Riding on Whispers (the Wolfegang series Book 3) (21 page)

The track took me straight to the exit and I passed through quickly, and didn’t stop until I reached our quarters. I went in to the bathroom to take a shower, dropping my uniform on the bed as I passed through.

The water ran over me, soothing my tired muscles. I took a deep breath, and steadied myself. I could do this; we would find out who was on to us. Stepping out of the shower, I grabbed the towel and dried off. I slipped the uniform back on and made sure everything was in place. When I was ready, I checked my handgun and slipped it into my hip holster before I went to check on Wolfe.

The door slid open and someone stood there with his hair falling into his eyes and a sinister smile on his lips.

“Hello, Lieutenant.”

The tall, nondescript man shoved me back into the room with his hand over my mouth to muffle my scream. He locked the door behind him, and pushed me against the wall.

“I will let go if you promise to be quiet,” he whispered.

I breathed in deep gasps, scared and unsure, but I wanted him off of me so I nodded.

Slowly he uncovered my mouth, let me go, and backed away carefully. I looked him up and down, assessing, and looking to see how much of a threat he could be.

He was taller than me, but not as tall as Wolfe. He had brown hair, brown eyes, and a medium build. The kind of person you would never remember seeing; who would never, ever stand out in a crowd.

“Who are you?” I asked.

“The name is John Smith.”

I had my gun out, and pointed at his head before he could blink. His hands went up slowly, but that creepy smile tugged at his lips.

“Explain why you were digging through my files, and quickly. You’d better have a damn good reason,” I said, my voice low and angry. How
dare
he go through my files, waltz into my room, and do whatever he damn well pleased.

“I was told to watch out for women that fit your age range and description – women that came here as a temporary stop, something that would be in and out.”

I stepped closer, the barrel of my gun rested on his temple. “Excuse me?”

“The female version of Mr. Anderson is a lot sexier than I anticipated.”

This was getting weird and disturbing, but somehow this asshole knew my brother. It made my muscles seize and I wasn’t sure I could move. My muscles felt like rocks, but my gun was steady.

“You might want to go into a little bit of detail on that one,” I whispered. My veins were hot and fevered and the heat pulsed through me, igniting anger at everything, and I was going to take it out on this poor, pipsqueak of a man; this messenger.

“Well, he left a trail of bread crumbs for you, and I’m one of the dropped pieces.”

“What are you supposed to tell me, something obscure and impossible? Just tell me where he is and I won’t have to kill you.” It was an empty threat, but I’d make sure he couldn’t follow me.

John Smith just laughed, which was quickly cut off by my other hand on his throat, squeezing his wind pipe. An odd choking sound made it out of his mouth.

“I am not playing games with you, Smith. You are going to tell me what I want to know.” I was sick and tired of these games. I wanted answers, not riddles.

“Katerina,” Wolfe’s voice came over the comm. piece. “I think I found someone who can help me.”

“No need, Captain,” I replied. “The weasel is here in our rooms with my gun pointed at his skull.”

“I’ll be right there.”

Smith wheezed around the pressure on his throat and said, “Tell him to meet us in the bar. Otherwise you’ll never get the information you wanted.”

“Why?” I demanded. “I have absolutely no reason to listen to you.”

Smith leaned in to my hand. “He may be your Captain, but what I have to tell you is only for your ears.”

“Or you could tell me where Kris is, and get straight to the point.” I emphasized my words with a nice squeeze; I could feel the bones and tendons in his neck crackle and strain against my fingers.

“Kat, what’s going on? Are you all right?” Wolfe almost sounded panicked. This was probably the last situation he’d anticipated.

I’d forgotten the comm line between us was still open, and Wolfe could hear every word I had said.

There was a disgusting wet laugh, and Smith said, “Darling, you are in way over your head. Go ahead and kill me. I follow my orders and I do not stray. Do you really think if it was safe for you to know where he is right now that he would hide it from you? You’re a fool.”

My grip loosened just a little. I was beginning to wonder that myself.

“Is he in trouble? What can I do?” My voice wasn’t strong anymore, it was desperate. “Just tell me what I want to know. I’ll deal with the consequences.”

“He said you would say that, but I can’t. Close out the transmission to your Captain. Tell him you’ll meet him, then I’ll tell you what I can.”
“Wolfe, I will meet you in the bar, unharmed in twenty minutes. Kat out.” I tapped my belt with the butt of my pistol to end the transmission.

I eyed him, and shook my head. This was such a bad idea. “I swear if you try anything when I let you go, I will shoot you without hesitation.”

“I understand completely, darling.”

“And don’t call me that.” I left the gun cocked and ready. My other hand slowly released his throat, and he stumbled to his feet.

“I see you’re stronger than average too, that is definitely an advantage.”

I was shocked. “What do you know about that? What does Kris know? Why can’t I just see him?” I was so frustrated I practically screamed. There were so many questions, and this guy might have the answers. If only he would tell me.

I started pacing, my gun still out and ready. I watched him from the corner of my eyes, but I couldn’t stand still. This whole thing was extremely aggravating. Kris couldn’t decide to just keep me away and uninformed. I had to know.

“I told you, there are only certain things I was ordered to tell you, and to give you this.” He handed me a blue crystal that hung on a silver necklace. It had engravings carved into it. The crystal shone like glass with the light filtering through it.

Carefully, I took it. “Is this encoded?” I asked.

