Into the Mist (24 page)

No one spoke until they were in the air, and then they gathered in the small lounging area in the middle of the plane. Eli relayed the information they'd received from Tits.

“It's a risky job,” Eli said. “We have no back-up. We're a five man team going into a relatively unknown situation with only sparse intel.”

Gabe snorted. “Like that's anything new? It'll be like old times, only this time we'll expect to have no support instead of expecting it and not getting it when things go to shit.”

Ian nodded. “It won't be anything we haven't done before.” His gaze found Tyana. “The chemical you gave us. It works.”

She smiled faintly. “I'm glad. I hope it works longer for you than it did for Damiano.”

“Can we get more?” Braden spoke up.

“Assuming we don't die and that Marcus is someone I'll still have access to when this is all over with, I'll ask him to examine you and Ian if you want. He's the doctor who created the formula for Damiano. I don't know a lot about it. Marcus explained that it was an inhibitor that reacts with and paralyzes the chemical receptors in the brain that apparently control the urge to shift.”

Braden nodded.

“That's also assuming we haven't become members of a newly formed Falcon hit list,” Eli said dryly. “I don't imagine I'm very popular with them right now.”

Guilt crept over Tyana. Not only did she have to deal with the fact that she'd compromised Falcon and gone against a direct order from Jonah, but she'd put Eli's team at risk by doing so. Jonah didn't tolerate any threat to Falcon's security. He'd definitely see Eli as a big one.

“Well if they kick you out, I'm sure Eli here will be more than happy to offer you a spot on CHR,” Gabe said slyly.

Eli shot him a quelling stare.

“Why isn't Esteban on Falcon's hit list?” Ian asked. “Why are we the ones going after this guy? Seems to me Jonah would want some payback for what he did to Damiano.”

Tyana shook her head. “Because Jonah doesn't believe Esteban can help Damiano. And Jonah doesn't know that Esteban was behind the chemical attack in Adharji. I didn't know until I met Esteban in Paris, and if I had gone to Jonah with that information, he would have still shut me down.”

“Is Damiano that bad?” Braden asked. There was a hint of dread in his voice, as if he could see into his own future and knew that whatever Damiano had degraded to would eventually come to him.

“Marcus doesn't think there is a cure,” she said softly. “He believes that if Damiano is going to survive he has to learn to cope and control his powers. His DNA has been altered. This isn't some disease or sickness that can be cured by medicine.”

Ian stared at Gabe and Eli. “And maybe it's sort of a sick twist on evolution. The strong adapt and the weak die off. Gabe and Eli seemed to readily adapt to their ‘powers'.”

Tyana stole a glance at Eli, who stiffened at Ian's words. He hadn't told them that his shifting ability came with birth—a freak aberration in his DNA at conception. And maybe now she understood why. They looked at Eli and Gabe as hope that they too would adapt and survive.

She turned her gaze to Gabe. He was the wildcard. The only one of the entire group who had actually been able to harness his abilities. Why?

He returned her stare with bland indifference.

But the inhibitor worked on him while it hadn't on Eli. So he wasn't completely invulnerable.

“Our objective has to be to take Esteban and make him talk,” Eli said, bringing the conversation back to the heart of the matter. “We don't have room for emotion, rage or revenge.” He looked at Tyana pointedly, and she had an eerie sense of déjà vu, as if Jonah was standing in front of her lecturing her about going off half-cocked. “This is a job. Cut and dried. We go in, extract Esteban from his hidey hole, and then we can address the other issues that concern us and our wellbeing as a team. Understood?”

The others slowly nodded their agreement. Tyana dipped her head in acknowledgement.

Chapter Twenty-Five

It was nearing dusk when they drove into Neu Ulm. Two vehicles drove down the small street toward the house Tits had arranged, lots of useless camera equipment in the back. The more useful equipment like guns and ammo were carefully tucked underneath.

They entered the driveway through a weathered archway covered with ivy. Tyana's brow rose as she caught sight of the house. She was expecting a cottage. Not a big-ass mini mansion.

It was a two-story stone house covered in the same ivy as the archway. Square and boxy, but more importantly, there was a high fence around the perimeter offering privacy.

