Into the Mist

Chapter Five

Tyana awoke to Eli’s hand stroking up and down her spine. He was flat on his back, and she was curled into the crook of his arm, her head pillowed on his chest. It was nauseatingly cozy.

“We’ve fucked twice, and I still don’t know your name,” Eli said.

She stiffened, but his hand continued its caress.

“Or why you came after me in Singapore.”

She clenched her jaw.

He reached down, cupped her chin in his hand and tilted her face up so that their eyes met. “Care to enlighten me?”

A loud knock on the door interrupted her response, not that she’d planned to give one.

Mad Dog’s voice followed the bang. “Tyana, come on. It’s late. Get your ass up.”

She scrambled up and searched frantically for her clothing. Eli also slid out of bed, but he calmly collected his clothes and then stood watching her as she hopped around on one foot. She finally got her other leg into her pants and yanked her shirt over her head.

When she glanced over at Eli again, he started to fade.

“Damn it, don’t go yet,” she protested.

His smile quivered and stretched as he became a transparent apparition and then disappeared altogether. A fine sheen of mist streaked for the air vent above the bed, and he was gone.

She swore and balled her fingers into a fist. She wanted to hit something. Hard.

Mad Dog knocked again, and she hurried for the door. She opened it a crack to see him standing impatiently in the hallway.

“Hey, give me a few minutes, okay? I slept in and I need a shower.”

He grinned. “Meet me down in the lobby café. We’ll have brunch then head over for some more action.”

She smiled back and nodded.

Closing the door, she leaned against it for a moment before trudging into the bathroom. She took a quick shower and lamented for a moment rinsing Eli’s touch and smell from her body.

Idiot.

Angrily, she dried off and wrapped a towel around her head and then walked out of the bathroom to get clean clothes from her suitcase. As she was dressing, the room phone rang.

She yanked her head up in surprise. No one would be calling on her hotel phone. Jonah would have used her cell phone or just not called at all. They didn’t share chatty phone conversations.

Unless there was something wrong with D and Jonah couldn’t reach her on the cell?

Even as she frantically looked around the room for her cell phone, she rushed to pick up the still ringing phone on the nightstand.

“Allo?”

“Miss Berezovsky, so glad I caught you.”

The accented English grated on her nerves. It was a voice she recognized and one that sent warning bells clanging.

“What do you want?” The more obvious question would be how he knew she was here, but fuck, Eli Chance hadn’t had a problem tracking her down. There was some serious cause for concern when FMG was so predictable.

“Meet me at Chez Didier’s. There are things we should talk about.”

She made a rude noise. “Jonah already told you we weren’t interested in the job.”

“I’m not asking Jonah,” he said. “I want to talk to you. Before you refuse, let me say this. I know how to help Damiano Ruiz.”

She was stunned into silence.

“I’m offering a trade. You meet me. I tell you how to help Ruiz.”

“I’ll be there,” she said shortly. “What time?”

“Just ditch your companion and come. I’ll be there.”

The phone went dead in her ear, and she dropped the receiver. Shit, shit, shit. She ran a trembling hand over the towel on her head and jerked it away. Mad Dog would shit a brick over what she’d just agreed to.

“He can’t know,” she muttered. He’d drag her kicking and screaming back to the island and never let her off again. Hell, he’d do that anyway if he knew that Eli had found her.

She hurried for the bathroom to dry her hair. A few minutes later, she slid the room key into her pocket, retrieved her cell phone and stuffed it into the small backpack with her passport, money and the knife Mad Dog had given her.

With a sigh, she went down to meet him.

He was sitting at one of the small tables drumming his fingers impatiently on his leg. When he looked up and saw her, he flashed her a grin.

“You’re buying breakfast, by the way. You won the most last night.”

She laughed and allowed some of the tension to escape her shoulders. “I always win the most.”

He shrugged. “I ordered you an omelet the way you like it.”

She took the seat across from him and shoved her bag underneath the table. “Thanks.”

“You feeling any better yet?”

