Viking Warrior Rebel (7 page)

The phone on the desk buzzed. A tinny male voice announced that viewing room two was set up for them. Broden stood and motioned for Luke to proceed out the office door.

They walked down a corridor where skylights brightly illuminated walls painted in yellow and blue. Broden squinted against the light. Maybe he was a vampire. Or maybe he was just hungover. At the end of the corridor, they took two flights of stairs down to a narrower hallway. Green and red lamps hung over closed doors. Broden opened one where the green light was on and ushered Luke inside. He entered a small room with two executive office chairs placed in front of a wide desk with oversize screens resting on top.

Broden sat in one of the chairs and typed on a keyboard on the desk. The screens came alive, displaying a numbered list with columns of dates and times. “Alright,” the agent mumbled as he tapped the keys. “Let's see if I remember how to do this.”

Luke took the chair next to Broden's and watched as the data scrolled past on the screen. Broden selected several rows, right-clicked, and selected “map” from the drop-down menu. A 3-D model of the parking garage showed up on the screen.

“What floor do you want to view?” Broden asked.

“Three,” Luke answered, fascinated by how the agent rotated the image of the garage. He pointed at some blinking circles on the screen. “Are those the cameras?”

“Yep. Which location on third?”

Luke peered closer on the screen, not sure if he was relieved or disappointed when he discovered Astrid's parking spot was in a dead zone. He pointed at the screen. “This is where her car was.”

Broden swore under his breath. “The city did a piss-poor job of covering this garage. There aren't enough cameras. Probably wanted to save money on the setup.”

Luke silently agreed. Even the cameras that were there seemed poorly placed. Naya would have done a much better job. His club had no corners to hide in after she'd placed cameras according to her security plan. The absurdity of asking Naya to come up with a plan for Denver so he could spy on Astrid made him smile. “What about entrances and exits?”

A few more taps on the keyboard, and Broden had split the screen between the double entrance and exit drive-ups Luke had used when chasing after the wolverine creature and a lone exit ramp on the side of the building. They watched the footage on triple speed. The cars zoomed in and out of the garage like angry, yet slightly confused insects, stopping and going with jerky movements.

Luke's subconscious recognized something on the footage from the camera displaying the lone entrance. “There.” He pointed. “Go back and let's watch that again.” On the film, a white van exited the garage, and Luke saw what his instincts had picked up on before his mind could catch up. The driver of the van tried to keep his face from being captured on camera, but even in profile there was no mistaking his broken nose. Swollen and misshapen, it stood out even in the grainy resolution of the security footage. “That's the guy. Zoom in on the license plate.”

Broden did as asked and then cursed. “The thing is so dirty I can't make out the numbers.”

“Can you get someone to clean up the picture for us?” Luke leaned forward in the chair, peering closer on the plate even though he knew there was no use.

“I doubt it,” Broden said. “Not only did they save money on the number of cameras, but with this resolution, the picture would just get blurrier if we tried to zoom in on the plate.”

Luke sighed and thought for a moment. “The guy comes back later, but he's on foot.”

Broden turned toward him. “You're thinking he might have parked on the street?”

Luke nodded.

“It's not a bad idea.” Broden faced the screen again. “He would have parked off-site to not to draw attention to himself, but not so far that he couldn't reach the vehicle if he needed a quick getaway.”

They fast-forwarded a few hours until they saw the creature enter the garage again. The camera picked up the butterfly bandages across his nose as white bright spots on the grainy gray footage. Broden returned to map mode and zoomed out the image so the three-dimensional model now included streets and structures outside the garage. His fingers tapped on the keys and switched between several street-view cameras in quick sequencing, all displaying the same time stamp as when the creature walked up to the parking garage.

They both noticed the parked white van at the same time and scooted forward in their seats. Broden enlarged the image and then grunted triumphantly when the camera caught the rear license plate and the registration number showed up clear as could be. “Got ya,” he exclaimed and reached for the phone. After he'd asked for a BOLO alert on the registration, he turned toward Luke. “Shall we see if we can do some more sleuthing and figure out where it came from?” His eyes glittered.

