Rule Breaker

CHAPTER 16

The Unknown had trained her once they’d realized they couldn’t control her. As Gypsy stepped to the window that looked out on her parents’ home, she had only a second to wonder at the instinct they’d used to prepare her for any eventuality. Because Breeds were slipping around her apartment like shadowed wraiths.

Quickly pulling the satellite phone she’d safely stored in a hidden pocket of her dress, she dialed her contact’s number.

“Whisper?” he answered before the first ring had completed.

“Extraction needed from primary residence,” she requested softly. “Importance classified as immediate.”

“Negative. Extraction denied.”

Denied?

She couldn’t have heard correctly.

“Breeds are surrounding the primary residence,” she fought to speak, her throat tightening in near fear. “Extraction imperative.”

“Extraction denied, Whisper,” he answered again, this time, more gently. “You slept with Breaker. You’re marked as his mate.”

She was barely aware of her head shaking slowly, denial ripping through her senses at the knowledge that no extraction would be forthcoming.

“What? . . .”

“You were told no lovers for a reason. Take a human lover and his prejudice could prejudice you. A Breed lover, and the chances of becoming mated and giving that lover complete loyalty was far too high. This is the last time this number will be answered.”

“You promised,” she retorted, her voice hoarse. “You said you would never desert me . . .”

“I said I would always listen to my voice mail. You didn’t just take a lover, Whisper. You made certain I can’t interfere. Not for a Breed mate,” he informed her, his voice soft, though without mercy. “The Breeds coming for you were sent by your lover. Our protection is no longer required.”

The line disconnected.

Gypsy didn’t pause to think.

In a matter of seconds the dress was lying on her bed in a heap of rich material as she dug into the side of her mattress and pulled the black skin suit she used to slip through the night when she herself didn’t want to be seen.

Pulling the tough material of the form-fitting pants and long-sleeved shirt on, she slipped the scent blocker from a hidden pocket, tucked it quickly under her tongue and hoped she had enough time for it to take effect.

She was praying they weren’t expecting her to leave the apartment and weren’t watching for her. If they were, as well trained as they were, then her chances of escaping would be limited. And she was betting they would be watching for her.

Was that why Rule had jumped from her?

Had he somehow sensed or scented something that gave her away? Had she somehow managed to leave her scent behind the night she had searched his rooms? Whatever she had done, if she had done anything, there was no doubt no chances would be taken in their effort to take her now, if she was indeed his mate.

She’d heard whispers of mating, though not since Jonas Wyatt and his men had arrived in Window Rock.

Mating was forever, it was told. White-hot sexual need, blinding hunger, complete loyalty. Not a single Breed wife, lover or so-called mate had ever given the secrets of the Breeds to anyone willing to tell them.

Each one had fallen easily beneath her Breed’s spell.

She sure as hell wasn’t going to make it easy for them. She was going to get the hell out of there and get out fast. She had never depended upon her contact or the Unknown to ensure her safety. Mark had taught her better than that. He had died awaiting help, awaiting extraction. She’d always sworn she would never make the same mistake.

Less than a minute later she was moving silently down the narrow, dusty steps set between the walls, a little hidden access her brother had shown her in the old store when she was barely a teenager. This was the reason why she had taken the second-floor apartment rather than the first. There was no access to the staircase from the first floor. And no way to know that it led to a small tunnel that exited on the same small street where the only other person who might help her lived.

Cullen lived in a small house at the end of the street, his sheltered backyard less than ten feet from the exit.

Her contact had told her once that if she was ever in trouble with no way to contact him or, for whatever reason, unwilling to contact him, Cullen would help her. Besides, Cullen was her boss, and she knew he liked her. Surely he wouldn’t turn his back on her too?

But was it really only what she deserved?

The distant thought had her breathing hitching on a sob.

She’d never paid for leading her brother into a trap, not really. Not as she had expected to. Was this her penance instead? To realize that despite years of trying to ensure loyalties, she’d failed at the most elemental level and was just as alone as she had been the night she stood in the dark watching her parents turn from her?

If it was her punishment, she’d accept it. She couldn’t fight what couldn’t be changed.

But God, surely there was someone she could depend on.

She knew Cullen, and she trusted him.

