Rule Breaker: A Novel of the Breeds (11 page)

A chuckle whispered through the door. “Who are you scared of, Gypsy? Me, or yourself?”

Him, she assured herself. It was definitely him scaring the shit out of her, not her response to him, not the knowledge that she was throwing her life away to have sex with a Breed if she continued this course.

“You are insane,” she accused him, her voice rough. “Stop trying to seduce me, Rule. It’s not going to happen.”

The low male laughter sent a shudder of need clenching at her pussy.

“Tell yourself that while you’re whispering my name and spilling all your sweet cream along whatever toy you use to get yourself off tonight, Gypsy.” There was the slightest edge of knowing irritation as he growled the words.

Gypsy closed her eyes tight, knowing she would be doing just that and hating him for it.

God, she so didn’t want to want him like this. Like he was the best thing since breathing and she needed him just as much as she did the air she took in. But even now, she ached to feel his lips on hers again and she could have sworn the taste of peppermint was lingering in her senses.

As she inhaled hoarsely, her fingers drifted over the tops of her breasts, her breath catching at the pleasure—

“I can make it feel better, baby,” he crooned through the door. “All night, while you’re screaming because the pleasure is so damned good, each orgasm so hot and exciting that all you want to do is reach out for the next one before the last one is finished pulsing through that hot little pussy.”

“Go away!” Jumping away from the door, Gypsy turned to face the panel, heat surging through her as she had to force herself not to open the door for him.

“Sweet dreams, lovely Gypsy,” he repeated, the amusement in his voice lazy and arrogant. “I’ll see you soon.”

See her soon?

“Not if I see you first,” she muttered.

“I heard that. My sense of smell isn’t my only talent.”

Of course he had an excellent sense of smell. Of course he knew just how desperately she wanted him. That was her damned luck.

She was hot, the sensitive flesh between her thighs so swollen and needy it ached, her clit filled with such heat it was nearly unbearable.

He had to be able to smell it, because fate certainly wouldn’t allow her to deny it.

Her face flamed with embarrassment. “I’m calling the sheriff.”

He didn’t answer.

What was the pervert doing now?

“Did you hear me? I’m calling the sheriff.”

Listening closely, hearing nothing but the racing of her heart thundering in her ears, eyes wide, she tried to determine whether he was still out there.

The faintest sound of a Desert Dragoon starting up, its powerful motor echoing from the front of the building, had Gypsy racing into the living room to peek between the heavy curtains hanging there.

Gazing down at the lighted street, she watched as the black all-terrain vehicle eased from its parking spot and then, with a burst of speed, raced down the street.

“Playing with fire, Whisper? And here I thought you understood the rules? Tell me, did you even search his suite as you were supposed to?”

She laid her head against the window at the sound of the low, grating voice behind her.

She should have expected this.

CHAPTER 5

“What are you doing here?” Turning, Gypsy faced the member of the Unknown who had accepted her as a contact only months after the death of her brother.

The same warrior who had given her the terms of her participation.

She must always remain a virgin.

Was he trying to make her insane now? Was every man she knew trying to drive her freaking crazy this month?

“Checking on you.” Crossing his arms over his broad chest, the tall figure leaned against the frame of her bedroom door.

She didn’t even try to see what he looked like, she knew better. The war paint that marked his face was done in such a way as to make it impossible to distinguish his features, no matter how close she came or how hard she attempted to find a distinguishing angle.

She spread her hands out from her body and gazed back at him mockingly. “All in one piece.”

Literally. Even her virginity was still intact.

Which was all he was probably worried about.

“I had no doubt. But now, I wonder,” he assured her, the confidence in his voice grating on her already heightened nerves.

“Then why check on me?” Moving from the window, she strode across the living room to the kitchen, glancing back as she passed the counter that divided the rooms. “Want a drink? I’m having one.”

“No, thank you.” His answer didn’t surprise her.

Pulling the refrigerator door open, she snagged a long-necked bottle of her favorite beer and twisted the cap off in disgust before taking a long drink.

“You’re twenty-four years old, aren’t you, Whisper?” He spoke as she swallowed the bitter brew.

“What does it matter?” Turning to face him, she leaned back against the fridge, seeing the gleam of hazel eyes. The last time she saw him, they looked blue.

“You’ve remained a virgin for nine years in order to work with us. You’ve had no lovers, you have few friends and you began separating herself from your family even before Mark’s funeral. Tell me, how long do you think you can remain isolated among the people who so love you? Or this Breed who seems intent on having you?”

She lifted her brow in a deliberate attempt to convey unconcern. “I walked away.”

“You ran away,” he retorted knowingly. “There’s a difference.”

There was a difference, and she knew it.

She simply didn’t want to discuss it.

“When I can’t run from him any longer, I’ll let you know,” she promised, tipping the bottle to her lips again.

“And what would happen to you if you stopped running?” Compassion filled his voice. “If you suddenly found you needed more than a drink to sleep on the bad nights?”

