Bonded (55 page)

“Maybe. You know,
it will take time to ferret out all the remaining Purist packs, but
at least they don’t have anyone on the inside anymore. And with so
many of the central leadership in detention, the extremes we’ve
been seeing should start to diminish.”

Reno nodded and
started to push his chair back, thinking their meeting was now
concluded. “Was there anything else?”

“Not so fast.
Rehashing the case wasn’t why I asked you to stay.” The man paused
and drummed his fingers on his desk. “How are you getting on
lately?”

“Fine. My leg’s
almost as good as new. I’ll be ready for active duty in a week,
according to the physiotherapist.”

“And Damien? He’s
planning on staying on?”

“Sure. He and Beth
are happy together. She doesn’t mind if he has to go away on a case
now and then.” Inwardly, Reno frowned wondering why he was being
asked these questions. It was all information the captain already
knew or could access if needed.

“You talk to
Brandi lately?”

The question
raised Reno’s hackles. His relationship—or lack of one—with Brandi
wasn’t anyone’s business. “No.”

When he didn’t
elaborate, Fielding sighed. “There’s something I want to show you.”
The captain set two reports on the desk top. He stared at them for
a moment as if debating what to do and then finally slid them over
to Reno. “You know, they say not to share these with Enforcers and
generally I agree. It’s a bunch of mumbo jumbo and can fuck up a
man’s thinking, but I think in your case the rules need to be
bent.”

A quick glance at
the labels told Reno what they were. Psychological profiles. He
gave the captain a questioning look.

“They’re yours.
Read them.”

Reno shoved the
reports back towards the captain, a muscle working in his jaw.
“I’ve read my psych report before. Once was enough.”

The captain left
the profiles where they were in the middle of the desk, leaned back
and clasped his hands behind his head. “One of those is from when
you entered the Academy. The other is from when you came here.”

Reno gave a curt
nod. “I remember taking the tests.”

“Rumour has it
that when you were a cadet, you broke into the files and saw the
results of the first one.” Fielding looked at him with raised
brows.

Reno shrugged
wondering what the point was. “Old news and the seven year statute
of limitations has passed. You can’t even prosecute me for break
and enter.”

Fielding grunted.
“A youthful prank, but what you saw screwed you up big time. I
don’t suppose you took long enough to read the whole damned
thing.”

“No. One look was
enough. It labelled me a potential rogue. What else is there to
say?”

“It made you feel
you were damned for life, right?”

Reno didn’t
answer, merely clenching his hands into fists. He could still
recall that day, the icy coldness that had washed over him when he
read the label. Rogue. It was the next thing to a death sentence in
his pack. Wild. Uncontrollable. Demon-spawn. Little wonder he’d
been sent to the Academy. He’d thought it was because he’d shown
leadership potential when instead they had been trying to get rid
of him. There would be no returning home; he was cast out. Feelings
of loss and despair had washed over him and...

The captain
cleared his throat, the sound bringing Reno back to the present
with a start.

“Look here.”
Fielding leaned forward, flipped open the file and tapped the first
set of papers. “See here? The word potential is highlighted and on
the second page it lists the factors that led to them making that
conclusion. Now look at this one.” He pointed to the second set.
“After exiting the Academy the label was changed. While you have
some rogue tendencies, it states they’re well under control and
actually give you an edge when it comes to leadership
potential.”

Reno frowned and
pulled the papers closer, scanning the words the captain had
pointed out. A small spark of hope flared in him but he instantly
extinguished it. Interesting but not earth shattering news. He
eased back in his chair, stretching out his legs and crossing them
at the ankle, his hands relaxed at his side. “Why are you telling
me this now? Why not eight years ago?”

“You were an
Enforcer. One of the best I’d ever had. You did your job, showed no
signs of distress. You accepted who and what you were. I figured
there was no need to mess with your mind. Words on a piece of paper
don’t mean much to me. It’s a man’s performance that counts.”

“But now...?”

Fielding shrugged.
“Things change, you’ve changed. You’re restless, your wolf’s
apathetic. I can see it in your eyes.”

