Morgan (3 page)

Michael had always thought Bethany to be the most beautiful woman alive, but now that she was pregnant with their child she looked like a goddess. Her white-blonde hair was longer than when they’d first found her in Tijuana. It now fell in soft waves to her shoulders, thick and lustrous. Her dusty-blue eyes were shining soft lavender now that
her anger
had roused her latent inner cat.

She was a small woman, standing just over five feet tall with a slight build, except for the bulge of their growing cub.

“I love it when you wear these tight tops and pants,” Michael said. He rubbed his hand over the other side of her belly, and smiled as his cub kicked and squirmed inside. “I love seeing how big our baby has grown.”

“I’m not going to be distracted, Michael.” But she wrapped her arms around his waist, and sighed against his chest. “I’m so big I can barely hug you now.” He heard the pout in her voice and smiled, despite his fear and anger over her safety.

“You win,” he said. “We’ll tell them together. Come on.”

He was a sap when it came to his mate. He’d give her anything, and he didn’t care how whipped that might make him seem. He loved her. She needed to be told anyway. He had just hoped to vent his rage a little with his brothers before he told Bethany what had happened.

“Jason is in his office,” Bethany said. She took his hand and they walked together to find Jason. “Samson is outside, I think. Do you want me to call him?”

Michael didn’t know what she meant. She wasn’t carrying her phone. “Call him?”

She smiled and patted his arm. “Samson. I need you,” she said, her voice no louder than normal. Michael didn’t hear or feel anything, but Samson was suddenly there beside Bethany. He picked her up and hugged her to his massive frame.

“You’re squashing the baby, Samson,” Jason said. Michael hadn’t heard him come out of his office. His brothers were both huge, bigger than him by several inches, but they moved with complete silence when they wanted to.

“Am not,” Samson said. He kissed Bethany before placing her back on her feet. “What is it, kitten? Are you in labor?” He placed his hand on the top of her stomach and frowned as he felt for a contraction.

“It was me that needed to speak to you both,” Michael said. “The electronic alerts I set up have been activated. Someone is searching for Bethany.”

* * * *

Cameron stood panting as he watched the rest of the team scale the climbing wall in the huge barn next to their bunk house. The barn had been turned into a training complex with rope climbs, weights, and a basketball court. Samson had run out about twenty minutes ago and they had all undertaken a friendly wager to see who could scale the difficult wall in the shortest time.

“Asher is going to win again,” Barrett said.

“
And he
’ll still look as cool as if he’d just stepped out of a courtroom,”
Cameron added.

Asher Pollock had come home to the pride following a successful career as a defense attorney. No matter how grueling the day’s or night’s training was, Asher somehow managed to stay looking clean, neat, and unruffled.

“He is one tough bastard, though. He’s faster, stronger, and more deadly than any of us Pollocks,” Barrett said.

Cameron had to agree. Of the four Pollock brothers, the eldest, Asher, was the only one of the trainees who could match Samson in strength and guile. So far. Cameron wanted to make a place for himself in Finn’s pride. He wanted to be made
an enforcer.

“Don’t go telling him that,” Wes Pollock said.

“Or there’ll be no living with the cocky bastard,” Troy finished. The two youngest of the Pollock brothers were identical twins, their bond so strong that they could communicate telepathically even when not in their shifted form.

“He just beat Nash’s time by three seconds,” Ben said. “And I think he stopped at the top for a manicure.” They all laughed as Asher sauntered over.

“You just have to let your inner cat take over,” he said, his tone absent of even an ounce of boastfulness. “It’s there to help you. You don’t need to be shifted to gain its assistance.” Cameron slapped him on the back. Asher was dressed only in shorts, as they all were, and Cameron was surprised to feel no sweat on Asher’s back. The rest of them were dripping wet. He really did seem to be onto something.

Samson walked into the bunker, his stride determined and his face set in rigid lines of undisguised anger.

