The Touch of Her Hands [The Wind River Pack 3] (Siren Publishing Classic) (21 page)

Maddie walked over and hugged him from the other side. “Don’t worry, son. Remus will help you find her. I have complete faith in him and you should, too.” The women let go and moved away.

Victor walked into the kitchen. “Hey, man. How you holding up?”

“I’m holding strong until we find her. I’ll have plenty of time to fall apart later.”

“Good play. Come on. Dad wants to talk to you. He’s got Zander here from the National Council, and they’re trying to come up with a plan.”

“Sure.” Zack looked at his mother and tweaked her nose. “You start planning a welcome-home party ’cause I’m bringing my mate back.” He walked back to Remus’s office and knocked on the door.

“Enter.”

Zack walked in and found himself caught up in a three-way hug. This one from his two fathers.

“Hang strong, boy,” Ethan said. “We’re gonna fix this.”

Latan kissed the top of his head. “Leave it to us, boy. Someone is gonna pay for this.”

“Let the boy go,” Remus said. “We need to ask him some questions.” Zack walked over and sat in the chair in front of Remus’s desk. He nodded at Zander and turned his attention to Remus. “We need to know everything Aurelia told you about when she was being held in Idaho.”

“I already told you her father sold her to the government when she was only nine. They had her for five years, all of them in the same facility. It was government financed.”

“Did she tell you the names of any of the men in charge?” asked Zander.

“She has nightmares about some doctor named Conrad Jackson.”

Remus stood up. “We should—”

Zack held up his hand. “Quiet!” He closed his eyes and concentrated on his link with Aurelia. He could feel her life force. It was getting stronger. Then, his eyes popped open when he heard the faint sound of her voice in his head.
Zack, can you hear me?
Zack looked at Remus. “She’s alive. I can hear her.”

“Find out where she is,” said Remus.

Zack nodded and tuned out everything but the sound of his mate’s voice. Using their bond, he talked to her.
I’m here, love. Are you okay?

Depends on your definition of okay. I’m in some pretty deep doo-doo. I’ve come full-circle and back into Dr. Jackson’s evil hands.

Has he done anything to you?

Nothing but knock me out. I’m told the fun starts tomorrow morning. Are you okay? I saw you go down before they took me away.

I’m fine, love. It was only a tranquilizer. It wore off in a few hours. Love, do you know where they’re keeping you?

Yeah, he was pretty cocky telling me it wouldn’t hurt for me to know. I think he figures I’m back for good since nobody knows where I am.

Where are you?

Someplace called Nampa, Idaho. He said it’s near Boise. He bought some buildings and had his equipment moved here once he and Uncle Sam parted ways. He’s got some creepy guy named Bakerson, William Bakerson, working with him. He called him a doctor, but he didn’t look like any doctor I’ve ever seen. It was funny. Bakerson seemed like he was calling the shots now instead of Jackson. He told Jackson what he wanted done with me tomorrow and then waltzed out of the room like he owned the place.

Sit tight, love. I’m with Remus and a bunch of the family. Let me pass on this information to them, and I’ll let you know what our plan for getting you out of there is.

Hurry, please, Zack. I’ve got a really bad feeling about tomorrow.

Zack opened his eyes and looked at Remus. “She’s in Nampa, Idaho, and that’s somewhere near Boise.” He filled them in on everything she’d said.

“I can have a full team there by morning, and we can go in and get her out,” said Zander.

“What do you want me to tell her?” asked Zack.

Zander smiled. “Have her sit tight. Tell her to expect the unexpected sometime tomorrow morning. We’re coming to get her.”

Aurelia shivered on the cold exam table in the lab and listened to the hum of electronics. Two computers sat on the counter across the room, a white lab coat draped across the chair. She’d eaten her dinner the night before and woke up strapped to what amounted to a dissection table. She didn’t even know if she’d awakened before or after they’d done any procedures. She should have remembered Dr. Jackson’s fondness for drugging her food. At the rate they were moving forward, she’d be an addict before Zack could execute a rescue.

