Hacked (Warriors of Light Book 5) (4 page)

A little smile had Mercury’s lips twitching slightly. “Good to know. Other than that, though, I can’t say any more. It’s not my secret to share. And you are right, we do need someone new to fill the spot. Interested in a job that pays extremely well? Only downside is, if you prove disloyal, then I won’t be so nice when I have you locked in a room all alone.” His voice went from warm to ice-chillingly frightening. She could tell he wasn’t kidding around, either.

“Once I give my loyalty, there is no taking it away. While I think that this guy is uber hot and wouldn’t mind getting to know him, I wouldn’t throw people under the bus just because I got my panties in a twist. I’m not that kind of woman. You wouldn’t know that about me, of course, but there it is. I’m loyal to a fault.” And sadly, she had been waiting on Demaratus all of her life. The man she had been dreaming of had been kind. He had been loyal and he had loved her with every inch of his being. He’d been her everything in her dreams, but the real him was completely different. The real Demaratus was gruff and didn’t seem particularly interested in her. “I would have stipulations. I would want to make sure that I have top-of-the-line merchandise for my station. I would want dedicated lines in and out, so that I can get information instantly.” She began to think about it and finally nodded. “How well are we talking? For the pay, that is?”

“You can take a look at what we have, and anything you want upgraded, will be. The pay starts at three thousand a month, and after a trial period of six months, you get an automatic raise to five thousand. You would live on the base, and all meals are paid for. If you like something specific, it will be brought in with food orders we have come on a bi-weekly basis.” He said all this with a perfectly straight face, so she was inclined to believe him.

“And if any of the guardians or Marines get out of order, can I spray them with a squirt bottle the way that you would a cat?” She saw the look on Mercury’s face, then saw it mirrored on Demaratus’s. “What? A girl needs to know what boundaries she has, you know. Also, what about co-worker dating or whatever? In case one of those pretty Marines can talk me into not smacking them upside their heads?”
I’m interested in another man, but he looks like he couldn’t give two shits about me and what I want, so that just plain sucks ass.

Mercury rubbed a hand over his mouth, as if he were trying not to smirk. “We have no policy in place to dissuade inter-employee dating. The Marines are only on loan, and not technically employees, if that makes it at all easier. So, you wouldn’t need to worry about that, though they are switched out after a three-month rotation. Three on, three off, unless we end up with some sort of emergency that requires them all to be on base.”

“Shoot, that makes it even easier. Can get a booty hookup and not have to worry about someone being all up in my ass worried about what I’m doing the next day.” She spoke as if she were always hooking up here and there. She didn’t do hookups, but they wouldn’t know about that. “Yummy Marines in and out every quarter. Where do I sign?” She could have sworn she heard a growl coming from the man at her side, but that wasn’t right. He could barely stand her, right?

“There is that,” Mercury said. His gaze flicked to Demaratus before coming back to her. “Let me show you where you’d be working. If you are interested after that, I’ll get HR to do up all the paperwork you will need to sign. If you still want to work here, your first priority is to wipe every piece of information you put out on the Net. Not just your site, but anything linking back to it even with it taken down. We cannot risk any form of exposure.”

She snorted. “That’s totally easy. You have to give me something hard.” She nodded. “Okay, show me.” She stood and gazed at Mercury, then looked back to Demaratus, and even though it hurt her, a lot, she said, “I guess that you’re done with me?”
Damn, why the hell do those words hurt so much?
It felt like she was shoving a knife in her own heart.

“Hardly,” he grunted as he got to his feet. He fell silent as Mercury came around his desk and pulled the door open for her.

The boss man led her through the halls, down a few doors from his own office and, punching in a code, opened another door. The room was massive and it was filled with workstations and large banks of computers. The temperature was set at a balmy thirty degrees, if she was guessing right from the shiver that ripped through her. A jacket fell onto her shoulders a moment later. Much too long for her, but so very warm.

“Thank you, DC.” She wrapped the coat around her and stared up at him. For a moment, she completely forgot everything she was going to say. “Right, sorry. Computers.” She turned to study them and frowned. “Okay, I will have a list for you, Mercury.” She took a seat before one of the workstations. “Seriously?”

She got in without much trouble at all. First, she made sure that the camera footage from her place didn’t go to the World Wide Web like the program was written to do. Next, she erased everything about the guardians before leaning back.

