Argeneau Family - The Immortal Hunter Part 2

Life mate.

Decker lifted his eyes skyward, expecting something to happen. He didn't know what, perhaps for the stars overhead to explode into s.h.i.+mmery fireworks, or for the sky to crack open and pour down rain and thunder to mark the moment. But nothing happened. The most important moment of his life arrived not with a bang as he'd always expected, but with the quiet rustle of wind through the trees and a serene breeze brus.h.i.+ng his cheeks.

Shaking his head, Decker forced himself to turn his attention back to the business at hand. They were stuck in the woods in the middle of nowhere with a clearing full of bad rogues who were down but not dead. They needed backup to clean up this mess before some unsuspecting mortal came across the scene. And they needed to start hunting for Nicholas again... as well as the other rogue and the girl he'd taken.

Decker wasn't at all sure that both targets would lead in the same direction. It was entirely possible either that Nicholas had been riding with the nest they'd just decimated, or that he'd known about them and led Decker and Justin here when he'd realized they were on his tail because he'd hoped to make his escape while they were busy with the other men. Nicholas certainly had hightailed it out of there pretty quickly the moment the opportunity arose.

But even if he really had deliberately drawn them there with the express purpose of taking down this nest, it didn't mean Nicholas would still be on the rogue's tail now. He was a wanted man. It would be smarter for him to leave it to Decker and the other enforcers to chase after the girl and her kidnapper and take this opportunity to disappear into the ether as he had done fifty years ago.

If that was the case, they had probably lost him again. Their only hope of catching him was if Nicholas Argeneau had somehow seen the error of his ways and was indeed chasing after the girl and the other rogue. Then, at least, they had a chance of catching him... but Decker wasn't holding his breath on that count.

He rubbed at his chest again, recalling that-on top of everything else-he presently had two bullet wounds his body was trying to repair... and their blood was in the SUV along with their weapons. Perfect, Decker thought with weary frustration. This was a h.e.l.l of a time for him to finally meet his life mate. His gaze slid to the woman in question. Dani.

Justin had managed to stop her and turn her around. She was now walking back toward them, her body relaxed and expression blank.

"I think you have something you want to say to me," Justin said, tongue in cheek as they watched her return.

"You want a thank-you for bringing her back?" Decker asked dryly.

"No, not that."

"What then?"

The younger immortal rolled his eyes. "Oh, I don't know. I thought you might just want to apologize for all that grief you guys gave me for using the cover that we were in a band on our last case. I mean... a government spy?"

"I never-" Decker stopped when he saw the teasing grin on Justin's face. Cursing at himself for allowing the kid to get a rise out of him, he barked, "Just bring her and come on."

"Yes, sir, Mr. Bond, sir," Justin said cheerfully.

"Smart a.s.s," Decker muttered under his breath as he turned away.

Chapter Two.

"The two girls are sisters," Justin announced, catching up to Decker as he reached the kidnappers' van. It was parked on the edge of the clearing, and while he hadn't taken much notice of it when they'd rushed by it earlier, Decker found himself considering it now as a possible way out of there. He paused to glance back at Justin, scowling when he saw that the kid was dragging a blank-faced Dani along by the hand like they were boyfriend and girlfriend.

Justin rolled his eyes at his expression and dropped her hand to take her arm instead.

"I know they're sisters," Decker said, relaxing a little. "She told me that."

Justin nodded, but continued recounting what he'd learned from reading Dani's mind. "Their family was up here for a long weekend. The two of them were kidnapped from the grocery store parking lot like Nicholas said. Their captors were a bit rough, but other than a bruise or two she seems all right."

Decker grunted, his attention on negotiating the uneven ground as he led the way around the van and into the clearing.

"I gather from her memories, though, that there are more than the immortals to deal with," Justin warned, following him.

That made Decker pause and glance back in question.

"It would seem Dani and Stephanie weren't the first victims," Justin explained. "There are a couple of women in the ravine she fell into. Pretty messed up from what I saw in her memory. Oh, and it turns out the ravine wasn't very deep. The reason she was so desperate to get out was because of the bodies."

