Heat of the Night

"What do you want?"

"A credit for a future task. Of my choosing."

Co

"Certainly. After all, it's not his fault you brained him, right?"

"Right."

"Excellent!" Satisfaction dripped from the coarse voice. "Puts me in a good mood. Perhaps you could use some assistance? Some manpower? Equipment?"

Oh yeah… he was in deep shit if McDougal anticipated his "credit" being worth all that. But what the hell. If he was going to strike a bargain with the devil, he damn well expected to get his soul's worth out of it.

"All of the above," he said, getting back to work. "Can I get a chopper, too?"

Aidan stared down at the somewhat tiny filigreed triangle with its intricate design and wondered what value it held. It was thin, about two inches in diameter with no back to it. He could see right through it, so there was no compartment to hide anything inside. In fact, if he found this without having any preconceived notions of what it was, he'd guess it was a necklace charm or some other bit of jewelry.

"Hey." Lyssa pulled out the chair beside him and sat, setting a cup of steaming coffee down in front of her. "Is that it?"

He shrugged and twisted the book around so that she could see the rendering that had been made of it in the pages. "It's definitely one of the items I was hoping to find, but there are pieces that work in conjunction with it and we don't have them."

"At least it's a triangle," she offered. "That's a good sign."

"Yes, it's hopeful. There's a mention of the Mojave Desert. The coordinates here-" he pointed to the page "-line up to that area and the mentions of caverns seem to confirm it."

She reached out and set her hand over his. "I'm worried. If something happens to Justin, I don't think Stacey can take it. He's all she has."

"I know." He straightened in the chair. "The Elders are very good at finding weaknesses and exploiting them. I anticipated something like this. I just wasn't prepared for them to strike against Stacey."

"How could any of us know?"

"Co

"I think he really likes her."

"Yeah." Aidan heaved out his breath. "I think so, too."

"So where do we go from here?" She released him and sat back.

"I'm going to have to search for more things like this-" he held up the filigreed triangle, "-using a book written when the landscape was totally different than the way it is now. I'll be gone more often than not. If Co

"I'm not sure that his help will be enough, as much as I value it."

"True." Aidan's mouth thi

Lyssa leaned over and pressed a kiss to his cheek. "I can't believe all the sacrifices the Guardians are making for us."

"It was our fuck-up, Hot Stuff." He cupped the back of her neck and nuzzled his nose against hers. "It's our responsibility to clean it up."

The sound of a car pulling into the drive caught both their attentions. Then another car. And another. Pushing to their feet, they ran to the front door. Stacey stood on the porch, watching the invasion with a blank stare.

A fleet of cars flooded Stacey's property. Hummers, Magnums, Jeeps, and vans, their headlights angled in every direction as they covered the lawn in a broad pattern.

"Holy shit," Lyssa said.

"I'm insane," Stacey muttered, her hands on her sweats-clad hips. "There is no other explanation for this madness."

Co

"I'll say."

The yard was reclaimed by the darkness as headlights were extinguished one by one. Men and women began to climb from their vehicles. Cargo doors and trunks were opened and masses of equipment brought out.

Sprinting up the steps, Co

"Do whatever you want to the damn house," she said, green eyes hard and determined. "As long as I get Justin back, I don't give a shit about anything else."

The screen door was pulled open and a flood of urban camouflaged individuals poured in.

"First," Co

Stacey arched a brow.

"It's as close to plausible as we're going to get on such-short notice," Co

"Fuck it."

"Right." Co

"It's triangular," Aidan replied, "but it's a small part of a larger whole and until I figure out what the other pieces are, I can't figure out what the purpose is."

Co

"How the hell did you get away with all of this?" Aidan asked.

"A favor of some sort or another."

"I've got your back," Aidan said.

"Thanks. I've got to change before Rachel calls. Hopefully, we can get a beat on her location."

Co

There was a Guardian in the Twilight named Morgan who had been something of a "booty call" to him for centuries. If he wanted a quick fuck with no expectations and even less conversation, she was his girl. Still, despite how often he'd slept with her, Co

He wanted to know everything about Stacey.

Why her? Why now?

"Aw, fuck it!" he muttered, scrubbed out the soap in his hair. His brain hurt from trying to comprehend his feelings.