Night Calls - Nyx Slaughter Book 1 (19 page)

“I have risen and bathed. Marcus
and Smitty are up and moving as well. They are both getting ready
to leave to get some breakfast before visiting you,” he states. “I
was planning to drop by my office for a little while, just to make
sure things aren’t piling up.”

“That’s a great idea. I was hoping
you were going in today. I actually just got my first case and was
getting ready to leave,” I claim.

“Really. Is it an assassination?”
he asks.

“Nope. It is more search and
rescue. A werewolf was kidnapped and his wife requested I go
retrieve him from his jailors,” I say.

“So open and shut. That is a nice
first case for you. It is something a little different than what
you are used to,” he replies.

“I think it is a great case. Jonas
and Jake have been whining about it, though. They keep claiming it
is too dangerous. I don’t think they really know me that well,” I
say.

“Nyx,” he says using my name
usually isn’t a good sign. “Those two are very well trained
warriors. What about this case has them worried?”

“Just the location of the captive,
but I have a really good plan for getting him out. There is no
reason to worry. I am the one in harm’s way and I am not worried at
all,” I say.

“Marie came to see you,” he
states.

“I don’t know her name, but it
might have started with an M. The target is named Greg,” I tell
him.

“I was alerted of the issue last
night. My men were going to meet tonight to form a plan of action
to get him out of the Collective’s grasp. She should have known
that,” he says.

“The woman looked like she was
going to pop a baby out any second. I am sure she wasn’t thinking
exactly straight, but I have an entry and an exit strategy already
mapped out and was getting ready to carry it out,” I
say.

“Explain this strategy to me.
Getting in and out of the Collective unnoticed is next to
impossible. We have some people on the inside, but they can only do
so much without blowing their cover,” he says. I fill him in on my
brilliant plan and then wait in silence for him to digest it. “It
could work. How close do you really look like this other
woman?”

“With the wig and contacts from a
long distance I can pass. I will be in and out within thirty
minutes. Me going in armed to the teeth won’t even look suspicious.
The other girl is a fighter, so she normally is well armed,” I
explain.

“I still don’t like it, but at
least wait for Marcus and Smitty to join you guys,” he insists. “As
much as I would like to go and protect you myself, me being seen on
Collective property would not be a good idea. The rest of the group
isn’t as well known, so less flags will be raised if they are
spotted.”

“I was already planning on bringing
them along. How long before they get here?”

“Not long. They only needed a small
meal. Knowing them, they probably shared it. I will warn you now,
if I feel any injuries to you or extremely strong emotions, I don’t
care who is standing in my way, I will be there within moments to
get you out. Me allowing this is a really dumb move on my part, but
your plan seems more doable than anything my guys would have
probably come up with,” he says.

“Thank you for your support
Sebastian. I will finish this up and then come visit you,” I
say.

“I love you, keep safe,” he
replies.

“Love you, too,” I say and then
hang up. I look over to Jake and Jonas and say, “See no
problem.”

“You are going to get everyone
killed,” Jonas says coolly.

“Doubtful,” I say shrugging my
shoulders. “The rest of our crew should be here in a second. Let’s
head out to the car,” I say grabbing my bags, leaving the shotgun.
The knives and handguns are normal, but not many people carry the
sawed off, so it might give me away.

I lock the door and then skip to
the vehicle, so I can store my gear. As I finish rearranging a few
weapons that may come in handy if we are being chased, I feel the
air whoosh around me marking the arrival of the rest of the
crew.

“We hear you are leading us to our
deaths tonight,” Smitty says and when I turn around, I can see him
smiling.

“Nah. I am just trying to make your
lives more interesting. You have been around for centuries, you
have to get pretty bored every now and then,” I say returning his
smile.

“This is true. Daily life can be a
little boring. We are told to stand guard as you do something
crazy, like break into the Collective and release a prisoner,”
Marcus states. His mood doesn’t seem quite as light hearted as
Smitty’s.

“Good, you were given a full
report. Now get in the vehicle, so we can get this over with. I
have a lot of settling in to still do,” I say as I hurry to the
driver’s seat.

Everyone follows suit and we head
towards the witch’s castle. I can feel a pre-battle tension
emanating from the others. Maybe I will have to lure some people to
them just so they can get the fight out of their system. I turn on
the radio to pass the time.

I end up parking in a wooded area
about a mile from the Collective proper. Any closer and I know
there are cameras that would have picked us up. Everyone else in
the group could probably cover the mile in about a minute, but I
really don’t think my super speed has kicked in.

“Okay, don’t ever say I don’t ask
for your guys’ opinions. In this form, I don’t think I am probably
that fast. Do you think I should remain this way and we all go in
slow, or should I shift and we can all cover the distance quickly?”
I ask.

“My vote is for fast. I don’t want
to be this close to the Collective for long,” Jonas
says.

“I can shift with you, so it looks
like you aren’t just out wondering alone. A pair might cause less
suspicion, if we are picked up,” Jake adds.

Marcus and Smitty look at each
other and just nod. “Shifting it is. I will warn you that last time
this was really painful, so it may take me a minute to
recover.”

Really, I don’t even know if this
is going to be possible without Alex here. He seemed to guide me
the last time. I start thinking about him in his wolf form and his
delicious doughy smell. I raise my head eyes closed and focus on
nothing but him. I feel myself fall to my knees and thankfully feel
just little stabs of pain as my bones start to move and
grow.

“Wow you are kind of tiny,” I hear
Jake say.

“But look at her fur. Have you ever
seen such a color? She can’t go in there glowing. There is no way
we will get past the cameras without raising alarm,” Jonas
says.

I ignore him and head over to a big
area of dirt and start rolling around in it trying to disguise my
coloring. After I feel I have rolled enough, I return to them.
“Better?”

