Into the Mist (Falcon Mercenary Group #1)(9)

“I have to go, Mad Dog. D can’t hold out much longer. I won’t lose him,” she said fiercely. “And Eli was stable. I saw him. He shifted right in front of me. He even had clothes. How could he have conjured clothes? He obviously has great control over his abilities which proves there has to be a way to help D.”

Mad Dog gave her a look so full of love and sympathy she flinched. “Ty, when are you going to stop punishing yourself?” he asked softly. “What happened to you and D wasn’t your fault. The things that happened to him weren’t your fault. You can’t spend your life trying to make up for things that were out of your control.”

“I can’t forget that he gave up so much to protect me,” she whispered.

He stood and gently pulled Tyana up in front of him. Then he folded her into his arms and held her against his strong chest.

“You have to stop blaming yourself,” he said quietly against her hair. “D doesn’t blame you. Neither should you.”

Before she could muster a response, he pulled away from her and brushed his thumb across her cheek.

“You should head on to bed and get some rest. You’re running on empty.”

She nodded and turned away. She could feel his gaze as she walked out of the game room, knew he would be watching her closely over the next few days, if not weeks.

As she stepped out the door, Jonah straightened from his position against the wall.

She tensed and waited.

“We need to get something straight, Ty,” he said with no preamble. “I’m pulling rank. Not as FMG leader, but as your brother. You know and I know there isn’t an assignment you can’t handle. I trust you implicitly. But as your brother, I’m shutting you down. You aren’t going anywhere near Eli Chance again. Are we clear? I’ll tie you to your bed if I have to, and you know I’m not bullshitting you. We’ll find another way to help D.”

Tyana stiffened. She wanted to scream. She wanted to lash out at Jonah. She wanted to cry. But she did none of those things. She stood there rigidly, hands balled into fists at her sides.

They stared at each other for a long moment. Finally Jonah broke the awkward silence.

“Are you okay?” he asked, and she knew he was referring to her conversation with Mad Dog.

She nodded. “Yeah, I’m cool. Heading up to bed.”

He looked as if he wanted to say something further, but he nodded and walked back into the game room where no doubt he and Mad Dog would have a long talk about her discussion with Mad Dog. She cringed.

She’d always been treated as one of the guys, but now they were going to see her as a vulnerable sister. Just another girl who needed their overbearing protection. She should have just kept her damn mouth shut and lied through her teeth.

Emitting a disgusted sigh, she trudged up the stairs toward her room. When she got to D’s door, she paused before sliding her hand over the knob.

She quietly pushed it open and walked inside. D was on the bed, his big body curled into a defensive gesture. It was a position she was intimately familiar with.

Even in sleep, he fought for control. Sweat beaded his forehead, and his muscles contorted and spasmed in his chest and arms. He let out a low moan, and Tyana bent to soothe a hand over his face.

There was no question of her offering comfort. She eased into bed beside him and wrapped her arms around him, just as she’d done so many other nights.

His arm crept around her even as he slept, an automatic motion born of years of habit. They held on tight to each other as Tyana drifted into sleep. The two of them against the world.

* * *

Jonah strode into the game room to see Mad Dog lighting another joint. There was a weariness to Mad Dog’s face that Jonah hadn’t seen in a long time. Mad Dog looked up as Jonah drew closer.

“What the f**k are we going to do about Eli Chance?” he demanded.

Jonah crossed his arms over his chest then relaxed them again and put his hands on the back of the couch. “Short answer? I don’t know.”

“Ty said he was stable, that he shifted at will and had complete control over his abilities. I’d say that’s a big point of interest for us. What if Ty is right and he could lead us to a cure for D?”

“Ty is going to keep her ass out of this,” Jonah bit out. He’d seen the fear and uncertainty in her eyes, and it was something he swore he’d never have to look at again once he and Mad Dog took her and D in. It pissed him off that Eli Chance had rattled her so badly. It pissed him off even more that his confidence in Ty’s ability to handle herself was shaken.

“We’ve been gathering intel on Eli and his team for weeks,” Mad Dog said evenly. “Ty was supposed to be on a simple fact-finding mission. Well, she found out plenty. The bastard is stable which means his team probably is as well.”

“We don’t know that for a fact,” Jonah said.

Mad Dog made a rude sound. “They all got gassed by the same chemical. D is a shifter, and we now know for sure Eli is as well. It’s not a stretch to say that his team also developed the ability. And if Eli is stable, what are the chances that his team isn’t? They obviously got help from somewhere. We just need to figure out how and where. I’m not one for walking up and saying hey, buddy, can you help my brother out after he left D for dead and skedaddled with his teammates.”

Jonah’s jaw ticked in anger. The truth was, he wanted Eli Chance’s blood. Now more than ever. If it hadn’t been for Ty intervening, Jonah and Mad Dog would have gone after the ass**le and taken him out. But she viewed Chance as a means to help D, and so Jonah had allowed her to approach him in Singapore. Big mistake. One he wouldn’t make twice. He was done allowing Ty any leeway when it came to Eli Chance.