Bound to Night (6 page)

It was during one of these jobs, a few years back, that they’d first come across The Agency. And they’d been researching them ever since.

The organization was far larger than they’d first suspected. Huge, it spanned the whole globe, infiltrating governments and multinational companies. The Facility, where Tasha had been a prisoner, was only one tiny part of the whole. But they were secretive; Jack would find a lead only to have it come to a dead end. And The Agency was ruthless, quickly eliminating any part that was exposed.

Jack had also been investigating Tasha’s family. Her mother had died as they’d told her. She’d been killed outright in a car crash five years ago, but something felt wrong about the whole thing. Could her mother have been looking into Tasha’s disappearance and maybe actually found something? Had The Agency had her killed to keep her quiet? And what about her father? He was still alive and well. Had he accepted Tasha’s disappearance?

And how did Tasha’s telepathy fit into all this?

Was it pure coincidence? Jack didn’t believe in coincidences. Did that mean Tasha had been targeted by The Agency because she was telepathic?

His head hurt—there were too many unknowns and until he’d unraveled them, Tasha was going nowhere near her family.

Sebastian grinned. “She’s okay, I believe.”

“You believe?” What the hell did that mean? Didn’t he know?

“I’ve been keeping out of the way. I don’t think I’m her favorite person right now.”

Jack turned his chair and rose slowly to his feet. If the werewolf had harmed her in any way…

“Hey, keep your fangs in,” Sebastian said. “I haven’t done anything to her… yet. I just gave her a little something to help her sleep after you left the first night.”

“You drugged her?” Jack could hear the outrage in his voice.

“Yeah, I drugged her. She’s a telepath, and I know next to nothing about her except she’s been cozying up to a vampire, and you picked her up at The Facility. Hardly glowing recommendations. For all you know she could also be a plant—working for The Agency. No way is she getting inside my head until I’m sure of where her loyalties lie.”

“She’s no plant.”

“Maybe not, but let’s be sure about that shall we?”

“They almost killed her. The night I took her out of there, she was nearly dead when I found her.”

“Then she must have healed fast—there was no sign of any wounds when you brought her to me.”

“She’s powerful. I’ve never tasted so much magic in the blood. Not even you,” he added. It wouldn’t hurt to remind the werewolf that they had once fought and that Jack had won and taken the alpha’s blood. Since then, they’d vacillated between an uneasy truce and the nearest thing Jack had come to friendship since he’d been changed. Though he knew the werewolf would always put his pack first—it’s what made him such a good alpha.

“Piss off,” Sebastian replied.

Jack bit back a smile and turned to the computer.

Sebastian leaned over his shoulder to read the screen. “Are you getting anywhere?”

“Yes. I want you to look at these transactions. They’re from around the time Tasha was taken. See if you recognize any of the names.”

Pushing his chair out of the way, he allowed Sebastian to step closer and scrutinize the screen. Jack curbed his impatience, but couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling that he wasn’t going to like what they found. Something was wrong. The information didn’t add up; they were missing a vital piece.

He knew he was going to ask Tasha to stay with him. While he didn’t know if it could work out between a vampire and a werewolf, for the first time in his life, he was willing to try at a relationship. But he wanted to give her a decent choice when he made the offer. She’d dreamed of going home through the long years of her imprisonment. And he would give her the chance. But only when he was sure she would be safe.

Sebastian straightened and pointed at the screen. “Got him. Michael Oswald.”

“A pack member?” Jack asked.

“No—he’s a loner. He works as a freelance assassin. He must be our man.”

“Let’s go find him, then.” 

Chapter Six

A finger glided over the bare flesh of her arm. Tasha shivered and turned slowly.

“Tasha,” Sebastian said. “You look fantastic.”

She glared at him. It had been four days since he’d drugged her and she still wasn’t about to forgive him. Not that he’d given her much opportunity. This was the first she’d seen of him since the night she’d arrived.

In fact, she’d hardly seen anyone. A woman had brought her meals at regular intervals, but she’d obviously been warned not to talk to her. Tasha felt like some sort of pariah, which didn’t improve her grouchy mood.

