Fangs of Fate (Untish #1)

Chapter 60

CHAPTER SIXTY

CHANCE

“This is incredible, Shae. In case I don’t say it enough, you’re amazing.” I patted her on the back as I looked at the screen. She’d narrowed the off-site location down to a two-mile radius. This was fucking awesome. It gave us a good chance of locating the facility.

“You don’t really say it enough. And yes, I am a pretty damn amazing female.”

“A real badass,” Holland confirmed, smiling at Shae.

“So, what now?” Shae voiced the one question we all were thinking.

“I say we raid the center and see what’s really going on. Find out what leadership is hiding,” Holland said.

“I don’t know. It could be risky. I think it may be best to do a small intel mission…sneak in, sneak out,” I spoke, hoping Holland would see the logic in my suggestion.

“Dale, if this is what we think it is, we’ll need to do more than observe. We’ll need hard evidence.”

“Holland, I’m not about to risk the lives of other guaramen on a hunch. Besides, we don’t know what we’ll find. Hence, reconnaissance.” Why were we always having the same argument?

“Hold up, why don’t we do both?” Shae placed one hand on both of our shoulders. “But first, everyone needs to take a deep breath.” She inhaled and motioned for us to follow suit.

Was she serious?

“Dale. Come on now, you’re not too big and bad for some meditative breathing.” Shae gave me a pointed look as Holland inhaled but I stubbornly refused.

“Good, Holland. Now exhale with me.” Shae exhaled with force.

I hated the sound of forced breath. It sounded wrong and reminded me too much of yoga. Go figure, Shae would like it.

“Good. Now, what if we have a reconnaissance mission that also obtains hard data? We can prepare for the worst, have a small team, and hopefully avoid bloodshed.”

“How?” I demanded.

“With me of course.” She gave me a cocky smirk and then turned to Holland. “And her. If she’s able to help with some basic coding, I believe that the three of us can sneak close enough to the base and, with my toys and mad skills, we should be able to get the data while having eyes on what’s going on.”

“What if you can’t?” I asked. I knew she was good at hacking, but I also knew it took her twenty-four hours to decrypt some basic messages due to the high level of security and firewalls she had to break through.

“Please, I’ll be able to. But if it is too challenging to do from afar, I’ll just need access to the mainframe. There should be main hubs at each building powering everything. Each box has a hard line connected to the heart, as I like to call it. I’d just need to tap that, leave my mindscrambler, and then I can finish the hack from afar.” She snapped her fingers. “Child’s play.”

“No—”

“Alright—”

Holland spoke over me, our answers—naturally—were very different. This was getting old. It would be a ‘no’ for me on the relationship front with this one. No matter how good she could fuck, she was beginning to be a headache to work with—a true tell-tale of a complex, dramatic female who would require far too much effort.

“Why in blood’s name not?” Holland demanded.

She was ready to square off with me. Fine.

Because it’s too dangerous. If we get caught, if Shae gets caught, it could be death. We could receive a disciplinary hearing that doesn’t go our way. Anyone of us could be executed. I say we approach; I get in closer with a drone and launch it. Then Shae and you can receive the data from a safe distance. Once we know what we’re dealing with, we can reevaluate.”

“Absolutely NOT.” Holland stepped toward me, lifting her chin.

She looked adorable from this angle. All five feet of her.

“Holland, I know you’re?—”

“Uh-uh. My turn to monologue.” She snapped at my fingers with her teeth as I reached for her. Damn it if it wasn’t a turn-on.

“I am joint leadership,” Holland continued, “your equal. And like it or not, I’m coming. I am not some flower that will wilt, so don’t you dare tell me what I can or cannot do.”

“Amen sister.” Shae slapped her on the back and stood behind her.

Females.

“It has nothing to do with you being female, I just think?—”

“Allow me to think for myself. Or don’t. But either way, I’m coming as I’ve made up my mind.” Holland stepped closer, raised her chin, and lowered her voice. “And guess what? I have an advantage. It turns out, not having a phallus means I can focus on multiple things at once and don’t go saluting every female with two legs.” She raised on her tiptoes and pecked my chin before turning on her heels. “Let’s go, Shae. We have planning to do.”

“Love it.” Shae stared after Holland, watching her walk away. The sway of Holland’s hips emphasized her figure. Apparently, I wasn’t the only one to notice. “Alrighty then, if you screw up with her Dale, I can’t promise you my loyalty.” Shae wagged her brows and then strode off toward Holland, her steps much more athletic and less graceful than that of Holland’s.

I didn’t for a second like her insinuation. I was a male after all, we were known to be territorial, even if I didn’t want a relationship with Holland.

