Karen Whiddon - Finding The Texas Wolf

Though Rick’s stomach twisted hearing this, he pretended not to care.

Carmen, however, apparently had heard enough. “I’m right here,” she said, her voice clear and hard. “I can hear you, you know.”

While Tommy and Holt fidgeted, each appearing embarrassed, Gus simply continued to stare. The hair on the back of Rick’s neck lifted. Something was off with that one. He bore watching, in case he turned out to be especially dangerous.

Landers laughed. “True. I’m sorry, sweetheart. I’ll try to do better.”

“I’m not your sweetheart.” Yanking her hand free from Rick’s, Carmen pushed to her feet, eyeing them with clear disdain. “I’ve changed my mind about helping. I don’t see anything here that makes me think you could actually pull off engineering something as complicated as a new virus.”

Damn. What the hell was she doing? Did she really think these people were going to just let them go? Not likely, especially since they’d now seen their hideout.

“And,” she continued, “even if this Sheldon person is some kind of biology genius, I fail to see how you could use something like this to your benefit. Thanks, but no thanks.”

Though he had to tamp down his alarm, Rick stood, too. He hoped Carmen knew what she was doing. “Well, the boss has spoken,” he drawled, while keeping his eye on the others to gauge their reactions. “I guess this means we’re out.”

“Not so fast.” Landers placed himself squarely between them and the door. “It’s too late. You can’t quit now. You know where we are and you’ve seen all of our faces.”

Rick decided he’d take a chance. “Maybe so, but none of that matters. We haven’t laid eyes on your boss, so I’m thinking we’re good to go. If you’d just pay me for the explosion, we can call it even.”

Landers narrowed his eyes. “What do you mean, you haven’t seen the boss? You’ve been dealing with me all along.”

Unsure whether to laugh or take the other man seriously, Rick realized it would be prudent to play it safe. “You’re in charge here?”

Immediately, Landers nodded.

“No, he’s not,” Carmen put in, her voice cool. “It’s the quiet one, Gus. He’s the leader here.”

Landers froze. Judging by the panicked look he shot Gus, Carmen was right. Good instincts.

“Grab her,” Gus ordered, his tone bored though his expression seemed furious. “Put her in my bedroom. It’s time she and I had a private, one-on-one chat.”

Rick stiffened, ready for whatever might happen next. To his relief, Carmen allowed Landers and Tommy to manhandle her, leading her from the room. The glint in her eyes told Rick she was actually enjoying this.

Rick started after her, but Holt, moving surprisingly fast for such a large man, blocked his way. “You wait with me. The boss will let us know when he’s finished.”

* * *

There was nothing Carmen loved better than taking down a power-hungry idiot who thought he could dominate her. While she knew she had to be careful so she didn’t blow this important mission, there was no way in Hades she’d let this Gus person push her around.

His two henchmen shoved her into a large bedroom, dominated by an ornate four-poster bed. She pretended to stumble, but pivoted on her feet, ready to face the leader of the Sons of Darkness. As if. If only they had an idea of what a real son of darkness could be. Silly humans. They had no clue, nor would they ever.

Gus strode into the room and gestured at the other men to leave. Once the door closed behind him, he crossed his arms, his flat gaze hard. “Why are you here?” he demanded.

Since this line of questioning was not at all what she’d expected, she took a moment to choose her reply. “For money,” she said. “As I’m sure you’re aware, I was let go from my job.”

He continued to glare at her, as if by the force of his gaze he thought he could compel her to be truthful. Such a stunt might work on humans, but since she was a Vampire, she had to suppress the urge to laugh in his face.

“That’s what I’ve been told, but I don’t believe it.” There was the slightest hint of a challenge in his even tone. “I’ve looked up your credentials,” he continued. “You’re one of the top three leading biologists in the United States.”

In the world , she thought, but didn’t say it. “I didn’t believe it, either,” she said, her voice sullen. “They accused me of stealing narcotics.” Spur of the moment, but she thought it sounded realistic. “Among other things,” she added, just in case. “None of it is true. I’m a damn good biologist.” After all, she’d had centuries to hone her skills.

Looking her up and down, he grimaced. His flat eyes reminded her of some really ancient Vampires she’d met once. But this one was only human; she could smell the coppery scent of his blood and hear the steady thump of his heart.

As the silence stretched on, he continued to stare at her, no doubt trying to make her uncomfortable, but she refused to allow this. Instead, she stared right back and waited.

“Do you know what we’re developing here?” he asked.

This time she didn’t have to feign her interest. “Yes. A new virus. I admit, I find that fascinating. I’d love to be part of research like that.”

“It’s not research,” he corrected her. “We plan to use it if we have to. Unless we receive what we want from the US Government.”

Now they were on tricky ground. Rick hadn’t told her how much of this she was supposed to know. “What do you want?” she asked, even though she already knew the answer.

“War with West Latvia,” he immediately said. “I want that country’s trade wiped off the map.”

“But why?” And this truly was the part she didn’t understand. “What are your reasons?”

“Russia.” He spoke the name as if saying it should be enough. Still, she waited, not sure what he meant.

He sighed at her lack of reaction. “Russia trades heavily with them. It’s a way to buy myself power.”

“But why would you want power with Russia?”

This time, he laughed. “How about you just stick to biology? I don’t have time to explain the intricate nature of politics to you.”

His condescending tone had her clenching her teeth. But she kept her annoyance in check, aware the stakes were far too high for her to blow it on something so trivial.

“Money can buy power,” she finally said. “I’m guessing you’re aware of how much something like this would fetch on the international market?”

“We’re exploring all options.” He waved his hand in dismissal. “I can see how someone like you might be valuable to my organization. Your husband, though—I’m not sure I need him.”

Alarm prickled along her spine, though she took care to show no reaction. Straightening, she tilted her head and eyed him the way one would look at a particularly noxious rodent. “My husband and I are a team. You can’t have me without him.”

He laughed. “You’re not running things here, sweetheart.”

This human was damn lucky she’d had centuries to learn how to control her anger. Even so, she felt that familiar flash of rage and wanted to crush him. Which she easily could, right here and right now, without blinking an eye.

“Again, I’m not your sweetheart,” she drawled. “It’s me and Rick or neither of us. Now, do we have a deal or not?” Bracing herself for Gus’s reaction to her declaration, she knew she had to come up with a quick plan in case he decided to simply kill them. He had no idea he couldn’t—the only thing that would end Rick was a silver bullet or fire. As for her, a stake through the heart. Beyond that, they were invincible. They could be hurt, true. But Rick’s kind had supernaturally fast healing powers. She couldn’t bleed if she hadn’t been fed enough blood.