Playing with Passion Theta Series Book 1 (39 page)

Johnny took a moment to look them over
again, before he shrugged. "I killed Smith, but Joseph got away
before I could finish him. He was gonna kill Ingrid after he had
his fill torturing her for a few months."

"They had orders from The Director not
to do any permanent damage," Mack argued.

Ingrid squeezed his hand. "It’s true.
The Director lied the other day. Joseph intended to hurt me—more
than was usually allowed. Joseph said he wanted to buy me from The
Director and make me his pet, so I don’t think he would’ve killed
me, at least not for a while. He had me call The Director, who
confirmed that I wasn't going to be allowed back in the troupe and
that the rest of you might be in danger.”

Releasing his breath in a slow hiss,
Mack choked back a growl. He’d come so close to losing her—losing
all of them.

Gene spoke through a clenched jaw.
"That fucking bastard." He hugged Ingrid tightly, quickly springing
to his feet and pacing the room.

“I’m fine. I’m
here.”
Ingrid pressed the thought into
both minds.

“We would have found
you,”
Mack said, squeezing her
hand
.

“I know.”

Liz continued to glare at Ingrid, her
envy plain for everyone to see. Mack wondered if these untrained
thetas had trouble finding mates, since their energy was mostly
spent on day-to-day survival.

Liz pulled out a short blade, running
it back and forth between her fingers, showing off her dexterity as
well as warning the three troupe thetas to watch themselves around
her. That kind of habit would certainly discourage suitors,
although Gene was checking her out as if she was tonight's
dessert—but only when she wasn't looking.

“Watch yourself, kid.
She’s a tiger in disguise.”
Mack sent a
warning to Gene.

“Now that I’m free, I
might decide to indulge the wilder side of my
nature
.” Mack and Ingrid chuckled at
Gene’s response, which got them a couple of odd looks from the
rebels. “
Just wait until they hear about
looping. Oh boy.”

“We have people at the troupe house
packing up your belongings, along with all the food, medical
supplies, blankets and whatever else we think we can use. We’ve
learned not to waste anything. But time is limited.”

“Do you think they’re already
searching for us?”

“We've been checking our sources. Your
troupe wouldn't have reported in until tomorrow mornin’, right?"
Mack nodded in agreement. "Then we're probably good until
then."

“The Director was going to come to the
hotel room at dawn to read my mind.” Ingrid said.

“Okay, then we’re probably good until
dawn.”

“But if the alpha got away…” Ingrid
was nervous, and rightly so.

“Do ya honestly think he’s gonna
broadcast the fact he got bopped on the head by a theta ingénue?
He’ll think of a story, then go to The Director and hope for the
best. And it might not go his way.” Johnny had such confidence. It
was great to see there were groups out there already fighting
back.

“Joseph’s stronger than The Director
knows. And he’s not a fan. He mentioned us working together to
bring The Director down. The only catch was, I had to go to him
willingly.”

“Like I’d ever let that happen,” Mack
snapped.

“If it was the only way to save the
troupe…” Ingrid argued.

He wasn’t having any of that. Mack
took her face in both hands and kissed her hard.

“Get a room, guys.” Johnny rolled his
eyes.

“Do we have one?” Gene asked,
chuckling over Johnny’s discomfort.

“Yeah, of course. But first, Tom’s
gonna help ya transfer your assets to accounts they can't
touch.”

Gene turned to Tom, scowling. “And you
expect us to trust you with our life’s savings?”

“Yeah. We do.”

“It’s either that or lose it all.” Tom
shrugged. “I’m happy with hitting the sack tonight and arguing
about it in the morning.”

"I have real estate—mostly under other
names in different states." Mack said.

"I can help you with that, too.
Tonight we'll take care of your monetary assets, and we'll deal
with the rest tomorrow." No one volunteered to go first. “My dad
was a VP under the chief financial officer at Holotech. Here’s your
chance to reap the benefits,” Tom added with a smug
grin.

They sat with Tom and his tablet,
taking turns setting up new offshore accounts and transferring
funds. There were still a few countries that were off the grid as
far as the archdemons’ influence was concerned, too small to be
noticed. They’d stashed quite a lot of cash in the bags they’d
thrown into the back of the van, so Mack’s troupe thetas were in
great shape compared to these street theta rebels.

Tom was shocked speechless by the
amounts. "I knew you guys made good money, but shit. You're
multi-millionaires.

Mack twisted his mouth in irritation.
"We had limited access. I managed to buy some approved stuff and
then sell it, so I had the cash to buy my property. The media
doesn't know, or at least doesn’t announce, that we're owned by The
Director. He pays us to throw the press off guard. I'm shocked that
you were able to transfer the total amounts without his
password.”

"Gene gave it to me. He seems way more
advanced than I am, when it comes to tech,” Tom announced
casually.

“Why am I not surprised?” Ingrid
mussed Gene’s hair, giggling.

“Hey! That’s inappropriate touching.”
He smoothed down his hair, pouting.

“You dope. You know The Director’s
passwords?”

“At least for our troupe’s finances.
Anyway, I can have some secrets, right?”

They exchanged a quiet glance. Her
voice was softer now. “Of course. We can actually have private
lives, now that we’re free.” No one, other than another troupe
theta, could understand what that meant to a group who’d lived in a
bubble their entire lives.

Tom was grinning, unaware of their
epiphany. “Having our own private hacker will definitely come in
handy.”

Johnny took pity on them. "I think ya
can all use some sleep. We have two rooms available. You'll bunk
with Liz tonight, Ingrid, and the two guys can share another room.
We'll pick up where we left off tomorrow morning. Oh, and give us
your H-tabs. We have to destroy them.”

Ingrid didn't seem too upset to say
goodbye to Sass.