Luke sat back in the chair. “Go for it.” He watched as Broden's agile typing manipulated the software to quickly search through footage via a street-by-street view in ever-expanding circles radiating out from the parked white van. As the time stamps counted down, they were able to trace the van's route backward from the parking garage to wherever it had started out.

Broden muttered under his breath the entire time, but he obviously knew the software tool well and was enjoying himself. Luke's respect for the field office agent grudgingly grew. At the same time, he felt slightly creeped out by the idea that Broden had such an excellent view of Denver's citizens from this small room and seemed to excel in voyeuring. At least when it came to traffic patterns and parking. Hopefully, Broden only used his powers for good.

The inside of Astrid's thigh itched like crazy, and she tried not to fidget in the passenger seat of Holden's car. She'd pulled out the stitches that morning, using nail clippers and tweezers. Not the ideal tools for removing sutures, but they were all she had and she couldn't afford to wait any longer. Her skin regenerated too quickly and had started to absorb the thread. It was either remove them or have them become a permanent part of her.

Holden yawned widely as he drove and took another sip out of the paper cup of coffee he'd insisted they buy at a drive-through coffee place. She wondered how much sleep he'd gotten. Before they left, Astrid had booked another hotel room for herself using the phone in Luke's room. She'd then strolled through the hallways and the lobby wearing only the hotel robe, but nobody had so much as raised an eyebrow. They must have thought she was on her way back from the spa or the pool.

Once she got to her room, she'd sent a quick text to Naya so she wouldn't worry. Astrid had felt guilty then, and a quick pang of unease hit her now too. Although the guilt hadn't kept her from sleep. As soon as she hit Send on the message, she'd crashed and been out for straight twelve hours. She felt remarkably rejuvenated after that. Even the berserker seemed more alert and yet calmer. It hadn't spoken again and wasn't restlessly pacing like it had for the last few days. Since the train-station garage allowed overnight parking, she wasn't too worried about having left the car there. The locked weapons compartment was well hidden in the floor of the chassis. And the car had an inline fuel shut-off valve. If someone tried to steal the car, they'd only be able to drive it a few feet. The fuel supply was shut off unless the engine was started with a key.

“It's not much farther now.” Holden put his cup back in the holder. “Golden is just twenty minutes from Denver, and the building I think the freaky creatures are in is only a few miles past town.”

Astrid studied her phone. According to her Internet search, Golden had been founded in the late 1850s when gold was discovered in the mountains surrounding the town. Only a decade or two later, Adolph Coors had shown up and started his famous brewery. Miners and beer, a winning combination. She figured Adolph had ended up with more gold in his pocket than the men who'd dug it out of the mountain and panned the streams.

She returned her thoughts to current times and wondered how Holden had discovered where the wolverines were hiding out. When she'd asked him about it, he'd just shrugged and said he had reliable sources. She hadn't pushed for more information, but that didn't mean she wouldn't do so later. There was a lot more to him than he let on. The average nightclub owner did not have medical training or know interrogation techniques. “What's the plan once we get there?”

He glanced her way. “I figured we'd do some recon and then lie low until dark. Maybe find a bed and get some rest, unless you have other ideas.” He shot her one of those cocky grins he doled out so frequently. It infuriated her and turned her on at the same time. She was in so much trouble with this guy.

Astrid pretended to ignore the cocky smile and the innuendo. “Any ideas about how many wolverines we may encounter, or where they're holding Scott?” Crap. She hadn't meant to use his name.

Holden concentrated on the road and didn't look her way, but from the stillness seeping into his body, she could tell he'd noticed her slip. “My intel couldn't give me that detailed information. I'm hoping we'll figure that out once we do some surveillance.”

She nodded and then realized he couldn't see her answer. “Okay,” she added.

They drove through town, passed Colorado School of Mines, and turned left onto a smaller highway that took them into the mountains west of town. The road turned narrower and more twisty. Not that different from the road to the medical clinic where Scott had been treated. She didn't want to think about that trip and how discouraged she'd been when she returned to Denver. She also didn't want to reflect on how much better it felt to have Holden by her side. At least during the reconnaissance. When it came to taking down the wolverines, she would have to somehow ditch Holden and go up against the nasty creatures on her own. She couldn't afford to have a regular mortal killed during her mission. Although Holden might not be as regular as he wanted her to think.

