A Mate for Titan (The Program Book 7)

by Charlene Hartnady

  Thank you, Oprah, for that little tip. Two bras, the second one a size too small. Only, he had barely even looked. A tiny glance and then his eyes had gone straight to her gun before locking back on her face. Wow! A first for sure. “You shouldn’t knock shooting until you try it. I think you’d like it.”

  He shook his head. “Doubtful. I’ll be back in a bit.”

  “Right. Fine.” She sat back down and picked up the file she had been busy with. Natasha watched him leave. She noted that he didn’t take his car keys, which were still lying on his desk. She could relax and get back to work. For now, Titan wasn’t going anywhere.

  There had been a total of six incidents. Only three of those had been serious. The others were all petty and possibly unrelated. Things like throwing a bloody carcass at the entrance of the vampire-owned club, Aorta. Someone spray-painted one of the walls at the main castle gate. They had written things like ‘Vampires must all die’ and ‘Abominations’. A vampire vehicle had been vandalized in much the same way when a group of non-humans had entered Sweetwater, which happened from time to time. The vehicle had been scratched and the tires deflated. Otherwise, groups of people sometimes gathered outside the castle gates. There were those who loved the vampires and those who wanted them gone. So far, none of the campaigns had escalated. There was chanting and sign holding, but that’s where it ended.

  The three main attacks were all spread over a fourteen-month period. They were all planned and had to have been the work of someone with either military or Special Forces background. The first was on a helicopter carrying one of the vampire kings ‒ Zane. The chopper had been shot from the sky, killing the pilot. Zane had survived the crash but it had been touch and go. Titan was right, non-humans were hardcore. They almost succeeded in killing the king. Since that incident, security surrounding the vampire royals had been tight.

  The second incident had occurred when one of the human women picked for The Program had been abducted from a bus stop after being dropped off by two vampire guards. The fascists had been monitoring the gate and had followed and taken the woman. It was opportunistic. After interviewing the abductee, Jenna, it was clear that the assailants were not operating alone. There was a higher power at work. Although Jenna had been retrieved, further information was never obtained because all those involved had been killed. Three of the men by one of their own and the ring leader by one of the vampires while rescuing the human.

  Then there was an attack on a convoy carrying a human woman back to Sweetwater. She too had been one of the participants in The Program. A vehicle carrying vampire guards was blown up by an assault rifle. Ballistics had later concluded that the artillery used was from an M20 Rocket Launcher.

  Two vampires had died in the attack, which left a third badly injured. The taxi carrying the woman was attacked as well. The taxi driver was murdered, execution style, and the human abducted. The plan was to kill her and frame the vampires for her death. A vampire guard had given chase and had eventually, single-handedly rescued the woman, but again, none of the humans were left to interrogate. It turned out that vampires weren’t big on leaving survivors. At least she had something in common with the non-humans.

  That was a couple of months ago. It seemed that the castle was being watched. Movements outside the castle walls were being tracked. It stood to reason that this group already knew that Titan was in Sweetwater. So far, regular vampires had not been targeted. It was human women and the royals, but that didn’t mean that there wasn’t a giant target on his back. He needed her as his backup whether he cared to admit it or not.

  Natasha glanced at her watch. She needed to report to her supervisor. The Ballbreaker expected a daily written report. Some things didn’t change, despite her location and assignment.

  Natasha opened up her email and typed a bullet point memo listing all of her movements for the day. It was something she was used to, considering she’d written a daily report for the last two months. She read through the email twice to make sure there were no typos and that she’d included everything and she pushed ‘send’. Nothing happened. No, that wasn’t true, the email saved to draft instead of sending.

  Shit!

  It didn’t make sense. She had internet connection so it wasn’t her Wi-Fi that was a problem, it was the email function itself.

  Natasha tried closing her email and reopening. She resent the draft mail and the same thing happened. Next, she tried rebooting her whole computer but that didn’t help either.

  Double shit!

