Blood Diamond (26 page)

The red stone in my pocket was all the proof I needed that there was a solid connection between the equipment and my daughter’s death. If they were also connected to the killers of the Inquisitors in Oconee National Park, I wouldn’t be surprised. There was a very thin line between coincidence and connection.

All I cared about was the identity of those responsible for the pair of gems. The rest of their crimes were a secondary concern.

“Consider it done, Boss.”

“Anything else you need from me?”

“What do you want me to do with the stuff if they don’t pick it up?”

I grumbled at the thought of my quarry escaping me before I could get solid information on who they were and what they wanted with me. “Want it, Elliot?”

“What am I going to do with ten million worth of medical research equipment?” my twin asked.

“I don’t know. Sell it? Set up a new lab? I’m sure you can think of something.”

“You’re the black market crook. You sell it.”

Huffing at him, I shook my head. “I am not a crook, thank you very much.”

“The boss is right. Crooks are low-life peddlers. He’s first class,” Brandon said, pointing at my brother. “Have some respect. He’s a very wealthy crook.”

“Not helping, Brandon,” I grumbled.

“Aw, don’t be a spoilsport, Boss.”

“Anything else?”

“That’s it. I just wanted to see how you were doing and force you to walk on that gimp leg of yours.”

Running my hand through my hair, I gestured at his office. “I think you need a real office. Send me your wish list. You’re one of my best, and you could use something a little classier than a shipping box.” I nudged one of the folding metal chairs with my toe. “You’re going to end up a cripple if you keep using these things.”

“Next week,” he replied in a tone that I translated to mean never.

“Do you like this box?” I demanded.

“There are many boxes, but this box is mine.”

My twin laughed. “You’re as bad as Vicky.”

“Oh?” I asked, turning my attention to my brother. He grinned at me.

“She has this ratty little apartment in Atlanta she goes to whenever she needs some space. It’s worse than this, but she refuses to get something better. I swear on my honor that I speak the truth. It’s complete with a cardboard box serving as a table. She said the same exact thing to me when I offered to acquire her a proper table.”

The disgust in my brother’s voice made me chuckle. “I had an apartment like that in college.”

“You have a house like that now,” he retorted, earning a glare from me.

“I do not have a cardboard box for a table.”

“Oh? Upgraded to a plastic card table?”

I flexed my hands, restraining my desire to wipe his smug expression off his face. After careful consideration of how much work it’d take to put him in his place, I said, “Oak.”

“He’s going to lose his temper if you keep it up, Anderson,” Richard warned, nudging me with his elbow. “Let’s not trash Brandon’s office. He needs it to work. No brotherly brawling.”

My brother’s grin widened. “I know. It’s my sacred duty to nettle him whenever possible. And anyway, with the way he’s limping around, he couldn’t catch me if he wanted to.”

The trash talk and banter reminded me of when we had been little, before my witchcraft had manifested. Did my brother also long for the days before life—and our parents—had torn us apart? Despite bristling at his challenge, I relaxed, curling my arm around Evelyn’s waist. If he wanted to play games, I’d show him I was his match regardless of my sore knee. “I’m going to count to a hundred, Elliot. May someone have pity on your soul should I catch you, for I won’t.”

Bursting out in laughter, my brother pushed by me, elbowing me in the stomach as he did so. “You’re such a child.”

“Says the one making a run for it,” I called out after him. Richard and Alex choked on their laughter, and I pointed at the door. “I’m counting now.”

Evelyn squirmed in her attempts to pull free of me, giggling. “Let me go.”

“Go, Brandon,” I ordered, securing my grip on Evelyn by hugging her tightly.

Heaving a sigh, Brandon circled his desk and headed out into the cargo bay. “You’re terrible, Boss.”

“I know,” I replied, waiting for them to disappear into the cargo bay before stealing several kisses from my Fenerec. I sent her off with a playful pinch before settling in to count to a hundred. If running around in the cargo bay didn’t give me a chance to prove there weren’t any more unwanted surprises laying in wait for me, nothing would. At least this way, I would be able to explore the entire place and memorize the name of the dead without anyone seeing my reactions to those who had died to the Inquisition and the Fenerec.