“I guess a little bit, you still
look goldish, but you have knocked most of the shine off,” Marcus
says. I am glad my wolf speak works on vampires other than
Sebastian.

“Do you think I will pass, or
should I go roll around in some mud?” I respond.

“If you aren’t reflective, since it
is night, I don’t think the cameras will pick up the color. Why in
the world do you look like that anyway?” Jake asks.

“You are asking the person that a
week ago didn’t even know she could turn into a wolf?” I
question.

He looks at me trying to figure out
where in my response his answer lies. “She doesn’t know, dude. It
is just another part of her being a unicorn. Hopefully, someday
soon she will run out of surprises. Shift so we can get this over
with,” Jonas tells him.

He quickly transforms into a
chocolate colored wolf. I didn’t notice with Alex before because I
was still recovering, but I must really be a tiny wolf. I haven’t
seen another female, so maybe it is a gender trait.

I dart off through the woods at a
fast clip, leaving them to follow. I can hear Jake running just off
my right flank before I even get a yard away. I start thinking
about how I will need to get some training in wolf form done soon,
and before I know it, I have arrived at my vent. I quickly think
human and shift back with no pain.

“Someone give me a boost this is my
entry. I will be back in about fifteen minutes baring any
interruptions. I am sure you guys can figure out what to do if you
are seen,” I finish saying as I walk over to where Jonas has taken
position by the wall.

He quickly lifts me and I unscrew
the lid covering my passage. With that done, I grab on the edge and
pull myself up and into the shaft. Now the fun really
begins.

Chapter 20

Slight deviation from the plan

The vents work just as I expect and
I make my way towards the holding area on the west side of the
building. I have been there many times during early missions that
weren’t assassination based. I know that if I go far enough, I will
get to a vent that is behind the guards’ door, so they won’t even
see me. There aren’t even cameras on the prisoners making this much
simpler.

I reach my vent and as quietly as
possible work the screws out of it. The guards may not have visual,
but they do still have excellent hearing. This opening is a lot
bigger than my original entrance. It is about twenty-eight inches
by sixteen, so as long as Greg isn’t a body builder, I think we
will be able to make our escape.

I lift the grate and stick my head
down slowly to see if anyone is in view. I see nothing but the
cells and hear only some soft breathing. I carefully swing myself
down and drop to the floor in a crouch.

I start looking through the cells
and am surprised to find them empty. When I reach the last cell, I
see a form lying on the ground. He is the source of the breathing,
so I know he isn’t dead. Not wanting to talk I tap on the bars
lightly to get his attention.

The muted green eyes I am looking
for look up at me in surprise. It looks like someone has taken a
jackhammer to his face. It is extremely swollen, probably from
taking several fists to it. I place my finger over my lips to make
sure he keeps quiet and he nods in understanding.

I take out a lock pick kit that I
knew would be needed and silently go to work on the lock. When it
clicks indicating it is unlocked, I pause for a second to make sure
it didn’t alert the guards. After a minute of no one running in to
shoot me, I swing the gate open and run to the man. I check out the
condition of the rest of his body and other than just being in his
underwear, things look good. If I had to carry him out of here, we
would have been in trouble.

I do the whole finger to the lips
thing again and lead him out of the cell. I point up when we reach
the opening and he nods understanding to go that way. He lifts me
up on his shoulders and I crawl back into the vent. A second later,
he leaps up and joins me.

I wave for him to follow and I head
back towards an exit I believe will be easy to get out of. Three
minutes of twisting and turning later, I am once again using the
screwdriver to get us out. I hear nothing down below, so I imagine
it is safe for us to exit. I slide down swiftly and grab the
Beretta the second my feet hit the ground. I see no one, so I
signal Greg to follow me out.

The exit is about ten feet behind
us, so I push him in that direction while I follow and try to keep
my senses open for any intruders. Everything is going just like I
planned and Jake and Jonas are going to laugh when I get out within
ten minutes.

“I thought I smelled you,” a voice
I hoped to never hear again says way too close behind me. “I cannot
say I like the hair though, it better be a wig.”

“Run Greg. Get outside and go left
to the woods. You should be safe,” I tell him. I sense his
hesitation, so I add, “Marie needs you and so does your baby. Now
go.” That is all the reminder he needs and he takes off.

I turn around to face Tommy hoping
to just shoot him and be gone, but he has other plans. He already
has a gun pointed at me and rushes to take mine out of my hand. Now
with two guns we stand staring at each other. My impression is one
of hatred and his, well I really don’t want to know what his is,
because it isn’t hate.

“So are you going to shoot me or
turn me in?” I ask calmly.

“I don’t think I want to do either
of those options. I think I am going to keep you all for myself,”
he replies with a very creepy smile.

“I don’t think you have that
option. It won’t take long for someone else to come along and find
us here. I doubt they will shoot on sight, but I imagine they would
raise the alarm,” I say.

“You know as well as I do that at
this time of the night this hall rarely sees people. Your plan of
escape was well thought out. I don’t know how you got in, but you
have always been very clever. That is part of the reason I have
always wanted you.”

I shiver in disgust. “It’s a good
thing I know we aren’t mates because I couldn’t handle having you
for one.”

“Oh, but we are mates,” he says
simply with the grin stretching even wider across his face. “I can
smell that you have been scented already, and I have to say you
have been one busy girl, but it doesn’t matter anymore. You see I
am in a special program here in the Collective. For the past year,
they have been giving me experimental drugs that weaken the mate
bond. Whoever my mate originally was is no longer important because
I don’t have to worry about that bond. I am free to bond with any
bitch I like and as you know, I marked you as mine a long time
ago,” he says coming closer.