Hunting Season (Aurora Sky (9 page)

BOOK: Hunting Season (Aurora Sky
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I started the Jeep and put it into neutral, the way Fane had taught me. I got it into first gear and eased onto the road.

No problem
, I told myself.

On the way through town, I watched the cars in front of me carefully. I down shifted and stopped at red lights, which, luckily, weren't on any hills. When the light turned, I eased up on the clutch and tapped the gas, paying attention to every foot maneuver and shift. Somewhere along the way, I began humming Christmas tunes, stopping briefly to have a one on one conversation with myself about how it was way too early for caroling.

By the time I reached base, my temples were sweaty.

Two cars waited in front of me. At my turn, the guard checked my ID then handed it right back, his face expressionless. The gate lifted, and I drove onto Elmendorf Air Force Base toward the top secret compound on the outskirts.

Melcher certainly knew how to protect himself. If Giselle was correct, and he was a vampire, how had he ever rallied government aid?

If only I could get some information out of Jared before Giselle offed him.

Triumph flashed through me as I parked the Jeep. I'd made it on my own—conquered the mountain—all thanks to Fane and his car rehabilitation tactics.

Suddenly, I wanted to call him and thank him for believing in me all along. For having patience. For giving me my independence back.

But it would have to wait until after the meeting.

I walked toward the compound, chin up. As I tromped through the dank halls, the Christmas carols humming inside my head were replaced with positive affirmations.

I am strong. Superhuman. Vampire. An asset to the agency. They'll never see me coming.

Once I turned the final corner, two sets of eyes looked at me. Levi and Mason sat in plastic chairs in the hallway. Levi slouched back, one leg propped over his knee. Mason sat ramrod stiff, at attention like a good solider boy. My nose wrinkled.

I kept my head up and walked straight over to Levi.

“Where's Tommy?”

Levi sat up straighter. “Well, hello to you, too,” he said, grinning from ear to ear.

I couldn't believe I ever compared him to Kurt Cobain. He smiled way too often and with too much teeth.

“You can go in now.”

I barely noticed the secretary, and it wasn't because of her camouflaged uniform.

I continued glaring down at Levi. “We're teammates, remember? So, why don't you play ball and tell me where you took the dog?”

Levi stood. Our noses were practically level. His smile dropped briefly from his face.

“If your partner hadn't gotten himself kidnapped, I wouldn't have to take care of his mutt.”

Anger flared through me at the same time hope blossomed. If Levi was taking care of Tommy that meant he was safe, for now.

Melcher should have let me take care of Tommy from the start. This was probably some sort of punishment for questioning orders. He acted like we were a team, like I mattered, but I knew the truth. Melcher didn't give a damn about any of his recruits. He didn't want us to have pets or any kind of relationship that interfered with our commitment to the agency. All that mattered was the mission. Follow orders. Period.

“Agent Melcher is ready for you,” the secretary said louder.

Levi brushed past me, Mason right behind him, toward Melcher's office. They let themselves in first. I walked in last and shut the door behind me. While my back was turned, a voice sneered.

“Is this all you've got for me?”

My body went rigid at the sound of Jared's voice.

I turned. His eyes drilled directly into mine from the far corner of the room. There stood the vampire responsible for all my woes. He wore a dark blazer over blue jeans—casual cool. There was a five o'clock shadow over his chin and cheekbones covering his face in a sinister looking mask.

Melcher stood between his desk and chair.

“Jared, meet agents Levi Parker and Mason Hicks. You and Agent Sky have already met.”

Oh, we'd met all right—on a cold wintery road ten months ago. Jared had robbed me of my humanity. If that wasn't bad enough, Melcher later forced me to work alongside my killer.

Why did he want us all to meet now?

I glanced at Melcher who had taken a seat at his desk.

“Do you two know how to follow orders?” Jared demanded, looking from Mason to Levi.

“Yes, sir,” Mason said.

Jared's eyes narrowed on Levi. “What about you, Jeans?”

I expected Levi to glower back, but he grinned instead. “You can count on my full cooperation.”

Something in the way Levi said it made Jared grin back. “Good.”