~~*~~

The next time I even dreamed of playing games with Fenerec, I hoped someone would stop and talk sense into me. After several hours of stalking through the cargo bay, I managed to catch two of my security detail by surprise. It hadn’t taken them very long to relegate me back to seeker duty. At least my plan to explore the ship worked to a certain degree. I doubted I could find my way back to Brandon’s office, but I had managed to learn the names of all of those who had died.

While their final moments were brutal, their deaths didn’t hurt me.

Fenerec didn’t play with their prey, and the knowledge put me at ease. If one of them did turn on me, they wouldn’t leave me alive for long. When I got a hold of my daughter’s murderers, I wondered if I would be capable of such clean and efficient executions. I wanted to make everyone responsible for Jacqueline’s death suffer for a long, long time, which bothered me even more than experiencing the final moments of those who had invaded the
Wave Dream
.

I forced my thoughts to the game, easing my way through a narrow gap between plastic-wrapped pallets. The knowledge I was woefully outclassed—even before I considered my sore knee—agitated me. My work didn’t require physical fitness, although I did make a point of hitting the gym every few days to keep in shape. When I wasn’t lame, I ran a decent mile. I’d never match an Olympian, but I wasn’t a slacker either.

The Fenerec and my security detail put me to shame, and the fact my twin even managed to elude me was the insult added to my injured pride. Stopping to listen didn’t help; the others were either far away or far stealthier than anyone had any right to be.

“They’re ninjas,” I mumbled, peeking around a corner.

I froze when I saw Richard and Alex huddled near a pile of crates, whispering to each other. Richard’s back was to me, and Alex met my gaze for a brief moment before focusing his attention on his brother.

There was a trick to moving quietly on grated metal floors, and it involved slow movements, careful lifting of the feet, and a great deal of patience. Luck was with me; the plates didn’t creak or groan beneath my weight as I moved into position behind Richard. I was so focused on the Alpha Fenerec I didn’t catch what Alex was whispering about.

There was something viscerally satisfying about jabbing a Fenerec in the ribs from behind. With a startled yelp, Richard whirled and dropped into a crouch. Wolf-yellow eyes bore into me, and a snarl burst out of him.

A shiver ran through me, accompanied by a giddying surge of satisfaction and adrenaline. I answered his growls with a grin. “You’re it, Richard.” I saluted Alex. “Thanks, Alex.”

“Anytime, Jackson. Now, could you please lower your eyes? You’re going to get yourself killed if you keep challenging him like that.” Alex grabbed the back of Richard’s neck and squeezed. “Richard.”

Part of me recognized the wisdom in Alex’s advice, but I discarded it all the same. The round belonged to me, and I wasn’t letting go of my victory so easily.

Richard growled, the deep sound rumbling in his chest. “I could have hurt you.”

Ignoring the ache in my knee, I dropped into a crouch in front of my friend and business partner, resting my elbows on my knees. “You know, my brother keeps warning me about the volatile nature of Fenerec, but I have a theory. While you wolves can be violent, I’ve yet to see one turn on those they view as friends, partners, or pack. I’m not afraid of Evelyn, and I’m certainly not afraid of you.”

To prove my point, I reached out, grabbed Richard’s ear, and twisted. He hissed, tilting his head to the side. “Stop that,” he snarled.

“Jesus Christ, Jackson. Are you insane?” Alex hissed.

I let Richard go. “The next person to warn me about dangerous and uncivilized Fenerec is getting punched in the mouth. I’m tired of it.”

Richard rubbed his ear, shaking his head. “You’re going to cross the wrong Fenerec one of these days, Jackson, and they’re going to rip your arms out of their sockets and feed them to you. You’re too damned dominant for your own good. It’s going to get you killed one of these days.”

“We’re equals, Richard. That’s all.”

Both of the Fenerec stared at me as though I’d grown a second head. Alex sighed, relaxing his grip on his brother. “He’s right. One of these days, you really are going to cross the wrong Fenerec, and you’re going to learn just how right your brother is. You’re wrong about us being incapable of turning on friends, partners, or pack—even our children. It happens. When it does, it’s almost always lethal.”

