“RED LEADER to blue leader,” Lucas said into the end of the tie draped around his neck. He made a static sound deep in his throat and continued, “Don’t fire until you see the whites of their eyes!”
Forge stopped fighting with the wristband/transmitter Porter had insisted he wear and turned to Lucas. Declan, who stood on the opposite side of the room, met Forge’s gaze and shook his head.
Blair made an entrance from the adjoining room. He held two ties up and asked Declan, “Which one?”
“The dark green,” Declan said.
“Why are you asking him?” Forge tried to sound offended, but apparently no one bought it. Declan rolled his eyes and Lucas snorted a laugh.
Blair put the tie around his neck and folded his shirt collar over it. He asked Forge, “How many tuxes do you own?”
“Uh. I… um. That’s what I have a dress uniform for,” Forge grumbled.
Blair turned back to Declan and lifted his eyebrows. Declan smirked and said, “Three. All custom made.” He sighed and motioned Lucas closer. “Let me do that.”
“What?” Lucas’s hand went to his now-knotted tie. “It’s in a bow. And I’m a package.” He glanced over his shoulder at Forge. “Please, we all know your idea of dressing up is clean jeans, socks with your shoes, and a shirt with buttons.”
Declan’s shoulders sagged, and he muttered something in French Forge thought wasn’t very flattering, but he couldn’t remember the exact translation. After Lucas’s tie was in place and properly tied, Declan turned to Forge. “Now you. Come here. You’re not going out there looking like that.”
“Yeah, about that. I’m sorry you’re all getting dragged into this. It’s not normal—”
“We know,” Blair, Lucas, and Declan chorused. Declan gave both ends of Forge’s tie a yank and grumbled, “Jonas, stop fidgeting.”
Forge shoved his hands into his pockets, huffed a breath, and managed to stand still for the minute it took Declan to adjust his tie for him. “Thank you,” Forge said. When Blair snickered, Forge glared at him. “You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?” Blair nodded and pointed to his own, perfectly situated, tie. Forge mumbled, “Show-off.”
They had been assigned adjoining rooms in the hotel where the reception would take place in a few hours. The instructions were to prepare for the event at the hotel. Everything each of them carried had been scanned and searched; then the procedure was repeated on each of them. Forge thought the whole thing a little odd, but he hadn’t done anything like this since shortly after World War I and with military police, so what did he know? The work he and Declan occupied themselves with had been more along the lines of covert operations and with more than one such agency. Sometimes more than one country.
Forge shook off the feeling of impending calamity he’d been experiencing since the first meeting with Porter Samuels. None of this felt right, though Forge didn’t particularly feel in danger. There had been two more meetings with Samuels. One just he and Lucas attended, and then yesterday, one with all four of them. Lucas had inquired during both conferences about his reputation preceding him, and each time he’d been ignored. It had raised Forge’s hackles, and Declan had exhibited the same reaction.
Lucas had some training through the police department, but he was more involved in investigating crimes scientifically than in protection details or hunting down perps. Forge had been teaching Blair hand-to-hand combat techniques, but Blair was far from prepared to take on the types of situations Forge could foresee arising at something like this. He worried that if something really bad went down, neither was terribly prepared. Not without Lucas using his wolf or Blair his vampire abilities, and Forge didn’t have confidence they’d be able to do that in this instance. Because many humans had no idea they existed, werewolves and vampires kept a low profile to avoid detection. Lucas called it hiding out in the open, and it was the truth.
Declan had changed Forge into a vampire to save him from a mortal wound. It was at the beginning of the Revolutionary War, and they’d been separated in battle. Forge came to, found himself in a mass grave, panicked, and ran. He’d lived nearly fifty years alone in the wilderness before Declan tracked him down.
Flint had been founded shortly after the Civil War. Lucas’s family and Declan and Forge had lived there from the start. Before that, Declan and Forge had moved around the Americas. Three years here, five there, or one somewhere else, depending on their needs.
For more than a century, when they weren’t at their home base of Flint, Forge and Declan had continued to move around. They’d join whatever side of a fight they agreed with, sometimes as soldiers, more often in the guise of intelligence or military investigative work. Forge worried for Declan’s safety, but not in the same way he did for Blair’s and Lucas’s.
It was a fact Forge had learned long ago: vampires made great spies. Declan had joked more than once it was as if vampires were made specifically for a secret-stealing life. Forge tended to agree for the most part, but there were notable exceptions. When it came to vampires like Blair, his opinion wavered. Blair was his soul mate, and Forge conceded, if only to himself, that his judgment was clouded because of their relationship. On the other hand, he’d learned many skills over the years. There was no reason a man as intelligent as Blair couldn’t learn them as well.
