A Shadow's Embrace (2 page)

Devyn focused, suckling on the metadata drifting in the atmosphere. Ah, she’d missed the city. The morsels of data streamed into her. Her synapses hummed, sated by the calming presence of her third eye’s power. For the first time in a week, she was whole again now that she was back in the bustling psychic sector of Chicago. Leaving the city and her team a week ago had been a difficult decision, but the right one. Her powers had become more focused without the residual white noise of bustling Chicago’s technological strain vying for her attention.
 

Now the same technology she’d shunned the past few days would save her. She accessed traffic and bank cameras—anything and everything that allowed eyes-on access to the enemy that was herding her into a proverbial cage. There were too many of them. No exit strategy existed.
 

Damn.
 

A strong arm encircled her waist, crushing her against a brick-like torso before she could react. Pain pierced her mind, radiating from her temples. Startled by the psychic intrusion, she writhed in her captor’s embrace and threw up what telepathic walls she could.
 

The bastard shattered each defensive layer she created. Hot breath fanned across her cheek when he lifted her up off her feet and planted a huge hand over her mouth. Dangling like a doll, she punched the meaty arms holding her captive.
 

“Enough.” The harsh psychic hammer pounded her into submission. She stilled, unable to maneuver past the thick mental fog he created. “I need you to be quiet if you want to live.”
 

That voice. Dagan. This was the contact she’d slipped info to at the SEO.
 

She clamped his wrist and pressed hard, but he maintained his hold. The proximity to one of the most lethal people in existence skittered apprehensive pangs along her spine. She’d chanced returning to Chicago because of him, but how had he known she’d be here?
 

“Ah, I see you found our little rabbit.” A second man turned the corner into the alley, his gaze sweeping the narrow corridor. Great. Another Shadow Elite. The operatives were fierce, uncontainable forces she couldn’t ever dream of beating in a fight.
 

They operated within the gray area, by their own rules. Lower level psychics—most of the children—weren’t stupid enough to cross the SEO, which was why so many street kids had suffered the hunger of poverty and the perils of homelessness without asking for help. Which was why Devyn had formed Indigo Order. Where the SEO left off—protecting and generally kicking ass—Indigo Order picked up—feeding, educating, nurturing.
 

The only problem was the SEO didn’t exactly know much about Indigo Order or who operated it. Anonymity meant survival on the street, and she, along with her team, had become legendary.
 

“Whoever the hell she is, she packs a serious punch,” Dagan said.
 

Bullets ricocheted off the dumpster at the mouth of the alley. The second man turned as the man holding Devyn tugged her backward until they were pressed against the wall. She remained complacent. Now wasn’t the time to fight, and she wasn’t stupid enough to think she could best a Shadow Elite operative.
 

“You have her under control?”
 

“I’m thinking she’s stronger than she’s letting on. She’s throwing up barriers almost as fast as I’m breaking them and hasn’t slowed yet, so I’m guessing she’s figured out we’re the better alternative to ARES.” He squeezed her waist. “If I let you go, are you going to run?”
 

Devyn shook her head.
 

“Good girl.”
 

Good girl? Oh, hell, no. He released her, and she slammed her foot into his shin.
 

“Fuck.” He growled and narrowed his obsidian gaze on her when she whirled to face him. “What the fuck did you do that for?”
 

“I’m not a dog to pat on the head, you condescending ass.”
 

“She’s got your number, Dagan.”
 

“Shut it, Rex. Maybe you could handle the bullets so we can get out of here without extra holes.”
 

Dagan. She’d been right. This was him. Devyn swallowed as she covertly studied the man she’d been communicating with—not that he knew who she was. Unruly, thick, black hair accentuated a rugged jaw line. Dark eyes reflected curiosity and tension as they swept over her before returning to guarding the alley. He was tall, probably six two, maybe three, with broad shoulders and a massive chest that tapered down to narrow hips. He was exactly what she expected a Shadow to be—lethal, barely contained power. Would he recognize her voice? Probably not. She’d flown so far under radar no one knew who Indy of the Indigo Order was. All they knew was the organization helped the disadvantaged with psychic abilities remain safe from ARES.
 

