BirthStone (15 page)

“Yes. I think so. Mark’s with her at the
airport. Silas has a file on him somewhere if you’re interested on
some lighthearted reading.”

Tyrese chuckled. “I don’t blame him. There’s
some crazy stuff going on.” He paused, she heard someone talking in
the background before he returned to the phone. “I just cleared the
gate. I need to pull a team together and call the airport. Tell her
I’ll be there soon and until I arrive, someone will be coming to
take them to a secure place to wait.”

“Okay. I’ll let Silas know they’re
here.”

“Good idea, he didn’t answer me a moment
ago. I know he’s busy in town.”

Exhaling, she disconnected, and then called
her mom.

“Jasmine?”

“Yes. Tyrese is coming to pick you up. He
should be there in an hour or an hour and a half, depending on
traffic. Someone at the airport is going to take you to a waiting
area so you’re comfortable.” She hoped her mom didn’t balk, this
was the best she could do on short notice.

“You’re not coming?”

“No, the babies just went down for a nap.
I’ll see you when you get here... we have to talk.”

Her mom released a long sigh. “I know. I
know. I’ll see you soon.”

Closing her eyes, she argued in her mind
whether or not to tell Silas now or wait until later. He was
adamant about doing deep scans on Mark and the minister. Her mom
and sister he was willing to give a pass, well, he had scanned
Renee when he met her in the hospital. He hadn’t really said he
wouldn’t do a personal scan on her mom now that she thought about
it.

They were a team. Releasing a pent-up
breath, she reached for him.

“
Silas.”

“
Yes.”
He responded immediately,
which lightened her spirits and bolstered her courage.

“
Mom and Mark arrived a day early; she
got her dates mixed up. They’re at Yeager, and Tyrese is taking a
team to pick them up. I just wanted to let you know
,” she added
when he didn’t say anything.

“
They need to be sequestered until Rese
gets there. I’ll have security cover them until then. Is everything
alright at the compound?”

“
Yes, all forty-nine Alphas have called
and offered assistance, the phone lines have been busy dealing with
them. The kids are all asleep, it doesn’t seem as though they
missed me today.”
She pushed away that sobering thought. The
fact that it bothered her became the deciding factor for continuing
to take her medication. Now was not the time for a relapse.
“I
plan to check on Rone before mama gets here. I haven’t seen Cameron
or Lilly, they with you?”

“
Yes. I’ll send them back if you need
them.”

“
No. No, I was just doing a mental roll
call, that’s all. You okay?”

It took him a moment to respond and she sat
heavily in the chair, tempted to delve deeper into their bond to
see what he had experienced. But she had explained last night that
she didn’t want to do that. She wanted him to talk with her
instead.

“
I will be better when I am with
you,”
he finally said in a heavy tone.
“It’s important for
me to be here, people are looking for answers and confirmation that
everything is okay.”
He paused, “
I’ve implied the situation
was contained without scaring everyone with the truth.”
His
anger slammed through their connection.

Her heart wept for him.

He continued before she could say anything.
“
I implemented the wolves on leashes program, which has sped up
things. Everyone has been accounted for. The damage was contained
to the back of the building, unfortunately that was also were the
mechanical rooms were housed.”

She closed her eyes at the extent of the
damage.
“How long to get the bomb detectors replaced?”

“
The replacements are on the way from
Arizona. Four days is what’s quoted. The brick masons feel they can
have the walls rebuilt in ten. We’ll see.”

“
That will be great if they can work that
fast.”
She hoped it could be done for the morale boost
alone.

“
I will return shortly.”
Silence
filled their connection.

Jasmine sat slumped in the leather chair,
her thoughts on Silas. These violent outbursts hit him hard. She
was sure Merriweather was involved in some way but how? Was there a
message behind Jennings’ death? What did they hope to gain?
Unanswered questions raced through her mind until she gave up.
Placing a call to housekeeping, she made sure the rooms for her mom
and Renee were ready, and checked on dinner for tonight. “Place a
bowl of fruit in my mother’s room and some chocolates, she likes
those.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Thanks,” Jasmine said and clicked off.
Pesky thoughts that she had missed something continued knocking at
her. Finally, she turned the phone to voice mail, locked the
office, and headed for the labs. A few minutes later, she walked up
behind Matt and tapped him on his shoulder. He had been so
engrossed in reading some paperwork that he jumped at her
touch.

“Jasmine,” he squeaked, jumping away from
her. His face reddened until it blended with his red hairline.

“Hey Matt.” She looked around at all the
activity. Silas would be pleased. “I want to talk to Asia.”

His eyes widened. “Asia? Why?”

“I have a couple of questions I want to ask
her. Some things have been on my mind and she might be able to
clear up some things for me.”

His eyes darted around the room, no doubt
searching for Silas. She smothered a grin at his nervous
reaction.

“Okay…wait a minute.” His eyes narrowed. “I
thought there wasn't a door here that you could not open,” he said,
repeating a statement Silas had made to him last month. “Why are
you asking me if you can talk to Asia?”

This time she frowned. “I wasn’t asking, I
was telling you that’s where I’ll be for a few moments. That’s
protocol when Silas or I are in the lab.”

His face colored more as he fumbled. “That’s
right…it's just you never come alone, so it threw me for a loop.
Sorry…sorry about that. I’ll make a note.” He stepped away but
didn’t move too far off. Jarcee, her security guard, stood near the
door watching like a ghost. He walked with her to Asia’s room, and
then stopped outside the door. This was the tricky part. Silas did
not want her alone with Asia; he had been very clear about that.
She knew Jarcee was aware of this restriction.

