Chapter Eighteen – Jay

“What the hell was that?” Jay shot up straight and looked across the street to where a pall of black smoke rose up from the grounds of the mansion. His hand shot to the handle on the door and he rammed it open with his foot.

Alex grabbed hold of Jay and pulled him back into the car. “What if it’s a trap?”

“A trap? Kim is in there!” Jay fought against Alex’s grip.

“You don’t think that I know that? I care for her, too. And my dad is in there. But what if that was meant to flush us out?” Jay stopped trying to fight off Alex and sat back down, pulling the car door shut. He wasn’t convinced, but he was willing to give it some thought.

“Alex could be right. Those cars may have contained Petrov Kinesin, and if they did, and the virus is on the premises, Quentin might very well be trying to flush out any police operatives. With what’s at stake, I think we have to sit tight.” Guy’s hand on his shoulder was of little comfort.

“I don’t like it. Not with Kim and the others in there.” Jay shook his head. “What the hell?!”

Alex followed his gaze. “Is that Liam?”

“I think so, I met him on the mountain.” Jay watched as a man walked toward the car, and opened the door and got in. “Tiberius needed more time, so I created a distraction.”

“What are you doing here?” Jay asked, turning around to look at Liam.

“Wyatt asked me to tag along, so I flew here in case I was needed,” Liam answered.

“Are you a dragon shifter?” Guy asked, sitting as far away from Liam as he could.

“No, eagle. I dropped a small flare into the grounds, which ignited a gas bottle. I don’t know about you, but I’m thinking this might be a good opportunity to get ourselves over the wall.” Liam studied the other men in the car.

“We’re supposed to be keeping a low profile,” Alex pointed out, but he already had his seatbelt off and was ready to move.

“Here’s the thing,” Liam began. “We want to make sure that virus doesn’t get out, or into the wrong hands. If Petrov Kinesin had arrived even half an hour later, they might have been able to handle it. But right now, I’m not sure they’ll get in the same room as Quentin Harrod before it’s too late.”

“You know a lot about this mission,” Guy said. “Someone’s been leaking information.” He ground his teeth together as he spoke. “You really didn’t trust me, did you, Jay?”

“Hey, I haven’t told anyone,” Jay replied.

“No, you did, Guy. Avery and I decided to keep an eye on you. So we planted a small receiver in your phone when you paid us a visit at the sheriff’s station.” Liam shrugged. “You would all have done the same thing.”

Alex shook his head. “Are all undercover cops paranoid?”

“Pretty much,” Jay answered. “Okay, spill what you know, Liam. You’re right, we need to get in there.”

“And hope we don’t get infected by this virus.” Guy wasn’t happy.

“You can stay with the car,” Jay replied. “The rest of us can go in.”

“Are you joking? We all go.” Guy’s face was set firm. “What are we waiting for?”

Jay rolled his eyes. “We must be crazy.”

“On the contrary, this is the sanest thing we could do. I’ll shift, fly over the wall and give you the all clear when it’s safe. You climb the wall, and I’ll guide you to the house. We locate the virus, and when Tiberius is ready, we get in, send Quentin Harrod to hell, err, sleep, and get Petrov Kinesin to hand over the virus. Then Alex can head over to the lab where Petrov Kinesin made the virus, and incinerate it. Job done.”

“Have you missed this work?” Alex asked.

“Is it that obvious?” Liam asked. “Ever since I got dragged into this case, I realized how much a quiet life does not suit me.”

“Then let’s get you your fix of danger,” Jay said and got out of the car.

The others followed, but instead of going to the mansion, they walked along the street and down the side of another house, with a good overhang of trees. There, Liam shifted into his eagle and took off into the sky.

They watched him circling around a few times, swooping low and then climbing higher before he finally called out to them, and they came out from their cover and followed the eagle until he glided down to sit on the stone wall.

“This is it.” Jay turned to the others. “Are you sure?”

“Sure, I’m sure Sapphi will kill me if I go home as half the man I was.” Alex climbed the wall and disappeared into the grounds of the mansion.

