Blood Brother Cursed (Sexton Blood Brothers #2)

Chapter 5

A Rash Decision

Not sure if Elliott was following her, Astrid refused to come up for air. She didn’t have gills, but she was able to use the water to pull air toward her. It wasn’t exactly comfortable, but it was better than having to face someone while she was trying to process what she just learned.

The farther she went, the more questions Astrid had about what Phoenix knew about her brother. How much had he known about her that first time when he approached her? Was he trying to use her to learn more for his company? Did he feel guilty about what happened to her and her brother?

It was only when she reached home that Astrid realized she had left all of her stuff in Phoenix’s car. She stood on the stoop, staring at her door, trying to figure out what to do. One of those computers had a lot of sensitive information on it.

He had to know that when he left without me, he still had my stuff. Was that a part of his plan? Get me to leave my stuff in his car, then leave me with Elliott so that he could see what I know? If not, why did he leave like he did? More importantly, how am I –

She stepped up onto the porch while she thought about what she should do. Some movement beside her side caught her attention. She hadn’t yet set up the furniture. Yet, there it was. The table and chairs neatly arranged, and a few rocking chairs with a table between them. Hidden on one of the chairs pushed under the table was her bag.

Well… shit. He knows where I live.

She pinched the bridge of her nose.

I don’t know how I’m supposed to feel about that.

Her immediate thoughts were again to attribute ulterior motives to him returning her stuff. But even though he wasn’t exactly the most open person, Astrid couldn’t point to anything Phoenix had done that would indicate that he was doing anything to benefit himself. He had been in the area for longer, had more time to research things, and probably had a lot more resources. Astrid couldn’t imagine one thing that he needed her for.

A lifetime of mistrust because of some horrible experiences as a child. Maybe I should stop acting like he’s trying to use me in some way and just accept that there are some people out there who just care.

She exhaled loudly. “That’s going to be a tall order.”

Pulling out her phone, she messaged him.

Thank you for returning my stuff. And thank you for your help. Let me know what you need from me, and I’ll see what I can do.

PS: Please apologize to Elliott for me.

After shoving the phone back into her pocket, Astrid picked up her bags and went inside. She headed back to her office and set up the devices to start trying to piece together what she had found with some of the information that her brother had left for her.

Hours passed as she got lost in her research. Sometime after midnight, Astrid felt a little stiff. Sitting up, she pushed her shoulders back, enjoying the stretch in her spine. She let out a little groan, then decided to stand up.

Even though she had only just started her research, the cat shifter felt certain that there were many pieces of the puzzle on the base. She had always known that was the case, but with some of the information she had found, Astrid felt she was starting to get an idea of what kind of information she needed.

Once on her feet, she started to pace. Pacing turned into going outside for air. And being outside in the stillness of night, her attention was drawn in the direction of the base.

It’s a Sunday night. I’ll bet that there aren’t that many people on base, and given the time, they are probably not particularly alert. If I can just sneak on the base and find a few files on my brother, I’ll probably be able to make a lot more progress.

Even as she was convincing herself to go, Astrid knew that running off to the base was a bad idea. There was a lot of reconnaissance that needed to be done, and she had a decent plan for how to start infiltrating the place. However, it had been two decades, and now she was so close to learning more.

First, she locked the house, telling herself that she was just going for a walk. Soon, she was jogging down the road. When she reached the woods, Astrid shifted and bolted in the direction of the base. It was several miles away, but in her heightened emotional state, she didn’t notice as she kept a comfortable pace.

Eventually, she encountered some wire with some warning signs. Knowing it was better to stay in her current form, Astrid began looking at the trees. There were plenty of them on her side of the fence, but the other side seemed to be largely tree-free. She started trotting down the fence looking for ways onto the base. It could be through the trees or a hole under the fence – either one was fine by her. Although she definitely preferred to go over the fence than under it.

Eventually, she found a place with some sickly looking trees on the opposite side. Climbing up the tree closest to thin trees, Astrid wiggled her speckled body as she prepared to launch herself across the open air. Her muscles bunched, and she focused on the closest tree.

Finally, she darted forward, her paws shaking the branch, then jumped gracefully into the air.

She hit the tree hard, and the poor, spindly thing simply couldn’t take it. As the tree toppled, Astrid dugs her nails into the bark, bracing for the impact with the ground. She then jumped seconds before it hit. With her adrenaline pumping, the young shifter raced off onto the base with no idea where anything was.

That’s when she started to regret her rash decision. She had no idea where to go, let alone where the important buildings were. The only benefit she had was in the fact that she wasn’t obviously a threat—at least not to the information. If a person were to encounter her, they might shoot. Ocelots weren’t particularly big, but they were clearly larger than a house cat.

She listened for people and headed toward the place where the voices were coming from. She had no idea how long she was on the grounds when she noticed the barracks. Her shoulders relaxed a little. She had studied the layout a bit when she was younger, so she figured that she at least had an idea of where to go now that she had a point of reference.

The grey light of dawn was starting to turn the world around her a very dull color when she finally reached a place that she thought might have some relevant information. Astrid looked toward the fencing, debating if she should just go home. It was nearly 6 a.m., and she could hear the sounds of people starting to wake and get moving on their day.

You are so close. If you can just verify that it’s the right place, you can head home and come back in a few days.

Shifting into her human form, Astrid moved around the side of a long admin building. When she reached the door, she realized that there was a lot more planning required before she could find anything. The door had controls on it, and without a badge, she wouldn’t be able to enter.

“What are you doing here?” a voice suddenly said.