Eli parked in the semicircle drive in front of the door, and Gabe pulled in behind him. They all got out, and Tyana reached for her bag after checking to make sure her remaining knives were securely fastened to her person.

She waited for Gabe, Ian and Braden to catch up while Eli headed for the door. They each carried cases or bags.

“Nice digs you got for us, Tyana girl,” Gabe offered with a grin.

She started after Eli with the others trailing behind. Eli opened the door and pulled his pistol. Taking her cue from him, she gripped one of her knives in one hand and reached for her Glock with the other.

Behind her, there was a slight rustle as the others prepared to go in.

They walked into the darkened foyer.

Eli motioned toward the large living room to the right. Tyana stayed close behind him, and when they entered the living room, she flipped her backpack off and dropped it onto one of the chairs.

Eli turned as the others came in behind him. “We need to fan out and make sure the house is secure,” he murmured. “Meet back here in five minutes and we'll figure out our next move.”

There was no warning for what happened next. Tyana heard Eli grunt, felt Gabe stumble beside her, heard Ian curse and Braden gasp. She whirled, her eyes widening in horror when she saw the multiple darts protruding from the men.

Then she saw Esteban step from the shadows of the dining room, three men with dart guns surrounding him. She yanked up her pistol and prepared to launch her knife with her other hand.

“Nicely done, Miss Berezovsky,” Esteban said as he walked further into the living room.

Beside her, Eli had crumpled to the floor, and he seemed almost paralyzed. But his accusing stare found her. God, he couldn't think she'd set them up.

And when things couldn't get any weirder, the front door burst open behind her. She jumped to the side to assess the new threat but froze when she looked into the very angry eyes of Jonah.

Jonah, Mad Dog and Damiano swarmed into the room, assault rifles up. Tyana yanked her pistol back to Esteban.

“What did you do to them?” she demanded.

Jonah stepped in front of her, his gun pointed at Esteban. “You have what you want, Morales. Now we have what we want. I'd say it's in our best interests to stand down. Or we can shoot each other and shed a lot of blood. Your choice.”

“Take her. She served her purpose,” Esteban said.

Mad Dog grabbed her wrist and Tyana yanked it away. “No! Goddamn it, Jonah, no! You can't do this!”

Mad Dog yanked Tyana to him and applied enough pressure to her other wrist to make her drop her gun. He knocked her knife out of her hand with the butt of his rifle and then simply threw her over his shoulder and barreled out the front door.

Tyana looked back to see Eli and his men still helpless on the floor, but Eli's gaze followed her the entire way. Cold rage burned in his dark eyes. Betrayal. Dear God.

Tyana exploded in fury, kicking and flailing at Mad Dog. Jonah backed from the house, his gun still trained on Esteban while Damiano hurried toward the truck that Eli and Tyana had driven to the house.

Mad Dog tried to stuff her into the SUV, and she fought like a deranged woman. She executed a kick to his midsection, knocking him back a foot.

“Damn it, D, hurry up with that shit,” Mad Dog barked out.

Tyana launched herself from the truck, her intention to go in after Eli and the others. Jonah caught her, and she punched him full in the face. His neck snapped back, but he retained his grip on her arm.

In the end, it took the combined efforts of both Mad Dog and Jonah to force her to the ground. Through tears of rage, she saw Damiano approach and then felt the prick of a needle in her arm.

She stared accusingly up at Damiano. “How could you?” she whispered.

“How could I not?” he asked.

The world swayed and blurred around her. She felt herself being lifted and then tossed into the backseat of the SUV. A hot tear slipped down her cheek as her eyes fluttered closed and everything went black.

 

 

 

Eli lay there, helpless fury blowing through his veins. He couldn't move. He couldn't shift. He just lay there like a fucking vegetable as Esteban's men swarmed around his team.

She'd played him. Played him in the worst way. She'd made him care, and then she'd knifed him in the back.

Because of him and his stupid decision to trust Tyana, his team would likely die. He couldn't save them this time. He couldn't even save himself.

A hard boot rammed into his ribs, and he grunted in pain. He felt himself lifted by three men. He was thrown onto the couch, his arms twisted behind him and tied. His feet were bound next.

