Shifted Perceptions (Alpha Division) (11 page)

Chapter
21

Paul

Russell, or Red as we liked to call him, lay in the hospital bed in our medical facility. Bloodied and bruised, he looked small beneath the white blankets. As I looked down at him, all busted up and unable to move, my hands fisted and shook at my sides. My rage was on the verge of exploding through the door I had carefully locked inside me. Stone, and every one of those men who touched him would pay. And soon, if I had anything to say about it.

As I tore my eyes away from my friend, I glanced at Leo and Hawk. Both wore expressions that I expected were similar to mine. No one messed with one of ours. That thought caught me by surprise
, as I realized how close I’d come to these guys. I knew I still kept my distance, but to me, they had become my family. They forgave me and now trusted me with their lives. And I would do anything to protect them.

We looked up as Teij walked in, a small woman following behind. I didn’t pay her any mind
, as my attention was all for Teij, but as she strolled past him and made her way to Red, my gaze shifted. Reaching down, she placed her hand on Red’s wrist and I made a step forward just as Leo growled.

“Keep your hands off
of him,” Leo roared as I asked, “Who the hell are you?”

“Down, boys,” she responded easily, never looking up. The woman was checking Red’s pulse
, I realized and calmed down slightly, though, I still felt like I was on high alert.

“This is Doctor Smalls,” Teij said, capturing the room with his commanding tone. “She’s the new doctor I hired for the Division, so be nice.”

Hawk and I nodded, but Leo refused to respond. His nostrils flared, as he watched the little doctor work on our teammate. “You’re human,” he stated, his lip curling up. “You shouldn’t be doctoring our kind.”

“Sure, I guess I’m human,” she nodded. “But if you want to get technical, I’m actually a half-breed. My father is a shifter, but when womanhood came a calling, nothing spectacular happened,” she sh
rugged. “Well, except for these.” We all couldn’t help but look, as she gestured to her breasts. All four of us glanced away quickly and I swear Leo blushed. That pussy, I chuckled.

“So
, I know a bit about your kind.” Doctor Smalls lifted an eyebrow as she asked, “Any more questions?”

“How long have you been a doctor?”
Leo snarled.

A
twinkle brightened her brown eyes as she glanced over at Leo. Surprisingly, his snarl disappeared, as his chest puffed up and a confident smirk replaced his frown. I raised an eyebrow, as the tension in the room increased, and looked at the doctor. She was hot, I had to give Leo that. Her black hair hung in ringlets to her shoulders and her skin was the exact color of Terry’s preferred coffee. Lots of creamer, no sugar. Dr. Small’s frame was just as her namesake. She was petite, with enough curves to entice.

“From the looks of it, I’ve been a doctor for as long as you’ve been born,” she suddenly replied and just like that the tension snapped, sending me roaring with laughter. Leo scowled again as Hawk, Teij and I unsuccessfully tried to hold in our chuckles. I liked her.

“So,” I cleared my throat, as another laugh bubbled up my throat. “So, what’s the diagnosis, Doc? Will he be okay?” All laughter vanished at my change of subject.

She nodded, glanc
ing down at her patient before looking at us again. “Yes, but he has multiple severe injuries and I need to get him into surgery as quickly as possible.” She pulled up the bed rails, as two nurses came in.

“Whoa, wait a sec,” Hawk said. “Give us a little more than that, will ya?”

“There’s not much time,” she sighed, “So pay attention.” Her voice had become hard and professional. No more fun and games. “Basically, he’s broken, just about everywhere. Multiple compound fractures, right tibia, pelvic, clavicle and a spiral fracture in his left humerus. I need to set them, and soon. He’s healing already and if they aren’t set properly...” She raised a hand, palm up, “You understand, I’m sure.

“But most concerning is the brain hemorrhage caused by blunt trauma to the head. I thought the bleeding would slow, but his body isn’t healing the damage quick enough. I need to go in, or he’s going to bleed to death.” She shook her head and sighed. “He’s lucky he’s a shifter. A human would have been dead a long time ago.”

The three of us stood in silence, digesting the doctor's words. He was worse off than any of us thought. Taking a deep breath, I nodded and l looked at my team leader. His face was made of stone, but I could see the rage building behind his eyes.

“Do it,” Teij said before walking out of the room. Leo, Hawk and I stood to the side as they began wh
eeling his bed out of the room.

“Wait,” I called, stepping closer to the bed and leaning down. “What was that, buddy?” I asked Red, sure that I heard him mumble something.

His lips moved, but only a whisper of breath released, “Emma.”  I thought for a second, but shook my head. I had no clue who Emma was. “Who’s Emma?”

“Don’t hurt her,” he mumbled just before his body relaxed. He’d fallen back to sleep.

Once they had wheeled him out, Leo asked, “What was that?”

I shook my head, “I don’t know, man. It sounded like a name. Emma?” Glancing between Hawk and Leo, I asked, “Do either of you know anyone named Emma?”

They looked at each and shook their heads no. “Not a clue,” Hawk replied.

