Chapter 25

Chapter Twenty-Five

Ebony stripped out of the dress as soon as they were back in the hotel room. She washed the makeup off her face and put on a pair of sweats and T-shirt Lark had grabbed at the gift shop for her. She felt more herself this way and thankfully accepted a cup of tea from Lark when she emerged from the bathroom.

When Shine and Granger arrived in the room there was a silent moment and then lots of laughter. Ebony and Shine were dressed exactly the same.

"Can't even blame it on the soulsister thing, I picked out the damn clothes," Granger said and Lark agreed, but it lightened everyone's mood and they all sat with cups of tea as they told their parts of what happened with the senator.

They sat around full of shock after, each one trying to figure out what their next move should be. Or if they even had one.

"Did you know?" Granger asked Shine after a moment. "That he's a nosoul?"

"I had no idea he was a nosoul," Shine admitted. "But it makes sense, doesn't it. How else would he have kept me alive from birth if he didn't already have the shots figured out."

"Where could he be hiding your mother and why?" Lark asked Shine.

"I have no idea, maybe he always saw it as a last way to control me? Certainly worked tonight," Shine grumbled.

Ebony reached out and set a comforting hand on Shine's knee. "No one blames you for not speaking up tonight after that. I'd do anything to see my mother again and I'd never do anything to endanger her if she were possibly alive."

"I just hate that he won." Shine's lips thinned and her fists clenched. Ebony was sure that this woman would do what it took no matter what. The senator may have delayed his downfall but Shine looked ready to regroup and still take him down.

"He bought himself time, that's all." Ebony said.

Lark nodded agreement. "He wouldn't have taken Taylor if he didn't feel his control slipping. He's scared and we have him on the defensive which means he's still worried that he'll lose everything if his business becomes public. No matter how godly he thinks he is, he knows that the majority of people will not agree," Lark said.

"So, how do we expose him and his despicable business without him harming Taylor or Shine's mother in retaliation?" Ebony asked with frustration. It felt like they were talking in a circle.

"We need someone on the inside, someone who won't want to go down with the ship and might be convinced to help us," Lark said with a grin, obviously having someone in mind.

"Who would do that?" Shine asked.

"Marty," Lark said with a grin.

"Marty?" Ebony asked doubtfully.

"He runs the facility and labs; he knows it all and has probably had his hand in some really shady shit. If we can offer him a clean getaway, I bet he'll turn on Buchanan in a heartbeat to save his own ass," Lark explained.

Ebony couldn't deny it sounded reasonable. A man with such low morals wouldn't think twice about double-crossing his boss to save himself.

Stone stood up and cracked his knuckles. "Give me fifteen minutes on my laptop, and I'll have an address."

"We don't even know the guy's last name," Ebony said in surprise.

"As if that's ever stopped me," Stone huffed, then pulled his laptop out of his bag and started clicking at keys.

"Can I sit with you?" Shine asked Ebony with a shy smile.

Ebony patted the seat next to her on the couch and Lark moved from Ebony's other side at Granger's glare. Shine sat on the couch and leaned against Ebony with a little sigh.

Silence filled the room aside from the click clack of keys as Stone went to work figuring out where Marty lived. Soon Ebony's eyelids were feeling heavy, and she found herself drifting to sleep.

She woke when a blanket was settled on top of her, Shine was still curled up next to her, breathing softly. Ebony looked up into Lark's face.

"Go back to sleep. Stone's still searching."

Ebony nodded and let herself drift again.

Lark watched the girls sleep peacefully and envied Shine getting to curl up with Ebony like that. He wanted so badly to pick Ebony up and carry her to bed, ignore the world around them, and just enjoy each other's company.

"Got an address," Stone said with a triumphant whoop.

"Shh," Lark and Granger growled.

"Sorry," Stone said, eyes on the sleeping women. "Found Marty Taison, employee at BaneCore. Has to be our guy. He's a fullsoul without a wife, no living relatives, and a degree in genetics."

"Sounds like our guy. How close is he?" Lark prompted.

"Fifteen or twenty minutes from here it looks like. Should we pay the bastard a visit?"

"Someone needs to stay here," Lark said, looking at the sleeping beauties.

"I'll stay," Granger said. "If Buchanan tries anything, I'll happily put a bullet in his head." Granger pulled a gun out of his waistband and set it on the table.

Lark nodded, confident that his soulwife was safe. He leaned down and kissed Ebony's forehead.

Shine let out a contented sigh.

"She's not yours," Granger hissed quietly.

"I don't want her to be," Lark assured his friend. "But I don't think either of them can live without the other. If being close to Ebony helps ease Shine's body, then being close to Shine might help Ebony's body fight the cancer." It was something he'd been thinking about and wondering at the implications, not only for Ebony and Shine but for all halflings.

"Soulsiblings don't just live together peacefully," Granger said.

"And no marriage is recognized by the government unless it's a soulmate match. If you don't have a fullsoul you are destined to live a terrible lonely life." Lark shook his head at Granger. "Lies from the government. What if soulsiblings can heal each other? Imagine what a difference that could make."