Reno clamped his
lips tightly shut. He wanted to deny what the captain was saying
but it was true, damn him.

The captain
gathered the papers and stared at them for a moment before neatly
stacking them. “You know, two years ago I showed this report to
someone else.”

Reno shifted in
his chair, anger flaring that others were privy to information he
was just getting now. He struggled to keep his tone even. “Isn’t
this considered confidential information...sir?”

“Usually, but this
was a special case. The person had a vested interest in the
diagnosis.”

“And exactly who
was this ‘special’ case?” His stomach gave a funny flop and he
tensed as if anticipating a blow.

“Brandi.”

“Why?” Reno shot
the captain a sharp look. He’d tried not to think about Brandi
these past two weeks. In fact he’d made a studious effort to avoid
running into her. She was back at Lycan Link but beyond that he had
no idea what she was up to and had planned to keep it that way.

“She needed to see
it.” Fielding’s answer was so bland, so matter of fact that it set
Reno’s teeth on edge.

“She needed to see
it, but I didn’t?” He growled the words, no longer caring about the
rules for respectful behaviour towards a superior officer.

“There was a
legitimate reason.”

“And what was
that?” Reno gripped the arms of the chair, barely holding on to his
temper over what seemed to be the captain’s purposely vague
responses.

The man didn’t
answer his question, instead throwing a different one at him.

“How do you feel
about her?”

He opened his
mouth and then snapped it shut. What was going on here? In all the
years he’d worked for the captain, the man had never once asked a
personal question and now he wanted to know about his love
life?

“You care for her,
don’t you?”

Reno exhaled
noisily then gave a quick nod. God, was everyone privy to his
feelings? He’d only figured it out himself a short while ago.

“Good, because she
cares for you, too. Enough to admit to something extremely personal
that only she and I know about.”

Reno bristled, not
liking the idea of the captain having inside knowledge—extremely
personal
knowledge, whatever the hell that meant—about
her.

“You met back at
the Academy didn’t you? During a fighting match?”

“Not exactly. It
was a self-defence demo for a course I was running. She was a stand
in for my assistant.” The memory brought a brief smile to his
face.

“Any injuries or
bloodshed?”

He frowned,
searching his memory. “No... Well, she scratched me.”

“Uh-huh.” The
Captain stared at him expectantly and Reno frowned having no idea
what the captain was getting at.

“It was a minor
injury.” Reno shrugged. “I didn’t even report it.”

“Any chance she
ingested some of that blood?”

“No. It was on my
cheek and...” Reno suddenly stopped talking and recalled how he’d
nuzzled her neck. Could his cheek have brushed her lips?

“Any arousal at
the time? A chance that bonding hormones had been activated?”
Captain Fielding continued to toss out questions, but by this time
Reno had finally connected the dots.

“Shit!” He jumped
to his feet, knocking his chair over. “Why the hell didn’t she tell
me?” And with that he stormed out of the building.

Hell and
damnation. He was blood bonded to Brandi Johansson. She’d been
nosing about in his brain for the past three years! Privy to his
every thought and feeling. And she’d conveniently forgotten to tell
him.

Anger raced
through him, heating his blood and clouding his thinking. How dare
she? Had she been laughing behind his back each time he’d thought
about her? Had her taunts been on purpose just to rile him so that
afterwards she could chuckle over the feelings that raced through
his mind? Did she know how often he’d dreamed of her? Of kissing
her? Of burying his hands in her thick curls and taking her over
and over?

He was in his car
now, starting the engine before the door was even completely shut.
His tires squealed in protest as he wheeled the vehicle out of the
parking garage and drove towards Brandi’s apartment. She’d better
be there. If she wasn’t he was staying until she showed up and
then...then they were going to have it out. No one messed around
with his mind like that. No one.

Chapter
34

Brandi stared
around her small apartment and sighed. Right now, the normally neat
abode was in complete disarray. Boxes lay strewn about, various
cupboards and drawers displayed their contents. She was packing in
preparation for moving to her new job, and couldn’t quite believe
how much she’d accumulated in the few short years she’d been
there.

