Nico's Heart (RARE Book 1) (2 page)

Chapter 3

Nico Marx tried to get his emotions under control as they pulled up to the guard station at the compound, but it was hard.  His wolf wanted get to Jenna now.  Jenna and Lily were his, dammit.  And while they were sitting here playing patty cake with the fucking guards, his Jenna was somewhere in the compound in pain.  He could not stop the low growl as he watched the guards.  Angel glared at him, “Nico, what the hell is your problem?  Knock your shit off!”  Nico glared right back.  “Get us in there now,” he growled.  Angel watched him for a moment, then turned back to the guards, smiled sweetly and blew them a kiss as she drove through the gates. 

Nico jumped out of the SUV as soon as it stopped in front of the office building.  “Not so fast, Turbo,” Angel yelled.  “Get your ass over here.”  Nico swore under his breath as he walked around the vehicle to his boss.  “Look, I’m sorry,” he started to say, but Angel stopped him with a hand on his arm.  “Talk to me, Nico,” she said.  “Who is she to you?” 

“Mine,” was all he said.  “She and Lily are mine.”  Angel was used to his premonitions, so she only eyed him for a moment and then turned away as she said, “Come on, Caveman, let’s go get back what’s yours.”

The conference room was huge and held over 20 people already.  Angel and her team walked right in and over to a table that was in one corner.  Jaxson, their resident tech geek, pulled out his laptop and geared it up so it was ready as Angel clapped her hands loudly and yelled, “Listen up everyone.  I’m Angel, this is my team.  As of right now, this case is ours.  I need everything ya got on it and I need it yesterday.  I need to know where, when, why and how.  Exactly where and when was Lily taken? Do you have any ideas on who could have taken her and why?  How the hell did they get to her?  What guards were asleep on the fucking job that day, beca
use you can’t tell me that the Alpha’s niece doesn’t have enforcers watching her every move.   I want to talk to them.  If she was taken from within the compound, then you have a traitor and we will find that person.  If you have questions for me, they can wait.  I want mine answered first.  As everyone knows, the first 48 hours are the most critical.  It’s been over that and we do not have time to sit and play nice right now.”

As all talking ceased and everyone stared at her, there was movement at the door. 
A large man standing well over six feet with short black hair and the clearest blue eyes she had ever seen stood at the doorway with a beautiful petite woman by his side.  Wow, Angel thought, yum.  This was definitely the Alpha, Chase.  She could tell by the power that surrounded him, and by the pain in his eyes.  Pain that she would do whatever it took to erase.  And just where had that thought come from?  The woman with him was obviously Jenna.  She had long black hair that touched the middle of her back, and blue eyes that matched her brother’s. 

“Angel,” he said nodding his head to her, “I’m Chase Montgomery and this is my sister, Jenna.  Please forgive my people, they haven’t been told yet of this new development.  Everyone will give you their complete cooperation.  I have been informed of your requirements regarding taking our case and I agree to give you 48 hours to see what you can do without any involvement on our end and then go from there.” 

Nico spoke up at that, “You’ll give us the time we need.  We will find Lily no matter how long it takes and you will not interfere.”  Well isn’t this craptastic, Angel thought?  Let’s challenge an alpha and see where that gets us.  As Chase’s eyes narrowed on Nico, Angel hissed out of the side of her mouth to him, “Back off asshat.”  Jenna gasped as she moved slowly into the room watching Nico.  “Mate,” she whispered.  Oh great, it just kept getting better and better.