“Guy?”

“Got to prove myself to you one way or another,” Guy answered and jumped high enough to reach the top of the wall and pull himself over.

“What have I got to lose?” Jay asked, and his bear roared in answer.

The three men huddled together under the branches of a nearby weeping willow. The mansion was about fifty yards away. There was no sign of movement this side, but voices shouting told them there was activity close by.

Liam flapped his large wings and climbed high, skimming the roof of the mansion and setting down on a chimney, taking his time to survey the ground below. Then, with a downward thrust of his wings, he took off, gliding back toward them and giving a low coo, like a dove. They took it for a signal and ran toward the house, keeping low.

“How do we get in?” Alex asked, looking up at the building.

“Good question.” Guy moved to the edge of the building and looked around the corner, before quickly pulling his head back around. “Not that way.”

“Liam,” Jay called quietly. “We need a way in.”

The eagle took off, circling the mansion once more. All the others could do was wait, crouched down out of view from anyone inside the house, until a tap on the window above their heads made them jump guiltily. “Dad.” Alex stood up from his position and looked through the window. “Quick.”

Guy and Jay joined him as Tiberius lifted the sash window open, and helped them into the house. “What are you doing here?” he asked. “Alex, you were supposed to stay away.”

“We decided you needed backup since Petrov Kinesin is here with the virus.” Jay took a quick look around the room. “Where’s Kim?”

“She’s gone with Wyatt to the kitchen. They are preparing a drink to put the potion in.” Tiberius held up a small vial. “This is a second dose if we need it.”

“And where is our mark?” Guy asked.

“Down the hall and to the left. He came out briefly when Liam set off the explosion.” Tiberius moved toward the door. “I would love to hear what they are saying.”

“Too risky. We’re going to have to move as one if this is going to work. Our risk of exposure’s already increased astronomically thanks to the diversion.” Although happy to be on the inside, despite the risks, Jay still wasn’t happy about Liam and he presumed Wyatt, going behind his back.

“We needed a delaying tactic. If not, we would have been too late. Now we have a chance.” Tiberius rested his hand on Jay’s shoulder. “It will work out.”

After working undercover alone for so long, it was getting a little crowded on this mission. Yet, he knew by the end of the day there was a good chance the increased numbers would give them a greater chance of success.

“Wyatt is coming,” Jay said suddenly, and the others all looked at him. “He’s alone.”

“So where’s Kim?” Alex asked as Wyatt opened the door and came inside.

“Shh,” Wyatt said. “She’s taking in the tea. Apparently, our big bad dragon likes Earl Grey tea. So that’s what we prepared.”

“How do you know?” Jay asked, suspiciously. “And what do you mean, Kim is taking in the tea?”

“We knocked out the cook, after he told us Quentin likes Earl Grey. Then we made some, and Kim volunteered to get Quentin to drink it.” Wyatt put his arm across the doorway as Jay made a move to leave the room. “She can do it. You have to let her try.”

“What if she gets hurt?” Jay asked.

“Jay’s right,” Alex agreed. “It’s too dangerous.”

“We have to try. If not, this is going to descend into all-out war,” Wyatt warned. “You need to have confidence in her, Jay.”

“He’s a cold-blooded killer,” Jay reminded them.

“No, he’s a coward who gets others to do his dirty work. We’ll know if it goes wrong.” Wyatt calmed Jay and Alex down. “I wouldn’t put her in danger. Not if I thought she couldn’t handle it, or there was a good chance she couldn’t pull it off. Believe me, I do not want blood on my hands.”

Wyatt’s words were heartfelt and Jay believed him. He wasn’t happy, but Wyatt was right, he had to give Kim a chance to pull this off. “We get ready to move.”

The sound of voices outside the window made them all duck down and hide as best they could behind the sparse furniture in the room. They didn’t have much time left, it all rested on Jay’s mate, the mother of his child, and the woman he loved.

Could she pull it off?