The Touch (9 page)

Adrenaline pumped through Wade and the pain
from the Exposal lessened. He balanced on one leg, brought his
other up and jammed his boot into Valdez’s gut with a powerful side
kick.

The man gave another cry as he flew back
several feet. Wade dove for the gun.

Pain fractured through his body from the
Exposal as he landed on his side, skidded to the Glock and grabbed
it with both hands. He swung it around as he twisted his torso from
his position on the floor aimed the handgun at Valdez.

Valdez was pushing himself to his feet, his
arm cradled to his chest.

Wade gritted his teeth. He didn’t have a
choice.

He shot Valdez in the head. Twice.

The man flew backward again, his body landing
with a thump at an unnatural angle, glazed eyes wide open.

Wade rolled to his feet and staggered to the
door where he saw Adam lying motionless in the same position he had
fallen when he’d been shot. A hole gaped in his chest that was
soaked in blood, his head turned to the side. Wade checked the
young operatives pulse. He was dead.

Wade pinched the bridge of his nose. The kid
didn’t deserve this.

He forced himself to stumble to the painting.
He dropped to his knees beside it, picked it up and turned it so
that he could view the back. He ran his finger under the gap
between the frame and the canvas.

Gone.

Chandra did have the chip. She must have
taken it right before he arrived at the vendor’s booth.

He glanced toward Adam’s body and back to the
house where Valdez lay. It would take precious moments, but he had
to get as much of the Exposal off his body as possible if he was
going to be able to get that chip back from Chandra before she gave
it to Psion.

At the same time he needed to get out of here
before any cops arrived, in case his neighbors had called them
after hearing the shots.

With the chemical on his chest, the exertion
had taken a lot out of him. His body ached and muscles threatened
to give out as he made his way to his bathroom. He tucked Valdez’s
Glock in his waistband at his back as he walked.

When he reached the bathroom he grabbed the
hem of his T-shirt. Goddamn but it hurt to take it off. After he
pulled it over his head, he grabbed the hidden jar of the antidote
to Exposal, unscrewed the lid, and poured some of the fluid onto
his hand. He almost dropped the jar, but managed to set it on the
countertop, while rubbing the fluid on his chest with his other
hand.

Relief poured through him in waves. He was by
no way ready to shift, and his body felt like he’d had the shit
beaten out of him, but in a while the antidote would begin to
work.

It took more effort to work his way back to
the great room, grab his keys, and head outside to his truck. By
the time he had his truck in drive, his vision was blurry despite
the antidote. His arms shook as he guided the vehicle out of his
driveway and through the winding streets of his neighborhood.

Fields was so cocky that Wade was sure he
knew exactly where the bastard was. In Fields’s own home north of
Phoenix.

Mike was going down.

***

Chandra felt jittery, like she’d had half a
dozen shots of espresso. Her whole body trembled and it was as if
something crawled under her skin. Richmond still watched her with a
hungry expression and every now and then would say something
suggestive to her. Like how he couldn’t wait to fuck her. To watch
all the men take her.

She shuddered at the thought. Being exposed
like this and so completely vulnerable made her stomach sick with
fear.

When Mike walked into the room with a scowl
twisting his face, Chandra’s heart hammered against her breastbone.
The coin burned at her chest, and she was almost afraid he could
see right through it to the chip on the other side. She gripped the
arms of the chair so tight her knuckles ached.

Richmond cut his gaze from Chandra’s breasts
to look at Mike. “Any word?”

“Not a damn thing.” Mike propped himself on
the arm of one of the couches and studied Chandra. Without taking
his eyes off of her, he continued, “Valdez isn’t answering his
cell. Branson isn’t either.”

“Shit.” Richmond got to his feet and gestured
to Chandra. “What if he doesn’t give a damn about the slut? What if
he’s already returned the chip to the PIA? Hell, what if
he
sells it to Psion?”

Chandra went stiff in her seat. What were
they talking about? Her employer couldn’t have anything to do with
this.