A few miles later, Holden turned off the highway and followed a dirt road through a narrow gap between the mountains. He squinted up at the walls of granite surrounding them. “There,” he said, pointing toward a smaller ridge and slowing the car. “If we hike up to the top, we'll have a great viewpoint of the freaky creature place. According to the intel I got, they should be in the valley next to us.” He turned toward her. “Will your leg be up for this? You can stay in the car if you don't think it can take the excursion.”

“Not on your life,” Astrid answered. “I'm coming with.” She never stayed behind. Not during recon and not during battle.

They got out and closed the doors with only soft clicks to prevent the sound from carrying. It might not reach as far as the next valley over, but there was no reason to alert anyone to their location. Holden opened the trunk and took out binoculars, water bottles, and a small day pack. Had he been a Boy Scout when younger? He seemed awfully well prepared and used military words like
recon
and
surveillance
. He also seemed way more comfortable in the outdoors than you'd expect your average city nightclub owner to be.

He handed Astrid one set of binoculars and started off up the ridge. She looped the strap around her neck and followed closely behind him. Increasing her stride, she enjoyed the loosening of her tendons and muscles, the flow of strength back into her body. Birds chirped in the trees around them, and the sun shone from a clear blue sky as they ascended the ridge. Astrid enjoyed the view around her, as well as the one right in front of her. Back in Pine Rapids, Holden always wore impeccably tailored suits. This was the first time she'd seen him in casual wear. The soft denim of his well-worn jeans cupped and outlined his trim ass. There was nothing sexier than a great butt in a pair of jeans. And Holden's was a fine specimen.

As if he could hear her thoughts, he turned around. “Are you okay?” He grinned as he caught her ogling his behind.

She looked away, cheeks heating. “Yep, no problems here.”

They crested the ridge and looked down into a wide, green valley. A creek glittered in the sunshine as it snaked through the length of the valley. A dirt road, not unlike the one they'd left their car on, followed the water until it forked and one path went across a bridge and up to a group of buildings nestled against the ridge.

Holden pointed at the cluster of houses. “That's where they should be holed up.”

Astrid lifted the binoculars to her eyes. “There is no movement outside or inside any of the buildings.”

“Someone's there though.” Holden peered through his own lenses. “There's smoke coming from one of the chimneys.”

Astrid turned slightly to the left and focused on the white tendril floating toward the sky. “But how many of them are there?” This far away, her berserker couldn't pick out individual creatures.

“How many attacked you in the parking garage?”

“Two.” An image of sinking her knife into the jugular of the wolverine rose in her mind. “But I probably killed one.”

His eyebrows rose. “Probably?”

She tried to remember details, but her memory after being cut in the thigh was hazy. “I remember sinking my knife into his neck and later hearing the other creature drag the body away, but I can't be sure.”

Holden studied her for a moment. Some emotion flickered through his gray eyes, but it was gone before she could identify it. “Better to plan for many than be surprised by extra enemies.” He looked back at the house. “Let's say there are at least two of these creatures, and if they're in any kind of battle unit, we should plan for maybe a team of four.”

His analysis was along the same tracks she'd follow, but how did a nightclub owner know so much about battle preparation? “They may have another team for backup.”

He nodded, still studying the buildings below. “You're right. They may even have enough soldiers down there for a full squad.”

Astrid waited to see if he would catch himself using precise military vocabulary, but Holden just kept watching the buildings. She followed his gaze. Other than smoke still streaming up from the chimney, nothing was going on below them.

Holden suddenly turned toward her. “I brought some food. Let's eat while we wait.” He grabbed the small backpack, walked toward a small grove of aspens, and sat down on a rock. Astrid followed and sank down on a rock next to his. Holden handed her a sandwich and a bottle of water.