On the second day, the same woman had brought her a pile of parcels. Presents from Jack, clothes, a kindle loaded with books, chocolates—no doubt to fatten up her skinny frame. She would have rather had Jack, but the gifts soothed her a little. It was nice to know he hadn’t completely forgotten her.

At first, she’d been content to spend her time eating and sleeping, regaining her strength. Then reading and watching TV, catching up on the last eight years. However, it wasn’t long before impatience was gnawing at her. She was supposed to be free, wasn’t she? She wanted to get out there and start living. She’d had enough of being caged. So that morning, she’d threatened to smash everything in the room unless they let her out or took her to Sebastian.

It had taken all day, but finally, here she was, back in the sitting room where they had first met.

Now she watched him through narrowed eyes as he circled, coming to a halt in front of her, a slow smile curving his lips. Tasha stared back and saw the smile slide away. Suspicion flickered across his face. “Are you reading me?” he asked.

“No.”

“Could you?”

“I don’t know,” she said. “I can’t read Jack, unless he lets me.”

“Jack’s a vamp. Nobody can read vamps.” He studied her for a moment. “Can you control how far you go in? Top level only?”

She nodded.

“Okay, try then.”

Tasha looked at him in surprise. “You
want
me to read you?”

“I want you to try.” He stared at her, the challenge clear in his voice. “What am I thinking, Tasha?”

She reached out with her mind’s eye, sensed the flavor of him, the wolf so close to the surface. She focused on his thoughts and took a step back as intense heat flooded her body. The picture in her head was so graphic, so carnal.

He laughed, but he didn’t sound amused. “I guess that answers my question.”

He walked away a few paces, giving Tasha a moment to compose herself. When he turned back, his expression was grim. “The pack isn’t happy about having a telepath among us.”

Despair washed over her; she would never belong. People would always see her as different—a freak as Johnson had enjoyed calling her. “I won’t use it. I told you—I don’t like to.”

He shrugged off her concerns. “Don’t worry. I’ll sort it out, but it will be better once you’ve committed to the pack. Once you’ve run with us, they’ll trust you. But for now, we need to decide what to do with you.”

“I want to go home,” she said.

“That may not be so simple.” Sebastian turned away from her. “Jack?”

Tasha swung around as Jack glided out of the shadows at the edge of the room. She didn’t try to hide her delight, and Sebastian shook his head in disgust.

Jack was dressed all in black with a holster strapped at his shoulder and a knife strapped to his thigh. His black, silky hair was pulled back in a ponytail, emphasizing the pale beauty of his face, his sharp cheekbones, the long line of his jaw.

He looked dangerous and familiar, and she couldn’t prevent herself from taking an involuntary step toward him. He didn’t smile at her. He just looked her up and down, his eyes lingering on her throat, then lower, over the soft peaks of her breasts. With a shiver of excitement, her nipples hardened against the thin silk top she wore. Her heart rate increased, and the blood throbbed in her veins.

“Come.” Jack smiled. “Sit down.”

“I don’t need to sit down.” She glanced into his face. “Do I?”

“You might as well be comfortable.”

She sank into the chair he indicated. “So, why can’t I go home?”

Jack sat in the chair opposite, and Sebastian took the seat beside him. “Let me explain a little first,” Jack said. “Do you know what The Facility was?”

Tasha frowned. “They told me it was a government organization, research into the paranormal.”

Jack shook his head. “They weren’t government.”

“How do you know?”

“Because we were sent in by the government to find out what was going on there.”

“You work for the government, both of you?”

“Let’s just say we’re sub-contractors.” He sat back, searching her face. “Tasha, what do you know of your father’s work?”

“Not a lot. I was only thirteen,” she said. “I know he was a scientist. He worked for some sort of government organization, but he never spoke about it.” She forced herself to concentrate, to think back to the time before she was attacked.

“I did pick up bits and pieces out of his mind, nothing that made any sense.” She paused and glanced at Sebastian. “I couldn’t control it at first,” she explained. “The mind-reading. I’d go up to people and I’d be there, in their heads.” She shuddered. “It was horrible. In the end, I told Dad. He said he knew someone who could help me.”

“Did he tell you who?” Jack asked. “Or mention any names at all?”