She strained to see behind the table when she heard the sound of chair wheels sliding across the floor. She let her gaze drift to the other side of the table, past the steamy haze rising from the cup of coffee on the counter. Dr. Jackson’s attention was fixed on his task, the small crease between his brows making him appear older than she remembered.

The thought of what he might have done to her filled her mouth with extra saliva. She had to gulp it down before it choked her. “What did you do to me, you sick bastard?”

Dr. Jackson started and turned his gaze to her. He frowned. “There’s no need to be vulgar, Aurelia. You’ve picked up some very bad habits since you’ve been away.”

“Are you gonna tell me what you did to me?”

He shrugged. “It’s no secret, and we didn’t harm you. When we examined you this morning, we found you were ovulating. Since that’s what we intended to induce, we went ahead and harvested your eggs.”

“You what!”

“Really, Aurelia, have you forgotten the conversations we had when you were younger? I told you then I had hopes of harvesting your eggs in order to fertilize them and create more beings with your abilities. We’ve just been able to get started much sooner than I anticipated.”

Aurelia bit back a sob and turned her face away so he wouldn’t see her tears. The thought of what he could do to her children made her sick. She called to Zack in her mind but got no answer.
Where is he? When are you going to get me out of here?
She turned to Dr. Jackson. “When can I go back to my room?”

“I’m sorry, Aurelia, but Dr. Bakerson has some tests he wants to run. Try to be cooperative, and it’ll all be over faster. Then, if the eggs accept the fertilization process, you’ll be allowed to rest and recover for a few weeks.”

“What kind of tests is he going to run?”

Conrad looked away. “He wants some tissue samples from various places. I promise he’ll deaden the areas or we’ll just sedate you until he’s done. You won’t feel a thing.”

“Why is he even here? I thought I was your own special project. Seems an awful lot like he’s in charge now.”

Conrad sighed. “When the government pulled their support from the project I had to find a new source of funding. Dr. Bakerson is a very wealthy man who had some interest in my work. He agreed to fund the project if I let him carry out some experiments of his own. He promised that he wouldn’t do any permanent harm to you.” He stood and moved toward the door. “Relax, Aurelia. I promise you’ll be back in your room before you know it.”

Aurelia closed her eyes.
Zack, where are you?

* * * *

Zack looked at the blueprints Zander spread out and strained to hear his mate. She must be unconscious again because she’d been silent since late the night before.

“Okay, everybody, listen up,” said Zander. “Zeke, you, Eric, Synia, and Macon will go in here.” He pointed to a side entrance. “Remus, you and Victor, Kanor, Zyne, and I will take the front. My guys from the council are going in the rear. Once we have her out, and everyone is in the clear, they’re gonna blow the place.”

“Why are they blowing it?” asked Remus.

“From what I was able to find out, Jackson was a geneticist working for the government. His experiments were somewhat unorthodox, and less than humane. My contacts feel that everyone would be safer if he and all his work would disappear.”

Zack growled. “As long as they wait until I get her out.”

Zander shook his head. “That’s not how this is going down, Zack. Unless I miss my guess, she’s being held in the back of the building, on the lower level. There are bars on the windows, so it’s a pretty good indication. I need my guys to go in that direction because that’s the prime spot for the explosives. I’ll need you up front with your brothers clearing out the offices. I’d rather not blow up unsuspecting innocents if I can help it.”

“But I—”

“Son,” Remus said. “Trust them. They’ll get your mate back for you. Please, for me, stick with the plan.”

Zack lowered his head and tried to control his breathing. His coyote was straining to get out and find their mate. “Make sure she’s okay. I still can’t contact her through our link.”

The head of Zander’s team smiled. “I’ll contact you as soon as we find her.

