Kiss Of Twilight (23 page)

Dupree preferred to work alone, but even he conceded the foolishness of hunting without a partner. For years that partner was Winter, Gia or one of the other members of his squad. These days it was usually Luke. But he wasn't hunting tonight and he was edgy. Nervous about this upcoming meeting.

He'd found an out of the way gathering spot and as the dusk slid into night, shadows peeled away from the safety of the trees into the small clearing where he waited. They came one by one, dressed head to toe in black, silent walking arsenals. Most squads were fluid. Members came and went and were replaced by new recruits. But not this squad. There were twelve of them, but only six would be at this meeting.

The five newest members of the squad, who'd been members for thirty-five years or less, weren't present. They were either patrolling or taking over Dupree's training schedule for the night. The three men and one woman around him, along with Winter and Gia, were the oldest and longest standing members of the squad, though they all had very different responsibilities now. But the seven of them had stayed together and become the driving force in the Southern region. Commander, master at arms, three quadrant leaders and a quadrant second in command.

It was damned strange. Maybe Ben had just been talented when it came to recruiting the sneakiest and deadliest. Maybe that's just how it had worked out. The original squad had been recruited within a five year period and within that first ten years they'd morphed from regular soldiers to the Order's best hit squad. There was no special detail given to anyone else, few secrets they were not privy to. Or so they'd thought until recent events.

Winter finally arrived, strolling out of the trees with a casualness he knew hid great sorrow. Sorrow everyone in the circle felt. Ben had found them, recruited them, trained and mentored them. And now they were going to kill him. Winter was feeling it the hardest. Ben had trained her specifically for her current role. He'd spent years grooming her to first be a quadrant leader and then regional commander. Hell, Dupree wouldn't be surprised if Ben had planned on her eventually moving onto the council.

She stopped next to him and looked around the group. Dupree wondered what she saw. The same calm, steady resolve he saw? That calmness made him uneasy. Except for Ingrid, they'd all been mate bonded for years. Winter had recently joined their ranks and Dupree figured Ingrid would soon enough. He'd only met her nightwalker once, but he'd seen enough men in love to know what way that wind was blowing. Of all of them standing there, he was the most unstable. As the softly spoken greetings turned into the easy ribbing and good natured insults of a group of soldiers who'd literally served together for decades, Dupree edged back a step.

The disconnect he experienced was no less profound for being expected and he realized how much he'd cut them off. He was Winter's second in command, now officially the master at arms, and he saw these men every day. But it had been years since he'd shared more than Winter's orders, years since he'd let himself be drawn into the easy camaraderie he was witnessing now. Maybe being with Kara would change that.

"Is it true you're bringing Kara into our squad?" Quinn asked Winter and suddenly had Dupree's full attention.

Quinn scowled, a couple of the others muttered, but it was Jordan who actually voiced their concern. "Is that a good idea?" He nodded at Dupree, including him in the conversation. "I know you've been teaching her self defense for years but even after merging she won't be anywhere close to where the rest of us are in training and experience."

Dupree didn't like the idea of Kara hunting but he liked someone criticizing her even less. "She'll be fine."

"If you want to increase the squad's numbers there are a few good choices, not some green girl that Dupree is just trying to keep close," Lance said.

Dupree saw red and forced himself to take a deep breath before he gave in to the urge to lunge for Lance's throat. He reminded himself if they were talking about anyone but Kara, he'd be agreeing with them.

"He's right," Jordan added. "You don't see us trying to get our wives on the squad."

It wasn't unheard of for two hybrids to bond, but it was never undertaken lightly. It didn't always work. Sometimes it made the two stronger, but sometimes it made their demons stronger and eventually they went rogue. Such unions were always watched closely for a time until it became clear if they were stable or not. Jordan and Quinn were both bonded to hybrid females and both of them were soldiers.

"Right." Dupree's temper flared. "Weren't you the one that tried to get Ben to transfer your wife out of her squad and into tech?"

"But not into
this
squad, man. I'd never want her here."

