Shadow Soldier (19 page)

Right then, his menacing gaze was locked on Zerrik. “Leave,” Lynk repeated, his nostrils flaring with distaste. “Now.”

To his credit, Zerrik didn’t back down, but he did swallow hard enough to make
Deke
wince.

“Mendez just pulled up,” Deke told the vampire, hoping to diffuse the situation and let his friend walk away with a shred of his pride remaining. He pointed to a dark SUV at the end of the street. “Take care of the Ravagers and assign a detail to start cleaning up the Square. Greg can help. He used to work in construction.”

Zerrik turned toward him with a furrowed brow. “Greg?”

“Yeah, Roux’s friend. Big guy, blond hair, doesn’t say much.”

“No, I know who he is.” The lines across his forehead deepened, and he rested his hands on his hips. “No one has seen him all day, though. He was supposed to start installation on some new countertops at the salon this morning, but Laney said he never showed.”

“When was this?” Lynk interrupted, suddenly appearing much more interested in information about the missing human.

“I talked to Laney right after lunch, I guess. Why?”

Lynk grunted. “Nothing. Go away.”

“I’ll check with the others, find out if anyone has seen Greg.” Folding his arms over his chest, Deke nodded toward the bakery. “Send Roux this way, yeah?”

Zerrik glared at the Warden, but didn’t argue. “Yeah. All right.”

Watching Zerrik disappear into the bakery, Deke shook his head and sighed. “Foster, has anyone ever told you that you’re a dick?”

Lynk shrugged. “Frequently.” He sounded almost proud of the fact. “We need to talk.”

“So you said. What is it?”

“Not here.” Subtly, he raised the sleeve of his uniform shirt, revealing the bottom half of the Revenant emblem tattooed on his bicep. “Your place, ten minutes.” Then he turned and stomped away, but before turning the corner, he called over his shoulder, “I’ll meet you there.”

“Who was that?” Roux limped down the street toward him and practically collapsed into his arms.

“Lynk Foster. You’ll meet him later.” Holding her around the waist, he supported some of her weight to take pressure off her injured leg. “How much does it hurt?”

“I’m okay,” she insisted.

“Stubborn.” A grin stretched his lips, and he bent to press a kiss to her temple. “We need to go.”

“But there’s still so much to do here.”

She had a point. The dead needed to be burned or buried. Some of the injured still needed medical attention. Many of the shops in the Square would need repairs to one degree or another. Everyone standing had a job to do, and Deke’s duties didn’t include fixing broken doors or digging graves.

“We’ll come back,” he promised. “There’s somewhere we need to be right now.”

Roux struggled along beside him, her limp growing more pronounced with each step. Twice, he tried to carry her, and both times, she growled and slapped at him, insisting she could walk on her own. Her tenacity both frustrated and awed him. She had more heart, more determination and drive, than anyone he’d ever known.

Their new reality didn’t cater to or make allowances for the weak. The Revenant protected those in need, but Deke often wondered if they fought a winless battle. Physical prowess helped, but without strength of mind and will, the people they worked so hard to save would still end up as cannon fodder to a merciless world.

Not Roux, though.

In essence, she didn’t need him. On the other hand, it did give him a measure of relief to know that she could survive on her own. While she could be reckless and impulsive, she was also smart, cunning. If she couldn’t fight her way out of a situation, she knew how to run, how to hide.

As much as he hated to admit it, Zerrik had a point. With a little training and direction, Roux had the potential to become a tremendous asset to the Revenant. She already had the instincts of a soldier, and with a little focus, Deke had no doubt he’d be able to help her hone her natural abilities. Moreover, it would give her purpose, a place to belong, and an extended family to watch over her if something ever happened to him.

“What are you thinking?” Roux asked as they trekked up their driveway to the front porch.

Deke grinned. “Isn’t that my line?”

“Don’t change the subject? I know that look, Captain Collins.” Reaching into her front pocket, she pulled out the spare key he’d given her when she’d started her new job. “You’re trying to decide if you should tell me something. Spoiler alert, you’re going to tell me.”

Taking the key from her, Deke unlocked the front door and pushed it open. “Is that so?”

“Who the fuck are you?” Roux demanded when she stepped into the foyer.

“Excuse me?” Her question made no sense until he realized she wasn’t looking at him.

