Heartfelt (17 page)

Conrad avoided his eyes and filled his plate. As he took a seat at the table, he surveyed the others. Michelle’s eyes grabbed his gaze. He couldn’t pull away but discomfort tensed his muscles. Hiding from Michelle was impossible. His heart deflated, feeling terribly inappropriate to have pleasured with Asia at a time when Michelle’s fiancé, the colony’s leader, was in jeopardy.

His mouth too dry to speak the words that came to him, he stared at her.

“Dig in, Conrad,” she said, smiling at him. “We’ve got to finish planning and get some rest.”

Relief relaxed his muscles. He nodded appreciatively.

“Yeah, we need your input on the plan.” Tizzy eyed him. “Where have you been? Where’s Asia?”

“We had personal business to tend to.” Even to his own ears it sounded like a lame excuse. “Asia is checking on her mother.”

“Is that what that scent is, personal business?” Quinn winked.

Warmth spread up his neck and into his cheeks. He concentrated hard on chewing his food. The walls were closing in and he, the guy who always had an answer and was never at a loss for words, was speechless.

He noticed Asia walk in the room before he saw her. He wanted to spare her the embarrassment of outing their intimate moments.

She kissed the top of his head and fluffed his hair. “What’s this about personal business, Quinn?” She bent her face to Conrad’s and gave him a quick, soft kiss that stirred his insides again.

“We were missed.” Conrad smiled at Asia as she got her food and took a seat beside him.

“See, this is what we have to contend with as members of a were-cat colony. Everyone knows what’s going on at all times. Can’t even sneak away for quote, personal business without being harassed.” Asia frowned, but Conrad saw the twinkle in her eyes.

Shaun exchanged a glance with Booker, a warm, knowing smile that touched Conrad’s heart. “I think it’s great,” Shaun said. “You two have been friends forever. It seems natural to me.”

“Natural. If we weren’t into serious business I would so take that word and make a joke.” Asher’s smile lit his face.

Booker pulled away from the table, carrying his dishes to the kitchen counter. “Enough playtime. Finish up. We need to finalize our plans.”

• • •

“For the benefit of Conrad and Asia, I’ll review what we’ve already figured out,” Booker said.

Asia’s stomach relaxed. The moment of revelation about her and Conrad was over. “Thank you.”

Booker gave her a half-grin. “Kennedy found blueprints for each building on the preserve: the Nature Center, the Clubhouse, and the Phoenix Biosciences Research Center.”

“The Nature Center is the public face of the preserve. It caters to tourists who are there to visit the animals.” Kennedy sighed heavily. “The Clubhouse is for the hunters. It’s located deeper into the property and it’s off-limits to tourists.”

“The name is so misleading. It sounds like a place where Mickey Mouse would hang out, not a place where killers glorify murder.” Lara’s arms wrapped around her body, as though holding in deep sorrow.

“The Phoenix Biosciences Research Center is our destination,” Kennedy said. “Its presence is not a secret because TNG presents it as a place where research on drugs and procedures that help animals are done.”

Asia balled her fists. “What Conrad and I saw did not look healthy for any human or any animal. That burns me up. They are sedating and preparing humans for animal food. I don’t know what they’re doing with the men, but I can imagine it’s detrimental to their health.”

Conrad agreed. “That would be the place to find Casey. He’s a were-lynx, so he may be implanted, not given the drug.”

“I agree. From what Sterling and I saw on our tour, there was no other building where research was obviously being conducted,” Lacey added.

Conrad continued. “While we would love to really mess up the whole operation, our goal is to rescue Casey. Using the intel we’ve gathered, we’ll enter the grounds at the same point and go straight to Phoenix. We need four volunteers to get into the building, find Casey, and get him out, as quickly as possible without notice.”

“I’ll go.” Tizzy’s large eyes blinked, and she waited for a response. When she got none , she made her case. “I can leap higher than anyone in this room. I’m small, but I’m just as strong as any of you.”

“She’s right,” Conrad said. “Going in like Asia and I did at the front door is out. That’s compromised. Tizzy could leap to the roof and see if we could get in from there undetected.”

Asia’s heart flipped. She suspected what his next words would be.

“I’ll go.” He eyed her, searching her face for understanding.

“We both should go. We have a sense of the layout.” Asia held his gaze, ignoring the frown on his face.