Decker frowned and glanced toward the blond again. She appeared calm, her eyes blank. The sight rather bothered him. He didn't like the fact that Justin had taken control of her like this. Unfortunately, it was necessary. He didn't have time to try to talk her out of running off after her sister alone, and they had things to do before they could leave the clearing. Things she wouldn't understand, and that he didn't want her to be a witness to.

"Have you tried your phone?" Justin asked suddenly. "I tried mine before I followed you out of the clearing earlier. I was going to call in a cleanup team to pick up the rogues, but couldn't get a signal."

"Neither could I," Decker admitted, continuing on into the clearing.

"I guess we're on our own," Justin said, not sounding terribly pleased at the prospect. "What are we going to do?" Before Decker could answer, he added hopefully, "I don't suppose we could just behead the b.a.s.t.a.r.ds and be done with it?"

"You know better than that," Decker said dryly. It was all he had to say. Enforcers weren't like the mortal, and fictional, James Bond with a license to kill anyone they deemed it necessary. If they had a kill order on a rogue, that was one thing, but like mortals, immortals believed in due process. These men had to be taken in to be judged by the Council. Decker understood that it was necessary to ensure innocents weren't killed in error, but sometimes it was a terrible pain in the b.u.t.t... as now, he thought as he contemplated how they could possibly incapacitate the men so that they didn't recover and escape before a cleanup crew could get here to collect them.

"So? What are we going to do?" Justin repeated, interrupting his thoughts.

s.h.i.+fting, Decker shrugged and said, "Find something to tie up the men, search them for the keys to their van, take that to get out of here and, as soon as we can get a signal, call Lucian. The SUV has a GPS tracking system. Someone at Argeneau Enterprises will be able to track where it is so we can give chase. Lucian can also arrange for a cleanup crew to come in and take care of these guys."

As he talked, Decker had knelt to empty the pockets of the nearest p.r.o.ne rogue in search of the keys to the van, but paused and glanced up when Justin gasped, "One of them is missing."

"One of what is missing?" he asked.

"One of the rogues. There were six of them," he pointed out. "The one Nicholas is chasing and five others, but there are only four here now."

Decker straightened and quickly counted the men in the clearing. He cursed when he saw there were only four remaining. One of them either had faked being hit or had recovered much more quickly from the tranquilizer in the bullets than he should have.

The thought made him peer warily over the others. They'd have to tie them up quickly... and didn't have the proper tools to do it. Those were in the SUV.

"Why didn't he take the van?" Justin asked, distracting him from this worry.

Decker glanced sharply to the dark van parked on the edge of the clearing, grimacing when he saw the problem. "It's got a flat."

"A stray bullet must have hit it," the kid pointed out, and then eyed Decker. "Speaking of bullets, how are you feeling?"

Decker grimaced. He was feeling a little queasy, a little weak, and both wounds were hurting like a son of a b.i.t.c.h, but all he said was, "I'll live."

Justin stared at him worriedly for a moment, and then released Dani's arm and turned away, saying, "I'll see if there's a spare tire in the van."

"No," Decker said quickly. "If the fifth man was. .h.i.t and somehow recovered from the tranquilizer this quickly, he might not be fully recovered. He may have simply regained consciousness and enough strength to drag himself into the woods. But there's also a possibility that he faked being shot."

"Either way he's probably out there, watching us," Justin realized unhappily. They were both silent for a moment, eyes scanning the woods, and then Justin glanced to the unconscious man Decker had been searching and said, "What if the tranquilizer that coated the bullets was from a bad or weak batch? They might all be recovering."

Decker turned his gaze to run it over each rogue, looking for signs of recovery. The one Nicholas had shot with the crossbow had taken the arrow through the heart. He wouldn't recover without someone first removing the projectile. Decker was pretty sure the man he'd shot at the end of the skirmish had taken the bullet in the heart too. If the slug had lodged there and not traveled through, then it would at least keep him down a little while. However, Decker hadn't been concerned with making a heart-shot with the first man he'd hit, and doubted Justin had with the one he'd taken out either. They would have to tend to the men in the clearing before they could search the woods.