At this moment, she had no other place to turn. The Unknown considered her compromised, Rule had thrown her away. He wasn’t sending Breeds to protect her. To secure her perhaps, but not to protect her. Somehow, she must have betrayed herself, that was all it could have been. There was no reason for Breeds to be surrounding her apartment other than to arrest her for some reason.

She’d read nothing in Breed Law about any statutes against running from the asshole Breed who didn’t know how to be a lover.

Climbing silently from the ravine above the storm drain the tunnel led into, she checked the area quickly before making her way into the tree line that surrounded Cullen’s adobe house.

The small house was inconspicuous. It was a bachelor’s home, but Gypsy knew things about that house that she doubted anyone else knew. Things her brother had told her about ways into it, out of it and a maze of hidden caves beneath it. She had no doubt in her mind that Cullen was well aware of them as well.

It wasn’t the only house in town with hidden access, or hidden tunnels. It wasn’t the only house with a history, and her brother had, for some reason, made certain she’d known about all of the ones he’d been aware of.

Moving slowly to the back of the house, she kept her eyes moving constantly, watching the shadows she hovered within, certain no one would be watching for her there, but unwilling to take any chances.

Sweat gathered along her body beneath the wicking fabric of the outfit she wore. The unusual summer heat soaked her skin and her hairline far quicker than usual. The fabric felt itchy against her flesh, the arousal Rule had left burning in her body tormenting her now. The fact that she couldn’t just ignore it was pissing her off too.

She wanted to hate him.

Tears threatened to spill from her eyes as she paused next to one of the large trees at the edge of the house. Forcing herself to catch her breath for a second, she watched the area carefully, desperately searching for some sign of Cullen.

Or any Breeds that could have followed her.

Nothing moved but a light breeze. Nothing could be heard but the sparse traffic several streets over and the crickets that chirped playfully among the leaves of the trees.

Reaching to her hip, she slid the sat phone from her belt and activated it silently to call Cullen before barging in on him.

“No need to call. I’m right here.”

The low, cross male voice had her ducking quickly and moving to the other side of the tree as her weapon cleared its holster.

“It’s Cullen, Gypsy,” he sighed.

Stepping from behind the tree, she faced him warily, her emotions uneven, fear, anger and desperation filling her.

“I’m being hunted,” she whispered. “And denied extraction by someone I’ve been helping. I was once told you would help . . .” But not if the Unknown themselves denied her.

Her voice was too rough, the tears she held back too close to falling. She’d been betrayed by the lover she’d given up retribution for, and by the small sect of warriors she’d dedicated her life to for nine years.

What was there left to lose?

“Come on.” He strode past her to the back door. “I knew you’d end up here when I received the report of those Breeds positioning themselves around the store. I’ll put some coffee on and you can tell me what the hell’s going on.”

Tugging at the neckline of her black shirt before rubbing at her shoulder and the irritation of the material, she followed him silently until they were safely locked on the other side of the door. The room they stepped into was shadowed and cool.

He didn’t turn any lights on, but it was far easier to see him now. He moved through the kitchen they’d entered before stopping at the coffeepot and flipping it on. The sound of hot water flowed into the filter as the scent of coffee reached her senses.

“Did you take one of the scent blockers?” he asked, his back still to her.

“Yes,” she answered, staring around the kitchen curiously. “I came through the tunnels, but the entrance to them should be safe.”

For the most part, Cullen’s home was devoid of personalization. The normal appliances were there, but little decoration with the exception of a small crystal fairy and a six-inch dagger with a mother-of-pearl hilt sitting on the small breakfast counter between the kitchen and darkened living area.

“It’s your apartment.” He shrugged. “Your scent permeates it anyway. Your escape should have been undetectable if anyone entered it.”

Turning back to him, she frowned at the comment. “If? Why would they have been there if not to come after me? They were surrounding the place like SWAT or something.”

He grunted at that. “They were there in a surveillance capacity alone. Trust me, if they were there to take you, you wouldn’t have seen them before they were in the apartment. The threat wasn’t from the Breeds sent to watch out for you, it’s the Breed who should be arriving at your place the moment he’s realized you’ve run from him. The security team was sent to protect you until he managed to get his head out of his ass.”

