The Change: Episode one (17 page)

He was already sure of my choice. Of my
parents, he was the one able to guess at my intentions the closest.
My Mother had chosen not to go against the Network to help me save
Daniel. She already knew I would pick differently.

Mary hit the info button with a resigned
sigh. She was perfectly brutal on runs, but she hated them.
“Thirteen. Last seen in the South.”

“
What extras are they
offering?” Angelica asked for me, letting me eat.

“
Rations, weapons, a bonus
for being fast… oh, wow.”

Again, that drew me, hearing such a fiery
emotion as surprise from my changed and done parent.

“
If no one else dies,
they’ll throw in a breeding pass. The same if he’s brought in
dead.”

Damn. Dead or alive had finally been called.
What else had Baker done while I was away?

“
Just for a male child
right? A female would have to be aborted.”

“
No. Even for twin
girls.”

My heart skipped. I could have a family! But
I wouldn’t get the pass, I realized. It would come in my Mother’s
name, and she would have need of it when Daniel and I moved into
our own home. She would want to refill these rooms with life. For
her then - a small payment for the damage I’d done… and maybe a
chance to tell Baker goodbye.

“
I’m in.” I dug back into
my vegetables and slowly became aware of the horrified eyes on
me.
Daniel
.

His face was pale, eyes almost full of
panic. “You’re leaving?”

I nodded, hoping he wanted to come because I
wasn’t sure I could stand to leave him here. Surprising everyone at
the table, I opened my mouth. “You’d go too?”

“
Yes.”

I raised a brow at my Father. “You’ll see to
it while we get things ready?”

“
Of course.” No hint of how
much he was looking forward to easing the other man’s fear, but I
knew. We all did.

Angelica’s parents, along with my other
cousin and her parents, had been away for a while tracking down a
fugitive for a high-bidder from Nevada, and my Father had missed
their company. With Daniel around, my Father’s needs would be met
too, and I could tell I had pleased my Mother with the choice.
Daniel however, looked scared, and I distracted him with anger.

“
Has the fine come
yet?”

“
Yes. Paid.”

I nodded, thinking it was probably a
surprise to Daniel to realize that our home was run as a group that
reported to me. My Mother was the head, the legal ruler the Network
preferred to deal with, but she’d been grooming me to take over
since I was born. When I’d Changed, she’d gladly passed the reins.
She didn’t have enough rage left, no edge to rely on and ensure our
survival. She’d found her happiness.

“
And the
meeting?”

“
Contact along the
way.”

She’d known I would want to go after Baker,
and made the arrangements. Especially after the last time, when I’d
captured him only to hole-up for a month of blissful relief. I had
turned him in after that, but I’d also given him the knife as we
parted, so maybe I didn’t really agree with the Network on this
one, either.

“
Do you want to listen to
the clips?”

I glanced at Daniel, seeing he’d gotten the
courage to ask my Father soft questions. I nodded.

She turned it on, and then moved to her seat
as the computer voice floated through the kitchen.

“
Richard Baker, Male.
Responsible for 13 murders of Network employees. Recently, he
escaped by slitting the throats of the transport pilots while being
taken to the Network’s no daylight compound. With Baker, are two
other fugitives. Cowan James and a female named Sammi Moore. Both
have separate rewards. Last seen in Nashville, where Network forces
were ambushed and took heavy losses. The Network prefers that none
of the three be brought back alive, but will still pay for a
capture. Please contact the Network rep for your zone with further
questions or supply requests not already on the Pruett family
lists. On behalf of all the citizens of New Network Lands, thank
you and happy hunting.”

Silence filled the warm room, mostly waiting
for me and Angelica to run through it. We usually hunted non-stop
when we went on a run, and then spent a day resting before setting
an ambush. With Daniel at my side, I’d be distracted. Plus, a 4-man
crew for Baker was light. My eyes narrowed. “We should bring in the
Trackers.”

“
I agree.” Angelica had
been thinking the same thing, and we looked to the only one legally
allowed to make the call.

“
In the
morning.”

I could tell by my Mother’s tone that she
wanted to do it this time, and again, it surprised me. She hated
the snake-women. “We’ll need to add up the total payday so we’ll
know the split,” I instructed.

“
I’ll do it.” My Father
moved gracefully toward the wall screen, and I pushed myself away
from the cluttered table.

The instant I got up,
Daniel began cleaning it. He put things back where he’d seen them
taken from, neatly stacking the dishes for washing. No one spoke,
all of us watching his practiced, involuntary movements. It had
been a long time since we’d had a trained male around. We’d
forgotten how deeply they, too, had been
changed
.

“
Daniel.”

He turned to me at once, face etched with
worry at our stares.

“
Leave it. We have a
cleaner.”

His face flushed, and I felt sympathy for
him but said nothing else, even though I could feel that my parents
wanted me to. Daniel had been broken. It would take time to
repair.

“
Seven even is
1.4.”

That was a good haul. I turned to my Father.
“See what you can do with him while Angel and I sort the gear.
We’ll head out early.”

Angelica fell in on my heels, and I could
feel the waves of fury radiating from her at the use of the name. I
waited until we were almost to the door before spinning around.
“Now pull it back!”

It was a command from a level two
Changeling, harsh and penetrating. Her red eyes flashed, going
pink, and her fists clenched in effort. A snarl, tighter fists, and
then only flat black looked back at me.

