Two other agents were with McKay, a man and woman, both of whom were probably in their mid- to late-twenties. Six feet tall with dark hair, a square jaw, and blue eyes that looked like they didn’t miss a thing, the guy looked like someone central casting would give you if you asked for a standard-issue FBI agent, dark suit and red power tie included.
The woman, on the other hand, was different. In fact, the only thing “standard issue” about the petite agent was the navy-blue pantsuit she wore. And while Jake wasn’t an expert on the FBI or CIA, he was pretty sure her vivid purple hair wasn’t the norm. But that wasn’t the only thing unique about her. Nope. Her eyes were purple, too. Lavender, actually. At first, he thought she was wearing contacts but then realized the color was real.
Considering STAT had recently recruited werewolves, it wasn’t surprising to think they hired other supernaturals. Maybe the unique-looking woman was more different than she appeared.
“Sorry I’m late,” McKay apologized.
He closed the door, then flipped a switch on the control panel beside it. A moment later, a high-pitched hum filled the room, making Jake wince. On the other side of the table, Harley and Caleb mirrored his reaction. Shrill noises and keen hearing didn’t mix, but the meeting must be seriously classified if McKay was going with a frequency jammer to keep anyone else from picking up their conversation.
“Jake Huang, Harley Grant, Caleb Lynch, meet two more members of the team—Forrest Albright and Mistal Swanson.” McKay pulled out the rolling chair at the head of the table and took a seat. “Forrest was FBI for almost five years before joining STAT a year and a half ago. Misty has been with the organization a little less than that.”
While McKay fiddled with the keyboard on the table in front of him, trying to boot up the computer connected to the huge screen on the front wall, Misty sat down in the empty chair next to Jake. Forrest sat beside her.
“What about you, Misty?” Caleb said, casually eyeing the woman across from him. “McKay didn’t say where you worked before joining STAT.”
Mistal flipped her long, colorful hair over her shoulder and turned her gaze on the omega. “McKay recruited me after I graduated from college because of my unique abilities.”
That was cryptic, Jake thought. Harley seemed just as curious. “What abilities are those?”
At the far end of the table, McKay finished tapping on the keyboard as the STAT organization’s logo filled the screen, along with several warnings about protecting classified information and sensitive sources.
“Misty is a technopath,” their new boss said, as if that explained everything. When Jake and his fellow werewolves continued to stare at him, McKay added, “She’s similar to a telepath, only she reads electronic equipment, not people.”
Jake had no idea what the hell McKay was talking about. At least Harley and Caleb seemed equally confused.
“Okay,” Jake said. “But that doesn’t really answer my question.”
McKay looked at Misty. “Want to give them a demonstration?”
Lips curving, Misty held her hand out to Jake. “Give me your cell phone.”
He’d just upgraded his phone before moving there, so he didn’t want Misty blowing it up or anything. But he had to admit he was curious, so he dug it out of his pocket and handed it to her. Before his eyes, Misty’s lavender irises went completely white, making her seem even more supernatural.
“Your pass code is 1-2-3-4? Seriously?” She laughed. “Not that there’s much in here to protect. A contact list with a dozen names and a handful of photos, all of them with the same two kids—twin girls. You’re in some of them. And you’re smiling.” Misty’s eyes returned to their normal lavender as she handed the phone back to him. “You should smile more often. It’s a good look on you.”
Jake stared at her, not sure what to say to that. Hell, he didn’t even understand what he’d heard.
“I can access any electronic device I touch,” she explained. “And since the Internet connects everything and everyone, that means I can get into pretty much anywhere and anything if I want to.”
“So you’re basically a hacker?” Caleb’s voice was casual as usual, but Jake got the feeling he was impressed.
Misty gave him a smile. “Yes. Although I prefer the word technopath.”
“How is that even possible?” Harley asked, a stunned expression on her face.
Misty opened her mouth to answer, but McKay interrupted.
“I understand you all have questions, and any other time, I’d have the whole team get to know each other, but unfortunately, that’s not an option right now. We have a situation in London. Two STAT agents are dead. I need to get your team up to speed and on a plane ASAP.”
Jake sat up straighter.
Shit just got real.
Fast.
And they were going to have to learn how to be a team and work together—fast.
He shoved his phone in his pocket. “What do we have?”
McKay pushed a button on the keyboard. The moment a photo of a red-haired teen girl with freckles appeared on the screen, their boss went into briefing mode, telling them fourteen-year-old Olivia Phillips had recently been kidnapped and that the security guards for her apartment building had their throats ripped out.
“At approximately 0200 this morning London time, our STAT team was attacked by an unknown supernatural.” McKay flipped to another slide, this one of two men lying on the ground with their throats torn out, blood soaking their ragged clothes.
He moved to the next slide, a photo of a beautiful woman with full, pouty lips, long dark hair, and even darker eyes. Jake was so locked on the picture he barely heard what McKay was saying until he realized the woman was the third member of the team in London. Which meant she was soon going to be his teammate. His heart suddenly hammered in his chest at the thought.
What the hell?
“Senior field agent Jestina Ridley didn’t get a good look at the creature but took several shots at it. The thing is so fast it disappeared in a blur before she could even hit it.”
Jake frowned, dragging his gaze away from the photo, getting his head back in the game and wondering if that was an exaggeration on Agent Ridley’s part. The creature couldn’t actually be that fast. Then again, she could also have been so rattled by the brutal death of her teammates, she’d been confused about what had happened afterward. It wouldn’t be the first time he’d seen someone do that in a stressful situation.
McKay must have seen the doubt on Jake’s face because he gave him a pointed look. “Don’t downplay Jes’s observations. She’s got more field experience with supernaturals than any other agent in STAT. If she says the creature was so fast it was a blur, then it was a blur. You’re the lead agent for the team—that was part of the deal when we recruited you. And while you have a load of tactical expertise, Jes has been dealing with supernatural creatures for a long time. Make good use of her experience with them.”