Bonded (50 page)

The detached way
Damien spoke made her see him in a new light. While she knew he was
a trained Enforcer, he never seemed as serious as some; there was
an edge about him but most of the time he was pulling pranks,
making rude comments, or chasing women... Sure, his file might
indicate otherwise, but she’d never seen evidence of it before. It
made her feel rather uneasy to think he could be two such different
persons. She swallowed hard and listened in on the rest of the
conversation.

Damien was rolling
his eyes. “No, I’m not staying here with the body ... Use GPS to
get a fix on this signal and send someone down here to pick him up
... What’s that? The Johansson girl escaped? Now how the hell did
you let that happen?” Damien looked at her and winked, suddenly
returning to what she thought of as his usual self. “Yeah, I’ll
keep an eye out for her, but you guys better learn to keep better
track of your prisoners.”

He snapped the
phone shut and laughed. “The poor bastard who was supposed to be
watching you is going to have his ass in a sling.”

Brandi snorted;
she had no sympathy for the idiots who’d tied her up.

Damien jerked his
head and set off again. Brandi followed, pondering the man beside
her and shooting occasional glances his way. He was a curious mix.
Enforcer, prankster, near rogue, and now...mated?

She cleared her
throat. “So, your mate—Beth—I think I saw her at Clancy’s the night
of my going away party.”

“Yeah. She was
there.” Damien quirked an eyebrow at her.

“Um...what’s she
like? I didn’t really get to meet her.”

“Well...she seems
quiet at first, until you get to know her but underneath she’s
pretty...intense and passionate.” He gave a crooked smile. “And I
don’t mean in the sexy way—though that’s there, too. She
cares—really cares—about so many things: poverty and injustice,
saving the environment. This whole Purist thing really has her
riled. She’s a half and grew up in the human world, so the whole
Purist mentality is new to her. We had an argument just earlier
today about it. She wanted to come along and help but I told her it
was too dangerous.”

Brandi nodded. She
wanted to meet Beth but this was definitely not the time or the
place.

“She’s waiting for
me in a place called Renwick. We have a room there. Once this mess
is cleared up, we’re taking off on our honeymoon.”

“Really? I’d have
thought the captain would need everyone back at Headquarters to
help process the Purists.”

Damien shrugged.
“The captain doesn’t know yet. And if he doesn’t like it...well,
I’ll deal with him later.”

“Oh.” Brandi
digested that point and then another came to mind. “How long do you
think Klaus and the others can keep the captain occupied?”

“Not long enough.
I want to find Reno before the rest of the squad does. I only had a
chance to talk to a few of the men before Klaus arrived to distract
the captain. Loyalties within the team are split. Some still
believe Reno’s innocent, but others feel betrayed. And the
captain...” Damien shook his head. “I don’t know which way he’s
leaning. This whole ‘leak’ thing seems off to me, and I’m wondering
if the captain could be in on it. If that’s the case, he might have
told the ACS to use lethal force if Reno resists. It would be an
easy way to ensure Reno isn’t able to protest his innocence. Dead
men can’t defend themselves against charges.”

“And me?” Brandi
stared at Damien, feeling the colour drain from her face. The
captain had always been so friendly to her. That he might turn on
Reno—and her—seemed unthinkable. “Does he have similar plans for
me?”

“Perhaps. But it’s
just speculation on my part. Like I said, something is wrong with
this, I just can’t figure out what and until I do, everyone’s under
suspicion.” Damien’s brows were lowered, his face set in a scowl.
The gloomy light of the forest cast his features in dark shadows
giving him a menacing look that matched the reputation she’d read
about.

Brandi decided she
wouldn’t want to encounter him if they were on opposite sides. Just
in case, she decided to confirm something. “Except me. You believed
me, even though I’m the one that’s supposed to be guilty.”

The dark look left
his face and Damien reached out, playfully tugging on one of her
curls. “Anyone with hair like this can’t be guilty.”

“Great logic.” She
jumped over a log and grimaced as her foot landed in a puddle. Not
that it mattered—she was already soaked—but the additional water
made her shoes squish even more uncomfortably than before.