Booker looked around the room, silent. “So Tizzy, Conrad, and Asia. We need one more volunteer.”

“I’m in. It’s got to be me,” Asher said. “I can nudge any aggressors and lessen the chances of on-the-spot conflicts.”

“Okay, thanks. We’ve got our rescue team. The rest of us will be the support team, watching out for problems and taking down obstructions, such as men with guns.” Booker looked softly at his wife. “I don’t want any injuries or, well, any harm to come to any of us. The plan is to get in and out clean and bring Casey back home.”

Asia took a moment for one last check of her mother. With all the chaos the colony was facing, it was soothing to see her mother lying peacefully in bed, away from Phoenix Biosciences. She kissed her head, then turned away to join the others in preparation for rescuing Casey before it was too late.

In the hall, she ran into Conrad. Her heart fluttered, uncontrolled but pleasant. “Mom is still sleeping.”

“Michelle will keep an eye on her. We’ve got Shaun and Booker to take care of her when we return with Casey.”

“I like your attitude, Conrad.” She wished she felt it, too. “I don’t want to lose you. When we get there, please—”

“Stop. You’re putting yourself through something bad before it even happens.” He caressed her check, raising pleasant sensations inside her.

“So think happy thoughts?” she joked.

He put her hand to his chest and covered it with his own. “Be confident. I don’t want to lose you either.”

She could see his brain working. It was a familiar sight, one she’d known for so many years and hadn’t expected she would end up loving him. So much. So hard.

“This is it for me, Asia. I’m in love with you, I respect you. I don’t plan to lose you.”

Lara poked her head into the hall. “Come on, you two love birds. We’re bedding down for a couple hours. Conrad, you’re needed in the living room.”

As Conrad walked away, Asia moved to follow, but Lara stopped her. “I just said that to get him out of here.” A smile managed to escape Lara’s sorrow over Casey.

“What’s up?”

“I want to tell you how happy I am for you and Conrad, finally admitting you love each other.” She wrapped a hug around Asia.

“Finally? What do you mean?”

She shrugged. “You’ve always been so close. I suspected it would happen, you falling in love with each other, all along.”

“It is glorious.” Asia couldn’t suppress the smile in her heart from leaping onto her face. “What about you? What’s going on with your life, if I may ask? A secret lover, a human we haven’t met?”

Lara dropped her gaze. “No. No one.” She straightened her shoulders and released a sigh, resignation pouring off her. “I’ve already found my love for a lifetime. Problem is, he’s taken. There’s no one else for me.”

“Lara, that can’t be.” Asia put her hand to Lara’s shoulder.

“Yes. It is.” She raised her chin a notch. “He doesn’t know and that’s fine. I’ll be fine.”

Lacey and Sterling stepped into the hall. Their eyes wide open and shiny, they looked to Asia as though they maybe overheard the conversation.

“Who’s in love? Who are we happy for?” Sterling asked.

“Me.” Asia’s qualms about sharing this shiny new development were quickly dissipating. “Conrad and I.”

“That’s lovely.” Sterling gleamed. “Congratulations.”

Lacey drew Asia into a hug. “Congrats. I’m so happy for you. It isn’t a secret, is it?” she whispered.

“No. We’re as of a few moments ago coming out in the open. Not that we were ever a secret.” Asia’s words fell out of her mouth, unrestrained. “Well, it just happened pretty fast.”

“Sterling, Lacey,” Ben called. “Where are you going to sleep?”

Lara motioned to the living room. “We better join the others.”

Michelle handed out blankets as everyone grabbed a spot to sleep, some on the floor, others snuggled up on the couch, loveseat, and chairs.

Conrad stretched out on the carpet and pulled Asia down beside him. She curled under his arm and drew the blanket around them both. In the darkness, she closed her eyes and allowed the beat of his heart to lull her to sleep.

Minutes later, or what felt like minutes, Asia opened her eyes, face to face with Jojo standing on her chest. “Good morning.” She rubbed his head, then checked the clock on the mantel. She’d been asleep for two hours. Voices in the kitchen told her others were already up. She shook Conrad. “Wake up,” she said softly. She kissed his cheek and he stirred.

One eye popped open. “Time to get up?” His groggy voice gave her goosebumps. “Is there coffee?”

“Take a whiff.”

A smile slipped across his face. “Must have coffee.”

