Chapter Twenty
Hollis was fighting for control. His bones ached, strained by his wolf’s efforts to break free. Now wasn’t the time to panic. Being careful, deliberate, and rational was the best way to survive this. There was no chance Cyrus would honor his promise to Kim. But would he spare her life? Knowing the bastard, the chance was slight. He paced, his mind working through all Ellen had shared. The longer he paced, the more agitated Ellen and Kim became. Until he stopped pacing. “Kim, where is the latest strain of vaccine?” he asked.
Kim swiped her eyes and stood. “It came back yesterday.” She shook her head.
“No improvement?” he asked.
“The mice died within an hour. The heart collapsed.” She glanced between them. “Do you want the data?”
“Yes. And whatever samples we have left.” He moved to the counter, preparing a catheter and sample tubes in case he needed more blood.
“What are you doing?” Ellen asked, watching Kim as she retrieved the vaccine from the refrigerator.
“You’ve been gone for a while. He’s probably weak.” The motherfucker was probably out of his mind for her blood. Since Cyrus had grown reliant on her blood being without it for six months would be a nightmare. Not that he could risk saying so out loud. The wolf was too close to losing his fucking mind as it was. Still, it might just give them the edge they needed. “And impatient.”
“You’ll give him the tainted blood?” she whispered.
“It will kill him or cure him. Either way, we win.”
“He’s not going to drink it right there.” Ellen understood the way his mind worked but didn’t seem convinced.
“We’ll have to make it irresistible,” Hollis argued.
“Drink it?” Kim asked, horrified.
“Cyrus White is…unlike anyone you’ve ever met before,” Ellen offered.
He focused on the task at hand, setting one vial of Ellen’s blood aside and splitting the remaining into three new vials. He added the vaccine, shook the samples, and slid the rubber stopper in.
“You need to call Finn,” Ellen said, staring at the vials on the metal tray. She looked resigned—almost defeated. Because she accepted they couldn’t defeat Cyrus. She couldn’t shift, he couldn’t shift, and there was no way to win. And it had his wolf howling.
He glanced at the clock as he dialed. It was almost midnight. “They won’t get here in time,” he said.
“In time for what?” Finn’s voice reached him. “What’s happening?”
“He’s here.” Hollis winced through Finn’s long string of expletives before he summarized the evening’s events. Kim’s mother, the blood, Cyrus’s imminent arrival—all of it. By then, the rest of the pack had joined in, too—their general sense of impatience and helplessness threatening his attempts to keep his own wolf in line.
“The tainted blood is a good idea,” Finn said. “Mal, have Gentry get the plane ready.”
“He’ll smell it,” Dante argued. “Know something is different.”
Hollis cleared his throat then, torn between feeling guilt and pride. “She’s pregnant—maybe that will cover it.”
“Fucking A, Hollis.” Anders laughed. “I didn’t know you had it in you. Congrats, man. With Ellen. Bet that’s scary as—”
Hollis silenced him with a glare.
Mal interrupted. “I’m with Anders on this one, Hollis. Never pegged you as a papa type.”
Hollis didn’t disagree.
“What’s the aversion to condoms?” Dante asked. “Is it a bond-wolf thing for you to lose your head and take stupid chances or what?”
“Chill,” Anders said. “I get it. My wolf wants to get laid, too.” He laughed at his own joke.
“Congratulations, Hollis.” Finn’s voice was edged with command. “But I imagine this complicates things?” he asked. “Since she won’t be able to shift now?”
“Right,” he ground the word out. Ellen was vulnerable. He was useless. And the pack was hours away.
“We’re driving to the airstrip now. Should be in the air in five minutes. Gentry’s calling up some help—two of his former Special Forces team. They should be there soon. Might slow things down.”
But Special Forces didn’t mean shit when a wolf was involved—they all knew that.
“We need more time, Hollis. You can’t let her meet with him.”
“We’re twenty-five minutes from the city, Finn. He’ll be expecting Kim at Hemisphere Plaza.”
“The town’s Fiesta crazy right now.” Dante groaned.
“People everywhere.” Anders muttered.
“He’s up to something.” Finn growled.
“Always,” Hollis agreed. “We need to leave now to meet with him. She doesn’t see him, he’s not going to like it.”
“Who the fuck cares?” Mal asked. “Don’t let her go. The motherfucker will come after her and we’ll be waiting.”
“He has Kim’s mother,” Hollis reminded them.
