Guardians of the Portals (42 page)

Wolf quickly recapped events as he understood them. He added details gleaned from Jake but carefully avoided any mention of Caitlin or her whereabouts. Tyr listened attentively, asked for clarification on several points, and skirted around the issue of 'the asset'. No one had any doubt that she was the trump card in all negotiations. Wolf understood that none of them must know about his bonding to the woman, for that simple fact would become a game changer for all concerned. And not to his or Caitlin's benefit. He had no wish for himself and his mate to become glorified breeders and lab rats for the rest of eternity.

Tyr asked, "Are you certain about Trey? Can you trust your source?"

"Yes."

"Would you mind explaining...?" Tyr looked up at the compact older man advancing confidently, weapon slung casually off his right shoulder. He raised a brow at Wolf and peered furtively into the brush, fully expecting his men to materialize by his side. When they didn't, he squirmed in his seat and took a deep breath. Like a true politician he chose to ignore the painfully obvious and pressed on.

"So, I assume this is your 'trusted source'." A statement of fact.

Wolf was impressed with the new gothi's quick assessment of the situation and willingness to continue under radically altered odds. Unless... He glanced at Jake who nodded his understanding and backed toward bayside, rifle at the ready. Tyr had always been full of surprises, forever keeping the mild-mannered Eirik on his toes. It would be best not to underestimate the man.

Jake mumbled 'another boat' and 'damn' as he melted into the woods. Wolf resisted the urge to glance toward the eastern edge of the clearing where Caitlin sheltered with her sniper rifle.

"She's here, isn't she?"

"Who?"

"Don't play games with me, Liuthr. You never were any good at lying, even to save your soul."

Tyr stood and walked toward the center of the clearing. He was built much like Eirik, same height and coloring, the same square jaw and slightly florid complexion. Whether or not he was capable of the same tenacity and cleverness of his cousin remained to be seen. For Wolf,
how
Tyr ruled the Althings was less important than the agenda he planned to carry forward. A point they had yet to establish.

Wolf rose from the bench and approached the man. "What's your play, Tyr?"

"Gothi Tyr."

"Not until we come to an agreement."

"Your information is intriguing and I'm impressed that you have access to some of the inner workings of Greyfalcon. Eirik was our only point of contact with Gunnarr. With him gone," Tyr's voice hitched and he coughed to mask the emotion clogging his throat, "we can no longer predict, with the same level of confidence, what that group plans to do."

"You understand that Greyfalcon isn't the only player." Tyr's face remained impassive but his eyes turned hard and brittle. He continued, "I think you are already aware of the threat from that corner."

"Ah, yes, Leonov. The man has become a force. We are evaluating his position in this affair."

"The Mafiya had Knutr in their pocket. They are more than a bunch of common thugs. He has trained men, ex-KGB for sure, possibly some Chechen. All well-armed and well-funded. Leonov doesn't want to just take over Greyfalcon. We think he knows, or guesses, that we control the Portals. He might not understand completely what that means. All he needs to know is that Gunnarr has a way to circumvent the authorities, a nearly fool-proof device to move arms and personnel to wherever on this gods-damned planet he wants."

Tyr rubbed at his mouth and paced the clearing, rapidly calculating probabilities, then came to a decision. He approached Wolf with his hand extended. "I think we can come to an agreement, Liuthr. However, there is the small matter of..."

"I am not a small matter, Mr. Tyr." Caitlin sauntered into the clearing, shoving a taller man ahead of her. "I believe these are the last of them."

Tyr lifted an eyebrow and chuckled. "Well played, Liuthr. You were always known for your tactical skills."

Wolf smiled. "Not me this time, Gothi." He took the older man's elbow and guided him to the bench. "Let's start over, shall we?"

Tyr sat and crossed his right leg over his left. "All right, then. What is it you plan to do and how can we help?"

Wolf kept an eye on Caitlin as she settled her captive on the ground by the picnic table. Jake joined her and adjusted plastic straps over the man's wrists and ankles. He nodded at his daughter and slipped away to continue patrolling the area while Wolf described what they knew of Knutr's complicity and Gunnarr's ill-advised dispatching of Kieran to take out his cousin. Trey's position in the unfolding drama was less clear-cut. He seemed to operate independently, with an agenda that appeared, on the surface, geared to a simple rescue mission—to remove his friend, Jake's son, from harm's way and get him drug-free.