They were as prepared as they were going to be for their final briefing from Samuels before heading downstairs to the main ballroom. It was there the evening’s events would take place.
“Damn, too bad you guys can’t see yourselves in this mirror. We look good.” Lucas peered in a large mirror over the dresser and brushed one hand through his brown hair.
“So what do we do now?” Blair asked.
Declan settled in a chair and shrugged. “I guess we wait. Though if that man tells me one more time how much our country appreciates my sacrifice, I might have to sacrifice him.”
Forge smiled when a few seconds later there was a sharp knock on the door. Declan looked at the ceiling and groaned softly as Forge mouthed the words, “He probably heard that.” Forge opened the door, stepped back, and waved Porter Samuels inside.
A second man, not as tall as Blair, but slightly taller and beefier than Samuels, stood a step behind him, hands folded in front of him. He had crystal-blue eyes and short, blond hair a shade or two lighter than Blair’s, with enough wave to make Forge think it would be very curly if it were longer. Like Samuels he wore a simple black suit, the same wristband as Forge had been given, an earbud like the one Forge had been shown in his office, and the Secret Service lapel pin. A quick glance at Declan confirmed he saw the additional pin on the man’s suit coat right under the Secret Service one.
Declan sat straighter in his chair and met Forge’s gaze for a split second before focusing on the man with Samuels. Blair was learning fast. His utter shock—felt by Forge—barely registered on his face. For once Lucas stood quietly.
One vampire in the Secret Service, Forge could believe. But two?
“Kai Richter is a member of my team,” Samuels explained.
Forge held out his hand. “Jonas Forge.”
Kai Richter was apparently the strong, silent type. His firm handshake was accompanied by a curt nod. Forge willed him to open his mouth and speak. He was prepared to bet the man had a German accent, or a fake American one. Kai smiled and stepped past Forge into the room. Declan didn’t move, but Forge saw him focus for a split second on a ring Kai wore before Declan stood and looked at Samuels.
Samuels held a small object out to Forge. “You’re the only one here who will need one of these since all of the other local police are human and have the standard-issue earbuds.” Forge took the unit and held it in one hand. Samuels pressed one side of the device. “You activate it here. Keep it in and on the entire time.” Forge put the earbud in and waited. “We’ll be close-by, monitoring the room, since I tend to stick out like a sore thumb. Blend in and keep your eyes open.”
“Uh-huh,” Forge muttered. He held up his wrist. “If I have this, why do I need an earbud?”
Samuels smiled and Forge was sure it was meant to be reassuring; however, it verged on creepy. “We’re like Klingons, redundant systems as backup.”
Lucas’s eyebrows shot up, and Declan folded his arms over his chest, looking more menacing than Forge had seen in years. Blair had slid behind them, turned partially away, and was looking down at his phone, no doubt scouring his sources for one Kai Richter.
“Very good, then. Take up your positions downstairs in thirteen minutes,” Samuels said before any of them could speak. He turned on his heels, Richter right behind him, and left them alone again.
“That ring is sixteenth century—Austrian, I think.” Declan moved to stand beside Forge while they both peered out the door.
“Two vampires in the Secret Service?” Lucas sputtered.
Forge snorted. “That wasn’t the SS I thought of when I saw him.”
“No kidding,” Declan said.
“I can’t find anything on that guy,” Blair added. He’d finally come up for air and put his phone into his pocket.
“I wonder how that background check went.” Forge sighed and looked at his watch. “Maybe they’re just playing up the weird and creepy to mess around with the local guys.”
“What’s with those other pins they have? I doubt it’s a family crest since I bet those two men aren’t related,” Lucas said. “I keep thinking I’ve seen the design before.”
“I couldn’t get a picture since they’re attached to vampires,” Blair said. “It would be easier to research the pin design with a visual.”
“That’s easy. I’ll sketch one for you later.” Declan waved them out the door. “In the meantime, shall we get this over with?”
LUCAS WASN’T exactly sure what he’d thought the evening would be like, but this definitely wasn’t it. He leaned on a stool at the bar and waited his turn to order drinks. Using one foot against the floor, he turned the stool side to side lazily as he observed the dinner party.
Forge wandered over and sat next to him, punctuating his action with a huge sigh. Lucas looked sideways at him and chuckled, then said, “Yeah. Not what I expected. So far this whole thing has been a colossal bore, other than our meeting with Agents Weirdo and Strange.”