If she hadn’t got the phone call a few minutes ago, she could honestly say yes. Apparently a night of great sex was a great way to unwind. But now her nerves were fried.

So she lied and nodded.

“I need to call D,” she murmured as she pulled out her cell phone.

Mad Dog reached across the table and put his hand on her arm. “Ty, he’s okay. I talked to Jonah a few minutes ago. D’s resting so you’ll just disturb him.”

Reluctantly she put the phone down. “Sorry. But I worry about him.”

“We all do, baby.”

“Yeah, I know, it’s just that…”

Mad Dog nodded. “I do know, Ty. I do. But chasing Eli Chance all over Asia isn’t going to help D, not to mention he’d be pissed as hell if he knew what you’d done. Best just to leave it alone.”

Her cheeks grew warm, and she struggled to keep the guilt from her expression. Yeah, Mad Dog would go ballistic if she knew who had been in her hotel room.

They ate and talked about last night’s poker game. Tyana could tell he was eager to get back over and play some more. She fiddled with her food then realized her sleeping in and reluctance to eat could be in her favor.

She pushed the plate aside and slouched in her chair.

Mad Dog’s fork paused midway to his mouth. “Everything okay?”

She sighed. “I’m just tired. I don’t feel very well. Would you mind going over to the club by yourself and letting me catch some sleep?”

His gaze narrowed as he contemplated. “You sure? I can hang out here if you prefer.”

She smiled. “You know you’re dying to go play. I just want a nap. I didn’t sleep too well last night. Too hyped up from playing. I’ll catch up to you later.”

“Okay, if you’re sure.”

She reached down to gather her bag in her hand. “Yeah, I’m sure. I’ll feel better after some sleep.”

She ignored Mad Dog’s questioning stare and walked away from the table.

Tyana. The name hovered in Eli’s mind as he settled into his own hotel room just a block from the Royal. Her companion had called her Tyana. Unusual name and he’d only heard it once before. His team’s guide into Adharji, Damiano Ruiz, had mentioned a sister named Tyana.

A weary sigh escaped him as he flopped onto the bed. He needed a shower and a shave. And about twenty-four hours of sleep. Not necessarily in that order.

If the woman who’d sought him out in Singapore was Damiano’s sister, he could only come to the conclusion that she blamed Eli for his death and had revenge on her mind.

He shook his head. No, that didn’t make sense. She would have gone for his throat, not fucked him senseless then snuck through his belongings.

He dug into his pocket for his cell phone, flipped it open and punched a button. He’d fucked around long enough. It was time to figure out what the hell Tyana wanted. And how Falcon Mercenary Group played into the picture. The last thing he wanted was a damn merc group on his ass.

“Ian,” he said when the other man answered the phone. “I need some fast intel.”

“Do you have any idea what time it is?” Ian growled.

Eli checked his watch and did a swift calculation. “You lazy shit, it’s only six a.m. in Argentina.”

Ian grunted. “Only? What the fuck do you want so goddamn early?”

Eli grinned. “I need whatever info you can dig up on Falcon Mercenary. And I need it fast.”

Ian was quiet for a moment. “Isn’t that who we got to…”

“Yeah, it is.”

“What’s up, Eli?”

“Don’t know yet, but I’ll let you know when I do. Give me a buzz when you have details on the group.” He paused for a moment. “How are you and Braden doing?”

Eli heard a sigh.

“We’re making it,” Ian finally said.

Eli gripped the phone tighter. “I’ll find help for you, Ian. I swear it.”

“I’m not sure you can. Let me go. I’ll get back with you as soon as I have what you need.”

Eli let the change in topic slide and quietly closed the phone. There wasn’t much he could say. There wasn’t a way for him to ever make up for what happened to Ian, Braden or Gabe.

Before, he’d lamented being the only freak of nature. An elemental shifter. An accident of birth. Something born of science fiction movies and bad action adventure flicks. But now he realized having others like him didn’t make him feel any less isolated.

While Gabe didn’t seem to have the instability issues that Ian and Braden did, he knew Gabe wasn’t any happier with his newfound abilities.