Chapter 4

Oh God, Jenna
thought, my mate is here.  He is really here.  He was gorgeous, with short dark hair, captivating green eyes, and muscles she wanted to reach out and trace with her fingertips.  Jenna closed her eyes and inhaled a deep breath, taking in the delicious spicy scent that was all him.  That was how she knew he was hers. Her wolf has been pushing at her to get to him since the first whiff.  Before that she had barely moved since the first 24 hours after Lily was taken.  At first she was mad as hell and had went crazy trying to find her, but the longer Jenna had been without Lily, the more withdrawn and depressed her wolf had become.  How could he be here now?  Now, when her daughter was missing and they didn’t have time to enjoy the knowledge that they had really found each other.  Some people searched their whole lives for their true mate and never found them.  Some mated others that were not their true mate because being alone was just too hard.  But her mate was here, right now, within reach.  He was here and was going to help find Lily.  As happy as she was, she dreaded it too, because now, in front of everyone, she would have to talk about that night.  The night her precious little girl was conceived. 

As Jenna and Nico watched each other, Angel took control of the situation diverting the attention away from them.  “Come on people, get me that info now!” 

One enforcer spoke up, “Lily was taken from inside the compound around 10am on Monday.  She was at the playground playing with friends.  Jenna was working, so one of the older pups had Lily that day.  There were the standard two guards at the gate and two female enforcers were at the playground watching over the children. “ 

“I want names,” Angel
demanded.  “Aiden and Xavier were on the gate.  Sable and Selene were at the playground, and the pup that took Lily is Callie.  She’s 19 and is in college.  Callie helps out with the children when she has time,” the enforcer responded. 

“And you are?” Angel asked.  “I’m Bran
Delaney, ma’am, the beta of our pack,” he said.

  “Ok, we have the when and where taken care of.  I want every person that you just mentioned pulled into different rooms in this building.  My team and I will talk to them each separate
ly.  Now, we need to work on who and why.  I want a list of names of anyone you can think of that would want to take Lily along with why you think they would want her.  Money, payback, grudge, whatever it is, I need to know about it.  Don’t hold anything back.”

Jenna tried to keep up as she watched Angel in action.  She had never seen anyone like her bef
ore.  It was obvious this was not the first time Angel and her team had done this.  She had jumped in and taken charge like she was born to do it.  For the first time since Monday, Jenna started to feel hope.  She glanced over at Nico and saw that he was watching everyone in the room.  Checking for their responses, she assumed.  Her mate, god she just couldn’t get over it.  But would he want her once he heard what she had to tell them?  In her mind, Jenna knew that what had happened hadn’t been her fault, but it did not change the fact that she felt ugly and dirty after what had been done to her.  And would Nico want Lily knowing who her father was?  Lily was nothing like that monster.  She was the kindest, sweetest, most caring little girl Jenna had ever known.  But would that matter to Nico?  Guess she was about to find out. 

Chapter 5

Chase and Bran were over by Jaxson telling him everyone they could think of that had something against Chase as alpha. 
They were going into details as to why and what their motives might be.  They had already been through all of this numerous times, but they knew that if RARE was to help then they would need all of the information also.  Angel was listening to them as she read some notes that were on a white board at the front of the room.  Sable and Selene were standing off to the side waiting to be taken into a room for questioning.  Two of the other enforcers had gone to the gate to relieve Aiden and Xavier of their duties so they could come in and answer questions.  Callie had been at the college, but she was on her way back to the compound. 

Nico watched Jenna over by the window for a few minutes not liking the vibes she was giving off.  She was obviously scared and upset because of Lily, but something else was wrong.  God, she was so beautiful.  And she was in so much pain.  He wanted to go over to her and just hold her.  To tell her that everything would be ok, that he would fix it.  He was an alpha male.  They fixed things.  Finally, he gave into the need and crossed over to her.  Instead of pulling her into his arms like he wanted, he just stood beside her letting his wolf soak up her presence.  She calmed him by just being near, and he was hoping his presence did the same for her. 

Jenna turned and looked up at him with her beautiful blue eyes full of tears.  “I’m going to find her, Jenna.  I’m going to find her and bring her home to you.  Nothing is going to stop me,” Nico said.   “I believe you,” she whispered. 

“Nico, there is someone else that needs to be on that list.  Lily’s father.  I need to tell everyone about Lily’s father.”  As she looked at Nico with scared, pain filled eyes, he thought ‘Oh
, hell no’.  Whatever had her this upset was not something he wanted everyone in this room to know about.  “Come on,” he said holding out his hand to her.  “You can tell me and I will talk to my team.” 

