Page 62 of The Firebrand
“The Ministry of Fuck-all Incompetence drags its feet. I still haven’t heard from Director Boden about the jumper you took off the Kalli. Logan’s faster.”
Rein agreed, moving on to the reason for his visit. “Bring everyone who’s onsite in for a chit-chat. Leave Sabine out of it. She’s working with Braelyn.”
“Did you hear that, Bounty? Get all Firebrands in the building up here,” Kole yelled from his office.
“What?”
“You heard me. Besides, you always eavesdrop on my biz. Just do it.” He turned his attention back to Rein. “Okay, while we hang, what’s up?”
“Here’s the dope on the Earther. Turns out Braelyn’s daddy is an Alliance board member. He runs a paranormal tabloid calledStrange but True. The guy was in Alarik’s office this morning, laying out the shit. The reason I couldn’t wipe her memory might be that her great grandpappy times a hundred was a mage. He would have stayed behind after the Schism. Her father’s side of the family. Mom’s dead.”
Kole’s brows knitted together, his hand doing a trip across his close-cropped hair. “Fanfuckingtastic. We’ve got an Earther on Scath who’s the daughter of some muckety-muck human. You kidnapped her, brought her here, and let four assholes attack her. Any more good news?”
“I know I fucked up. It is what it is. I’ll deal with the fallout. There’s more. Jax wasn’t trying to kill her. In the worse-news department, she recognized him. Unfortunately, the puzzle doesn’t stop there.”
Just then, Chay, Ram, and Dax powered into the office. Despite the over-sized room, it shrank with five large males inside. Brak, thuggish like a hitman with a bent nose, was on their heels. Tyr, following behind the demon, high-fived Chay and Ram but shrugged when Dax skulked back, shooting a do-not-approach glare.
Dax’s dark hair fell to his waist. Rein got a good look at the vampire’s eyes before he brushed his tangled locks forward to obscure them. They were black shot with white and red streaks. A sinister goatee dusted his chin. Beneath his unbuttoned shirt, a cord hung around his neck, strung with trophy fangs from his kills. He made Rein feel like an upstanding citizen with no baggage.
A moment later, Galena hustled in with Jezzi. While the panther shifter leaned against the wall in her usual leathers, the Amazon parked herself in a chair next to Rein. Tall, at six feet, most of it leg, she had changed from her sparring clothes into ultra-skinny low-slung jeans with a bustier. She propped her combat-booted feet up on Kole’s desk.
“How’s your arm, Amazon? If I had struck a little to the left, I would have deflated your lovely tit.” Tyr elbowed Brak, who chortled.
“It’s great, warlock. How’s your gut? I was aiming for your dick. Since it’s too small, I missed.”
The commander held up a hand to stop the banter. “We’ve got more to worry about than tits or cocks. Listen up. First, we’ve got Malok who used a portal jumper to cross over to Earth. Come to find out, the Kalli pilfered the device from Melia, the Oread. She gets herself killed by a vampire and an Eater. The question is, why?” Kole rested his chin on his fist.
“The jumper? Or maybe not,” offered Chay as he shifted from foot to foot, the usual energy popping through him.
Brak shrugged. “Why would anyone care if Melia fessed to the jumper being hers?”
“Because something else is going on,” said Rein.
“Yeah? You’re saying whoever’s-doing-whatever kills Melia to keep her from talking to us?” Chay crossed his arms over his chest, covered only by his usual open leather vest.
Kole nodded. “Okay. We’ve got the jumper thing working. This asshole,” the commander pointed at Rein, “gives Malok time to use the thing and pop to Earth. Before boy genius brings him back, a human female sees them in the alley. Our ace scrubber can’t erase her memory. So, he has the bright idea to bring her here.”
The Firebrands looked at Rein. He rolled his shoulders as if he wasn’t in a shitload of trouble.
“I’m not done. The stupid just keeps coming. Four males just attacked Rein and the Earther when they left Alarik’s office.”
“Who?” asked Ram, his translucent eyes flashing angry green.
“The incubus Jaxon, a warlock, and two Eaters,” Rein said. “Here’s the part that mixes everything together like a shit stew. Sorry, Kole, I didn’t have time to tell you this yet. One attacker was the same demon who killed Melia. I recognized his scent from the Oread’s place.”
Rein could see gears turning in everyone’s head. But he had more info to drop on hisfrerons. “Another strange connection. Jax stalked Braelyn on Earth. She saw him in a Seattle coffee shop a couple days ago. Then she flashed on him at the Shed. Seeing him once might have been a coincidence. Twice, no.”
“So, it’s all connected?” asked Chay.
“Gotta be,” said Rein.
Ram scooped fingers through his hair. “If the incubus was trailing Braelyn, we have to assume the attackers wanted to kill her and not you.”
Rein cleared his throat. “Nope. Jax wasn’t trying to off her. He must have planned a snatch-and-run.”
“How did Jax know you two would be on the street?” asked Galena.
Rein shook his head. “Dunno. The warlock could have been a scryer.” He turned to Kole. “Are we traceable through our chips?”
