Chapter 19
Doralee
Keeping my eyes on and gun pointed at the wild animal tearing out the bad guy’s throat, I’m temporarily stunned when the cougar turns to look at me with ultraviolet eyes.
“Nice kitty,” I whisper, assuming he will chase and pounce if I turn and run.
Walking backwards in slow, even paces, I hit a wall of pudge. One whiff of his cloying aftershave lets me know exactly who it is before his hand wraps around my throat and pulls me back against his chest. “What the fuck? What is it with this state and mountain lions?”
He startles and walks backwards at a quicker pace than I had been moving, using me as a human shield against an impending attack.
Years of training and an unprecedented calm wash over me as I think, I’m tired of being held hostage by these assholes. Lowering my hand with Cricket’s pistol, I rotate and position the muzzle next to my hip and pull the trigger.
Surprise escapes Sethegh’s lips as his fingers relax and he falls backward, dragging me down on top of him.
I roll away and point my weapon, shooting three times—two to the chest and one to the head.
Quickly, I lead with the muzzle of my gun, scanning the hallway and bringing my eyes back to the animal who has yet to move from his spot on the ground.
Behind him, Vantz pokes his head around a container and then pulls back.
I can barely see him in the darkness at this range, but his pasty face and beady eyes are unmistakable.
A single shot rings out, and Vantz jerks from his hiding space, falling face first onto the ground behind the animal who still watches me with eyes that feel so familiar.
“Doralee?” Crash’s voice rings above everything else.
“Crash?”
“I’ve got two SpecOps soldiers with me. I’m walking into your line of sight now, so don’t shoot me or them.”
I see him enter the same row as me, the cougar between us. “Are the rest of the targets clear?”
“Yes, you can lower your weapon.” He holds his hands up.
I stand and lower my weapon, pointing to the ground. “Careful.”
“I know.” He kneels down next to the cougar’s head as it hisses and bares its fangs.
Two more men appear wearing the same combat ready gear Cricket wears.
One is a mountain of a man with reddish-brown hair, while the other is lean and muscled with dark skin and striking golden eyes.
The second man drops to his knees in front of the cougar and pulls a kit out of his backpack.
He fights the animal and forces him to his side to reveal a gaping belly wound.
Gasping, I cover my mouth with my hands.
“Oh my god. He got shot protecti…” I trail off when I realize this animal was shot saving my life. The three men are deathly silent as they stand over the enormous cat, drawing my attention to the missing man in the room. “Where’s Cricket?”
Crash looks up at me and then down at the cougar.
Something pulls me forward, my eyes locked with the violet ones belonging to the animal on the ground.
Confusion laced with waning adrenaline hits me as I kneel next to the man and reach out with a trembling hand.
The cougar lifts his head and pushes it against my palm before pulling back and licking my fingers.
“I don’t understand,” I whisper.
“It looks like you do.” The man with the golden eyes shrugs out of his backpack and rips open a kit, pulling out an XSTAT pack.
He makes quick work of field dressing the wound, filling it with sponges and wrapping a sling around Cricket’s midsection.
“We have to get him to MirMax. I can’t operate here. ”
“MirMax?” I ask as the lights turn on overhead.
“Holy shit!” I hear Britney curse from the gym.
Reluctantly, I stand, my eyes on… I’m not sure what I’m looking at. Instinctively, I know this is Cricket. My heart knows it, but my mind can’t wrap around the insane thought. “Over here.”
Britney and two other FBI analysts run down the hall with their guns drawn. The look on her face is pure terror as her head swivels around at the carnage. “What the hell happened?”
I shake my head, dropping back down to my knees at Cricket’s side again, my eyes glued to his. “I don’t know where to start.”
“I do.” Crash dishes out orders, a wave of calm taking over him.
He points to each analyst and rattles off commands.
“You—call 911. We need two buses at this location for Agents Castor and Caldwell. You—make a call to your local field office. They need to dispatch a team and secure the scene. Erick will take one of you to your down agents now. Sly, I’ll run back to the chopper and land outside. ”
The guy field dressing Cricket’s belly looks up and growls, “Hurry the fuck up!”
Everyone scatters as I mindlessly stroke an apex predator’s muzzle, as sweet and soft as Cricket’s mouth. “This can’t be happening.”
