Raines, Elizabeth - Wanted [Wicked Missions 5] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (10 page)

After dressing, she braided her hair. Grabbing the box of cookies, she tore them open and settled herself at her sister’s desk. She turned on the computer, waiting as it booted up. A male voice as smooth as velvet announced that Lyrianna had—

“A hundred and twelve messages?”

With a sigh, Callie settled in to try to find out what she could about her sister’s life, hoping some important information might lead to finding Lyrianna and praying that search would keep her mind off her broken heart.

* * * *

Hammond had to resist the urge to put his fist right through the informant’s face. He and Spencer were taking far too many chances and risking having their covers blown, but both were frantic to find Callie. She’d left a trail that ended abruptly in Rozale’s biggest marketplace. Considering there were more than three million people calling the buildings surrounding the open areas home, finding an apartment that Lyrianna Seebré might have used as home base wasn’t going to be easy. But it was the only place that they could think of where Callie would try to hide. “I’m gonna ask one more time. Have you seen the Belusian woman we’re looking for anywhere near here?”

The Fraiquan male was chewing on his blue lip so hard, Hammond was amazed he didn’t draw blood. The guy knew more than he was telling, and he and Spencer weren’t turning him loose until he spilled his guts. “I suppose…I mean…I might have seen her.”

“I knew it!” Spencer glared down at the blue-skinned man.

Not that Hammond was surprised. Fraiquans who lived on Rozale were known to be able to ferret out strangers with some kind of sixth sense the males had for being able to spot the scent of a new female in the area. Since the best information they’d been able to find put Callie in the marketplace, they figured finding the closest Fraiquan would at least help narrow the search.

“Where did you see her?” Spencer asked.

“She went in the back of one of the apartment houses on Orion Boulevard,” the Fraiquan replied, his indigo eyes wide with fear. “I shouldn’t be telling you any of this!”

“Why the hell not?” Hammond asked, resisting the urge to simply grab the guy by the shoulders and shake the information out of him.

“Word is some goon’s on his way. Wants to…
talk
to her.”

Hammond’s heart slammed in his chest. “Which building?”

“They’ll kill me if I tell!”

“We’ll kill you if you don’t.”

* * * *

Absentmindedly chewing a cookie, Callie reached in the box again. This time, her hand came up empty. Shifting her gaze from the computer, she picked up the box and peered inside. Empty. “Fuck that.” She tossed the box at the kitchenette, thinking about how she wouldn’t get to eat the stew she’d made for all of them to have for supper.

Damn, but she missed Hammond and Spencer. If she was back on the
Ecstasy
, she’d demand they hold her in their embrace, and she’d draw strength from them. How ridiculous that they’d come to mean so much to her so quickly. Callie didn’t fight it. She simply acknowledged that she loved them. Irrevocably. But she’d always been a realist, and a future with them just wasn’t possible.

With the back of her hand, she brushed away an errant tear that traced a wet path down her cheek and focused on her sister.

After reading all the messages, she didn’t know anything more about Lyrianna’s disappearance than she did before she’d started checking them. Whatever had gone down that got Lyri sent to the Delta moon obviously hadn’t been planned. Not a shred of information existed about what had happened when she was arrested, while she was on trial, or after she’d boarded that shuttle. But Callie vowed to find out, promising herself she’d never give up until she was reunited with Lyrianna.

Callie rubbed her bleary eyes before flipping off the computer. Sleepiness was rapidly overtaking her, a kind of weariness she knew was as much emotional as physical. She’d probably feel better if she could cry, but her whole life, she’d learned to control her emotions, even in private. What good would crying do? Crying wouldn’t bring back the men she loved, it wouldn’t help those poor girls on Bromond, nor would it help her find her sister.

She wanted her guys. She needed Hammond to take her into his strong arms or Spencer to hold her close. The three of them had come so far so quickly, and she’d been ready to help them take that last, huge step toward intimacy—to finally make love to each other as well as to her. Now, they’d probably cross that bridge without her and burn it behind them.

They didn’t need her anymore.

Just as she pushed her chair back, the chime of the doorbell signaled a visitor. Callie froze, her heart suddenly kicking into a faster beat. No way could her men have found her that quickly. She let out her held breath. Spencer and Hammond couldn’t have located her, which also meant there was no way any of her enemies could have hunted her down, either. It had to be someone looking for Lyrianna or simply at the wrong apartment.

The chime rang again. Taking a deep breath, she walked to the door. She hit the speaker. “Who’s there?”

“Hey, Lyrianna! How you doin’, girl?” a jovial male voice called. “Why…why didn’t you tell me you were back? Let me in!”

She didn’t recognize the voice, but that didn’t come as a surprise. Lyri led a life independent of her sister. There was no way that Callie could possibly know all her friends. “Um…how did you know I was here?”

“C’mon! Half the building saw you come in! Open up! Please!” Now, he sounded frantic.

The fear in his voice got through to the nurse inside her. Punching the code, she stepped back as the door slid open.

A short man—probably a Vehiblion, judging from his height and the third eye—stood there, all three of his eyes wide with fear. The moment Achchim stepped from the shadows, his pulse pistol pointed at the man, she realized why. The Dracorian quickly shoved his patsy out of the way. He scurried down the hall like a frightened rodent as Achchim stepped into the apartment before Callie could get the door closed. It swished shut behind him.

“Hide well you don’t,” he said, chuckling in that grating wheezing noise that served as Dracorian laughter.

God, but she hated the entire fucking species. This one was no different. Mustering up the courage that helped her face down many a badass, she folded her arms over her breasts and leveled a harsh stare. “What the fuck do you want from me?”