“Actually, it’s my
gut telling me.” Damien neatly side stepped over the same puddle
she’d fallen victim to, and flashed her a laughing grin before
continuing. “Reno and I are both firm believers in gut instinct.
It’s saved our asses more than once and helped us apprehend more
than a few perps.”

Brandi nodded in
understanding. She used her gut instinct in her own job; letting it
tell her when to push, when to cajole, and when to back off, thus
allowing people to digest her ideas before trying to sway them to
her way of thinking once again.

Damien paused
beside her and pointed to some blood on a leaf. Her heart gave a
heavy thump as she wondered if it was Reno’s but when Damien gave
it a sniff, he shook his head. “Not Reno’s, but he’s been this way
and recently, too. The tree cover here is keeping the rain from
diluting the scents quite as much.”

“Perhaps it’s
Victor’s blood. He and Reno were fighting, though I would have
thought he’d have healed by now.”

“Reno’s still
injured.” Damien pointed to tracks on the ground. “These are his
footprints, but look at the stride, it’s off. He’s favouring one
leg.”

“Victor attacked
before Reno had a chance to shift. And just before the ACS arrived,
Reno was down. I...I thought Victor might kill him.” She swallowed
hard, reliving that brief terrifying moment.

“But he didn’t.”
Damien gave her a reassuring look before moving on. “And don’t
worry, Reno will be fine. He’s a tough old bastard.”

Tough old bastard
or not, Reno was injured, chasing down a Purist Alpha and had a
squad of Enforcers out to get him. Brandi shook her head. Yeah,
there was nothing at all to worry about. She flicked a glance at
Damien and watched the muscle working in the man’s jaw. Yep, he was
just as concerned as she was. It made sense though. The two men had
been partners for three years, likely saving each other’s butts on
more than one occasion.

”He’ll be fine.”
She echoed the platitude while not believing a word of it.

The rain seemed to
have let up for a moment and Brandi wondered if the storm was
passing them by or merely circling around before striking again.
Either way, the respite was a blessing since they no longer had a
thick canopy of leaves overhead. As they approached the strip of
land designated for the coal conveyor, the forest thinned out.
Years ago, the area had been clear-cut for the construction of the
machine but after its abandonment, saplings had begun to take root
again. The growth was still sparse enough though that it allowed
for a clear view of the aging structure. It stood like a giant
skeleton, occasional flashes of lightning from the circling storm
illuminating it against the dark cloud-filled sky.

Brandi eyed the
rusting monstrosity, noting how it rose on metal columns out of the
ground allowing it to loom above the steep mountain slope. At its
mouth, it connected directly to the mountain not far from the mine
entrance while its body snaked downward, ending near the outskirts
of town. Years ago, loads of coal would have been taken from the
mine and dumped into the conveyor, then trundled down the long
expanse to trucks waiting at its base. In its day it had been
considered a labour-saving marvel, sturdily built to withstand
heavy loads. But now, much of the corrugated metal siding was
missing while other pieces hung drunkenly from rusting bolts.
Erosion had washed away soil near the conveyor mouth and the
abutment while in some areas the base of the supporting pillars
appeared to be disintegrating.

As the wind
buffeted the structure, the metal siding banged against rusted
beams. Creaks and groans of protest echoed through the air as if
the conveyor were complaining against the abuse and threatening to
crumble to the ground at any moment.

Brandi shivered.
She had never liked the contraption; it always seemed ominous and
forbidding as if it was peering down at the insignificant creatures
that had made it. Now, with a storm circling the mountain, that
impression was amplified. Of course, it was all ridiculous fancy,
her overactive imagination playing tricks on her, but still she
wished she were any place but here.

Damien had paused
beside her, also examining the structure. “Cool. What is it?” His
face held none of the distaste that she was sure hers did, so she
schooled her features and explained. He nodded in understanding.
“Amazing bit of engineering, considering the day and age in which
it was made.”

“Yeah, I suppose.”
Brandi gave a noncommittal answer before tilting her head forward.
“We better keep going. Reno’s around here somewhere.” She sniffed
the air, trying to find his scent while searching the area with her
eyes.

