Power Unleashed (10 page)

and permanently.

As he turned from the window, something near one of the sand dunes caught his

eye. “What the hell…”

“What’s going on?” Paz asked.

He turned to find her wrapped in a towel looking good enough to eat. She’d

twisted her wet hair up into an oversized clip and without any makeup on she

practically glowed. He mentally shook himself. “Stay here and keep the doors locked.”

Without waiting for a response, he headed downstairs. He didn’t bother with any

weapons because he was faster and more powerful than most werewolves realized. The

Council knew some of his secrets, but not all of them.

The salty air accosted him the second he stepped outside. He didn’t waste time

hiding or trying to stalk the werewolf on the beach. The man had been visible from the

window and it was obvious he wasn’t trying to hide. Or if he was, he was doing a shitty

job.

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The sand shifted between his toes as he stalked across it. “What the hell are you

doing?” he demanded when he spotted the naked human curled up next to a small

sand hill.

The dark-haired man focused on Adam for a split second before writhing in agony.

“Fuck, this hurts! Help me, please.” He started to shift. His bones cracked but only

halfway realigned before he reverted back to his human form.

“Adam!” He turned at Paz’s voice. Wearing jeans and a T-shirt—and no bra—she

hurried across the patio and down the short wooden steps.

“I thought I told you to stay inside,” he growled. Didn’t the fact that he was known

as the enforcer carry any weight with the stubborn woman?

She rolled her eyes and tried to brush past him, but instinct kicked in and he

blocked her.

“Don’t go near him.”

“This is the human that doctor injected. I recognize him from Perez’s video scans.

They didn’t tell the subjects what they were giving them. I swear I’ve seen him before.”

Doctor Reed, the monster experimenting on his kind, along with Antonio Perez had

been killed in the explosion that saved Paz’s life. It would stand to reason Paz

recognized him. “You’re sure?”

“Yes.” She glanced at the man still writhing, then back at Adam. She placed a gentle

hand on his forearm. “He’s just another victim. We need to help him.”

Sighing, Adam turned and crouched next to the man. “I’m going to help you inside.

If you try to attack this woman, you’ll regret it. Do you understand?”

All the muscles in the man’s body were pulled taut, but he nodded. “Yes,” he

gasped out.

Even though the man was taller and heavier than him, Adam lifted him up with

ease and strode past Paz. All his protective instincts told him to kill this human or get

him far away from his mate, but he knew he had to act rationally. They needed to find

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out who he was and who else knew about him. Adam could sense that he was a shifter,

yet somehow different. It was an intriguing, foreign scent.

Paz hurried past him and opened the door to the kitchen. Once inside, he stretched

the man out on the center island. He didn’t care about nudity and Adam seriously

doubted the other man did either, but Paz grabbed a towel and threw it over his lap.

Before he could move, Paz elbowed past him and took the man’s face in her hands.

“Can you hear me?” she asked.

“Yeah,” he rasped out.

“What’s your name?”

“Ethan Connell.” His voice was slightly stronger this time, as if Paz’s presence had

a calming effect on him.

“How did you find us?” Adam interjected.

“I could feel you.” Ethan looked at Paz when he answered.

She glanced back at Adam, then back at him. “What do you mean?”

“I don’t know…they put something in my blood…told me it would make me

stronger, not turn me into a fucking animal.” He howled in pain and curled up in a fetal

position.

Paz brushed his shaggy hair back from his forehead. “Listen to me, Ethan. Take a

deep breath and relax.”

Adam was surprised when the man did. His legs and arms went slack at her words.

“Take another breath and close your eyes. Now go to sleep. You want to shut your

eyes and go to sleep. You’ll feel better when you wake up.” Her voice was like a lullaby.

And Ethan did exactly as she said.

There was more to Paz than met the eye. Adam was now convinced she was

keeping something from him. “How did you do that?”

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She stepped away from the island and turned toward him. “I didn’t do anything.

He’s tired and stressed. He just needed to ground himself. I’m going to call Caro and

have her come over to check him out.”

Adam frowned as he racked his brain. “Caro?”

“Oh, Caro Angel. She’s Alisha Lazos’ sister. She was at Nick’s birthday party before

you arrived, but she got called to the hospital. “

“Right.” He’d read Caro’s file. She was a pediatrician at one of the hospitals in

Miami, specifically in the oncology department. When Paz said the she-wolf’s name, her

voice softened. It was a small thing, but he guessed they were likely close.

“She should be home by now. Would you mind carrying him to one of the

bedrooms so he’s more comfortable?”

Adam nodded as Paz hurried from the room. Now he was more than intrigued.

Once again she was all business. The only time Paz let her guard down was during sex

so if he had to use that to get close to her, so be it.

* * * * *

Paz waited until she was upstairs to let out the breath she’d been holding. As she’d

been calming that man down, she’d forgotten about Adam’s presence. Well, not

completely but enough that she let her defenses slip. And that couldn’t happen again.

As a half fae, she had the ability to influence people. Not all people, of course, and

usually not supernatural beings, but the man downstairs had been near his breaking

point. His subconscious had been begging for help. He’d wanted to listen to her. And

Adam had seen her use her abilities. Of course she could deny it, but he’d still seen her

in action.

She shook her head. That was something she’d just have to worry about later. When

she found her cell, she dialed Caro.

Thankfully, she answered on the second ring. “Hello, dear.”

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She didn’t bother with niceties. “Caro? I need your help. We found that human the

doctor injected. From what I can see he’s having a hard time controlling his ability to

shift, but I got him to go to sleep.”

