sunfall (11 page)

And then, just as I was entertaining the thought of dragging her to bed, my phone vibrated. While my first instinct was to ignore it, I knew I couldn’t. Reluctantly, I leaned back just far enough to fish my cell phone out of my pocket. I had expected Karma or Solana—maybe even Constantine.

“It’s Olivia,” I said, hearing the surprise in my voice.

“Really.” Val cupped my waist, her thumbs sliding along my rib cage. I wondered whether she had any sense of her own possessiveness or whether, like my own, it was instinctual. “What does she want?”

“To know if I’m still awake.” I tapped out a simple
Yes
, in response.

Her reply came only seconds later.
Me too. Can’t sleep
.
Is there anything I can do?

I sat back on Val’s legs and turned the phone to face her. “Sounds like she’s having a hard time dealing with everything she knows. She wants to help.”

I wasn’t surprised. Olivia had learned the truth about wereshifters while dating one, and she’d practically blackmailed me into taking her along on my mission to find the Tear of Isis. Since my success in reclaiming Valentine, she’d had no role to play.

“Maybe she can,” said Val.

“How? No one at the Consortium will trust her.”

“But I do.” Val smiled wryly. She and Olivia had known each other since childhood. They were too alike not to be competitors, but the lengths to which Olivia had gone on my behalf had clearly impressed Val despite the fact that Olivia wanted me.

“If I asked her to go after Blaine, she might actually make some headway.”

I considered her idea. Olivia’s family had even more powerful political connections than did Val’s, and her work in the district attorney’s office must have opened up even more avenues.

“Shall I tell her to come over?”

Val nodded. “We can finish packing in the meantime.”

Twenty minutes later, Val was just zipping up the bag containing her weapons and spare ammunition when the buzzer announced Olivia’s arrival downstairs. As we waited for her to make the elevator ride up, Val pulled me close to her and grinned.

“My fingers still smell like you.”

I tugged her head down for a quick, hard kiss. “Good. I’m yours. So no need to vamp out on her.”

Val was still laughing when the door chimed. As she stepped forward to kiss Olivia on the cheek, I couldn’t help but compare them. Olivia, dressed in slimming jeans and a fitted, v-neck black sweater, was undeniably attractive. But only Val, who had changed into a white A-shirt and dark cargo pants, exuded a coiled strength and confidence that rekindled my desire. She moved aside and I hugged Olivia briefly. Always slim, she was even thinner than she had been a few days ago. Her shoulders were slightly hunched, as though they carried an invisible weight.

“Are you doing okay, Liv?”

“Fine, thanks.” The response was automatic, and she seemed to be having a hard time looking directly at all of us. And then she noticed the bags stacked to one side of the hallway. “Traveling somewhere?”

“We’re going after Brenner as soon as we get a lead.” Val gestured toward the kitchen. “Want a drink?”

“Sure. Something strong.”

As she mixed a martini, Val explained the situation at the Bank of Mithras. “My people are looking into ways to counter Blaine’s lawsuits, but we’re also hoping to go on offense against him. Tonight, my head of security received information suggesting that Blaine may be ultimately responsible for Brenner’s drug-peddling operations in the city. Would you be interested in investigating?”

Olivia’s eyes lit up and she squared her shoulders. “Very much, yes.”

“I’ll make sure you can liaise with the bank,” continued Val. “But it would be best if you used your own resources. I’ll compensate you, of course.”

“That’s fine.”

I could tell that her brain was already going a mile a minute. The cloak of her fatigue had suddenly been replaced by a hunter’s air of determination.

“Promise us you won’t go rushing into anything,” I said. “This isn’t the drug trade you’re used to fighting.”

“I’ll be careful,” she said, but the reply was perfunctory.

Val picked up her phone. “Caleb,” she said a moment later. “I’ve just asked Olivia Lloyd to work the drug angle. She’s going to use her own people, but if you come across anything helpful, I want you to send it her way.”

She listened for a moment, then asked Olivia for her cell number and repeated it to Caleb. Suddenly, she stiffened.

“I have another call incoming. Headquarters. Call you back.” Her gaze held mine as she switched over. “Darrow.” When the barest hint of a smile curved her lips, I knew we’d finally heard some good news.

“We’ll be there. Half an hour, tops.” She hung up the phone, already in motion toward the hall. “Time to go.”

Olivia threw back her drink as Val opened the door for her. “Will I be able to contact you if I have questions or information?” she asked.

“Calls only. Don’t leave a message, and you’ll need to memorize the number I’m about to give you. It’s for my satellite phone.” She rattled off a string of digits. “Okay?”

“Great.” Olivia stepped across the threshold, looking between us. “Be careful.”

“Careful as we can be.” Val shut the door, then faced me. “Tian got a message through to Headquarters. She was in Vancouver and is on the move north and east. She’ll relay more information when she has a chance.”

“So, cold weather gear.” I slipped on my heavy boots and grabbed the larger of the duffels. “Canada. Interesting. I thought she would be somewhere in China.”

Val handed me my parka, tucked hers under her arm, and hefted the bag full of guns. “That’s probably why she wasn’t.”

The door swung shut behind us, and at the hollow click of the lock I wondered how long it would be before we could return. We both sorely needed some peace in our lives, but as long as we were together, I could easily forgo other kinds of stability.

The jet, with its leather seats, booths, full-service kitchen, and private conference room, was even more luxurious than my father’s. Heavy blackout curtains had been tacked down over each of the oval windows for the sake of Foster and Summers.

