Tracker: A Rylee Adamson Novel (15 page)

I squinted against the bright, hot sunlight pouring in around us. If Al’s drink ran out on us, we were so screwed.

Killing someone with premeditation was not really his forte, and while he knew Ingers had to die, planning it was not easy. So he avoided it.

He stood with Milly and Pamela, watching Eve and Frank take off to bring the Harpies to their side. Good thing Rylee had a harness made for the Harpy, or he wasn’t sure they would have gotten Frank onto her back.

But to be fair, Liam could hardly keep his mind on the task at hand. Morning had come and gone, and Rylee hadn’t come back. Ingers would have to wait.

“If the task was so easy, why isn’t she back yet?” Pamela moved to his side and he glanced down at her.

“Where did she go, Pamela?”

She let out a sigh and seemed to struggle for a moment before spilling the beans. “She went to see Doran. That’s it.”

Liam frowned at this revelation, and not because he didn’t like the Daywalker. Pamela was right; Rylee should have been fine. Faris wasn’t due to show up for at least another five days.

His heart clenched, and a heavy premonition settled over his whole body. “Faris came early for her.”

Milly spun to face him, her feet slipping in the snow. Out of instinct, he reached out and grabbed her, stopped her from hitting the ground.

She pulled out of his hands, her eyes more than a little disbelieving. “How do you know that?”

He wiped his hand on his pants and headed toward the house. “Doran would have been a pain in the ass, but there was no reason for her not to come back. The only thing that makes sense is Faris. He’s a liar, we know that.”

Which meant Liam had to hold to his word, and let Rylee do her job. And he had to do his. In the doorway of the farmhouse, he paused, struggling with his wolf and the desire to run after his mate, to keep her safe until his very last breath. A hand settled on his shoulder.

“Liam, she’s strong enough to survive this.” Milly’s scent and voice wrapped around him and his reaction was as instinctive as the one to catch her from falling.

His hand snapped out and wrapped around her tiny throat, the growl in his chest rumbling outward. “Do not touch me, witch.”

He dropped her before he could do any real harm, but it took more than an effort to do.

On his way to the house, he saw her slump to the ground, her hands going to her throat, but she said nothing.

Smart witch.

He strode through the house and into Rylee’s room, slamming the door behind him. Her scent filled his nose and the anger in him soothed away slowly with each breath.

One way to make sure she stayed safe was to get these guns off the market. To make sure no one could take her out from a distance. That much he could do.

A timid knock on the door turned him around. Pamela, he smelled her.

“Liam, are you okay?”

He sat on the edge of the { edher handsbed and put his hands in his lap. “Come in, Pam.”

She opened the door, her movements uncertain and her eyes full of fear. “Is your wolf going to attack me?”

“No. You aren’t Milly.”

Pamela let out a quick breath and then got right down to it. “I think we should just hit the FBI office, and take all the information they have. Then we go after the coven.”

He couldn’t help the way his eyebrows shot upward. “You’ve thought this all through?”

She stepped in the room and began to pace. “Well, that seems like the best place to start; humans are easier to take out than a whole coven of witches. And you and Rylee pointed out they already have some technology to block us. They use it on their planes.”

Her ability to break it down to such simple terms both impressed and worried him. She spoke about killing as if it were easy.

“Pamela. You aren’t going to kill anyone. That is a last resort, do you understand?”

She frowned at him. “I can handle it.”

There was no way he was going to beat around the bush. “No, you can’t.” Her jaw dropped open and he knew he’d offended her. “You are too young.”

“I’ve killed before.”

“Zombies don’t count. Killing a person for no reason other than you need what they have, isn’t acceptable. Ever.” He stood and walked to her, and put both hands on her shoulders. “Ever. You kill to protect those you love, and those who cannot protect themselves.”

“Yet, that is what we’re going to do.” Defiance radiated through her and into him, and when she would pull away, he tightened his grip.

“No. That’s what
I’m
going to do. This will be on my shoulders, not yours. Whatever death comes, I will deal out. Understood?”

She again tried to pull away but he held her tight. Sure, she could have used her magic, forcing him to let go. But this wasn’t about magic. This was about who was in charge.

Slowly, with great reluctance, she nodded. “Fine.”

“Good.” He pulled her in tight for a quick hug, surprising them both. Despite her abilities, she was still a child. Her arms circled him for a brief second before she stepped back.

“So do you have a plan, then?”

“Your plan is good, Pamela.” He watched with amusement as his praise made her eyes light up. “I think it would be smart to hit the FBI first. I don’t think they’ll be expecting it.”

They headed to the kitchen where Milly was nursing a hot drink. Her eyes flicked up to him then back to her cup. “Would you rather I stay here?”

Her question surprised the shit out of him. “You’re offering to stay behind?”

“I don’t want to get strangled again for trying to give someone comfort.” Her words were sharp, but they didn’t work, not on him.

“You’re lucky I didn’t snap your neck. See how far we’ve come?” He strode past her and aimed toward to cellar. The last stash of Rylee’s weapons was there and he needed something from it if they were going to do this.

In the cellar, the light bulb flickered above his head, swaying left and right.

Only a few weapons left, but he knew which one he wanted. Rylee’s back up crossbow was smaller than her main one, and wouldn’t take as much strength to pull back the dr {l b waaw.

He grabbed it along with a handful of bolts and then climbed back up the stairs. Once more in the kitchen, he put the crossbow and bolts on the table in front of Milly.

“If you’re coming with us, you’d better be useful.”

She swallowed hard and nodded. “Just like throwing a spell.”

With a snort, he walked away. “How the hell would I know? Just make sure you don’t shoot Pamela.”

The FBI offices were dark. Weird for this time of day, and it made the back of his neck crawl. Or maybe that was the fact Milly crouched behind him with a loaded crossbow.

