Scorpio Sons 1: Colton (16 page)

After hastily donning assault gear, Colt and Connor awaited the arrival of G Unit. This mission had required a lot of men on the ground and Colt could only be grateful that so many Units had been available on short notice. At any other time the Sons could have been spread thinly across the whole country.

A black van, identical to the one already sitting in the loading bay, soon pulled into the warehouse garage of the safe-house.

Alyssa, who had come with him to wait for their transport, eyed him worriedly.

"Colt… be careful. I've only just got you back," she pleaded, wrapping her arms around him just before he followed Connor into the van.

He could barely feel her through the Kevlar, but her closeness appeased his cat. That she still loved him was hard to come to terms with. Even when he'd worried about her safety, and been determined to rescue her from Akabar, he hadn't truly believed she'd still want him once she was free. That look in her eyes had seemed so real, and had only confirmed what he'd always known: Sooner or later she'd see him for what he was and turn against him.

But instead of doubting him, she'd seemed over-joyed to see him again, telling him of her fears for his safety, as if he' been the one in trouble, not her. And, in that moment, some deep part of his soul had opened up and let her in. Finally, let her in.

So now, every time they touched, even briefly, it reminded both him and his cat that the threat to her was past. No matter what happened on this mission the Sons would keep her safe. And if he came home in one piece, then it would be to her. Because she loved him. Not the idealised hero who had saved her from rape. Not the genetically engineered mate for her cat. Him, Colton Blake, warts-and-all street-kid turned Scorpio Son. She deserved better, but she'd chosen him. And every day for the rest of his life he'd prove to her she'd chosen well.

"I'll be fine. This is what we do. What we've been trained to do," he reassured her gruffly.

He kissed her deeply and then smiled down at her. Her eyes turned cat and he felt his follow.

"I know. But it doesn't make it any easier," she said on a growl.

He laughed and kissed the top of her head. He'd never had anyone worry about him before. Never had anyone to worry about. Though it was nerve-wracking, it felt right. His life was richer and more alive with her in it.

Colt climbed into the back of the dark van and slammed the door shut behind him. The last he saw of his Alyssa was the goateed Son called Conrad, drawing her back inside the abandoned warehouse, out of danger.

Less than half an hour later the tech gave the word as a red dot moved along one of the clogged arterials of the city.

"Vehicle acquired," came the sharply delivered Intel.

"Copy that. Move into position in T minus 2."

"Copy that." The line went silent.

"Target is three blocks away and moving slowly," the tech announced to the team.

"Lock and load, its show-time," Cal ordered, pulling down his black balaclava so only his eyes, nose and mouth were visible.

Colt pulled down his own mask and checked his semi was loaded and the safety off. He felt a tremor of excitement run through him from his cat. This was what it lived for: the hunt, the kill. It was what he lived for, too. Or had… until Alyssa came along.

The van swerved sharply to the right, travelling along the now-empty side of the road. Then it jerked to a halt and he reached for the handles of the back door. In seconds, they were out and moving with meticulous precision and speed to the limo now caught between parked cars and a second lane of stationary vehicles waiting for their semi-trailer truck to move out of the way.

The limo was bullet-proof, but ripping the doors off their hinges was an easy task for one of the Sons with the right tools. While both back doors were being forced open, the driver and one guard jumped out of the front seats and opened fire on the Sons. Colt heard the screams of onlookers as they ran and ducked for cover. But the volley of bullets ended as suddenly as it started and Akabar's men were down. The doors came away and Colt reached in to drag the remaining guard from his seat. With more pleasure than he should have felt, he broke the man's neck before he had a chance to get off a shot.

Akabar had scuttled to the other door and was trying to make a break for it. But Connor was on him like terrier on a rat, shaking the mogul hard until the bastard lay limp in his grip.

Then, as suddenly as the Blitz had taken place, it was over. The Son who'd commandeered the truck ran to the front of the van and clambered in. Connor threw Akabar onto the floor in the back before the team piled in. In seconds, they were speeding away along the empty side of the street.

Colt removed his mask and grinned triumphantly down at Akabar who sprawled awkwardly at his feet. The bastard must have lost consciousness for a few moments because he shook himself as if trying to clear his head.

When Akabar finally looked up at Colt his shocked expression was more than satisfying. "You! How did you escape custody?!

Connor removed his mask too, and Akabar's eyes grew larger. "No, you're in jail. I made sure you were in jail."