"And what if we all live in a nice universe instead of hell," Stone snapped. "Let's go get Marty."

Lark knew they weren't about to solve the world's problems tonight, but he couldn't shake the feeling that they'd stumbled on something massively important. One thing at a time though, and right now, they had a man to threaten.

When Lark and Stone arrived at Marty's small home, they sat in the car watching for a while. It was completely dark which meant the man was probably in bed, sleeping. There was only one car parked out front which meant he was likely alone. This would be too easy.

They quickly unlocked the front door and crept through the house with only the light from the moon and nearby streetlamp to guide them. The first room they checked was an in-home office. Lark was tempted to check it for files on Buchanan, but doubted it would contain anything incriminating. The second was Marty's bedroom and as expected, he was snoring away in his bed, alone, as if he didn't have a care in the world.

Stone stood on one side and Lark the other. It was a familiar routine.

"Wake up, dumbass," Stone said loudly.

Marty's eyes popped open, he snapped up in bed and Lark punched him in the face. A spray of blood hit the bedding and the man laid back down with a howl of pain.

"We have some questions. You can help us, or you can go down with Buchanan," Lark said.

Marty's eyes darted from one of them to the other and Lark saw the moment he recognized their faces.

"Yes, we toured your facility today and although it was very enlightening, we seem to have a few more questions before we go ahead with our plans," Stone explained.

"You'll never bring him down," Marty said, shaking his head, eyes wide with terror. "The man has support high up, all the way up."

"We aren't worried about the high ups, it's the low downs that will revolt when they discover what he's been doing," Lark said, leaning down close to the man's face. "And trust me when I say, there are far more of us than them."

"You'll start a war," Marty gasped.

Lark shrugged. "Sometimes that's what it takes to make things right when the people in charge are assholes."

"So," Stone said, pulling out a knife. "Whose side are you going to be on?"

"What do you want to know?" Marty said quickly.

Lark held back a smile. This man was as weak as expected. "Where is Shine's mother and the girl Buchanan took from LA, Taylor?" Lark demanded.

"Second floor, the one we skipped. I knew as soon as I saw Shine in person that her mother was the one he keeps there. I don't know for sure about Taylor, but there was a girl brought into the facility this evening, could be her. She'll be downstairs with the other breeders."

"You're taking us there, tonight," Lark said matter-of-factly.

"He'll kill me if he finds out," Marty sputtered.

"We'll kill you if you refuse," Stone said with a shrug.

"Help us and I can make sure you get somewhere safe to disappear. You'll be long gone before Buchanan figures out your deceit. It's your only real chance, Marty," Lark explained.

Marty gave a shaky nod and Lark stepped back. Stone did the same. "Time's ticking," Stone said and pulled the covers off the man.

Marty shook his head and sputtered. "The place has tighter security than DC at night. We can't go in until morning. It will set off alarms everywhere otherwise."

A ringing phone had them all stopping and staring. "Who would be calling this late I wonder," Lark said darkly.

"Answer it, dumbass," Stone said and handed the phone to Marty. "On speaker."

Marty's face was pale, but he answered it as instructed. "Hello."

"Marty, get your ass to the facility. I have two girls I need to drop off."

Lark met Stone's gaze over the bed, fear flowing through him. That was Buchanan's voice and he had no doubt about which two girls he was talking about.

"Sure thing boss, be right there." Marty's hands were shaking as he hung up the phone and dropped it on the bed.

"If he's hurt either one of them, I'm going to kill you," Lark growled.

"He's going to kill me as soon as he sees you two," Marty whined.

Stone had his phone out already and was dialing Granger. "Not our problem," Stone hissed at Marty.

Stone's phone was on speaker and they all listened to it ring loudly, each time it seemed to get louder, the sound pierced through Lark's heart, worry filling him beyond anything he'd ever known.

"Pick up, you ass," Stone snapped at the phone as it rang on unanswered.

"Get ready to go," Lark demanded. Fear and anger was coursing through him, he wanted to run, to kill and he didn't even know for sure that it was Ebony and Shine who Buchanan was talking about, but who else would he have? If Lark lost her, he would burn down everything that belonged to Buchanan before he jumped off a cliff to join her in the next life.

Marty jumped to obey. Lark kept one eye on the man rummaging around the room and pulling on pants and a shirt and one eye on Stone as he hung up and dialed again, this time he had the phone to his ear and Lark wasn't sure if he was glad he didn't have to hear the ringing or not.

"What the fuck happened?" Stone demanded, apparently Granger had picked up finally. Stone hit the speaker phone and Granger's voice filled the room.

"I had to piss. I was out of the room for seconds and the girls were asleep. When I walked out of the bathroom, I was bashed on the head. I just woke up and they are gone." His voice was frantic and angry.

Lark could imagine him pacing around like a caged beast ready to kill.

"Buchanan is taking them to the facility. Meet us there, we've got Marty," Stone said and hung up.

Lark met Stone's eyes and knew all his emotions were showing on his face.

"We'll get them back," Stone assured Lark but they both knew that wasn't a guarantee.