Rubbing her hands together, she smiled. “Okay, so it looks like Helen had an algorithm going to find what you called the VV’s. I can boost that a bit and hopefully find these women sooner. From what I’m reading here, she tried to get the bad guys to Phoenix before someone named…” she trailed off. “Shut the front fucking door. Alexander the Great, for real?” She looked at Demaratus and laughed. “Holy balls, it just clicked who you are. Damn, you look good for as old as you are. Like whoa, crazy good. Lickable even.” She flushed. “Crap, forget I said that last part, please?”

“And on that note, I’ll leave you to do inventory. D will get you settled once you’re finished here. E-mail me the list when you have it together, and I’ll ensure it’s shipped out by tomorrow if possible.” Mercury moved to the door, then paused. “Set her up with a code as well, D. Where you put her after is at your discretion,” he added with what she was sure was a smirk before disappearing out of the room.

“That man seriously needs a spa day. I wonder if he would be all complainy if I ordered him one for a weekend? I’ve just met him, and I already realize how uptight he is.” She swiveled and looked up at Demaratus once more. “So, will you tell me about this bond thing that Mercury was talking about? Why I’ve dreamed of you? Why I feel the desire to touch you?”

“I’m still unsure why you dreamed of me. You may need to ask one of the other VV’s to have that clarified. Apparently, a few of them have had the same experience in regards to the men they’ve bonded with. The bond is always between a VV and one of the guardians. Every few generations, the VV’s are reborn into the world. The current VV’s can still be alive and well, but it’s pretty damn rare from what I’ve seen over the centuries. It’s only actually happened twice before, to my knowledge.

“The desire to touch me is a part of that bond. It comes from the medallion that was used to bring me back to life and gives me the immortality that Mercury mentioned earlier.” Tugging his tight t-shirt from his dark, leather pants, he lifted it to show her the right side of his lower torso, where a long, jagged scar rested.

From the angle he was standing, she saw it went from somewhere around his groin, up under his rib cage, and vanished around the side to his back. Her heart leapt up into her throat at the sight, and she had to fight a sudden and unexpected need to cry.

Chapter Three

“Oh my God.” Holly reached out and traced a bit of the scar. The skin instantly heated under her hand. She looked up at him and asked, “And does that desire to touch only affect the VV’s?” She didn’t want to ask him if he wanted to touch her as much as she wanted him to touch her.
No, that wouldn’t be right
.

Demaratus shook his head, his gaze fixed on her, and Holly felt a spark of hope begin to take root. “Holly, I know we got off to a rocky start…” he began.

“So let’s start over,” she said quietly, feeling her pulse leap at his close proximity. “And you didn’t answer my question. Are the VV’s the only ones affected?”

“No. Since I figured out what was going on, and even before then, I’ve been fighting the urge to tear your clothing off. Along with everything else that would come after I had you naked. A sound spanking for your thoughts on dating a Marine is first on that list.”

Her panties were wet at the thought. “So, what’s stopping you now?” she asked, then swallowed hard. “From stripping me naked?” She stepped in closer to him. “As for the Marine,” she shrugged, “I only thought that because I was sure that you had some honey stashed away. You don’t, right? I mean, if I recall history correctly, you had a wife, right?”

“Prior to my death, yes. But there was little love lost between myself and my wife. In that day, marriages were more like chess moves and very rarely included even warm feelings, let alone love.” He took a step toward her so her breasts were pressing to his rib cage. “As to what’s stopping me… There is nothing but hard, cold surfaces in this room. Not conducive to the foreplay and the hours of wild, sexual adventures I have been planning in my head since meeting you.”

“God, I love how that sounds.” She took a deep breath. “I have a confession.” She laid her cheek to his chest and closed her eyes. “I’ve had one lover in my life, and it was a one-time, total mistake. I was sixteen, way too young for sex and way too stupid. Do you think that will be okay?”

His arms came around her, a hand settling on the back of her head, the other resting low on her spine. “Do you want me to kill him? It really wouldn’t be much of a bother.”

That had her laughing, and she shook her head. “You are cute, so cute. He and his boyfriend are currently planning their wedding. It was so bad because he was trying to be something he wasn’t, and I was just simply wanting someone to want me.” She was an orphan, so all she had ever wanted was to be needed, to have a family and be loved. At least, she was an orphan in her mind because of her parents’ need to get rid of her.

Demaratus gave a grunt and shrugged. “I suppose I’ll let him live. Shame, really, I haven’t killed anything in nearly a month, and I fear I’m losing my edge.” He rubbed her back gently. “Why don’t you do the list for Mercury? After that, I’ll take you to HR to get the paperwork Mercury will already have them putting together. We can take it to the dining hall for a meal, since it will take you a couple of hours to get through it all.”