That's when the rest of the Sons removed their masks. Akabar frowned and looked from one to the other of them, his mouth dropping open a little more each time he registered the same face staring down at him.

"How? Who
are
you?"

"We're the product of Guild engineering. Aren't you proud of what your people achieved?" Colt told him smugly.

"The Guild? No. I know nothing of an army…"

"That's probably because you're still not part of the Inner Sanctum. If you were, you'd know about the experiments in cloning done in the '80s that were shut down when the government found out about them. You'd know those warrior clones were supposedly destroyed.

"But guess what? They weren't. And now, instead of fighting
for
you, we fight
against
you, just like Frankenstein's monster turned on his maker." He paused to grin more broadly before going on.

"Alzhir Akabar, you have been apprehended for crimes against humanity. You may remain silent or talk your head off; it makes no difference to us. You will have no attorney, but will have the opportunity to speak in your own defence at your trial, where the evidence collected against you will be presented. If you are found guilty, which you will, you'll be put to death. And after what you've put Alyssa through, believe me, I will have front row seats for that."

Akabar had gone from bright red and gaping to white as a ghost during his speech. The bastard tried to say something, but his mouth was too dry to allow his tongue to work. Instead, he grunted and swallowed and shook his head, eyes wild with fear. He now looked nothing like the powerful media mogul Colt had met that first evening in Alyssa's hotel room.

"But you can gain some satisfaction from the knowledge that Alyssa will likely win the competition, thanks to the media coverage generated by your disappearance. As you well know, all press is good press for up-and-coming performers. Maybe she'll dedicate her winning song to you. That will bring a few tears to people's eyes, don't you think? After all, you two were so close. And the industry will never be the same without you. Luckily, Rio will be. Did you know Alyssa gave us the Intel on your plans for Rio?

"Oh, and just to rub salt into the wound, you might like to know she's one of the Guild's experiments too. Alyssa was made especially for me and my kind. So you see you never had a chance with her."

Akabar shook his head and tried to speak again, but no words came out. Colt felt triumph overwhelm him and he laughed, loud and hard, while the rest of his brothers looked on with satisfaction.

"I didn't think you could string that many words together at one time, boyo. I'm proud of you," Connor joked, after his laughter had abated. For once, Colt didn't mind his partner's needling. He didn't mind anything right now. Alyssa was safe, Akabar was in custody, and he could contemplate a long and happy future with his Lyss at his side.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Alyssa stood on the brightly lit stage between the two other finalists: a very talented male vocalist called Freddie Franks, and a willowy, black rapper called Madam M. They all held hands as they awaited the decision. Who would be the winner of this year's
Star Quality
?

Though she was nervous, she didn't feel as if her life hung in the balance. Alyssa already had what made life worth living for her: her man and her parents. That she also had a recording contract and an album ready to be released any day now, just added to her bounty. Winning the contest would just be icing on the, already decadent, cake of her good fortune.

In fact, losing would probably suit her better. She didn't want to be in the limelight anymore. It didn't fit her new life with Colt. If she was to be his mate, she needed to be able to go where he was sent, at a moment's notice. The idea of being separated, even for a short time, no longer appealed.

"And the winner of this year's competition is… Freddie Franks!" the laconic announcer declared with a flourish.

The hush that fell over the audience at the announcement was unnerving. She turned from the arena, filled to capacity; to the judges, who were all looking startled, as if they couldn't believe the results. Then she turned to Freddie and gave him a hug. Even he looked stunned.

"Congrats, Freddie. You deserve it. Well done!" she yelled over the chaos that suddenly broke out. Half the crowd had had begun to clap politely, but the other half were grumbling her name. And those grumbles began turning into a rumble and then into a roar of fury. There were even a few boos coming from the back of the stadium. The ten thousand people packed into the arena, many now chanting her name, were a force to be reckoned with.

Something needed to be done before the crowd went from verbal outrage to physical violence. Alyssa stepped up to the announcer and asked for the mike. He handed it to her like it was an unexploded bomb. Nothing like this had ever happened at one of these events. The man didn't have a clue how to behave, even though the producers were probably in his ear at that moment giving him directions.

Alyssa raised her hands for silence as she raised her voice to get over the noise. "Please, may I speak?"

Her voice had carried over the cacophony, but it took several more minutes for the crowd to settle down well enough for her to be properly heard. When they had stilled she said the first thing that came into her mind. Her only desire was to stop violence from breaking out and to give Freddie his moment in the limelight. What her fans were doing was all wrong.

