Christy - Loving a Mercenary (Project Zeus - Olympia Book 3)

Chapter 4

Christy was the first to un-board as soon as the doors opened. She quickly made her way to the exits and the waiting shuttles beyond. Chris made her way to the back of the small shuttle and prayed for it to pull off. Once the vehicle started moving, she gave a sigh of relief. Her mind raced with ideals as they weaved through traffic. Should she see Brendan first or should she hit their lab first? Speaking of lab, she wondered how far they’d gotten into studying his blood.

“This is the last stop, Mami.” The heavily accented voice pulled her from her thoughts.

“Gracias.” She muttered absently, her accent immediately adapting to his as she gathered her duffel close and shuffled off. She made quick work of renting a car and procuring a room. She figured she’d sit and plan instead of going with her first instinct. Allie always lectured her about her impulsiveness. Wouldn’t she be proud to know that Christy actually listened? Man, what I wouldn’t give to have my sister here, or any of my family for that matter, she thought longingly, as she made her way into her room. She ordered from room service as she went over the schematics of the hospital that housed Brendan. She chewed thoughtfully on her fries as she planned her cover. She finally settled on going for him at first light. She’d wait until right before shift change so that way the guards on duty would be too sleepy to pay close attention to the monitors. With her plan set, Christy stripped down to her tank and underwear and fell across the bed.

Vlad remained quiet as Cullen and Alex mentally searched for Chris. They kept assuring him that she was ok, but he knew that he wouldn’t believe it until he held her in his arms.

“She’s at the Best Western on a street called Colonial. The locals call it State Road 50.” Alex’s voice cut through his thoughts, pulling his gaze to her face.

“How far is this state road 50?”

“About ten to fifteen minutes away from where we are now.” Her words had anticipation moving through him.

“Then what are we waiting on?”

“The bus.” Cullen answered in disgust.

“It’s only because Christy has a vehicle already, and it’ll be easier not having to deal with another one.” From Alex’s testy tone, he could tell that the two of them were having a disagreement. Right now he could care less about their sibling squabbles. His only thoughts were for Chris’s safety. He could still hear the sad regret in her voice from their brief mental connection.

“Which bus?” He cut into the tense silence.

“436 Apopka.” Alex answered, finally looking away from Cullen. Vlad shook his head at their silent pissing contest as he looked around.

“There.” He said, spotting their bus. They gathered in line and shuffled on with the rest of the passengers.

“So, how do we stop her?” Vlad asked once they were seated and in route.

“We don’t.” Ethan gave a snort. “It’s Brendan. Nothing in this world would stop her.”

“Then what are we going to do?” In short of drugging her and dragging her back to the island, he had no ideal how to keep her safe.

“We’re going to help her extract Brendan and transport him back to the island.” Vlad felt his stomach knot up at Alex’s words.

“What if he’s been compromised?”

“Don’t worry, Vlad. We’ll take precautions.” With that, she pulled the string, signaling the bus to stop. Just as they were getting off, there connecting bus was pulling up. They boarded the bus and within moments they were at the hotel.

“So, how do you want to play this?” Ethan posed his question to the group as he glanced up at the modest building.

“Cullen could shield us from everything so that way we won’t have to worry about tampering with security.” Alex glanced over at her brother and got his nod of approval.

“Fine. Let’s do this.” Vlad muttered. He waited until Cullen gave the go ahead, and then moved quickly through the lobby and to the stairwell, up to Christy’s room. Vlad made quick work of the lock and quickly scanned the room before entering. There Christy sat in the middle of a large bed, starring at him in wide-eyed surprise.

“What are you guys doing here?” Her voice was husky with sleep and it made his body tense for a different reason.

“You didn’t think we’d let you have all the fun alone did you?” Ethan smirked at her as he crossed the room.

Christy looked into the amused eyes of her baby brother and ordered her heart to stop racing as she pushed the dream back down under the surface where it belonged, as she smiled back at him. She could feel Allie’s curious gaze on her and the small tug at her guard, letting her know that she was trying to take a peek.

