Chapter 9
Tyce was torn. Part of him wanted to punch through the glass partition behind him so he could choke Conn for the bruises he could see forming on Briel’s arms. A bigger part of him wanted to do or say something to stifle the scent of fear pouring off both Briel and Fena. For a moment, he considered offering them a drink but chucked that idea. If he’d just been kidnapped, the last thing he’d want was a cold soda. What he’d want was answers. It was as good a place as any to start.
“I’m taking you both someplace safe.”
If he thought the admission would earn him any gratitude, that hope died rapidly when Briel shot him a scathing look over Fena’s head where it was tucked into her chest. The scent of her rage blossomed in the confines of the vehicle and he tried to ignore how it excited him. He typically despised that emotion in others. He saw it as a challenge. But, the sweetly enticing cinnamon aroma of Briel’s fury told him that his woman was a fighter. His heart rate doubled as a sudden surge of adrenaline shot through him. He schooled his features even as his palms began to sweat and his knee ached to bounce in a tick of self-restraint. Briel was lucky Fena was on her lap, because it was the only thing keeping him from tackling her onto the seat and ravaging her. He licked his lips remembering his almost-kiss. He’d only gotten the briefest taste of her, and damn if she hadn’t been addicting.
My Angel.
He couldn’t stop staring. She was so damn beautiful. Her hair looked like satin honey. Not the kind of honey you saw on the TV commercials about cereal, but the real kind of honey, the dark amber stuff that true Montanans knew. Oddly, her eyes matched her hair perfectly He’d never met a person whose eyes matched their hair the way hers did. She was exquisite. Her skin was pale and so soft–looking. Her complexion flawless, and that mouth... His eyes dipped to it time and time again. There was a pixie-like upturn at the corners that made her look like she was grinning even when she clearly wasn’t pleased, like right now.
He watched her shoot him a glare as she curled her body more tightly around her sister. It made him remember the way she’d tried to lure him to follow her in an attempt to save Fena. Here actions told him a great deal about her character. Without even knowing she already made him proud and she wasn’t even his…yet.
A mental nudge indicated that one of his team was trying to contact him. Begrudgingly, he permitted it.
Through the mist, Conn asked, “Assume we’re heading to the airport?”
“Yes. We’re going back to Apex. Call ahead and get the grounds secured.” It wasn’t a request he’d ever made before, because he hadn’t cared one way or the other if Apex was secure or not. He and his Walkers welcomed any threat, any challenges. Looking at Briel and Fena now, he realized those days were over. His eyes dipped again to the bruises forming on Briel’s arms. “And Conn, if you ever touch my Angel again…”
He severed the connection. He didn’t need to say more, and he wasn’t sure he wanted to. Commander Conn Drago was, without a doubt, his closest friend. Probably his only friend, but in the space of mere hours, Briel and Fena suddenly meant more to him. It was disconcerting. So was the possessiveness that had nearly blinded him back at the hotel when he’d seen Conn’s hands holding Briel too firmly. The memory drew an inadvertent angry sound from deep in his throat. He quickly throttled it, but not fast enough. He didn’t want to scare Briel and Fena any more than they were, but now that Briel had Fena in her arms, she found her bravery too. Anger snapped her brows down and she shot him a scathing look.
“You’re very pretty.” The words were out before he could check them and he swallowed hard at how creepy he sounded.
Briel’s scowl faltered and she tore her eyes from his, angling her face away but not far enough that he couldn’t see the flush that crept up her neck and landed in her cheeks. It wasn’t embarrassment, and it only took him a second to realize where her mind had gone.
“I’m not going to hurt you Briel, or take anything from you.”
She hugged Fena tighter and didn’t say the words, but he could tell by the way she shot him a hard look exactly what she was thinking. ‘You already have.’ Tearing her eyes from his, she frowned out the window.
“And Fena’s just as safe,” he promised. “Probably more so.”
Briel’s amber eyes found his again. “Just tell me who you are and what you want.”
Sighing heavily, he rolled his head on his shoulders. He hadn’t realized how tense he’d been the past twenty-two hours he’d been on the hunt for her. Now that he could finally relax, his shoulders whined.
“My name is Tyce Steele,” he began, but Briel cut him off.
“You said that! But who? Are? You? An enemy of my father’s?”
“No. An ally.”
Her shoulders relaxed marginally, and Tyce bit his lip against the satisfied grin that threatened to wreck his face.
“I’m taking you and Fena to Apex.”
“Apex? A military base?”
And here’s where things got difficult. He didn’t know how much, if anything, Briel knew about Skin Walkers. He assumed she was well-versed in military bases because of her father, so that lie wouldn’t work. While Apex did house his Sentries, it was a far cry from any military base she’d recognize.
“Sort of.” He bounced his head from one shoulder to the other as he considered his wording. “Apex is the headquarters for a highly specialized tactical team.”
“Spec Ops?” she asked tentatively.
“Yes.” It wasn’t a lie. Not really. Conn and several of the other men were former military, SEALS, so he didn’t feel guilty about being vague.
“Did he send you for me? I mean, before he died? Did he tell you where to find us?”
There was hope in her voice, and he hated to douse it, but the General hadn’t told Tyce a fucking thing. He had, however, shared a great deal of Intel with Monroe. Tyce shrugged, willing to eat the lie in order to allow his Angel to keep her hopes about her father. “Yes.”
“Do you know…” She stopped and looked down, covering Fena’s ears before continuing. “Do you know who killed him?”
Tyce shook his head. He’d find out. If his Angel wanted vengeance, he’d ensure she got it. He was already plotting how to make that happen when her next words, spoken with such hatred, rocked him to his core.
“Was it a Skin Walker?” she sneered.