Zoey Avenger (Incubatti Series Book 2) (8 page)

“I went to M.I.T. to build shit,” Chrissy said, snapping a needle into place on the syringe.

“You dropped out of M.I.T,” Zoey reminded her.

“She’s using the big one,” Aiden observed. “She must like me. I got the little one.”

Zoey braced herself.

Chrissy was not gentle, but she was quick. Zoey grimaced and held a cotton ball over the crook of her elbow. Chrissy wrapped a piece of gauze tape around it and left for the room next door, where she stored more worn out medical equipment they’d found in dumpsters.

“Off we go before she comes back with more needles,” Zoey said. “C’mon, Aiden. Exchange is at ten tonight.”

The incubus obeyed and trailed her and Vikki out of the warehouse to a black van. He climbed in back with Zoey while Vikki drove. Zoey sagged, tired already, and she hadn’t gotten through the most difficult time of her day. The moon seemed too bright, as cheerful as Aiden was, which agitated her even more.

In a matter of eight weeks, her dream of killing things had turned into a nightmare about how she was going to feed those who bought into her vision. Preoccupied with the ill Halflings and financial aspects, she paid no heed to where they drove. In the back of the van with Aiden, she sat, staring at the opposite wall, waiting for the answers to appear.

The incubus appeared exhausted. His body was healing and he dozed.

She had the urge to ask about Declan then the sudden idea to send Aiden back with her phone and get another one.

Not that it mattered. Declan found her anyway and with low funds, she didn’t need to toss another hundred dollars down the drain just to have him find her new number the moment she got a new phone.

Her cell vibrated. She tugged it out of her pocket.

Grant is legit, Declan replied.

She stared at his message, once again at a loss as to what to think about it and wishing there was more without knowing exactly what she wanted. It wasn’t an apology or explanation. That would infuriate her, because there was no way to make what he did right. But would it hurt him to try?

Her palms were damp at the idea of seeing him again. Her body always responded to him when he was within sight, and she wasn’t about to let her physical need overwhelm her mental pain. No, he wasn’t going to get off that easily by seducing her body without winning over mind.

They reached the rendezvous point – a small park east of Greenbelt, Maryland – and the van rolled to a halt. Vikki always parked facing the street in case something went wrong.

“Shit,” she mumbled from the front seat.

“What?” Zoey asked immediately, leery of an ambush.

“I think Bio-Mom wants Aiden as much as the Enforcers do.”

Zoey’s stomach sank. She didn’t want anything to do with either society’s security chief.

“I’ll deal with it,” she said. She leaned forward and opened the side door of the van. “Wait here.”

Hopping out, she assessed the park. Three of the Enforcers – including the man who made her heart flip in her chest – stood on one side, waiting, while Olivia and a handful of her IAB members stood closer to the van. She sensed Declan but didn’t dare look at him. Olivia had come only to start trouble; there was no other reason for her to be there after Zoey told her she was outbid.

Tall, polished and beautiful, Olivia smiled at Zoey the moment she set foot out of the van and started forward.

Zoey walked a short distance from the van. She rested one palm on the hilt of her knife and waited for Olivia to reach her.

“Zoey,” Olivia said. “Always a pleasure.” She held out a hand.

Zoey ignored it. Olivia’s magic was strong, but Zoey’s connection to Declan provided a buffer. Olivia was no longer able to influence her the way she once was.

“I’ve wanted to talk to you in person for some time,” Olivia said. She dropped her hand, her smile still in place despite the snub. “You made a deal with the Enforcers for Aiden?”

Zoey crossed her arms with a nod.

“What if I could give you something they couldn’t?” Olivia continued.

“There’s nothing you have that I want, except money, and you got outbid,” Zoey replied.

She heard the van door close behind her and glanced over her shoulder. Vikki stood beside Aiden, both of whom were watching the exchange. Ginny slid into the driver’s seat, ready to drive.

“Nothing at all? Maybe an end to the blackouts? A cure to your Halflings’ … issues?”