“This way.” Damien
set off obviously having picked up the trail with practised ease.
He didn’t even bother to check if she was following, and Brandi
huffed her annoyance before hurrying after him.

Wet shrubs and
grasses slapped against her pant legs, wrapping around her ankles
and slowing her progress. Bits of rock also littered the ground and
more than once she stubbed her foot or stumbled on a half buried
stone. Out of necessity, she kept her head down, constantly
scanning the ground ahead of her for hazards, only occasionally
able to glance up and search for signs of Reno. Damien didn’t seem
to have the same difficulty however and strode confidently over the
rough terrain. As a result, he was the one who saw Reno first.

“There!”

Brandi looked up
and followed the line of his gaze, gasping when she located her
mate. He was on the conveyor and Victor was there too. Even as she
opened her mouth to call out his name, Victor seemed to lunge
towards him, swinging something. Reno leapt back and stumbled. He
waved his arms as if trying to regain his balance but seemed to be
teetering on the edge of the conveyor in danger of falling over the
edge at any second.

Brandi grabbed
Damien’s arm for support, sure that at any moment she would be
witnessing her mate plunging to his death.

Chapter
31

Reno’s last minute
attempt to catch himself was foiled by the wet floor and his bum
leg. His feet slid out from beneath him and his body slammed into
the side of the conveyor. The structure seemed to shudder under the
impact, and the piece of metal he’d been bracing himself with broke
loose and fell from his hand.

He held his
breath, his muscles tensed, expecting the whole thing to crumble to
the ground at any moment. Long drawn out creaks filled the air and
in the distance the ping of metal striking rocks could be
heard.

A glance in
Victor’s direction showed the man was frozen in place, a look of
surprise on his face. Apparently he hadn’t expected his attack to
have such a result either. Reno narrowed his eyes, royally pissed
off that he was going to end up dying with the likes of a Purist at
his side. Another shudder shook the structure and Reno braced
himself for a fall and then...nothing.

Exhaling the
breath he hadn’t even realized he’d been holding, Reno slowly
relaxed his tensed muscles while trying to control the effects of
the adrenaline pumping through his system. The structure seemed to
have steadied itself, though the floor beneath him was now listing
precariously to the left.

The wind was
picking up and the rain was changing from an annoying drizzle to a
full out downpour. In the distance, flashes of lightning zigzagged
across the sky, followed by loud bangs of thunder. The storm was
circling around. Reno clenched his jaw, thinking that the metal
conveyor was like a giant lightning rod and he was a damned fool to
be standing on it during this kind of weather. He started to back
up. Let Victor get fried like a bug in a zapper; he’d stay on solid
ground and watch the show.

As he started to
back up, Victor grinned and advanced. “Not so brave after all, are
you, Smith?” He swung the metal rod again, forcing Reno to leap
aside once more.

Pain shot up his
leg and travelled the length of his spine. For a moment Reno’s
vision dimmed and he shook his head, forcing back the darkness that
threatened to overtake him.

Lightning and
thunder crashed even closer now, illuminating everything around
them. Victor’s hair was plastered to his skull and rivers of water
ran down his features. Reno noted how blood loss had made the man
even paler than usual; his icy blue eyes the only colour on his
face. The floor near the Purist’s foot was stained dark with blood,
his faulty platelets still struggling to do their job; the idiot
should have applied a tourniquet or kept the limb elevated at
least. Reno almost said as much but Victor started talking
again.

“Are you afraid,
Enforcer?” Victor taunted. “Afraid of heights? Afraid of the storm?
Of me?”

Reno almost
laughed. After surviving those stupid tunnels, this was a cake
walk. “Why would I be afraid of the likes of you? I’ve fought
Purist Alphas before.”

“Then why are you
trying to leave? A real wolf would never do that.” Victor stepped
closer.

“Seems to me that
until you had that chunk of metal, you were the one
retreating.”

Victor didn’t like
that comment. His mouth compressed into a narrow line and it was
easy to see how he struggled to maintain his temper.