Her heart jumped in her chest. “What do you mean by that?”

Choosing two cups from the cupboard, he poured their coffee before picking them up and turning back to her to nod at the breakfast counter. “Have a seat. We have to talk.”

She suddenly felt like a teenager being called down by the principal. She’d not even experienced that in school.

“Why are Breeds surrounding my house, Cullen?” she asked as she slid into one of the high stools and pushed back the hair that had fallen over her shoulder.

She hadn’t even had time to braid it before running. It still hung down her back in a riot of carefully arranged curls as the front and sides fell from where it was secured at the crown of her head.

“This is a fucking mess,” Cullen sighed roughly as he lifted his cup, pausing at his lips as amusement flickered in his gaze. “Amusing, but a fucking mess.”

Her eyes narrowed at the casual arrogance in his voice.

“And what has you so damned amused?” Leaning forward, her forearms braced on the counter as her gaze narrowed on him, Gypsy promised herself she wouldn’t tell him what a complete asshole he was being.

“You have me amused.” Once he made that cryptic comment, the cup touched his lips and he sipped from the heated liquid.

He didn’t appear in any hurry to tell her exactly what had him so damned amused at her expense, though.

As he returned the cup to the counter, still watching her silently, Gypsy sat back on her stool, her head tilting to the side.

Crossing her arms over her breasts, she watched him angrily, waiting, and it wasn’t patiently.

He merely stared back at her with a hint of a smile on his face.

“What kind of game are you playing with me?” she asked him, suspicion beginning to grow within her. “And why?”

She’d known him for years, had worked for him at the Navajo Covert Law Enforcement office for the last few years. He had been a friend of her brother’s, though he hadn’t arrived in Window Rock until after Mark’s death. He’d quickly become a friend of her parents’, and of hers and Kandy’s. She had always known he was arrogant, but this cool, merciless amusement she hadn’t seen in him before.

“No game, Gypsy,” he promised, flashing her a quick smile as he lifted the coffee cup to his lips once again and sipped. Lowering it, he sat back as well. “My only intent is to do whatever I can to help you. I knew Mark was an informant for an unidentified group that aided the Breeds, and I greatly admired him for it. Just as I’ve always suspected you were as well.”

Well, didn’t he just know a whole lot of nothing.

At least, according to him.

“You aren’t part of that group, then?” She had wondered, she had hoped he was part of it, just for her own safety.

“Don’t ask questions.” His voice hardened, as did his gaze. “You’re only going to waste our time, and we don’t have long before that Breed you ran from finds you.”

“I took the scent blocker.” Her head was shaking before she could stop it.

“There are instances when the scent blocker doesn’t work,” he informed her, his voice still as hard as stone, his gaze icy. “I rather doubt it’s working now. Any Breed who gets within a quarter mile of this place will know a Breed mate is in the vicinity once he catches the scent of Mating Heat I’m sure is rolling off you at the moment. At the most, we may have an hour before he arrives, simply because it should take that long before a team passes by here. If we’re lucky.”

If they were lucky.

The irritation along her flesh was growing worse, amplifying the longer she sat there. The arousal Rule had left burning within her not only was still there, but it too was worse than it had been before she left her apartment.

And she’d read of those symptoms in the past, in the tabloids and gossip rags that carried the outrageous stories of “Breed Mating Heat.”

“What’s going on? Mating Heat is supposed to be a rumor, nothing more.” Could that really be what was going on inside her? She could feel a difference in her body that didn’t make sense, in the arousal and physical need for him. But it wasn’t supposed to be real . . .

She might not have a lot of experience in arousal or sex, but even she knew she shouldn’t be growing painfully aroused without a reason. And she’d left her reason in the shower after he’d jumped from her as though she sickened him.

“Are there other instances when the blocker doesn’t work? I searched his suite a few weeks ago; could he have somehow learned I was in his rooms?” she probed when he didn’t answer her. There wasn’t a chance Rule had learned she worked with the Unknown, but he could have somehow learned she was in his rooms.

“I doubt he has a clue.” That gleam of curious amusement. “If he had, then he would certainly not have taken you to his bed. Instead, he would have charged you for crimes against Breed Law.” A quick glance at his watch. “I would guess you have perhaps forty-five minutes now.”

