Code Fire

By Val St. Crowe

Jesse Talon thinks her biggest problem’s going to be sorting through her feelings for Wyatt Flint. Now that Wyatt’s a Section X agent too, they work together. She figures her attraction to her partner Duke might end up being an issue as well.

What she doesn’t expect is to discover that her boss, Morgan Steele, has absorbed the power of the evil sea monster the Green King, and that they’re all going to have to try to find a way to stop her.

Suddenly, complicated relationship issues are looking like a walk in the park.

• Language: English
• Publisher: V. J. Chambers
• Release date: Nov 29, 2018
• ISBN: 9780463148129

Book preview

CHAPTER ONE

Jesse Talon stopped short in the doorway to one of the gyms at Section X’s headquarters. Section X was the magical division of intelligence for the American government. They were headquartered in an underground bunker out in the midwest. They had more than one gym, and all of them contained weights and exercise equipment in addition to an expanse of mats for sparring.

Roland Duke was on the mat by himself. He was in midair, executing a swizzle kick that required him to twist his body like a corkscrew.

Jesse just stood there, mouth hanging open, staring at him.

Duke’s muscled chest was bare, and his shoulders and arms moved in pure poetry. His black skin glistened under the lights of the gym, and there were shimmers of green scales as well. Duke was a drake, a human dragon hybrid that got that way by dying with dragon meat in his system. In Duke, the mutation manifested as emerald accent scales that hugged his face and torso.

He landed the kick and swung around, bringing up his arms, and then he saw Jesse. He dropped the fighting stance. Talon, he said, a little winded.

I’ve been looking everywhere for your shirt, blurted Jesse. Then she blushed, shaking her head. "No, I mean, for Steele. I’m looking for Steele." She cringed. Jesus, Duke was her partner, she was supposed to be used to his blinding attractiveness by now.

Haven’t seen her, said Duke, reaching down and snagging his shirt off the ground, where it had been tossed next to his water bottle. You check her office?

Of course I checked her office, said Jesse. Steele was their direct superior. She worked operations at Section X, which meant that she was highly placed in the organization.

Duke didn’t put the shirt on, but instead used it to wipe sweat from his brow.

Jesse gazed at his green-scale-accented pecks, which were perfectly shaped, and tried to remember what she was even talking about. Right. Steele. Yes. She’s not in her office, and she’s not in the ops center, and I can’t find her anywhere.

Why don’t you go by her suite?

It’s the middle of the day. Why would she be there?

Duke shrugged. Just a thought.

She nodded. Yeah, I guess I could look there. Okay, thanks.

Sure thing. Duke tossed his shirt back down on the floor. See you around, Talon.

See you, she said, wrenching her gaze from the glory of his marbled stomach.

Duke chuckled. I’m up here. He pointed to his eyes.

Fuck you, she said, turning on her heel to leave.

Just admit you like what you see, Talon, he called after her.

I hate you, she yelled over her shoulder. She could not get out of there fast enough. Damn Duke. Damn him straight to hell. She didn’t know what was worse about it. That she found her partner crazy attractive, that he seemed abundantly aware of that fact, that he thought it was funny, or that they couldn’t do anything about it because Section X agents were expressly forbidden from any kind of romantic or carnal entanglements.

She rounded the corner and headed in the direction of Steele’s suite.

No, the worst part of all of it was Wyatt Flint, she decided.

If it was just being attracted to Duke, she could handle that. Anyone with eyes would be attracted to Duke, and Duke was an equal opportunity employer. He was bisexual, so he’d sleep with anyone. Except other Section X agents, of course. Duke was a harmless flirt. She could deal with a harmless flirt.

But then Wyatt was part of the mix now. He also worked for Section X, although he was a new recruit. When she’d met him, he’d been a mark, and she’d been sent on a mission to seduce him, which she had failed at. But that didn’t mean the two of them hadn’t gotten close in the meantime, even though it had all been an act on her part.

Okay, it had been supposed to be an act.

Maybe there was an eensy part of it that was genuine. Must have been, because now she found herself attracted to Wyatt as well. He had these stumblingly blue eyes that seemed to pierce her right to her soul. And he was noble and loyal and heroic in this effortless way. He was powerful too. He was the blood dragon, and he had been born with the power to call dragons to him and control them. (Not shifter dragons, but the other kind. The wild ones.)

She’d seen him use his power to contain the power of the Green King, Wyatt’s opposite, an evil sea monster who only wanted to destroy. Wyatt’s power left her breathless.

She didn’t know what it was about Wyatt Flint, but it was something.

He unsettled her.

Unfortunately, he was sort of pissed at her for playing him. Apparently, when a girl only pretends to want to get in your pants in order to manipulate you, it doesn’t actually endear her to you. Go figure.

Not that it mattered. Wyatt worked for Section X now, so he was as off limits as Duke.

Jesse rounded a corner and now she was on the wing where Steele’s suite was. She slowed her walk and looked at the numbers on the doors. She knew that operations agents had nicer quarters than the regular grunts like herself, but she’d never spent much time inside of their rooms. She wondered how likely it was that Steele was even here, and if so, if the operations agents would invite Jesse in.

