BirthStone (27 page)

“It’s sneaky. The first set of tests did not
show the poison, I can show them to you to prove it. We looked but
it didn’t show up.”

“I’m not blaming you or your team of
anything, Matt. Calm down and tell me what’s going on with my
pups.”

Matt exhaled and swallowed. “I’ll say this
plain, without all the scientific jargon.”

“I appreciate that,” Silas said, wishing the
man would just get on with it.

“The poison entered the bloodstream through
the skin. I don’t think it’d work if it was ingested, but we are
working on duplicating the formula so we can test it and create an
antidote.” He waved his hand. “I’m getting ahead of myself. Bottom
line, your pups were poisoned through touch. Someone had something
on their hands and then held your pups. There was transference at
that point. It’s slow-acting and not meant to be noticed
immediately. It’s a great way to destroy someone slowly and from a
distance.”

“Not so great,” Silas growled, thinking of
the suffering his pups were going through.

“I apologize, Sir,” Matt stammered.

Silas waved him off. “Lotions, creams,
perfume, cologne, aftershave, soap…could the poison have been in
any of those?”

“Yes, Sir. To affect your pups, they would
have come in direct contact with the affected area. Perfume,
cologne, or creams on the face, hands, neck or legs would allow for
a transfer of the chemical.”

“What…what other side effects would this
poison have?” Jacques asked slowly, a frown marring his brow. “I
mean if an adult took it over time?”

Matt released a breath and squinted. “Our
testing is not complete yet, but we have identified two of the
toxins used. Nausea, fevers, chills, body shakes, aches, that type
thing.”

“Could it be fatal?” Silas asked.

“Yes, Sir. If taken in a high enough dose,
death would occur. But I don’t think you have to worry about that,
Sir.”

Silas gazed at the red-faced man. “Why
not?”

“They would be dead already if the dose was
high enough to kill. You shut down all contact which prevented
additional exposure. If your pups had been in continued contact
with the poison… we would be having a different conversation. The
base poisons utilized were outlawed when certain third world
countries used them in chemical warfare. Seeing the full impact of
what this poison does is not pretty.”

Silas jaw tightened. “The cure?”

“There is none, not yet. It’s going to take
some time, right now, all I can say is let it run its course. Your
energy dilutes it but you can’t over do it. You said you and the
Mistress were feeding them healing energy every four hours, keep to
that, if you do it more often it could have an adverse affect.
We’ll continue the research and eventually create an antidote for
it.” He paused, glanced at Silas and then gazed at a point over
Silas’ shoulder. “This… this is parallel to the bombs, Sir. Putting
this poison in lotions and creams is a very subtle way of killing
groups of people. That issue has to be addressed as well.”

Silas had been thinking of that. “I thought
the poison was outlawed, is it easy to get?”

Matt shook his head slowly. “It
is
very difficult to secure the components I’ve identified so far. I
had to use my clearance just to get information and answer a lot of
questions.”

“So mass production isn’t a real threat
right now?”

Matt released a breath and met Silas’ gaze.
“You’re right, Sir. The way the government doled out bits and
pieces of information, I’d say only those able to pull some serious
strings could access the poisons.”

“Yet, the poisons are here in my den.” Silas
pressed his finger against his lip. “Is the person who transmitted
the poison affected?”

“Yes, Sir. The poison is killing them,” Matt
said.

Puzzled, Silas gazed at Jacques. “No one in
the five appeared to be dying.”

“No, Sir,” Jacques said quietly.

“This doesn’t make sense,” Silas said to no
one in particular.

“No, Sir, it doesn’t,” Jacques said.

Chapter 23

“This is the place?” Leon asked Tyrese as he
pulled into the driveway of a large two-story home in a moderately
priced subdivision.

Tyrese turned off the ignition and replaced
his sunglasses on his face. “Yes.” He pulled out two pistols. One
held darts with a knockout drug and the other held bullets.
Whichever he used would be up to Ms. Griggs. He glanced at Leon,
who checked his ammunition as well.