He wasn’t helping her.

“Then if we’re short on time, perhaps you should tell me, if I’m his perfect special mate,” she sneered, “why am I here instead? Why would he be searching for me at all when he was the one who rejected me?” Her breath hitched involuntarily as the pain ambushed her, thickening her voice, pushing tears closer to the surface. “How did I mess up, Cullen?”

Surprise registered on his face as sympathy filled his gaze now. “You’re always so certain you’re the one who’s messed up,” he said gently. “You’ve done nothing wrong, Gypsy. Maybe you finally realized there was more to life than vengeance when you slept with your Breed.”

If she had, then she’d found out quickly just how wrong she was, hadn’t she?

She rubbed at her arms nervously, the sensitivity increasing as she felt wariness rising inside her. And perhaps even a hint of fear.

“How do you know—?” She broke off when his expression immediately darkened.

“That you’re his mate?” he broke in. “I know because you suddenly have two teams of Breed Enforcers that Jonas Wyatt can ill afford to put on surveillance for one unimportant party girl, and trust me, little girl, Commander Breaker won’t be far behind. And I know because several Breeds I’m in contact with notified me immediately upon catching the scent of it as you rushed by them when you left the hotel.”

“Why?” she cried out, the pain-filled anger that burned inside her setting fire to her emotions, her denial. “Why the hell would he come after me? He didn’t want me, Cullen.”

“You’re his mate.” He leaned forward intently. “He may be shocked, surprised. As I understand it, most male Breeds don’t handle the initial mating phase any better than their human mates, but it won’t have taken that territorial, possessive-as-fucking-hell animal inside him long to convince him that there’s not a chance he’s going to really let you go.”

His mate. This couldn’t be possible. The stories were warped, many hinting at depravity, at sexual acts that Gypsy just couldn’t believe.

The stories in the tabloids had supposedly been proven to have no basis. They still abounded. With each engagement or marriage between a Breed and their partner, the stories would flare up again for a day or so before dwindling away.

She couldn’t believe it was true. It was so farfetched, surely it was impossible.

“Stop shaking your head,” he ordered brusquely. “Didn’t think there could be a grain of truth to the rumors in the tabloids?”

“Impossible.” Jumping from the bar stool, she faced him furiously now, fighting to deny what he was suggesting. “Trust me, if mating existed, then I wouldn’t be sitting here with you, Cullen, I’d still be in the bed with him.”

There was no denying it had happened. He knew she had slept with Rule. Evidently he had a very reliable Breed contact after all, just, hopefully, a delusional one.

Gypsy watched him warily now. “If you have a Breed contact, then why weren’t you asked to search those rooms?”

Cullen grimaced. “Evidently whoever they are, they don’t trust me enough to contact me regarding it. I was to be your backup. Nothing more. And my contact within Jonas’s organization is a very clever ploy I suspect to enable him to gain his own contact within the law enforcement community.”

“Why you?” She watched him carefully, wondering now how far she could truly trust him.

“I’m commander of the Covert Law Enforcement Division, Gypsy. Who else would have the information they need when it comes to any secret activities in the area?”

And she knew that, she really did.

Lifting her hand to her forehead, she could feel the perspiration gathering there as her senses continued to riot while arousal tightened her sex and spilled the silky release of her juices.

“Gypsy, whoever you spy for, it can be very dangerous. As I understand it, Jonas already suspects your involvement, though Rule has fought him over it,” he told her grimly. “Don’t allow either of them to become certain. It could be more dangerous than you realize.” The cold, hard edge to his voice had her watching him closely.

“Yeah, I’m just going to take out an ad for that one.” She glared back at him.

He snorted at that. “Breeds have a way of convincing their mates to trust everything about them. To trust their ability to hold their secrets. But you trust me, Jonas has a way of figuring it all out and using everyone to his own ends. Whoever’s behind the protection of the Breeds here in the nation, I wouldn’t want to fuck with them. They have a way of becoming brutal.”

They had cut out the tongue of the informant who had helped the Coyotes identify her brother. Her parents had received the letter that had been left tucked in the pocket of the dead man.

