Into the Mist (Falcon Mercenary Group #1)(46)

“The clothing stays. In fact anything touching me when I become invisible also becomes invisible. If I was naked when I shifted then I’d still be naked coming out of it.”

Tyana frowned and once more looked over at Eli. “It doesn’t make sense that the effects of the chemical are so random. You have such control, and yet even Gabe isn’t immune to the inhibitor.”

Eli shrugged and tried to act nonchalant, but his pulse was pounding through his veins. “I imagine it’s a lot like trial studies for pharmaceuticals. Everyone has different reactions to different medications.”

Ian walked over to where Tyana stood and extended his hand. “May I?”

She hesitated the briefest of seconds then placed the canister in Ian’s hand. “I don’t need it,” she said softly. “It doesn’t work on Damiano anymore. I wouldn’t expect it to work on you forever.”

“How long?” Ian demanded. “How long did it take for him to build up a resistance? How much time does this buy us?”

“Six months? We used it regularly and maybe that was part of the problem. We were so determined not to let him shift at all because he was so unpredictable. He’s not like you…the others.”

“How is he different?” Eli asked, his curiosity piqued.

She stared at him, her green eyes glittering with pain. “He can shift to anything. Well, I don’t know if it can be anything, but he isn’t limited to just one animal or one ability.”

Silence greeted her announcement. Then Braden whistled.

“Shit.”

“Yeah,” Ian said in a low voice.

“Sit down, Tyana,” Eli instructed. “You need to eat and we need to talk about a lot of things.”

Ian backed away, still holding the canister. He walked over to Braden and handed it to him to examine. Tyana walked to the table and took a seat so that she faced the rest of them.

Slowly, Gabe, Ian and Braden joined her, sitting in awkward silence while Eli prepared breakfast. When he set their plates down in front of them, no one seemed eager to start eating. Eli sat and stared them all down. “Eat. Then we’ll talk.”

They ate in silence, only the clinking sounds of forks against plates echoing across the table. Several minutes later, Ian stood and started clearing the plates, most of which were still half full. When he returned, he sank into his chair and stared expectantly at Eli.

Eli in turn looked over at Tyana. “Ball’s in your court, sugar. Talk.”

Anger flashed in her eyes. “I’ve already told you. Esteban hired me to take out your buddies and bring you in alive. No mention of Gabe. I used Esteban for information because I didn’t believe he had shit that could help Damiano. I didn’t have time to track your asses down, and Esteban provided me with your location.”

“Fuck,” Ian snarled. “Who the f**k is Esteban, and how does he know shit about where we are?”

“Back up,” Eli said in a deadly voice. “You told me that Esteban hired you, not that he provided you with our location.”

“Does the entire goddamn world know where we are?” Braden asked.

“That’s the reason I went to him,” Tyana said. “Bastard sicced two of his cronies on me in Paris as a test. I knifed one of them, and the other took off. I wouldn’t have f**ked with the smarmy jerk at all if it weren’t for the fact that he saved me time I didn’t have to spare in looking for you.”

“We can’t stay here,” Eli said.

Tyana nodded. “If Esteban doesn’t present a problem, Falcon soon will.”

Again, all four men turned their stares on her, and she shifted uncomfortably in her chair.

“Jonah won’t be far behind. I got a good jump, but he’ll catch up.”

“I told you her ass was trouble,” Gabe grumbled.

The beginnings of a full-blown headache were starting to plague Eli. Realizing that the others hadn’t been privy to the details Tyana had provided as to whom Esteban was and what his role in this whole fiasco was, he brought them quickly up to speed.

By the time he was done, he had a table full of pissed-off men.

“I say we go take his ass out,” Braden said. “Let’s bring the fight to him.”

Ian nodded. “I’m certainly for some payback.”

Gabe grunted. “And what if he can help us?”

Heads turned in his direction.

“What are you suggesting, Gabe?” Eli asked.

He shrugged. “I don’t know that I’m suggesting anything. I just wonder if killing him does more than remove a threat to us. What if he does have the means to help Ian and Braden?” He glanced over at Tyana. “And Damiano.”

“Well, our first order of business has to be getting the hell out of here,” Eli said. “We’ve got to move out and regroup then figure out what we do next.”

The others nodded. Tyana met his gaze, her eyes questioning.

“You in, sugar?” he asked softly.

She looked at the others then back at Eli. “Yeah. I’m in.”

Chapter Eighteen

They packed up, did a massive weapons check, got their technology in order and headed out, Gabe driving Ian and Braden in one four-wheel drive vehicle and Eli and Tyana in the other.

They set their rendezvous point at a hole-in-the-wall airstrip where they’d take a chopper, courtesy of Manuel Diego who ran a dubious charter service. They’d land in Puerto Santa Cruz and hop a boat to the Falkland Islands. Once there, they’d hole up in a safe house, plot their next move and wait for the jet.