location of her whereabouts from his brother? He has yet to offer up the coordinates to the building where she’s being kept.”

“He assured me he would get that information from Maveryck and pass it along. Our goals are the same in more ways than one. The Gryphons, like the Gargoyles, are here to protect humans. They’ve known about our kind for quite a while. They’ve watched us without us knowing it, and once they saw we were taking on the Unholy, they left us to that while they’ve been going after the Ministry.”

“The Ministry?” Tessa asked. “I thought there were a bunch of religious psychos.”

“They are, but on a larger scale then most are aware. They were the ones responsible for bombing the clinic when you were cloned. In a word, they are a cult of religious fanatics who’ve taken it upon themselves to purge the world of its sins. The Hounds are a bit more mercenary than the Goyles. While we patrol for Unholy and put them in the Pen when we can, the Hounds’ mission is to go after the leaders of any cult they find and take them out. I’m not sure I agree with their methods, but at this point, I’m not going to stop them from doing what they do. From the way Ryker described things, the Ministry is a larger threat to the human population than the Unholy, if you can believe that.”

“How does Lucy fit into their mission?” Tamian asked.

“Before she was reassigned, Lucy was their computer specialist. She used her skills and the technology of the GIA to help locate the Ministry as best she could. According to Ryker, Lucy is nowhere near as adept with computers as Julian. She only learned how to do a little hacking so she could locate her birth father. She was a genetics major at MIT, so it makes sense she would be working on this secret project. Ryker asked if Julian would be agreeable to aiding in their search of the Ministry. I explained how he’s spread thin as it is, but we’re working on finding another Goyle to help alleviate all the time he spends away from his mate.”

“Do you have any viable prospects?” Tessa asked.

“The only one we know of at this moment is Lachlan, and that’s not happening.”

“Even if it’s a way for him to redeem himself?” Tessa added.

“With everything that happened as a result of his treachery? There’s nothing he could do that would redeem him.”

Tamian’s phone pinged with an incoming text. “Excuse me. I need to read this,” he apologized before opening the message from Vitto. “Shit.”

“What’s wrong?” Tessa asked.

“The Hounds are on the move, and it doesn’t appear they’re taking us with them.”