“This whole thing is wrong, odd,” Forge said and shook his head. “Notice I’m the only one of the local police wearing a dress uniform? And all the other Secret Service people I see appear to be perfectly normal human men and women.”
“They can hear you.” Lucas pointed at Forge’s ear.
Forge shrugged. “I don’t care. They could probably hear me without the earbud anyway.” He wrapped his knuckles gently against Lucas’s knee. “What’s going on with you?”
“Me? Nothing.” Lucas looked down. When Forge arched an eyebrow and cleared his throat, Lucas asked, “What?”
“Lucas, please.” He turned when the bartender came closer with Lucas’s order and asked for one more. “You act like we haven’t been friends for more than a decade.”
Lucas sipped his drink and shrugged. “I don’t know.”
Forge leaned his elbow against the bar and swiveled so he faced Lucas. “What don’t you know about?”
“I….” Lucas opened his mouth and didn’t know how to put his feelings into words, so he shut it again.
“Luke, you are my friend. As your friend I need to remind you I am a bored detective stuck at a boring political event wearing a tie Declan tied as if he were trying to strangle me with it, and I’m armed. I’m begging you, save me.”
That made Lucas laugh. Forge always cheered him up. “Sometimes, once in a while, I miss the old days. I love Declan, but this bonding thing sort of snuck up on me, you know? I guess even for me, change is… a challenge.”
“What was it you told me when Blair came to Flint? You don’t give up all the people in your life when your soul mate comes along.”
“I said that?” Lucas asked.
“More or less,” Forge said. “Look, you can’t decide yes or no on a soul bond. We found out how well it went with me and Blair. Anyway, that ship’s sailed, my friend. You and Declan are bonded—”
“That’s not the issue,” Lucas cut him off. “It’s just that sometimes there is too much togetherness. Sometimes I’d like time alone or with my friend. It’s something I found I really liked, and I miss it.”
Forge nodded. “I get it. With a little….” He held up one finger and frowned. A quick look around the room and Forge’s gaze settled on a man and woman. Lucas leaned closer so he could hear what was being said through Forge’s earbud.
“We can’t identify that couple. They weren’t here earlier, and they’re not on our list. Do you know them?” It was Samuels’s voice.
Lucas met Forge’s gaze and shook his head. Forge turned so it looked like he was talking to Lucas and said, “No, neither Dr. Coate nor I recognize them.”
Tapping Forge’s forearm, Lucas dipped his head at Declan and grinned.
“We’ll get you some ID. Give me five minutes,” Forge said. He pressed the earbud and removed it, dumping it in his pocket. The wristband followed a second later. “It’s better they don’t know about this part.” He stood, straightened, and whispered, “Declan. See the woman in the red dress and the man with her at my three o’clock?”
Across the room Lucas watched as Declan casually turned, gaze sweeping the area before he tugged on his sleeve once.
“That’s a yes,” Forge told Lucas. Using two fingers he pretended to reach into Lucas’s pocket, then said quietly, “On both.” Reaching out, he put one arm around Lucas’s shoulders and guided him toward the door near where the couple stood. “You must have gotten a bad crab cake.”
Lucas made a big show of slouching against Forge and making retching noises. A few people looked at them and moved out of their way. He got a glimpse of Declan leaning in to talk to Blair. Then they both looked at the spot between Forge and Lucas and the couple.
Coughing and holding his stomach, Lucas stumbled away from Forge and into the woman. “Oh, I’m… sorry… I….”
The woman turned and with lightning speed Forge reached out and bumped her elbow, causing her to upend her drink all over herself. Lucas’s gaze shifted to Declan and Blair. They were in one spot across the room, and in the next instant the exit doors across the room swung shut.
“The ladies’ room is right through there.” Lucas pointed the way. He tried wiping her off with napkins he snatched from the bar, but she stormed off, her gentleman friend following her.
Forge took his elbow and nodded to the exit. “Come on.”
Lucas had to quickstep to keep pace with Forge. They left the ballroom for the hotel’s main corridor leading to the lobby. Forge looked one way and Lucas the other. Snagging Forge’s sleeve, Lucas said in a low voice, “Over there.”
They walked as quickly as they could and still appear casual to a smaller conference room across the hall and down a bit. The minute they slipped inside, Declan shut the door softly. It was dark inside, but the meager light coming under the door from the brightly lit hallway and the glow of Blair’s phone was more than enough for all of them to see by. Declan held a phone and both a man’s and woman’s wallet.
Blair held out a second phone to Lucas. “Hold this, will you?” As soon as Lucas took that phone, Blair retrieved the other one from Declan and did something to it. He looked up after a few seconds and grinned. “Cloning them.”