“She’s dead.” Dante said what they were all thinking.
“If there’s a chance to save her, there’s nothing I can do to stop Ellen from going,” Hollis said.
There was a long pause.
“I call bullshit,” Mal said.
“I’m with Mal on this one, Hollis.” Finn’s exasperation was clear. “We’ll get there as fast as we can.”
Hollis released Ellen’s hand and stood, crossing the lab and putting as much distance between him and Kim as possible. He couldn’t afford having her run when she found out tonight’s plans had changed again. “Where?” he asked.
“He’ll come to Kim’s place.” Finn sighed. “Text me the address and we’ll head straight there. We’ll be ready for him when he comes.”
Were they ready? Hollis wanted to believe it. Then all of the living in fear would be over. What would life be like as a happy wolf? At the moment, it was beyond imagining.
“What weapons do you have?” Dante asked.
“Some magnum prototypes still in development in the basement. Wide-gauge silver injectable bullets that dig in and release. A present for Gentry.” He racked his mind for other options. “Knives in the vault.” Knives he wanted to use. He wasn’t afraid of Cyrus anymore. He relished the idea of getting his hands on the bastard, of inflicting whatever pain he could.
“Puts you within his strike range,” Finn argued.
“I’m counting on it.” Hollis growled. “Kim’s not one of us, Finn. She’s not going to let this go because you say so.”
“Fucking lock her up.” Mal jumped in. “Her mother’s dead. She’ll be dead, too, if she goes tonight.”
“Do what you need to do. Tell her whatever makes her stay. But it’s not her choice. Keep her there. And we’ll be there as soon as we can,” Finn said. “If we’re lucky this can end tonight with minimal bloodshed.”
The line went dead.
Minimal bloodshed on their side. If he had it his way, Cyrus would be bled dry tonight. The Alpha had spoken. Kim wasn’t going anywhere. It would be up to her how that went down. He didn’t believe in scare tactics. His mind didn’t work that way. Hard facts. Information and data. He was an academic. So was Kim.
“I need to show you something,” Hollis said, crossing the room to the wall safe only he had access to. “As a woman of science, I need you to read it with an open mind.” He punched in the code and opened the door, pulling the file he’d been keeping on Cyrus White out.
“With all due respect, Dr. Robbins, that can wait.” Kim stood. “My mother is all I have left. She is my world, the reason my dreams have come true. I don’t understand who this man is or what he wants with your research, but I do know my mother needs my help.”
“Hollis, she doesn’t need to see that,” Ellen argued. “Once she knows, there’s no going back.”
Kim stared at the file, then Ellen. “Who are you?” she asked.
“She’s a colleague, someone who understands the infection we’ve been studying for the last seven years.” He crossed the room and placed the file on his desk. “And she’s my…the woman I plan on spending the rest of my life with.” He couldn’t refer to her as his mate in front of Kim—not without losing all credibility in a five second span. “This will explain things that might sound…impossible. And why meeting with Cyrus White alone will only lead to disaster.”
Kim placed her hand on the file, her dark eyes filling with tears. “All I want is my mother.”
Ellen grabbed the box of tissues off the top of the file cabinet and handed it to her. The look she sent Hollis’s way mirrored all the restless torment that his wolf was battling. Ellen knew what she was capable of, but her pregnancy made shifting impossible. Hollis had no idea what his wolf was capable of, but he could never shift or his heart would give out. Both longed to retrieve Kim’s mother for her, but neither was physically capable.
“Help is on the way,” Hollis offered, without promising a thing.
Kim sat, ran her hands on her thighs, and opened the file.
“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Ellen asked him, her hand warm against his forearm.
“No,” he answered honestly. “But I’m not Mal. Or Cyrus. I won’t lock her up for her own good.” He paused, lowering his voice. “Not yet.”
Ellen nodded, sliding up onto the counter to sit and lean against the wall.
Hollis did his best to leave Kim alone, busying himself with straightening the lab before sitting at his desk to review his emails. It was twelve sixteen.
Kim sat, reading over the documents, notes, and copies of statistical documents that dated back more than a century. A list of dated accidents, victims’ names, and unexplained deaths. Cyrus White’s movements—what could be traced, that is. There was no avoiding the truth: Cyrus White was evil.
“This is the man who has my mother?” Kim asked, skimming the last page.
“Yes,” Hollis said, watching her closely.
She shook her head. “My mother is dead?”