I spent the first hour of the flight corresponding with Bridget, whom I’d left in control of the bank. She would do a good job—better than me, probably. Depending on her performance, perhaps I could make her the permanent CEO when I returned. Despite having developed an appreciation for the banking profession over the past few months, there was so much I wanted to accomplish that had nothing to do with the world of high finance. In particular, I was fascinated by the Tear of Isis and its restorative properties. If I could study the flower in-depth, I might be able to isolate and synthesize the components that caused such miraculous effects. Becoming a vampire would no longer mean being sentenced to darkness for eternity.

I couldn’t think of the flower without being reminded of the Herculean effort Alexa had undertaken for me. For us. After getting caught up with Karma during the first half of the flight, she had fallen asleep with her head pillowed on my shoulder. Her slow, even breaths puffed against my neck, and as I let myself follow her example, I silently vowed to make the most of this second chance she’d given us.

When the pilot announced that we were just under an hour from touching down, Malcolm summoned us into the conference room, where he gave Foster the floor.

“Our latest update from Tian indicates that she initially made a feint toward Calgary but is in fact heading north to Prince George. If we fly directly there, we risk alerting Brenner to her plans. Instead, we will land at our original destination just outside of Vancouver and drive the remainder of the way.

“We’ll split into two groups. Both will begin by traveling northeast, reinforcing Tian’s deception. One group will then swing up and around to approach Prince George from the west, while the other maintains an easterly route.”

“What’s the next step?” Alexa asked.

“We escort her to New York,” said Malcolm.

“Leon, Malcolm, and Constantine will take the eastern path,” said Foster. “Val, Alexa, Karma, and I will circle west.”

The four of us spent the remainder of the flight in one of the booths, hunched over the table with several maps of British Columbia spread out before us. North of Vancouver, the countryside quickly became mountainous and heavily forested—ideal terrain for an ambush. While it seemed likely that the majority of Brenner’s forces in the region would be targeting Tian, I had no doubt that he was also monitoring our movements.

When we landed at a small, private airfield outside the city limits, we found two black Humvees parked just inside the hangar. Several boxes of combat gear and survival supplies had been stacked between them.

“Help yourselves to the equipment,” said Malcolm, “and be sure to take a box of provisions as well.”

My breath steamed in the cold air as I pulled on a ballistic vest over my sweater. The side pockets yielded MREs, a knife, and several packets of caffeine pills and painkillers. The boxes contained additional medical supplies and food rations. I muscled one into the trunk of the nearest Humvee and turned to the sight of Alexa tightening the fit of her vest. Her dark hair brushed gently against her shoulders and her lower lip stuck out ever so slightly in a frown of concentration and the barest flicker of her abdominal muscles was visible as she wrestled to adjust one shoulder strap.

Love and thirst flared up together, twin fires curling around my heart, galvanizing it into action. Despite the urgency of the moment, I stepped forward, stilling her hands and untangling the twisted strap.

“There.” And then I kissed her, right there in front of every-one—a deep, searching kiss that stole my breath and hers. Color rushed to her cheeks when I pulled back, but she kept her eyes on me and didn’t turn away until I bent to grab one of our duffels.

As we loaded our bags into the trunks, the inevitable argument began.

“Who’s driving?” asked Karma.

“I am,” Foster and I said simultaneously.

For a moment, we squared off across the glossy hood. A few feet away, Summers and Constantine appeared to be engaged in a similar battle.

“Maybe you should arm wrestle,” Alexa suggested dryly.

“This is a waste of time,” I said. “And we don’t have any of that to spare. You take the first shift. I’m going to play with my guns in the backseat.”

Karma and Alexa laughed, and even Foster cracked a half-grin. For an instant, I felt a strange sense of disconnect—as though we were simply four friends about to pile into a car for a road trip, instead of four creatures of legend and nightmare about to attempt a daring rescue. And then I felt the weight of my bulletproof vest bearing down on my shoulders, and the moment passed.

“Check in every hour,” Constantine called as we climbed into the vehicle.

As Foster revved the engine, I moved the bag containing our weapons to the space between Alexa and me on the backseat. Karma served as navigator while I pieced together my sniper rifle and Alexa loaded the shotguns and pistols. Her western Wisconsin upbringing had given her a comfort level with firearms that I hadn’t managed to achieve until recently.

Our task completed, we distributed the weapons and settled in for the long haul. The drive would take just over ten hours, and it was imperative that we reach Tian before the sun rose. We had very little leeway, and we had to push hard.

The Humvee’s engine roared in our ears, making all but the most necessary conversation impossible between the front and back seats. Alexa curled up with her back against my side, allowing both of us to remain vigilant even as we stayed in close contact. The forested landscape outside the windows passed in a dark blur broken only occasionally by the ghostly reach of the moonlight.

Several hours into the journey, Alexa lifted my right hand and pressed her lips to my knuckles. “I think we should buy a home in the country.”

I smiled, daring to glance at her for just a moment before returning my attention to the night. “Tell me more. I want to be able to see the picture in your head.”

“There are several,” she said, barely audible above the throbbing engine. “Sometimes I think of a large house on its own mountain in Vermont or New Hampshire. Other times, I see a smaller home on the coast. Massachusetts, maybe, or Maine.”

“We could combine those visions if we bought a mountainous island.”

She laughed. “We have more money than I’d ever dreamed of, but not enough to purchase an island.”

“Not yet,” I conceded. “But we will. We will, baby.”

When she let out a quiet sigh of contentment and shifted against me, I felt my heart expand as though it were a balloon. Before Alexa, my life had been a constant battle—against my family, my expectations, and sometimes even myself. She granted me a measure of serenity I’d barely known to hope for. Even now, with the very pillars of our world in jeopardy of destruction, the core of my soul knew only peace.

My satphone rang. As the call connected, the sound of gunfire pierced my ear. Heart suddenly thundering in my chest, I shouted for Foster to pull over.