More importantly, they fed intel to the SEO so they could keep Conver from rebuilding the massive militant regime he’d had four years ago—before the shadow operatives like Dagan escaped.
 

“The roaches are everywhere,” Devyn stated. “We’re surrounded.”
 

Rex chuckled. “Roaches. I like it.”
 

“How do you know?” Dagan asked.
 

“We don’t have time for a conversational fuck right now. We’re three against nearly a hundred. Those aren’t good numbers. Please tell me it isn’t just you two.”
 

“You know too much.” Dagan prowled closer, leaning into her personal space until hot breath fanned her forehead. “Who the hell are you?”
 

Devyn swallowed. Fine. They preferred to see the situation for themselves rather than take her word for it. She could respect that. She popped the security on the neighborhood cams and looped them to SEO headquarters.
 

She stood matching Dagan glare for pissed-off glare for a moment, waiting for her actions to catch up to the two Shadows before her. Sometimes being covert was a pain in the ass.
 

“Later, man. There’s a shitload of firepower headed this way. Ace got access to surrounding cams.” Rex lunged backward a couple of feet when a body tumbled from the rooftop. Agonized groans came from the prone attacker. “I’ll give you two a lift. We’ll rendezvous at position Charlie.”
 

“Copy that.” Dagan grasped her shoulders. “Hold on to me, and try not to move. Once we land, shadow my moves, and don’t panic. Okay?”
 

Devyn nodded as weightlessness settled into her limbs. Before she could fully realize they were levitating, she and Dagan were shooting upward and to the left, until they landed with a hard thud onto the rooftop of an abandoned warehouse.
 

“Thanks for the hard landing, fucker,” Dagan mumbled into a comm unit she hadn’t noticed before.
 

Wincing, she stood on shaky legs and took a couple of deep breaths. Okay. That was one way to get out of the alley.
 

He tugged on her arm and sprinted across the rooftop. She pulled until he halted. “Wait. Shouldn’t we provide cover for him until he gets up?”
 

“He’s not coming with us. He’s drawing their fire so we can get your ass out of whatever mess you’ve fallen into. General Conver isn’t someone you take on alone.”
 

The dismissive tone grated her patience. She wanted to pull the Ruger holstered on his side and teach him a thing or two about respect, but this wasn’t the time. The SEO wasn’t supposed to be in harm’s way.
 

How had Conver figured out her location so quickly?
 

Annoyance kept her silent and complacent to the grueling pace Dagan set as they vaulted from one rooftop to another in no clear direction. East, north, then east, then west, then northwest, south. She was getting dizzy, and each blind lunge from one safe perch to another sent her pulse racing to a faster tempo.
 

By the time her leg muscles were limper than linguini, she paused and looked around. “We’re back to where we started?”
 

“Conver’s minions rarely circle back. They’re too arrogant to think we’d remain in the target zone and engage a force as large as they are. It’s suicide.” He flicked a gaze over his shoulder in her general direction before assessing the perimeter.
 

Her lungs burned; her thighs ached. Ragged breaths sawed in and out of her parched throat as she watched him calmly prowling around as though they hadn’t just vaulted like drunken
reindeer across so many rooftops she'd lost count. Wiping sweat from her brow, she sighed her general contempt for his gorgeous, thick hair and its lack of disarray.
 

He wasn’t even breaking a sweat yet.
 

Okay. Dare and Rider had been right. She needed to spend more time on cardio. What had they been talking about before her body had short circuited? Oh, yeah. It was suicide to remain in Conver’s target zone.
 

No joke. “Then why?”
 

“Because every boat, airplane, bus, vehicle, horse cart, and bicycle is under scrutiny, and unless you can sprout wings and fly our asses out of here, we don’t have much of a choice. Now, are you going to behave and follow me, or are we going to stand around and wait for the helicopters to spot us?”
 