They showed Gene and Mack to a small
room with two twin beds. All of Gene’s clothes, except his boxers,
ended up on the floor before he crawled under the covers. Mack
attempted to fold his clothes, finally giving up and dropping them
to the floor next to Gene’s then sliding into his own
bed.

Gene yawned and spoke sleepily. "Old
man, you need to step up."

"What are you talking
about?"

“You should kick me out of here and go
drag your female out of Liz’s room.”

“Ingrid already called me a cave man
once. I don’t need to encourage her again. Anyway, where are you
going to sleep?”

“As much as I’d love to jump into
Liz’s bed, I think it would probably be the last jumping I’d ever
do. I’m sure I saw a couch in the viewer room.”

"But Ingrid won’t…”

“When you two are together in a room
there's so much chemistry it's like being in the lab at Pfizer. You
could fucking light up Soho."

"Yeah, but..."

Gene threw his pillow at Mack’s head.
"You love each other. Do you know how rare that is for thetas? Go
have pretty babies together, I mean it. Who knows how much time any
of us has? And yes, I think she's awesome. But she needs someone
who’s her equal, another alpha. You’re that guy.”

Mack laughed out loud. “You don’t see
it, but you’re every bit as powerful and strong-willed as I
am.”

“When you’ve been treated as a hot
piece of ass your whole life, it’s hard to believe you’re something
more. Brains aren’t a sought-after commodity in my line of
work.”

“Your
former
line of work. Look around.
There’s a rebel group I heard about that’s cryin’ out for a
leader.”

“They are kinda disorganized. You
could handle them, no problem.”

“Yeah, but I want to be out on the
street, getting my hands dirty. A rover, like Johnny.”

Gene chuckled. “You know she’s gonna
want the same thing. You won’t be able to hold her
back.”

“I know, but I’ll be there with her.
Every minute. We’ll need someone we can trust at the
helm.”

Gene’s wheels were spinning on turbo.
“The street thetas might hate the idea.”

“And who uses
Influence
better than
anyone on the planet?”

“I’d want them to choose me. I won’t
use coercion.”

"Gene..."

"Look, I appreciate the support, but
we’re getting off the subject. You've been like my big brother for
the past six years, so listen to my younger-brotherly advice and
don't fuck this up with Ingrid. She needs you. Tonight. Now.” Gene
stood, gathering his blanket and picking up his clothes.

“Thanks.”

“Could I have my pillow back? I'm
beat." After catching the toss, Gene went to the door. Ingrid was
already there, with her own pillow and blanket. “He was coming for
you.”

Gene gave Ingrid a peck on the
forehead and left Mack with a sly wink.

She hesitated in the doorway before
inching into the room and shutting the door. "If you don't want me
here, I'll go, but I can't sleep.” She lowered her body onto the
edge of his bed, shivering in a large tee shirt that only hit the
top of her knees. Mack lifted his blanket, hoping she wouldn’t
argue. She didn’t, snuggling in close with a soft sigh; her head
nestled on his chest.

CHAPTER
THIRTY-SIX

He whispered into her hair as he
stroked it. "I'm sorry I wasn't there when the wolf hurt you. I
should have protected you.”

"You're such an idiot." Lifting her
head to meet his eyes, she caressed his handsome face. "Your energy
saved my life. You were there with me, every minute.”

“I tried to be.”

“From the first time our fingers
touched over that box of pizza, I've only wanted you. I've heard
your laughter every night in my dreams, and I wake up wet and
wanting you most mornings. At least on the mornings when you
haven't pissed me off."

"Tuesdays, then." He grinned. Ingrid
reared back, pretending to punch him, but he caught her wrist
before she made contact. "We haven't even known each other a full
week. How is this depth of feeling even possible?” Mack’s brow was
lined as he looked for answers.

She smoothed out his forehead with a
gentle touch. “Your magic sings to mine, my heart beats to your
heart’s rhythm. We’re the same. True partners.” He didn’t respond,
instead releasing his grip on her wrist and sliding his hand down
to her waist. “Tell me to go back to Liz’s room if you don't feel
the same way.”

He stroked her face, her neck, her
hair. “You know I adore you. You’re my heart.” His sweet kiss
almost moved her to tears. “Stay forever, my love.”

He nuzzled her neck, taking in her
scent as he sucked on her lobe and gently bit into her shoulder.
She mirrored his action, a strangely possessive marking of their
territory. She’d never belonged to someone so completely, so
viscerally.

When they moved apart, Mack’s features
turned darker as he brought her hand to his mouth, kissing each
knuckle then sucking on her thumb, sending happy shocks directly to
her lower belly. His voice grew husky. "All I have to do is smell
your lavender soap and I'm hard."

Mack wove his fingers through Ingrid’s
hair, holding her trapped only an inch away from his lips. Ingrid
wanted those lips, but he didn't move closer. Instead, he held her
there, sharing each breath, staring into her eyes, both of them
lost in the swirling copper and aqua patterns.

"Maybe you should avoid candle and
potpourri shops." She teased him with words because he wouldn't let
her tease his mouth. "It could be embarrassing for you." To prove
her point she stroked his erection, now straining against his
boxers.

"Not if I pull you into the back of
the store and push you up against the storeroom wall." He moved his
head to the side to lick and kiss her previously injured ear, then
ran a calloused finger along her bottom lip. The wounds had healed,
but the memories were still fresh.

"Exploring the terrain?” she asked
playfully.

“More like claiming, I’d say. This
mouth is mine from now on."

Ingrid smiled. "Even when I'm
disagreeing with you?"

"Especially then. Because I can do
this to distract you." He kissed her hard, his tongue going deep,
his lips leaving no doubt who he thought was in charge tonight.
When he broke away, his eyes were glittering with humor and
love.