He nodded to the beer she was lowering.

“You think I drink to sleep?” she asked, amused. “Tell me, have you ever slipped into my apartment and caught me asleep?”

She knew he hadn’t.

His head tilted to the side as he watched her, dissected her.

“Never,” he finally admitted. “But I haven’t tried to.”

“Then try,” she suggested. “But don’t stay long if you do catch my eyes closed, because it never lasts.”

She and sleep were not close personal acquaintances. But she and the nightmares that followed her were.

“That Breed won’t be easy to turn away,” he told her. “And getting the information we need will be impossible if you ignore him.”

“Getting the information you need will be impossible if I sleep with him, remember?” she said, mocking him. “If I sleep with him, then you’ll no longer answer my calls.”

“I have voice mail. Leave a message. I’ll always listen.”

Gypsy narrowed her gaze on him as he slowly straightened from his position against the door frame.

“Are you rescinding the terms of my participation?” she asked slowly.

“That’s not possible,” he sighed heavily. “But should you break the terms of your participation, it doesn’t mean I’ll completely desert you. I’ll just refuse to work with you further.”

“Have you ever considered how ignorant that would be?” she asked him as she shook her head, disbelief reflecting in her voice now. “The information I pull in for you in a week’s time amazes even me. I never use a computer, I never endanger myself or my friends, but you still get more information than you know what to do with. Would you really cut me off like that?”

“Of course.”

Disbelief coursed through her. “For God’s sake, why?”

“The same reason we should have cut your brother off when he and Thea Lacey became lovers. He became careless,” he stated, his voice harsh now. “I won’t take that risk with you.”

“Mark wasn’t the one who became careless,” she sneered. “And we both know it.”

“Gypsy.” It was one of the few times he used her name.

“Don’t Gypsy me.” Anger surged through her.

Finishing the beer, she tossed the bottle in the trash before turning on the warrior furiously. “I was careless. And I refuse to discuss it. Now tell me why you’re here, or leave so I can shower.”

Silence stretched between them. A lengthy, tension-filled silence that warned her that the warrior was seriously considering continuing the confrontation.

God, don’t let him continue the confrontation
, she thought painfully. She didn’t think she could bear it.

Finally, he shook his head, breathing out heavily.

“The information we suspected the Breeds have on the Unknown has been confirmed. We have a leak among our contacts, and we need to know who that leak is. We need you to find out who that leak is.”

A leak?

“How many contacts do you have, exactly?” she asked then, tamping down her anger from moments before as she stared back at him suspiciously.

“The number wouldn’t help you,” he told her, the arrogance that was so much a part of him reminding her far too much of Commander Breaker.

“Okay then, a list of known contacts?” she asked instead.

“Such a thing doesn’t exist.”

When she would have argued that statement, his hand lifted in a gesture of silence before he continued. “There are six of us, and each of us has our own contacts that we’re forbidden to identify. Even we have rules we have to abide by, Whisper.”

How shocking.

“Forbidden to identify,” she murmured, disgust curling at her lips. “Why doesn’t that surprise me? That would just make it far too easy, wouldn’t it?”

“I thought you’d see it that way,” he agreed as though perfectly serious. “You enjoy doing everything else the hard way, I thought you’d appreciate that one too.”

Clenching her teeth as her lips thinned, she propped her hands on her hips and faced him, knowing he would clearly read the mocking suspicion in her face.

“So how am I supposed to figure out who this contact is?” she snapped. “Am I supposed to sleep with Rule and forever give up my own dreams to do so?”

“Your dreams?” he argued with a muffled chuckle. “Working with us was never your dream, Whisper. It’s your albatross. Your self-punishment and nothing else. You gave up your dreams for your grief, and you and I both know it.”

God, she hated him.

“Go to hell.”

It wasn’t the first time they’d had this argument, nor was it the first time she’d cursed him.

“Been there,” he stated with an edge of boredom. “As for how you do it? However you must, but we have to know what information they have, and exactly where they managed to unearth it. Nothing else matters. To survive, we have to remain hidden. Remain a fairy tale to our people. Somehow, someone’s contact has managed to acquire enough information to identify at least one of us. If one of us falls, eventually we’ll all fall.”

Blinking back at him in shock, she gave her head a little shake.

“How do you know one of the Unknown has been identified?” she questioned him, suspicion and disbelief suspended for the moment. “You don’t let anyone know who you are.”

“I don’t,” he agreed. “What one of the others has done, I can’t say for certain. All I know for a fact is that my contact within Jonas Wyatt’s force assures me that one of us has been identified. He was unable to learn who, or how.”

