Alpha Pack 4 - Hunters Heart (32 page)

wake up the sleeping machine, then stuck in the thumb

drive. The password box immediately appeared on the

screen.

Fingers flying, Daria tried the last several codes.

Access denied. “Damn. Have any more secret access

codes up your sleeve?”

“Try
Project Malik
, no spaces.”

She clicked out the word, pressed enter. They were in!

“Another safety net, mate? My, you and Nick were busy

boys,” she commented without looking up.

Intent on her purpose, she leaned forward. His

affirmation fueled her desire to get that final piece of

evidence, the ace in the hole. Ryon didn’t interfere. Her

computer skills matched or surpassed his, and he knew she

would’ve eventually broken into the main screen, even

without Nick’s help.

Conscious of the minutes slipping away, he peered into

the hallway. Still clear, but not for long. Any minute one of

the guards would stroll to the pool to check in with the

missing man. He and Daria might have a few more minutes

before they realized the man wasn’t in the restroom, or in

the kitchen pilfering a late-night snack.

Sweat beaded on Ryon’s forehead and neck, and not

just from nerves. The room was unbearably hot, his leg

killing him. Not a good sign. Forcing the discomfort from

his mind, he walked back to Daria.

Hunched over, she punched in another series of

numbers. Waited. Then, like a miracle, a spreadsheet

filled the screen. All the information they needed, at their

fingertips. Smiling, Daria raised a fist in victory.

“It’s all here. The drugs they used on the shifters, names

of their victims—or
test subjects
as the assholes called

them—names of doctors and others in their employ. All

sorts of damning evidence.”

“God, this is so much more extensive than what we

recovered from Bowman’s last testing site.” Something

caught Ryon’s eye. “Look there. It says
Medicinal

Countermeasures for Morphing Agents
, and it looks like

a recipe. Does that mean what I think?”

“It’s an antidote,” she breathed. Typing fast, she opened

a window and, following Ryon’s direction, began to send

the all-important files to the Pack compound’s server.

He contacted his commander.
Nick, we’ve got it! All the

files are coming your way, and it looks like there’s a

reversal drug for the shit they did to Ben and the others.

After a couple of seconds, the man answered in relief.

Great job. As soon as it’s sent, get the hell out. Time is

short. I’ll get our lab people working on the antidote

and try to have it in hand when we fly out to pick you

both up.

All right, and thanks. For everything.

Just go, and hurry.

A box flashed with the words
Transfer Complete
. Ryon

kissed the top of her head. “I’m impressed, angel. Now

let’s get going. I never want to see this place again.”

“I couldn’t agree more.”

Daria removed the thumb drive and secured it in the

case again, hands trembling. Ryon could imagine what a

monumental occasion this was for her, because it meant as

much to him. Now Ben at least had a chance. She zipped

the pack, logged off the computer, and turned to him.

“I can’t wait to see the government come down on his

ass like a bad case of clap.”

A deep, taunting laugh reverberated against the walls,

startling them both. August Bradford stepped into the

office and flipped on the lights, a pistol trained on them.

Oh, Jesus.

Ryon froze and Daria pressed herself to his side. He

didn’t dare glance at her. Sweat trickled down the side of

his face. Swallowing his sickness and anger, he met his

enemy’s black gaze without flinching.

August was a handsome man, with few lines on his face

to hint at his age. He carried himself tall and straight, and

wore an expression of faint amusement. He looked and

acted the part of a spoiled, entitled man who must have

very much enjoyed playing God along with Malik and

Bowman.

“They wouldn’t be the first ones to try, dearest niece.”

August looked from her back to Ryon, his smile chilling,

voice dripping with meaning. “Place your weapons on the

floor, nice and slow.”

They did, keeping their hands in sight, then straightened.

Ryon didn’t respond right away, but took in the rest of

August’s appearance. He was dressed in blue silk

pajamas, his hair shooting in several directions, mussed

from sleep. They’d surprised him, which might work in

their favor. The fact that the guards hadn’t followed on his

heels meant he had yet to alert them. That might prove

their only chance for escape.

“You might want to play nice with us, old man,” Ryon

said flatly.

“All right, I’ll bite. Why would I want to play nice?”

“Because we just sent all of your files to an arm of the

government that is very interested in stamping out every

last trace of the heinous experiments you were involved in

with Gene Bowman and the Unseelie, Malik, whom you

knew was masquerading as rich entrepreneur Evan

Kerrigan.”

Though the man maintained his smile, it tightened

noticeably. “The government, you say? Well, there was

your first mistake.”

“Now
I’ll
bite. How so?”

August cocked his head, studying Ryon. “You’re a

shifter. Cat? Wolf?”

He saw no reason to lie. “Wolf.”

“Made, not born.”

“Yes.” He exchanged a quick look of confusion with

Daria. Where was this going?

“Since you’re with an
arm
of the government, as you put

it, I’ll assume it’s black ops. Am I correct in also

assuming you were military before you were turned?”

“Navy SEAL,” he admitted, a cold ball forming in his

stomach. This man was getting at something very bad, and

they were about to learn what. “So, what does any of that

mean?”

“Ah, Ryon Hunter, you’ve been wondering that for

years
, haven’t you?” August almost whispered, a clever

light in his eyes.

A cold shock went through him. “How do you know my

name? What are you trying to say?”

“Must I do all the work here? Connect the dots, boy.

Haven’t you and your fellow SEALs who were attacked in

Afghanistan and turned six years ago wondered
why
?”

Ryon stared at the man, his heart pounding in dread.