“Sounds like a plan.” Reluctantly, she stepped away from Demaratus’s arms and frowned. Taking a seat at the computer station, she once more started with her list.

His hands came to rest on her shoulders and he squeezed lightly. “The sooner you finish up, the sooner we can get out of here. Once you have all the paperwork done, we can go to your new rooms for a talk. Or to mine.”

“Can we go back to yours? I felt comfortable in your room. Besides, I really do want to spend some time with you.”

“If you want,” he said. Moving his hands, he shifted around to sit on the desk next to her so that his thigh brushed against her arm.

“I’m almost done. Most of what I needed I pretty much knew the second that I walked in.” She found the e-mail for Mercury in the contacts folder. “Okay, I’m done. When I come back another day, I’ll do a complete overhaul of all of this crap. I’ve locked out her old passwords and all that fun stuff already.”

“We need to give you a passcode for the doors first. Except for the private rooms, the code will work for everything on the base.” Pushing off of the desk, he went to the wall near the door and touched the large panel there. It lit up. Putting in a code, he got a blank keypad to appear. “Put the code in, then hit ‘okay’. It will ask you to put it in a second time. Once that is done, a box will appear you will press your thumb into. After that vanishes, look at the spot indicated for the eye scan. You’ll have to have your nose practically pressed to the screen for it to work. Finally, I’ll put my code in again to ensure the system takes it.”

“Biometrics. Totally cool. I can’t wait to dig into this place and see what secrets it holds.” Holly was a bit like a kid in a candy store. She leaned in and held her eyes open after pushing her blonde hair out of her face. Once Demaratus had made sure her code held, she smiled. “You know, we could totally do chips in our hands for the doors as well. It could be programmed so that they wouldn’t work if the chip was damaged or the body was damaged. You know, like a hand cut off and stuff?”

“We thought of that at one point,” he said while he worked at the screen. “But we’ve had some of the guardians go play for the other team. A few we didn’t realize until they tried to kill us. The downside is that they could do a lot of damage if we aren’t paying attention. It’s subtle in the beginning, until the urge to destroy us finally fills them with enough rage to lash out.” Pushing a final button, he stepped to the side and pulled the door open. “It was discussed at great length, but we decided until the tech was more advanced, it was enough of a disadvantage to not warrant the advantages.”

“So, how do you keep the bad guys out? When they turn bad, how do you know? Do they start to smell, like what’s in the dossier of one of the people that I found? I think the woman had it as something along the lines of when one of the guardians turned they began to smell like sulfur. Said that she found it out when one of them started to wear heavy cologne?”

“In time, they do.” Demaratus put his hand on her back and guided her through the halls. How he knew where he was going was beyond her. Nothing seemed to be labeled in any manner, yet he just kept on moving. “In the very beginning, there’s nothing. The sulfur smell comes after a month or so, when the soul begins to rot from the stain of the evil.” Pushing a door open, he stepped in. “Deidre, this is Holly. Holly, this is Deidre, our HR maven. Don’t ever piss this woman off. Mercury should have asked you to get some papers ready.”

“Of course he did,” the woman said. She pulled out a folder about an inch thick and handed it over. “Once you have everything filled out, you bring it back here, with picture ID, and we’ll get you sorted out.”

“Oh crap, seriously, you want a picture of me? Have I mentioned how much I hate having my picture taken?” Holly glanced up at Demaratus. “I hate this. When you have a photo taken, it’s out there for anyone to pick up on. How do I know that it won’t be posted all over the world?” She narrowed her eyes at him. “Because I had that happen once. It took me a week to find all of the images and pull them down. I prefer to fly under the radar.”

“Do you not have a license?” Deidre asked with a frown. “That’s what I need. I have to have something that proves you are you, so that I can put you on the payroll. No one else, beyond Mercury, has access to any of the personnel files in here. Even those that help me have to view them under my supervision.”

“No, I don’t have a license,” Holly admitted, feeling her face heat. “I can’t drive. If I get stressed out or freaked out, then everything electronic or computerized fries. That’s not exactly something that you can admit to when you walk up to the DMV, you know?”

Deidre pursed her lips as she stared at Holly. “Do you have a birth certificate?” The woman hadn’t even batted a lash at Holly’s declaration of what she could do to electronics. “While I don’t like it, it will have to do.”

“I don’t have it with me, but I do have a birth certificate. Well, one that I had to have created for me. See, I was dropped off at a children’s home when I was maybe four years old and before that they really weren’t the caring and loving family that most kids have. The people who gave life to me didn’t give them my name or anything like that. They just left me after I had a tantrum and they found out what I could do. I only have very vague memories of the time before them, the tantrum and then the home, but I do remember being terrified and knowing that it was all my fault because I was a bad kid. So, the birth certificate was made for me by the state. I don’t know if it’s my real birthday, and it’s certainly not my real name, but I don’t care. They left me, so it’s good to be away from them, you know?”

