Chapter 23

THE HELICOPTER LANDED on the rooftop of the Galactic Grand. Vadim was there to meet them when they disembarked from the chopper. Marissa shivered from the cool chill of the wind that the blades stirred up. Firbin pulled her close to his body and rubbed her arm.

Peace and joy filled her.

Being with Firbin was all that she wanted.

Vadim motioned for them to follow him. The noise from the blades was too loud for any conversation until they had left the roof and were starting down the stairs.

Vadim turned to Niail. “I’ve had a visit from your leader.”

“Ardal.” Niail nodded. “He said that he would be coming to meet us here. The results of what we found are too important to ignore.”

“Your mission was successful?”

“We found where the weapon was being manufactured, but transportation of them had already happened.”

“It’s serious then?” Vadim shook his head. “I was afraid of that. Douglas Norcott’s business acumen has always been suspect, but he manages to thrive.”

“So there were questions about what was propping the business up,” Niail said.

“I still have the man locked up. He’s under constant guard and video surveillance.”

“Has he said anything?” Marissa was curious to know if her former boss had further implicated himself.

“Nothing.” Vadim stopped at the thirteenth floor door. “We’ll go to the bank of elevators on this floor. It’s empty of guest rooms. I use it for surveillance, security, and my technology departments and it has its own elevator that will go directly to the guest villa area.”

“What is special about this floor?” Firbin asked.

“Humans think thirteen is unlucky.” Vadim’s voice was dry. “We don’t even show a thirteenth floor on the main elevators.”

Firbin frowned. “There is no logic in that.”

Marissa bit her lip. “There doesn’t have to be. Think how convenient it is to hide a whole floor from the prying public.”

Firbin grinned. “You have hid it in plain sight.”

“Exactly.” Vadim opened the stairwell door. “There are no windows from the outside and it looks to be a decorative feature that the architect added.”

“Is this where Norcott is?” Marissa asked.

Her stomach tightened into a ball at the thought of seeing her boss again. She was certain that he was the one who had arranged for the manhunt to track her down. The last thing she wanted was to have to face him again. Especially when she now knew the depth of his betrayal not only to humanity, but also to their country.

“He’s in the second basement holding cells.”

Vadim walked down a hallway that skirted the outer edge of the building. There were no doors or windows. The thick carpeting muffled the sound of their footsteps and the bright ceiling lights gave it a surreal atmosphere. The quiet whir of cameras turning sent a shiver across Marissa’s neck. There was no doubt that their every move was being monitored.

“Your security staff has been briefed?” Firbin’s voice was serious. “It would be best if they didn’t know about our presence here.”

“They’ve been briefed.” Vadim motioned to the cameras. “I personally disconnected the monitors in this area and Norcott’s private residence. They will not record your presence or conversations. I have also cleared the monitoring rooms and locked them. There is no need to worry that anyone will be tempted to divulge your presence.”

“Thank you.” Niail’s voice was sincere.

“I am no different than you.” Vadim stopped at a single elevator and inserted a key into the exterior panel. “I have lived with the secret of my identity my whole life. That is why I’m the best when it comes to security. I trust my employees, but all humans are vulnerable to temptation.”

“I’d have to agree.” Marissa’s voice was filled with sadness. “Other than my family, I don’t think I’ll ever trust anyone completely again.”

“You can trust me.” Firbin’s tone was serious. “All Hunters and their mates also.”

“I do.”

The door of the elevator slid open. “Unfortunately, Marissa is right. It is the rare human that follows the same code of honor that Hunters do. They do exist though. It sounds as if the people in the Human Resistance Force are trustworthy.”

“They understand what they are fighting against.” Niail was the first one into the elevator. “Most of them were threatened by the Albireons and barely escaped with their lives intact. That doesn’t mean that they haven’t been infiltrated by the enemy.”

“I hope your efforts have been successful.” Vadim was the last one onto the elevator and he again used a key to unlock the panel and direct the elevator to descend.

The lift moved downward with a quiet speed. There were no other stops so this was a direct route to the thirteenth floor. That would give Vadim better control over who had access to his hidden floor.

“We will find out when we speak with Ardal,” Niail said.

“He is waiting for you in Douglas’s villa.”

The elevator stopped. The door slid open and Vadim had to unlock another door before they found themselves in the central foyer used for the villas. After they exited, Vadim closed the wooden door and locked it. It blended into the paneling of the foyer and was barely visible. Again, a camouflage that few would detect.

A shiver went through Marissa when they entered Norcott’s villa. It had been less than a day since they’d last been here and the remembrance of what had occurred still chilled her to the bone. This was a place that she had visited often and never once suspected of being used for evil intentions. She’d been naïve before, but not now.

Everything in the main room looked the same, except the ceiling where the disruptor had been aimed was now repaired. There were six Hunters waiting at the end of the room, and when Niail, his team, and Marissa entered, they stood. Marissa recognized Weise, Yagar, and Jehon from Nellis. The other three were unfamiliar.

Firbin clasped her arm and led her forward. “Ardal, I would like to introduce you to Marissa, my mate.”

The man they stopped in front of was larger and wider than the other Hunters, which seemed impossible because the other men were already huge. He gave her a slight bow of the head and held out his hand.

“Welcome.”

Marissa shook his hand. “It’s an honor to meet you.”