"Check the van and see if there's anything useful in there," Decker ordered, moving to examine the two men he was most concerned with. "And check for a spare while you're at it."

"Will do," Justin said, and turned away.

"Justin?" Decker called. When the kid paused and turned back in question, he added grimly, "Keep your eyes and ears open."

Justin's gaze slid to the four rogues in the clearing, and then over the woods surrounding them. He nodded solemnly, and then moved more cautiously toward the van.

Decker stepped out of the trees and crossed to the fire to drop the burning log he'd been using as a torch to search the woods while Justin changed the tire on the van. He hadn't found a thing. It seemed the fifth rogue from the clearing had gotten away too.

He glanced over the remaining rogues. They lay where they'd fallen, trussed up with some rope Justin had found in the van.

Decker had insisted on it before going to search for the missing one. While the rope wasn't likely to hold any of them long if they woke up, he'd hoped it would slow them down enough that he or Justin could shoot them again before they got completely free. He might have been fooling himself, it might have been as useful as wrapping limp, overcooked noodles around their ankles and wrists, but it had made him feel better about leaving Justin and Dani alone in the clearing with the rogues while he'd searched the woods.

Decker's gaze now slid to the woman. His woman. His life mate, he thought with not a little wonder. She lay curled up and sleeping peacefully by the fire compliments of Justin. While he didn't like to keep her under the other immortal's control like this, it did seem for the best at the moment.

"Did you find anything?"

Decker glanced to Justin as the younger immortal crossed the clearing to his side. He shook his head. "Not a thing."

Justin nodded, but smiled with satisfaction and announced, "I did when I took the flat tire off the van."

When Decker raised an inquiring eyebrow, Justin held out his hand and opened it to reveal two small electronic gizmos on his palm. "These were stuck to the wheel well with some kind of Silly Putty."

"What are they?" Decker took the offered items and knelt next to the fire to examine them.

"They're how Nicholas knew the rogues had grabbed the girls and brought them here. I'm pretty sure one is a listening device and the other some sort of tracking device."

"Hmm." Decker turned first one device over and then the other. "It figures. Nicholas always was a techie at heart. If Annie hadn't died, I think he would have given up being an enforcer to work in Bastien's tech lab."

"Annie was his life mate?" Justin asked.

Decker nodded.

"What happened to her?"

"She died." Decker closed his hand on the electronic gizmos and straightened. "Her death is what drove him over the edge."

Justin was silent for a minute and then said, "I've been thinking."

"Always a dangerous pastime," Decker murmured almost absently, his gaze s.h.i.+fting to the van to see that while he'd been searching the woods, Justin hadn't just removed the flat tire, he'd finished putting the spare on too. They could head out after Nicholas.

"Ha ha," Justin muttered, and then said, "I'm wondering if it's such a good idea to leave the rogues here for the cleanup crew to deal with. If they-"

"We're taking them with us," Decker interrupted. The problems with leaving the immortal rogues behind had struck him as he'd searched the woods. The downed men might wake before the cleanup crew could get there, or someone might have heard the gunshots earlier and there might-that moment-be an OPP car cruising around trying to find where the shots had originated. If a mortal cop stumbled on the clearing and found the bodies before the immortals did wake... Decker didn't even want to think about the trouble that could ensue.

When Justin relaxed beside him, obviously relieved at this news, he added, "But we aren't taking them until we're d.a.m.ned sure they aren't going to wake up in the back of the van and attack us."

"What are we going to do?" Justin asked.

Decker's answer was to lift the long branch he'd found in the woods. The action sent pain shooting through his chest and back, but he ignored it. It wasn't as bad as it had been and the queasiness had pa.s.sed.

His gaze slid to Justin to see that the younger immortal was eyeing the stick dubiously.

"You're going to beat them?" he asked uncertainly.

"No," Decker growled, just managing not to grind his teeth together. He began snapping the branch into three pieces. "We're going to stake the three who were shot with bullets. The one with the arrow doesn't need it, but the others are a risk if there isn't something to ensure their heart can't pump."

"It could kill them if we leave the stakes in too long," Justin pointed out quietly.