“Let me see those,” Forge said and held out one hand. With his other hand he pulled the earbud out and put it back into his ear, pressing it and turning it on, wincing immediately. “You don’t have to yell.”
Declan pinched the bridge of his nose with two fingers and looked at the floor. His shoulders shook and he smiled, shaking his head. Lucas heard Samuels’s voice in the earbud snapping at Forge about turning off and taking out the earbud clearly enough.
“Do you want their names or not?” Forge snapped back. Samuels’s voice stopped broadcasting through the small device, and Forge opened the man’s wallet and read the name off his ID. He handed it back to Declan who traded it for the phone Blair had.
Lucas pulled a stack of chairs closer, and Blair set the ID on one seat, snapping a picture with his phone. They repeated the same routine with the woman’s belongings.
“We were able to get their phones too,” Forge said.
Lucas watched as Declan gathered everything up and headed toward the door.
“I’ll be right back,” Declan said and winked at him.
The earbud squawked some more and Forge made a face and grumbled, “I didn’t think you’d want to be an accomplice. We’ll be out in a minute.” He dipped his head at the door, and they went out to the corridor, meeting Declan as he left the ballroom again. “He asked that we, all of us, stick together and bring the info from the phones to Samuels. Apparently he’s outside, in a van at the end of the parking lot.” Forge rolled his eyes.
“This place has a lot of doors, and the parking lot is huge.” Lucas walked over to a long, narrow window and looked out. “I see four vans in this section alone.”
“He says it’s dark blue, one of those shuttle types. Parked near the service entrance,” Forge said.
Declan pointed out a direction. “It’s back here.”
A wave of heat and humidity hit Lucas immediately when Declan pushed the door to the outside open and held it for the rest of them. There was a van like the one Forge described sitting a few rows back and to the side. Lucas pointed to it and Forge shrugged and nodded. Fanning out they made their way across the parking lot to the vehicle.
They were about five feet away when the van’s door opened and Samuels stepped out, waving at them.
“Who are those people?” Forge asked. He stopped just in front of Samuels.
“Come inside. I’ll show you,” Samuels turned and started up the three wide steps into the van.
“Can’t you tell us out here?” Declan asked.
Lucas and Blair exchanged looks. Blair stuck one hand in his pants pocket, the same one he’d stuffed the phone into a few minutes earlier. Lucas was sure the feelings Blair was getting from Forge mimicked what Lucas read on Declan’s face. It did nothing to instill calm and reassurance in Lucas, yet he couldn’t quite figure out what had set them off. Perhaps it was simply they were dealing with other—albeit very odd—vampires in a situation that was equally odd.
“This is very sensitive information,” Samuels said and smiled. Lucas decided he looked creepier when he smiled.
Forge and Declan looked briefly at one another, and then Declan shrugged and stepped up and into the van. Lucas and Blair followed, and Forge waited until they were all inside before he joined them.
“Dr. Turner, did you have any contact with Dr. Martell, or did she see you?” Samuels rapid-fired the question at Blair.
Lucas took a good look around the small space. The only other person was Richter. There was a variety of computers and what appeared to be recording equipment, but Lucas didn’t take the time to examine it closely. He felt more than saw Forge step between Samuels and Blair. They were three vampires and one werewolf to two vampires. Lucas was suddenly feeling they might have to defend themselves.
“N-no,” Blair stumbled over the word, glancing at Forge. “The president hadn’t come in yet—”
“Good,” Samuels said and nodded at Richter. He took three more earbuds and distributed them to Declan, Blair, and Lucas.
“We’ll need you to contact her. Put these in. We don’t have much time,” Samuels said.
“Could you explain—” Forge’s words were cut off when he clapped both hands over his ears and shouted, dropping to his knees.
Lucas closed his hand around the earbud, crushing it. He morphed partially to his wolf and snarled. Declan and Blair each grabbed one of Forge’s arms, the earbuds they’d been handed dropping to the floor.
“Shit,” Richter spat and flipped another switch on the board in front of him.
A familiar, low-resonance sound blared out of speakers. Lucas staggered sideways, vision blurring while waves of dizziness forced him to crumple toward the floor. Samuels stepped over him to the other men. Lucas tried to focus. He realized Declan and his friends were sprawled on the floor now also. Samuels was snapping something that looked like cuffs covered in material onto their wrists.
Lucas reached out and took Declan’s arm, careful not to shred flesh from bone with his claws. The inside of the van spun, and he was aware of the noise pulsing through him. He tried to right himself, but pain blossomed at the back of his skull, and he dropped into darkness.