“I need to send two of you out on a mission. To say it’s important would be an understatement.” Samson pinched the bridge of his nose and took a couple of deep breaths. The fact that Samson was showing any emotion at all had the hairs rising on the back of Cameron’s neck.

“I’m sending Ben and Cam because their status in the sheriff’s department both here and in Pine Falls may help them on this. But I have a feeling we’re all in for a shitstorm and it’s coming fast.”

“Anything we can do, Samson?” Asher asked.

Samson nodded as his eyes glowed bright amber. “You can kill anyone who comes here looking to harm my mate.”

“Done,” Asher said without pause.

“Last year Michael set up some sort of computer alert that would notify him if anyone searched online for Bethany.” He gestured to Troy and Wes, who nodded.

“Her name, age,” Wes said.

“
Hair color
, work and medical history. We know the type you mean. Keywords plus modifiers,” Troy added.

“Whatever. Until today it’s been quiet. Someone has started searching in Michigan.
Lansing
, to be specific, and Michael says he’
s good. He
’s using an Internet café and still bounced his location through several proxy servers. It took Michael a while to find him.”

“Any security cameras in the café?” Troy asked. Samson shook his head.

“We can get Ben and Cameron to Lansing within three hours,” Wes said. “Do you want one of us to take them or shall I notify our pilot?”

“Get the pilot,” Samson said. “I want you two here in case the bastard has already sent people to Eminence. Jason is talking to Finn as we speak. Ben, Cam, we leave in five for the airfield.”

Cameron was on his brother’s heels as they ran to their quarters to get changed. Wes and Troy Pollock had brought their company jet with them, building a hangar and airfield just north of town to house it.

“I want to say be careful,” Evan said, “but I don’t want to sound like our mom.”

“You do look a lot like her, especially around the hips,” Ben said.

“See you when you get back.”

Evan left them to get dressed. It felt strange having him here with them. He’d been away for a long time, but it would be good to get to know him again.

Dressed in jeans and polo shirts, they were waiting for Samson at his truck when he arrived. It was hot, with rain clouds building ominously on the horizon. The
air
was thick with humidity.

Once at the stairs to the plane, Samson handed them each a cell phone. “It has the Alpha’s and all of our numbers programmed in. Michael says they’re secure. I want hourly updates.”

Cameron nodded and they each shook Samson’s hand as they climbed into the jet. The engines started and they secured the door before taking their seats.

“It’s killing him not to be taking this mission himself,” Ben said. He watched out the small window as Samson’s truck disappeared.

“He won’
t regret sending us,
” Cameron said. He hadn’t spoken to Ben yet about staying permanently in Eminence. The topic had just never come up.

“We’ll make great enforcers, Cam.” Ben smiled at him and closed his eyes as he reclined the seat. They should sleep for the trip. Who knew what they’d find in Lansing? Cameron followed his brother’s example and tried to rest. He could feel the gun pressing into the center of his back and the knife snug against his foot inside his combat boot. They were prepared for all eventualities and would make Bethany safe.

* * * *

Morgan felt like screaming. She’d spent hours hunched over this same keyboard and was no closer to finding her sister. She kept hitting the same block no matter which of her hacking tools she used. Either her sister was long dead, or she had someone very clever hiding her.

Morgan leaned back in the cheap plastic chair and looked around the deserted cyber café. She felt a tingle of unease slide down her spine. It had been busy earlier, and she’d felt more comfortable when it had been filled with the sounds of fingers tapping on keyboards. Looking over the top of the monitor and through the café’s dirty front windows, she saw it was growing dark outside.

A glance at the time on the monitor told her it was only three in the afternoon. A storm was coming. “
Poetic.
”

She pulled a hankie out of her jeans pocket and wiped at her eyes. Once Sister Vincenza had decided Morgan was indeed the baby she’d held in her arms over twenty years ago, she’d told her everything that had occurred that night. It was a tragic story and the information provided had enabled Morgan to find her mother.

She rose and stretched her back. She’d arrived at the cyber café at seven that morning, bringing with her a large coffee, and she hadn’t moved all day. The young guy who’d signed her in was nowhere to be seen. She began to feel uneasy again.