  Her supervisor would be waiting for that email. Kimberly would serve her her ass if it was even a few minutes late. Just to be safe, she liked to get the thing in early because one more strike and she was out. It wouldn’t surprise her if Stewart used something as trivial as this to get her booted. She didn’t buy the whole ‘I’m giving you another chance’ routine. She wasn’t taking any chances.

  Titan had mentioned a guy from IT. There was someone in this building who could help her. Worst case scenario, she would be forced to call her supervisor and explain the situation, give her a report telephonically. Natasha didn’t like it. There was one thing all new recruits were taught: when it comes to the paperwork side of things, cover your backside. Cover that baby up. That meant, put everything in writing. Reports, follow-ups, meetings, all of it. The field was all about team and having their backs. The office was about having your own back. The pen was indeed mightier than the sword in some instances.

  Natasha straightened up her desk. She closed her laptop and pushed it into its bag before slinging it on her back. She went straight to the front desk. Milly’s whole face brightened up. “Done for the day?”

  Natasha tried to hide her surprise. It had only just turned three. Her day was far from over. “No, I’m having computer trouble.” She tapped the side of her laptop bag.

  Milly smiled. “I wouldn’t even know the first thing about switching one of those things on,” she whispered as if divulging a trade secret. “Big Bear keeps threatening to get me one and making me take a fancy course but I’m going to resist as long as humanly possible.”

  Natasha smiled back. “I understand that it can be daunting. You should give it a try though.”

  Milly shook her head, looking fearful.

  Natasha laughed. “Where is the IT department?”

  “Oh, we don’t have an IT department, dear.”

  “I thought Titan said that there was one.”

  “James Dawson runs our little lab, he also doubles as our IT support.” Milly raised her eyebrows.

  “Where would I find the lab?” Natasha asked when it was apparent that Milly wasn’t going to offer up the information.

  “Just go down the hall, James is the last door on the right.”

  Natasha nodded.

  “I know you missed out on the tour earlier.” The older woman blushed. She was thinking about Titan again. Natasha could see the telltale signs. Milly had a faraway look as well as rosy cheeks. There was a smile playing with the edges of her lips. “You got called away by that beautiful specimen of a man,” she gushed.

  Natasha had to try not to laugh. Milly had a little crush on the vampire and although she hated to admit it, she couldn’t blame the woman. “Yeah, he isn’t bad on the eyes.”

  “Not bad!” Milly looked shocked. “Did you see the muscles on him? It’s not just that, he’s pretty too. Long lashes and those eyes.” She pretended to swoon, clutching the edge of her desk dramatically. “Hells bells! He gives me hot flushes and it’s not the menopause talking.”

  Natasha laughed. “He’s a bit of a Neanderthal though.”

  “He gets straight to the point. No small talk nonsense. I think he’d be the same in the sack.”

  Don’t think about it. “I’d better get going.” Natasha could feel how her own cheeks had heated. Titan wasn’t the best conversationalist but she knew the older woman was right. The sheets would burn up with him between them. Stop!

  Milly pursed her lips for a se
cond. She pulled in a breath through her nose and made eye contact with Natasha. The receptionist’s cheeks were still flushed. “Just so you know, the bathrooms are over there, if you need to go and splash your face.” She winked and pointed to the other side of the room. “The kitchen is about halfway down the hall on the left. You’ll pass it when you go through to the lab. Let me know if you need anything else. You’re lucky to be sharing an office with that sexy man. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.” She winked.

  Natasha rolled her eyes. She couldn’t help laughing. “Thanks for the directions.” She ignored the comments and headed for the hallway. There were several doors on either side. They were all closed. There was an opening on the left. The kitchen was bigger than she expected. It had two tables in the middle. A guy sat with his back to the entrance, he looked like he was eating. She kept moving.

  The last door on the right was closed as well. Natasha knocked once. Nothing. She tried a second time before opening the door. “Hello.” She peered inside, expecting to find an empty room.

  Titan leaned up against one of the work benches. His arms were folded at his chest. He raised a brow.