Mike rubbed his hand up and down his face.
“Could be this piece of ass was trying to get to the chip first, so
that she’d get all of Psion’s asking price. No better way than to
fuck the man responsible for getting it back into the PIA’s
hands.”

Her eyes widened and she barely kept from
shaking her head. No. Psion wouldn’t get involved in any kind of
crime.

At the same time her mind played devil’s
advocate. What
if
Psion wanted the chip? What
if
all
this time she’d been building up public relations for a company
that was led by criminals? The mob even?

Richmond folded his arms across his chest.
“Psion had the chip—they blew it when Branson’s team stole it back
for the PIA.”

Chandra’s heart thumped harder as she looked
from Richmond to Fields again, and it hit her like a blow to the
belly. All along she’d been working for a bunch of criminals. And
here she was, the bargaining piece for the microchip that burned
hot against her chest.

Mike’s scowl darkened as his gaze met hers.
She tried to keep her face as blank as possible. What if he could
read her expression? What if he could tell she had it?

Now she was being paranoid.

Who wouldn’t be when they were and naked with
a bunch of mercenaries, and not to mention actually had the chip
they were looking for?

A shrill sound came from Mike’s jacket and he
glanced down as he pulled a cell phone from his pocket. “It’s
Branson,” he growled as he looked at the Caller I.D.

He pressed a button on the tiny device and
held it up to his ear. “Fields.” His expression was unreadable as
he said, “Where’s Valdez?” He was still for a moment, then his eyes
met Chandra’s. “She’s here. You’d better have the chip,
Branson.”

The door exploded inward.

Chandra screamed and covered her face with
her hands.

The sound of a gunshot and Richmond
collapsed, landing across a coffee table and causing it to crash to
the floor.

The two women operatives slipped from the
hallway and stationed themselves in the room like cool
professionals. One stood beside Chandra while the other moved to
the side of the front door. Mike was at the other side.

Where were the two remaining men?

#

Wade took deep breaths as he paused at the
side of the house, just around the corner from the back door. His
blood rushed through his veins and his heart pounded.

He focused on shifting. His body trembled and
then relief and almost a sense of pleasure flowed through him as he
shadow shifted.

In shadow form, Wade slipped alongside the
house to the backyard. No one would be coming for him from the
front—instead they’d try to get him from the back. Likely they’d
never expect him to have overcome the Exposal.

His darkness rippled over rocks and dirt in
Fields’s backyard. Two men exited the house, their handguns raised.
Each man kept his eyes trained on a corner of the house as they
pressed close to the back wall.

Wade crept along in shadow form, silently
slipped past one of the men. When he was between the two, he slowly
rose and shifted, his Glock in his hands.

With cool calculation, he shot one of the men
in the back of the head, whirled, and sent a bullet to the heart of
the other man who’d spun around at the sound of the gunshot.

He heard shouts from inside the house as he
shadow shifted and slid along the linoleum toward the direction of
the voices.

Chandra was standing. One of the women
operatives had her AK-47 aimed right at her.

The moment he shifted and rose up behind
Mike, Chandra’s mouth fell open.

Mike must have caught her expression because
he shadow shifted and ended up at Wade’s feet.

Chandra dropped to the floor, braced her
hands on the carpet and swung one leg out in a roundhouse delivery,
hitting the backs of the agent’s knees—the one who guarded her with
the rifle—causing the operative to fall back on her ass.

Wade shot the other remaining agent in the
chest and she collapsed face first on the carpet.

His blood thrummed and he sensed Mike
shifting and rising up behind him.

At the same time Wade whirled and grabbed
Mike’s gun barrel with his free hand and tried to wrestle it from
Mike’s grasp. The two struggled and Wade lost his grip on his Glock
which tumbled to their feet.

Chandra grabbed the rifle from the woman she
had downed. Mike aimed his Berretta at Chandra, but when he shot
she dropped and rolled with the grace of much practice, and he
missed.

The woman Chandra had knocked down was an
obvious professional. She flipped Chandra onto her back and slammed
her fist into the side of Chandra’s face.

Her head snapped back. She shouted and the
rifle was ripped from her hands by the operative.

