INVISIBLE FATE BOOK THREE: ALEX NOZIAK (INVISIBLE RECRUITS) (15 page)

Chapter Thirty

“Thanks for meeting me,” Bran said to Willie, while scanning the street for threats. He trusted the Were, but only so far. After a lifetime of betrayals better to be wary than disappointed.

Willie grabbed the chair opposite, waving off the waiter hustling over. The café was small, shabby and out of the way. Perfect for a meeting spot where they wouldn’t be overheard, or recognized.

“You’re looking drained,” the Were remarked. “But you’re alive and here so I’ll assume the fae didn’t find you.”

“They did.” At the Were’s raised brow look, Bran chuckled, though it wasn’t a happy sound. “Finding me and taking me before the Council are two different issues.”

“I see.” The Were leaned back in his chair, but carefully. Even recovering Weres still possessed a lot of strength. “What do you need?”

“Info,” Bran said, leaning forward so his voice wouldn’t carry. The Were had been right, he was running on adrenaline and determination. Mostly the lat
ter. The Noziaks had not been in the tunnel safe house so he assumed they were both mobile and able to take care of themselves. His most pressing concern was what had happened to Alex. “Any word on the street about our witch?”

The Were shook his head
, and Bran’s stomach took a dive. Then Willie leaned forward, his expression intense. “I wouldn’t take that as bad news.”

What Bran wanted to scream was,
why the hell not
, but years of business negotiations had taught him that the first man who let emotions rule him lost the deal. Right now Alex was the deal and he wanted her. “Why?”

“The absence of any intel is
in itself revealing.” 

“Look, Willie, I don’t need obtuse here
; I need facts.”

The Were spread his hands before him and toned down his voice. “
Weres tend to boast a bit.”

Bran gave him
an and-that-means-what look.

“Okay, we brag. A lot.”

“Get to the point.”

Willie leaned both arms across the table. “No word on Alex but someone’s throwing a lot of cash around for
several small snatch-and-grab operations. The word is they want Weres who can keep their mouths shut and follow orders.”

“And this means?”

“The targets are two women. One a girl. The other wounded. Easy pickings.”

“Alex?” If so
, she wasn’t alone. He tamped down the image of her injured even as he knew Van had attacked her. First he had to find her.

“No names have been mention
ed.” Willie must have sensed Bran urging him on as he rushed his words. “Key point is there have been two attempts and both have failed.”

Now that sounded more like his Alex.

“Any idea where these attacks happened?” he asked.

“No, but I know something better
.” Willie grinned.

“Not the time to play coy.”
Shaking his only remaining ally was not a good idea but sometimes the Were tempted him. Like now.

“Okay. Got it.”
Willie jerked himself about like a dog shedding water before leaning across the table. “I signed up to be part of the next attack.”

It took everything Bran had not to
lunge and grab the Were by his throat.

Willie reared back. “Not for real, man. Just so I can tell you
what’s going on. If these guys are involved in … you know … in doing something to Alex.”

Bran scrubbed his face with his hands. He should have known better. If the Were had meant to hurt Alex he would have done it
when they were all together. “Go ahead,” he mumbled.

Willie nodded
, though his expression was still wary. Bran didn’t blame him. “We’re meeting at a café in the 18th arrondissement,” he said.

“Near
Montmarte
?”

“
Oui
.”

“
I’ll follow you.”

Willie shook his head then looked as if he thought of something. “You able to do a cloaking spell
?”

“
Oui.
” Bran didn’t clarify that he’d depleted most of his magic escaping the fae. By the time he needed to cloak himself he’d do so.

“You’ll have to disguise your smell too. Weres can pick you up that way.”

“Don’t worry,” Bran bit the words out. “Just get me close and I’ll manage the rest.”

Willie didn’t look convinced. That was his problem. This was the first solid lead
Bran had on Alex since Versailles and he wasn’t going to lose it.

As they stood to leave, Bran
waited for the waiter to scurry off before turning to Willie. “If this works out, I’ll owe you, my friend.”

