More Than Life (Arcane Crossbreeds) (32 page)

Katya nodded, her eyes swimming with tears. “Thank you.”

And then she disappeared through the door, taking his past with her, leaving him once again with the blood and this cold resolution to finish what he started.

RAIFE STOOD NEXT to the table where everyone was poring over a blueprint of the Bay House citadel, only one heartbeat from saying fuck it and just rushing the damn place. He knew that was where Katya was. She wasn’t answering him, and it was starting to scare him. If her uncle was responsible for her being in that damn research lab, he might just try to put her back.

He swore he would take that place down to splinters to get her out. He’d let her down once. He wasn’t fucking doing it again.

“The Elders’ personal suites will be in this area,” Kel was saying, pointing to some fucking lines and tiny words that didn’t mean a damn thing to him. “Which means this will have to be the council chambers.”

“We can approach from the west here,” Gideon said and tapped another portion of the blueprint. “It faces away from the street side, and the adjacent building gives us some cover from human notice.”

“Hell, we don’t even know if that’s where she’s at. The fucking place is huge.” Raife pushed a hand through his hair.

Gabe, Kel’s bloodmate, shimmered into the room. The sympathetic look he cast Raife made him tense in dread. “One of the Triumvirate envoys arrived this morning and met with the Bay House elders. The citadel is full of Triumvirate Guardians.”

“Fuck.” Raife braced his hands on his hips and hung his head. How the hell were they going to get her out of there? The citadel was in the middle of the fucking Bay Area, full of tourists and other humans. Hell, he was pretty close to the edge of just saying screw them all. Keeping his dragon beneath that facade of humanity he wore stretched his restraint thin enough to see through. He wanted Katya home safe, and he fucking wanted her there now. It took every ounce of his control to give Incog a chance to do this by the books.

“Katya, damn you, answer me. Tell me you’re okay.”
There was no response, just this overwhelming sense of pain and betrayal. Fuck, he didn’t want her doing this alone. When was she going to recognize she wasn’t on her own anymore? He was going to whip her ass for taking off.

Kel cast him a glance, laying a hand on his shoulder. “If they’re still there, then that means they still have her inside. Our best bet may be when they try to transport her.”

“The Drakes are determined to retrieve the others from that research facility,” Brim added. He glanced at Forestor where he stood next to the floor-to-ceiling window. “We have several of our strongest wishing to offer themselves to get it done. If they do manage to get her back to that facility, she will not be there long.”

Raife nodded and stepped up to stand shoulder to shoulder with Forestor. He looked blindly down into the street from the window. The thought of her back in that damn place had him wanting to roar. He pushed back his hair and looked up through the window into the sky.
“Katya, if you don’t answer me, I’m going to take that damn place down.”

Nothing.

“Fuck it. I’m going in after her.”

“Ah, yeah, don’t think that’s going to be necessary,” Kel said tightly.

Raife spun and everything in him settled. She was there. Standing in the middle of the conference room in her bare feet with her luminous blue eyes glistening with unshed tears. Flecks of blood marred her cheek and the light yellow dragon-rider shirt he’d teased her about just a couple hours ago. Her white blonde hair fell loose and messy around her face. She was pale and shaking and holding a .50 caliber chrome-plated Desert Eagle like it was an empty coffee cup, but she had never looked so fucking good to him. “Damn, baby, you scared the shit out of me.”

Her mind touched his, tentative, and he pulled her in, relished the feel of their connection. She was grieving, in shock, and there was still a deep throb of anger, but she felt strong and solid and whole. He guessed he wouldn’t have to burn the citadel down after all.

“I’m sorry. I just wanted to look them in the eye. It was a lie. All of it.”

Raife glanced around at their audience with a frown. What he wouldn’t fucking give to have the walls of their suite around them right now. She felt confused and just a little lost, her quick mind moving through the details, trying to reconnect something of her life, to rebuild herself. He wanted to hold her, to give her some of his strength, to be a part of that process.

Raife pushed a hand through his hair. “Are you okay?” He looked her over. She was dirty and shaken, but it didn’t look like any of the blood belonged to her.

