Things that Go Bump in the Night

Chapter 49: Illumination Part 2:

A/N: I know it has been a long while and I cannot tell you when it will happen again, but here is the next update. There will be one more part to this chapter and then one more chapter to this book. Happy reading everyone! This chapter is fast, yet detail packed.  

Chapter 49: Illumination Part 2:

"A-are the others here?" I asked, my voice shaking as I tried to get out of the stupor his words brought upon me. He raised an eyebrow and rolled his eyes slightly in mock irritation, the corners of his mouth tipped too far up and his eyes too crinkled with laugh lines to be seriously miffed by my lack of communication skills.

"What part of 'you are the first to arrive' did you not understand?" he countered, leaning back in this seat and regarding me with a calm ease that felt very natural for him. "The rest of the misfit toys have not arrived yet."

I studied him quietly, my heart still throbbing into my throat. Where were they? Were they ok? Did they make it out?

"When will they arrive?" I settled on asking, trying to keep my voice from edging into the world of panic. The man shrugged and tilted his head to the side as he regarded me.

"No idea really, hopefully within the next couple of weeks." He admitted, swiveling his chair slightly to point at a large map on the wall that I had yet to notice. "You did have the shortest route of any of the groups. I guess Esteban figured you would have the most risk of being caught; I heard some chatter about your mate through the satellite...charming dude."

For a moment the image of the beast, staring up at me through the rain with feral, black, angry eyes and vengeful bloody teeth filled my mind. The hairs rose on the back of my neck and goosebumps spread across my skin.

Charming indeed.

"Esteban?" My voice echoed, becoming lost in the story that he put in front of me. He turned his head back to look at me, a knowing smile on his face that did not reach his eyes.

"I apologize, you most likely know him by a different name....fairly tall fellow, olive skin, dark brown hair, has a specific talent for computer hacking, strategy, emotional manipulation and deception?"

"Carlos?" My voice whispered, unsure of what was actually happening.

"Ah, so that is what he is going by for now? I guess I never knew his cover name when he was placed on the assignment..." he mumbled off to himself, looking back at the map with a bemused look.

"Carlos' name is Esteban?" I asked, feeling majorly out of the loop. The man once again shrugged, sighing before looking back at me.

"No, to tell you the truth I do not know his real name. He was an agent already when I met him, one of the youngest in the division. He was originally stationed in an elite cyber team which was almost completely aliased. Hence, why I do not know his real name. What I do know is that he mostly did undercover work, gaining access to the financial records of certain drug cartels. He was transferred to my division when they needed someone to program satellites to monitor werewolf activity. He was so talented at undercover work that they decided to bring him out of the basement after the werewolves revealed themselves to the public. Unfortunately, most of the undercover agents were left in the dark when the human government collapsed. Esteban included."

I just stared at the man before me, mouth slightly hanging open. So Carlos was Esteban...but not really Esteban? A sinking feeling filled my chest suddenly and I thought I might not be able to breathe.

Carlos had never hidden his aptitude with technology or his ability to lie convincingly, I just never stopped to think that maybe he had been lying to me as well.