Page 15

She sat down across from him before she responded.

“The nanobots are programmed for feline hybrids. They won’t work in raptors or wolves.

And not all the wolves are evil. According to Lexie, half of the packs have refused to participate in any of the raids.

Zion suspects that one of the packs will challenge Elias for control of the village. ”

“So he gets away with all the lives he’s taken. He tied Akari to a table and tortured her for six fucking days! Do we just forget about all that?” Too wound up to sit still any longer, Jon shoved back his chair and began to pace the living room. “Elias needs to die, and Babcock needs to die.”

“And you want to be the one who spills their blood.” Isaac’s brow arched and challenge filled his tone. “Why are you so anxious to end them?”

“You know why,” he snapped angrily. He glanced at Tara and sighed. She was clearly confused by his vehemence, but he wasn’t quite ready to explain.

“You were engineered to be an assassin,” she mused, more to herself than to him. “Does the aggression build up if you don’t use your skills?”

He shut his eyes and took a deep breath.

There were serious disadvantages to having such a sharp, perceptive mate.

“Yes,” he admitted tightly. “If I don’t release the aggression I can go into a blind rage.

It’s only happened a few times since coming here, but it’s nothing I want to experience again. ”

A sexy smile curved her lips as she asked, “Is there only one way to release the aggression?”

“I’d be willing to experiment with it once we’re bonded, but it’s too dangerous right now.”

The front door swung open, drawing everyone’s attention. Kyle stepped into the cabin and motioned to someone behind him. “Look who I found on my way home.”

Akari moved into the doorway as Kyle stepped aside. “May I speak with Tara for a moment? I won’t keep her long.” She kept her eyes downcast and made no move to fully enter the cabin.

Tara hurried over to Akari and they went out onto the porch. She was only gone for a few moments and then she returned alone.

“Is there a problem?” Isaac stood up and walked around the table. “Is Akari all right?”

“She just agreed to let you guys scan her memory.” Tara sounded surprised by the announcement. “She told me that she wouldn’t be able to live with herself if they hurt someone else because she refused to help you.”

“We can do it tonight while she’s sleeping,” Isaac reminded. “She will be completely unaware.”

Tara shook her head. “She doesn’t want to know exactly when you do it, but she wants to be awake. The thought of having someone sort through her memories while she’s sound asleep is disturbing. She wants me to contact her once it’s over, but she does not want to know when you’re about to begin.”

Isaac nodded. “We can work with that.”

Tara looked up at him, uncertainty shadowing her eyes. “How does it work? How do you keep her from feeling it when you enter her mind?”

“Jon and Kyle will shield the link while I perform the scan. We’ve done this sort of thing before. Akari will be completely unaware that anything is happening.”

“Okay,” Tara sighed. “I’m going to presume the people you did this to before deserved to be invaded and just move on. I think you should do it right away. She’s going to spend all day wondering if the scan has started. It will be a big relief when I can tell her it’s all over.”

“I agree,” Isaac assured her with a smile. “Give us a minute to prepare mentally.”

“Do you know Akari’s current location?” Jon asked as Isaac closed his eyes and slipped into a light trance. “Was she heading back to the cabin she shares with her mates?”

With another shake of her head, Tara explained, “One of her mates is the head baker. Zion wants fresh bread and finger cakes for the gathering tonight, so Akari is helping her mate fill the order.”

“Perfect. Busy work is the best distraction.” Jon walked over to Tara and gave her a kiss. “I’m not sure how you convinced Akari to cooperate, but thank you.”

“There was no convincing involved,” she insisted. “I just offered the information and let her choose.”

Jon nodded and turned to Isaac. “This is your show, brother. How should we proceed?”

Isaac motioned toward the center of the room. “Usual configuration. As soon as you and Jon create a densely shielded opening, I’ll get in and out as fast as possible.”

“Understood,” Jon responded.

They moved to the middle of the room and stood back to back.

Tara kept a good distance between them, clearly trying not to distract them.

Jon wanted to laugh. She could leave the planet and he would still be distracted by her.

Each time he closed his eyes, his nose filled with her scent, and her taste rolled across his tongue.

He could feel her pressed against him and wrapped around him.

And he hoped it would be like that for the rest of his life.

“Ready?” Isaac prompted sharply.