Dupree didn't either, but he also didn't want her under the control of some other squad or one of the dozens of leaders in the region who didn't like him.

"Enough," Winter interjected. "This is my decision. The ceremony is tomorrow night."

Panic took flight in Dupree's gut. So soon?

"And the squad, that's us, will all be there." Her tone brooked no argument and the group fell silent. "There's something else y'all should know, but for now it stays strictly between us."

Dupree shifted, feeling exposed and targeted. He and Winter had argued about revealing this secret, and unfortunately he'd lost. But he couldn't help believing Ben had had a damned good reason for hiding Kara's identity.

"Kara is Ben's niece," he said.

"Holy hell," Quinn muttered. "It explains the attacks against her, though. It's not unusual for rogues to go after their families."

That had already occurred to Dupree. He planned to make damned sure she was protected the next time she ventured out.

Lance watched him, head tilted a bit to one side, obviously thinking things through more than Quinn. Not that Dupree was surprised much by that. "You think Ben intended her to join our squad?"

He nodded. "I think he probably intended a lot more than that."

He let his statement sink in. Ben hadn't planned on Kara being just another soldier. Dupree was certain of that even if there was no way to prove it. And despite what Ben had become they all trusted his pre-rogue decisions without question. He'd seen something in all of them, something that set them apart, and he'd not only seen it in Kara too, he'd raised her to take advantage of it.

"She joins us then," Jordan said softly.

"Agreed," Ingrid said.

"Agreed," Lance added reluctantly.

"Man, do you have any idea the hell I'm gonna catch when I get home?" Quinn groused.

It was a peace offering and Dupree took it. "Just blame Winter. That's what I do."

This time when the ribbing started up again Dupree was part of it. It was damned strange, the unexpected twists his life kept on taking. The lighthearted mood was short lived, however, and finally their other reason for gathering was brought up.

"What do we know?" Winter asked, her voice quiet and serious.

"There is definitely an effort to recruit our soldiers by some other region. I've had five more reports," Jordan said.

"I've had three," Lance said.

"Seven," Ingrid added, her voice as grim as her expression. "And there's no telling how many people haven't reported this to us."

"Why do you say that?" Dupree asked.

"Robert said he hasn't heard anything from his people about this," she replied and turned to Quinn who shook his head.

"No one's come to me, but I've been spending a lot of my time either with the lupines cross training or running nightwalker patrols," Quinn, who was Robert's second in command, told them.

"If someone's trying to steal our soldiers away, there's no way they're not poaching his quadrant too," Winter said.

"Maybe." But Dupree wasn't so sure. Winter arched an eyebrow, an unspoken order for him to continue. He shrugged. "It's no secret I don't trust him. Ben should never have made him a quad leader."

"You shouldn't have refused the job then," Ingrid said dryly.

He snorted. "I didn't want that responsibility. Look at me now. Master at arms."

"Okay, we're getting way off topic here," Winter interjected.

"Right," Dupree agreed. The last thing he wanted was to rehash old history. "So either, no one has reported attempts at recruitment to Robert. Or they have and he isn't telling us for some reason. Or, whoever they are, they aren't trying to recruit his people."

"That last one worries me most," Quinn said.

"Yeah. He's made no secret he wants Winter's position."

"You think he's trying to recruit my own command out from under me?" Winter laughed. "He's not that smart."

"But who's pulling his strings?" Lance asked, more serious and sober than Dupree had ever heard him.

"Good questions." Dupree shook his head. "We don't know."

"If y'all are right, and I'm not buying this conspiracy theory, we need to find out. Fast," Winter added.

"Fuck. I wish Gia was here." Everyone seconded Quinn and old knowledge pricked at Dupree's brain, gave wings to speculation. There were two things, but one remained elusive. It would come to him later.

"You know," he said. "If we're right, Ben carefully targeted particular compounds to gain particular abilities." Which he could do by ingesting a hybrid's heart and brain. Which was worse? That they thought that was Ben's goal or that it no longer turned Dupree's stomach?

"And?" Winter prodded him.