"We won't. We're only leaving them staked until we can meet up with a cleanup crew," Decker a.s.sured him, and then asked, "You said you found a tarp in the back of the van?"

"Yeah," Justin said, and raised an eyebrow in question.

"After we load them in the van we'll cover them with that so that Dani doesn't see them and get upset."

"I could just keep her asleep," Justin pointed out. "There's no need to wake her up."

Decker glanced to Dani. It would probably be less upsetting for her to continue sleeping, but he didn't want that. He wanted her awake so that he could talk to her, and hopefully redeem himself in her eyes. Right now the woman thought he was an inept oaf, and he'd dearly like to rectify that impression. But he also just wanted to get to know her better. She was his life mate, or could be if she agreed. After two hundred and fifty-nine years alone, he was ready for her. He just had to change her opinion of him and woo her into seeing him as something other than the Austin Powers she'd accused him of being.

Decker shook his head. He was usually the epitome of intelligence and competency, but he'd been set aback by realizing he couldn't read her and what that might mean.

"She might be able to tell us something about the man who took her sister that could help us catch him," Decker said finally, but knew it was a lame excuse. Justin had already read her mind and probably got any and everything from her that they could use.

When the younger immortal didn't call him on it, though, he handed him one of the sticks and said, "Come on. Let's get this over with and get going."

"Shouldn't we sharpen them or something?" Justin asked, accepting the makes.h.i.+ft stake.

"No time," Decker said. "Just put some muscle into it."

Justin moved toward one of the men, then glanced back to ask, "What about the bodies in the ravine?"

Decker glanced toward the edge of the clearing overlooking the shallow ditch. He considered the matter and then shook his head. "We leave them. Lucian will arrange for someone to find them so their families can give them a proper burial."

Dani woke up abruptly, almost unnaturally so, she thought with confusion as she sat up on the hard, vibrating bed and glanced around. It took her a moment to sort out that she wasn't on a bed at all, but lying on the hard metal floor of a van. Memory rushed in then, and for one moment she feared she'd dreamed the rescue in the clearing and was still being held by the men who had kidnapped her and her sister, but then Dani glanced to the seats she lay behind and saw the man presently smiling at her from the front pa.s.senger seat. Not Decker-Maybe-Argeneau-Maybe-Pimms, but another man she didn't recognize.

"The name's Justin," he introduced himself cheerfully, and then pointed to their driver and added, "I'm with Decker-Maybe- Argeneau-Maybe-Pimms."

Dani let her breath out slowly, but didn't relax. Worry for her sister was now crowding her brain.

"How are you feeling?"

The question made Dani glare at the man with disbelief. How was she feeling? She'd been kidnapped, knocked about by a bunch of brutes, caught in the middle of a Shootout, and-worst of all-her sister was missing, still in the clutches of one of those brutes. How did he think she felt? Shaking her head with disgust, she muttered, "This is the best CSIS could come up with? This is the Few and the Proud?"

"The Few and the Proud are the U.S. Marines," Justin informed her, seeming rather amused. "We CSIS men-" For some reason, he paused to cast a taunting glance toward Decker, and then continued, "We CSIS guys are the Cute, Strong, Intelligent, and s.e.xy."

"I'm sure," Dani said dryly, and then ignored him as she tried to sort out how she'd ended up in the van again. The last thing she recalled was hurrying toward the road, determined to find a house with a phone and a car so that she could call her family and do what she could to help find her sister. Dani had no idea at all how she might have ended up back in the van and sleeping.

"It's nothing to concern yourself with," Justin said, as if she'd spoken the worries aloud. "Everything's fine. We're on the road and, hopefully, soon we'll be able to get a cell signal to call in backup."

Dani found herself caught by the intensity of his eyes and, oddly enough, how she had gotten where she was suddenly didn't seem that important anymore. As the worry slipped away, she pulled herself to her knees between the seats and peered curiously out the window to see that they were just coming to the end of the gra.s.sy trail and b.u.mping onto the gravel lane. She hadn't slept long then, Dani thought, and turned to peer at Decker. For some reason they were driving with the interior lights on.