by Juniper Hart
“She’s been trying to reach out to the Cabal,” Damon explained, a bemused smirk touching his lips. “And guess who heard about her harebrained scheme.”
“But…” Anatoli stared at Damon, a fusion of disappointment and dubiousness shooting through her. “You’ve been in touch with those two all along?”
She looked at Dex and Sabine, trying to make sense of what was happening.
What else has been happening under my nose?
Yet Anatoli couldn’t be upset about it. She had wreaked enough havoc on her own Sleepers to judge who had formed alliances with whom.
They’ve all outgrown me. They don’t need me anymore.
The thought was bittersweet and a slight absolution flittered through her gut.
“Looks like I’ve been playing a lot of angles,” Damon confessed as though reading her mind. “I guess I learned from the best on that.”
It wasn’t a jab, but Anatoli could not help but feel like it was one.
A lot of angles against me, Anatoli thought sadly. Everyone has kept things from me the way I kept things from them.
She didn’t speak her mind, but her heart was heavy as she eyed the scene. Damon turned back to the hallway.
“Virgil, get her out of here,” he told one of the shifters in the hallway. “Put her in the barracks. We’ll figure out how to deal with her later.”
One of the bear recruits ambled forward and took hold of the fairy, yanking her upward as Callie struggled.
“It wasn’t that harebrained!” Callie spat at them as Virgil dragged her away, determined to have the last word. “They got in, didn’t they? Next time, you won’t be so lucky.”
“Come on,” Virgil grumbled, yanking her out of the room. Anatoli watched, her shoulders sagging but it was not from relief.
“I never liked her,” Damon chuckled lightly, watching them disappear. “Weapons training with her was impossible.”
“She’s right,” Anatoli heard herself say. All eyes turned to her.
“About what?” Jair asked slowly, his brow furrowing with concern.
“Next time they will get in and I won’t be so lucky. Next time, there won’t be a leak from inside the compound. If they got in once, there will be more attacks. They’re probably on their way as we speak.”
Dex snorted.
“Ana, you’ve always known that was a possibility. You’ve prepared for that.”
“Clearly I haven’t prepared well enough.” The sorrow in her voice was almost palpable. “This is the end.”
“What are you talking about?” Dex demanded, his voice a low grumble. “What is going on with you?”
“I can’t do this anymore,” Anatoli moaned, the weight of the past decades taking their toll on her fully.
“What is she saying?” Damon growled, looking uncertainly at his counterparts.
“She’s not saying anything,” Jair interjected, taking her by the arm. “She’s just coming to terms with what happened. Why don’t we give her a minute to catch her breath, yeah?”
Begrudgingly, the others nodded and retreated out of the room, leaving Jair and Anatoli alone.
“Are you okay?” Jair asked. Anatoli’s jaw twitched.
“I’m fine,” Anatoli muttered even though she knew that wasn’t true. She wasn’t sure anything would ever be fine again.
“You’re not,” Jair replied quietly, taking her hand and she had no choice but to look in his eyes. “You’re thinking about throwing in the towel, aren’t you?”
She was startled that he had read her thoughts so easily.
“What’s the point?” she demanded. “There’s no reason to keep going this way. My entire life I’ve worked to take down the Cabal, but am I really any better than them when my own recruits are afraid of me? I screwed up, Jair. I mean royally and without any recourse to make it right.”
“You’re probably right,” Jair replied nonchalantly. The answer stunned her, and she gawked at him, but Jair didn’t back down as he shrugged his shoulders.
“What? It’s true. You’ve done a lot of damage to everyone involved.”
Her full lips parted but no sound came out. Yet Jair wasn’t finished.
“That’s why you need to be better than the Cabal,” he continued. “You need to rise up and overcome whatever self-doubts you have. You can’t run an operation when you’re enshrouded in suspicion. No one can trust you if you don’t trust anyone, Ana. And running away isn’t going to fix the broken legacy you’ll be leaving behind.”
His words settled into her, but they did not convince her.
“It’s too late,” she moaned. “It’s all gone down the toilet. How does one even come back from something like this?”
“That’s what you keep telling yourself,” Jair replied. “And if you’ve resigned to that, then you’re probably right.”
“What other choice do I have, Jair? My Sleepers keep abandoning me. The compound has been compromised. My own team is working against me.”
“You turned against them first,” Jair shot back, anger lacing his words. “Are you going to take responsibility for what you’ve done?”
Anatoli’s lips parted but when she met his eyes, no words escaped. Their eyes locked and Jair’s face softened slightly, sensing her disillusionment. She had never felt so out of touch, so out of control and his eyes were the only thing keeping her from dissolving into a puddle.
“These are all matters that can be overcome—if you’re willing to work on them,” he concluded softly. There was an imploring look in Jair’s eyes, one that spoke volumes to how he was feeling.
He wants me to keep going with this, she realized, her head swimming at the possibility.
The question was, could she?
“Not everyone has left you,” he reminded her softly. “The Sleepers you thought were gone are just outside, waiting to speak with you. The compound can be rebuilt somewhere else, somewhere unknown. We can up the screening process and save the Sleepers we have in the field. The only thing that needs to change is your perception—and your willingness to come clean with your crew.”
A lump formed in Anatoli’s throat.
“You really think I can salvage this?” she whispered. Jair cast her a half smile and nodded.
“Yeah, I really do,”
He pressed his hands on either side of her face and drew her in for a long, sweet kiss before pulling back slightly to grin.
“I know we can do this together.”
Anatoli’s heart swelled and she dropped her eyes, understanding what she’d been missing all along.
No one can do something like this alone. I needed someone at my side all along and not for security but as a partner.
It was why she had taken Dex’s leaving so hard. He had been the closest thing to a partner that she’d ever had. She rose from the bed, but Jair pulled her back down.
“Where do you think you’re going?” he demanded.
“To tell the others,” she replied slowly, the answer to her dilemma finally taking shape in her mind. “Isn’t that what we just said? Full disclosure? Honesty?”
Jair laughed and kissed her neck.
“That’s what I said,” he agreed, his breath hot against her skin, sending a shiver of pleasure through Anatoli’s body. “But not yet.”
“No?” she murmured, closing her eyes.
“No. First, I need us to finish what we started before we were so rudely interrupted.
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Juniper Hart
About the Author
Juniper Hart is a romance writer from the Midwest, who loves telling the insta-love tales of werewolves, dragons, and other paranormal heroes. She specializes in sweet and short alpha romances that always promise a happily ever after.
Juniper resides in Miami, Florida with her husband and rambunctious blue-eyed son.
Find out more about Juniper Hart at SecretWoodsBooks.com