Jon gave himself a firm mental shake. They hadn’t even begun to create the opening.

He glanced at Kyle, who smiled knowingly and then closed his eyes.

They shifted their focus inward and channeled energy into their psychic abilities.

Jon immediately took the lead. It was impossible for him to behave any other way.

His basic personality had been assertive before his transformation.

He was intensely dominant now. Kyle considered himself a leader also, but unlike Jon and Isaac, he was able to play a supporting role when necessary.

Easily locating Akari, Jon sank into her mind a millimeter at a time.

Jon constructed a basic shield first. Not only did they need to prevent her from sensing what they were doing, they also needed others with paranormal abilities to remain unaware of the invasion.

Once the perimeter shield was in place, Jon carefully created a small opening for Isaac.

Kyle protected the opening with additional shielding, creating a barrier so dense that no one would sense what was going on inside.

The procedure was familiar. Each Shadow had been created with a specific purpose in mind.

Kyle was a psychic scout, Jon was an assassin, and Isaac was an interrogator.

For the last three years of their captivity, Nuevo had leased them out to various governments and military forces.

They were controlled with powerful drugs and explosive implants that ensured they remain within a designated area.

Having freedom over their skills made life tolerable.

However, this sort of task always dredged up unwanted memories.

Kyle signaled to Isaac that the pathway was ready, and Isaac slipped into Akari’s mind.

Moving stealthily, Isaac rapidly located the memories of her attackers.

The first two images were vivid. The villains were easily identified, but the rest was just shadowy impressions.

Akari had been so traumatized by the brutality and the pain of her beatings that her mind shut down, drawing her into a protective haze separate from physical reality.

Kyle was relieved that she remembered a small fraction of what had been done to her, but the reaction compromised their goals.

As soon as Isaac and Jon had withdrawn, Kyle sent a cleansing pulse through the shields, restoring Akari’s mind to the way they had found it.

Isaac blinked repeatedly as he refocused on the present. His expression was thunderous.

“Did it work?” Tara asked, moving closer to where Isaac stood. “Were you able to see her attackers?”

“Yes and no,” Isaac admitted with a sigh. “The first two images were undeniable, but they are also surprisingly unhelpful.”

“What does that mean?” she cried, crossing her arms over her breasts. “If you saw them, that can’t be ‘unhelpful.’”

“I clearly saw Elias and Armando,” Isaac told her.

“Elias is the wolf leader.” She sounded as if she were reminding herself. “Who is Armando?”

“Armando was his second in command,” Jon told her. “He shot one of Diego’s coalition mates, so Diego killed him.”

“And everyone presumed that Elias was one of her attackers all along, so you didn’t learn anything new,” Tara deduced with a sigh. “What the hell am I going to tell Akari?”

“You’ll tell her the truth,” Isaac stressed. “I was able to see some of their faces, while others were distorted. However, we have enough information now to move on with the investigation. As far as she knows, her cooperation was invaluable.”

Tara nodded. “That sounds good. I’ll go talk to her in a little while.” She indulged in one final sigh before asking, “What does this really mean? Is there nothing more we can do?”

“There are all sorts of things we can do,” Jon said bitterly. “The question is what will the council approve us to do.”

Isaac shook his head, looking nearly as frustrated as Jon felt. “Kyle, escort Tara to the bakery. Jon and I are going to drop in on Zion and his advisors.”

Kyle tensed, but all he said was, “Is that wise?”

“Probably not, but we’re going,” Isaac said. “We’ve been patient long enough.”

Thrilled to have Isaac join his side, Jon grinned. “Let’s go cause some trouble.”

Kyle and Tara headed off in one direction while Isaac and Jon went in the other. The afternoon was bright and cool without being cold. That would change rapidly as soon as the sun went down. They walked quickly, more than ready for the conversation.

“Stick to the new information,” Isaac advised. “We’re there because of what we just learned, not because they all need a firm kick in the ass.”

Jon laughed. “I’ll let you do the talking. We both know I’m spoiling for a fight.”

When they reached the lodge, they found the council congregating in front of the massive fireplace drinking ale and discussing repairs that needed to be made on a section of the perimeter wall.

Are you fucking kidding me? Jon flared. We’ve been waiting for days and they’re talking about wall repairs?