“But shouldn’t everyone know?” she asked.  “Only my team needs to know everything”, he said.  “We just took over, remember?”

“Yeah,” she whispered, “but it would probably be best if I told your team all at once, and I know Chase will want to be there.  I’ve never told him what happened.  I can do this, Nico.  For Lily, I can do anything.” 

“Ok, my team and your alpha, but no one else,” Nico decided.  Silently she put her hand in his and let him lead her over to where Angel stood.

Angel looked up as they neared and focused on Nico.  Taking a chance, Nico whispered into her mind
“Something’s wrong with her, Angel.  She’s upset and scared, but I don’t think it is just about Lily.  She says she needs to tell us about Lily’s father.  I don’t want anyone hearing whatever she has to say except the team and Chase.   I can already tell I am going to gut the bastard.” 
Angel glanced away like she was reading the notes again and responded,
“We will take care of your mate, Nico.  I promise.”

Everyone on the team was telepathic.  It was one of Angel’s requirements for a team member and it came in really handy when out on an op.  Another requirement, you had to be a badass.  So when Nico said he was going to gut the bastard, he meant it.

“Jenna needs to tell us about Lily’s father,” Nico said out loud.  Just then a young, very upset girl came through the door.  “Callie,” Chase said, “thank you for coming.  We need to talk to you about Lily and the day she went missing.” 

“I’m so sorry I didn’t watch her more closely,” Callie said crying.  “I left her to go help one of the other children on the swings.  I wasn’t gone very long, I swear!” 

“I know, Callie.  We have a new team helping us out now.  They need to hear from you everything that you remember.  Don’t leave anythi
ng out,” Chase ordered.  “Yes, Alpha.  Anything for Lily, “she said.  She turned towards Jenna, “I really am sorry Jenna.  So sorry!”  Nico pulled Jenna closer as he felt her tense up.  He sent a look to Angel who once again took charge.

“One of my team members will take each of you into a room to ask you some questions privately.  Aiden, you’re with Rikki.  Xavier is with Trace.  Sable, you go with Phoenix.  Callie, you will talk with Jaxson.  Selene, you’re with me.  Let’s get this done,” Angel ordered.  Nico looked at her in confusion.  “I need you to take Jenna to her house quickly and get whatever Lily loves the most there.  A blanket, a teddy bear.  Whatever it is.  Get it and get right back here.”  He nodded in understanding and pulled Jenna out of the room. 

“Come on everyone.  Let’s get this done!” Angel ordered.  As they all filed out of the room, Angel looked back at Chase.  He gave her a quick nod, his face a blank mask.  He was keeping a tight hold on his emotions.  Typical alpha.  She nodded back and took off.

*************************************

It was cold and dark when Lily opened her eyes.  She was so hungry.  She hadn’t had anything to eat since the snack she had before she went to the park.  And she was scared, so scared.  She missed her mommy so much.  Sometimes she closed her eyes just to imagine her mommy was there with her, cuddling her and singing her favorite song.  She didn’t know where she was.  Or where her friend was.  They were supposed to be getting a special flower for her mommy, but that never happened.  Now Lily was with some men.  Mean scary men.  They had thrown her in the back of a van, and she remembered screaming and crying for Mommy and Uncle Chase.  Someone had hit her and told her to shut up.  Lily had crawled back into the side of the van away from him and had held onto her face where it hurt, whimpering.  No one had ever hit her like that before.  One man had turned to her and said, “Once we get you to the boss man, you will be his problem.  Until then, sit there with your mouth shut unless you want some more of what you just got.”  As she thought about her Mommy again and how much she missed her, Lily curled into a ball on the hard floor and cried softly until she finally fell back to sleep.

