Lacey's Luhpynes(24)

"Thank you," she said with a smile. "For wanting to be with me, for  being willing to remain. I love you so very much." Crap, she didn't mean  to say that, at all. "We will be good together, right? Somehow and  someway we will be able to get through this?"

He was wearing a smirk on his face. "You didn't mean to say that, did  you?" he asked, sounding damned smug. Chuckling, he shook his head. "You  are too adorable when you try and cover your ass up, darling." Pulling  her under his arm, he led her back to the warehouse. "We'll get through  anything as a team, Lacey. Even your psychotic admirer with a serious  need to blow me and Zhubin up."

"And me now." She grew serious. "Fucking asshole. Not you, the bastard  that has kept us apart for as long as he has. The asshat that has been  sending me flowers." She sighed and shook her head. "No I didn't mean to  say it but it doesn't make it any less true."

"We will get him, Lacey," he told her softly. "When we do he will pay a  hefty price for his actions. He's obviously starting to lose it if he's  trying to blow you up instead of win you over. Which means he's  escalated. According to the FBI seminar I stayed awake for out of sheer  will, that's a damn bad sign."

"Yeah tell me about it. Trust me, I was in the FBI if you will recall.  It freaking sucks ass that this son of a bitch has escalated but to be  perfectly honest with you I am surprised that it took him this long to  do so," she admitted.

"Why?" He shot her a look. "We hadn't laid any claim toward you before,  he only escalated once we all started to get closer to you. I'm betting  that first bomb was for Zhubin alone, but this one." He looked up as  they walked into the warehouse. "Where it was placed, the projectiles,  it was meant for maximum damage. So he was out to ensure you never mated  with us or us with you."

"Yeah. I think it might have had something to do with the fact that I've  started being very public and visible when I trash his gifts," she  admitted. "I'm sick of this asshat, sick of living in fear and now that I  no longer have to I won't." It's as simple as that."

"Good." He nodded and gave her a squeeze. "I'll be back in a minute, I'm  going to go back up and see what kind of spread he managed." Pressing a  kiss to her cheek Ansell let her go and moved under the beams overhead.  He crouched and then shot straight up, catching a beam before pulling  his bulk up and onto it.

"Sounds good to me." She watched him leave and shook her head. "Good  lord, that freaks me out. I don't think I will ever get used to that,"  she admitted aloud so that he would hear her. It was crazy the things  that her boys could do, and frankly, she loved it.

A low male chuckle from above echoed through the warehouse.

"He's just showing off is all," Zhubin said from where he was crouched  near the body. He was back about six feet, plenty of space for Briar not  to feel crowded, yet close enough to be able to see everything clearly.  "It's a Luhpyne trait, sadly one that overrides our brains most of the  time."

That had her laughing and she shook her head. "Well I like it, even if I  freak out every time he does it." Although, truth be known, she was  really glad that her men were as impressive as they were, and damn were  they ever!

He snorted at that and turned to accept the little baggie from Briar. He  wrote down whatever she was telling him to and then set it into the box  to one side. "Feel up to taking a few pictures?" he asked after a  moment. He picked up a camera and held it out to her, "Anything that  catches your eye as well as the rest of this mess. We're going to have  to do a computer simulation to pull out all the crap from the bomb. But  hopefully between what we saw when we got here and the computer model  we'll get a good idea of the scene."

"Which we should be able to get, since the initials that responded got a  massive amount of video. The new cams that the units use begin  recording the moment they accept a call. We will be able to tap all of  that video as well as what I took before you guys got here too," Briar  said and took a step back to begin taking images of the scene.

Nodding, he stood up and grabbed the box. "I'll put these in your  vehicle, Briar. And I'll let those idiot interns know they can come for  the body. Can't believe they're still hiding out behind the vans," he  muttered, heading for the doorway.                       
       
           



       

"Do you blame them?" Briar asked with a grin. "I mean seriously, can you  blame them? Hell, if I wasn't ME and had a job to do I would be right  there along with them. Without the shadow of a doubt I would."

"You've just got bigger balls than that lot combined," Ansell said from  the rafters. "That lot need to learn to buck up and roll with the  punches." A moment later he landed in a crouch a few feet away. "This  guy certainly knows his bombs. There's not a single thing above that  rafter, everything was directed down toward the ground and us."

"In other words you think that he has escalated his attacks on Lacey?"  Briar voiced what they had all been thinking. "Well hell, that's just  not good. I happen to like her so you boys need to do whatever the hell  you have to in order to keep her safe because I will be pretty pissy if  she's lost, got me?"

Ansell cocked a brow. "Look who's getting all bossy again. About fucking  time, female." He snorted and walked toward a wall. "And, for the  record, Briar, we don't intend on letting anyone take her from our  lives. She's ours and we'll kill anything and anyone that thinks  otherwise."

"Good," Briar said and pulled back slightly. "I'm not bossy, I just care  a great deal for my friends and she's one of the few that I totally  call friend. I adore her. She's funny and she's got you boys running in  circles which makes me like her all the more."

He gave a small growl at that. "If we didn't like you, Briar, oh if we didn't like you," he muttered.

"You poking the beast again, Briar?" Zhubin grinned at Lacey as he came  back in. Dropping a kiss to her cheek he rubbed his nose over her skin.  "How you doin, little mate?" he asked softly. Rubbing his hand over her  arm he straightened back from her a little.

Briar snorted and shook her head.

Lacey brushed her nose to Zhubin's and nodded. "I'm as good as I'm going  to get right now. I really think that we need to ensure that we tie up  all the loose ends that we possibly can so that we can go to your home  on the other side of the Veil for a time." She was hopeful that maybe  the ass that had focused so much on her wouldn't be able to follow them  and would make a misstep perhaps.

Nodding in return, he pulled her in closer and held her to him. Pressing  a kiss to her lips, he rested his forehead to hers. "We'll take the  time we need as we need it. No one, this asshole or any other, will take  from us our time together. Even if the world goes to hell around us we  all need to take a moment now and again and just breathe."

"Good," she said quietly and leaned into him as she did so. "I hope to  be able to have time alone with you boys and I think that on the other  side of the Veil we will have that. I really do. I think that we will be  able to keep that bastard on this side of the Veil so that's even  better."

"We'll have guards posted at the Veil. Only those approved will get  through and everyone will be scanned and identified before they are  allowed through. Even if they are on an approved list I'm not taking any  chances."

"Good," she murmured. "I didn't know that humans could pass through the  Veil without an escort." Part of why she had never been through the  Veil, she didn't know who to trust. "Because I have the oddest feeling  this guy is a human." She didn't know why she thought that but she did.

"Most humans cannot, there are a small number that can, genetic flukes,"  Zhubin said, holding her tighter. "Mated humans can of course because  they are tied to the race or races of their mates. That link negates any  negative effects but otherwise humans have to be allowed in or  escorted."

"Will I be able to?" she asked quietly. "Because we haven't cemented our  bond. Will I be able to cross because we are meant to be?" That she  wasn't sure of at all. "I've never been on the other side of the Veil,"  she added.

"You will be able to pass through because we are fated. Plus we will be  right there with you to ensure you have no troubles. Let's finish up and  get home. We'll get Briar and her body off and do one last run through  the place. After that we will go home, shower, have a damned stiff drink  and pass out for the night."