  “Oh!” It came out in a huff of air. “It’s you.” What a stupid thing to say. “What are you doing here?” she quickly added.

  “Waiting,” was his one-worded response.

  Natasha narrowed her eyes. “Why?”

  “We both need access to the printer. What are you doing here? I told you I would organize everything. You can’t be finished reading through those files,” he narrowed his eyes and his voice deepened. For just a second it felt like he was accusing her of something. Not doing her work? Then he looked away and when he looked back whatever had been in his eyes was gone.

  “My email isn’t working.” She could hear the slight irritation in her voice. “I need to send something as a matter of urgency, so here I am.”

  Although he looked completely relaxed, she couldn’t help but notice how his muscles stood out. Who was she kidding? Muscles like that always bulged. They couldn’t help themselves. There was something else that bugged her but she couldn’t put her finger on what that was exactly.

  Natasha had just been about to ask how long he planned on hanging around when the guy from the kitchen walked in. He wore the same navy, collared shirt and tan chinos. The biggest giveaway was his hair. It was blonde and thinning heavily on the top. “Oh! Um … hi.” He narrowed his eyes and pushed his glasses back onto the bridge of his nose. “I didn’t realize I had people waiting. I had to take a quick lunch break, although …” He glanced at his watch. “It’s hardly lunch time anymore. I’m James Dawson. How can I help you both?”

  Titan introduced Natasha to James and they shook hands.

  “We both need to have our computers added to the printer,” Titan said.

  James nodded. “Easily done.” Both he and Titan continued to talk but Natasha was too busy trying to figure out what the nagging feeling was.

  Titan would have passed James to get to the lab. Why would he pass the man eating his lunch and continue anyway? Titan introduced her to James so it stood to reason that he had met the guy and would recognize him. He was a vampire for Christ’s sake so he had superior senses. She refused to believe that Titan would walk right by him and keep going. Then again, James may have been in the bathroom. What was it? Why did this whole thing feel off somehow? It was probably because Titan was a bit rude to her, insinuating that she wasn’t doing her job. It wasn’t something that should bug her though. He didn’t want to work with her and she was used to attitudes like his.

  “What did you say the problem was?” James repeated. Natasha realized that he had directed the question at her. Shit!

  “I … I can’t send emails,” she blurted, unzipping the bag on her shoulder and handing her laptop to James. Natasha glanced at Titan who was still leaning against the work table, his eyes focused on James. She was just being an idiot. The nagging feeling was still there though, along with the feeling that she was being kept in the dark. Natasha didn’t like it.

  7

  The next morning …

  The files were closed on her desk. All of her notes were in her iPad and she’d emailed them back to herself as backup. She’d even done research on all the individuals they were about to interview. Between Google, Facebook and various other social platforms, she had amassed quite a bit of information. It amazed her how few people had private settings engaged. Especially when so many individuals liked to post about every aspect of their lives, including pictures of what they were eating and where they were going. It was nuts! Right now, she was twiddling her thumbs. Where was Titan? She couldn’t proceed without him. Especially since she had no idea what he was planning, what he was thinking. It would be frowned upon if she conducted an investigation of her own. She’d jotted down a couple of ideas though. Hopefully he would be open to at least hearing her out. Somehow she doubted it.

  Natasha couldn’t help the laugh that escaped the moment Titan walked through the door. She slapped her hand over her mouth to try and contain the outburst.

  His whole stance tensed and a frown appeared on his forehead.

  “I’m sorry,” she finally said once she managed to get herself under control. Her eyes were teary from holding back her laughter. She felt bad about her initial outburst.

  “I take it that the outfit doesn’t work?” He looked down. “They were the only things they had that fit me.” He sounded both down and angry, and all at once. It made her feel worse.

  Titan wore a ‘wife-beater’ type tank top. It pulled tight across his wide chest and show-cased ripped abs through the white cotton. She went from feeling guilty to feeling other things. Inappropriate things. She cleared her throat. His pants were awful, just looking at them made those other wayward emotions dry up some.

