Clarity (The Admiral's Elite Book 3) (32 page)

“Gone? Like killed? Do you know who you’re talking about?”

“Yup.”

“Admiral Black? He can’t be killed. That guy’s immortal. As in really immortal, nobody can kill him.”

“You want to tell him he can’t have what he wants?” Expressionless blue eyes regarded her. The eyes of a killer. “I’m fairly certain he would argue the same of himself.”

She could feel Reyes’ visceral reaction, his body tightened, nearly taking a step backward but not willing to show weakness in front of another predator.

A forced breath out and the colonel tipped his head to the side, shrugged one shoulder. “If that’s what he wants, who am I to argue?”

Cold eyes studied him several long seconds. Long enough for Becca to consider what would happen if this mind died while she was in it. She prepared for a speedy exit.

Apparently deciding Reyes was onboard enough for now, the killer holstered his weapon behind his back. “Let’s go.”

“What? I thought I was supposed to deliver Reese then head back so no one suspected.”

“I told you things have changed, forget all that. He needs you to organize a drone strike.”

“Drone strike? What’s our target?”

“Black.”

A few moments while Reyes fought back bile that filled his throat and a heart that pumped so hard it hurt. “Okay.” He cleared his throat. “That is going to take some time, I can’t just walk in and authorize a drone strike on American soil.”

The killer smiled. That he could smile while standing beside a still warm corpse discussing the murder of arguably the world’s scariest man, or whatever, made her wonder if he had all his faculties.

“It’s the desert, I would think a little target practice would be easy enough to sell. Don’t you think?”

Reyes tugged his coat straight, ran a hand over short black hair, cleared his throat again. “Yes, I think I could arrange that. When does he want this?”

“Now.”

“Uh, okay.”

“Get in.”

Reyes started moving. Feeling each moment grow more precious as they ticked by, she focused on the tether that was her tie to her physical form, made ready and jumped.

“Kyle.”

“Hey, you’re back,” Kyle was in her ear. “Where’d you go?”

“Uh, I went in closer to listen.” Better to keep Kyle’s view of the weird focused on the obvious ones. No need for him to know there was more than that of fang and fur in this alternative world he’d found himself in this last year. So far she didn’t think he knew about her. The last time someone from her former life found out about her witchy ways he ended up dead, but not before calling her all sorts of a monster.

No, she’d do anything to never see that look of disgust in her brother’s eyes when he looked at her or hear him call her an abomination.

“I have to talk to the admiral. Now.”

Chapter 28

“Isaac Hobday.” Ryan studied the Maryland license, frowning.

“Does it mean anything to you?” she asked, knowing the answer.

“No, sorry, not a name that’s come up before.” He met her flat gaze. “That doesn’t mean we won’t find him.” Setting it down on the table next to his mini version of the war room back at the mansion, he started hunting for the life of a dead man.

“Ooh, is this what I think it is?” Kenneth emerged from the bathroom wiping his face with a small white towel. No pink or red streaking, good the deviant at least knew how to clean himself.

Ryan grunted, staring at his screens as his fingers flew. “Yeah, care package from home came today. It’s in the mini bar.”

“Don’t mind if I do.” He tore the door open, whipping out a red tinged opaque bag, then flopped down on the bed.

“Make yourself at home,” Gabrielle grumbled. Though in truth she would be happy if he just laid there like a lump and sucked on his O Neg cocktail while the grownups worked.

“Tell me again what he said.” Ryan tipped his face semi her way, not taking his eyes off the screens. “Between screams.”

Turning off the part of her that wanted to curl up with a fuzzy blanket and turn on every light at the thought of torture, she leaned a hip on the table, picking up the license to examine it.

“Nothing really to tell.”

Isaac Peter Hobday

“He said The Unitarian is his street name, real name Almohad. No last name.”

5’ 9,” 175 lbs

“When he needs to contact him he calls.”

Brown eyes, blonde hair.

Yellow eyes flashed before her, snarling, spitting, the face of the animal in the alley superimposed itself over the placid man on the card.

They weren’t brown.

Not that it mattered. They weren’t anything anymore.

“Who, Gabs?”

“Hmm?”

“Who calls who? You said he calls him.” He kept his voice soft, soothing like he would a frightened rabbit. “Tell me who calls who.”

“Almohad calls Isaac.” Their names were strange on her tongue. Speaking the name of a dead man for the first time after he breathed his last. Speaking the name of her enemy after finally hearing it after a lifetime of searching.