"Though I thank you all for voicing your disappointment at my loss, I ask you to give Freddie his due. He's a wonderfully talented performer and deserves the record contract that comes with this contest. I already have a contract. My first album
Dark
Fantasies
will be available for download in the next few days. If you want to show your support of me, buy my album. In the meantime, accept that America has spoken, and join me in congratulating a very fine performer on his well-deserved win!"

For another moment the crowd was quiet. Then the clapping started and turned into deafening applause.

The announcer leaned in to take back the mike. "That's for you, not for Freddie. Thanks for saving the day."

She smiled up at him and shrugged. It wasn't quite as satisfying as saving Rio, but she appreciated his words. The applause got louder as she and Madam M left the stage to Freddie.

In the wings, Colt and her parents waited for her. She accepted their condolences and hugs, and then let them guide her away from the noise. The cameras were still on her, so Colt was making a point of keeping his back to them, as he always did. No one needed to notice that he looked just like the guy who lived down the street. It would raise too many flags for the Guild.

"How does it feel to have the audience behind you like that?" asked the female comedian who had been shadowing her every step for the last few weeks.

She turned to smile into the camera. "I felt really uncomfortable and sad for Freddie. I know how I would have felt if I'd won and the audience had booed me. Although I'm grateful that people thought so highly of my singing to complain, I wish they'd chosen a different way to voice their displeasure."

"That's very good of you, Alyssa, and only to be expected. You have been the darling of the contest from the start, not just because of your talent but because you're genuinely such a nice person. In this industry that's rare."

Alyssa shrugged and felt the heat of a blush creeping up into her cheeks. It was one thing to be appreciated for her music; it was another to be appreciated for herself. And from the tone of the woman's voice it felt like a genuine compliment.

As they made their way backstage, the chaos continued and it wasn't for another hour that she was able to escape to the limo with her parents and Colt. Back at the hotel the crowds milled, and she saw hastily written banners and signs condemning her loss and declaring their love.

Finally the well-wishers were gone, her parents had returned to their hotel room, and she had settled into the suite with Colt. Flopping down onto the sofa, she kicked off her shoes and stretched out along its length.

"Are you disappointed?" Colt asked quietly, coming to sit with her so he could take her feet in his hands and massage them.

"Yes, I suppose I am. It would have really been something to win. But given everything that has happened in the last few weeks, I just feel lucky to be alive and still have the people I love around me."

Colt's cheeks grew red and he busied himself working the pain out of her arches. There was something in his silence that set off alarm bells.

"What?" she demanded as he studiously focused on her feet.

"Huh?"

"What's going on with you? You've been odd all day. I thought it had something to do with Alzhir's verdict, but it's not, is it?"

"If you'd won, you would have been locked into live performances across the country for a year."

"I know. That part used to appeal to me, but not so much now. Why do you mention it?"

He lifted his head and stared at her with glowing, golden eyes. Her cat reacted to the sight and suddenly the foot-massage felt more like foreplay than therapy. She'd spent every night since her rescue with Colt, exploring sexual pleasures unlike anything her virginal self could have imagined. That should have meant she was satiated now, not growing excited just because his eyes told her he wanted her.

But she wouldn't be so easily distracted. "Colt, you're not going to derail this conversation. What's the mystery here?"

His eyes turned back to human and he shrugged, glancing away again. "I told Chase it wasn't right. You deserved to win. But he insisted your career has to come second to the Sons' agenda. Recording is one thing, touring the country is another. I can't be away for that amount of time, and I refuse to let you go anywhere without me."

Suddenly the pieces began to fall into place. The Sons could hack anything. If they wanted to change the votes for the competition, it would be child's play for them. Had she actually won?

"They changed the results. That's why everyone was so surprised, isn't it?" she managed to get out, drawing back her feet.

"Yeah. You won by a landslide."

"A landslide? Really?"

Somehow, just knowing she'd actually won made her content. She didn't need the glory; she just needed to know that people had voted for her. Lots of people.

But that didn't make what the Sons had done, what Colt had been party to, any less galling. It reminded her yet again that as far as the Sons were concerned her only value was as a mate to one of their number. They didn't care about her music; they didn't care about what made her happy and gave her life meaning. It was all about the war.