“You have a Breed contact?” That did surprise her. “He’s in a better position than I am—”

“Jonas is also aware that the Unknown has a contact on his force,” he snapped, anger edging into his tone now. “Whoever betrayed us knows far too much about us. Enough to assure me that the warrior that handles him has taken this person into their confidence. And that can’t be tolerated or allowed to continue. And I can’t trust the others to ensure that the identity of the warrior is not revealed. That leaves you with the task of identifying them. Because other than you and the Breed within Wyatt’s unit, I have no other contacts that my fellow warriors aren’t aware of.”

So what happened to an Unknown when they were fired? Gypsy had a feeling the position didn’t come with an out clause.

“You’re certain Jonas can identify one of you?” she whispered.

“I was told that Jonas was overheard making the statement that the Unknown were no more a fairy tale than the Breeds themselves were and that he now had the information he needed to question one of them.”

Yeah, that sounded like Jonas Wyatt knew exactly who he was looking for.

She knew Jonas too well to ever doubt he knew exactly what he was talking about. She’d heard far too many tales about Wyatt, and listened to far too many Breeds discuss him when they thought no one could overhear. He didn’t make generalized statements. If he had what he needed to question someone, then he knew who the hell that someone was.

Her own experience with Wyatt nine years before, and again after he and his family arrived in Window Rock, confirmed her supposition. She’d even managed to secure two invitations over the past two weeks to lunch with Rachel and Amber, as well as Isabelle Martinez and Ashley, one of the Coyote females with whom she’d become friends.

She knew Jonas was determined, single-minded, and nothing mattered to him but his family and the Breeds. Their survival was his only reason for living.

Rather like the Unknown.

The Breeds were considered part of the People, their genetics a direct tie to past chiefs, medicine men, the sisters, and children who had been taken from the tribes during the years the Council was building its so-called army.

Her brother had revered these warriors. He’d dreamed of eventually becoming one himself if a position among the six ever opened up.

“Getting that kind of information will be extremely hard. Hell, it could be impossible,” she muttered, making a quick mental list of the Breeds who might know what Jonas was doing. Though she doubted more than one, possibly two, would be privy to the information he had.

Rule Breaker would definitely be one of those Breeds, as would his brother, Lawe.

Jonas had several bodyguards; no doubt they knew quite a bit, but Rachel Broen was his lover. She would know everything Jonas Wyatt knew, and Gypsy knew Rachel.

A sickening feeling of self-disgust overtook her.

She couldn’t reveal anything Rachel told her, even if the other woman did tell her something important. She knew what the Breeds were searching for and why, just not their actual identities. She had no information to give Jonas that would help him; her contact never told her anything, he merely took what she collected. And she believed him when she’d asked him if he could help Amber and he’d denied the ability. His voice had resonated with regret when he told her he couldn’t.

“Watching your mind work is fascinating,” the warrior said then, his voice reflecting amusement and disbelief. “At some point, my friend, you’re going to have to realize how much your talents are being wasted as my contact. You could do far more with yourself.”

Gypsy shook her head.

“Rule’s suite was completely clean when I went through it last week,” she stated, brushing aside his comment. “He keeps his e-pad on him, at least whenever I’ve seen him. It’s never turned on when he has it, and he never pulls it free to use it.”

She knew that because one of the programs the warrior had added to her secure satellite phone had been designed to hack into the device the Breed commander carried and download the information contained on it. But it would only work if the e-pad was turned on.

“You had to have overlooked something,” he told her then. “When Breaker returned to his room, there was a definite indication of data being accessed or routed into his room from the hotel’s cameras. He couldn’t do that if he didn’t have a computer there. The e-pads aren’t capable of running a program like that. They can only read what’s routed to them from a program existing on another device. And he wasn’t carrying it in with him when he returned.”

Her jaw clenched in frustration then. Getting into Rule’s suite was easy, but getting caught would be easy as well.

Very easy.

The only person she knew close enough to Jonas Wyatt who might have the information, or a clue to it, was his lover, and the two women who had only recently become Breed lovers. One of whom was Liza Johnson.

She and Liza had visited once or twice since her Breed lover, Stygian Black, had brought her to the hotel for protection. Though the attack on her previously had caused more stringent protective measures to be taken, it might be possible to meet with her now.

Isabelle Martinez, the other Breed lover, was actually a relation. They were second cousins and close friends, though Isabelle hadn’t been very social since the attack that was made on her as well.

Being a Breed lover wasn’t exactly a safe position to have.

“Find out what you can, Whisper,” the warrior sighed heavily as she watched him thoughtfully. “And quickly, if you don’t mind. If Wyatt’s contact has his warrior’s confidence, then they could reveal all our identities. And I don’t believe I’d enjoy being hauled into Breed headquarters and interrogated by the bogeyman of the Breeds.”

She couldn’t blame him for that one.

“As quickly as possible,” she promised. “It may take a few days to make contact with my own sources, though.”

“I’ll look forward to your report.” He nodded.

“Just don’t hold your breath,” she sighed.

He chuckled. “Never.” He started to turn away before pausing and turning back to her. “I heard you’ve been trying to find out where Kandy disappears when she can’t be found.”