“He asked me not to hurt her,” I thought aloud. “I don’t even know her. Do you think she
’s part of the organization we’re watching?”

They both shrugged. “Who knows, but there’s nothing we can do now,” Leo said. “He’ll have to tell us more once he wakes up.” If he wakes up, I amended silently. We might be hard to kill, but we were far from immortal.

“So,” Hawk grinned, punching Leo in the shoulder as we walked out of the room. “The Doctor?” He wiggled his eyebrows causing me to snort. “What was that all about?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Leo growled.

“Sure, sure...” Hawk teased, as they continued down the hall.

Stepping
away for a some privacy, I pulled out my phone to check my messages and heard Terry’s sexy voice come through the line.
“Paul, just wanted to check in and let you know Stone has me working his bar tonight. I’ll be back at the hotel around two or three in the morning.”
Then she huffed and I knew what was coming.
“This is just ridiculous, checking in like some underage teenager,”
she mumbled and I couldn’t hold back my chuckle. She might be complaining, but she did good. That deserves a reward, I thought, my mind turning to wicked thoughts.

“Um...”
Terry continued and my brows furrowed at the distress I could hear in her tone.
“I hope Red is okay.”
I nodded my understanding, though I knew she couldn’t see. We were all worried about Red, but Terry held more on her shoulders. She felt guilty, but really, she shouldn’t. Shit happened and no matter what Terry thought she did or didn’t do, she wasn’t the one who put him out. We’d have to work on that.
“So, I’ll just talk to you later,”
she hung up and I sighed.

“Everything okay?” Hawk asked as he came to stand next to me.

“Yeah,” I raked my fingers through my hair and shook my head. “I’ve got to get back to Foxy. I don’t want her alone with that prick for too long.”

“I got ya,” Hawk nodded. “But she can hold her own.” His eyes held mine, forcing the comment to take hold. I got it, I did. We all knew Terry was a strong woman. Hell, she could kick my ass if she really wanted to, but I couldn’t reign in my need to protect her.

“I know she can,” I told him.

“Good,” he nodded once. “So, any closer to catching this guy?”

I shook my head. “Whoever he is, he’s covering his tracks well. Stone had no phone records, no documents, nothing with a name.”

“Shit! I was hoping by now we’d have something.”

“Well, there is.” Hawk looked at me expectantly and I glanced away. I should have said something sooner, but between Terry and Red, I had let it slide. “I found something in Stone’s house.” I looked back at Hawk. “He’s been keeping secrets from his boss, and I think that we’re about to get neck deep in some shit.”

“Aren’t we always?” Hawk grinned.

“Yeah, but this,” I shook my head, my jaw clenched tight, as I thought about what Stone’s secret meant for us. “We’re fucked, man. Royally.”

Chapter 22

Terry

Serving drinks wasn’t so bad. The people were polite enough and most just wanted beer.
Things had changed from the last time I was in there. No one looked at me strangely and I had the sneaking suspicion Stone had something to do with that. And thinking about Stone, I hadn’t seen him since our little tryst in his office earlier, and for that, I was grateful. I would be the first person to admit that the sex was hot, there was just something about being in control that did it for me. But... And that was a big but. All I’d done since I walked out of that office was think about Paul.

I didn’t feel guilty per say, we weren’t even close to being exclusive, but I... My thoughts trailed off, because in all honesty, I didn’t know what I was thinking. My brain decided it wanted a vacation when it came to the
se men and I whole heartily agreed. So, for the next couple of hours, I took drink orders and served them, making small talk, as I danced around the room. Hey, if there’s music playing with a wicked beat, why walk when you can dance table to table?

Tom
yelled from across the bar and I looked up. I’d met Tom earlier while serving his beer. He made the unfortunate decision to pinch my ass. His bruised and swollen eye socket was his reward.

“Yo
, Foxy! Shake your ass this way and refill my beer, sweetheart!” he shouted and I shook my head with a grin. I normally wouldn’t have put up with that kind of talk either, but he’d been so apologetic after the pinching incident, and I knew he meant no real harm. I watched him with the other women. He may have seemed like a  big lumbering idiot, but he was respectful for the most part. Though, the things that came out of his mouth... I would swear you could actually hear every eyeball in the joint roll when he spoke.

“Coming right up, Tom Cat!” I shouted back and laughed when I got a,
“Woo-ee!” Shaking my head, I served him his beer and on the way back to the bar, I noticed who’d come in. It was the pride I’d seen the other night, including the brunette I’d pussy whipped across the ring. This should be interesting, I thought as I strolled up to their table.

“What can I get you?” I asked them. Their eyes met mine, all four sets
, a mixture of blue and gold. And no, they weren’t related, it’s just a common color for lion shifters.

There was silence f
or only a few seconds, before my ex opponent lifted her hand towards me. I stiffened, preparing to defend myself when she spoke, “Good fight. I don’t think I’ve had that much fun in a long time.”

Relaxing, I smiled and shook her hand. “My pleasure and yeah, it was good, wasn’t it?”

“Yeah,” she responded. “I rarely have competition. I’m going to have to up my game with you around. Maybe we can spar sometime?”