Willie gave a Gallic shrug. “I’ve asked the saints to watch over us.”

Bran barked a short laugh before lowering his voice. “I don’t know that there are any saints looking out for mages.” Or witch/shamans either. But Alex had him, that’d be enough. He’d make sure of it.

“Let’s go,” he said, leading Willie
, though the Were was the only one who knew where they were going.

Bran didn’t need to know where yet
. He had the why. To save Alex. That’s all he needed to know.

Chapter
Thirty-one

Don’t ask me how we got down from the cathedral or basilica or whatever kind of church it was. By the time we scooted from one ledge to another, and found an access door on the roof leading to the smallest, tightest stairwell made of stone and age, I’d started praying to any beings willing to listen if only they’d let us get to the ground safely.

We
did, but literally on our last legs. It was one step at a time from there to the safe house, no energy left even for talking.

What felt like a lifetime later
, I walked right up to the door of the small, single dwelling apartment as if I owned the place, Sabina dogging my heels. It must’ve been just beyond noon as the spring sun made the building look older and in more need of repair than I’d remembered.

My luck
. I’d led us to the wrong place.

Only one wa
y to find out. Last thing I wanted was some snoopy neighbors sticking their noses in where they didn’t belong and start asking some prying questions so I squared my shoulders and acted like I belonged. I didn’t have any ID, and really wasn’t sure I had a place inside either.

Sabina
held her tongue as I marched up and knocked, a rabble of butterflies kamikaze flying in my stomach. I might refuse to show the nerves but that didn’t mean I didn’t have them.

I knocked again. Louder this time.
Was everyone gone? Had they left the country already? Both questions made me want to growl.

“Don’t think anyone’s here,”
Sabina said at my side. As if I couldn’t figure that out. “What now?”

Ling Mai
at her hotel if she were still there? Since our last conversation hadn’t ended on the nicest of terms, I’d rather face charging Weres. Oh wait, I’d already done that not so long ago.

“We move on to our second option.” I hadn’t figured out what that was yet but I wasn’t going to stand around like th
e poor, pitiful red-haired stepchild not wanted.

I shrugged rock-hard shoulders and turned to leave when the door cracked open.

Part of me was relieved, part of me braced myself for facing my teammates.

Except it wasn’t an IR agent opening the door. It was some gangly blonde kid
who mumbled, “Y-yes?”

He actually managed to have his voice crack
halfway through the single word, but at least it’d been in English.

“Who are you?” I demanded, then realized that was beyond rude. It was just that I really hadn’t expected
a stranger. Which meant my team really had left Paris. Without me.

It took a second or two for me to get my act together. Okay, maybe a minute a
s Sabina cleared her throat next to me. “Sorry,” I sighed. “I was expecting someone else.”

I turned to leave, my limbs as stiff and wooden as my shoulders had been. Shock. It must be. One too many blows. They’d really left me?
Sabina grabbed my elbow to steer me down the sidewalk. No doubt I looked like I’d been on a three-day drinking binge as I shuffled away, taking everything I had to put one foot in front of the other.

Mandy I could see
being happy to wipe her boots of me and our short acquaintance, but I expected more from Vaughn and Kelly. Especially Kelly. She’d been the sister I’d never had. Did she really leave? Without even a message?

If the team
moved on then she’d have to go. Right?

We were about four doors away when the young man’s voice called out. “Your friend. What’s her name?”

Sabina pulled me to a stop. “What’s your friend’s name?” she prodded, her voice gentler than I’d heard from her so far.

“Doesn’t matter.” It was a lie, but I was salvaging what pride I had left. I knew when I’d become an IR member that if I didn’t cut the job I could be returned to where I’d started from at any time. The fact that
it was the Pocatello Women’s Correction Center, aka jail, gave me a reason to stay with the job until my year of service was complete. Then I’d be free.

I wasn’t looking forward to
being cut adrift so easily. What now? The jail was still in Idaho and that’s where, if the truth was told, I belonged. Not gallivanting around the world screwing things up.