Deidre gave Holly a nod and a sympathetic look. “It will do. We’ll take a picture for the file, though. It will be a print, from an old Polaroid camera, actually, and will remain the only copy. If you can have the paperwork all done prior to end of business today, that would be wonderful,” she added.

“Thank you for understanding. As far as I know, I don’t blitz out old cameras, because they are mechanically moving parts instead of computerized and so on. Heck, just take the picture now. I don’t mind. I really don’t. Just keep it in house, if you would, please?”

“I’ll take the photo when you return your paperwork and not a moment sooner. It will be seen by no one but myself or Mercury. Now go. You have a lot of handwriting to accomplish. And if you wouldn’t mind, dear, ensure that it’s nice and neat so I can read it. Stay on the lines, keep it in English, and don’t get creative.” Deidre gave Demaratus a dirty look before shooting Holly a tight but pleasant enough smile.

“Damn, I can’t write in binary? Okay. I promise I’ll be good, but only because I like you.” Holly smirked. “Don’t know why, but I think that you and I will be friends.” She then looked to Demaratus. “Come on, let’s go, shall we?”

He gave her a nod and, with a small bow to Deidre, opened the door for her. Placing his hand on her back, he guided her along. Toward the elevators, she realized. Stepping in, he pressed a button and eased his jacket off her shoulders when she fidgeted with it. He swung it around himself and shrugged back into it. “When Deidre says to do something, always make sure you do it. She has complete control of her little world, and though she never abuses the power, she’s been known to remind us on occasion of her place. I do have to say that she’s nicer than the last head of HR we had.”

“I will. I was just yanking her chain a bit. She looks far too uptight for being as young as she is. Is she one of those VV things as well? Shit, I guess I shouldn’t say ‘things’ since I’m one, too, huh? Sorry, I talk a lot. You should see me when I’m programming. I get even worse when I’m talking my way through troubles and issues. Strange, aren’t I?”

“No, Deidre isn’t one of the vestal virgins. She’s straight-up human but in the know on who and what the guardians are.” Demaratus gave Holly a thoughtful look and shrugged. “Someone needs to fill the quiet, and you have a lovely voice.”

“As long as you’re good with it. Because I have to tell you that I kind of like talking to you. It’s nice being able to tell you anything and everything that’s on my mind. Too bad she’s not one of them. Another question.” She slipped her hand into his. “You’re super old, like whoa, so does that mean when I die you will have someone else born to be yours?”

“Should you actually want to complete the bond with me, our lives would be intertwined. In other words, your lifespan is tied to mine, and however long I survive, you will continue on as you are at that very moment. It doesn’t keep you from getting colds, or hangnails, but you do get the added bonus of a very long life.”

“I like you. Just met you, but I do like you. I would really like to get to know more about you. I think that you and I have a lot in common, which is awesome, don’t you think? We should, if we’re supposed to be able to be tied together, our lives and souls and whatnot. I already feel as if I know you from the dreams that I’ve had of you all of my life. You saved my sanity growing up.”

“It
would
be nice to know we have a few things in common. Though how many is anyone’s guess. As you pointed out, I’m a bit on the older side. You seem to have an affinity with technology, while on the best of days it baffles me greatly. I can manage with some things, but only to a point. Anything beyond that point has my head aching.”

“That’s why you have me,” she told him with a grin. “I’ll make sure that all of your gadgets work and keep you okay, and then from there we’ll figure out what you can do for me.” She leaned into him, something she found herself doing a lot. “Although, I have a feeling you’ll do far more for me than I’ll ever do for you.”

“Doubtful, though I like the thought,” he said softly. He squeezed her hand and led her out of the elevator. Their next stop was what he called their dining hall. It was a large yet cozy space, with little groupings of sitting areas, as well as several long tables. Leading her to the buffet, he gave her a tray, plate, and utensils, then waved her forward.

Holly began to take her fill, then moved in just a bit closer to Demaratus. “Why are they all looking at us?” she whispered.

“Ignore them. They’re still trying to figure you out.” He turned to give the men a look that had them all bailing out at high speeds for the door. Facing her again, he cocked a brow. “You need to eat.”

“I will.” She shuffled down to the fruits and vegetables. “Oh, I love veggies.” She took one of the stir-fries and a bottle of soy sauce. “Okay, I need water, and then I’m good.”