He smiled approvingly. “Good, you know about that. Yes, it’s inscribed and encoded, but as you see the shape is unusual, you’ll need a special reader. You’ll find one on Asgard, which is where your pretty necklace is.”

“Asgard?” Could that possibly be a real place? “How did you hear about the necklace?” I slipped the crystal over my head, and tucked it in my shirt so I wouldn’t lose it.

“I caught more on my hack than your little orange friend thought. It was in one of your recent searches from your personal console. I believe your Captain recently acquired that map? News travels quickly in the underworld. The necklace is where the crystal reader is, and the crystal comes with a message, ‘Be careful, tread lightly in your travels, and when you see the message you will understand. If you don’t find me first, I will find you.’ Here is the second crystal – just a standard encoded video message for you to watch once you’re off the base, and back on your ship.”

It didn’t look special, just a simple crystal. I tucked it in one of my pockets. “Is he at least alive and well? Is he sick at all?” I practically begged for more information, anything to give me more hope. I was running on fumes.

“I checked in about a month ago, and he was still alive when he messaged me for any activity. I will have to wait here for his next message before I can leave the base.” Smith rubbed at his neck, and for a split second he looked normal.

“I could stay until then,” I said. “When is his next message?” I would make it happen, even if I had to get left behind.

“There is no way to know that,” Smith answered. “He sends the messages whenever he gets a chance from different places at different times. Sometimes a week apart and sometimes it’s six months. It’s not safe for you to stay here and wait that long. You have to go.” Smith straightened and put his shoulders back. He walked towards the door, grabbed my arm, and pulled me along with him. “I have to disappear. I can’t be seen here, and you and the captain need to leave as soon as possible. You got what you came for. Get your things and leave.”

Unfortunately, my logical side agreed with him; we had to get out before someone caught on to us. I shook him off. “I won’t leave without Wolfe.”

He walked through the door and gave me one last look before he disappeared down the hall. I locked the door behind him, and started throwing all of our belongings in the bags and zipped them up. We traveled light, and most of it was weaponry anyway. Most of the guns I left in the room for when I came back. I might need them later.

Walking back to the hangar was difficult. I tried not to look like I was in a rush. My ident chip let me through the checkpoint, and thankfully, no one gave me a second look.

Marauders were considered outsiders. They did the dirty work for the military, at whatever cost, or so Wolfe said. Mostly, marauders were ignored by normal soldiers. When I reached the hangar I was grateful no one questioned me. I opened the hatch to our transport pod, tossed the bags inside, and then locked it up. I glanced around before I left the hangar, going the opposite direction I’d come from to get to the bar.

I reached the double doors in record time, and scanned the bar surreptitiously. Only a few groups of soldiers were hanging out and playing cards. I walked across the room to the bar and sat down. Several pairs of eyes followed my movement. When I looked over my shoulder, everyone averted their gaze. I turned back to the bartender and ordered a beer. I didn’t really like beer, but it looked like the safest thing to drink.

I checked the room over again and didn’t see Wolfe. He should’ve been there. The captain was always punctual.

“Instead of a beer, make it two fireballs,” a cultured, velvety smooth voice said next to me.

I turned to see who thought it was a good idea to sit next to me. A handsome man with a slightly weathered look to his face sat on the stool next to mine. He wore glasses that reminded me of a professor, with dirty blonde hair that was out of military regulation, and a uniform I hadn’t seen before.

“And you are?” I asked.

“You, lovely, can call me Donnelly. I happen to run this base.” The way he smiled at me and waved his hand, indicating the room and the base, sent chills down my spine. “Lt. General Donnelly, at your service.”

The drinks arrived in front of us, red and inviting. When Donnelly took a sip, I followed suit, but carefully. It was warm, like cinnamon, but with a kick at the end. It set fire to my belly. I could smell how strong it was, and decided I probably shouldn’t have more than that one sip.

My hands shook as I put the glass down. The man in charge of the base talking to me, this wasn’t going to end well. Whatever his reason, I was pretty sure I wasn’t going to like it. I could feel everyone’s eyes on my back like a weight. This was the exact situation I’d been trying to avoid.

“What can I do for you, Lt. General?” I asked, resisting the urge to reach for my gun. My eyes were trained on the wall in front of me, avoiding his gaze. I couldn’t help my twitch.

“Mm, I desperately wanted to see why you should be protected.”

“What?” I had no clue what he was talking about, and he gave me a look I didn’t like either. Like I was his prey; tasty, sweet prey.

“Katerina, Wolfe has gone off the radar. He was visited by Lt. General Donnelly, and then his comm went to static.” Ricky’s voice was low and panicked in my ear.

I turned sharply, looking at the man who sat next to me. What an odd coincidence. One I didn’t like. I couldn’t answer Ricky, not with Donnelly sitting right there.

“Katerina, are you there?”

I tapped my belt twice. It would send static through the transmission. I did it once more so he knew I was doing it on purpose. Letting him know I couldn’t respond.

“Well, Katerina…which I think is a beautiful name, by the way. My old friend Chase Wolfe decided to come visit me. I couldn’t help but catch up with him.”

My body went cold, and I couldn’t move. There was a feeling that slammed through me which I didn’t recognize, but it flooded me with adrenaline.

“Yes, I do know a few things. I just came to let you know that if you want to stay alive, you’ll come visit my office.” He downed his drink. “If you don’t show up in ten minutes I’ll have to send an escort, my dear, and that won’t be pleasant for anyone involved.”

He walked out of the bar, slow and cocky, with his hands in his pockets.