We, those not spoken of, have taken retribution for the death of your son, the pain that fills your daughter, and the loss your family now suffers. Know that Mark’s work, his dedication and commitment to our people will never be forgotten, nor will his family. Sleep easy when darkness falls, and know that we are the ones who will now stand guard over those you love to ensure that evil never again takes from you those you love most.

But nothing could bring Mark back, nothing could erase her part in it and nothing could erase the fact that she’d betrayed her family again when she threw it all away for a Breed she sickened to the point that he had to jump from her and run to the shower.

“I swore I wouldn’t tell anyone anything when I began working with them. Not that I know anything to tell anyone,” she bit out furiously. “But, even if I did, I definitely wouldn’t tell Rule Breaker.”

She had no intentions of speaking to that bastard again, let alone giving him so much as a single one of her suspicions.

He glanced at his watch again and looked up at her. “He’ll track you here, Gypsy. Soon. Breeds never let their mates remain unprotected.”

“What do I do?” Her heart began racing in dread.

She couldn’t face him again. Not this soon.

“Here’s what I suggest you do.” He leaned forward intently. “Slip back out of here and go back to your apartment. If he sees that slick little night suit you’re wearing, or realizes you’ve taken a scent blocker, then you’re fried, baby. He’s going to know you’re the spy he’s searching for. Here.” Reaching into the front pocket of his shirt, he pulled free a small pill, similar in shape to the scent blocker. “Within fifteen minutes this will reverse the blocker and leave your system clean. Take it now.”

He laid it in front of her, watching her with sudden amusement once again. “Unless you’re of a mind not to trust me.”

She took the pill warily, placed it on her tongue and let it begin to dissolve. When it had properly broken down, she washed it down with the remainder of the coffee before taking a deep breath.

“You’re throwing me to the wolves, aren’t you?” She asked him then.

He wasn’t going to help her escape Rule.

If Rule was even coming for her.

“The lions actually,” he corrected her, a quirk of a smile edging at his lips as he watched her curiously. “I’m confident it’s in your best interests, though.”

“Oh, I’m sure you are.” Setting the coffee cup back on the counter carefully, she stared back at him. The anger burning inside her was far stronger than it should have been. Far stronger than it would have been normally. Because normally, she would have felt she had a choice. In this instance, Cullen had reminded her that she might not have a choice. And that infuriated her.

Even more infuriating was the feeling that in some way, he was attempting to maneuver her exactly where Rule wanted her to be.

“What you’ve done for the group you’ve worked for has been commendable, Gypsy,” he said then, his voice gentle, soft. “Let yourself live now. You deserve it.”

Yeah. Right.

As she stared back at him, anger pulled her lips tight, suspicion edging at thoughts that weren’t becoming overwhelmed with a sexual need nearing critical.

“Do I? Whether I do or not, it seems I’m not working with them any longer anyway.” Despite the gentleness of his expression, there was no mercy in the somber intent of his gaze.

Oh yes, she definitely had her suspicions. She wouldn’t reveal them, not now. Far better to hold on to them for the moment.

“Go home,” he urged her. “And in a month, if you still want to run, I’ll help you myself.”

“A month? Why a month?” What did that length of time have to do with anything? What game was he playing with Jonas Wyatt and with her?

“You tell me, in a month.” Rising to his feet, he watched her with that quiet gaze, that hint of calculation. “Rest, Gypsy. Consider it a bit of a vacation, despite the aggravation of your Breed. You’ve earned it.”

Had she? Why didn’t she feel as though she had earned it?

“Go home, Gypsy.”

Go home?

She didn’t think so.

There were far too many Breeds there. One too many, no doubt. And that one, she couldn’t bear to see again.

But she did leave Cullen’s house. She even let him watch her disappear into the storm drain and let him think she was moving through the tunnels and returning to her apartment.

But if that was where Rule intended to be, then Gypsy intended to be just as far away from there as possible.

Once inside the tunnel, she turned down another shadowed path. There, stuffed inside a crevice and resting on a narrow ledge, was a pack she checked and changed often. Several changes of clothing, a weapon, sat phone, cash and the keys to the powerful black motorcycle she kept stashed in case of emergency.

This was definitely an emergency, she decided.

Of the worst sort.