“We go in, ask a few questions, and she
leaves with us one way or the other.”

“Aw man, don’t tell me we have to play nice
with the lady that killed Julie,” Leon said with a feral grin.

“At first.” Tyrese stepped out the car and
inhaled. There were at least five bodies nearby, three humans, two
breeds. Leon mimicked his actions and then grinned.

When they reached the door, it was opened by
a large breed who had the appearance of a short Schwarzenegger.
“May I help you?”

“Are you Corrina Griggs?” Tyrese asked,
staring the man down.

“No.”

“Well then...” Tyrese brushed the man aside
and walked in. Leon entered behind him.

“Hey,” the male who opened the door yelled
as he ran behind them. “You can’t just walk in here.”

Tyrese looked around and then gazed at the
young pup. “Corrina Griggs.”

“She’s not available.”

“Yes, she is,” Tyrese said. “Go tell her she
has company.”

The pup stared at him and growled.

Leon laughed at the puny sound. Tyrese shook
his head.

“Did you hear that?” Leon asked while
watching the pup turn red. "You sound like a wet cat, man.
Seriously, you should get that checked.”

The pup stepped up to Leon, who continued to
smile. “Fuck you.”

Leon reached out so fast it was a blur and
caught the pup by the neck, lifting him from the floor. He shook
the hapless male twice while the pup tried in vain to remove Leon’s
hand from his neck. “I don’t play that way. But if you ask nicely,
I’ll consider ramming my cock up your ass.”

He released the pup.

“Andrew, I told you not to engage them.” A
woman walked into the room and touched the young pup's throat. “Go
into the kitchen, get some warm tea and ice for your throat. It’ll
be okay.”

Tyrese watched the woman and knew she was
not Corrina Griggs. He wasn’t sure how he knew but he did. The
brunette looked at Leon and then at Tyrese. “I’m Corrina, what can
I do for you?”

Tyrese thought of all the problems Corrina
Griggs had set loose on his family, the deaths and unnecessary
heartache he’d read in her file, and decided to set the tone
immediately. Without another word, he stepped up to the woman,
grabbed the front of her dress and ripped it.

She screamed and tried to cover her naked
flat chest.

“You’re a man in women’s clothing.” Tyrese’s
hand circled the male’s neck and pressed.

“Please…” the man whispered.

“Corrina Griggs?” Tyrese stared into the
man’s eyes and read fear. He squeezed tighter.

“Mistress?” the man whispered as water
filled his eyes.

Tyrese smelled her before she appeared. Her
scent had been on some of Jennings’ belongings. He waited for his
raging anger to abate.

“I’m Corrina Griggs, what do you want?” Her
imperious tone grated on Tyrese’ nerves. He was too close to the
edge to play nice with the woman. But Silas knew that. If he'd
wanted this woman treated kindly, he would’ve sent Tyrone. When she
walked in, he activated his pocket scanner, she was clean.

Tyrese squeezed again and then threw the
male backward. No one spoke at the loud crack that accompanied the
impact of the hit to the wall. Tyrese turned to meet the woman who
would kill his Alpha.

Her eyes widened as her gaze landed on his
face and traveled the length of his body. She was taller than his
mom, with a curvy figure that bordered on chubby. Her pale skin
could use a day at the beach. Wintry blue eyes narrowed at him from
a thin face. Life had not been kind to Ms. Griggs, if the pockmarks
on her skin were any indication.

“What the hell did you kill him for?” she
snapped.

“Why did you kill Lieutenant Jennings?”
Tyrese asked, stepping closer to her.

She didn’t bat an eye. “I do not know who
you are talking about.”

Tyrese spoke over his shoulder to Leon.
“Bring somebody else out here.”

She eyed him curiously before taking a seat
on the couch. “You plan to kill all of them?”

“Before or after?”

Her brows furrowed. “Before or after?”