“You’re that Warden,” she accused. She shook off Deke’s hand when he reached for her elbow, but she still didn’t look at him. “How did you get into my house?”

Standing from the sofa, Lynk Foster rested his hands on his hips and smirked. “You’re not the only one with a key, sweetheart.”

Instead of being pissed at the lieutenant, Deke groaned and reached for his mate again, catching her around the waist as she lunged at Lynk. “Down, tiger.”

The corner of Lynk’s mouth hitched up a little higher, revealing the tip of one pointed canine. “Are you talking to me or her?”

Ceasing her struggles, Roux leaned heavily against Deke’s side, holding her weight on her good leg. “He’s a tiger shifter?” At his nod, she rolled her eyes and snorted. “You trust him?”

“I do.”

“So, he’s a Revenant.”

Deke nodded again. “He is.”

“Fine.” Pushing away from him, she limped toward the kitchen, wincing with each step. “He’s still a dick.” She stopped just inside the doorway and looked over her shoulder at him. “Beer?”

Shaking his head, he strode toward his mate, lifted her up, and carried her to the overstuffed armchair. There, he settled her gently into the seat and propped her hurting leg up on the cushioned ottoman.

“Don’t move,” he ordered. “Where are the painkillers?”

“Medicine cabinet, top shelf.” Gritting her teeth, Roux leaned her head back and closed her eyes. “Thank you.”

In the short time it took him to find the pills and return to the living room, Roux had her shoes off and an ice pack pressed against her stitches. She even had an unopened bottle of water sitting on the end table next to her.

“I told you not to move.” Easing down on the ottoman beside her foot, Deke placed the two tablets in her upturned palm. “Here, take these.”

Roux thanked him again and reached for the water. “And I didn’t move.”

He twisted around to look at Lynk, but the lieutenant simply arched an eyebrow at him and said nothing. The guy did his job, and he did it well. His post with the Diavolos family made him an invaluable member of the Revenant, but words like comfort, kindness, and compassion had never been part of his vocabulary. For him to go out of his way to ease even a little of Roux’s pain wasn’t in his nature, not that Deke had ever seen, and he had no idea what to make of it.

“Gabriel said the Ravagers don’t come into town.” Shifting in her seat, Roux held the water bottle in both hands as she looked between him and Lynk. “What makes this time different?”

Lynk stared back at her blankly. “Who the fuck is Gabriel?”

“Sergeant Riccelli,” Deke answered. “Werewolf, assigned to the Bastille, you’ve met him a few times.”

“Did I like him?”

Deke snorted. “As much as you like anyone, I guess.”

“This is all very interesting,” Roux grumbled. “Now, is someone going to tell me what the hell just happened out there? Or are we going to braid each other’s hair and continue to talk about our feelings?”

“You called this meeting,” Deke reminded the shifter. “What’s going on? What do you know?”

“You’re being watched. All of you.” Without elaborating, Lynk rose from the sofa and marched into the kitchen.

“Is he always like that?” Roux asked, not bothering to keep her voice down.

“Pretty much.”

Returning from the kitchen with two frosted bottles of Corona, Lynk passed one to Deke before popping the top off his own beer. “You, that fuckhead vampire, the baker, and even that feisty puma—you’re all being watched, and everything is being reported back to the family. Nikolai Diavolos in particular has taken a special interest in you, Captain.”

“Wait, wait, wait. Back up.” Gripping the cushioned arms of the chair, Roux pulled herself up straighter, her bright green eyes locked on Lynk. “What puma? Who is Nikolai Diavolos? And what the hell does he want with Deke?”

“Thea is a puma shifter,” Deke explained. “You probably saw her in the Square during the attack.” He paused, choosing his next words carefully. “If you think of the Diavolos family like royalty, Nikolai would be the crown prince. He’ll take over the region when his father passes.”

“And?” Roux prodded, clearly unimpressed. “Why does he have such a hard-on for you?”

Since Deke didn’t have an answer for her, he turned to Lynk. “Do you know why he’s having me watched?”

“No, not for certain, but I think it’s to make sure you don’t interfere.” Moving to the edge of the cushion, Lynk sat his beer on the coffee table and rested his elbows on his knees. “I overheard a couple of the guards a few nights ago. They were talking about making a delivery, only it didn’t sound like they meant groceries.”