Of course, if
she’d chosen to live at Headquarters this wouldn’t have been a
problem. There were furnished apartments available at Lycan Link,
but she’d always preferred having some separation from her job. And
with several other weres living in the building, it wasn’t as if
she was completely alone.

She placed the
armload of towels she’d been holding in a box and then plucked one
out to blot her face with. A heat wave had descended upon the area;
the thermometers displayed disgustingly high numbers and the breeze
did little to cool sweat-soaked brows. Her apartment felt like an
oven and her exertions weren’t helping any.

Gathering up the
hair that had escaped the makeshift knot on top her head, she
pinned it back into place, pleased to have the hot tresses off her
neck. Any relief, no matter how small, was welcome. Her loose tank
top and shorts were the minimum of clothing she could wear, even
having forgone undergarments in favour of coolness. As she paused
in front of the small oscillating fan she’d placed on a table, she
vowed her next apartment would definitely have an
air-conditioner.

Deciding she
needed a cool drink before continuing, she padded to the kitchen
and then dallied over her choice so she’d have an excuse to leave
the fridge door open longer. The cool air spilling from it felt
heavenly on her over-heated skin. Finally, she grabbed a bottle of
juice and reluctantly closed the door. Packing wasn’t her favourite
way of spending her day off but it had to be done. In just
forty-eight hours she would be on her way to a new life.

She forced a smile
onto her face hoping an outward appearance of happiness might
encourage a similar feeling in her heart. Unfortunately, it didn’t
work and the smile faded away. There were so many memories here.
Sipping her juice, she walked around the room trailing her
fingertips over an item here and there: a mug a co-worker had given
her for her birthday, a picture she’d purchased with her first
paycheque, a silly wolf statuette she’d won as a prize at the staff
picnic the previous year.

A lump formed in
her throat as a wave of nostalgia washed over her. Was she really
making the right decision by leaving? Or was she just running from
her problems? She nibbled her lip and considered the situation for
what was likely the hundredth time.

She was going to
miss everyone dreadfully and her wolf constantly whispered for her
to stay. In her mind’s eye she could easily envision a happy future
where she and Reno were together. But daydreams weren’t reality.
When her alarm summoned her each morning the warm body in her arms
always turned into a pillow. And when she walked the halls of Lycan
Link she only saw fleeting glimpses of Reno, as he seemingly took
complicated routes through the building in an obvious attempt to
avoid her.

No. Leaving was
the right choice; Reno wanted nothing more to do with her. She was
alone and would remain alone for the rest of her life. The brief
relationship she’d felt blooming between them had died in Kolding’s
Pass; and staying here at Headquarters would prove nothing.

Firming her lips
she set down her juice and forced herself to continue the job. She
sealed a box with packing tape and grabbed a marker to write a
label on it. Then she’d attack the next drawer in the kitchen.

A loud banging
sound startled her into dropping the marker. Someone was pounding
on her door.

Brandi sighed, not
in the mood for visitors when she still had so much to do. She
started towards the door but had barely taken two steps when it
crashed open. A man stood framed in the light from the hallway.

“Reno!” Her shock
at seeing him was momentarily overshadowed by the sight of what
he’d just done to the door. “What the hell do you think you’re
doing?” She rushed over to examine the frame, unceremoniously
pushing him out of the way. Just as she’d feared, he’d broken the
lock and splintered the wood around the latch! “Dammit Reno, look
what you did. Couldn’t you have waited two seconds until I opened
the door? Now I’ll have to pay to get this fixed!”

She turned to
scold him further but the words caught in her throat. Anger
radiated from him and seemed to grow even stronger as he darted his
gaze about the room.

“Why are you
packing?” He snapped the words at her and while she bristled at his
demanding tone, a sense of self-preservation had her reining in her
temper. Everything about him had her instincts on alert; his
stance, the jut of his jaw, the rhythm of his breathing. It
wouldn’t take much to set him off and she had no desire to be the
person to do that.