Gabe, Ian and Braden were receiving similar treatment as they were restrained.

Eli closed his eyes. He hoped to hell it was worth it to Tyana. He hoped whatever she got out of this deal would enable her to sleep at night. If he managed to escape with his life, though, he'd make damn sure she never had another night's peace.

Chapter Twenty-Six

Tyana climbed back to consciousness, her head aching vilely, and her tongue felt like it was three sizes too big. She blinked to try and bring the room into focus, but she wasn't having much success.

She heard voices. Jonah. Mad Dog. Damiano. And then she remembered.

“How much of that shit did you give her, D? She's been out like a fucking light for hours.”

She surged upward and immediately regretted it. The room swam around her, and she had the sudden urge to vomit.

“Whoa, not so fast,” Damiano said as he gripped her shoulder to steady her.

She put a shaky hand to her head. God, it hurt. It pounded as she tried to put together what had gone down.

“How long?” she rasped.

“How long what?” D asked.

“How long have I been out?” How long had Eli and his team been in Esteban's clutches? Nausea rose in her stomach again.

“Exactly six hours and twenty minutes,” came Jonah's stony reply.

She rocketed to her feet, shrugging off Damiano's hand. She weaved, and her knees threatened to buckle, but she remained upright by sheer willpower.

“Where are we?” she demanded. She looked around, her vision clearer now, and answered her own question. “Paris.”

She locked gazes with Jonah. “Why? Why did you do it? Goddamn it, Jonah, how could you do that?”

“Now hold on a minute, baby girl,” Mad Dog began.

“Stand down, Mad Dog,” Jonah said in a controlled voice. “Let her say her piece. Then I'll say mine.” His eyes glittered with anger, and she knew he was simmering beneath his deceptive calm.

“How could you set me up that way? How could you set up Eli and his team? Do you have any idea what you've done?”

Jonah walked forward, his features locked in stone. “One, we didn't set you up. Two, I don't give a damn about Eli and his team. Three, you brought this on yourself when you blatantly disregarded a direct order from me to stay your ass on the island.

“What the fuck were you going to do, Ty? What were you thinking confronting Esteban like that? What would have happened if we didn't show up? I'll tell you what. He would have killed you.”

She shook her head. “Esteban wouldn't have known we were there if you hadn't told him. How did you know?” And then it hit her. “Tits. That son of a bitch.”

“Tits doesn't owe you any loyalty,” Jonah said coldly. “And we didn't say jack to Esteban. I don't even know why the fuck you're so hot to trot for this guy. Why were you there with Eli and his team? Last I heard you were going after Eli, not changing your loyalties, Ty.”

The pounding in her head was vicious. She closed her eyes and swallowed back the rising nausea.

“Jonah, we don't need to do this now.” Damiano's concerned voice filtered through the fog surrounding her. “She's not well.”

Her eyes flew open again. “No, D, now is precisely when we have to do this. We're losing time.” She turned her attention back to Jonah. “You know why I went after Eli. What you don't know is why Esteban wanted him too. He's the bastard who unleashed the chemical agent on Eli and his team. On Damiano. He's the reason Damiano is the way he is. It was a goddamn experiment. One that didn't work out too well. I thought Eli might have answers. He's stable. I thought his team would be stable like him. I was wrong.”

Jonah held up his hand. “I don't give a damn about Eli and his team. What I care about is the fact that you could have been killed. You don't get that. I won't trade your life for some half-assed scheme to try and save D's ass.”

“You're not listening to me,” she said in frustration. “You stood there and handed Eli and his men over to Esteban. I went to Germany with Eli and his men because we were going after Esteban. We were going to take him down and make him talk. He created the chemical that turned them into shifters. If nothing else, we could have gained access to the chemical, had it broken down and analyzed, and maybe we could have come up with a way to help them and D. But you sold us out to Esteban. Goddamn it, Jonah, why?”

“I had nothing to do with why Esteban was there,” Jonah said icily. “Tits told me where you were going to be and when. We went there to extract you and to remove Eli as a threat to you. I wasn't about to have a goddamn showdown with Esteban and risk the lives of
my
team for Eli Chance.”