Tyr sighed and said, "It's not going to be that easy. Leonov has an army at his command. Even Trey, with all his unique skills, will not be able to penetrate the layers of protection they'll throw around Knutr. And so long as that bastard has information to plumb regarding the Portals, you can bet he's safe as houses."

"Jake has a plan. He figures Trey will have found Kieran and is either laying low and waiting for an opportunity or he's already made the snatch and is heading back north toward the one place he knows that's safe."

"And where would that be?"

Wolf ignored the question and continued, "We need access to the Portals as I'm not authorized. We need weapons, transport and backup if it goes south." He paused and looked hard at his Gothi. "And I want my command back."

"Well, that might be difficult. When we found out about Eirik..."

Caitlin strode up to the Gothi and pressed her Glock against his skull. To his credit the man never blinked.

"I think, sir, that you will find a way to fulfill that simple request for Wolf. Otherwise, the next item on your agenda will walk out of here with a polite 'fuck you' and all your plans will have been for nothing."

Wolf hid a smile as he watched a sliver of fear chase across his Gothi's face. Losing the asset would be the nightmare that toppled his bid for power amongst the Althings. Wolf had no doubt that Tyr had assumed Eirik's mantle on a promise of bringing Caitlin and her extraordinary gifts into the fold.

Tyr licked his lips and turned to stare at the thin woman casually pivoting the Glock along his forehead. "And you are..."

Grinning, Caitlin backed away a step, still keeping the weapon trained on the older man. Wolf and Gothi Tyr stared, open-mouthed, as Caitlin's features dissolved and reformed, like wax melting in the sun and flowing over a mannequin, molding and taking its new shape. Eyes squinting tight in concentration, she slithered into the new template.

Tyr hissed, "Fuck me," as the man took shape before his eyes, tall, lean, the neck corded with ropey muscle mass, a cyclist's build with zero body fat. With a worried frown he glanced quickly at Wolf, then at the stranger's crotch, eyes widening at the characteristic bulge in the black lycra tights.

Wolf nodded and muttered, "Down to the last detail," and prayed to Freyja that his mate never tried that on him, because he was feeling vaguely turned on and extremely uncomfortable at his own reaction. When the stranger winked at him, he blushed crimson to his roots.

Fortunately his gothi was mesmerized by the transformation and not looking in his direction. This demonstration was the first real evidence of her gift to anyone outside of her immediate family, and him. Eirik had been privy to small, insignificant changes, teasers only, never the complete package. He'd had to rely on Gunnarr's second-hand description of what had transpired when she and her father had made the aborted attempt to snatch Kieran from Greyfalcon and Knutr. That debacle had led to Trey's abduction of Caitlin and his later fall from grace. All sides had lost men, good men, yet that hadn't deterred Eirik from making Caitlin priority one, even taking over personal supervision of her training.

Tyr's jaw clenched as he lusted after the prize the Althing elite had dreamt of ever since her family legacy became known.

Wolf read the man's expression and decided he'd best draw the line in the sand. "She's not on the table, Gothi. Caitlin offers her abilities in exchange for assistance in rescuing her brother. But she is not, and never will be, a research subject for you or anyone else." Wolf stood and moved to stand beside his mate. "Is that agreed?"

"Of course, Liuthr. But perhaps, she, uh, he would be amenable to us taking blood samples for further study."

Wolf sputtered, "Didn't you...?" but Caitlin touched his elbow and drew him toward her. Fascinated he watched her slowly morph to her normal shape and felt immensely relieved to see her in a female form. It wasn't that he objected to her shape-shifting—in truth he had a certain fondness for her Xena template—but this moved him way past his comfort level.

Caitlin ran her left hand through her now normally light blond hair as she collected her thoughts. "I don't see anything wrong with taking a few samples, Gothi Tyr," she leveled the Glock at the man's midsection, "so long as that is all you do. Are we agreed?"

"Of course, dear girl. That's all that Eirik, we, ever wanted from you."

Caitlin lowered her weapon and turned to Wolf who gave her an odd look. They both knew the man was lying through his teeth. They would deal with that later. Right now they needed a working agreement for materiel and backup in order to take on the Mafiya.