“We can’t be certain,” Ellen said.
“I feel confident she is,” Hollis said, nodding at the clock. “If she’s not, you both will be once you give him the blood.”
“You are like he is? Something more than human?”
“I’d like to think we’re better than he is,” Hollis offered. “Most of the time.”
“All this time you’ve sought to cure yourself and those you love?”
He nodded. “And been unsuccessful.”
“But you keep trying. It’s what we do for those who matter.” Kim stood. “The blood will kill him?”
“Or cure him,” Ellen offered. “That was the original design.”
“One we’ve failed to achieve,” Hollis reminded her. For the first time, he was glad he’d failed. Cyrus didn’t deserve to live. And, dammit, curing the pack—curing Ellen—felt wrong.
“If I take it to him, I can get my mother, and you’ll still have the element of surprise,” Kim said. “I have to try.”
He shook his head. “I can’t let you go, Kim,”
She stared at him, fear tightening her features. “You can’t let me go?” she whispered. “Are you going to kill me now? Now that I know your secret?”
“Jesus Christ.” Hollis groaned. “We’ve worked together for years, haven’t we?”
She nodded.
“Do you honestly think I’d hurt you?” He waited for her to shake her head before going on. “I can’t let you go, because I won’t have your death on my conscience.”
“But you expect me to live knowing I killed my mother?” Kim shook her head.
“She’s already dead, Kim,” Ellen’s words were soft, but firm. “He’s using you, telling you what you want to hear. And, I promise, it will end badly for you.”
“You can’t make me stay here—do nothing.” Her dark eyes widened. “I can’t.”
“You can,” Hollis assured her, his wolf was more than willing to follow Mal’s instructions and lock her up. “This is my fault. It’s my responsibility to fix it.”
“What did Finn say?” Ellen asked, pressing a hand against his back.
“We wait for him at Kim’s place.” Hollis held his hand up when Kim started to protest. “I want him dead but not at the expense of your life.” He glanced at the clock. “I’ve got something in the basement that might offer some added protection. And the knives.”
“In the vault?” Ellen asked.
“Where you’ll stay until this is over.” He stared at her, pressing his hand to her stomach. “You promised me.”
Her hand clasped his wrist. “I promised you I wouldn’t fight. I refuse to hide.”
“Don’t push me, Ellen,” he snapped. “This isn’t about you anymore. This is about our baby.”
“Baby?” Kim whispered.
Ellen shoved his hand away.
She could be mad at him, she could argue and fight with him, he didn’t care. On this, there was no negotiating. He might not be able to shift, but his wolf was more than willing to make things clear. She was sitting this one out. “I’ll be back.” He stared at her, long and hard, torn between pulling her close and locking her in the vault. Instead, he left them in the lab.
…
Ellen paced the lab, her gaze returning again and again to the large clock mounted on the wall. Each tick echoed, plucking at her nerves and driving her wolf closer and closer to the brink. It was almost one and Hollis hadn’t returned. She’d texted him, but he hadn’t responded.
“It might be the basement.” Kim had a hard time looking at her. “Bad reception?” But her voice was quivering.
“Right,” she agreed. But her wolf refused to be pacified.
The faint vibrations of the overhead fluorescent lights rose until Ellen’s ears hurt. The air seemed too thin, making every breath unsteady and labored. Her wolf grew restless. It refused to still. Something had happened. Something was wrong. Every instinct told her to do. Her wolf was a hunter—proud and strong. But her wolf refused to act. She agreed with Hollis. The baby came first.
Kim kept her phone out, staring at the screen, her long black hair spilling forward to shield her face. She was easy to read, the poor woman’s nerves stretched so tight Ellen worried she’d pop.
One o’clock came and they both held their breath. But then it was five after. Ten after.
No call.
No Hollis.
Ellen’s wolf was frantic. She wasn’t going to wait a minute longer. She had to know Hollis was safe.
It was possible Cyrus was watching the lab. But why hadn’t she or Hollis sensed an Other? Unless, like Kim, he was using humans to relay information.
“Who else is here?” Ellen asked, her mind turning over possibilities.
Kim listed off the essential overnight personnel.
“Do you know them? Trust them?” Ellen asked.
“Dr. Robbins screens every employee carefully.” Kim frowned.
“That didn’t stop Cyrus from finding a way to control you,” Ellen tried to temper her voice. “I believe no one here intended to betray Hollis. But things don’t always work out according to plan. If we were monitored, they’d know you never left and we were here with you.”
