KnightForce Deuces (25 page)

Exhausted from fighting the chemicals in her
body, she sighed and lapsed into silence. At some point she must
have dozed. One moment she listened to Hawke explain about some new
drug, the next he shook her awake.

“The van’s loaded. I’ve made a comfortable
spot for you up front. I can carry you…
”

Asia scrambled to stand. The idea of him
carrying her like an unweaned pup wiped the sleep from her mind.
“
No, I can walk
.” Trotting behind him toward the van, she
discovered her wolf was more alert, her heart rate seemed normal
and the constant throb of pain had left. “
Thank you, Mistress. I
feel so much better.”

“Good, I’m glad. Silas and I worked
together, I think that’s how we were able to get it done so much
faster. If you get tired, rest
.”

“Yes, Ma’am
.” Asia looked at the black
armored van and glanced at Hawke. “
Is La Patron expecting an
attack that I don’t know about?”
she asked him.

“This was sent because of the outbreak at
the compound and will protect the team from any attack. Both vans
have reinforced steel roofs and sides. Those are the only
doors
.” He pointed to the open door.

Asia started to remind him she was fully aware
of the craftsmanship of the vehicles, she had advised La Patron on
the style to order but remained silent. Instead, she hopped inside
and looked at the boxes of material Hawke and the others in La
Patron’s lab would study to get a better understanding of the drug
and the poison. Hawke locked the door and walked to the driver’s
side. The sun would rise soon. They had spent the entire night at
Crawford’s house and she was ready to see her pups. They cleared
the gate and drove down the driveway and turned onto the paved
street. The road twisted down the hill and Hawke drove slowly.
“
Rest, we’ll be there in a few minutes
,” Hawke
said.

He had found a thick blanket and placed it next
to the boxes. Asia lay down but didn’t sleep. “
Who was in the
house
?” She asked not expecting an answer but wanting to
discuss it anyway. For some reason the anonymity of the person
bothered her.

“We still don’t know.”

“A rebel leader? Lancaster or one of the
Liege? A new player? We need to know. It’s possible they’re the
link to all of this,
” she continued.

“We’ll figure it all out.”
He turned the
corner and slammed on the brake. She yelped as she slid
forward.

He looked down at her
.
“
Maybe right
now
.”

Asia rose on all fours and looked out the
window at the large tree in the middle of the road. “
Didn’t they
do this on the continent? Right before we were attacked in Chacal’s
SUV
?” Asia asked as she scanned the area for clues.

“Yes. Not too original. But this time, they
will come to the door and show themselves
,” Hawke
said.

The passenger door flew off the hinges into the
trees lining the road. Hawke looked at the open space and shrugged.
“Or they can do that
.” He glanced over his shoulder at her
and winked. “
Looks like I get to hunt after all. Will you be
okay?”

A loud thunk hit the top of the van, causing it
to rock a few times and then steady. Asia looked up but didn’t
sense anyone, human or beast.

“I’m good. Can’t get a read on anything,
though
.” She backed into the boxes, her beast snarled at the
intruder. Something hit the roof of the van so hard the reinforced
steel bent creating a small dent.

“Wait
,” Hawke said one hand on the door
while he watched the roof and passenger door opening. The next
second a large rock whizzed through the air and hit the windshield
and bounced off. More rocks flew inside the van via the passenger
side, a few hit Hawke on the side of his face and chest. He twisted
the passenger seat so that it blocked the doorway and stopped the
rocks.

Another rock hit the windshield opening a small
hole. Another rock flew past Asia’s head and landed on the back
wall of the van.

“I can’t find him, nothing’s
registering
,” Hawke said sounding as baffled as Asia
felt.

“Asia, Silas wants to know if you want to
shift
.” Jasmine asked drawing her attention from the dark
outside the van.

“Do you want me to change forms?”
Asia
asked Hawke.

“If we fight, change into your
hybrid, no need for your human form now.”

“Mistress, I’ll shift to fight,
” Asia
said.

“Okay, we’ll continue to monitor you until
you get back here and Hawke can hook you to the machine that’ll
clear anything left,”
Jasmine said.

“Thank you. You know of the tree in
the road?”

“Yes, Silas told me and I wish I was there.
Maybe you could look at it and I can move it like Silas does with
Angus,”
Jasmine said.

Just knowing her Mistress would do that for her
warmed and horrified Asia. Yes, it was great Jasmine loved and
cared for the pack in general and her in particular but as a
warrior and KnightForce captain, she would fight her way out of
this situation or die during the process.

“Thank you, Mistress but we need to
stop these bastards, this has gone on long enough. Hawke says with
the blocker the poison can be stopped, tonight I would like to see
my pups in my den.”

“I understand. If you need me I’m
here.”

The driver’s door shook. Hawke had moved and
sat on the floorboard next to the driver’s seat but continued to
hold onto the door. The metal door edges curled away from the
frame.

He looked at her and smiled. “
Should I let
it go
?”

Asia wanted to laugh, he was enjoying himself.
“
Not yet, make them work for it. I’ve got your back.
” She
watched the front and passenger side.

Boom.

Something hit the roof, the dent grew. It hit
the roof as if an iron anchor was lifted and dropped again and
again. The interior light dropped but remained connected with one
long wire. “
I don’t sense anyone up there
,” Asia said
frustrated. None of this made sense. She should be able to detect a
heartbeat at the very least.

“Me neither. I’m not in the mood to play
games, we need to get back to the compound. I’ll move the tree and
we’ll leave
.”

