CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

B en watched Oliver silently drop the armed human onto the floor and give him the signal.

All clear.

Together they had disabled, aka knocked out, all the security team in the vicinity, and Ben had disconnected the cameras. That was after they had set a little distraction for the Moretti team who were hot on their trail. Using mind control, they had directed three of Tomassi’s security team to confront them.

It wouldn’t buy them much time, but they didn’t need much.

There would be more clean-up before they left, but now, they were going to give Xander Tomassi a midnight surprise. And not the kind the overweight prick would be hoping for, either.

Oh yes, they had witnessed some of his sexual appetite, and Ben had a feeling many of the women were not as consenting as the asshole thought. Not that he seemed to give a fuck.

Waving two fingers, Oli indicated the door on the right.

Tomassi’s bedroom. Ben tried the handle, and it was unlocked.

Bingo.

With a nod at each other, they entered with vamp speed and surrounded the bed.

The empty bed.

What the fuck?

Both their heads turned back and forth, then their bodies followed, searching for an attack. Had they fucked up?

“The hell?” Oliver ripped off his balaclava.

Ben did the same and rubbed his face.

“I thought we’d intercepted the jet, delayed it?” Ben asked. The Institute’s team in Seattle had gotten intel about Xander’s plans to return to the United States, and they’d been advised the jet had been tampered with, halting its departure.

Oh, dear, how sad.

Yet, he was not here.

“Another room?” Oli suggested.

The two of them made their way around the large property and found nothing. Eventually, they stood in his office, hands on hips, staring at each other.

“Have we just been played?” Oli asked.

“No. I think the fucker knows he’s skating on thin ice. The jet probably tipped him off.” Ben picked through the trash. “Yeah, dammit, he’s in the air right now on his way to the US.”

“Fuck me,” Oliver cursed. “And he left his entire security in place.”

“He’s a smart asshole,” Ben said, letting out a growl. His opportunity to get revenge had slipped out of his fucking fingers, and he was furious.

Now what was he going to tell Anna? Sorry, but they got away? Goddamn it, they were better than this.

He was better than this.

And he’d just failed the one person who needed his help.

“Let’s check in.”

Oliver pulled out his phone and dialed.

“What have you got?” Ari Moretti asked as soon as the call went through.

“He’s in the air,” Ben replied. “Flew commercial. House is empty of everything but security.”

There was a moment’s silence and then a bunch of quiet curses from Ari and the team back home.

“He took off during daylight,” Oliver continued, taking the screwed-up sheet from his hand and giving the team the landing details.

“Jason, get over there now and track him. We don’t have his US location, so this could be an opportunity. If Tomassi knows about us, we need to trace his source and stomp it out,” Ari instructed.

Ben knew Ari was right. It was the opportunity they had been looking for, and it appeared Xander was leading them right to it. If they could do that, then Anna would be safe. He’d wanted to be the one to avenge her, but now he was on the other damn side of the world from that creep.

“This is a game of patience, as you all know,” Ari continued. Oliver glanced at him above the phone.

Shit. They were about to get their orders.

“Pack up your things and head home,” Ari ordered. “Looks like the game has just moved Stateside.”

No. Fuck.

He wasn’t ready to leave Anna.

“Yes, sir,” Oliver replied, giving Ben a dark look.

Think, think, think.

“I was thinking I could stay and see what I can dig up on Diego,” Ben spoke suddenly. There was a moment’s silence.

“More than you have been able to since you arrived?” Ari asked, surprised.

Shit, shit, shit.

“Just a few days. While I’m here. Can’t hurt,” Ben said, clenching his jaw. “I’ll send Oliver home with everything else we get out of here tonight.”

More silence.

Ari Moretti was a smart motherfucker. He knew something was up, and there would be questions. But Ben just needed a couple of days.

“Forty-eight hours, Ben. Then I want you back at The Institute,” he replied, and the call ended.

Oliver locked the phone and slid it into his pocket. They stared at each other silently.

“You sure you want to do this?”

Ben nodded.

“You need to take her back, Ben. You know what she’s been through. Anna needs people around her that can take care of her. Not disappear.”

He gritted his teeth. “You think I don’t know that?”

“Well, at least one of you is thinking with your noggin,” a voice from across the room said.

They both whipped around and there was the fucking commander, leaning against the door with his arms crossed.

“Are you a fucking ghost?” Ben growled.

How they hell had that beast of a vampire crept up on two highly trained assassins?

Craig grinned back at them.