Curious, Tyr asked, "Is there a reason you've excluded Gunnarr from your plans? It seems he would be in a position to offer assistance. A matter of self-interest considering it's his son who is at risk."

"I think I can answer that."

"And you are?" Tyr turned to the compact man who'd silently joined the group while their attention had been on Caitlin's parlor trick.

"Jake O'Brien."

"Ah, ComsTech head. You have an interesting history, Mr. O'Brien."

Jake ignored the barb. "Trey thinks your people killed my girl here. That's why he went back to daddy. And that's why he wants to rescue my son. Atonement. Plain and simple."

"So when he finds out?"

"He won't."

"I don't understand. If he realizes we didn't kill the asset ... uh, I'm sorry, dear. Caitlin." Tyr gave her an unctuous smile and asked, "Well, won't he jump at the chance to rejoin the Althings?" Tyr turned to Caitlin and remarked that they suspected some sort of relationship had developed between her and Trey, although only Eirik seemed to have any details. He gave her a questioning glance, clearly expecting an answer.

Wolf snarled, "He killed her mother. She has no relationship with Trey. She..." He caught himself before saying 'she belongs to me now'.

Jake came up behind his daughter and murmured in her ear. She nodded yes and moved toward the bay. He checked his watch and glanced at Wolf, then followed Caitlin out of the clearing. They would take the boat back to the mainland, leaving Wolf to tie up loose ends with his people.

Tyr asked, unable to keep a worried tone out of his voice, "What have you done with my men?"

"I'm sorry about the pilot. The rest are sleeping it off." Wolf held up a remote and clicked a button.

A fireball lit the late afternoon sky as Wolf calmly remarked, "That should bring someone soon enough." He turned and strode toward the far parking lot and the Jeep.

Tyr yelled at Wolf's retreating back, "You'll regret this, Liuthr. Without Eirik to protect you, you'd better watch your back."

Fumbling in his pocket Tyr found his cell phone and flipped it open, grunting in dismay at the lack of bars.

"Not even your little band of merry men will protect you, Shield Wolf."

Tyr spun to look for his drugged team members and stumbled over the man lying trussed on the ground, his eyes scrunched tight, feigning unconsciousness, but his ragged breathing gave him away. Tyr reached for the knife holstered on the man's belt.

With a sigh he muttered, "Gods, I hate this shit."

****

"D
ad, do you think they'll really help us. I don't have a good feeling about this. I'd rather we try to do it ourselves."

"Caty, girl. We've done that. Didn't work out so hot. Got you lost to me. To Kieran." He spun the wheel and guided the Bass boat into the channel, bucking the cross wind and wicked chop. "Get the slickers. We're gonna get wet."

She reached into a plastic locker and pulled out the raingear. The sun slid behind a low-lying bank of clouds huddling along the distant shoreline. She shivered as the temps dropped dramatically in the stiff breeze. She helped her father shrug into his slicker before slipping the too-large jacket over her thin shoulders. Yanking a watch cap over her already wet hair, she handed a similar one to her father but he brushed it aside.

"You're too skinny."

She sighed. She'd been waiting for the talk. It looked like now was the time.

"I can't seem to eat anymore. I changed. It did something to my body chemistry."

"Not just that I don't think."

"I-I, uh, don't know..."

"Caitlin O'Brien. Start talking, girl. All of it. I can't protect you and Kieran unless I know exactly what happened to you in that hell-hole."

"Dad, please."

"Caty, the man they call the Falcon is on the other end of that line that's cutting you in two, and he's gonna be reeling you in once he knows you're alive. And it won't go well for the man I think you might love."

"Wolf? I'm, uh, I'm not sure..."

"Well, I am, girl. He's a good man. The Falcon's turned into a stoner head case like your brother. The only difference is he keeps his shit together a bit better than Kier. The two of them are death on wheels. He's going come for you and nobody standing in his way is gonna get out alive."

"Oh, Dad. What's going to happen now?"

Caitlin felt the vibration in her gut, steady and comforting. What would she do if the connection severed? How would she survive losing one of them? She refused to acknowledge the real question,
which one are you willing to let go
?