Going Under

by Lauren Dane

  “I’m going with you. The protesters . . . well, they know you’re here. I’ve taken the room on your other side here tonight.”

  My.

  “I like to be at the airport nice and early.” It stressed her out to even contemplate being late for something. But he didn’t need to know that part.

  “Oh shit, did no one tell you?”

  She narrowed her eyes at him. “What?”

  “Cascadia is loaning us one of their planes and a pilot. She’s apparently hot shit. A veteran and a jaguar shifter too. Anyway she’s flying us down.”

  Private plane? Well, that would make things a lot easier, she supposed. But she didn’t like that she hadn’t been consulted or even notified of this change until that moment.

  “Nice to be told of such things.” Rita was usually better than this.

  And then he just kept talking like he hadn’t been busted. She had to give him points for sheer will to pretend she hadn’t caught him meddling in her business and not telling her about it.

  He even leaned in a little, crowding her. Goddess help her, it totally worked and it was sort of hard to remember she was annoyed at him.

  “It’s far safer and quicker too. I don’t know if my office told Rita. That’s my fault.”

  It was the jaunty smile that pushed her back into annoyed. It would not do to let him get away with such a thing or he’d do it more. He was bold that way and he liked to be in control even more than she did. And it was entirely too tempting to let him take control, to take over and make things happen.

  “You’re damn right it’s your fault.” Molly stood, to get some space and a breath he didn’t fill up with his magick. “You can’t just make all these choices for me without even consulting me! This is my job. Pretty much every minute of my day is scheduled so I need to know this. Rita needs to know this so she can keep my calendar.”

  “Hey look, my office is busy!”

  Oh, he had to make it easy. “You’re the one who takes the calls. A call about my transportation should come to my office, not yours. You treat me like . . . like I don’t even matter. I’m not your charge, for goodness’ sake. I probably could have fit a meeting in tomorrow morning before I flew out. I turned several down because I thought I had to be at the airport. This isn’t just courtesy, this is part of my job. As such I expect to be kept in the loop.”

  He growled and parts of her tingled. Her brain and the logic part of her body had to constantly wrestle with the senses, who really, really liked Gage Garrity.

  “It’s my job to protect you. You are my charge in that way. And I forgot. Sue me.”

  “Sue you? Is that all you have for me?”

  “You’re determined to be mad. Maybe I should kiss you again to shut you up.”

  “Is that right? Well, give it a try if you’re feeling particularly brave.”

  He got very still and focused on her with such intensity it made her rather dizzy. She’d just pushed him and she waited to see how he’d respond. It was so irresponsible of her. She should be all business but man, oh man, he was like Fran’s salted caramels. He made her mouth water and she knew he was bad for her in large doses but she was going to eat that next piece and she knew it.

  His anger washed away as he took a step toward her and swept her into his arms, the warmth of his mouth settling against her lips. She sighed, giving over to the pleasure of it, making a mental note to continue her point later. First it was time to kiss.

  Her mouth was heaven. So soft. Her lips opened to him immediately as she wrapped her arms around his neck. Her body against his lit him up. He wanted so much more than this kiss. Wanted what he should not even be contemplating. But he couldn’t stop thinking about it as her taste slid through his senses, taking over.

  Need beat at him and he wanted to back her to the couch and get down to a little bit more than kissing.

  But he had to go.

  Damn it.

  Reluctantly, he broke the kiss and gave her another—just a quick one. “I like that. Maybe I need to make you mad more often to get a little of this.”

  Her smile was genuine and he felt a little better. “Saucy. Seems that once you put your lips on a gal you loosen up a bit.”

  He snorted a laugh, liking this side of her. “Well, it tends to do me that way. Your lips anyway. Faine is here so I’d like it if you left the connecting door open once you were ready to go to sleep. I’ve also got some people outside who’ll patrol past several times a night. Don’t open your door to anyone but people you know.”

  She blew out a breath but didn’t argue. While he was relieved, he was sad too that she’d come to accept that as reality.

  He licked his lips and shoved his hands in his pockets before he reached for her again.

  “I’ll see you tomorrow morning to take you to the airport. And I promise to be better about coordination with your office.” He paused.

  “That wasn’t hard at all now, was it? Stay safe, Gage.”

  If only she knew just how hard it, he, was just then . . .

  Chapter 13

  SHE hadn’t realized how fortunate she was to live in Seattle until they got closer to the state house in Sacramento. The crowds scared her.

  Gage looked her way. “I’ve touched base with some local Others. They’re working with the police to handle our security. I’m not going to let anything happen to you.”

  Admittedly, she felt better.

  “This is . . .” Molly didn’t even have words for it. There was so much energy humming in the air. So many passionate feelings in one place. The volume of it began to build as they drove through. Precarious.

  “Why aren’t there more police?” There had to be thousands of people on both sides of the Other issue. And not nearly enough police. Already things were tense, she wasn’t sure how they could hold a riot off if one should break out.

  “There should be. Lark’s sister, Helena, is coming up for the day from Los Angeles. She’s a hunter too. Anyway, she’s coordinating with the local shifters. We’ve got a good personal detail.” Gage held her gaze the entire time and while she was reassured, she couldn’t stop thinking about how he kissed.