“I had to jump out of a window again.” She took a deep breath and pushed her hair back from her forehead with the wrist of the hand holding the gun. She looked down at the thing with disgust and gave it up to him when he reached for it. “And shoot people. I seriously don’t think I like guns. But I’m okay.” A sigh visibly moved through her body. “I’ve just had a bitch of a day.”

“Well that’s a great big stinking pile of understatement.” Kel laughed, leaning back against her bloodmate.

“You have no idea.” Katya sighed again and took a deep fortifying breath. She turned to look at Forestor. “Those files we found on the Triumvirate’s server were used to experiment on me. My whole life, one big experiment. My parents were both Rebel crossbreeds. I was never a blood relation to Canton Schaffer.”

Forestor nodded, and for a moment, she could see his weariness. He motioned to the table. “Please, all of you take a seat.”

Raife dropped into a chair and pulled her down on his lap. She stiffened, but his voice moved low through her mind.

“I just need to hold you.”

He sounded as raw as she felt, and she couldn’t resist him, especially when all she wanted was to feel his arms around her.

“Dr. Mahoney is currently being held under suspicion of assisting the Triumvirate with their research.” Forestor lowered himself into a chair at the head of the long table. Katya felt the sudden shock and tension in the room. “We suspected she may have developed the research used to initially experiment on Ms. Schaffer.”

Beneath her, Raife tensed and sat forward. “The doc was responsible for her DNA being fucked with?”

Forestor cast him a dark look, and Katya clenched her hands on Raife’s arms, let her mind sweep over and merge with his. He sighed and leaned back again pulling her farther down against his chest.

“The files we uncovered from the Triumvirate’s server suggested a theory where a Rebel subject was raised in an Alliance environment while the gene therapy was administered. The theory was that the new genes would be activated by the environment. We believe Dr. Mahoney was behind that.”

Kel slapped her hands on the tabletop and leaned forward, her narrowed gaze centering on Katya in confusion. “That was like twenty years ago, right? The doc can’t be more than thirty. That would have made her no better than a kid.”

Forestor nodded. “She was eighteen when I acquired her for Incog and already a brilliant geneticist. It’s probable that she was too young to know better, however…” He turned his dark stare on Katya, and she fought the urge to squirm under its intensity. “Tag uncovered files from the GenTest Research Facility where you were held. The files were transferred to Dr. Mahoney this morning. Later this afternoon, a message was intercepted from Dr. Mahoney requesting to meet with a Triumvirate representative.”

It felt as though all emotion was suddenly vacuumed from the room, leaving this dark stillness behind. She thought everyone might be contemplating what that meant for them personally. Dr. Mahoney knew more about them than they knew about themselves on a biological level, and the risk that information presented in the hands of the Triumvirate was chilling. She should know. She couldn’t help but wonder if Dr. Mahoney knew exactly what had been done to her.

“Mr. Fallon,” Forestor continued. “I would like you to extend my request to the Drakes for their assistance. At this point, I am apprehensive of bringing in another scientist, yet we don’t have the knowledge to determine what Dr. Mahoney has been doing in her lab. I know several of the Drakes are scientists themselves. Moreover, I trust them.”

Brim nodded. “Considering everything we’ve discovered already, I believe the Drakes would be eager to get involved. I will convey your invitation.”

“We will wait to proceed until they arrive.” Forestor stood with a nod. “I’m requesting there be no contact with Dr. Mahoney until we know the extent of the damage and her guilt. Raife. Katya. If you would hang back, I’d like to speak with you both.”

Raife’s arms tightened around her for a moment before he let her go. He was leery, and she couldn’t blame him. Her heart thundered as she waited for the room to clear. She could feel the curious yet sympathetic stares of the others as they filed out.

“What the hell is going on, Forestor?” The words burst from Raife the moment the door shut.

Forestor gripped his hands behind his back with a sigh. “Tag has attempted to decipher as much of the files as he can. From what we can determine thus far, the gene therapy was successful.” He leveled his gaze on Katya. “The Triumvirate had you transferred to the research facility to use your DNA to learn to duplicate the process.”