Chapter 6

The interviews took no longer than 30 minutes.  Angel had trained her team well, and they knew time was of the essence.  They needed to gather as much information as they could quickly and move on.  As soon as they were done and everyone was back in the conference room, Angel shut the door behind her
, locking them all in.  Nico and Jenna were back and were over talking to Chase.  Off to the right in a corner she saw the two council enforcers, Storm and Ryker.  She had worked with them in the past and really liked them.  If she thought they would leave the council, she would hire them in a heartbeat.  She didn’t know if they had any other abilities, but she knew for a fact that they were both telepathic.  

She briefly connected with her team,
“Anyone get any suspicious vibes?” 
She got the
“All clear,”
response from all of them. 
“Not clear on my end.”
She said.  “
Selene’s in on it.  She told Lily they were looking for a flower for Jenna, then took her and handed her off to some sleaze balls.  I can’t prove it, yet, but if pushed hard enough, she will break.” 
And she would push.  She had council enforcers here, and she would use them.  She would do whatever it took to get that child back.

Nico tried to keep a tight hold on his wolf.  He wanted to get to Selene and punish her for what she had done to his Lily.  But he could
not stop the growl that vibrated through his chest.  He was going to kill the bitch slowly for putting his little girl in harm’s way.  No, he had not even met her yet, but Lily was his just as Jenna was.  His mate, his child.  Jenna placed a hand on his chest looking up at him.  “What is it?” she whispered.  “What’s wrong?”  He just shook his head and stared straight at Angel, the muscle in his jaw ticking.  His control was slipping and he needed help fast.  Even the soothing touch of his mate wasn’t working.  His growl was getting louder and louder.  All eyes in the room were on him.  Angel motioned for Jaxson and Phoenix to come over and stand in front of the door saying something softly to them, and then she headed towards him.  Standing in front of him she growled right back.  Angel was the alpha of their team.  His wolf wouldn’t back down to anyone but her.  “You will back the fuck off, Nico.  You will stand down and let me handle this,” she said in a low voice. 

“My mate, my child,” he growled back.  “Trust me,” Angel said. “Stand down and let me handle it.”  Angel stared him down still growling low in her throat.  It took
a while, but he was finally able to reign in his wolf and he stepped back.  He nodded his head at Angel letting her know he was once again in control.  She punched him in the arm lightly and said, “Now, let me take out the trash so we can get down to business.”  She turned towards Storm and Ryker, “Selene is yours, enforcers.  Please take her to the council and have her explain her part in all of this.” 

“What? Wait, what the hell are you doing?” Selene yelled as the two enforcers moved towards her.  “We know you are the one that helped the kidnappers, Selene,” Angel said.  “I don’t have time for your crap, so I am going to let the enforcers take you and get what they can out of you.”  As Storm reached for her, Selene yanked away and jumped up over the conference table to try and get to the door.  Before she got two feet past the table, Angel grabbed her and swung her around slamming her face first into the table.   “You have already pissed me off enough, bitch,” Angel growled.  “You do not want to push me further.  One more move like that and I’ll let Nico at you.  Right now he wants to tear you apart piece by piece. “

“Look,” Selene said struggling to get up, “I only helped them because I needed the money.  I have no idea who they are, but they promised me they wouldn’t hurt her.” 

“And you believed them?” Chase looked over at the enforcers, his wolf visibly pushing towards the surface.  “Do what Angel says.  And when you are done with her, the council can decide what to do with her.  If she comes back here, I will kill her.”  Storm and Ryker cuffed Selene with silver handcuffs and headed out the door.

Once they were gone, Angel ordered everyone else out of the room except her team, Chase, and Jenna.  It was time to get busy, and what she was about to do she didn’t want anyone else to see.  She trusted Chase and Jenna with her secrets, well as much as she could, but no one else.  First, she needed to know about Lily’s father, though.  He was the one wild card in the equation.  And out of everyone that could have snatched Lily, Angel was leaning towards him.  Angel had learned to trust her gut, and her gut was screaming at her that somehow he had found Lily.