Yeah, that seemed a likely culprit.

“Pamela, can you blow the transformer?”

She nodded and lifted her hand, a delicate tendril of magic curling out and around the box at the top of the power pole. A muted pop, a flash of light and the rest of the buildings on the street went dark.

In the light of day, it was not easy to sneak in. So they went in bold as could be. He took the lead, the guns he’d snatched from the warehouse snug in their holsters, a comfort he’d missed.

Milly held the crossbow easily. Apparently, Giselle and Rylee had given the witch rudimentary lessons in weapons.

Pamela was only a half step behind them both. Though she’d argued the whole way over, even Milly agreed. The kid went in behind them. End of story.

With the power gone, the front door had locked. Now Liam did motion for Pamela.

“Keep it soft, Pam.”

She put a hand to the door and the lock let out a groan, the door swinging inward. Damn, her lessons with Milly were paying off in dividends. The entrance was dark and they slipped in, closing the door behind them.

He held up his hand, fingers spread, voice pitched low. “Five minutes. You two take the front desk; I’ll take Ingers’s office. Ears and eyes peeled.”

The two witches nodded and headed around the side of the front desk. Liam jogged through the building to the back where Ingers’s office was. Her door was ajar and the slightest flicker of movement froze his feet. He dropped to a crouch and inched forward, hands curling around the butts of his two guns.

The figure seemed to be searching through Ingers’s office, flipping papers and pushing things around. Liam lifted his nose and took in a deep breath.

Fucking Trolls, they were like rats; they seemed to be everywhere. Staying in the crouch, he slid forward and pushed the door open a fraction more.

In the dim light, his eyes picked up details he wasn’t sure he wanted to. The Troll was hurt, and it was the first female Troll he’d seen. She was crying softly, her hands searching through the paper on Ingers’s desk. “You bitch, you fucking bitch. I’ll kill you.”

She wasn’t as heavily built as the male trolls, her body more human in proportions, her skin tone softer and … delicate even. It was hard to put her in the same category as the males he’d seen. He frowned and knew he had to do something; he couldn’t crouch there forever.

Standing, he held up his hands. “I’d like to kill her myself, if I could find her.”

The Troll scrambled backward, luminous grey eyes widening, her hands fisting up. “Get away, get away!”

He knew panic when he saw it. “You want to kill Ingers?”

She trembled, but did {ble align="jn’t back down. “Is that the baby killer’s name?”

He let out a slow breath as understanding dawned. “She’s been testing her weapons on your children?”

A sob caught in her throat as she bobbed her head. “Half-breeds are not worth any less. Yet, our families turned us over to her.” Her eyes lifted to his and he let out another slow breath. There, under the scent of Troll, was the other half of her.

Human.

Shit, this was unexpected. He couldn’t help but pity her and her plight. He moved deeper into the office. No matter how bad he felt for this … woman, he had to find out the meeting time. And where Ingers might be hiding.

“My name is Tara.”

“Liam.” He didn’t lift his eyes from the desk and she moved out of his way. She didn’t ask what he was.

“Can I help?”

He pointed beside her at the tall grey metal cabinet. “Check the files, quickly. Won’t be long before the fighting starts.”

Tara did as he asked and dove into the cabinet. He searched Ingers’s desk, ripping open the locked drawers with ease.

There it was, a green file folder labeled “Army.” He grabbed it and spread it on the desk, his blood running cold.

Ingers had more than the Coven working for her.

There in black and white was the date and place of the meeting, set up for the winter equinox. “Fuck.” His brain couldn’t form what he was seeing, what was coming for them.

Tara spun. “What is it? Did you find her?”

“Yes and no. We have to get the fuck out of here. Now.”

They ran out of the office as the first round of bullets shattered through the building. “Everyone down!” he roared, ignoring his own advice and continuing to run forward.

Tara hit the deck only a few feet from the front entrance, right next to Pamela and Milly.

Liam knew he was the only one who couldn’t really be hurt. Through the front doors he ran, guns out, though his wolf fought with him to be unleashed, a snarl of bloodlust curling through him.

Three cars, three agents.

Running full tilt toward them, he took the three of them in quick succession with shots to the head before they knew what hit them. They dropped, surprise etched on their faces for eternity. They had no idea what they were up against, but they weren’t the ones he worried about. No, the humans were the least of his worries, if the file was right.

“Pamela,” he called, and the young witch came bolting along behind him, Milly and Tara following. He moved to the first black sedan, an idea forming. One of the dead agents was a woman. He frisked her and found her cell phone.

With a flip of his wrist he tossed it to Milly. “See if Ingers is in there. Call her and tell her it’s taken care of.”

Milly lowered the crossbow and flicked the phone open.

He looked around, saw people peeking out of the building windows.

“Time to move, ladies.”

He hoped he was right about the sedans. Sliding into the driver’s seat of the one closest to him, he turned the key. The engine rolled over without a single hiccup.

“Finally.”

The three “ladies” (he wasn’t sure a Troll could be a lady) slid into the car, eyeing one another, making introductions warily.

As he pulled away from the building, the phone in Milly’s hand rang. She flicked it open. “Yes. Yes, Agent, we’ve cleared the building. Excellent, we’ll meet you there.” She hung up, a wide grin on her face.

“Got her.”

Even though it was Milly, Liam grinned back. “Time to wipe out the bad guys.”

Tara’s face was grim. “I want first shot at her, she killed my babies.”

Milly and Pamela turned to stare at the half Troll, both with tears in their eyes. Liam nodded. “As soon as I have my questions answered, she
’s all yours.”

“Thank you. I couldn’t do this on my own.” She burrowed deep into the seat, her baby pink skin standing out against the black leather seats. Pamela, being Pamela, slung an arm around her.