Chapter 27
Adam furiously worked the computers as night fell, hacking into spy satellites the US government didn’t even know existed. Hell, he wasn’t sure the Realm knew about the well-masked satellites owned by the Coven Nine. There were only two, but they were undetectable from the planet.
The codes had been changed when Gallagher had taken office, and they’d been changed by techs who knew what they were doing. They should. Adam had trained most of them.
The fire had died down in the cabin, while Victoria alternated between pacing the porch outside and strumming her guitar. She’d burned up three phones trying to talk to her sister, and finally, he’d had to send her away from the computer equipment on the table. If she demolished it, he was screwed.
She poked her head in the door. “Anything?”
“No, baby.” He kept his voice gentle as he continued typing and scrolling through the codes.
She bit her lip, her face too pale. “I’ve been thinking. It can’t be a coincidence that both of my parents are missing, right?” Fear shimmered in her sapphire-colored eyes.
The look punched him in the gut. “There may be more going on here.” He tried to think of a gentle way to put his thoughts into words. “I’m guessing your father was sprung because of his potential usefulness.” The video from the escape hadn’t arrived, so Adam couldn’t be sure. “Whoever helped him probably works with him.” That was the only thing that made sense.
She swallowed. “Yeah, but when he was out on parole, he took my mom hostage.”
Adam frowned. “He talked your mother into meeting him and then used her to secure Alexandra’s cooperation.” Parker Monzelle needed to die, without question. “It was a calculated move and for business purposes.”
Victoria shook her head, and her hair sprang free of the loose knot she had tied. “You don’t understand. He may have had business reasons, but his personal ones are even stronger. He wants to hurt us. You don’t get it.”
Adam sat back, studying her pretty face. How could any man want to hurt somebody as precious as Victoria? “All right. Then here’s another reason. Whoever took your mother was well trained and part of the immortal world.” He’d been studying the matter from every angle, and there was only one thing that truly made sense. “Why would anybody take her?”
Victoria’s gaze darted around as she thought it out. “The vampires have no reason, and neither do the demons.”
“True,” Adam said. The woman’s brain was impressive as she logically connected the dots in a world she hadn’t even known existed not too long ago. Her ability to accept the new reality so quickly was unusual. Pride filled him.
She swallowed. “Bear and his shifters wouldn’t want anything to do with her.” Victoria stopped moving and focused on him. “Why would the witches take her?”
He waited for her to put it together.
Her head went back. “Because of me,” she whispered. “You and me.”
“I think so,” he said, willing her to trust him. “I could make us disappear if I wanted, and they know that. If they have your mother, then we have no choice but to appear before the Council as ordered.” He was reaching out to every contact he still had to see if the Coven Nine had Jennie Junie. “The good news is that they won’t harm her.”
“You don’t know that,” Victoria burst out, color finally flooding her face.
“Did they hurt you?” he asked calmly.
She faltered. “Well, no. But it was still scary.”
He nodded, his body actually aching to get up and offer comfort—but at the moment, he was of much more use in front of the computer. “I’ll find her, sweetheart. Just let me keep working.”
A wave of energy, one he actually felt, rolled from the woman through the room. His screen blinked and went dark before coming back online. “Outside, Victoria.” Man, when they had time to actually harness that gift, she’d be a powerful weapon. “Your emotions are strong. Why don’t you go focus them on either the bike or the gun you took outside earlier?” He’d shown her enough to keep her safe. “Just make sure you point the barrel at the trees and not the cabin.”
Her smile appeared forced. “All right.” The smile slid away. “Yell at me the second you find anything, okay?”
“I promise.” Then they could argue about what would happen next. He needed to go to Ireland and rescue her mother, while Victoria would go into lockdown at Realm headquarters. She wasn’t going to like that plan.
She cleared her throat. “You, ah, you mentioned getting into satellites.”
“Aye?”
“You’re really smart,” she mused quietly.
Ah. She was needing reassurance. “Aye, Victoria. My brain is fully functional and fast. I’ll find your mother.”
She nodded. “That’s what I thought. Like, your IQ is higher than Einstein’s?”
Where was she going with that? “His was clocked only at 160. So yes.” Before she could ask, he shook his head. “Can’t be measured. So I don’t know a number.”
“Your IQ is too high to be measured.” She said it as a statement, her tone oddly flat.
He blinked. “Well, to be honest, most of us don’t think an IQ can really be measured. It’s a series of tests created by humans with a number attached. A faulty system, to be sure.”
She swallowed, moving the graceful line of her neck. “All right. That makes sense. Call me when you find either of my parents.” The door softly closed.
He stared at it for a moment. What was that all about? With a shrug, he turned back to the satellite codes. A button dinged at the bottom of his screen, and he pushed a series of keys to bring up a picture. Kellach took shape with a morphing green screen behind him. Nice. The Realm boys were doing a good job of scrambling locations. “Hi, Kell,” Adam said.
“How’s Victoria?” Kellach asked, his black eyes sizzling. “Alexandra is about to lose her fuckin’ mind.”