“I was just wishing for some backup.” Chris responded easily, even as she fortified the wall around her thoughts. She kicked the covers off of her and climbed from the bed. She padded over to her duffel bag and rifled through for a clean pair of clothes, unmindful of her state of undress.

“So sis, where is your better half?” She called teasingly over her shoulder, noting the absence of Dodger.

“He stayed back with Cooper to keep an eye on my aunt and uncle.” Alex responded. “Now will you put some clothes on before Vlad blows a gasket?”

Christy looked over at him at her sister’s words and saw raw lust fill his eyes. She felt an answering response pull inside of her and nearly gasped from the intensity. Without another word, she grabbed her clothes and escaped to the bathroom. After showering quickly and running a towel through her hair, Chris dressed and went back out to join the group.

“So, I already have a plan.” She called out as she entered the room.

“Let’s hear it.” Cullen’s tone had her frowning slightly even as she ran through her idea.

“That’s a good plan.” Alex praised. “Not nearly as impulsive as you usually are.”

Guilt filled her as she turned away. That’s because she’d already done something foolish and impulsive. She promised her freedom to a maniac.

“Yeah, we should go ahead and move out. They’ll be changing shifts in a couple of hours.” Avoiding everyone’s eyes, Chris pulled her damp hair into a knot and then headed towards the door.

“We’ll take the window.” Cullen called to her back, making her frown in confusion.

“Why?”

“Because I shielded everyone coming in, so no one know we’re here. I though I’d save my mental energy in case I needed it later.” Cullen’s explanation made since and Chris knew that she would want all of them at their best.

“We’re not all superhuman.” Vlad shot them an incredulous look. “And I like being able to walk.” Ethan snickered, earning him a smack from Alex. Chris bit back a grin before focusing once again on Vlad.

“You can come down with me.” She pulled the door open and felt Vlad clasp her free hand in his.

“See you at the car.” She muttered as the door slapped shut at their backs.

“Why did you run off, Christy?” His deep voice, full of concern, had her looking up guiltily.

“You wouldn’t understand.” She muttered.

“Try me.” He responded, tugging on her hand and stopping her forward motion.

“Because it’s Brendan.” She snapped impatiently. “And that means less to you then it does to them.”

“You’re wrong.” Vlad stated vehemently. “Anything that hurts you means everything to me.” The conviction in his voice had her heart doing a slow roll in her chest. She stood on the tips of her toes and pressed her mouth to his in a sweet kiss.

“Thank you.” She whispered as she pulled away and continued to lead him out.

“This conversation isn’t over.” He promised as they met up with her siblings. She looked at his broad back as he stepped around her, sadness filling her. It was over. More than he knew. She brushed the melancholy thoughts aside as she unlocked the car for everyone.

“Allie, once we get in I want you to hit the lab and the computers. Cullen, you’ll find and destroy the physical records. Ethan, you’ll come with me just in case my connection isn’t enough to find him.” She rattled off orders as she weaved easily through traffic.

“What about me?” Vlad’s question pulled her eyes from the road for a second.

“I need you covering our asses from the outside. If someone from Olympia comes looking for Brendan, they won’t expect you.” She pulled the car onto the lot and cut the engine.

“So, we all know what we’re going to do. Let’s bring our brother back.” Chris reached for the handle but before she could open the door, Vlad gripped her arm.

“What?” She turned confused eyes on him, but instead of answering, he crushed his mouth down hungrily on hers.

“Be careful.” He muttered as he pulled away, leaving her breathless.

“I’ll do my poor best.” She promised with a grin before shooting off into the dark to join her siblings.

“Wow, I thought he was going to strip your clothes off and do you right there.” Ethan shot her a cheeky grin.

“I wish.” s****l frustration colored her voice, turning his grin into a chuckle.

“Let’s just get Brendan.” She stalked away, doing her best to ignore Ethan’s knowing smile.