Zoey’s gaze narrowed. It took all her strength not to take the bait and admit that yes, there were issues and yes, she was out of her league. Olivia knew about them, which meant either she was causing them, or Zoey’s theory about a mole was correct.

Olivia made an attempt at looking sympathetic. “Really, Zoey. All I want is to help my daughters succeed. We have the same purpose, an end to the Cambions.”

“Then why the fuck are you working with them?”

“I’m sure you know by now how political your situation is. Imagine mine.”

“I’ll never give you the means to control me again or buy in to your delusion about killing off my kind when we’re no longer of use to you.”

“Your kind,” Olivia repeated, amused. “There are only five of you worth saving after decades of genetic experiments.”

Zoey bit her tongue, ready to snap the woman’s neck.

“Still not willing to talk?” Olivia asked.

“Fuck you, Olivia.”

“The technology I used to create you, and the solution to your dying Halflings, can be yours, if you work with me. They can just as easily fall into the wrong hands, if you insist on defying me and the Sucubatti.” Olivia’s voice was nearly a whisper. “I’ll do whatever it takes to convince you of where you belong, Zoey. I gave you some time and space to think about it in the hopes you’d see what I’m offering.”

Zoey stared at her, not trusting herself to respond. In the far reaches of her mind, a light bulb went on, one triggered by the acknowledgment that Olivia had the ability to save the Halflings.

There was a way that didn’t require building Chrissy a lab. All Zoey had to do was infiltrate the IAB and take it. Which was easier? Building a lab or breaking into Olivia’s? Zoey knew which was probably going to be cheaper.

“Turn over Aiden to me, and I’ll help you stop the blackouts,” Olivia offered.

“You know that won’t happen. I don’t trust anything you say, Olivia, and I never will.” Zoey motioned for Vikki to follow and started forward. “We’re done here.”

Olivia caught her arm. “Zoey, don’t be a fool. You swore to help the innocent. Every deal you make with the Incubatti makes them stronger. Declan, the Enforcers and their Council still support what the Cambions are doing. Murdering innocents. Think about it.”

Zoey said nothing, her eyes drifting to the waiting Enforcers. It was a truth she was neither able to ignore nor fully swallow. The Enforcers, including Declan, were guilty of colluding to help kill innocent humans.

With his light brown hair, chiseled features, green-flecked, golden eyes and lean frame, Declan was stunning in the compelling way of an incubus – and every bit the person she should hate most in the world, if not for his betrayal then because of who he was and who he protected. He stood among his brothers, calm and unreadable, ever the Enforcer Chief. Only in private had his guard lowered, and she’d learned there was more to him than he’d ever reveal to anyone outside his family. Despite this, three days wasn’t long enough for her to know him well enough to understand his motivations, his way of thinking.

Declan was still a stranger, one who protected those killing innocent women.

Yet, Olivia was no ally either. She was more concerned about power than helping the innocent, not to mention she was allied with the Cambions for reasons Zoey didn’t comprehend.

My world is so fucked up. If Zoey had learned anything lately, it was that there was no clear-cut difference between good and evil, no world where she could simply exist to kill bad guys. It made her sick to her stomach when she thought about the innocent lives lost.

She wrenched away from Olivia and continued towards the middle of the park.

“She’s wrong, Z,” Vikki said quietly.

Zoey glanced at her.

“If she could control your blackouts, don’t you think she’d send you after a better target than a few Cambions? Incubatti Enforcers or their Council?”

“Hey now,” Aiden said. “Not exactly chopped liver over here.”

“You were following me. That’s different than me targeting you,” Zoey said. “I don’t believe anything that bitch says, but I think she knows something we don’t about what’s happening to our Halflings.”

“Yeah, I get that sense, too.” Vikki scowled. “If there’s a way to help them, we can take it.”