Zander picked up the map. “Everyone clear?” He waited for everyone to acknowledge in the affirmative. “Then let’s roll. Let’s keep this fast and clean.”

Zack watched as the others disappeared down the alley.

Macon put his hand on Zack’s shoulder. “Are you ready?”

He nodded. “Let’s do this.”

* * * *

Aurelia watched as Bakerson deftly inserted an IV into her arm. “What’s that for?”

He ignored her and pulled a syringe out of his pocket. He quickly injected the clear liquid into the tubing and smiled. “Nighty night, princess.”

She gasped as her vision blurred and her mouth went dry. “What did you do?” A loud crash had her trying to focus on the door. “Zack,” she whispered. There were sounds of a struggle, and a pain-filled cry. She could feel the darkness closing in when a handsome face loomed over her.

He smiled. “Relax, Aurelia. My name is Randy. Zack sent me to bring you home. You’re safe now. The asshole that was hurting you is dead.”

Aurelia tried to thank him as the blackness settled around her like a warm blanket.

* * * *

Zander watched as his men led several of the people they found in the office away. He smiled when he spotted Macon and Zack dragging a reluctant man in a white lab coat down the sidewalk.

“How’d you get this area cleared of civilians so fast?” asked Remus.

“My government ties. Seems the good Dr. Jackson is an embarrassment they’d like to have go away, so they cleared the way for me to do their dirty work.”

Zack pushed the man to the ground. “If you move from that spot, I’ll kill you where you stand.” He looked up at Zander. “Meet Dr. Conrad Jackson. He’s been less than cooperative about Aurelia’s whereabouts. Did they find her?”

Zander nodded. “Yes, she’s safe. They got to her just in time to stop some doctor from doing anything. She was given a sedative, but that just meant she slept through her rescue.”

Zack looked around. “Where is she?”

“Patience, she’ll be along soon. They had to set the charges.” Zander looked up when Kanor and Zyne joined them. “Is that everybody on our two details?”

“We’re all present and accounted for,” said Remus. “What about your men?”

Zander picked up his walkie-talkie. “Is blue team clear?”

A garbled voice answered. “Two men missing, sir. Give us a minute.”

“Roger that. Standing by.”

Zack frowned. “Who’s got—” A loud explosion shook the ground, sending flames shooting high into the sky over the drab, gray building. Zack stared and then howled up at the sky.

Zander picked up his mike. “Blue team, is everyone out? What happened?”

“Negative, sir. Something triggered the explosives early. We don’t know what happened.”

“Is everyone out?”

There was a long pause and then they heard the disembodied voice again. “No, sir. Arnold and Randy are unaccounted for. They never made the checkpoint.” He hesitated. “Sir, they had the target with them.”

“No,” Zack screamed. “You killed her. You said you’d keep her safe.”

Remus reached for Zack. “Son, calm down and—”

Zack’s clothes tore as he shifted. His coyote shook off the ripped material and turned toward Zander. He growled and bared his teeth as he advanced on the council’s representative.

“What the hell is that?” cried Conrad. When Zack turned toward him, he scrambled backward, the acrid smell of urine filling the air.

“Zack,” said Zander. “Stand down. It was an accident, son. I lost two men myself.”

Zack let out a mournful howl that had his brothers wiping tears from their eyes. Scraping his foot once on the sidewalk, Zack crouched and lunged for Zander. All four feet were off the ground when a dart sailed through the air and embedded into his right shoulder. The coyote screeched and fell to the ground, whimpering as he tried to stand. He stumbled, tears falling down his cheeks, and then dropped, his eyes rolling back in his head.

Zander looked over to see the tranq gun in Remus’s hands. “Thanks, man.”

Remus wiped his eyes and laid the gun on the ground next to Zander’s backpack. “He’s gonna need time to mourn, Zander. Don’t hold this against him. You’ve never been mated, so you don’t know what he’s feeling. I’m not sure I wouldn’t have reacted the same way if it had been Maddie in there.”