Still
, I couldn’t leave Sabina at risk because my Noziak pride made asking for help stick in my craw.

I pulled my shoulders and chin up and turned to answer the kid’s question. “Kelly. My friend is
… was Kelly.” 

Both his brows raised.
“Anyone else?”

How many friends did a person need to pass his muster?

“What is this, fifty questions?” I snapped.

He opened the door wider as he said, “Maybe we should talk inside.”

That’s when it hit me. That damn hope. That sense that maybe everything wasn’t lost. That I hadn’t been abandoned. Again.

I swallowed, hard, and kept my chin high as I walked back
and entered the house.

Chapter
Thirty-two

I didn’t expect a big neon sign that shouted “We Haven’t Left You Behind” the moment I walked inside the safe house. Okay, maybe I did, but it’d been a rough few days.

The place looked like someone had just cleaned it, without
a telltale sign of anything anywhere. Not a lot of intel I was going to get by a quick look. Guess I’d have to resort to the interrogation technique. One that wouldn’t give too much away to Sabina standing by my side, checking out the guy closing the door.

Or maybe I could blab all I wanted and she’d still be clueless.

“Who are you?” I asked the guy as a place to start. I thought I’d kept my voice non-combative but the look Sabina shot me said otherwise.

“Name’s Hercules,” he said with a blush as he jammed his hands in his pockets, his gaze ping-ponging between
Sabina and me as if trying to figure out whom to talk to—the cute chick his age, or the scowling woman who clearly wanted answers. “But everyone calls me Herc.”

I just bet they did.

“And you know Kelly? Kelly McAllister?”

“Ah.” He ducked his head as a hank of hair curled across his forehead. I could swear I heard
Sabina sigh. “I didn’t catch Kelly’s last name.”

Not helping here. “Was Kelly with any of her other friends?”

“Yeah.” He jumped on that, then pulled back as if realizing how little he could or should reveal to a total stranger. Good. He had some common sense at least. Especially when he added, “You got some photo ID?”

I shook my head, nice and slow, keeping my gaze locked on his.
What now, kid?

He surprised me and pulled out a phone, snapping a photo of me before I could protest. Then punched in a few clicks before looking back up. “There.”

“There what?” I asked, wondering if I’d just led us into another ambush. I grabbed Sabina’s arm and started dragging her toward the door.

“Where are we going?” she protested, obviously recovered from the last battle way too quickly.

“No idea who he sent that photo to,” I said, easing toward the door even with the kid blocking it. Only the closer I got to him the more he didn’t look as much a kid, height or strength wise. “Out of our way, buster,” I snarled, hoping that was enough.

But it wasn’t
, as the confusion that had been on his face, mirroring Sabina’s look, cleared. He raised his hands. He was smart enough not to show fists or I’d have to clock him rather than take the risk he meant either of us harm. No telling how soon whoever was on the other end of the phone might be showing up.

“Wait, you’ve got it all wrong.” His voice sounded sincere but his heart rate had picked up. Why?

“We’re out of here.” I went to push him aside, assuming he was only human, when Sabina changed position, aligning herself with him.

The idiot.

“Can’t you give him a chance?” she said. “Just hear him out?”

Oh, brother. Did the girl have no sense of self-preservation?

My tone became more growl than we’re-all-BFFs-here as I looked at him and ignored her. “I’ll give you to the count of three to move it.”

“Or?”

“Or I’ll turn you into a Hercules toad.”

He actually smiled. A big ol-boy smile. Not quite the response I was aiming for. “You can do that?”

Did he know what I was? Did I dare wait around to find out? Maybe to the first and no, to the last.

“One,” I said, taking a step closer, my hands curling.

“They should be here any minute,” he shot back. Like that was good news.

It wasn’t. Not to me.

“Two. Three,” I jumbled the words together, nudging him aside as I grabbed Sabina. Only my nudge sent him careening into an armoire across the room and Sabina squawked, like I was the bad guy in the room just as the room’s door clicked open.