“Did you use your
influence
?” Caro was one of the few people who knew about

most of her abilities.

“Yes. I don’t think Adam realized though.” She whispered the last part.

“I’ll be right over.”

“Thanks.” As soon as they disconnected, Paz slid her phone back into her bag and

collapsed on the bed.

She was still a little nervous being alone with Adam so she was thankful Caro was

coming over. When Paz had awakened directly after her year-long nightmare, Caro had

been one of the first people to help her. She’d gone shopping with her and had told her

to stop by the house anytime she wanted to talk. Hell, she’d treated her normal, not like

some victim. Although she was one hundred and ninety, Caro was still unmated. In

human years, it meant she looked like she was in her thirties, but for a shifter, it was a

long time to be single.

Not that Paz blamed her for not settling. It would be horrible to mate, then to find

out your true mate was still out there. Hell, she was still shocked she’d found her mate

and even more shocked by who he was. Growing up she’d heard rumors about the

enforcer and how badass he was, but she’d been more terrified of him than anything

else. He represented The Council and they represented death for her.

A sharp knock on her open door jerked her gaze up. Damn! She hadn’t even

scented him coming up the stairs. She needed to get a grip on herself.

Adam stared at her for a long moment then spoke. “I put him on the couch in the

living room. Is Caro on her way?”

She nodded and stood.

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“Good. Thomas and Nick will be here soon too. Once they arrive, I’ve got

something to do, but you’ll be in safe hands.”

She started to ask where he was going but stopped. If she didn’t know what he was

doing, she wouldn’t worry. At least that’s what she told herself. “Okay, I’ll wait

downstairs.”

* * * * *

Adam gritted his teeth as he drove away from the beach house. He hated leaving

Paz alone, but his DOJ contact had called while she’d been upstairs and he now had a

meeting he couldn’t break. Leaving her with Thomas and Nick should ease his mind,

but it just pissed him off. He hated how at ease she was with Thomas.

He actually liked Thomas and under different circumstances, might even throw

back a couple beers with him, but as it stood, until he and Paz bonded, he didn’t want

her around him. His human side knew his attitude was archaic. His other side didn’t

give a shit.

Once he reached the local transportation department, he parked in the main lot as

he’d been instructed, then waited. After a few minutes, he spotted a middle-aged man

wearing a white dress shirt and dark slacks weaving through the various vehicles. And

he looked agitated.

Adam got out of the SUV and shut the door. He waited to be approached.

“Are you Adam?” He stood back a couple feet and Adam could scent his

nervousness.

“Yeah. And you are?” Adam knew the man’s name, he just wanted to be sure.

“I’m Frank. You ready?” Despite the cool breeze, he wiped his hands against his

slacks.

“When you are.” Adam fell into step with him and didn’t bother making small talk.

Since the Department of Justice was a virtual umbrella over so many agencies, his

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contact with them was technically this guy’s boss. But Adam understood his friend was

doing him a huge favor by allowing him unlimited access to the traffic videos.

After using his keycard to open a side door to the two-story building, Frank

glanced at him as they headed down a hallway. “I’ve already got the videos set up for

the day you requested, but you have only ten minutes, so make sure you get everything

you need because I can’t let you in again.” As they came to stand in front of a plain,

blue door, Frank used his keycard again. “I’ll be back in eleven minutes and I expect

you to be gone.”

“Will do. Thanks.” Adam nodded as he ducked into the room. There were four

oversized monitors displayed in front of a desk and each screen was paused. It would

take more than ten minutes to get what he wanted, so he pulled out two flash drives

and inserted them into the two computer towers. He was fairly good with computers,

and his contact had told him exactly how to upload all the files he’d need to view later.

Once he finished he glanced at his cell phone. Five minutes to spare. He tucked the

flash drives into his pocket and left the way he’d come. When he had time and privacy,

he was going to dissect every part of the video feed. Then the hunt was officially on.

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Paz grabbed a bottle of water from the refrigerator, but paused after she shut the

door. She couldn’t be sure, but she sensed Adam was back. The sound of the front door

opening then shutting confirmed it. She waited a moment, and when he didn’t enter the

kitchen, she headed back to the living room.

Nick Lazos had already left, but Thomas and Caro were still there watching over

Ethan with her. As she passed the stairs, she caught Adam descending them. She’d

assumed he’d already be in the living room with the others. “Hey, how long have you

been here?”

“Just got here. Had to put some stuff upstairs.”

“Okay, well Ethan is probably going to be knocked out for a couple hours, but he

woke up for a while.”

“What did he say?” Adam asked as he reached the bottom step.

“He told us his name again. Supposedly he’s ex-military and he’s done a lot of

contract work since he got out two years ago. He heard through the grapevine—I’m

assuming an illegal one—that Antonio Perez was working on something to create

super-strength or some crap like that. He signed up for a clinical study and he was the

only one who survived the treatments. At first, he really did just have above average

strength, but then he started changing.”

“Changing?”

“Like us. He can’t control it, but he’s able to shift into a wolf. And he’s just as strong

as werewolves.”

“What else did he say?” Adam asked.

“That’s it.” Thomas answered before she could.

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She glanced up to find Thomas walking down the hallway toward them. When

Adam immediately put his arm around her shoulder, she bit back a smile. Not very

subtle but she doubted he cared.

His grip on her tightened and he pulled her a few inches closer to his side. Her

instinct to keep her mate happy kicked in. She stepped into his embrace and wrapped

her arm around his waist. The sensation was foreign, but she found she liked it. More

than she wanted to admit. She’d never been touchy-feely with anyone other than her