“You’re cute when you’re sleeping. But it’s go time, remember?”

Conrad groaned. “I remember.” He sat up and stretched, while Asia stood to her feet and watched him.

“I’ll meet you at the coffee pot.”

“Save some for me,” he pleaded. “I’ll be right there.” He jumped to his feet and headed to one of the bathrooms.

In the kitchen she found Sterling and Jackson quietly discussing the plans for rescuing Casey along with Kennedy, Booker, and Shaun.

“Good morning,” she muttered. How long until we leave?” She poured herself a mug of coffee and sipped it slowly, allowing the hot liquid to bring her to life.

“Twenty minutes, tops.” Kennedy leaned against the counter top, guzzling water and chit chatting with Lacey and Ben.

Asia surveyed her clothes. She sniffed herself. “I need a shower and fresh clothes.”

“We all do,” Tizzy said. “I feel disgusting. But no time for that stuff. We need to move out.”

Michelle strode into the kitchen wearing what looked like a pair of Casey’s sweats. They hung on her loosely and she’d rolled up the sleeves and pant legs. “Has everyone had water? We’re not taking time for more food.”

Conrad walked up to Asia and wrapped an arm around her waist. “We ate just two hours ago.”

He’d apparently splashed his face with water and soap in the bathroom and combed his hair. To Asia he looked a little rough around the edges but still handsome, even though his blonde hair stuck up at the back of his head.

He saw her surveying him and shrugged. “It’s the best I could do.”

He kissed her and grabbed a mug of coffee, not waiting for it to cool.

A few minutes later, with everyone geared up and dressed for the rescue, Asia smiled inside, thinking the living room looked like command center, a war room for tactical maneuvers, with Michelle managing communications.

“Once we arrive, stick together and minimize talking. Text Michelle if something comes up, not each other,” Conrad said. “We don’t want to draw attention to ourselves.”

Booker nodded. “Right. We’ll drive in groups, so find a seat in either Asher’s Tacoma, Conrad’s Rover, Lara’s Crosstrex, or Ben and Lacey’s Sedona. We’ll meet at the spot near the fence were we hope to get access onto the preserve. From there we’ll follow the plans we’ve discussed. Good luck, everyone.”

“Take care of yourselves.” Michelle slanted her head. “I want to see you all back here very, very soon.”

She stood at the door as they each left the house for their vehicles. Asia hugged Michelle hard as she passed her by.

The no-talking admonition wouldn’t take effect until the colony and their human helpers arrived at the destination, but Conrad sat in heavy silence with Asia in the vehicle. His joy over his new love with her was overweighed by the sobering danger of what they were about to confront.

He reached for her hand and held it tightly. “We’ll be all right. The colony has faced danger before and come out of it just fine.”

Asia’s eyes sparkled in the darkness. “True. I’m fine. Nervous.”

He smiled at her, not fully knowing where the line stood between his spontaneous response to her lovely face and her ability simply to evoke delight. “Seems appropriate for the occasion.”

He turned his attention back to the road. His thoughts turned as the miles passed. The silence didn’t feel awkward. He never felt awkward with Asia. They’d been through some tough things throughout the duration of their friendship. This would be one more.

“When did this almost nonstop danger begin for the colony?” Asia stared out the window, the back of her head toward him. “It hasn’t always been this way, has it? I mean, the colony has always been peaceful, but how long have the members been guardians of the universe?”

He knew she was feeling the weight of the chaos she’d been involved in lately. He knew he should not tell her the thoughts plaguing his mind right then. He knew the answer. It all began when humans became a part of the colony.

Muscles in his hands tightened. He fisted them, ignoring his impulse to speak his mind, grateful she couldn’t read his thoughts.

“I should know, but I don’t. The colony was formed a long time ago. The members have always kept their identities secret and kept to themselves as much as possible.”

“Right. So when do you think things changed? Are the things we’ve gone through just recent things?”

He couldn’t stop himself. “You shouldn’t ask me, Asia. Not if you want to hear the truth.”

From the corner of his eye he saw her whirl away from the window. “What truth?”

He gathered himself, bracing for her protests. “The danger came into our lives when we began engaging with humans.”

The daggers from her eyes were expected, but still Conrad’s self-defense pattern rose up. He sat in silence for what felt like hours when it was only seconds. Just long enough for Asia to gather a breath.