Stuffing the hankie back into her pocket, she followed her instincts and headed for the door.

“Morganya Petrov?” said a heavily accented voice from behind her. She didn’t stop walking, just put her head down and focused on the door.

“I know it’s you. You can’t hide your scent from me.”

The door in front of Morgan opened and the doorway was filled by the tallest and widest person Morgan had ever seen. At five-foot-two, Morgan was used to most people being taller than her, but this man could be a circus freak.

“Excuse me,” she said, stepping to the side to let the man enter the shop. He stayed in the doorway and tilted his head back, breathing deeply.

“Definitely feline. Do you think it’s her?” The man looked over her head, his comment clearly meant for the man who had come into the store from the rear. Morgan had only one escape route now.

“Do you see anyone else here? Bring her. Artur is waiting for us to contact him.”

Morgan ran for the windows at the front of the store. She closed her eyes and put her arms over her face.
I hope I don
’t cut my damn throat on the glass.

She made it only a few steps before iron bands clamped around her wrists. Her wrists felt like the bones were crumbling to dust as the giant in front of her dragged her against his stomach. He spun around and she was suddenly thrown backward out the doorway.

“Politsiya,” was all Morgan heard before her head hit the sidewalk and her world went dark.

Ben and Cameron took a cab from the airstrip and were approaching the cyber café some twenty minutes after landing. As the cab pulled to a stop in heavy traffic, the driver turned and pointed ahead.

“There’s been some sort of an accident. Police cars are blocking the road. It’s going to be quicker if you walk.”

Ben paid the driver and joined Cameron on the sidewalk. Cameron nodded to an alley leading away from the road block and Ben followed him between the buildings. It was just starting to rain and the drops fell heavily in the thick, humid
air.

“Can you see the cyber café?” Cameron asked as they exited the alley on the street they’d been heading for. Looking at the storefronts, Ben found the numbers and gestured back toward the way they’d come. More police cars blocked the street. One police car moved to let an ambulance pass, its sirens blaring as it took off in the opposite direction.

“I have a bad feeling about this,” Ben said. He reached for his badge as he approached a young uniformed police officer.

“
Wait,
” Cameron said. His voice sounded garbled and strained. Ben turned and roughly pushed Cameron back into the alley. His brother’s eyes were glowing amber and his canines had descended to pierce his bottom lip. Blood ran down Cameron’s chin and also from his fingertips where his claws now protruded.

“Fuck, Cam. What the—”

Then Ben smelled it. Sweet, rich, and alluring. The smell as decadent as chocolate and just as addicting. Blood. Not just any blood. His mate’s life blood had been spilled somewhere close. She was hurt and he had failed to stop it from happening.

Ben held onto his cat with all of his will power. It snarled and roared. Hissing in anger to be allowed free, but Ben held tight to his control.

“Soon. We’ll have her soon, but not if we lose control.” Ben spoke the words out loud, trying to soothe both his cat and Cameron’s.

“I can scent more than one person’
s blood,
” Cameron said. His eyes blinked back to their human green. “This many police cars means someone has died. Our mate may have died before we fucking met her.”

Ben wasn
’t as good with scent trails as his brother, but his hearing was better. He held his finger to his lips and listened to the radio chatter and conversations amongst the police personnel at the scene.

“Two fatalities. Both men. An injured woman was just taken to McLaren-Greater Lansing Hospital. Fuck it. We saw them drive off with her.”

“We can’t go after her until we find out what happened here. Samson will need to know,” Cameron said. He wiped the blood from his face with the back of his hand and shook his hands. “Ready?”

Ben nodded, not trusting himself to speak. If he spoke he would tell Cam that he wasn’t ready. That he wanted to shift and run to that hospital and confirm that it was his mate in that ambulance.

“It may not have been her, Ben.”

Ben raised his eyebrow in question at his brother. They both knew she’d been hurt and that they’d just missed being there to help her. Save her. Hold her.