Tasha shook her head. “No, but I suppose he might have worked in the same field himself. Anyway, he was going to organize a meeting, but I was attacked the very next day when I went to meet him.” She shrugged. “That’s it.” She glanced from one to the other, trying to stop the fluttering in her stomach. “Why do you want to know all this? What’s it got to do with my father?”

Jack looked at Sebastian, nodded, and then got up and paced the room.

“We found the wolf who attacked you,” Sebastian said.

A scalding flood of fear washed over her. Bile rose to the back of her throat, and she swallowed.

“His name is Michael Oswald,” Sebastian continued. “We want you to question him.”

“Me? How? Why?” She didn’t want to go anywhere near him, and she certainly didn’t want to get inside his head.

“He’s not talking. We need to know who paid him.”

“Paid him? Why would you think that?”

Sebastian smiled wryly. “Contrary to popular opinion, we don’t make it a habit to attack humans at random. On the other hand, it’s not unheard of for weres to act as paid assassins. We don’t object as long as it doesn’t bring attention to our kind. So, can you do it?”

Suddenly, Tasha longed to be back in her nice yellow bedroom, with her head in a book, or watching TV. She didn’t want to confront the creature who had caused all of this misery and confusion in her life—the creature from her nightmares.

“We need to find out why this happened to you,” Jack said. “Until we do, there’s no going back.”

She nodded. “I’ll do it,” she said, fighting to subdue her fear. “At least I’ll try.”

“Good.” Jack took out a phone and spoke quietly into it, then sat and waited. “So,” he said, after a moment’s silence. “What was Sebastian thinking?”

At his words, Tasha glanced up. “What?” she asked.

“Sebastian. What was he thinking when you read his mind?”

Tasha flicked a glance at Sebastian, who smiled. She couldn’t look away, and her mind was flooded again with the image of that long, golden body poised naked over her own, the sinful expression in his hot blue eyes. She stared down at her hands as heat rose to her cheeks. “Er, nothing important,” she mumbled.

Jack raised an eyebrow and opened his mouth to speak, but the door opened behind them. They all turned as two men came in, leading a third, shackled between them, a silver collar around his throat.

Tasha recognized the two guards as the vampires who’d been with Jack the night of their escape, but she didn’t recognize the prisoner. He’d been in wolf form the night he attacked her, and she found she could look at him after all.

Compared to the others in the room, he was short, stocky, with cold blue eyes and shaggy, blond hair. He was shooting wary glances at Jack and Sebastian but hardly seemed to notice her.

The two guards dragged him to a chair, fastened his handcuffs to the arm, and stepped back. He looked up, defiance flashing in his eyes. “Why am I here?”

Jack rose to his feet and stalked toward him. He stood, staring down, and the man’s insolent glare faltered. “What’s a vampire doing here?” he asked.

Jack ignored the comment. “You remember a job you did eight years ago?” he said.

The man frowned. “I’ve done lots of jobs.”

“This one should be quite memorable. You were employed to kill a thirteen-year-old girl.”

“So?”

Jack’s fist moved faster than Tasha’s eyes could follow and blood oozed crimson from the man’s nose. “Do you remember?”

“Yes.” His reply was sullen yet still defiant.

“What happened at the hit?” Jack asked.

The man’s eyes flashed around the room. For the first time, he appeared nervous. “I killed her,” he said.

“Is that all?” Jack asked, and he nodded. Jack turned to her. “Tasha?”

She stood up and shuffled forward to stare down at the thing that had haunted her dreams for so long. He stared back, something stirring to life behind his eyes.

“Who’s she?” he asked but Tasha could hear the recognition in his voice.

“Well, I’m certainly not a ghost.” She thought for a moment. “Why did you attack me?”

When he didn’t respond, she reached out with her mind and plucked the answer with ease. “He did it for the money,” she told the others. “He was paid to kill me.”

She turned back to him. “So why didn’t I die? Why did you leave me alive?”

“What are you?” he asked. His glance shifted to Sebastian, and this time, real fear showed in his face. Tasha ignored his question and searched deeper.

“He was paid by somebody else,” she said. “They knew about the telepathy, and they wanted me, but they also wanted a live werewolf. They found a way to get both. He attacked me and sold me to The Facility.”