“I’m not seeing anything,” he finally admitted begrudgingly after another few minutes of searching through tons of databases few people in this world could legally access.

Gabrielle felt defeat settle heavy on her shoulders. “We have the phone, but it doesn’t do any good unless we find a way to make him talk to us. And then who’s to say we can get him to come out of the shadows? It’s like they swallow him up every time I get close.”

A loud slurp and satisfied sigh. “We just have to make ourselves irresistible.”

“How do you propose we do that?”

“He’s a controlling busybody orchestrating the downfall of several high profile senators currently. He taps this guy every time he needs something. We just need him to,” he shrugged, “need something.” He waggled his eyebrows. “Bad enough to gamble on trusting a stranger.”

“Wow, Kenneth,” Ryan turned, propping an arm on the back of his chair. “How can you come up with that and still be nuttier than squirrel shit?”

“It’s a gift.”

Chapter 30

  “Are you kidding me?”

Kyle’s all too human reaction to the news that the estate, aka the Admiral’s super secret headquarters, was about to get bombed into next week, was not surprising.

The admiral’s lack of a response was also not surprising. In her months living with, hunting, and fighting long lived creatures such as vampires, she’d come to appreciate their view on timelines and need to share were somewhat different from say, a panicking human’s.

“Is there an evacuation plan? What do we do with all the hard drives and files?” Of course Kyle was worried about the computers and data.

Did you not hear a word I said? Tick tock. Bombs can kill badass million year old vampires too, you inhuman bastard
.
“Sir? We can’t be sure of the timeline, just that Colonel Reyes was urged to move it along quickly. His instructions were ‘now,’” she prompted, hoping to draw him from his thoughts and back to reality
.
A little direction here?

“I’ll just.” Kyle’s voice faded away and sounds of chairs rolling, banging, file cabinet drawers opening and closing.

Where are there file cabinets?

“Stop.”

Admiral Black’s one word ceased all panicked preparing on his end. Becca’s body snapped to attention only just shy of saluting all on its own. A shiver of ice dripped down her spine.

“Let them order the strike.” Like he was ordering coffee.

She could almost see the relief on her brother’s face. “I knew you’d have some sort of underground tunnels or panic room or something.”

“No, we do not have anything of significance below this chamber.”

“Then...” It wasn’t wise to question him, but her brother was at ground zero and there was no way in this world he could grab one of the many cars and drive far enough not to be seen and blown up in the middle of the bleak desert. “What are you planning to do?” With maximum effort she was able to make it not sound like she was questioning a crazy person who wanted to build a snowman in nothing but socks.

“The plan, Rebecca, is to wait for the drone to be airborne, then allow the knowledgable computer systems expert I have on retainer to change its flight plan.”

You can do that?

“Why didn’t I think of that?”

“You do not doubt your ability to do as planned, correct Kyle?” The admiral’s tone had that long suffering taint of a parent after a long day at the zoo.

“Uh, of course.” His reply did not inspire the confidence she wanted to hear.

“I should hope you are able. Or all of this is gone. The files, weapon stores, artifacts are irreplaceable.

“No pressure,” she mumbled.

“This is not a no pressure task and I do not retain or employ those who cannot perform under said pressure,” the admiral bit back.

“No, I can do it,” Kyle stepped in. “I can. I just have to get on it as soon as it launches.”

“Fine then, I will be in my office.”

No retreating steps, but a rustling and Kyle took the phone off speaker.

“Do you think he has faith in me because he really thinks I can do it or because he’s probably reinforced his office to withstand nuclear fallout?” Jokes were a great way to deflect unless he was trying to fool someone who’d known him almost his entire life, definitely all hers.

“I think he knows you can do it, big brother.” She prayed to whoever was listening that she was right, sneaking in a side prayer for Michael, where ever he was, to be okay.

“I hope you’re right.”

She snorted. “I better be. Don’t make me have to explain to Mom why you’re not at Christmas.”

Chapter 31

“The dead prostitute is the key.”

“Excuse me?” Ryan put down the bottle of water he’d snagged from the mini bar.

Kenneth giggled and sat on the bed. “That is how every conversation should start.”

Gabrielle turned away from the window where she was watching the sun come up over the beltway. “The prostitutes he’s used, sometimes he kills one, there’s a trail. One died tonight. He’s giving us a toe in his closet the very night he’s shoving glow sticks in Jordan’s skeletons’ asses. What if he was seen this time?”

“Do go on,” Ryan grinned.