In silent rebellion, she vaulted to the next rooftop. He cursed but followed. She landed with a grin and turned to face a nightmare. The rooftop’s high perimeter had hidden the crush of six ARES soldiers, weapons trained on her. Dagan thudded to a halt beside her.
 

“Guess that plan of yours didn’t work too well,” she commented.
 

He lunged for two of the soldiers and downed them quickly. Dagan roundhouse kicked another in the throat. Devyn took the cue and did the same, adding a kick to the nuts for one of the other men. Before she could handle the last man, gunfire erupted. She halted, swallowing her scream when Dagan shoved her to the ground and grunted as he fell.
 

Crimson flowed between his splayed fingers. Son of a bitch. He’d taken the bullet for her.
 

Shit.
 

She nailed the last man in the nuts, snagged his weapon, and then placed a double tap to his forehead. Blood and brain matter exploded around her as she repeated the action until all six were out of commission. Apparently it was time to channel her inner heartless, killing bitch.
 

Dagan winced when she helped him stand, his right hand spread across his stomach. Blood flowed from the gaping wound. This wasn’t good.
 

She studied the situation, accessed the data stream she’d fed to Ace at SEO headquarters, and realized there was a narrow window of opportunity for them to get gone. Rex’s telekinetic blitz attack had sent most of the ARES assholes running for ground.
 

“Can you help get yourself off this roof?” she asked.
 

He tapped his ear comm twice. “Situation critical. Repeat, situation critical.”
 

“No. Hell, no, it isn’t critical.” She half pulled, half dragged him to the edge of the roof. “Down. Now.”
 

Their enhanced genetics made such falls possible. Landing hurt like a bitch, but it wouldn’t break anything if they were both conscious. She landed in a crouch and cursed when Dagan fell with a booming thud. Blood oozed from his gut.
 

“Don’t think that was a good idea,” he groaned.
 

No shit. At least he was ground level. She looked around, thankful when she realized where they were. This was doable. Searching his pockets, she grabbed his phone and punched in the emergency number for Indigo Order.
 

Hopefully they hadn’t all gone to ground yet.
 

“Yeah.”
 

“Cadence, I’m coming in hot, one downed operative. We need Patch and his crew there. ETA ten minutes. I’m praying Dare and Rider are local.”
 

“That’s a negative on the first, questionable on the latter. Dare’s following up with intel you got bagged and tagged in the bayou. Glad all these rumors are bullshit, Indy.”
 

They persisted in using her street name because she’d somehow become a legend within the psychic underground. Resources were nearly impossible to come by for most of the level ones and twos cast out as children by ARES. Most starved, some managed to become part of the foster care system for a few years. Those who survived did so as a collective, a desperate collective that, until a couple of years ago, had had no viable voice or resource.
 

The difference Devyn made on the street with her small organization made everything she’d endured worthwhile. Until now. She couldn’t let Dagan die. The SEO was the spine and brute force behind the liberation movement.
 

“Contact them. Prep the down room.” Devyn ended the call and blitzed the electrical components so they couldn’t be tracked.
 

Intel on the technopathic or tracking capabilities of Conver’s minions was spotty at best. Unfortunately, the bastard wasn’t stupid enough to keep a working database on his network labeled “my crew and their abilities.” Pocketing Dagan’s phone, she knelt beside him and considered her options.
 

The man was ruggedly muscular, a brute force to be reckoned with when conscious, which he wasn’t at the moment. The dead weight of his two-bucks-and-change body would be a grueling haul to the nearest Indigo compound entrance. Not to mention obvious. A woman lugging a man twice her size around would set off every red flag around.
 

Besides, if she walked down the street hauling two hundred plus pounds of sinewy male around she’d definitely draw the attention of the street kids. The last thing she needed was any of the crews getting in the middle of this shit with Conver.
 

And they would get involved. They’d made it their personal mission to “always have Indy’s back.” The only way she’d gone unnoticed as long as she had was by using the surveillance cameras. Well, that and the fact those street kids weren’t stupid. The moment Conver showed his ugly mug they’d probably taking to the underground tunnels.