At the same time, Mike’s arm snaked around
Wade’s throat and he choked against the sudden pain. Mike tried to
wrench Wade’s head to snap his neck.

Wade was ready for him. He flung the bastard
over his shoulder and pinned him to the floor, twisted the Berretta
in Mike’s hand and aimed the gun at the last agent.

Just as she snatched up her AK-47, Wade shot
her between the eyes and she collapsed, her eyes staring blankly at
the ceiling.

Mike flipped Wade on his back and rammed his
fist against Wade’s jaw. Stars burst in his head and for a moment
his eyes unfocused.

Mike took control of the Berretta again. With
a look of absolute fury, he pointed the gun at Wade’s forehead.

Something flashed through the air.

Chandra planted her foot firmly on the carpet
and rammed her other foot at the side of Mike’s face, so hard the
agent went flying off Wade.

Mike tumbled onto his back, rolled, and sat
up with his weapon still in his hands.

Wade grabbed one of the rifles scattered on
the floor and dropped just as a shot snaked by his ear.

Wade knocked off several shots as he flipped
from his back to his belly.

He shot Mike in the chest five times.

The operative fell back, blood pouring from
his wounds and his mouth.

For a moment neither Wade nor Chandra moved.
Adrenaline continued to rush through his body and his heart still
pounded like it was going to explode.

The room smelled of blood and death. The
carpet was soaked with blood. The only sounds were his and
Chandra’s hard breathing.

She pushed to her feet at the same time he
got to his. They stared at one another for just a moment before
they met in the middle of the room.

Chandra flung her arms around Wade as he
grabbed her by the waist. Her tears wet his neck as she sobbed, and
her body trembled against his.

He brushed her hair with his hand and spoke
softly. “It’s all right, baby. You did good.”

“Sonofabitch.” Chandra sniffed and shuddered.
“See if I ever go out with you again.”

Wade squeezed her tighter. He held Chandra a
long, long time, until her body stopped shaking, and his heartbeat
slowed.

***

After all was said and done, after a day
filled with reports and constant grilling by several agents, both
Chandra and Wade made it back to Chandra’s apartment.

They had collapsed with sheer exhaustion into
Chandra’s bed after scrubbing themselves in the shower, washing
away the filth of the day.

When she woke the next morning, her hands and
knees still hurt from the glass cuts, but it was nothing compared
to the ache in her head. It burned like the mother of all
fires.

The pain was not only from the visions she’d
seen when she touched the agent and Mike, but from the fist that
had slammed into her face. She was certain her skin was mottled
black and blue. The woman who’d hit her had been incredibly
strong.

At the thought of all the death she’d
witnessed, Chandra’s stomach churned and she was tempted to turn in
Wade’s arms and cling to him.

Chandra did just that and snuggled in Wade’s
embrace. He smelled so good, his musky scent surrounding her. They
had taken a shower together, but after washing one another they had
tumbled into bed and had fallen asleep immediately, both naked.

Now, after getting some rest, a tingling
sensation erupted in her abdomen. His morning erection pressed hard
against her belly. So what if she’d just had the day from hell
yesterday? She still wanted him.

Wade pressed his lips to her hair and she
heard his deep inhale. “I love your scent, baby.” His hand settled
on the curve of her waist. “And your skin is so soft.”

Chandra smiled and looked up at him. His dark
eyes grew even darker as her nipples rasped his bare chest and his
erection brushed her belly.

When he began caressing her breasts she took
a deep breath and said, “Stop.”

He raised an eyebrow but let his hand fall
away, between them. She still felt his erection and it was all she
could do to hold herself back from wrapping her fingers around his
cock and sliding him inside her.

Her chest rose and fell as she took a deep
breath. “You have a lot to tell me. Begin with who you really are.
What
you really are.”

Wade studied her for a long moment. Before he
spoke he brought his hand up to her face and brushed his thumb
across her lips. The touch was so sensual she shivered. “I’m a
man.” He trailed his finger along her jaw. “But I also happen to be
a shadow shifter.”