Eli was fortunate. He nearly laughed at the irony of that statement. But it was the truth. He had complete mastery of his shifts. He’d been born with the ability. His team wasn’t so lucky.

Set up on a false mission, they’d been ambushed and an unknown chemical had been unleashed on them. They’d managed to escape, but within months, Ian and Braden began to randomly shift into animals. Cats. A jaguar and a panther, while Gabe could make himself invisible.

Bizarre didn’t even begin to cover it.

In light of those developments, Eli no longer felt compelled to hide his own abilities from his teammates. With Gabe’s stability, Eli’s could be explained as well. And the truth of his past remained hidden.

Eli reached over to the nightstand and turned on the small GPS unit. In a moment, a small blip lit up the screen.

So, she was still in Paris. A smile crossed his face. Maybe he could arrange to run into her again. After he got more information from Ian.

Damiano stood on the deck, hands braced against the wood railing as he stared over the ocean. A cool evening breeze blowing off the water washed over his face, filled his nostrils with a salty tang.

“You okay, man?”

Damiano turned his head to see Jonah watching him from the open doorway. He eased around and leaned his butt against the wood. “Yeah, I’m fine.”

Jonah ambled out holding two beers. He tossed one of the cans into the air, and Damiano caught it in one hand. Jonah popped the tab on his and came to a stop a few feet away.

Damiano studied him for a moment and opened his own beer. For once he didn’t feel edgy and out of control. For a few blissful hours he’d enjoyed a normal existence. He almost felt like his old self. He wanted to be in Paris with Ty and Mad Dog, playing poker and drinking like a fish.

His hand trembled as he held the beer to his lips.

“Today was a good day,” Jonah said.

“Yeah.”

Damiano turned back to the view of the ocean. He set the beer down on the railing. He glanced over at Jonah and voiced what was uppermost on his mind. “She went after him, didn’t she?”

Jonah’s breath came out in a hiss, but he didn’t look at Damiano. “You know me better than that, D. I’m not going to discuss what Ty may or may not have done.”

Damiano ground his teeth together in anger. “Damn it, Jonah. Don’t fuck with me. Not over this. She has no business risking herself like that. If you can’t control her then by God, I will.”

Jonah turned, his eyes glittering dangerously. “Stand down, D. Last time I checked, I was still responsible for Falcon…for this family.”

“I was responsible for Ty—and myself—way before you were. I won’t let her go down for me.”

Jonah’s anger eased, and he laid a hand on Damiano’s shoulder. “Ty cares about you, D. She’d do anything for you. Put yourself in her shoes. If she needed it, you know you’d put yourself out there, no hesitation.”

Damiano turned with a growl and grabbed Jonah’s shirt in his fist. “Tell me you haven’t gone along with some crazy scheme of hers. Damn it, Jonah, I’ll kill you for this.”

Jonah grasped Damiano’s wrist and pulled his hand away from his chest. “You go too far, brother,” he said quietly. “Do not think to question my authority. As long as I’m the head of this family, you won’t challenge me.”

Damiano stumbled back and felt the uneasy crawl of change creep over his skin. He closed his eyes and sucked in air as he tried to control the urge to change to something wild and feral. Frightening images flashed in his mind. Wild beasts. Predatory creatures. A low snarl escaped him.

Strong arms surrounded him, hauled him toward the door. “Focus, D. Don’t leave me. Hang on. Don’t give in.”

A few minutes later, he felt the prick of a needle and warm oblivion seeped into his veins. The fiery itch eased, and the urge to claw at his skin in an effort to free the predator inside abated.

“Listen to me,” Jonah said close to his ear. “You insult me by suggesting I’d ever let Ty place herself in harm’s way. She won’t be going after Eli Chance. If I have to tie her down and drug her ass, I’ll do it. Your only concentration needs to be on defeating this thing that has you in its grip. Do it for yourself and for those of us who love you.”

“I won’t…let her sacrifice…herself…for me.”

“Neither will I. Now sleep, D. You need your strength.”