Another short, quick burst of gunfire came from several directions, and then dead silence filled the comm. links for long minutes.

"Son of a b.i.t.c.h," Stygian cursed again, breathing roughly. "Jacob, we just lost him. Sniper took him out."

"The sniper?" Jacob questioned as they moved through the thick foliage, coming out to where a small group of Enforcers had converged over several fallen bodies.

"Well, boss, it was kill his a.s.s or let him kill me. And I only go so far for the sake of answers, ya know?" Deep, rough, the baritone was darker in person than over the comm. link.

Faith ignored him, despite her curiosity. She went to the fallen bodies, kneeling at their sides despite the blood and gore that littered the ground. They were definitely Coyote Breeds, but there were human soldiers as well. She knew the scent of both.

"Help me check their pockets," she told one of the Enforcers standing beside her.

The silent Breed bent and began riffling through the pockets of the other dead man. As Faith worked, she placed the few folded pieces of paper she found on the silent chest of the fallen enemy.

Behind her, Jacob was giving the others quiet orders, though she could feel his gaze on her.

"Hey, I found something." The Enforcer beside her kept his voice low as he placed several pictures on the small pile of papers Faith had acc.u.mulated. "Looks like a list of some sort, too."

"Flashlight?" she asked him, glancing over as he reached back to a thick hip pack.

Faith twisted the end of the small penlight, and was rewarded with a bright, though slender beam of light. She directed it on the bloodied pictures. There was one of her in the bar. Surprising. She couldn't recall a picture being taken of her. There were also pictures of Hope and two other women. The list gave names, locations and several small drawings that Faith a.s.sumed to be a code of some sort. She went back to the pictures. She knew Hope of course, but she knew the other two as well. All but her were full humans rather than hybrid breeds.

"Jacob, do we have any kind of Internet connection in this h.e.l.lhole?" she bit out as she read over the list, and glanced back at the pictures.

"No BOBs," he bit out. "Keep your mind on the job."

Faith stilled. Beside her, she could feel the younger Enforcer holding his breath. She came carefully to her feet, staring at her irritated mate as he glanced back from the face-off he held with Stygian, and a flame-haired Enforcer that scowled dangerously.

Her eyes narrowed as she felt offended fury course over her body.

"Excuse me?" She heard the primal growl in her own voice, and would have been as shocked by it as Jacob was if she hadn't been furious.

Jacob frowned at her again. "In a minute, Faith." He turned back to Stygian.

Faith felt her body tremble with hurt. His men stood around him, watching her carefully, aware that she was the Alpha female of this pack, but his response to her had placed her in the lowest level of the hierarchy instead. So much for Alpha intelligence.

"Was he shot in the head?" She directed a look of pseudo-innocence at the Enforcer, Stygian, ignoring Jacob's narrow eyed look.

Stygian cleared his throat carefully. "Not that I can tell." His look was a.s.sessing as he watched her, wondering how she would handle her mate, and if she was strong enough to stand with them.

She didn't blame them. With one thoughtless comment born of his own anger, Jacob wiped out any initial respect they had for her.

"Is there an Internet connection available here?" Once again she directed her question to Stygian. "I will a.s.sume that the heat of battle has fried his brains, so I'm hoping you, at least, will have an intelligent response."

She ignored Jacob. It was that or shoot him.

"Well, I have a laptop-"

"Get it," she bit out. "Satellite connection?"

He glanced at Jacob.

"He didn't ask you," she reminded him. "I did."

Stygian shrugged. "He's boss. You get a laptop at his say so."

Which wasn't satisfactory. Before Jacob could reprimand him, Faith moved.

The bigger they were, the less they expected from a small, puny woman. He blocked her intended blow, so he wasn't watching her feet. Her legs tangled with his, throwing him off balance as she slid her legs expertly out of the way, pushed firmly and watched him fall. As he landed on his back, she planted her foot firmly at his crotch.

Had she been the enemy, he would have taken her then. But had he been her enemy, he would have already lost his b.a.l.l.s, and then his throat.

Jacob cursed behind her.

"I'm smaller, and he's the a.s.shole that left his mate for six years to play jungle tramp. He might not like it, and you might be under the impression you can follow suit. But I am still your Alpha."

Stygian shuddered, but not from fear. Deep, hard chuckles welled in his throat and shook his body as his hands reached out. He grabbed her ankle. Faith twisted in his grip, executed a flip and landed in a crouch several feet from him.

"d.a.m.n. Boss, she's a live one." He came to his feet, facing her as Faith stood to her full height. Which she admitted wasn't much when standing next to Stygian.

"That she is," Jacob growled in warning and a measure of respect she hadn't heard in his voice before this.

"I don't need your help now," she bit out, staring at him furiously.

"No, you took care of it yourself, but it was me who should have been on my a.s.s again," he sighed wearily. "I have a laptop and satellite connection in the house. I'll show you everything you need. You're right. You proved your place tonight, I shouldn't have let my anger and worry for you get the best of me."

Shock held her still, silent.

"d.a.m.n. The boss just apologized," Stygian sn.i.g.g.e.red, his voice filled with mock incredulity.

"And you're next." Faith turned on him with a feral growl.

He stepped back in surprise.

"d.a.m.ned right I am." Stygian nodded respectfully then. "It won't happen again, B.A."

Faith frowned. "B.A.?"

"Bad a.s.s!" His head gave a sharp jerk of exclamation. "d.a.m.n, you don't just look fine, but you move like lightning. Welcome to the Pack."

Chapter Twenty-Three.

They finally ended up back in the living room, where Jacob hit the switch that closed dark shades over each window and left the interior gloomy, intimate.

"Now, we have a problem." Jacob's voice was hard, cold as he flipped the four small, glossy photos down on the coffee table. "My mission has nothing to do with these women. And I think we've just established that those Coyotes were after you, not me."

Faith sighed wearily as she collapsed on the couch, staring down at the small picture of herself. It was one that had been taken six years before, during their time in the Labs. Hope's was only slightly older. The other two she wasn't certain of.