Dupree mentally reviewed a list that was far from complete or precise--that was Gia's strength, remembering all the details--and came up with a face, though no name.

"There was a young male." God, with so many over the years he couldn't recall them all now. "He had the power to cage a mind."

Quinn nodded. "I know the kid you're talking about. He was at the commander's compound, right?"

"Yeah." Dupree nodded. No one had survived that massacre. "I talked to him once. Ben had the techs set up an experiment to test his ability since it's so rare." He glanced at Winter. "Gia got the official report. I'll see if Kara can find it. Anyway, Ben told me the boy could hold even a strongly trained mind for a long time, a couple days. After that it became a problem. And he could only control that mind so easily if the person wasn't fighting him."

They all thought it over for a moment.

"If Ben took Gia," Quinn said, voice heavy with
don't get your hopes up,
"she'd fight."

"Yeah," Jordan added, "but this is Ben we're talking about. Once he got her he could keep her knocked out most of the time and keep her mind caged while she was awake."

"It's been weeks," Winter said and everyone nodded.

"Eventually," Jordan said, easily following her train of thought, "that's gotta wear a man down."

"And if he's feeling that worn down psychically, he may be losing his control of the demons," Quinn theorized.

"This is all just speculation," Ingrid said, voicing the frustration they all felt.

"No," Winter whispered then continued in a stronger voice. "Gia would not just disappear. We all know that. So there's a reason she hasn't been in touch. It makes sense."

"No, it doesn't, Winter. Why? Why would Ben take her and not kill her? She's one helluva good fighter. Our strongest telekinetic. Why spare her life?" Ingrid asked.

Dupree thought he saw what Winter was thinking, though. "To draw us out. Most likely that's the same reason he's sent his demons after Kara twice."

"Yes," Winter said. "He can control her mind while she's awake and keep her drugged enough the rest of the time so she can't break free..."

"But he can't control her dreams unless he keeps constant control of her mind," Jordan speculated. They all knew about Winter's dreams now. "Which would mean even in her deepest subconscious she's reaching out for someone." He paused a long while and everyone seemed lost in private thoughts.

Fuck. If they were right, and that was a big fucking if, Gia was in bad trouble. "We have to find her."

"Soon," Quinn said. "We've all been together so long we're family. I was just starting to adjust to the idea I wouldn't have to kill my brother and sisters. We can't lose Gia."

It was an acknowledgement of how close to going rogue he, Winter and Gia had been and Dupree couldn't resist egging Quinn back. "Don't count me out yet. You may finally get your wish to be top dog around here."

Quinn gave him a
you asshole
look and shook his head. "Not like that, Dupree. I'd take your job, sure, but not if I have to kill you for it. Kara merges tomorrow. Give her a few days and then bond with her. She loves you. She won't say no."

"I thought you didn't want her in the squad?"

"We don't." Jordan took over. "What does that have to do with the rest? She's your hope at salvation, man. I know the popular wisdom is we're basically humans and humans don't have destined mates." He shook his head, his disgust easy to read. "Bullshit. Rose is mine in a way no one else ever could be. If we walked through the city we'd find a lot of men who believe the same about their wives. Call it destiny, fate, stubbornness. It doesn't matter in the end, does it? She completes something in you and you do the same for her. I call that destiny. And you are a complete and total idiot if you walk away from that and I will be happy to kick your ass for you."

The others didn't look at all surprised by this outburst so Dupree suspected they'd discussed him and Kara at length. If it was any other group of hybrids he'd be pissed, but this was his squad. He couldn't even blame them for not coming to him first. He'd rebuffed every single one of them. "It isn't like that," he muttered. "She's...young."

"She's almost twenty-five, Dupree," Mack pointed out. "Even by nightwalker and lupine standards, that's an adult."

How the hell had they got off on this tangent anyway? He snarled. "She's my business. Y'all stay the fuck out of it."

Quinn smirked, but it was Jordan, normally the quietest of them who shook his head and answered. When had he become so damned talkative? "No. Our squad. Our business. Plus we all had a hand in raising her. Can't blame us for making sure she won't be hurt."