Jared sat behind Agent Crist's old desk. The vamp had a lot of nerve taking her seat after killing her.

Mason and Levi lowered themselves into the two chairs in front of Christ's desk. I crossed over to a chair in front of Melcher.

“Now here's how Friday night is going down. You three have the upstairs,” Jared said, aiming his finger at us in one arc. “I'll handle everything below.”

My body jolted as though shocked inside the chair.

Handle everything below? What? No! We needed Jared to go to the palace, not the lodge. But I couldn't protest without raising suspicion.

“Everyone dies, except Diederick,” Melcher said.

“What about the wine girls?” Levi asked, raising an eyebrow.

Melcher rested his arms on his desktop. “I've got an informant on the inside. He'll slip something in their wine before your arrival. They'll be asleep during your operation. He'll also take care of disabling security cameras at the front door and entryway. Diederick doesn't have cameras upstairs. He keeps the tasting rooms private.”

“What about the valet and butler?” I asked.

Melcher pursed his lips. “They'll have seen your faces. Allowing them to live would put my agents in danger.”

Mason nodded. “Collateral damage.”

“They aligned themselves with the enemy,” Melcher confirmed. “That's the risk they took.”

“What about Diederick?” I demanded. “He'll have seen our faces.” Well, mine, anyway. I'd attended the tasting twice and made a scene at the bar with Henry. I hadn't exactly flown beneath the radar.

Melcher had warned Dante, Valerie, and me off killing Diederick the first time we scoped out the hillside tasting, claiming the vamp was more valuable to him undead than forever dead.

“We've already lost track of dozens of vampires since Marcus' departure,”
Melcher had said.

“Diederick has vast connections to the underworld. For now, we need him to coax his underlings out of the shadows.”

“Diederick won't see what any of you are doing upstairs, and there won't be any survivors to describe you later,” Melcher said now. “Jared and his team will go in below with ski masks.”

Just what we all needed after Sitka had gone sooooo smoothly. If anyone could massacre a house full of vampires, it was Jared.

I sat up in my chair. “But if we kill all his clients and staff, what good is he to you? It's not like he'd be dumb enough to set up new tastings. His reputation will be ruined if it gets out that his patrons all died at the hands of hunters.”

Melcher nodded. “He'll leave the state, or Anchorage at the very least. My informant will stay with him and keep an eye on future endeavors.”

“So we're just going to let Diederick walk out the front door?” I pressed.

“My man will help him escape,” Melcher said.

“Now listen up,” Jared's voice boomed. “I want you three to go in first. Take out the valet and butler. From there, go directly upstairs. You will find one of Diederick's associates overseeing the tasting rooms above. Kill him. Jeans will take his place,” Jared said, nodding at Levi. “Don't let anyone leave until they've visited the room at the end of the hall. That's where Raven and Mason will be.”

Melcher cleared his throat. “My informant says there are eight rooms above. You will need to move the woman in the eighth room to another location and close the doors on any unoccupied rooms. That indicates that they are occupied. Aurora will pose as a wine girl. Once a vampire has fed on her, Mason will come out of hiding and finish the infected off. Quietly.” Melcher leaned forward. “We don't want to scare off the vampires still feeding in the other rooms.”

My nose wrinkled. So he still had me going in as bait? Snap-tastic.

“Any questions?” Jared asked.

Levi and Mason exchanged a look. “Sounds pretty straightforward,” Levi said.

“Good. Then keep to the upstairs, get the job done and stay out of my way.”

I winced. Although Jared addressed Levi and Mason, I couldn't help thinking his words were meant for me.

Levi and Mason stood up. I remained seated. I leaned forward, addressing Melcher. “Can I speak to you in private?”

Melcher nodded. “Parker, Hicks, you two are dismissed. Shut the door on your way out.”

We sat in silence until they're footsteps had receded and the door clicked shut.

Melcher straightened his back. “We actually want to speak to you, Agent Sky.”

Jared got up and moved in front of the door, arms crossed, blocking me inside.

My mouth went dry.

“But first, what is it you wished to speak to me about?” Melcher sat as still as a statue, only his eyes moving to focus on me.