His leg brushed against hers, triggering an immediate response from her overactive hormones. Just being near him turned her on. She busied herself with unwrapping the food but kept an eye on him. He held himself differently now than at the club. Although he sat in a casual pose with one leg slightly bent and an elbow resting on his knee, there was tension coiled in his muscles. A warrior watching over enemy territory and prepared for an imminent attack. “You seem very familiar with military terminology,” Astrid said, keeping her tone casual.

He shrugged and finished chewing his sandwich before answering. “I served for a while.”

She'd bet it was for more than “a while,” judging by how quickly his mind had snapped into strategic planning. It would have been a career. “What unit?”

“The Marines, of course. There is no other branch worth joining.” Holden fired one of his grins at her. She wasn't overly familiar with the different branches of the U.S. military, but she did know that the Marines were elite soldiers. She and her battle brothers and sisters were
einherjar
, Odin's and Freya's elite soldiers. She wondered if Holden's training had been similar to theirs but doubted his had included how to kill supernatural creatures like Loki's wolverines. Although he had neutralized one of them when he saved her, so he had obviously been trained well. “What about you?” Holden asked.

Startled from her thoughts, she didn't know what he meant. “What about me?”

“You obviously know something about the military if you figured out that's my background.” He took a sip of water. “Did you serve?”

Talk about a loaded question. She'd been born a thrall but earned her freedom as a shield maiden. “I did.” Her skills on the battlefield had earned her respect, and she'd participated in many raids. In a way she'd “served,” even if it hadn't been in an organized army of modern times. She still served as a soldier. She served her gods and her fellow warriors.

“And in what branch?”

She didn't even have to think about it. “Navy,” she said with a small smile on her lips. The Viking ships she'd sailed on were a far cry from the modern ships he'd associate with that term, but it was close enough.

“So we're both sailors,” Holden said. “I never asked where you're from, but did you serve here in the States?”

Astrid shook her head. “I was born in Sweden.” Almost a thousand years ago, but a woman didn't discuss her age.

Luke opened his mouth as if to ask something else, but then quickly picked up his binoculars and aimed them down the hill. “Something's happening.” He stood.

She joined him and peered down at the buildings through her own eyepieces. A wolverine walked across the courtyard to one of the buildings that looked more like a barn. He carried a tray in his hands, and she could see steam rising from one of the plates. “I don't think that's one of the ones who attacked me.” It was hard to tell because the creatures looked so much alike, but she was pretty sure she hadn't seen this one before.

“What do you want to bet that's food for their prisoner?”

Astrid fought the worry rising in her chest. “That's a fair assumption.” Some of her distress must have come through in her tone of voice, because Holden lowered his lenses and shot her a look.

He reached for her hand and squeezed it. “You okay?”

She had to look away to not reveal how much that small gesture comforted her. “I'm good.” Why was she so emotional around him? She needed to get a grip and warrior up.

He gave her hand another squeeze and turned back to the buildings. She did the same. After about twenty minutes, the door on the barn opened and the wolverine came out again. The tray was empty.

“At least we know they're feeding him,” Holden said.

The thought of the wolverines mistreating Naya's brother overwhelmed her. She shouldn't have been so cocky. Despair welled up so fast in her throat that she choked. She knew she should have asked for backup, but the only way she could trust herself to be a worthy warrior to the others again was if she brought Scott back on her own.

Dropping his binoculars back around his neck, Holden turned and reached for her. He enveloped her in his arms. “Hey, this is going to be okay. We'll get him out.”

“This is all my fault,” Astrid forced out through her constricted throat. His body heat was both comforting and disturbing.

He rubbed his hand up and down her back. “You didn't know they planned on taking him.”

She rested her head against his broad chest, reveling in the strength she found there. She'd fucked up so badly on this mission. If she didn't get this right, she'd never be able to look her queen—her friend—in the eye again. She'd never be able to fight among her Norse brothers and sisters again. They would not trust her to have their back, and she'd be a liability in battle. And fighting was the only thing Astrid had ever been good at. It was what had changed her from a slave to a person of worth.

Holden's nearness inundated her senses. She needed some distance so she could think clearly again. She flattened her palm against his chest to push him away, but paused when he hissed in a breath at the contact. She could feel his muscles contract underneath her hand. Slowly she raised her head to look up at him.