Kim seemed to hold her breath, understanding dawning. “We need to find Dr. Robbins.”
Ellen nodded. Not that Kim would be searching alone. Her wolf didn’t approve, reminding her of how in tune Cyrus was with her. He would scent her. She shuddered, the image of his lips stained with her blood flashing through her brain.
Kim glanced. “It’s one thirty. Something’s wrong?”
“Yes,” Ellen said, her stomach churning. Her wolf whimpered, frustrated and anxious. She couldn’t lose Hollis. She couldn’t lose this baby. She couldn’t be distracted, worrying over Kim and her safety. “You should stay here,” she said to Kim.
“No,” Kim argued. “What if you need help?”
If the woman hadn’t been so serious Ellen would have laughed. But Kim was truly concerned for her well-being. The woman was hardly five feet tall and so thin Ellen could pick her up with one hand. A wolf could snap her in two with one swipe of the paw.
“It’s not a good idea,” Ellen assured her.
“Neither is charging into an unknown situation.” Kim straightened. “Wait! Dr. Robbins has access to the security camera feeds in his office,” Kim said, already brushing past Ellen and into the hallway. “We should check that before you do anything.”
“Fine,” Ellen agreed. It was smart. She’d no idea of the building’s overall layout. Wandering into Cyrus or an Other, without knowing a way out, would end things before they got started. Still, her anxiety only increased as Kim led her down the hallway and into Hollis’s office. A quick glance around the cavernous gray, chrome, and modern space gave no insight into her mate or the man she so loved. It was sterile as the lab—all modern design and sharp edges. Cold, cool, and impersonal without a single photo or evidence of Hollis’s existence. And his absence was overwhelming.
Where are you? It hurt to breathe then, her mind instantly dragging up all the horrors the Others were capable of. But the Others weren’t here. Cyrus wasn’t here.
Kim clicked away on the computer keyboard, glancing at the wall of monitors opposite them. “He still hasn’t updated the password for the new software they installed last week.” She sighed, shaking her head.
Ellen smiled. “How long have you worked for him.”
“Almost eight years,” Kim said, hitting two more keys and sitting back.
The monitors came to life, the sudden burst of light and color sending her wolf into a tail spin. No sign of Hollis. Nothing. No movement. Empty halls.
“The custodial crew should be here,” Kim said, clicking through a series of rooms. All empty.
“The front desk?” Ellen asked, hovering over Kim’s shoulder. “There’s a security guard stationed at all times?”
“Two,” Kim agreed. “They take turns patrolling.” With the stroke of a few keys, the desk appeared. “There’s no one at the desk.”
Ellen stood. “You have to have a key card to access this floor?” She glanced at the glass door, her skin twitching.
“Yes. Three floors require a key card and access code to be entered. The basement, where Dr. Robbins went, houses all our weapons research. Then the top two floors.”
“What are the doors made of?” she asked.
“The doors?” Kim frowned. “Why does it matter—”
“Because we’re strong, Kim. Strong enough to go through sheet rock walls and metal doors.” She pressed the key Kim had used, scrolling through the rooms again. “But I know Hollis. And I’m counting on him to have taken all the over-the-top precautions that would prevent the Others—Cyrus—from getting in.” She paused, a shadow moving across the corner of the screen. “What room?” she asked, tapping the screen.
“The warehouse,” Kim murmured, glancing at her watch. “We get overnight pharmaceutical deliveries. It requires less security and signatures—just one from the overnight tech.”
“Meaning you have employees working now?” Ellen asked. “Where are they?”
“A handful of techs work on the manufacturing floor to monitor production and the machinery.” Kim twisted her hair until it formed a bun, then she stabbed a pencil through it. “But there’s no sign of them, either.” Ellen could hear the increase in Kim’s heart rate and the waver in her breathing. She was scared. “When is help supposed to arrive?”
“Soon, I hope,” Ellen answered, watching as Kim flipped through the screens again.
She moved closer, freezing where she stood when Cyrus appeared. He was waiting, staring at the camera with a smile on his face.
“Oh my God.” Kim’s voice broke. “Is that…that him?”
“Yes,” Ellen said. “Where is this?”
“The warehouse office,” Kim said—her voice almost a whisper. “Look…the wall behind him.”
Streaks of red covered the wall. Breathe. Calm. He wouldn’t kill Hollis. Not yet, not without some answers.
