Apollo Read online

  For some reason, Major Carter looked older to Apollo, like the past few weeks had aged him more than ever.

  “We had assumed that the informants being used were from a trusted source, and up until this point, we’d had no reason to doubt this,” he said. Major Carter glanced over at Rem and then continued. “It is now clear that at least some of the informants are involved with the Horatius Group.”

  “How do you know this?” Apollo asked. He couldn’t even muster the anger something like this should have caused. Just one more case of them getting fucked over by the government that was supposed to be protecting them.

  “I had some people I know do some digging,” Major Carter said. “It didn’t go far, but a few lines traced back to Woods.”

  Apollo’s fists tightened under the table, and he ground his teeth. Knowing that the corrupt congressman was behind a part of this made his stomach turn, mainly because they all knew of his ties to the Horatius Group. Woods had been more than willing to show his loyalty to Romulus, the leader of the Glycons, a mutated group of hybrids.

  “Well, don’t we have money now thanks to Rem?” Rachel piped up. “You can just stop taking on missions.”

  Titus shook his head. “It’s not that simple. If they know that we know, it could put us in even more danger. It would be best if we could use this and make it work for us.” He stood and leaned over on the table. His dark stare pierced through the group. “They know all about our behaviors, and we need to know how that’s happening. They have been able to stay ahead of us at every turn. If we can figure out why, we might be able to do the same to them.”

  Apollo thought about it for a moment. His leader’s plan made sense. There was risk involved, but as was pointed out, there was risk either way. They needed to get some sort of advantage over the Horatius Group.

  “Just another reason we need that security up pronto,” Sol said and looked down the table at Apollo.

  He gave a curt nod. It wasn’t like he was going to mess around with this. They were all on the same page. A rare satisfaction filled him.

  “Are we sure about this…” he asked and looked down at the paper in front of him. “Hart guy?”

  “No,” Titus said. “That’s why I need you to watch him closely. We can’t afford to have any more slip-ups.”

  “Maybe we should just have Marius do it,” Apollo said and looked at the hybrid across from him. “You’re good with this stuff.”

  Marius shook his head. “I’m good with numbers and charts. This is going to require rewiring and programming.” He held up his hands. “Not my thing.”

  Apollo sighed. There didn’t seem to be much choice.

  “I’ll say this, there’s not much out there about this guy. No real school records, and he claims to be self-taught, but all his past clients check out,” Titus said. “This guy, at least, seems like the real deal.”

  Apollo nodded but didn’t trust what he was being told. Doctor Fisher had checked out, and look where that had gotten them.

  “Once you’re certain we can trust him,” Rachel cut in. “Bring him to my office. We might be able to find out what these chips are doing if someone can read the programing.”

  His muscles tensed at the thought of the chip. Having something like that inside his body was bad enough, but not knowing what it was doing, well, it was enough to drive him crazy.

  “One last thing before we go,” Titus said, cutting into the worry that ate at Apollo. He turned to look at his leader. “Jenna and Rem have been doing research on possible links to our history, but with so few to help, they haven’t made much headway.”

  Several of the men in the room shifted in their seats. Apollo didn’t blame them. They had just finished talking about not trusting people, and then they accepted a known traitor like Rem right into their fold. The choice didn’t seem very smart to Apollo, and he knew that many of the younger men Rem worked with weren’t thrilled.

  Still, he supposed they needed to learn from him, and this was the best way to get that information. And from the looks Jenna was giving him, at least somebody trustworthy wasn’t afraid to shoot his ass if he stepped out of line.

  He resisted a snort. The little secretary was the only one around there that had any real balls.

  “We need any and all information,” Titus continued. “If you have names or details of your time before, please see Jenna.”

  That’s how they thought about their lives now, the time before Luna Lodge and the time after. Their lives were so divided by their tainted pasts.

  “That’s it for now,” Titus said and stood. “I’ll let you get to your tasks.”

  Apollo stood and started toward the door but stopped when Rachel placed a hand on his shoulder.

  “I’d like to talk to you if you have time,” she said quietly.

  Several of the men were still near, and despite her trying to be discreet, several turned and shot him an odd stare. It wasn’t common knowledge yet. Apollo supposed he should have been thankful that she didn’t expose him to the group. The fact that his chip was complicated still wasn’t something he had processed fully. In fact, that he was the only complicated case in the group only seemed to annoy him more.

  He should have been grateful, and yet he wasn’t. Instead, he felt irritation. Like she held it over him to use at any moment. He tried hard to bury the feelings, but trust was a scarce commodity given recent events.

  His mouth formed a hard line, as he stared at her, Marius close at hand.

  “Not here,” Apollo said finally and glanced at the clock. There was still twenty minutes before the tech was scheduled to show, but he didn’t feel like doing this shit now. “I’ll come in later. Lots going on right now,” he said and pushed past. Before stepping out the door, he glanced over his shoulder. “And not with the muscle around.”

  He could hear the rumble from Marius as he made his way down the hall and chuckled. From numbers to muscle. They really were an odd bunch.