Ardal shook his head. “The honor is ours. It is always wonderful to welcome another woman into our midst. My wife has already been informed that Firbin has found a mate. She is anxious to meet you.”

A warmth flowed through Marissa.

“Thank you.”

Ardal turned to the men standing beside him. “This is Orlin and Rork. I believe you already know Jehon, Yagar, and Weise.”

With the introductions finished, Ardal turned to Niail. “Report.”

Firbin led her to one of the chairs and she sat back against its deep cushions. This was the first time she’d had a chance to relax in what seemed like hours. She’d never fully appreciated what a luxury a soft chair was before. Now she leaned back and closed her eyes while she listened to Niail explaining about what had happened at Creech.

“Firbin became aware that Marissa was in danger. We were lucky that she was being held at the complex outside of Creech, so as we searched the building for the Ancient’s Staff, we were also able to rescue her and her brother.”

“Marissa’s brother had been with her when she was captured at Indian Springs,” Firbin explained. “We helped both escape and left her brother at Indian Springs.”

“Is he likely to talk?”

Marissa opened her eyes and shook her head. “Jack is a Navy Seal. He knows the value of silence.”

“Good.” Ardal turned back to Niail. “Was the weapon there?”

“Only one.” Niail cleared his throat. “Firbin managed to discharge the weapon using the small disruptor that we had confiscated from Marissa’s boss. The weapon along with the Albireons were destroyed.”

“That is one less we have to worry about.” Ardal raised an eyebrow. “Were you able to find any other information?”

Thero stepped forward and pulled a computer and memory stick from his pack. “They had the information coded, but I was able to decipher it. The plans and location of the rest of the weapons are here.”

Marissa’s breath caught in her throat. The possibility of the existence of more weapons as deadly as the staff was horrifying. She’d been so concerned about Firbin making it out alive, that she’d forgotten about the reason they’d been going to Creech.

“How many?” Ardal’s voice was clipped.

“There are three more.” Thero placed his computer on the bar and inserted the stick. “They have already been sent out to locations throughout the world.”

“How long ago.”

“Two days.”

“Were the plans also dispersed?” Ardal asked.

“No.” Thero shook his head. “From what I’ve seen here, they wanted to keep the manufacturing of the Staff in one location and that was the facility hidden outside of Creech.”

Ardal turned to Firbin. “That is destroyed?”

“It was perfect.” Firbin grinned. “I demolished the structure from the ground up. The tunnels below should be completely blocked by the rubble.”

Ardal nodded. “Is there anything else to report?”

“I need to look through more of these files for the location of the other Staffs.” Thero glanced around the room and booted up the computer. “It may take some time to decipher the codes.”

“I’ve arranged for you to have this villa without any interruptions.” Vadim started to back out of the room. “You have complete privacy here. I have my best security officers on guard outside of the villa compound and I will alert you if we notice any unusual activity.”

“Thank you Vadim.” Ardal nodded at the casino owner. “I would like to discuss further plans with you tomorrow.”

“I would suggest that you take the opportunity to rest this evening.” Vadim opened the door. “I will be here in the morning.”

Marissa leaned her head against the back of her chair. For the first time in hours, she was resting and the horror and stress of the day was catching up with her. She fought to keep her eyes open.

“You need sleep.” Firbin held his hand out to her. “There are many more comfortable places than this.”

Marissa was reluctant to leave the discussion, but she couldn’t deny that the thought of a comfortable bed was too much to ignore.

“You’ll wake me if something happens.” Marissa pushed herself out of the chair. “I don’t want to be left in the dark.”

“We will not be going anywhere tonight.” Ardal’s deep voice was filled with reassurance. “There will be plenty of time to discuss our next steps in the morning.”

Marissa let Firbin lead her away. They went down a short hallway and stopped in front of a large suite. There was a king-sized bed at one end, a sitting area with wingback leather chairs and a stone fireplace with a gas insert were on the opposite end. The walls were hung with expensive artwork and there was a wall of floor to ceiling windows that looked onto an enclosed courtyard that was only accessible from this villa.

Firbin went to the window and pulled the curtains. “You don’t need to worry about safety here.”

“I know.” Marissa yawned. “Vadim seems to have everything under control.”

“I will be with the others.” Firbin went to the door. “If anything concerns you, just call me.”

Marissa gave him a lazy smile. “Are you planning on sleeping tonight?”

“When we have finished our strategy meeting.”

“Wake me up when you come to bed then.”

Firbin’s eyes widened. “You want me to sleep here?”

Marissa leaned close to Firbin and whispered in his ear. “That is what usually happens with mates.”

“But it is too soon.”

“We’ve already agreed that we are bonded and that I will be your mate.” Marissa kissed him on the cheek. “I think we should formalize this arrangement.”

Firbin stepped back. “As you wish.”

Marissa almost laughed at the look of disbelief on Firbin’s face. “I don’t bite.”

Firbin grinned. “I would never expect that. I just want you to be certain. Everything has happened so fast and you are exhausted.”

“I’ll be rested by the time you return.”

Firbin nodded and then left.

Marissa felt a surge of energy pulse through her. She might have been exhausted a few minutes ago, but now she felt alive and ready. Tonight, she would truly be one with Firbin. Her body sung with the possibilities.

He had said that they were connected through their thoughts.

Now, they would be joined physically.