Probably not.

There was friction between her and Steele even in the best of times. Jesse tried not to be snarky, but respect for authority didn’t come easy to her. She liked to color outside the lines and forge her own path. Steele wished Jesse wouldn’t.

There. Steele’s door.

Jesse banged on it.

She waited.

Nope, Steele wasn’t here either. Damn it, where was that woman? Could she have left headquarters altogether? Near as Jesse could remember, Steele was always here, but that didn’t mean she hadn’t left.

The door opened an inch. Talon? came Steele’s voice. Steele’s head popped out. Her hair was down and a little bit mussed, as if she’d been sleeping. What is it?

I’ve been looking for you, said Jesse.

Well, you’ve found me, said Steele. What can I do for you?

I just wanted to follow up about the power we extracted and contained, said Jesse. The power of the Green King. You have it in a container in your office.

I’m aware of what power it is, said Steele. And actually, I don’t have it in my office anymore.

What? Where is it?

It’s been destroyed, said Steele. That was the purpose of extracting it, after all. To destroy it.

But I thought you were going to allow us to observe the destruction, said Jesse. You told us—

I said I would take it up with the other operations agents, said Steele. They determined that the power needed to be destroyed ASAP. I simply couldn’t wait.

And when were you going to tell us this? said Jesse. She didn’t like this, not one bit.

I don’t answer to you, Talon, said Steele. Really, it’s the other way around. Now, if there’s nothing else, goodbye. Steele pulled her head inside the door and shut it, not waiting for Jesse to say anything else.

Jesse glared at the closed door.

This was really suspicious. They had reason to believe that the power they’d extracted hadn’t been brought to Section X to be destroyed, but rather used as a weapon, possibly on an international scale.

Jesse had been trained to follow orders and not to ask questions, but she had seen the power of the Green King, and it had been dangerous enough contained in a weak vessel—Agent Vin Anderson—who had been killed from trying to wield the power. It was too dangerous to be allowed to exist.

Jesse was worried that the power hadn’t been destroyed at all. She couldn’t simply take Steele’s word for it. Steele could be lying to cover up for the fact that they were making a weapon. If that were the case—

Steele’s door opened again.

Jesse took a step back.

Because it wasn’t Steele opening the door, but Wyatt. He was buttoning his shirt and his hair was as mussed as Steele’s had been.

Jesse took another step back. Oh, hell. She couldn’t believe what she was seeing.

Wyatt looked up, noticing her for the first time. Talon. You’re still here?

He was calling her Talon now? They weren’t even on a first-name basis? Wyatt really was angry with her.

I was thinking, she said. If Steele hasn’t destroyed the power—

Why do you think I was here? he said. I was trying to get information from her, gain her trust.

By… by sleeping with her?

Wyatt shrugged. By whatever means necessary.

Jesse narrowed her eyes. Well, you learn fast, I’ll give you that. And then she stalked off before she said anything else. She didn’t think she could stand being near him right now, anyway.

CHAPTER TWO

Connor Beckett leaned closer to David Kole, who worked in the technological sector of Section X. David was also extremely gorgeous and very gay.

Connor wasn’t supposed to get entangled with other Section X agents, not now that he worked for the organization, but he found he couldn’t help but flirt a little sometimes. Also, he found what David did extremely interesting. Connor had a bit of computer experience himself. So, that little script just crawls all over and gets all the security codes?

David grinned. Absolutely.

And you wrote it yourself?

Wasn’t hard, said David. Listen, you really should try Linux. I can’t believe you haven’t. A guy like you would love it.

Connor fluffed his wings. Maybe you can help me install it. Connor was a gargoyle, which meant that his skin was living stone. If he didn’t wear the sunlight blocker issued by Section X, he turned to real stone in the daytime.

Yeah, maybe. David looked him over.

Connor deliberately bit down on his bottom lip.

David’s gaze narrowed in on the gargoyle’s lips.

Tonight? said Connor.

Yeah, that could work, said David, and his voice had dropped to a whisper.

Kole! said a voice.

David and Connor both stood up out of their chairs, guiltily putting about four feet of distance between their bodies.

Jesse Talon was marching into the room. Her head was down, her jaw was set, and her nostrils flared when she breathed. She looked angry. Kole, I’m bored.

Uh… David raised his eyebrows. I’m sorry?

Give me something to do, said Jesse. She eyed Connor. Hey, Connor.

Hey, Jesse, said Connor. What’s up with you? Did something happen?

No, nothing, said Jesse. Nothing at all. I couldn’t care less that Wyatt and Steele are fucking. That means nothing to me.

What? Connor couldn’t believe the words that had just come out of her mouth. That couldn’t be right. That was insane. Nothing about that sentence made any kind of sense.

Anyway, said Jesse, there’s got to be something. You guys have that pool of magical threats that are low level, not priority? Things assigned if people don’t have anything else going on? Give me one of those.