  Chapter Three

  Val sat in the cafe and sipped her hot cocoa. It was cold outside, and the idea of coffee made her stomach sour. The place was fairly slow, and she was grateful. There was a smattering of couples in the booths and a few at the counter. They ate quietly, and she became the invisible woman she knew she could be.

  She’d spent all this time planning for today, and now that the time had come, she didn’t even know if she could go through with what she needed to do. Working for the Luna Lodge hybrids could prove to be very dangerous. It wasn’t like their facility was the safest place, and their enemies only seemed to be mounting. But it wasn’t like she had much of a choice.

  Of course, that’s why they were going to hire her. Well, she’d helped with that a little by slipping into their system undetected and figuring out what sites they were using, so she could target those sites for advertising. She had to do what needed to be done in order to get in. And, in the grand scheme of things, it was one of the less illegal acts she’d committed over the years.

  She wrapped her hands tight around the mug to stop the trembling that usually came from thinking about her darker days. It wasn’t something she liked to dwell on, and she certainly wasn’t going to start today. No, today she was on a mission to finally be able to silence the call.

  Her eyes found the TV in the corner. The picture paused and distorted for a second, but no one seemed to mind. They needed to invest in some cable TV in her opinion.

  “Another cup?” the friendly waitress asked.

  Val shook her head and smiled. “I’ve got an appointment soon.”

  Being a small town, the woman leaned down and grinned, waiting for the bit of gossip that would likely make her day.

  “You applying for a job in town?” she asked excitedly.

  Val chewed the inside of her cheek, wondering whether to tell or not to tell. She sighed and gave in. It likely wouldn’t matter in the end.

  “I’m going to the Lodge,” she said quietly.

  All movement in
the place came to a standstill. The room grew so quiet she could hear herself breathe. Every eye was suddenly on her and a chill rippled down her spine. The eerie light from the distorted TV only added to the mood.

  “Oh, you don’t want to go there,” the waitress said. Her face had become so pale that Val could see each and every freckle on her face. Her eyes glassed over slightly, and Val wondered if she was going to be ill.

  “It’s okay,” she said and waved off her concern. “They know I’m coming.”

  “That place is evil,” the waitress whispered. “They brought a blackness to this town.”

  Val frowned. That was pretty dark for a coffee shop waitress.

  “Maybe it’s just a reflection of the people who hate them,” she offered. She’d never really been much of a crusader, but it seemed a bit much to her to call the place evil.

  The woman shook her head vigorously and stepped back.

  “That’s what they do,” she mumbled. “They take them and keep them there. Those things aren’t even people. You know that, right? They are animals pretending to be people.”

  The girl continued to talk quietly to herself, and Val let the odd feelings roll over her as she tried to sort out the woman’s intentions. Her mannerisms were weird and creeped Val out.

  “Well, I’m just going to—”

  Without warning, the waitress’s finger shot out, and she pointed directly at Val’s face. Several other patrons nearby watched with solemn expressions.

  “Go there, and you will never leave,” the waitress declared loudly, her voice dark and full of menace.

  Val could feel it, the violence in the room. The weight of their emotions started smothering her. She had to get out before the feelings overtook everything else, overtook her.

  She’d gotten good over the years at dealing with all the feelings that people had and her odd ability to sense them, shutting them out, letting them pass over her and not through. But these emotions were different. It was like being hit with a truck over and over. Her stomach rolled as she tried to process just what was happening.

  “Well,” Val said and stood just inches away from the woman’s pointed finger. “As much as I’d like to stay and continue with the crazy, I’ve got even more crazy things to do.”

  She pulled out her wallet and tossed a few bills down. It was too bad her waitress brought out the nut-baggery. Val was normally a pretty good tipper.

  Her sneakers squeaked across the floor as she made her way to the door.

  “You’ll regret this,” an old man said at a booth near the door.

  She stared at him for a moment. Weathered face from years being outside. White hair and a bushy mustache. Not at all the sort of man you’d expect to say something like that. His eyes were just as glassy as the poor waitress and skin just as pale.

  The waves of aggression and violence again crashed into her, but she gave a small smile and shouldered through the waves.

  “Likely,” she said. “But it wouldn’t be the first time.”

  She shook herself from the odd hold the place had and pushed through the door. Once outside she could breathe again and sucked in deep breaths.

  From the sidewalk, she stared through the picture window at the eyes still watching her.

  “Great fucking start,” she mumbled and glared at them through the glass. It was one messed-up town. If that is how people thought, she was surprised they hadn’t all stormed Luna Lodge with pitchforks and torches.

  Val turned her back to the window and frowned. She didn’t have time for this. She checked her phone. Just enough time to get there. They warned her not to be early, and she didn’t want to do anything that might hurt her chances. If she shouldn’t be early, she definitely didn’t want to be late.

  Ignoring the crazy people in the cafe, she smoothed her hands down her jeans and zipped up her coat over her t-shirt. It was time.

  * * *

  Apollo grumbled in the main conference room. The guy was already late. Not a good sign. They needed reliable people, not lazy idiots. Luna Lodge wasn’t some grocery store. People were trying to kidnap and kill them.