“Where is my mother?” Kim asked.
Focus. Ellen didn’t know what to say.
Cyrus, still staring at the camera, picked up the phone on the desk and pressed a button. Kim’s phone rang—making them both jump.
Kim answered, putting the phone on speaker. “Hello?”
“Kim?” Cyrus’s voice echoed in the room. “Where are you?”
Ellen frowned. He knew Kim was here. What else did he know?
“Lie to him,” Ellen hissed. “Your car is broken.”
Kim sucked in a deep breath, the words spilling out, strung together and uneven. “My car wouldn’t start, Mr. White.”
His pale brows rose. “Then it’s good I came.”
“Yes.” She stared at Ellen, terrified.
Kim wasn’t the only one who was terrified. What the hell was she supposed to do? Trapped in her human form. Pledged to protect her baby. She was useless. A perfect pawn for Cyrus—if he got his hands on her.
And Kim? Kim was as good as dead. Maybe it would be better to lock her in the vault. It might be the only way to save her.
“The back door was open. I assumed you were inviting us in.” Cyrus smiled. “You can see me?”
“Yes,” Kim said. “Is my mother with you, Mr. White?”
“In the car, outside.” He smiled. “I’ll take you to her as soon as I have the blood samples.”
Ellen shook her head, mouthing. “Prove she’s alive.”
“I…I need some assurance she’s alive, Mr. White. Please,” Kim added, her voice so unsteady her words were almost undecipherable.
“What you need is irrelevant at this point.” His smile tightened. “You’re not alone, are you, Ms. Su? I smell your companions.”
Kim sat quickly, her dark eyes blinking rapidly as she cleared her throat. “Dr. Robbins is here. Working in the lab.” She paused.
“He saw you?” Cyrus asked, pale eyes narrowing.
“I told him I’d forgotten to sign off on the slips for tonight’s delivery.” She shrugged.
“In the lab?” Cyrus asked. “Perhaps I should come up for a visit?”
“You’d need clearance from the security guards—”
“I don’t think so. They’re no longer with us…though they did put up a valiant fight,” Cyrus finished.
“Oh.” Kim pressed her hands to her chest. “You hurt them, didn’t you?”
Cyrus shook his head. “No. I didn’t hurt them. I killed them. I might make time for hurting when it comes to Dr. Robbins.” He stepped back as two men pushed Hollis forward.
He was duct-taped into a black office chair. One eye was swollen and bleeding, the other scowling. He shook his head, his muffled protest cut short when Cyrus drove his fist into his stomach.
How Ellen wound up on her knees on the carpet, she didn’t know. Her wolf was frantic, torn between protecting her mate and their child. Only Hollis’s words stopped her shift. This was his child—she’d promised to care for it.
“I’m waiting, Ms. Su.” He paused.
“I don’t want to die, Mr. White,” Kim said.
“We might be able to negotiate an alternative.” He smiled. “Shall we come up? Or will you come to us?”
Kim stared at her, frantic. Ellen nodded.
“I’m on my way,” Kim mumbled.
Cyrus hung up.
“Follow me,” Ellen said, all but dragging her to the lab. She pulled the one vial of untainted blood open and poured it on Kim’s hand and arm.
“What are you doing?” Kim asked, trying to pull away.
“He needs to drink the blood as soon as possible.” She explained, pressing the other vials into her hand. “The smell should be enough. Even if he only drinks one, it should be enough. I’ll follow you down, Kim. I’ll be right behind you.”
“But your baby,” Kim said, staring at her stomach. “Dr. Robbins—”
“Can’t turn—can’t become what Cyrus and those men are.” Her mind sifted through the possibilities, but she had no other options. She fired off a quick text to Finn, pleading with him to come straight here, then faced Kim. “Hollis has a heart murmur that prevents him from being…what he is.” As much as it pained her to admit it, if Hollis was able to shift, he would have done it by now. “I can’t lose him. I won’t.” She pulled Kim toward the elevator. “I’ll be right behind you.”
She waited for the elevator doors to shut before she typed in the code on the vault. The voices greeted her, soothing her wolf and her rage. She couldn’t afford to get caught up in emotion tonight. A quick search turned up two lethal-looking amputation knives, an old scalpel, and the silver dagger kept in the vault for safekeeping.
It wasn’t much, but it would have to be enough. Her wolf gave up resisting. She was trapped inside—she might as well give Ellen her strength, her speed, and her fight.