“Stand near the door.”

“I will stand inside so I can protect you if
there is a threat.”

Shock that he'd countered her directions
raced through her. She thought of defying him, but then he would
call Silas. With all her mate had on his plate, she would not add
to them. She nodded. “Okay

They entered the darkened room. Asia lay
curled in a ball on her bed. Her head rose slightly as she inhaled.
One moment she was on the bed, the next she was on the floor on her
knees, head bowed. “Madam.”

Jasmine shook her head at the speed in which
Asia moved. Even blind, there were no wasted movements. Plus,
didn’t that hurt falling onto her knees from the height of the bed?
“Please return to your bed, I want to talk about something that’s
bothering me. I think you can help me think it through.” She took
the only upholstered chair in the room while Asia moved back to the
bed.

“I am honored that you would discuss your
concerns with me. If I can help, I will.”

Jasmine repeated her conversation with
Merriweather and then the situation with Jennings. She figured she
had another thirty minutes before the kids woke and then another
hour after that before her mom and Mark arrived. Hopefully she and
Asia could work through the Merriweather puzzle to give Silas new
information for his offensive. The idea of being more helpful
brightened her day.

“La Patron and I talked earlier. We both
agree there are two groups at work here; their goals are
diametrically opposed to each other although they are using similar
tactics. One group wants to preserve the breeds; I’d say that was
Merriweather and his people. Why they destroyed Detective Jennings,
who was a breed, is a mystery. The other group, the one that sent
me, doesn’t do bombs. Too much collateral damage and it draws
attention from the outside. They also want to manipulate La Patron,
not kill him, so they can control the wolf nation.”

Jasmine mulled over what she’d been told.
“So Merriweather’s group is the one who wants to get rid of Silas.
He was communicating with Jennings when it went off.”

“He must’ve been the trigger.”

“What?” Jasmine looked at Asia. “How? Silas
was in the compound, Jennings at the police station.”

“Which means this was a test of sorts to see
if the trigger would work through a telepathic connection. Someone,
somewhere, watched and documented everything that happened.” Asia
sounded so sure, that Jasmine agreed.

“They will do this again, won’t they?”

“I’m sure they will,” Asia said softly.
Jasmine heard the sadness in the younger woman’s voice.

Suddenly nauseous, Jasmine placed her hand
on her stomach and closed her eyes. Instead of finding something to
help Silas, she discovered things were worse than they thought.
“This whole thing sucks. I don’t know why Merriweather is fixated
on breeders, we’re not wolves, just people like everyone else.”

“No, not quite. The ability to give birth to
another species is unique. The original group was certain they had
a God-given assignment to merge the races, if I recall. It’s been
so long since I had any interaction with them.” Asia paused, her
face scrunched. “They were evangelistic in that regard, telling
anyone who would listen that the new world order was not the way
the Bible or Koran predicted. Yeah, they are fanatical in their
beliefs, you cannot reason with them.”

“He sounded weird on the phone –”

Asia snapped her fingers. “Another thing. I
had forgotten about them it’s been so long. But they intend to take
the breeds public. That was a big difference between the old group
and the new. The newer group thrives off secrecy. They do not want
the world to know or believe in wolves.”

“Take them public…whoa. They can’t…that’s
just crazy,” Jasmine said, her gaze swinging from Asia to Jarcee
and back to Asia. “Why?”

“Because they believe humans and wolves are
supposed to co-exist on earth, as one large race. Eventually, the
breeds will out-number the full-bloods and humans.” Asia paused.
“They have always believed that was their mandate.”

Goosebumps prickled across Jasmine’s arm
followed by a tremor that raced through her. This was not the
information she'd expected to hear. Later tonight, she and Silas
would have a long discussion regarding this situation. But first,
she needed to get through dinner with her mom and her new husband.
“You've given me a lot to think about, thanks, Asia. Do you have
everything you need?” She stood in preparation to leave.

“Yes, Ma’am. They're taking good care of me.
How’s… how’s Tyrese?”

Jasmine’s eyes slid to Jarcee ,who faced the
opposite wall. “He’s good, no lasting effects.”

“Good. But tell him not to be so sure about
the effects. When you think it’s all clear, something weird
happens. I told Dr. Passen and I think he plans to have him come in
for quarterly tests as a precaution.”

Jasmine’s heart jumped against her chest at
the thought of Tyrese having additional side effects but she
refused to react in a manner that would offend the young woman.
“Thanks, I appreciate that.” Swallowing down her fear, she walked
to the door and looked over her shoulder. Asia remained seated on
the bed, legs crossed beneath her, mask locked in place across her
eyes, and her long braids draped across her shoulder. Jasmine
marveled at the sense of alertness in Asia’s erect posture and the
irony that she was the one person, though blinded, who could
actually see what was happening around them.

Stepping through the doorway, Jasmine
glanced at the clock. The discussion, while fruitful, had taken
longer than she anticipated. She had about thirty minutes to
prepare. “We’re going to stop by Rone and Rose’s and then the
nursery,” she told Jarcee as they headed for the elevators.

Chapter 13

Jasmine, Tyrone, and Rose stood in the
hallway leading to the west wing. Although her mom and sister would
be staying in the north wing during their visit, dinner and
socializing would take place here. Jasmine had taken her meds and
felt more in charge of her emotions. One of the reasons she
detested taking the meds was the few occasions when she felt
nothing. It was as if her emotions left for the Himalayas on
holiday. Tonight wouldn’t be too bad, but she would need to work on
keeping her anger in check. She had noticed a recent penchant to
become upset over things that never bothered her before, and she
didn’t like that.