  He glanced at his watch again. Three minutes after.

  Did the guy think Apollo didn’t have other shit to do? He wasn’t going to just wait around all day.

  Movement in the hall caught his ears, and he stood. The door started to open.

  “It’s about fucking ti…”

  The words were still on the tip of his tongue, but all he could do was stare at the little woman who had just stepped in beside a soldier. The first thing he noticed about her was the striking pale blue eyes staring back at him. Against her pale complexion and light blond hair, it was by far her most striking feature.

  Those eyes pinned him, and he nearly lost himself in them.

  “Sir,” one of Carter’s men looked to him, uncertain. “She—”

  “Are you Apollo?” she asked and stepped into the room. As the pale blue eyes got closer, he felt the walls close in around him. The small woman walked up to him and extended a hand. “Nice to meet you.”

  He looked from her to the delicate hand and then back.

  She frowned, and he could see that she did it often enough to cause fine little lines on her face.

  “Are you?” She gave him a funny look before turning back to the man still at the door. With an exasperated sigh, she addressed the soldier. “Is this they guy or what?”

  The man looked between the woman and Apollo. Not quite sure what to do next. “Sir?”

  His words cut into Apollo’s partially numb brain, and he shook himself the rest of the way awake.

  “Who the hell are you?” he asked, more confused than angry.

  She frowned again.

  “I’m Val. Who the hell are you?”

  She crossed her arms over her chest and glared up at him.

  It wasn’t really the response he was used to getting.

  “I’m Apollo,” he said slowly.

  She sighed loudly and rolled her eyes. “Well, aren’t you the guy I’m supposed to meet with?”

  He glanced over to the soldier but found he’d already left the room.

  “Yes. I mean no. I mean…” He stopped when she smiled at him. She was just messing with him now. “You are Val Hart,” he said finally.

  She rolled her eyes, and it only proved to piss him off further.

  “Yes,” she said simply.

  “Valentine Hart,” he said.

  The steely stare she gave him could have cut through stone. “I go by Val.”

  “But Valentine is a man’s name,” he said again and moved to the other side of the table. He was pretty sure of it, at least. They had their gaps in knowledge, but everyone, including the non-hybrids, seemed to be expecting a man. Something about the woman was already rubbing him the wrong way.

  “Talk to the person who gave it to me,” she said more firmly than before. “It’s Val.”

  “This can’t be right,” he said and picked up the phone. “You’re supposed to be a man.”

  Faster than he expected, she turned and headed for the door.

  “Wait,” he said as she opened the door.

  Val stopped at the door and turned to look at him.

  He scrubbed a hand on his face and sighed. It would be hell for him if the leading tech person left under these circumstances. This would be the nail in his coffin that he was indeed hard to work with.

  Apollo looked at the tiny little woman. She was small. Smaller than any other woman he’d ever met. At least she was pretty in an odd sort of way. Her hair was short and fair, so much so that at first glance, it appeared white, a bit unsettling to him, as it reminded him of Romulus, but it was her eyes that captivated him.

  She stared hard at him, and he shifted uncomfortably. Something about the way she stared nagged at him. Like she wasn’t waiting but searching. He could feel it somehow. Val breathed in deeply, and for a split second, he could have sworn she smelled his confusion.

 
He nearly laughed at the thought but stopped. A warm rich smell clouded the room and filled his nostrils. It was sweet with deep notes that only seemed to take hold the more he breathed.

  Apollo stared in surprise. A Vestal? No. It was impossible.

  As soon as the word entered his head, the smell vanished, leaving him aching for it once again. He opened his mouth to say something but not quite sure where to start. Had he imagined it?

  Val closed the door and stepped closer.

  He breathed in deeply and frowned. Nothing. He almost wanted to laugh. Was he so desperate for a mate that his brain was playing tricks on him?

  “I’m Val Hart,” she said. Her piercing eyes pinned him as she stood before him just feet away. “Do you have anything else to say on that subject?”

  Apollo shook his head.

  “Good,” she said and stepped back.

  He shifted slightly to hide the bulge that had formed in his pants. The last thing he needed was to be accused of harassment, especially after making a big deal about her not being a man.

  “Maybe you want to show me what I’ll be working with,” she said and stared at him expectantly. For someone so small, she sure knew how to throw her weight around.

  Apollo nearly choked as he stepped back a little more. She might not have meant it that way, but in his current state, it was the only thing that came to mind.

  She rolled her eyes at his discomfort.

  “You men are all the same,” she muttered. “The camera.” She sighed. “I want to see the camera.”

  Apollo frowned.

  “I’m not a man,” he said and walked to the door. This woman was going to be a pain in his ass.

  * * *

  “Stupid piece of shit,” Val cursed at the damned camera that just refused to come unscrewed.

  The bolt gave way, and she twisted the wrench furiously.

  “Ha!” she cried out in victory.

  She had been at it for nearly an hour now. At first, having the large man watch from below had been a little unsettling, but after time, they fell into a sort of comfortable silence. He wasn’t a bad man. Maybe a bit of a dick, and he needed to keep his hormones in check, but that didn’t really change the root of his character.