“Before or after I kill you?” Tyrese asked,
staring down at her.

She waved him down. “Oh, you’re not going to
kill me, young Bennett. You want information, you think I’ll talk,
but I won’t and then you’ll tell that bastard you work for that you
failed.” She grinned. “He failed. At everything.”

Tyrese stared at the woman and then grinned
slowly. Silas had given him a prize. “Thank you,” he whispered. He
read her uncertainty before she masked it.

“De nada,” she quipped. Her expression
darkened as Leon brought in a large human dressed in a g-string.
The man probably doubled as security as well as lover.

“Here’s someone willing to die for the
cause,” Leon said right before he hit the man in the stomach.
Corrina's hand flew to her mouth but her eyes gleamed in
excitement. She got off on this stuff.

“
Throw him on top of her
,” Tyrese
told Leon. The next second the almost nude male sailed through the
air and toppled over the sofa.

“Get off me, asshole.” A loud smacking sound
rent the air. “Get off me Biff, I mean it.” Corrina yelled. There
was no sound from Biff. “I need some help here.” She sounded
desperate, but no one would be assisting her today.

“
Go get someone else
,” he told Leon.
Grinning, Leon left the room. Tyrese crossed his arms, listening to
her curse as she struggled to break free from the dead weight of
her lover and the sofa.

“I am not going to talk to you. As a matter
of fact, get the hell out of my house before I call the police. You
murdered my servant… you’re a murderer,” she yelled.

“So are you. You murdered a cop… so go
ahead, call the cops.”

A moment later she pushed the sofa out of
the way and stepped in front of it. Red-faced, with one hand on her
hip, she pointed at him with the other. “I did no such thing. I
told you I don’t know the man. But I have witnesses of your
murder.”

“You’re a liar.”

She jerked as if slapped. “What did you call
me?”

Tyrese was enjoying the game. “A liar. You
Corrina Griggs are a murdering liar, just like your son Robert. He
was a contract killer you sent to kill Silas Knight, and then cried
like a baby when the bitch died on the job.” He shrugged at her
reddening face.

“You…you, asshole,” she screamed as she
lunged at him. Tyrese waited until she was close and stepped aside.
She landed on the floor, jumped up and wiped the hair from her
face.

“I am going to kill him for this, you hear
me?”

Tyrese crossed his arms and watched her take
in huge gulps of air. “You thought the bombs last month was
something?” She threw her head back and laughed. It was a creepy,
cackling sound that made Tyrese wonder if she were sane.

“For this…this coming into my home,
threatening me and harming mine…” She trailed off as Leon brought
in another struggling male, this one was a breed with a filthy
vocabulary.

“Shut up,” Tyrese yelled baring his fangs as
he leaned toward the teenager.

The breed stopped cursing mid-stream and
stared wide-eyed at him.

“I’m surprised you didn’t shoot him,” Tyrese
said to Leon as he returned his attention to Griggs.

“I started to, but you said to bring out the
next person.”

Tyrese shrugged. “But he didn’t have to be
alive. If he starts talking that bullshit again, shoot him.”

“Yes, Sir,” Leon said as he pulled the young
pup to an upright position.

Corrina turned and looked at Tyrese. “You
think you can get away with killing all of us?”

Tyrese nodded. “Does it matter? You’ll be
dead.” Maybe it was the absolute certainty in his voice or the fact
he hadn’t wavered. Whatever the reason, her next actions surprised
him. He’d thought she would release her hormones like Arianna had.
He and Leon had brought along masks for that possibility.

She shook her head. “That’s… that’s…” She
sighed. “What do you want?”

“Did you kill Detective Jennings?” he asked,
needing confirmation of her most recent flagrant attack.

“No. A bomb killed him.” She eyed Tyrese and
then sat on the loveseat. “But I ordered the installation of the
bomb. So I guess in a way I did.”

Leon pushed the young pup to the floor and
left to get the male who'd answered the door.