  “I trust you.”

  He nodded. “Good. If and when I tell you to do something today, I need you to do it immediately. Even if you think it’s stupid. All right?”

  She blew out a breath. “All right. Just don’t tell me to do anything stupid.”

  A smile hinted at his mouth. “I’ll try.”

  Maybe they were understaffed there at the capitol, but it really just felt like they didn’t care. She let out a long sigh and went back to her notes. She had a lunch meeting with a few key legislators, then she would testify and then later that evening she had a dinner to attend. She needed to get her head in the game. It didn’t matter why there weren’t more police there. She just had to put it out of her mind.

  They pulled the car as close as they could. When Gage opened her door and got out first, she heard it. The tone buzzed in her head. So much anger in the crowd. It surged and then moved back and she shoved her fear as far away as she could. It was go time and there was no place for fear in what she had to do that day.

  “I don’t like this.” He got closer to her, keeping at her side to shield her body. Which was difficult, as the crowd seemed to move like the tide.

  Just a few steps from the main doors and the crowd surged again, seeming to suck Gage away with great force. It was during her alarm for him that she lost her focus. Until she nearly fell. Hands touched her. Some trying to help, Others, not so much.

  It was hard to keep track of everything happening because it all seemingly happened at once. Molly heard the sound first, the ripping of her suit jacket and then felt the cold on her skin. Then the pain as her hair got pulled. In those seconds of confusion, Gage shoved his way forward, pushing the crowd back, managing to grab the person who’d thrown . . . whatever it was. He’d been so strong and so fast, his magick had seem to rush off him, nearly s
calding hot. A moment of panic chilled her as she took in his ferocity. It calmed her even as she worried he’d really hurt someone because they’d harmed her.

  The police managed to get her into the building, closing the doors, and the noise of the crowd dimmed enough that she could hear the pounding of her pulse and her strained breathing as she attempted to get herself back together.

  “Are you all right?” Helena—Lark’s sister, it was clear from the resemblance—shouldered over while Gage had a very terse conversation with the police as he handed the person, still screaming insults at Molly, off. His rage billowed from him and even the police, who couldn’t see his energy, could sense it. One kept touching his side arm.

  But then they turned their attention to the woman who’d attacked Molly and their distrust of Gage eased back enough that she was relatively sure no one was going to get shot.

  With a slightly shaky sigh, Molly looked at herself in the reflection of the glass doors. “No, as it happens, I’m not.” She pulled her jacket off. Covered in white powder of some sort as well as ripped in several places. Ruined. Damn it, she loved that suit. “This was a favorite.”

  “I’m sorry. This shouldn’t have happened. It’s a great jacket. Color is perfect for you. Dumb cow.” Helena looked toward where the cops had the woman.

  “I don’t expect you to be perfect.” Even as she spoke to Helena, Molly couldn’t tear her gaze from Gage.

  “It’s our job to protect you.”

  She did turn back to Helena then. “You did. There are thousands of people out there. When the crowd surged it was impossible to keep any space around me. That’s when she grabbed me. You have to trust that on some level the human authorities did their job too. You can’t be everywhere. I’m not physically injured so that’s a plus.”

  “I don’t think the human authorities did do their job.”

  “What if it was some sort of bio agent!”

  They turned to take in Gage as he got right in the cop’s face and Molly realized she’d never even considered that. Her stomach dropped and she clamped her teeth together, breathing through her nose.

  “This person threw white powder all over Ms. Ryan. How do we know what it is? Why are you not arresting her?”

  “It’s flour. She’s disturbing the peace but your boss wasn’t injured.”

  Molly was now angry. Far more angry than scared. She stalked over, pushing her way between them. “You’d know that how? As far as I can tell you’ve not even asked after my condition.”

  The cop looked her over, his disgust clear on his features.

  She pulled her pad out and uncapped her pen. She needed to control something. So why not her job? She could do this and maybe give this asshole a little fear of God while she was at it.

  “You look just fine to me.”

  “Oh well, that’s an accurate measure I’m sure. You are? I’ll need your badge number as well.”

  “I don’t need to tell you anything.”

  She raised her brows and then looked to Helena and Gage before turning back to the cop. “Well, as it happens, you do. I’m a citizen requesting this information.” She peered at his name tag and wrote it down. “So, Officer Phillips, how about it? Your badge number?”

  He rattled off a number and made sure to sound extra insolent.

  But he wasn’t done. “You’re not a citizen. I don’t owe you shit.”

  Molly cocked her head. “Oh, but I am. I’m imbued with all the rights and responsibilities therein. Your personal opinion of me is of absolutely no concern. You either do your job, or you don’t. I don’t know how your department is run, but if any of my staff doesn’t do their job, they get fired.” She held his gaze, letting him know just exactly what she meant before she moved on. “Now, I plan to press assault charges so you’ll need to do your job or I can certainly find someone else who will. It’s your choice, but I will not be ignored or bullied into letting you turn this person back out into that crowd.”

  Another police officer burst into their circle.

  “What the hell is going on here, Phillips?”