Adam nodded. “Same here. I’ve been hacking the Nine but haven’t found a location for Jennie Junie yet. Anything on Parker Monzelle?”
“Not yet.” Kell scrubbed a hand down his face. “With Titans of Fire blown to hell, he doesn’t have allies on the outside like he did. How many of them have been rounded up?”
“I haven’t checked,” Adam said. “Have more immediate issues. The video from his escape is still being cleared and entered into the Seattle system, so I haven’t been able to get it. They should be logging it in today.” The damn place still used video recording and not digital.
Kell breathed out. “What about the mating?”
Adam’s chin dropped. “Are you serious?”
“Just asking, brother. Last time we talked, you were twisted up about the female.” Kell studied him, his gaze seeing everything
Adam enlarged the screen to get a better view of the background. He needed to get something like that once he was back to working as an Enforcer. Well, if he kept his job. “The Nine is not forcing her to mate anybody. I won’t allow it.”
Kell flashed a grin. “What a nicely logical way to protect her.”
“I thought so,” Adam said, narrowing his gaze. “What’s your point?”
“How do you feel about her?” Kell asked.
Adam blinked. “Shit, man. Being mated has turned you into a girl.”
Anger flashed across Kellach’s face, hot and bright, to be quickly quashed. “That’s not an answer.”
“I don’t have time to worry about feelings,” Adam snapped. The physical attraction between Victoria and him gave him no peace. Even though she was outside right now, he could feel her. All of her. Victoria Monzelle was a complex, highly intelligent woman with a spirit that called to him. But right now, with hell descending on all of them, it was the exact wrong time to even think about forever. “How about we stick to work? You know? And the kill order hanging over your blasted head?”
Kell rolled his eyes. “I’m just saying. If you like her, and you enjoy her company, it’d be nice for Alexandra to have her sister live for eons, too.”
Adam’s head heated until he feared it would blow off his neck. “Victoria is full of light and energy. She, of all people in this damn world, deserves a forever mating with love. The real deep, no shit, die-for-each-other type of love.” How could Kell not see that? He was blinded by the need to protect his mate, and that was all right. “So butt out.”
Kell studied him, his lip quirking. Something glimmered in his eyes for a moment, and then he sat back. “Well, then. I see that. Sorry I interfered.”
“It’s okay,” Adam said, relaxing. “I understand you want to make your mate happy.”
“I surely do,” Kell said, his expression not changing. “It’s a damn good thing you’re so smart, Adam.”
Adam paused. Was there something in Kellach’s voice that sounded a mite, well, sarcastic? “What is your point?”
“Nothing.” Kell’s smile widened. “It’s just nice to see you have things so under control. You know. That you see everything that is right in front of your so-brilliant face.”
Okay. That was definitely sarcasm, with a side of amusement. Adam’s temper stirred. “Are the Realm boys working on finding Parker and Jennie Junie, or are they not?”
“They are, but we might have better resources.” Kell lost his amusement. They both carefully kept from mentioning the two secret satellites. “Daire is at demon headquarters right now, and they have all of their techs working on the same issue. He wants to meet up in person later today and go through all the data.”
Adam frowned. “Demon headquarters is just about a mile from Realm headquarters, right?”
“Aye,” Kellach said, glancing to the side. “Why?”
Adam shrugged. “Seems like they’d just have one central meeting space.” Yet, if witch headquarters moved closer, he’d probably advise against it. Alliances rarely lasted in their world. “Forget it. Speaking of which, has the Coven Nine declared war on anybody yet?”
“No. They’ve withdrawn from the Realm, but that’s as far as it’s gone. The Nine aren’t strong enough to take on the entire Realm and I think they know it.” Kellach shuddered. “I hope. It seems like Gallagher has lost his mind.”
“He’s not crazy. Just ambitious.” Adam glanced toward the quiet day outside. He hadn’t heard Tori shoot anything in a while. Maybe she was too upset. He should probably make her some coffee or something. He stood and leaned against the counter just as another screen started to spit information. “Ah, there you are,” he muttered.
“What?” Kellach asked.
“I found two more financial accounts linked to Gallagher, and the money doesn’t trace back to any of his legitimate or even semi-legitimate investments.” The excitement of the chase rushed through Adam. “I’m going to nail this fucker.”
Kell nodded, his shoulders straightening. “Perfect. Keep me in the loop.” He clicked off.
Adam scrolled through the data, his mind making rapid connections.
Another line beeped, and he hit the button for another video conference.
His brother Daire came into view. “Hey. Just talked to Kell. Are you going to mate Victoria or what?”
Jesus. “Would you knock it off?” Adam snapped.
Daire straightened and then turned to read something off to the side. His jaw hardened.
Adam stiffened. “What?”
Daire focused back on him, his eyes glittering. “It’s Parker Monzelle.”
Victoria’s father? “We’ve found him?” Adam asked.
“No.” A vein pulsed down Daire’s neck. “You’d better get Victoria. We have a message from her father. It’s not good.”
Ah, hell.