“Do it.” She muttered to her brother, signaling him to open his senses and search for Brendan. They walked through the front door and headed towards the bank of elevators. As they stepped on the elevator and began the ascent, Ethan spoke.

“Chris, we have a problem.”

“What kind?” She asked suspiciously, not liking her brother’s tone.

“The government kind.” His words had dread settling in her stomach.

“Olympia?” She tensed, waiting on a response.

“No, this is different. Sterile.” Ethan muttered as he sniffed the air again, and then gasped. “It’s the CDC.” Great, just what they needed, the Center for Disease Control sniffing around.

“Ok, that changes things. What room is he in?”

“512. Isolation ward.”

“Alright.” Christy pushed the button for the lobby as she called mentally to her siblings.

“What are you doing?” Ethan asked in confusion as they plummeted back down.

“We need a new plan.” Chris stepped off of the elevator and headed towards the cafeteria. As they approached it, Cullen and Alex joined them.

“I’ve erased all traces of Brendan out of their systems and the government systems as well.” Alex updated as she settled at a table. “And I destroyed all of the blood samples.”

            “And I found the physical file.” Cullen updated as he pulled it out.

“Good, but the question remains… what do we do now?”

“How about I create a distraction while Cullen cloak you and Ethan? You guys can dose Brendan and get him out.” Alex suggested.

“What about the security cameras?” Christy asked. Alex looked to Cullen and he gave a shake of his head.

“I can’t cover them from every camera. This place is expansive.”

“Well, what if we get Vlad to cut the feed during the shift change? That should give us a little time.” Chris suggested.

“That could work.” Alex muttered, pulling her cell phone out. She quickly informed Vlad of the change of plans and then disconnected.

“Ok, shift change is in ten minutes. Let’s get into place.” Alex pushed to her feet and Chris followed suite.

“We’re only going to have fifteen minutes. Will that be enough time?” She asked nervously. This was Brendan’s life so they had no room for error.

“We’ll make it enough time.” Alex promised fiercely, helping to relieve some of the tension. She knew that her family would do everything in their power to protect Brendan, she just hoped that it was enough.

Chris quickly gave the mental go ahead as she and Ethan got into place.

“What the hell do you mean he’s contagious and it got through the hasmet suits?” Chris gave a chuckle at the anger and fear in the man’s tone.

“But we’re supposed to stay here and guard the door.” He was continuing on. Chris marveled at the things her sister could do. Man she wished she could see what was playing out in their heads.

“Yes sir.” She heard the man finally say. That was their cue. Chris peaked around the corner and watched as both men abandoned their post.

“Ok, let’s go.” She gestured for Ethan to follow and they made their way into Brendan’s room. She felt her heart jerk as she looked down at her unconscious brother. Although his features looked peaceful, she knew that he was in pain.  She could still remember the agony that Cullen experienced just a few weeks ago.

“I’ll make it better.” She promised as she rolled the sheet down.

“What are you doing?” Ethan whispered frantically. “Let’s dose him and get the hell out of here.”

“That’s what I’m doing.” She whispered back. “This only works if it’s injected at the point of entry.” She exposed the wound and pressed the syringe into it. Once she emptied all of the medicine in, she gestured to Ethan.

“Pick him up and let’s go. Vlad should have cut the security feed by now.” Christy led the way out into the hall and towards the stairwell.

“Hey, what are you doing?” Someone called out from behind them. Chris turned around and looked into the shocked face of a young woman.

“Great, we’ve been spotted by the floor nurse.” She muttered as she watched the young blond girl turned towards the phone on the desk. She knew that even with her speed, she wasn’t going to be able to reach the girl in time to stop her from calling security.

“Get Brendan out of here. I’ll hold security off and meet you at the car.” With a quick nod, Ethan did as he was told. Chris made her way back towards the girl and saw fear widen her baby blue eyes.

“Generally, I hate hurting civilians, but you didn’t leave me with much of a choice.” Before the nurse could react, Christy c****d her. She felt a small stirring of pity as the girl slid unconsciously to the floor.