Without a word, I headed for the door, and
she followed. Only a year into the Change… her control was
remarkable. Even I hadn’t been able to master it so fast.

“
Thanks.”

Angelica hadn’t wanted to attack me, and I
slung my arm back around her shoulders. “I do know what it feels
like to be called by the old name. It hurts.”

“
Yeah.”

As we left the room, Daniel’s eyes burned
into my back, and I didn’t have to see the worry in them to know it
was there. Fear of being sold or left behind, worry about not being
able to keep up with us, but more, worry over my safety against a
hardened killer. He may have seen a few matches, but he hadn’t
really seen what I could do. Neither had the Network. Just because
Daniel couldn’t give me a clue to the Ring, didn’t mean I would
give up. Someone had taken what was mine, violated it, and hurt it.
Someone would pay the price and maybe… just maybe, it would go
higher up than them.

I’d had a fresh look for the last week,
views of abuse, cruelty, and humiliation that I could find little
reason for. Shouldn’t something endangered be handled carefully and
encouraged to repopulate? Was there any excuse for the brutality
Daniel and the others had been subjected to? These thoughts had
kept me company on the train and left me with a single realization…
Something needed to be done.

My mind shuddered, unhappily accepting the
shift in plans for the future. I’d hoped to retire next year with
my mate. Instead, at the end of this run, I might find myself
tracking through Gatlinburg or even the Borderlands with my ears to
the ground. There had always been rebellions against New Network
control, pockets of resistance lurking. Another mental shudder.
Perhaps I would be of assistance to them.

“
What are you
thinking?”

With anyone else, I would have lied. With
Angelica, there was no need. “About taking them down.”

She knew exactly who I meant. “I’m in.”

Her eager tone sent the heat rushing into my
veins and I grinned at her. Never mess with the Pruetts. When you
challenged one, you got us all. “We’ll think on it during the run
and maybe come up with some plans.”

Chapter Eleven

C

“
All done?” Mary asked
quietly from the doorway of the largest shed.

Angelica nodded, tightening down the storage
cap next to the Mopars. “Locked and loaded.”

My Mother’s face was already younger, and my
thoughtful mood eased into something that resembled peace. Danger
was one of the few things that could still draw a spark of who she
had been. Baker alone was a challenge. With two other killers and
my mate along for the ride, it should be stressful, and my Mother
was already mentally preparing for it.

“
He can shoot and load… and
he asked to join us.”

I let out a growl that quickly faded. Daniel
had to be near me. If he could be helpful, all the better. “Sign
him up.”

As my Mother disappeared from the doorway of
the shed, Angelica’s voice was curiously low. “What odds would you
give me in the Games?”

It wasn’t as if I hadn’t been expecting the
question. I gave her a full blast of my Changeling grin and watched
her nostrils flare at the direct challenge before she pulled it
back in.

“
Better than mine
were.”

Her pale face held only pride, and I nodded.
“We’ll start working on it at your word.”

She spun from the shed before her mouth
could betray how bad the agony was becoming, knowing she could take
a little more. Being in the house with two males would be more than
many Changelings could stand. The sound of their voices alone was
torture, one of the reasons my Father spoke so softly. I held
little doubt he would teach Daniel to do the same.

Finished with a tune-up of our vehicles, the
sound of steady firing drew me, pulled me against my will. I didn’t
want my being there to frighten Daniel, but the steady bangs told
me he was doing well enough that it may not matter now. My Father
would never allow him to waste so many rounds. The Network was
generous, but not endless, and we had our own stocks to fill. He
was hitting what he aimed at, and I stepped around the shed to
watch.

Daniel instantly seemed too
young, too vulnerable to have a gun in his hand, but there was no
denying the fit was nice. It gave him another level of attraction
that was hard to resist. His cloak was pushed back to allow access
to the holster he’d been given, and the thick muscles of his arms
and back flexed against the material of his shirt with each gentle
pull of the trigger. Daniel with one of my guns…
heat.

D

I felt her watching me, but tried to keep my
attention on the targets. Her father, Bruce, was nice,
understanding. He’d already given me three pieces of very valuable
advice.

“
That’s enough.”

Her voice was laced with that edge of hunger
again, the one I was coming to think of as the control line, and I
handed the gun to the observant man at my side. “Thank you.”

“
Sure. We’ll do another
lesson after breakfast.”

I nodded, drawing my cloak
closed. I felt the heat in her gaze ease a bit and understood she’d
been leering at me.
Good
. That was one of the three
things I’d been advised about, though I wasn’t sure how much of
flashing her my body I was comfortable with. Her Father seemed to
think that once we bonded fully, Candice would burn down and be
safe, like her Mother. I wasn’t sure I wanted that
either…

“
I’ll be
inside.”

Her Father left us alone, and I stayed
facing away, thinking about all she’d done for me. Had she known he
would answer my questions? Every word had brought me closer to full
memory.

“
Daniel.”

Of course she’d known, and the tremor of
worry had me turning to comfort her.

“
I’m not mad that you
couldn’t stop my being sold,” I guessed, accurately from her
flinch. “How could I be? You came for me.”

Her face slowly melted into the girl I’d
been seeing flashes of for as long as I could remember.

“
I’m sorry it took me so
long.”