Well, usually someone in operations will assign those, said David.

So? Jesse folded her arms over her chest.

Hold up, said Connor, wedging himself in between her and David. You said that Wyatt and Steele are… He shuddered. Did you really say that?

Yeah, but I don’t care about that, said Jesse. "It doesn’t matter to me. Wyatt can go stick his dick in every Section X agent in the entire facility. I don’t have any claim on him. I couldn’t care less about what he does with that part of his anatomy. It means nothing to me."

Right, getting that, said Connor. But the question I have is why would Wyatt—

Oh, he’s trying to gain Steele’s trust so that he can find out what she really did with the Green King’s power, said Jesse. Kole, get on this computer and find me something to do. This boredom is killer.

David cleared his throat. Well, I guess I could look.

Yes, said Jesse. You could.

Connor held up a finger. Steele did something with the Green King’s power?

She claims she destroyed it, but she conveniently did that without us, said Jesse. We’re just supposed to take her word for it.

"That is suspicious, said Connor. Still, for Wyatt to be intimate with her seems…"

Jesse squared her shoulders. You can talk about them being intimate all day. It doesn’t even faze me. She glared at David. You got anything for me yet, Kole?

Uh… David scrolled down on the computer screen. Well, there’s a bunch of crazed drakes wreaking havoc on an abandoned campground in the Florida everglades.

Perfect, said Jesse. Give me the specifics.

* * *

Connor knocked on Wyatt’s door.

Wyatt answered, seconds later, hair wet, towel around his neck. He rubbed the towel on his wet hair. Hey, Connor, what’s up?

Um… Connor didn’t quite know how to broach the subject. I thought you might want to talk.

Wyatt arched an eyebrow. About what?

Oh, anything new and different that’s happened to you lately?

No, nothing, said Wyatt, shrugging. But you can come in if you want. He opened the door wider.

Connor stepped inside. Wyatt’s suite was set up like his. There was a small kitchen area—just a sink, two-burner stove, and a microwave—along one wall. There was also a separate bathroom. Otherwise, there was just a roomy space with a bed. For a suite, it was kind of pitiful.

Wyatt sat down on his bed and continued to rub his towel over his head. So, how are things with you?

Good, said Connor. There wasn’t really anywhere else to sit, so Connor leaned against the wall across from Wyatt. Listen, you know that whatever your choices are, I’m here for you, right?

Sometimes, you sound so much like my parents that it’s disturbing, you know that?

Well, I am your mother’s friend, said Connor. He and Wyatt might be five years apart in age now, but that was only because Wyatt had been trapped in another dimension where time moved differently. It had been twenty years for Wyatt, and only two in our own world. Now, Wyatt was all grown up. Connor had mostly adjusted to that fact, but it was still weird.

Yeah, but you’re my friend, too, right?

Of course.

So, let’s just talk like friends instead of making it all about support or whatever, said Wyatt.

Okay. Connor nodded. He studied his knuckles. You slept with Steele.

Who told you that? Wyatt sighed. Must have been Jesse. She ran off before I could even tell her what I found out. I need to talk to everyone, actually. It’s pretty crazy what I found out.

Jesse said you did it for information.

Yup, said Wyatt. We’re spies now. We have to use whatever assets we have to get information. I didn’t go into it expecting to sleep with Steele, but it started going that way, and so I went with it. And it paid off, too. Once we get everyone together, I’ll explain what I know.

It’s only that you grew up in another dimension, which was sort of medieval, said Connor. So, I mean, I heard your mother saying that you were only interested in marriages that were good alliances—

Connor, what does that have to do with anything?

Was this…? Connor lowered his voice. You didn’t lose your virginity to Steele, did you?

No, said Wyatt, furrowing his brow. "You thought I was a virgin?"

Connor shrugged. "It didn’t seem unlikely. I mean, I didn’t know, or anything, and it seemed rude to ask. But Duke and I were talking about it once, because you didn’t sleep with Jesse when she was trying to honey trap you—"

You talked about this with Duke? Wyatt glared at him.

Connor winced. Well, sort of.

Wyatt snorted. Of course, he wants to think I’m a virgin. Jackass. I can’t stand that dude, you know?

Duke’s all right, said Connor. He’s got some good qualities.

Like what?

His, um… shoulders are really great.

Whatever, you’re biased, said Wyatt. You’re attracted to men.

Connor shrugged. Maybe. But he’s actually been kind of a jackass to me, anyway, and I do sort of see your point. I don’t know if he can help it, though. So, he’d hooked up with Duke once. It hadn’t meant anything. Just some fun.

Don’t talk about me with Duke anymore, okay? As a favor to me?

Sure, said Connor. Sorry. Well, even if you weren’t a virgin, how many times could you really have had a chance to have sex in that world?

I was like the king in that world, said Wyatt. "I had a lot of chances."

Oh, said Connor.

"Not that I took advantage of all of them, because I’m not a jackass, said Wyatt. But none of this is any of your business."

"I just thought it might have been upsetting for you, if your first time had been in order to get information