Desire Unchained

“What is this? An interrogation?”


“Answer the question.” When she said nothing, he leaned across the table. “The longer you stall, the more suspicious I get, and while I can’t torture you—unless you want to be tortured—I have no problem with stringing up Ky. Now spit it out.”

“Stop bossing me around.”

He swore, and this time she understood his raw curse all too well.

“We just did that, buddy. So maybe you could bust yourself out of this grumpy mood and remember that none of this is my fault. And while you’re at it, maybe you could wash your mouth out with soap.”

Both fists came down on the table with a slam loud enough to startle her, but after a moment, he said quietly, “You’re right.”

As far as apologies went, it was as much as she’d get, and she knew it. “From the Army.”

His dark eyes narrowed. “Is he spying on us?”

“No.”

He nodded as if suddenly everything was coming together. “The job you mentioned … you’re working for the military, aren’t you?”

Busted. “No … I …” The lie tangled her tongue, and Shade wasn’t buying it anyway, so she looked down and whispered, “Yes.”

“What does Kynan have to do with this?” When she said nothing, he sighed. “Help me out here.”

Unsure where to start, and afraid to spill more than what might be strictly necessary, she chose her words carefully. “He was a liaison between The Aegis and the Army. He fell off our radar about the time his wife died. We haven’t heard from him since. No one in The Aegis has been able to put us in touch with him. So I came to New York to find him.”

Obviously, Tayla had known where he was, but she’d kept it from everyone else in The Aegis. Runa had been sent to do more than just locate him. The Army wanted him. Badly. She didn’t know why, and it wasn’t her place to ask. When orders were issued, orders were followed.

He cut her a sharp look. “There’s more. Something you aren’t telling me.”

“No—”

“When you came to my place, it wasn’t because you were pissed at me, was it? You wanted information about Underworld General, didn’t you?”

Runa looked away, caught her reflection in the stainless steel refrigerator door. Guilt stared back at her. “Yes.”

“You hated me so much that you wanted to bring down me and the hospital.” The tone of his voice became gentler. “Not that I blame you.”

How could she deny the truth? “It wasn’t just that,” she muttered, out of some twisted need to make him feel better. “I wasn’t lying when I said I wanted to kill the warg who bit me, and that’s why I went to your apartment.”

“What day was that?”

“Friday. A week before you landed in the dungeon with me.”

He ran his gloved hand over his face. “Shit.”

“What?”

“I’ll bet Roag was trying to nab Wraith. He was supposed to meet me at my apartment that night, but we canceled at the last minute because I needed to come here—”

“With a female,” she finished, the bitterness in her voice surprising even her.

He averted his gaze. His shoulders slumped a little, and she actually felt sorry for him. He might be putting up an I-don’t-give-a-shit front, but she wasn’t believing it anymore.

“Okay,” she began, her voice softer than before, “so how would Roag have known that Wraith would be at your place?”

“Solice knew. She was a nurse at the hospital. She’s the one who, ah, tortured me in the dungeon.”

“Oh. Well, obviously she didn’t know about the change in plans that night, and I got taken instead of you and Wraith.”

“Fu—ah, hell’s bells.” He shook his head. “I’m so sorry, Runa.” She didn’t have time to be stunned, or to soften up, because he immediately danced away from his apology. “Tell me how involved you are with the military.”

As much as she hated talking about this, in a way it felt good to get this huge secret out in the open. Maybe now Shade would understand her need to get back to the real world. “I’m a paid volunteer. They helped me out after the attack.”

“Helped you, how?”

“Arik took me to the base, and they tried to cure me of the lycanthropy.” She took a deep breath and told him the rest. “The treatments were experimental, and a couple of months after starting them, I gained the ability to shift at will.”

“So you think the experiments are responsible for that?” When she nodded, he shook his head. “You should have told me. Eidolon would know better what to look for.”

“I didn’t know what to expect from you. Or your brothers. I might be a werewolf, but I’m still human, and I can’t betray my own people by spilling secrets about the American military. Think about it. If the situation were reversed, what would you do?”

She knew damned good and well he didn’t want to admit she was right, and sure enough, he avoided answering by asking another question.

“What did you tell your brother about the hospital when you called him yesterday?”