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"You heard the man - we've got ten minutes. Tell me a little story."
Nerida leaned her head back against the tiled wall. The red marks around her neck were very evident, and this time not even the dead could hold back the guilt.
"I didn't mean for the explosion to be so big."
"You put gas and flame together, and the end result is usually a big explosion."
She grimaced and ran a hand through her damp hair. "Yeah. But I didn't mean for it to bring down the floors above. I just wanted it to be big enough to kill a man."
"What man?" But even as I asked the question, I knew.
"Leo Moss." She spat the name like it was a curse, and even though I was viewing her through a mirror, it was very evident that the complete and utter hatred she had for the man verged on madness.
"Why?"
"Because he and Merle killed my father and destroyed my family." Her gaze met mine in the mirror. "I will kill them both. Have no doubt of that."
I didn't doubt her vow. I just didn't think she had the strength to do it. I glanced at Berna. "And your part in this whole little revenge scheme?"
The bear-shifter shrugged. "I came here in the hope of keeping her alive. We've been friends a long time."
"If these are those two women you asked me about," Jack said, voice like a scratch of anger in my ear - was I ever going to get a dressing down when this mission was over! - "prelim searches have revealed they had military time together, in the ranger division. Left four years ago, and the trail runs a little cold after that."
"Friends don't usually go to such lengths - unless they've sworn an oath to protect each other." Or were lovers. I paused, then aimed the second question at both Jack and Berna. "How far would you go?"
"Until we know more about these two," Jack said, "you say nothing of your reasons for being there."
Which was going to be damn difficult, considering they already had their suspicions about my identity after I'd challenged them both over the bed.
"She saved my lire." Berna hesitated, then added, "and I will go as far as I am required to uphold my vow and return the favor."
Which was a very military sentiment. It also explained why they'd moved as one when they'd threatened me earlier. "How did Moss and Merle wipe out your family, Nerida, and how did you uncover information about this place? It's not exactly on any known map."
The bear-shifter's eyes narrowed slightly. "What do either of those matter to a thief?"
I smiled coldly. "I have my own reasons for being here, and they aren't so very different from yours."
"I knew you weren't what you were pretending to be," Nerida muttered, as she pushed to her feet.
I straightened a little, watching them both warily. "Answer the question."
"My family ran a shipping business. When my father refused to sell, Merle arranged to have him arrested. Moss then killed my mother and my sister." She paused. Her gaze became haunted, and her struggle with a grief that was obviously still too raw, too close to the surface, was evident. I wondered how long ago it had all happened. "He has the aura of a were and a taste for pain. He used my family until their injuries were too great, and then he left them to die. Only they didn't die soon enough, and I found them. That's how I know who it was. That's when I made my vow."
I glanced at Berna to confirm the statement, and it was in that moment Nerida attacked. She was fast, with the skills of a fully trained soldier to back her up, and for several seconds it was all I could do to simply block and survive, let alone counterattack. Granted, she was no Gautier, but then, this wasn't a wide arena but a shower stall with next to no room to move. And I was in it while she wasn't.
I ducked several whistle-fast blows, caught another in my fist, and missed the one aimed at my stomach. Her fist sunk deep and my breath left in a whoosh. I had no choice but to ignore the burning sensation in my gut as I ducked and weaved and was gradually driven back farther into the stall.
Then lights went out. Berna, probably. And though she was undoubtedly trying to stop the monitoring guards from seeing what was going on, she'd unknowingly given me an advantage. Night was my friend, not theirs. I switched to infrared, dropped underneath another one-two series of blows, then came up fast and pushed her backward, as hard as I could. As the werefox staggered backward and tried to catch her balance, I wrapped the shadows around myself then leapt upward. Wolves could leap extremely high - vampires even higher. I had the skills of both at my call, and landed with little effort on the thin edge of the stall wall. I took a moment to balance, then quietly stepped onto the top of the next stall, then the next, before easing lightly back down to the floor.
"Where the fuck has she gone?" There was a thump and a rattle as Nerida's fist hit the wail. "She's disappeared."
"That's impossible. She's probably just cowering in a corner." Exasperation edged Berna's voice. Maybe she was getting a little tired of her friend's actions.
And I had to wonder why they were wasting time thumping the walls rather than using their olfactory senses - hell, given I'd been with Kade in the hay and had then been surrounded in smoke and death, I'd have to be leaving one hell of a scent trail.
But I wasn't about to give either of them time to remember that option. Nor did I have much time left to contain them, as the scowling guard was probably already on his way back down.
Berna bent over and peered into the stall. I padded over, shook off the shadows, then grabbed a fistful of her short hair, yanking her back and up before thrusting her hard into the stall. She collided with Nerida and both hit the back wall, and there was a crack loud enough to suggest broken bones. They went down in a heap and stayed there. But the heated looks being flung my way suggested it wasn't because they were too hurt to move, but rather because any good soldier knows when to retreat in order to fight another day.