August chuckled, stepping closer. “Why did you all

survive, when so many others died? How is it that a group

of human men, each with Psy powers unbeknownst to the

others, ended up in the same unit? How did it happen that

they were attacked
that
day, thousands of miles from

home, and
no one
but the men with the Psy abilities

survived the slaughter? At some point, each of your team

must have wondered
why, why, why
.”

Ryon groaned as the full import hit, and he nearly

collapsed. “Mother of God. It’s true. We were set up.”

“Yes, young wolf. You were set up from the very

beginning, down to the last man.” Glancing at the computer

they’d hacked, he shook his head. “You might be able to

help my niece’s hapless former fiancé, but in the end it

won’t matter. Where do you think all of the information

you’ve gone to so much trouble to obtain will go? In

whose hands will it finally rest?”

“Someone high up,” he said desperately. “Someone

who’ll stop you, maybe put you behind bars for the things

you’ve done.”

August studied him for a long moment. Then he spoke

quietly. “Did your team honestly think that Malik and

Bowman were the end of the line? That we could possibly

have put in place an operation of such a large scale

without someone
high up,
as you say, calling the shots?”

“No,” Ryon whispered. “I won’t believe it.”

“Believe what you will. Malik had his own agenda and

his own God complex. But the truth is, the tentacles of this

thing go all the way to the top. To the fucking Oval Office.

Are you following me, boy? It’s not one person, but

several in key positions of power in the United States

government.”

Ryon gripped the edge of the desk, sweat dripping onto

the surface. Horror consumed him, robbed his speech.

August nodded. “Everything was planned. Your team

pulled together beautifully, and afterward we focused our

research on other areas, such as how to create an even

stronger, more lethal shifter. A legion of super-soldiers.

Until things began to go wrong.”

“You mean until the Alpha Pack turned on its creator,

and began to dismantle the project.”

Nick! Nick, did you know? Please, tell me you didn’t.

The commander remained silent.

“Exactly. Thanks to someone of power who’s helping

the Pack, guiding them from afar.” As though suddenly

remembering the gun in his hand, he leveled it at them

more squarely. “And you’re going to tell me who it is, or

I’ll kill you both.”

August doesn’t know. He has no idea General Jarrod

Grant is our ally.

“I don’t fucking think so, you sonofabitch!”

Moving fast, he launched himself at August.

The deafening blast of the gunshot, and Daria’s terrified

scream, tore into Ryon as he fell.

Fourteen

Ryon yelled, throwing himself at August, and all hell

broke loose.

A gunshot blasted the air, and the two men crashed to

the floor, grappling for the weapon. They rolled, and Ryon

landed a punch to August’s jaw with his free hand. Daria

bent and snatched the SIG off the floor, hoping to get a

shot at August.

“Daria, go! There’s no time!” Ryon shouted.

She hesitated, but knew he was right. A crash sounded

somewhere in the house, followed by pounding feet. If she

distracted him by not following his order, he’d lose focus

on the fight and they would both die for nothing. She hated

leaving the pack with their supplies, but they had no

choice now. Speed was everything, and all they had to do

now was make the rendezvous point. Praying Ryon would

follow, she turned, released her wolf and shifted, and

dove headfirst through the plate-glass window.

Daria’s first thought was that that stunt always looked

so easy in the movies. Her second, that she’d probably

scalped her hide on the glass even through her thick fur.

She rolled to her feet, shaking off her clothes and the

shards of glass that rained like confetti, and hit the ground

running as though the hounds of hell were on her heels.

Shouts. Curses. Rapid-fire gunshots.

The security floodlights bathed the compound, bright as

daytime. Any second she expected a bullet to plow into

her back and end her life. Or Ryon’s. God, where was he?

Two men were closing in fast on her right, shouting,

“Stop!”

No freaking way was she going to do that, so why did

the bad guys always yell something so stupid? She saw

them raise their rifles. A scream welled in her throat, but

came out as a pitiful whimper. Her headlong flight, along

with sheer terror, had sucked the air from her lungs. The

back wall loomed near, but she wasn’t going to make it.

They were going to kill her.

Daria braced herself, but no bullets ripped through her

body. Swiveling her head as she ran, she saw Ryon

coming across the lawn after her, half-limping, rifle

trained on the two goons. Their bodies jerked, and fell. He

stopped, spun, and sprayed more bullets toward the

shattered office window.

Reaching the wall, Daria’s wolf had no trouble scaling

it in about two seconds flat, and she flung herself over.

Three steps, and she was plunged into total darkness.

Chest heaving, she halted and tried to figure her next

move. A thud and a crunch of leaves alerted her that

someone had come over the wall. She swung around in

terror.

“Daria?” Ryon called.

Thank God
. She shifted and held out a hand. “Right

here. Take about three steps.”

“All right,” he said, breathing hard. “Let me put on the

night vision goggles and I’ll come to you. Are you hurt?”

“I—I’m not sure. Maybe my head, from the glass. Lost

my clothes when I shifted and ran, too. What about you?”

A hesitation. “I’m fine. Okay, I see you.” He stepped up

and grabbed her hand. “I’ve got on the goggles, and I’ll

lead the way. You’re going to have to trust me to be our

eyes, but I promise I won’t let anything happen to you.

Hang on tight to the strap on my pack. If you accidentally

lose your hold, yell and I’ll get you.”

“Wouldn’t it be better just to ditch our stuff now, shift,

and run to meet the team in wolf form? We’re done with

the op, and we’d make better time.”

“I’m sorry, but I can’t hold my shift, baby,” he rasped.