His red eyes held contempt, an emotion she was surprised she could read from a race well known for being stoic. “Carlos the bounty for you to give me.”

“Carlos who?” Not that she didn’t recognize the name. Far from it—simply hearing it sent a shiver of fear racing down her spine. She wasn’t about to let Achchim know just how much she’d overheard of his conversation with Hammond, Spencer, and Izzie or how much the thought of being turned over to her enemy scared the shit out of her.

“Ah, aware you’re not. Carlos Pontierri respects to you wishes to make. Bounty collect I shall.” He motioned toward the bedroom with the pistol he still held on her.

For a quick moment she feared rape until she remembered that the male Dracorians could only respond to females of their own species and only during certain times of the year.
Thank you, God.
She couldn’t even stomach the notion of seeing what a Dracorian dick looked like.

“Dress. Now,” he ordered. “Leave we must.”

“Fuck you. I don’t know who this Carlos idiot is, but I’m sure he’s not my kind of people.”

Achchim snorted through all four nostrils. “Choice you haven’t. Dress. Now.”

About to push a little to see just how far the Dracorian would go to get her to cooperate, Callie jumped when he suddenly shot the viewer. It blew into bits of plastic and wires that pounded against the wall and ceiling like hail in a Bromond razor lightning storm. Her heart starting slamming in her chest. Without another word, she went to the bedroom and shut the door.

Searching through Lyrianna’s clothes, she yanked out some denims and a long-sleeved pink shirt. At least she’d had a shower and some clean clothes to wear to meet someone who either wanted her dead or didn’t give a didley damn if she ended up that way. Shoving her feet into running shoes, she opened the door, ready to face her new captor. “Where’s this Carlos guy?”

“Bromond.” Achchim motioned to the door. “Go we now.”

As she turned to lead the way, Achchim pulled a stun-stick from his belt, flicked it on, and pressed it to her shoulder. Jolts of electricity raced through her, forcing her knees to buckle. Right before the pain turned her world black, she heard his disgusting laugh.

* * * *

“Fuck!” Hammond shouted when he saw the door to Lyrianna’s apartment was open. Callie was too smart to leave herself that vulnerable. “We’re too late.”

Stepping inside, he took in the remains of what had probably been a viewer. A big, black pulse burn marked the wall behind where the debris rested. Nothing else appeared too out of place, although there wasn’t much more in that apartment than Hammond had owned when he was training with I.D.E.A. A box rested on the countertop in the tiny kitchen. He marched over to grab it, looking inside. The cookie box was empty, and the sweet smell seemed fresh. “She hasn’t been gone long.”

Spencer nodded as he walked into the other room. A few moments later, he came out holding black clothes and a tattered red bra Hammond recognized. “At least we know for sure she was here,” Spencer said. His gaze shifted to the open front door as his hand settled on the pistol holstered at his side. “Who the hell are you?”

A Vehiblion male stood on the threshold, his three green eyes darting around the apartment. “Is the Dracorian gone?”

“Dracorian?” Hammond marched across the room, trying to fight his growing fear for Callie at the thought of her being captured by a bounty hunter.

“Yeah,” the little guy replied. “I thought I saw Lyrianna slipping back into her apartment. She’s been gone just about forever. But when I realized it wasn’t Lyrianna, I saw a Dracorian tailing her. He got the drop on me. Made me get the blonde to open the door.”

“Tailing her?” Spencer had come to Hammond’s side.

“Yeah…watching her like he was terrified he’d lose her.”

“Achchim,” both men said together.

The Vehiblion shrugged. “Didn’t ask his name. Threatened to stun me if I didn’t ring the buzzer.”

“Did you see them leave?” Hammond asked. The whole thing made sense now. Callie had run, although he hoped it was for self-protection and not to escape him and Spencer. She’d found her sister’s apartment, but that bastard Achchim had followed her from the
Ecstasy
while they’d been talking to Izzie, probably to collect the bounty on Callie’s head.

“No. Sorry. I kinda…ran away.”

“Thanks for the information,” Spencer said before turning to Hammond. “We might be in luck. If it was Achchim, maybe Izzie can help now.”

Chapter 8

Callie was just coming around when she felt herself being unceremoniously dropped on a mattress. She bounced once before settling, trying to control the pounding in her head. Her vision was bleary and her body ached, but she tried to focus on her surroundings as the last few moments before she’d blacked out came tumbling back.

That fucking Dracorian had hit her with one of those damn stun-sticks they all loved so much. He’d probably taken her back to his ship, or else she was now in the clutches of the drug lord who seemed to want her dead. Either way, she was in a shitload of trouble.

“Awake are you?” Achchim’s voice filled the room, making her head hurt some more. “Good. Your new home we’ll send you to.” His laughter made her want to find the strength to punch him in his big nose—or blow the damned thing off like she had Carlos Pontierri’s.

About to scramble off the bed and try to put up a good fight despite her weakened condition, she froze when a new voice sounded.

“Shit, Achchim!” Izzie’s shout was loud enough to make Callie wince. “What in the fuck were you thinking to snatch
her
? Where in the hell did you even find her?”

Was Izzie being here a good or a bad thing? Callie still hadn’t decided if Izzie was all she appeared to be. Intuition said there was more to the redhead than met the eye.

The two partners in crime stared at each other with an intensity that sent a shiver of worry through Callie. Izzie was clearly furious. Her cheeks had reddened, and she stood with legs braced apart and hands fisted against her hips. The Dracorian was no less angry. Achchim’s red eyes were narrowed to slits, and he breathed so hard, Callie could hear all four nostrils whistling.