Colt climbed up the sofa on hands and knees until he had her pressed beneath him. He growled as he leaned in to nuzzle her neck. "I know you're pissed. You have every right to be. Taking the win from you was dirty tactics. We should at least have prepared you…But I didn't want to see your disappointment. I was a coward. You were so excited, so happy…"

She felt her defences giving way as he licked up her neck. Trying to think about his words was becoming harder and harder. The exhaustion, which had weighed her down only moments before, was replaced by sexual arousal so potent that she couldn't wait to tear the clothes off Colt's body and sink her teeth into his neck.

"I know your career is important to you. I won't let them take that away. We'll find some way to make this work. But I can't turn my back on my duty…"

Alyssa heard the regret and conflict in his voice. She would be making him choose between her and his brothers if she made the most of her career.

But someone like her only had a small window of opportunity to make her mark. There were too many other talented, young performers out there for her to believe she could hold her audience indefinitely. It was now or never.

Then she thought of the Guild subjugating Third World countries; polluting the air and water; dividing humanity and starting wars just so they could keep people weak, frightened and controllable; not to mention encouraging over-population so they could suck the planet dry for their own ends.

She had a duty to do what she could to stop the Guild. It wasn't up to someone else – anyone else – to do what had to be done. Her apathy and self-centredness had kept her from taking action for too long.

What her role would be in this war, she didn't know. It wasn't like she could be a warrior like Colt. The warrior gene was missing from her DNA. But at least she could make sure that Colt did his part, which meant not taking him away from his work.

Still, it would have been nice to have been consulted, rather than having the decision taken from her so high-handedly.

Colt bit gently into her neck, trying to draw her out of her head and into the moment. But she wasn't ready to give in quite yet, even when one large, warm hand was sliding up her leg beneath her skirt and stroking her inner thigh.

"Colt, sex won't appease me. You should have let me make the decision about my career, not taken it away from me. I would have seen the sense in not winning, but you could have trusted me to come to that viewpoint myself."

He sat back and met her gaze seriously. "I know. It wasn't that I didn't trust you to choose me over your career… Okay, yeah, there was an element of that, I guess. I still find it hard to believe you'd willingly give up your dreams for me. I've spent most of my life as a shadow, living on the periphery of life, loathing myself for the violence I've committed, for the beast inside me.

"It still makes me uncomfortable knowing I have a place, an important place in the world now; knowing I have a woman like you who loves me, the person I am, not the mate science chose for me. So while I learn to see myself differently. While I learn to be comfortable being loved and trusting, you'll have to bear with me." He paused for a moment, as if gathering his thoughts.

Her strongest urge was to interrupt him and reassure him that he should never have felt so bad about himself. Colt had always been a hero, even at seven years of age.  But she couldn't convince him of these things. It was up to him to come to those realisations on his own. After all, wasn't that what she was having to do?

People had been protecting and guiding her life for as long as she could remember. But when Colt saved her from the rapists he did more than that for her. He gave her the strength to make her own choices in life. Many times she wondered how he'd done that. Finally, the answer had come: Colt had made her see the world from his perspective. He'd questioned her automatic urge to help the injured would-be rapists and murderers around her. Gave her permission to feel angry for what they'd done; what they would have done, had Colt not stepped in. She'd felt so justifiably angry that she'd experienced only satisfaction when she's heard about Jarrod's death.

And once she gave herself permission to feel her feelings and not put everybody else first, her world had opened up. Now she could make choices for herself. Ones that were right for her. And that meant choosing Colt and his mission ahead of her music, not in a self-sacrificing way, but because she wanted to do her part. It was important to her.

And maybe she wasn't totally empowered yet, like Colt wasn't always trusting and open yet. But she was getting closer, and moments like she'd had on stage tonight helped to give her the confidence to keep going.

Colt cleared his throat as he began to speak his thoughts again; began to share himself with her in a way that was still new and uncomfortable for him.

"Yeah, there was an element of me not wanting to face the possibility of you choosing your career over me. But it was more than that. I wanted you to know the excitement of the last days of the competition. You've been all shiny and breathless ever since you got into the finals. Well, you have been since Akabar was taken out of the picture, anyway. Telling you that you couldn't win would have spoiled these last days for you. I know it meant dealing with the disappointment tonight, but you were prepared for that already. You couldn't be sure you'd win. You'd geared yourself up for that possibility." He lifted his gaze to meet hers, as if waiting to hear her judgement.