“Yeah, sure. Sound
s fun,” And I wasn’t being sarcastic. Finding someone to spar with was better than going to Disney Land. “So what’ll it be?” I took their drink orders and left to get those filled.

When
I returned, the table was mostly empty, only the male was left sitting alone, as he watched his female’s dance. “New to the organization?” he asked, as I placed the drinks on the table. I nodded and waited for more. “What made you join?” His question surprised me and even more so when I saw his expression. It was full of pity. For me?

Looking up at the bar, I caught Doug’s eye and held up five fingers. He nodded, agreeing to cover my break and I sat down across from the lion. “What’s your name?” I asked.

“Levi Carr,” he held out his hand for me to shake. “And my girls over there,” he nodded to the three women dancing. “Abby, Madeline, and Demi.”

“Foxy,” I said
, as I took his hand. When I let go, I asked, “What did you mean, when you asked what made me join? I couldn’t help but notice some meaning behind that.”

He blew out a breath and shook his head, “Well,
now I’m thinking it doesn’t apply to you.”

“Maybe, maybe not. Try me.”

“I don’t know,” he shook his head. “You’re pretty deep in Stone’s pocket. I don’t want to get in trouble for speaking out of turn.” His stare was intense as he added, “For my girl’s sake. I can’t let anything happen to them.” I understood.

“Listen, I’m not that deep,” I gave him my own meaningful stare. “
Whatever you say to me, won’t go anywhere else.”

He hesitated before saying, “Okay, but if word gets out, I’
ll know who was talking,” he threatened. I nodded and he blew out another breath and looked away. When he looked back, his expression was so full of pain, I thought he was hurt.

“Not all of us, but
most, we aren’t in this organization because we want to be.”

I narrowed my eyes. “How else would you be?”

“Blackmail,” he replied simply. “He’s got one of my females.” I looked out at the dance floor, but Levi shook his head. “Not one of them. We have one more in our pride, Danika.”

“What happened?”

“He saw her one day–”

“Stone?” I interrupted.

“No, not Stone, but Stone works for him and I can’t take the chance that he’ll hear me talking.”

“I got you, don’t worry,” I soothed.

“He saw her one day. I don’t know where, I think maybe jogging near our home.” He raked a hand through his hair. “Anyway, one morning, she was just gone. We searched everywhere, and I thought she just left us, but all her things were still there. Then the note came.” Levi’s eyes glazed over, as he stared off into space, lost in his memories.

I cleared my throat, once again gaining his attention. “
Do you mind me asking, where did you live?”

“Tennessee, right outside of Knoxville.”

I narrowed my eyes in thought. That was pretty damn close to where Jordan and Alex lived. “What did the note say?” I asked.

“Oh, that he had Danika and if we wanted her to live
, we had to do what we were told. I didn’t believe him at first, but then a box came. Madeline’s scream had me running out of that shower still dripping wet, and when I saw what was in that box, I cried like a baby.” He looked up at me, his eyes shiny with unshed tears.

“They’d cut off her finger.” I winced
, but he continued. “It looked so delicate and small laying on a white silk pillow. They even tied a pink ribbon around it, the bastards,” he growled and looked away, sniffing.

“I’m sorry,” I cover
ed his hand with mine briefly before pulling away. “Do you know who this man is?”

Levi shook his head, “No.”

“Did he leave a signature on the letter? Anything?”

He began to shake his head and stopped. “No, he didn’t leave a name, but he signed it W.”

W... W...W... I repeated in my head. Nothing rang a bell. “Okay,” I nodded. “Thanks for telling me.” I glanced around the bar and wondered. “Hey, Levi?”

“Yea
h?”

“What about the rest of these people? Same story?”

“For the most part. For some, it’s their mothers, sisters, husbands, boyfriends... You get the picture. But not all of them are here because they have to be. Some of these assholes want to be here.”

“It doesn’t look so bad.”

He shook his head and sighed, “You don’t know how it really is yet, but it’s not all drinking beer and watching fights. The real job is...” he stopped himself, looking around to make sure no one was watching, before leaning in and whispering, “I can’t say, but stuff goes down behind the scenes. Stuff I don’t want my family around,” he shrugged. “But what can I do?”

I nodded as I stood up. “Thanks for talking to
me, but I got to head back, breaks over,” I smiled warmly and began walking away. “Oh,” I turned back remembering something. “Who’s Emma?”

“She’s a wolf shifter that went missing
a few days ago. She was hanging out with some guy, another wolf, and then she was just gone. I think they were questioning him, but I heard he escaped.”

Hmm.. “Thanks, Levi,” I said and began to turn away
, but stopped. I saw Levi’s shoulders slump and I felt bad for prying out his bad memories. “Listen Levi,” He looked up, his eyes no longer shiny, but the sadness lingered. “It’ll be okay. We’ll find Danika.”

He shook his head and frowned. “I don’t know how...”

Of course he wouldn’t. He had no clue who I really was. “I know, but keep hope, okay?” He didn’t say anything as I walked away, but I was determined to find that son of a bitch and get these people’s families back.