“It is.”
Sly pulls a vial and a syringe out of the front pocket of his backpack. He draws ten units and injects it into the cougar’s chest cavity. Cricket growls and closes his eyes.
“What did you do?” My voice is panicked as I scoot forward and cradle Cricket’s enormous head in my lap.
“I gave him something to speed up his healing and help push out the bullet. It’s a two-hour helicopter ride back to MirMax, and that's all I can do right now.”
“Two hours? Can’t we take him to a regular hospital or a vet clinic or something?”
Sly chuckles and shakes his head. “No.”
“I don’t understand,” I whisper again, my heart breaking over something that is not possible.
“Yes, Doralee, you do. Fated mates always know. Deep down, you knew it the moment you met Cricket. There was something about him you couldn’t ignore. He knew it the moment he scented you. Inhale deeply, and you’ll know I’m telling you the truth right now. This is Cricket.”
I take a deep breath, his warm, comfortable scent calming my breaking heart. Stroking his fur, I lean down and press a kiss to his muzzle. “I love you, Cricket.”
Sly nods and pushes to his feet. “He says he loves you too.”
“What?” My words cut off as Crash runs up the row.
“Chopper is ready. I called Packard, and he said he’ll have the medical team standing by.”
Erick appears with a blanket in his arms. “Are we ready to go?”
Sly pulls me to my feet without asking my opinion, and I burst into tears that come from depths unknown. I’m not a crier. The last time I did was at my mother’s bedside as she took her last breath.
Crash frames my face as Cricket’s eyes open, lifts his head, and vocalizes his pain. “Hold it together for Cricket, Doralee. We want him calm for the trip. Let’s go.”
Erick picks Cricket up, and I chase after them to a Blackhawk helicopter, military issue, sitting in the dilapidated parking lot of this compound, its blades circling overhead.
He directs me to sit on a twin mattress in the middle of the floor with my back pressed against the far wall and then lays Cricket between my legs with his head on my lap.
He drapes another blanket over Cricket and then one over my shoulders, and sets two more down next to me. “You good?”
I nod, unable to take my eyes off Cricket’s serene face. “Is he asleep?”
Erick slides a headset over my head and Sly’s voice comes through the earpiece. “The meds I gave him are laced with a sedative. He’ll sleep fine for the ride with you by his side. But make no mistake, Doralee, he needs you right now. Are you warm enough?”
“Yes.”
“Here we go.”
We’re airborne within a minute, Erick and Crash staying behind to help secure the scene. Sly flies flawlessly, with very little jostling happening back here. “You can lie down, if you like. Spoon him and take a nap. I won’t let anything happen to either of you.”
“Are you one too?” I look at the back of the man sitting at the controls.
“What?” He chuckles, making me say the impossible out loud.
“Do you turn into a giant cat too?”
“Nah.” He shakes his head. “I turn into a gorgeous black wolf.”
It’s very dark aside from the controls lighting up the inside of the cockpit, but I swear he’s grinning.
My mind searches for answers. “Are you a product of a secret government experiment or something?”
“Like the Incredible Hulk? Winter Soldier? Captain America?”
Rolling my eyes, I sigh. “You’re teasing me.”
He laughs some more. “I am, but the truth is not stranger than fiction. I’m sure Cricket will answer all of your questions when he’s feeling like himself again.”
“Is he going to survive this?” I choke back a sob.
“Yes. We’ve survived worse. If we’re really lucky, his body will reject the bullet and he’ll be on his way to healing by the time we get to MirMax. After that, all he needs is rest and his mate.”
I stroke Cricket’s neck and whisper, “I guess this is what you meant when you said I was your fated mate and you couldn’t live without me, huh?”
I’m sure Sly can hear me, but he doesn’t answer, and I don’t think I want him to.
Like he said, Cricket has a lot to tell me, and hopefully we’ll have a lifetime together for me to hear it all.
Grabbing a blanket, I put his head on a makeshift pillow, and then lay down to spoon him, his body warm and soft, his chest vibrating as he purrs in my arms. It takes no time to fall asleep.
The side door flings open and I startle awake, two guys standing by with a gurney.