“Jesus,” Oliver groaned. “Jesus fucking Christ.”

“Just Craig is fine.” He straightened up away from the wall. “But I would like to know who you were just talking to.”

Oliver shot him a look.

“And before you boys start getting any fancy ideas, Ben might just want to tell you of our little dance a few nights ago,” Craig said, flexing his enormous arms. “Let me reword that in a clearer way. Don’t fucking try it.”

Kurt and Marcus stepped into the room behind him.

“Oh, look, everyone has come to play.” Ben rolled his eyes.

Kurt grinned.

Dammit, he really liked the guy.

You want to move? Oliver telepathed him.

Not yet. I want to know what they are thinking. Especially if they have the apartment’s location.

We’re compromised, in any case.

Yeah, they were, but the commander didn’t look pissed. And that confused him. Ben was going to follow his instincts on this one.

“Xander Tomassi, big pharma executive at BioZen. Why would you two be scoping out his home?” Craig asked.

“Migraines,” Ben replied, shrugging. “Just looking for some medical advice. You know how it is.”

Craig’s brows lowered. “Try again, vampire who doesn’t get migraines.”

“I’m gay?” Ben shrugged, smirking.

Craig turned to Oliver.

“Don’t look at me. I don’t suck his cock.”

Kurt and Marcus snorted.

“Come on, you two,” Craig said, exasperated. “You know I can’t just let you walk. What are you up to? Who is Xander, and how is this linked to Anna?”

Ben growled.

“And who were you talking to? Clearly the boss man. What’s his name?” Kurt continued.

“Exactly what is the problem here?” Oliver asked. “We’ve broken into a human’s home. That’s no concern of the king’s.”

Shut up, Oliver.

“Your boyfriend here broke into a private section of the king’s property. Then someone broke him out of the holding cell we had him in. Know anything about that?” Craig questioned.

Oliver tilted his head. “Um, nope.”

“Funny. The guy looks just like you.”

“Huh. I get that a lot.”

“I bet you do,” Craig said, shaking his head. “Look, I’m going to be straight with you two clowns. I don’t think you are a threat to the king or Anna, but you’re involved with shit I don’t think you should be.”

Ben tried not to smile.

Failed.

“You want to say something, Ferrero?” Craig snarled at him.

“Nope.”

“If you want to walk out of here, you need to start talking.”

Ben and Oliver stared back blankly.

Ready to go?

Yes. They don’t seem to have connected the dots between Tomassi and Diego yet. But they will.

Roger that. On three.

Craig was strong. Very fucking strong; and quiet as fuck. Two things Ben had been thinking about recently—when not fixated on Anna. But this wasn’t their first rodeo. He and Oliver had been a team on many dangerous jobs and had been trained by the best.

Aside from those P-Muters, there was little that could stop them.

Three, two, one, and go.

Ben heard the click and smoke filled the air. Both of them went out the door and exited the building, stopping for a split second on the street. Oliver nodded to their right.

Bus station.

Ben nodded, and they teleported to the station a few blocks away. They repeated the action, jumping from one location to the other, until they finally returned to the apartment.

Panting, they stood on the balcony to catch their breath and not scare Anna.

“I’m going to clear out now. Catch a flight home,” Oliver said. “I think you should follow.”

Ben nodded. “Probably.”

Oliver laid a hand on his shoulder. They both knew he wasn’t going to do that. “Be safe, my friend.”

“Oli,” Ben stopped him as he opened the door. “If Ari asks, I understand you’ll need to talk. I don’t expect you to keep this from him.”

Oliver nodded and went inside to pack.

The Institute wasn’t just a job for them, nor was it some new-age passion or whatever the kids called it these days.

Ari Moretti was an original.

Each of them had been handpicked, trained, and nurtured by the powerful vampire. It was more than an honor to be part of the most secret and powerful agency in the world. It was what he lived for. And it was the same for Oliver.

So why was he walking back inside, searching for a little blonde vampire, instead of packing to go home?

Ari could have ordered him home.

He hadn’t.

To call the vampire wise was an understatement. Over the past seventy years, he had proven his loyalty. He doubted Ari would be questioning it right now, but Ben was.

Was Anna his mate?

There had to be some explanation for what he was doing. The feeling of her lying in his arms last night was something he’d never felt. Like he never wanted to let her go and would kill anyone who tried to take her from him.

And something told him Craig and Brayden Moretti were onto him. They knew, he finally realized. Or at least, they thought Anna was his mate.