“Declaring war on Olivia when we can barely fight Cambions and keep our heads above water?” Zoey shook her head. “We just need a little space and time to breathe.” She eyed Aiden. “And she’s right about the Incubatti. You all protect those soulless monsters that kill people.”

He said nothing.

“No one is good in this scenario,” Vikki agreed.

They reached the center of the park and stopped.

Declan and Wes approached.

Zoey couldn’t look away from her soul-mate. Her heart was pounding hard while warm desire fluttered through her. She found herself breathing deeply in anticipation of catching the first whiff of his dark, vanilla scent. His magic was restrained, but it still tickled her senses, teased her with reminders of how incredible a night in his bed had been.

The two Enforcers stopped a safe distance from them, their sex magic humming in the air.

“Are you well, Aiden?” Declan’s warm, familiar voice swept over her, through their connection as soul-mates, and managed to sink into her resolve, prying it down a level. She’d almost forgotten how much she loved his heavy, slow Southern drawl, especially when he said her name.

She braced herself, not about to let her body rule her mind. She wasn’t going to be blackmailed by Olivia or seduced by Declan.

“Great,” Aiden said cheerfully.

Vikki shook her head at him.

“About Vikki’s new … position,” Zoey said before the Enforcer boys were able to get the upper hand.

Declan’s attention turned to her. When he wore his Enforcer mask, he was a stranger, one that made her uneasy with his combination of natural power and command. He hid himself too well; she often wondered if what she knew of him behind closed doors was real. His amber gaze was direct, his stance relaxed. He radiated the confidence of the leader she wished she was.

“She checks in twice a day, morning and night. There will be no attempts to uncover our operations or location, and she’s treated like a guest, not a prisoner,” Zoey said firmly. “Any issues, and I yank her back.”

“She will be afforded the same accommodations and treatment as our Sucubatti representative,” Declan replied.

She glanced at Vikki, who took the cue and released Aiden’s bonds.

He rubbed his wrists.

“Are you willing to create a liaison position for an Incubatti member?” Declan asked.

Zoey almost laughed. Sensing it was not the right time or place for her reaction, she cleared her throat instead. “No offense, but I don’t want any Incubatti or Sucubatti member anywhere near my team,” she said. “I think the reasons are obvious. Last I heard, the price on my head from both societies had doubled.”

“Tripled.” A flicker of amusement went through Declan’s gaze.

His almost-smile made her face warm and her stomach flutter.

“In that case, fuck no,” she said. “Where is your half of this deal?”

Declan nodded his head to the side. Wes eyed her as he stepped from behind Declan, briefcase in hand.

“All that cash fit in there?” Zoey asked.

“Trust me, Zoey.” Declan’s soft words drew her gaze and set her body on fire.

“If he shorts you, I’ll knock his ass out again,” Vikki said acidly.

Even the allusion to how Vikki caught him cheating didn’t seem to effect Declan. Zoey, however, suddenly felt claustrophobic. Her body wanted to be closer, to melt into him, while her anger was bubbling near the surface.

“Sounds good, V,” she said. She took the briefcase, troubled to find it lighter than she expected.

What had he put inside it, if not money?

Aiden joined his brothers, his limp almost gone.

Zoey exchanged a look with Vikki. While it was the safest place for her to go, the loss of her friend’s daily support was going to be brutal. Zoey felt it already, a sense of being more alone than before on her mission to right a wrong and fix all the issues that were popping up.

Vikki reached out to her and squeezed her arm.

“I’ll be fine,” she said. “You will, too.”

Zoey forced a smile.

Vikki walked off with Wes and Aiden towards their awaiting vehicles. Zoey watched her before reluctantly looking once more to Declan.

Without the others to act as buffers, the tension between them grew taut and thick, the air sizzling with sexual restraint and desire in addition to the soul connection that made it impossible for her to walk away the way she desperately wanted to. His magic skated over her, tickling the sensitive hairs at the back of her neck and caressing her exposed skin like a warm kiss. Their attraction to one another was unreal, their bond compelling them together even when they strained to keep their distance.