Sly shuts down the helicopter controls and jumps out of his seat, crouching on the other side of Cricket. He pulls the blanket back and frowns. “Get him downstairs and prep for surgery.”
“What’s wrong?” I cry out as two guys manhandle a giant cat out of my arms.
“He’s healing, but the sponges and bullet didn’t eject, so we’ll have to fish them out.” Sly offers me his hand. “Don’t worry, Doralee. We’re built for this kind of shit.”
We follow the medical team to a building where Colonel Packard waits for us. He and Sly exchange a look, and Sly drops my hand and chases after the gurney and the medical team without a word goodbye.
“Agent Baker.” Colonel Packard inclines his head and motions for me to enter the facility.
“Doralee.” I press my lips together, feeling love and loss in a way I’ve never felt them before. “I’m no longer an agent.”
He lowers his head and sighs. “Come with me. I have something to show you.”
We walk down a long hallway, out of one building and into another industrial building like the ones at the compound.
Parked inside are four semi-trucks with over a hundred women and children waiting in a line to accept food, blankets, and pillows.
I think I recognize a couple of them and fresh tears spring to my eyes. “Are they from the auction?”
“Yes, ma’am. They pulled in twenty minutes ago.
While there is a shit storm to unravel regarding the task force, especially while we wait for Agent Castor to heal and we can come to an understanding, we’re building a notification list to get some of these people back to their families in the next forty-eight hours. ”
I shake my head. “How?”
“I understand you have a lot of questions, but I’m banking on the fact that you’re now mated to a shifter and will keep our secrets.”
I nod, even if I don’t know what secrets that entails. Hell, I’m not sure what being mated means. Does he know we had sex? Is that what being mated means?
He continues. “We, SpecOps Sierra, injected ourselves into your multi-agency task force because some of these children are shifters, and we take care of our own.”
“Shifters?” I look into Packard’s eyes and see something I’ve never noticed before. They’re golden, like Sly’s, but brighter than they’ve ever been. “You all change into animals?”
“Yes, but most of us don’t shift for the first time until we’re teenagers.
Once I learned shifter children were being stolen from their packs and communities, I got us involved.
My directive to my men was to save the shifters only, but your mate came up with a plan to save everyone.
If I had told him no, he would’ve defied my orders and done it, anyway.
” He turns his gaze to the men, women, and children hugging, eating, and quietly conversing with each other.
“I’m glad he convinced me of a better way. ”
I nod. “He’s a good man.”
“He’s a cocky, insubordinate little shit, but yes—” Colonel Packard snorts “—he’s a good man, and he’ll be a devoted mate to you.”
Saying nothing about the mate part, I watch as more people settle.
“My boss set me up.” I don’t know why I feel the need to fill him in, but I do.
“My teammate, hell I don’t know what happened to Agent Melon, but I know he was in on what occurred tonight.
Agent Castor and Caldwell are innocents, but Rumpert is not.
I don’t know what happened to him either—or Agent Bennett, whose status I also don’t know.
They were working with the crime network, and specifically with the traders—Vantz and Sethegh—both of whom are dead. ”
“Lieutenant Pumarston will call in an hour with a full report as they secure the scene. I’d like you to be with me when he does.”
“I’m not sure it’s a good idea. I can’t go back to the DHS after learning all I did from Lucas, who surely expected to kill me.
The government is unbelievably corrupt, and this is a stain on our service to the citizens of this country.
” Anger simmers in my chest as I think about the last god knows how many hours.
After the accident, Lucas shot me with a tranquilizer, and I have no idea how long I was out.
When I came to, I was zip-tied to a barbell in a metal box with a solitary overhead light.
When Cricket rescued me, I was in a dark metal building with no windows.
And when we flew out of there, it was dark.
How much time has passed since the auction?
As if he can read my mind, Colonel Packard answers my question.
“It’s been a crazy night, but you accomplished your mission, Agent Baker.
The evidence is right here in front of you.
All these people will go home to their families; I give you my word.
And this isn’t over. Not for my team, it's not. If you don’t want to be a DHS agent, we could use your skills within our organization.
” He chuckles. “As long as you keep our secrets.”
Nodding, I look up at him. “I have a security clearance.”