Tension coiled in her shoulders as she stared
at him in disbelief. “
We can’t leave. Whatever, whoever is doing
this to us could do the same thing to Tyrese or the others, we have
to correct this problem
.”

Hawke met her gaze for a few seconds and then
nodded. “
Okay.

Asia exhaled. “
If full-bloods or humans can
mask their scents to this degree, we need to know how it’s
done.
” She wasn’t sure if he agreed to placate her or if he
fully understood the seriousness of what was happening.

Hawke nodded.

“Are they using a magnet or something else
to pull off the doors? If it’s that powerful, can it penetrate the
metal doors or detectors at our compound or any Alpha compound
across the country? If this is a sampling of a new enemy’s toys or
the rebels are taking their fight up a notch, we need to know and
prepare to defend against it
.”

“You’re right
,” he said. “
The next
time
–”

The driver’s door creaked as if a large unseen
hand pulled from the outside. Hawke glanced at her and then
released it. The door flew off the hinges and shot in the direction
of the trees alongside the road. Hawke peered out into the dark and
inhaled.

“We can return to the house, we’re not that
far,
” he said.

Asia thought about it. With both doors off the
van, remaining inside made no sense. “
Can you let Tyrese know
the van is in the middle of the road and the contents are
unprotected?”

“Yeah
,” he said slowly, looking at her.
“
So we aren’t returning to the lab where Hank and Tyrese
are?”

“No, we need to find whoever stopped us and
clean up this mess.
” She moved closer to the driver’s side
opening and glanced into the inky blackness. “
Someone is waiting
for us out there
.”

Hawke pulled her close and rubbed his face
against the fur on her neck. “
We do this together. The hunt, we
bring them down together. Agreed?
”

She moved back a little and licked the side of
his face, “
Agreed.
”

He exhaled and pulled her closer. “
How do
you want to play this
?”

“We move the tree. Something will
happen before we are finished. If not, we leave. They will make
their move before we leave this property.”

He nodded, placed a kiss on the top of her head
and scooted to the edge of the driver’s door opening. He took a
step outside, morphed to his hybrid and walked to the front of the
van. Without a backward glance, he lifted the tree and tossed it in
the direction the car door had flown. Turning, he went back to the
van, morphed to human size and slid in the seat to start the van.
The moment the engine turned over, something slammed into Hawke
from the driver’s side knocking him out the passenger opening. Asia
leapt from the van and ran to find Hawke.

He lay a few feet away at the foot of a tree
which broke his fall. When she reached him she morphed to her
hybrid and scanned the area. Something large and dark sat high in
the branches in a nearby tree.

“Well that was fun
,” Hawke said standing
and shaking his head. “
It’s some kind of enhanced half-breed.
Not the same as the blue speckled things or the mindless droids
with neck braces. This one thinks, plots and plans.”

“You got all of that from when he hit
you?”
She looked him over again
.

“No. I got that when I punched him and
gauged his reaction. He’s deciding how to complete his
mission.
”

“Do we head back to the van, choose the
place of battle? Or remain here and wait
?” she asked scanning
the woods for the half-breed or anything else. She couldn’t believe
a half-breed caused a dent in the roof of their van or pulled the
doors off the van. Half-breeds didn’t have that kind of strength
unless they were in hybrid form.

“Our fight, our terms. Let’s take it to the
road.”
He morphed to his hybrid, turned and waited for her to
walk ahead when he was hit from behind. It happened so fast Asia
didn’t see the beast move. One moment Hawke stood in front of her,
then the thwack sound from the hit and then him flying forward. The
half-breed didn’t hang around to fight but kept going. Obviously he
wasn’t ready to take on both of them. Pity he had no idea how mates
worked. Mess with one, you take on both.

She closed her eyes and searched for the
creature. Half-breed, full-blood, human, made no difference - she
would destroy it. The air stirred and she jumped back instinctively
as the beast flew past her and plowed headfirst into the ground.
Quick as a rabbit, it jumped up and climbed the tree like a monkey
before she could blink.

Hawke returned to her side and took her hand.
“
That thing’s starting to piss me off
.”

“If you listen carefully you’ll hear it
approach
.” She explained the movement of air and what
happened.

“Okay, let’s take this to the street
.”
He waited for her to pass in front of him. Hearing the wisp of air,
they both moved out of the way as the beast shot between them and
landed on the ground. Hawke leapt on top of it and rained a series
of punches on its dark head. Grunts and sounds of flesh hitting
flesh filled the small area. Asia tried to see the half-breed
better but was blocked by her mate’s massive shoulders. The beast
growled and snapped trying to defend against the blows. Hawke
pummeled its face, breaking bones and rendering it a bloody mess in
a matter of seconds.

Asia moved close and touched the half-breed’s
shoulder. Surprised by its small stature, she looked past the
bloody face, the misshaped head and activated her bracelet. Tingles
from the chameleon raced down her arm into the half-breed. The name
Kimren constantly resurfaced. She searched his memories and found
little that made sense. Rage, sorrow, pain, a cocktail of volatile
emotions raced through the young male half-breed on a continuous
loop as if he were on a runaway train unable to stop one from
crashing into the other. One half-opened yellow eye met hers and
for a second Asia thought he knew she was in his brain. His eye
changed to brown and he closed it.

“I believe his name is Kimren, he’s
very young.”

Hawke stood, picked up the half-breed, turned
and headed to the van. Disturbed by the circle of emotions she’d
just experienced, Asia followed a little slower, scanning the area.
The young half-breed had been full of sorrow, she didn’t understand
why. Where had he come from and why attack their van? Or someone
much larger like her mate? Had he been angry with Hawke? Or just
angry in general?