  Molly turned to that officer and told him.

  “Excuse me, ma’am.” That officer yanked Phillips off to the side, clearly chewing him out.

  Phillips shuffled away without even a look over his shoulder. The other officer returned to them. “Now, Ms. Ryan, I’m sorry you had to go through that. I’m going to take your statement. Would you like to freshen up? The building is secure inside.”

  “No. I’m going in now. Can you take my statement as we go? I don’t want to be late for the luncheon.”

  The officer nodded. “More than likely there’s also video footage. She also admitted what she did to Officer Phillips.”

  “I’d also like it known, officially, that your officer was rude and refused my request for his badge number. I do not give a fig what anyone thinks of me. I do, however, give a very large amount of importance to people managing to do their sworn duty.”

  “Yes, ma’am. I agree.” His manner was solemn and she quite liked that.

  She began to recount her memory of what had happened outside the doors and then the situation with the cop. Before he left, Officer Lynde gave Gage and Helena his card, urging them to contact him so they could better coordinate any other events they’d be involved in while Molly was in the city.

  Gage watched her as she walked down the hall, her head high even though her hair had been partially ripped from her usual chic bun thing. Her jacket had been a ruin of egg and flour but she held it, folded over her arm.

  He’d come very close to punching the stupid bitch who’d attacked Molly. In fact, he had used his magick to shove her away from Molly and then to bring her close enough to grab and haul into the building so she could be taken into custody. He’d never had that sort of power and range in a spell before. Again he thought about the way his power had ramped up since the Magister. Thank goodness he had it then, though he’d had to use all his control not to leave the bitch a bloody, twisted mess.

  He leaned in close. To a casual observer, she looked together, though disheveled. But he saw the cracks in her demeanor and knew she was struggling with her composure. “You sure you don’t want to fix up?”

  She kept her voice down. “I want them to see me this way, Gage. They need to be confronted with this insanity. They can’t be in the hospital to see Eric Borache’s daughter. They won’t be at the funerals. But they should not be able to avoid all evidence of just what is happening out there.”

  Damn she was smart.

  “I’ll need a new suit; there’s one in my bag back at the hotel. After the lunch I’ll go back to get it.”

  “No. You’ll tell me where it is and what you need and I’ll have someone get it for you. I don’t want you running that gauntlet out there again.”

  “I won’t argue with that. Thank you.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  They arrived at the luncheon room and she turned before going in. “For what?”

  “I told you I’d protect you and I didn’t.”

  “I didn’t get shot. I didn’t get stabbed or otherwise physically harmed. I said the same thing to Helena, but I want you to listen because I get the feeling you’re taking this personally. You can’t protect me from everything. Especially in these types of crowds.”

  “No one should be allowed to do that to you.”

  She smiled. “No, but it happened.” She shrugged. “Let’s be glad it wasn’t worse. You’re the reason why. I know you used your magick to get her back, to protect me. You did your job and I’m thankful for it. Now, let’s go in. Keep your fingers crossed for cheesecake.”

  * * *

  THE people in the room took one look at her and stood immediately. “What’s going on? Is everything all right?”

  A tall man in a navy-blue suit approached. From the news, Gage knew this was Toshio Sato, one of California’s two members of the United States Senate.

  “A scuffle outside with an
unstable woman armed with hate, eggs and flour. There’s quite a large crowd out there still with not too many police to keep them in check. I do hope the security will be heightened for our hearing later. For now, please tell me there’s some coffee.” She smiled up at Sato and Gage fought his frown. She wasn’t flirting in any way. There was nothing intimate or sexual about how she was acting. But Gage liked it when she smiled at him, not other good-looking and successful dudes.

  “I’m going to have my aide connect with the police here.” Sato nodded at Molly. “For now, sit. We’ll get the salads out and definitely a cup of coffee.”

  “Thank you. Oh, Senator Sato, this is Gage Garrity, he’s the head of security for Clan Owen. Helena Jaansen, who holds the same job only down in Los Angeles for Clan Gennessee.”

  Gage shook the man’s hand, as did Helena. “Perhaps I can speak with your aide regarding security?”

  The senator looked up and indicated that the man in the far corner come over. Sato made the introductions.

  Molly put her ruined jacket on a chair and sat at one of the tables, tucking her hair back up quickly as she was introduced around to the others. Gage moved to a corner of the room with Helena and the rest of the team to coordinate with the senator’s aide.

  When they left, some four hours later, it was after a truly wonderful lunch and some pretty good testimony in front of the joint committee Sato had begun to set up. The members were made up of state and federal legislators, most of whom seemed to want to make peace between Others and humans. It was the first tangible step that had given her real hope since she’d started this job.

  * * *

  THEY’D been able to get her out a back door and to the car without any further insanity. And when she got back to her hotel room and had a moment alone she called her mother to tell her about the events of the day before she saw it on television.

  “I don’t like this, Molly. You could get far more than flour thrown on you. These people . . . Rosa’s going to kill me for telling you, but you need to know.”

  Molly sat. “Tell me.”

  “Their house was broken into and trashed. Windows broken, graffiti all over the place. Moll, they shot the dog!”