Fury surged hotly through Raife’s mind, and Katya reached out to touch his hand. Immediately he settled, but she could feel the seething just beneath the surface. Forestor’s news didn’t shock her. She’d suspected as much. “Do we know what that means?”

Forestor narrowed his eyes thoughtfully. “We’re not one hundred percent certain, but there is a good chance that means you’ve been infected with the blood magic.”

Raife’s entire body and mind stilled, and she could feel his shock and dread. He looked down at her, the weight of him pressing on her.

“So that means my life expectancy will be short,” Katya said. It wasn’t a question.

“We’re not certain exactly what that means, but the Drakes and the Drachon scientists will be interested in investigating that further. It could mean they may possibly find a means to reverse it. It also means you will be the focus of more experimentation.” Forestor paused and leveled a look at her. “You’ve spent the majority of your life being experimented on. I would understand if you don’t want to be involved anymore. I am prepared to offer you an alternative. I can relocate you and Agent Merrick away from this, in an undisclosed location. I thought, for once, you would like the choice.”

Katya was already shaking her head, but Raife turned her, his big hands warm on her shoulders, his amber eyes full of emotion as they focused down at her.

“Just think for a minute, kitten. You don’t have to do this anymore. I’m content to live out your life with you, whether it’s two years or two hundred years.”

“No, Raife, I don’t need to think. This time is different. I’m in control. I know the score, and I want to even it.” He reached up to cup her cheek, and she turned to kiss his warm, broad palm. She loved him so much.
“And if this means I can get another hundred years with you, I want it. Besides, I trust that you will protect me.”
She grasped his hand with hers and pulled it down to press it against her stomach.
“Protect us.”
And she knew that if she disappeared completely off the playing field, both the Rebels and the Triumvirate would never stop looking for her. She didn’t want that kind of future for their child. No, she was safer facing this head-on.

Raife’s golden eyes flickered.
“I love you, woman.”

“Well, duh.”

Katya turned to face Forestor. “I intend to stand and fight. Besides, your entire security system is going to need an overhaul. I feel responsible for that since my being here is going to bring both the Rebels and Triumvirate down on you.”

Forestor’s lips twitched in the parody of a smile. “I was hoping you were going to say that.”

Chapter Twenty-Four

Two days later, Raife slipped quietly into the cool dimness of their suite, attention drawn to the small finger of light stretching across the floor of the living room from the bedroom. That light was a lure for him, just the thought of her easing the knot in his gut. Through the narrow opening in the door, he could hear the drone of the blow-dryer. And soft, off-key humming. Raife felt the faint smile tilt his lips, and he rolled his shoulders, trying to work out the tension from the last hour. He let the familiar sounds soothe him, pulling to him the image of long silky blonde hair falling around bare shoulders as she dried it.

Katya.

The image of her filled him, and he inhaled her, the scent of her heavy in their suite. God, could he possibly love her more? When he’d held her in his arms as an innocent four-year-old child, he’d felt her fill him then. He’d watched her grow, that core of affection growing with her until he’d have killed to keep that smile on her face. Now he’d die to prevent her from ever being hurt again. Even by him. She’d had enough pain.

Raife stopped outside the bedroom door and grabbed the trim on the top of the frame with one hand, dropping his head to his forearm as he listened to her. She’d been through hell this past year, her entire life crumbing at her feet with the revelations of the day. To know the man she thought was her uncle had so callously condemned her to hell for his own greed hurt her. Every person in her life had let her down in spades. Including him. Fuck, he’d fouled up from the moment he’d met her. She’d been helpless and traumatized, and he walked her from that damn warehouse twenty years ago and handed her right off to the same bastards who had tried to kill her. Then he’d handed her off again last year. She deserved to have whatever she needed to rebuild her life. He ached to be a part of that, but he wouldn’t crowd her.

Clenching his eyes shut, he silently cursed. When he’d found her again, he’d thought he was all out of self-sacrifice, but he’d been wrong. He needed her with an intensity that would hollow him if he had to live without her, but he’d walk. If she fucking needed the space, he’d walk. And it would kill him.