Patience. I closed my eyes and exhaled.

I needed to catch up with them before they went off half-cocked on their own to do reconnaissance, but first I needed to do one thing.

Tate was fully dressed in black, staring out the window. She had a bandage wrapped around her shoulder and arm, marks from where she’d been bitten. I hated that she experienced even an ounce of pain.

She swayed slightly, I could see the beginning of sweat rings forming on her shirt; it was hot here, but not that hot. Even with her perspiration, her figure from here was jaw-dropping. I could feel myself preparing to salute and immediately focused on something else, noting the bowl of vomit by the bed. Perfect.

I looked at the chunky green goo floating in the bowl as I strode in before raising my eyes back to Tate and her glorious ass.

“I suppose I’d have to deal with you eventually.” Tate sighed as she turned, meeting me with familiar mahogany eyes. Her dark blonde hair hung loosely around her shoulder, framing her face a bit. It was clean now, unlike when I found her in the forest, and even from here I could smell the scent of lilacs from her shampoo.

The ends of her hair were rose pink. Shae must be wearing off on her.

“Tate, I just wanted to see how you were doing.” I hated how my voice wobbled. This female drove the senses and confidence out of me.

“How am I doing?” She huffed, taking a slender step toward me with her gloriously curved thigh. The movement caused the leather to flow with her and showcased her lush hips and swelling chest. Fuck I loved the guara’s black leather combat suits. Tighter than the pants and shirts entry-level were given.

“Let’s see.” She held up a finger as she bit her lip. “First, I get forced to join the blood-damned guara.” She took another step. I could see her skin glistening from sweat. Her scent had changed since I’d seen her last. It now also held a smokey hue. Hot.

“Second, I am attacked by creatures that reek of evil and a vial use of magic, and third, but certainly not least, I get stuck here with you .” She waved a delicate, but bruised, hand around the room. “But you know what is absolutely worst of all?” The look in her eyes was lethal.

“Tate—"

Before I could move, she lunged. Stronger than before and with a new grace that knocked me on my ass. She straddled me and had a blade at my throat. Fuck, that was new.

“You killed him, you son of a bitch. You tell me here, right now. Did. You. Know?” Her voice dropped to barely a whisper as she dug the tip of the blade into my throat, drawing blood.

“Know what?” Females. They’d all lost it today.

“Did you know they planned to kill him? Fletch. Were you part of his death?”

“Fletch is dead?” The blood drained from my face.

From the look in her eyes, she saw the truth there. I wished I could wipe the pain from those pools of red-brown. “Fuck, Tate. I swear, this is the first I’ve heard of it. Why? How?—"

“Get out.” She got off me and stood, giving me her back as she walked to the window. I’d been dismissed.

“Tate, I’m so sorry. I had no idea. I swear if I did, I’d?—”

“You’d what? Tell me, prepare me, try to stop it?” She laughed. The sound was purely feral. “No, wait. That’s not your style, you’d just make love to me, like you did while my mother was being executed.” She locked eyes with mine.

What could I say to that? I could tell her how sorry I was, how I regretted that one thing more than anything, but it wouldn’t bring her mother back.

I just stood there.

“Get! Out!”

I took a step toward her, but a hand gripped my shoulder and spun me around. A large male stood in front of me. Anax Mardi. He may be a few inches taller and more built, but he sure as hell didn’t have the right to grab me.

“She said get out. Do as she commands. Now,” he ordered.

“Like hell I will.” I shook his hand from my shoulder.

“You really are the pain in the ass I’ve heard about.”

What was that supposed to mean?

“Tate, you look well. You ready?” Mardi’s question drew my attention back to Tate. She was dressed in all leathers, fighting leathers. Her chest was wrapped with a battle vest, daggers were sheathed at her sides, hips, and shoulder. She was prepared for battle. How the fuck had I not noticed it sooner?

I glanced at her feet and felt stupid for not seeing it sooner. She wore her combat boots, one heel much thicker than the other to accommodate for the one flaw this female had. A duffle bag lay next to her.

“Where do you think you’re taking her?” I demanded.

“Careful, Dale. I am her commanding officer and I outrank you.”

I hated that he had a point. “She needs to be cleared by medical before relocating, let alone training.” Dear blood I hoped that was all they were planning. Training I could handle, actual combat? Tate didn’t know the first thing about fighting vampires, let alone those creatures.

“She has been cleared. We’re ordered to head for the Eastern Outpost. We leave in twenty. Thanks for the hospitality. And…” he paused, eyes heating, “you may want to wash the sheets.” He winked at me before placing a hand on Tate’s back and gently guiding her out of the room.