“That’s my problem, isn’t it? If I backed down whenever some muscle-bound freak stood up to me, I’d never get any work done. If you think Richard’s bad with his posturing, I should introduce you to some of the folks I have to work with overseas. Their superiority complexes make you Fenerec look good in comparison.” I wrinkled my nose, wondering how much of a mess I’d have to untangle when all of my contacts learned I was still among the living. If word of my death spread too far, I’d be spending weeks sorting the mess out. “Maybe I should hire you Fenerec to browbeat some of my contacts when they figure out I’m not actually dead. I’ll pay good money to watch that.”

“Please never choose to become a Fenerec,” Richard said, standing and offering me his hand. He pulled me upright. “If you can work with Fenerec, you’ll be priceless as a witch.”

“Explain,” I ordered. “While I’m aware that some witches are able to help Fenerec in certain capacities, I was under the impression that the job typically fell to fire witches, which I am not.”

“It’s complicated,” Richard grumbled.

Alex sighed. “While it is complicated, it isn’t that difficult to understand. I’m not actually a witch, but I’m dominant enough to rein my brother in when he loses his temper—something that happens often enough. We’re not human, Jackson—we’ll never be human. Some of us have a harder time pretending to be human. We’re predators, pure and simple. Witches make it easier for us to play at being human. Dominant witches can help maintain the balance between wolf and man—or at least let us look a little more like a regular human. Submissive Fenerec can as well, but they’re far rarer. The type of person who typically chooses to become a Fenerec isn’t the type of person who likes bowing their head to anyone, and once they let the wolf in, those instincts are amplified.”

There was no point in denying the truth of Alex’s words; while amazing in every way, I could see the wildness in Evelyn, and the way she reacted to things. With her, instinct ruled before thought, and the honesty of her behavior made me want her all the more.

“I like Fenerec because they’re honest,” I said, shrugging. “Maybe that’s something people fear. I haven’t had a lot of exposure to Fenerec in person, but all of the ones I’ve met? What you see is what you get. I know when I’m being threatened—or they’re trying to threaten me. It’s not hard to tell if you’re being serious. If you wanted me dead, I’d be dead.”

“That’s a pretty simple way of looking at it,” Alex said, shaking his head. “It’s more complicated than that.”

“Is it?” I leaned against one of the crates, bending down to rub my knee. “Evelyn’s pretty straightforward, as were the Inquisition Fenerec. Richard’s the same.”

“That’s only because you’re too damned dominant for your own good,” Richard replied. “You didn’t hurt your knee, did you?”

“Just sore, it’ll be fine. I’m not limping nearly as bad as I was earlier,” I replied. After taking a few moments to think about it, I confessed, “I still have no idea what it means to be dominant.”

“It means you’re too stupid to look away, thus holding eye contact with a Fenerec, which is a form of challenge. Fenerec typically answer challenges with violence,” Alex grumbled.

“You may as well leave him alone about it, Alex. He’s not going to learn. That’s what makes him dominant. I should have known he’d be this way from all of the times we’ve spoken on the phone. Of course he’s dominant. He wouldn’t be able to browbeat me into his dirty work all of the time otherwise.”

“I don’t browbeat you, Richard. I just tell you what to do and expect you to do it.”

Richard chuckled. “So you do. You play the black market game almost as well as I play the financial game.”

“Almost as well? In your eye. I play my game better—that’s why you have so much money to work with,” I countered, pushing away from the crates to stretch my legs. “I’m pretty sure I’ve been through this entire place twice over by now. My knee hasn’t quit, and if there are any strays in here, they had plenty of chances to grab me.”

“We already checked it several times. If I thought there was anyone in here, I wouldn’t have let you wander off,” Richard replied, his words accompanied by the low rumble of a growl.

“I saw Zachary had the codes changed when we came in,” I commented.

Richard nodded. “He’s also got an order for a new lock system altogether—he’s installing it when we reach shore. He’s still pissed anyone got close to you in the first place. If he finds out who leaked the code for the doors and lost their key, heads are going to roll.”

“Wonderful,” I muttered, alarmed at the thought of there being a traitor on board the ship. There were ways to get copies of the keys; I had several in my house. I’d need to check and make certain they were where they belonged. “I’ll have to check my place. If they were after me and not my brother, it’s possible someone cracked my safe—especially if they did it sometime after Oconee.”