“People,” Deke deduced lifting Lynk’s beer to slide a coast beneath the bottle. “They were talking about delivering people.”

“The missing residents,” Roux whispered, growing visibly more restless as the conversation continued. “Abby might have mentioned it,” she added when Lynk arched an eyebrow at her. “Where are they delivering them?”

Deke had an uneasy feeling he already knew the answer. In the months directly following the Purge, Ravager attacks happened almost weekly. There hadn’t been merchants in the Square during that time, and most people had been afraid to leave their homes. Guards and civilians alike had been dying at alarming rates, and life in Trinity Grove had been a constant nightmare.

Then, one day, the attacks had stopped. A week went by, and then two, and then an entire month without Ravagers prowling the streets. Hope blossomed. Each day, things got a little better, but no one had thought to ask the most obvious question—why?

The Revenant had their suspicions, but with the disappearances happening so sporadically, they’d never been able to gather proof. By the time they realized someone else had gone missing, it was too late to do anything about it.

“What?” Roux asked, her voice tight. “Why are you looking at each other like that?” Struggling to her feet, she began pacing the narrow strip of floor between the television and the coffee table. “Why are the Wardens kidnapping people? Where are they taking them?”

“Sit down.” Exasperated, Deke sighed and reached for her, only to have his hand batted away. “Roux, you need to rest or that leg is never going to heal.”

“I’m fine,” she bit out through clenched teeth. “Tell me what’s going on.”

“Ravagers.” Lynk lifted one shoulder when Deke glared at him. “We don’t have proof, but we think the Diavolos are sacrificing civilians to the Ravagers.”

Roux gasped. “Bethany?”

“I don’t know who that is, but if she’s missing, it’s a good bet she was taken.”

“Wait.” Roux held her hand up, but she didn’t speak for several seconds. “Okay, let me get this straight. Wardens—on the orders of the Diavolos family—are kidnapping people out of the city and just hand-delivering them to the Ravagers.” Resting her hands on her hips, she looked up and glared at both of them. “Why aren’t you doing anything to stop this?”

“What would you have us do?” Deke held both hands out to the side, palm up. “We don’t know who is going to be taken or when.” Humans didn’t exactly have rights to protect them against such things, but he didn’t say that to Roux. “Hell, we don’t even know where they’re taking them.”

“Gabriel said the Ravagers hunt a couple of miles from here. That seems like a pretty good place to start.”

Deke nodded. “They do, but we’ve only ever seen a few at a time. Today’s attack is the most I’ve seen in one place in over a year.”

“We’ve searched those woods a dozen times,” Lynk interjected. “We still can’t find their den.”

A muscle in Roux’s jaw ticked, and she held her shoulders back, her spine rigid. A thin vein along the side of her neck had begun to pulse, and color rose in her cheeks. Deke understood her anger, but without more information, neither he nor his team could do anything to change the status quo.

Standing, he approached his mate with slow, careful movements, much like he would a wounded animal. “We don’t know how many there are. If today was any indication, I think it’s safe to say we’re outnumbered.”

“Even if we knew where they lived, it would be fucking suicide to storm their den.”

Glancing at Lynk out of the corner of his eye, Deke growled. “Shut it, Foster.”

“No,” Roux whispered, “he’s right. We have to do something, though.”

“We will.”

Pushing up from the sofa, Lynk drained the rest of his beer before setting the empty bottle down on the coffee table. “I have to get back before people start asking questions.”

“Won’t they wonder why you were talking to Deke in the first place?”

Meeting Roux’s gaze, Lynk shook his head. “There was an attack in the Square, and I’m debriefing Captain Collins on the specifics.” He nodded and strode to the front door. “I hope you find your friend.”

“Poor Bethany,” Roux muttered once Lynk had left. “Do you think she’s still alive?”

“Honestly?” Deke pulled her into his arms and rested his chin on top of her head. “It’s probably better if she’s not.” He warred with himself for nearly a minute before he added, “There’s something else you should know.”

Leaning back, Roux blinked up at him, her expression so trusting he almost changed his mind. As it stood, he had to swallow several times before he could manage to force the words past the tightness in his throat.

“Greg’s missing.”

It didn’t seem real. When Deke had first told her of Greg’s disappearance, she hadn’t believed him. She hadn’t
wanted
to believe him. When three days passed without any sign of her friend, however, Roux had been forced to accept the truth.