Cassius by Stevens, Madison (chromebook ebook reader txt) 📕

to the sound. “Then they’re either more arrogant or stupider than I thought. After the other night, they know hybrids are around, and grabbing a Vestal when a hybrid is around is a dumbass move.”

“But I thought you didn’t believe Vestals were anything special.”

“It doesn’t matter what I believe.” Julius stepped away from CJ. “What matters is how they think hybrids will react. Let’s hurry this up before you end up getting us both killed.”

CJ stepped away from the tent and sniffed at the air. Maybe they were both wrong. Kendra might have lost her phone or had it stolen. Not seeing one woman in a huge, densely packed venue wasn’t crazy. It wasn’t impossible he was overreacting.

He wanted to believe that, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. If Kendra had been grabbed, she needed her mate to come and rescue her. First, he needed to find some clues.

* * *

CJ waded through the crowd, keeping his pace slow and steady despite his desire to charge forward and shove people out of the way calling for Kendra at the top of his lungs. He sought anything out of place, both sights and smells. A couple of times he grew excited, thinking he’d found her only to have the woman in question turn around and reveal a different face.

It took all his self-control not to growl in frustration. This was worse than searching for a needle in a haystack. At least in that situation, he could have used a metal detector.

CJ continued his futile search, his heart kicking up with each section of the course he entered without spotting Kendra. There was no way she ran. He didn’t care what Julius said.

The search brought CJ back near the main sportsplex building. Julius had shifted to checking outside the venue. Despite the other hybrid’s professed doubts, he was putting in a good effort. CJ didn’t care why that was, only that he had the man’s help in finding his Vestal.

CJ slowed. The reduced foot traffic of this part of the venue made it easier to pick out individual scents. More importantly, he was certain he could pick up traces of Kendra’s more recent scent. He sniffed at the air and moved forward.

It didn’t mean anything in of itself. She’d been all over the area. There was no reason she wouldn’t have come near here.

A strange sickening smell floated into his nostrils. It was subtle, so subtle, he doubted any of the humans nearby could sense it, but now that he picked up on it, he couldn’t ignore it. Reminiscent of rotting meat mixed with acrid chemicals, the awful smell began to overwhelm Kendra’s scent the closer CJ moved to the building..

CJ backed away and pulled out his phone. There were people nearby, but no one paid him much attention as they rushed back and forth, boxes and equipment in hand. He dialed Julius.

“You find something?” Julius answered.

“I don’t know,” CJ whispered into his phone. “I’m at the sportsplex, and there’s a weird smell that wasn’t here before.”

“Glycon?”

“No, it’s different. I’ve never smelled anything quite like it. I think something grabbed Kendra at the building.”

Julius grunted. “Shit. We weren’t expecting that level of threat. I think we need backup.”

CJ growled. “It’ll take a couple of hours for the guys to fly to the city, and probably a half-hour or more to drive here. Maximus isn’t going to let the team land a helicopter in the middle of NYC without something more concrete.”

“Listen to me, CJ,” Julius said. “If you’re smelling something strange, we have to assume it’s some sort of high-level threat. If not Glycons, then someone like Quinen. We don’t have our guns, and this is supposed to be a recon mission. This might not be a base, but they’re the ones with a homefield advantage here, not us.”

“Those bastards have her.” CJ glared at the building. “And I’m not going to ignore it. You were wrong about some of your assumptions.”

“You ready to risk all these people’s lives on your own assumptions?” Julius asked in a mocking tone. “You try to go in there and do this half-assed, then not only will she end up dead, but there could be dozens if not hundreds of casualties. We both know Ouroboros doesn’t give a crap about innocent lives.”

“You’re the one who said they wouldn’t risk a big public reveal,” CJ snapped. “We’ve been conducting our op with that in mind.”

“They might not be able to help it if we make a big mess and force them,” Julius replied. “You need to standby. I’ll get in position to watch the building from the other side. I’ll tag any vehicles leaving, in case they have her, but if you want to help her, then we need to wait for our own help.”

“You expect me to stand here and do nothing when they have my Vestal?” CJ snarled. “Give me a break.”

“I expect you to actually step away from the building,” Julius said, his voice cold. “A huge guy sitting there glaring will be a red flag to the enemy. Pull back to the front and observe things in case they try to take her out that way. I’ll watch the back, and we’ll go in once we have a full team here. Then we can save her and stop them.”

“This isn’t right. I need to go in. We don’t have time to mess around.”

“You can’t help her if you’re dead.” Finality colored Julius’s tone. “I might not believe everything you do about Vestals and everything else, but I believe in what I can see, and in Hawaii, I saw a guy who could have taken out our entire squad when we were already ready. You were there too, and you know what they can be capable of.”

CJ’s jaw tightened. His beast instincts wanted him to charge into the building and demand Kendra, but he couldn’t even be sure she was there, only that it was the one part of the