I didn't want to go first. I wanted to know what exactly he and Jared planned on talking to me about. Did they suspect I knew I was a vampire? Had Valerie said something about Fane staying the night with me? Did they know what Fane, Noel, and I were up to? Is that why Jared wasn't taking the bait?

Melcher hadn't moved a muscle, but his eyes zeroed in on me.

I cleared my throat. “What about Giselle? Noel said there's a good chance she'll be at Stanton's party this weekend. Shouldn't we be going after her?”

Melcher's eyes narrowed. “Agent Harper should not have shared that information with you. Allowing the two of you to live together might have been a mistake.”

I glared at Melcher. As if he'd put us together out of the goodness of his heart. Noel had confided that he did it so she could keep an eye on me. To make sure I wasn't succumbing to blood cravings. Nice try, Melcher.

Jared snorted behind me. “Giselle would never show up at a party. She's got the social skills of a wolverine.”

My heart dropped. Jared wasn't buying it. We'd set up the party for nothing. I turned slightly, catching Jared's eye. He grinned.

“Though I did hear Henry Fisher will be there. The big guy let him get away.” Jared looked over at Melcher. “I hope he's not that clumsy at the tasting this Friday.”

Melcher frowned. “There's been no sign of Henry at his townhouse. He dropped off the radar until now.”

Jared moved to the front of Crist's desk and sat on the edge.

“Send Ginger after Henry. If he gives her any trouble, she can always shoot him.” Jared's eyes slid to mine.

Our eyes locked. Mine began to sting, my whole body prickled with frustration and anger. We needed Jared at the palace, not Valerie.

I sat up and looked at Melcher. “If there's even a chance Giselle might be there we should check it out. You told me we'd get her once Jared got to town.”

Melcher's chest puffed. His nostrils flared. “I said you could help with the retrieval mission after we put an end to the tastings. Our work doesn't stop because one agent was kidnapped.”

My lips pressed into a tight frown.

Nice to know Melcher would throw us to the wolves—or in this case, wolverine—without a second thought.

The show must go on. But how were we going to capture Jared if he didn't go where we wanted him? At least I had the advantage of knowing where he'd be Friday night. On the other hand, I couldn't bring Fane or even Henry into it without putting their lives at stake.

Melcher must have taken my silence for cooperation.

“Now that that's settled, let's move onto the next order of business.” Melcher pressed his hands together, as though in prayer, then folded his fingers into one tight ball. “Jared's not only here to apprehend Giselle. He's here to recruit.”

My stomach filled with acid.

If Fane were there, he'd tell me to keep a cool head, but I couldn't. He'd remind me to keep Melcher in the dark as much as possible. He'd point out my precarious position on base, seated between Jared and Melcher. He'd tell me to keep my mouth shut.

But I couldn't.

I rose from my chair.

Screw this.

“Recruit? Don't you mean kill?” I pointed at Jared. “I saw you behind the wheel of that SUV that rammed into me.”

Jared didn't even flinch. He looked me up and down before saying, “As I said before, I was at the right place at the right time.”

I swung toward Melcher. “Is this how you recruit agents? By forcing them into accidents?”

Melcher's lips twisted. He stared at me a long time, not speaking.

Say something!
I wanted to scream, but I didn't. I closed my mouth, heart hammering up my throat and pounding in my ears.

“Hunters are a rare breed,” Melcher said slowly. “As you know, AB negative blood is one of the rarest in the world. It's the only type that can poison a vampire. You are nature's most powerful weapon against man's biggest threat. You were created to protect mankind. Nature decided.”

My fingers balled into fists.

“I don't care about my blood type. You decided. Not nature. You stole my life from me.”

“Not I,” Melcher answered calmly. “We are but humble servants serving the greater good.”

“By ruining peoples' lives?” I demanded. “And now you plan on going after more innocent victims? Is everyone with AB negative blood on your hit list?”

Melcher stared at me, unblinking. “I admire your compassion. It's one of the many qualities that make you a good hunter. We can teach recruits to kill, but we can't teach them to care.” Melcher glanced briefly at Jared then back to me. “Jared, as you know, is infected. Centuries ago, he murdered innocents, no better than the creatures we hunt today. But he is atoning for his sins.”

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