  They were drawstring shorts that stopped about three-quarters down his thighs instead of on the knee. They were made from a light blue tie-dye material that had a distinctly hippy look about them. They fit him almost like a second skin instead of hanging loosely as intended.

  Holy hell! Was that his …? She quickly averted her eyes, feeling her cheeks heat. Flipping hell but he was packing. Unless of course he was trying to conceal a giant salami-shaped weapon. One that hung distinctly to the left in a slight curve. Jesus but she was a perv ‒ one who had gotten altogether too little action in the last few years. She cleared her throat a second time, trying to empty her mind of dirty thoughts. One that included his hips thrusting, of his face set in … Stop it! Stop it now!

  “I’ll go and change,” he growled. His jaw was set and his eyes blazed. Shit, she’d pissed him off.

  “I’m so sorry for my reaction. It was wrong of me to laugh.”

  He ignored her and picked up a backpack.

  “No really. Titan …”

  He swung the bag on his back and headed for the door. It was really bad of her to notice right at that moment, but she couldn’t help it. His ass was just that good, even encased in that godawful fabric. Thick, meaty glutes that were clearly hard-earned. Hard thighs made for straddling. This guy must spend half his life in the gym.

  “Are you checking out my ass?” Titan growled.

  Oh flip. She was totally bust! “Um … no!” She shook her head. “I couldn’t help but stare. Those pants are just that bad. The shirt doesn’t fit either.”

  “I couldn’t get the regular shirts to go over my biceps.”

  No freaking wonder. His biceps were like tree-trunks.

  He went on. “If the pants fit my thighs they were far too big for my waist.”

  Yeah well, that was because he had a pretty narrow waist with abs that could make a woman gouge out her own eyes to stop herself from looking. Stop looking, Natasha!

  Her eyes finally locked with his. “Where did you shop? You could’ve found something, surely.”

  “The big store in town. It has everything. The shirts were wide enough to fit me around my chest and arms,” he
gave his rock-hard upper arm a light squeeze, “ended up looking weird. The neck was far too big.”

  “Oh, you mean Bringmart. Yep! Nope! I can understand why you didn’t find anything. Bigger-sized shirts are made for overweight body shapes rather than …” Lean, gorgeous, super-fit specimens like you. She cleared her throat, “…your shape. A healthy physique.” Stop talking so much! “They specialize in home appliances, décor and garden supplies. Definitely not clothing. They have a small clothing section but it’s mostly Chinese imports. Cheap. Nasty and really ugly.” She shook her head. It didn’t help that he wore his army lace-up boots together with black socks. She chewed her lower lip to keep from laughing some more.

  “Forget it!” he snapped. “I’ll wear my—”

  “No wait! Look …” she smiled. “Let me help you, please.”

  He shook his head.

  “Go and change and we can find you—”

  “No time,” he rasped. “I want to start with those interviews.”

  “You will need to make time. Like I said before, you’ll stand out. You may as well write the word ‘Vampire’ on your forehead. Make it neon and flashing while you’re at it because that’s how glaring it is. You said you wanted to stay under the radar, well it’s not going to happen dressed in your uniform and definitely not if you’re dressed like that.”

  She could see him mulling it over. It irritated the shit out of her. Why didn’t he just listen to her? What was so difficult about that?

  “Why do you want to help me?” He looked skeptical.

  “Look, suit yourself. If you don’t want—”

  “No really!” His gaze bore into hers. “Why? I didn’t want to work with you. I had to be coerced into it. I would rather do this on my own. You know these facts, yet you want to help me anyway.”

  The asshole was right. She shouldn’t be helping him but it wasn’t like she had any choice in the matter. “Yeah, and you’re doing a stellar job all by yourself.” Her voice had an angry edge. She gave him the once over. “Fact of the matter is, we’re in this together whether we like it or not. You’re stuck with me and I’m stuck with you. If this operation fails, I fail and I won’t allow it.”