Code Name: Fox / Mind Games (Syndicate Series Book 1)

by A. L. Kessler

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Liam had been true to his word. When she woke up and made her way downstairs, Seamus directed her to the dining room. “Breakfast will be out in a few minutes. Would you like some coffee or tea while you wait?”

  “Tea, please. Herbal if you have it.” She replied as she took her seat.

  Seamus nodded and snapped his fingers at a nearby person. “I’m sure the kitchen staff has something. Did you sleep well?”

  His tone sounded as if he already knew the answer so she ignored the question. “Where’s Liam?”

  “Mr. O’Conner is at the office for the morning.” As a teacup, a small plate with a selection of tea bags, and an antique looking kettle were set in front of her by one of the staff; Seamus eyed her across the table. He was sitting regally in the spot he’d occupied the night before and she sat directly across just like at dinner. He watched as she placed a tea bag in the cup and poured the hot water over it. “You knew he’d be out; he told you last night.”

  She glared. “Is eavesdropping part of your job description?”

  “When my alpha foolishly brings an outsider who has a palpable disdain for our kind into his home under some misguided notion that she is going to help him? Yes, eavesdropping is part of my job. I protect him when he has not the wits nor the ability to protect himself.”

  “And he needs protecting from me?”

  “Yes,” Seamus waved away the servant trying to fill his coffee cup and added, “You’ve put a spell on him. He’s mesmerized by you, Ms. Silas. That makes you a dangerous woman.” He paused and dropped a sugar cube into his cup. “I don’t like dangerous women. They bring death and destruction in their wake.”

  “I’m not dangerous and I didn’t put a spell on him.”

  “Not intentionally, I’ll give you that, but it happened none the less.”

  She took a sip of her tea and leaned back in her chair. “When will he be back?”

  “Maybe by lunch time. As far as I’m concerned, he should stay out all day, probably change residence just to be out of arms reach of you, but knowing him, he’ll be your own personal whipping boy. You can take out all your were-hate on him and he will probably welcome it.”

  “I’m not going to—”

  “Save it, Ms. Silas; you’re already doing it.”

  “No, I’m not.”

  “Really? Then what the hell was last night about?”

  She opened her mouth to respond but had no answer. She wasn’t sure what had gotten into her last night and since Seamus seemed to know the very intimate details of what went down she had no defense to counter his accusations. “It won’t happen again.”

  He arched a brow. “Famous last words, Reagan.”

  She shot him a look ladened with hate. “I prefer you call me Ms. Silas. We wouldn’t want anyone to think we were actually on friendly terms, now would we?”

  He nodded and stood up. Two servers came out with armfuls of food placing them down in front of her. He buttoned his coat jacket, gave her one more nod and said, “Quite right, Ms. Silas. Enjoy your meal. After you’re done you may relax in the parlor, the library, or your room. I’ll inform you when the alpha returns.”

  She didn’t bother to look up. He was gone and she was grateful for the silence. Seamus was going to be a thorn in her side for however long she needed to stay there. She focused on the food. Delicious and delectable, every bite was an experience she wanted to revel in. After clearing most of the plates, she sat back and took another drink of her tea. The house was peaceful when there wasn’t a brood of wolves snarling at each other over the dinner table. She could almost come to like it here. Just as thoughts of last night started to play over in her mind a familiar voice rolled down the hallway.

  “Reagan? Where are you hiding?” Kat beamed as she entered the room, but the smile quickly turned to a frown. “What are you doing?”

  “Enjoying some tea. Why?”

  “Shouldn’t we be going?”

  “Going where?”

  Kat let out and exaggerated sigh. “To find my brother.”

  “Seamus has explicitly told me to stay away from Liam.”

  “Seamus can shove it. Your job is to protect our alpha, that means where he goes, you go. Now get dressed and meet me back here in five minutes.”

  After dressing in a pair of jeans and sweater with high boots and a scarf to beat the autumn chill, Reagan found herself ducking down in the back seat of Kat’s Rover as they pulled out of the compound gates. “Is it clear?”

  Kat muttered. “Just stay down, we have to turn a few corners before we are out of sight of all the watchmen.” Several long minutes later Reagan finally crawled into the front seat and buckled in. “Next time can I just wear a disguise?”

  “Oh, don’t be a baby. You were perfectly fine back there.”

  She ignored the comment and tried to locate where they were in the city. “Why would your brother leave without me if I am supposed to keep him safe?” She balled up her fists, “Is this his idea of a test, to see if I would chase after him?”

  “My brother doesn’t issue tests to outsiders.” Kat smirked and raised a brow. “And after last night, you know why.”

  “Nothing happened.”

  “Exactly.”

  “Exactly what?”

  “It doesn’t take some psychic abilities to know how you feel about us; Liam’s putting distance between you two. He’s trying to save you from yourself.”

  “No one asked him to be a martyr.” She folded her arms over her chest. “And I don’t hate all of you.”

  “No, but you blame us for something.”

  Reagan nodded. There was no denying the truth in that. She did blame them, all of them. Her hate might have softened for the adults and completely vanished for the young ones, but there was still blame settled in her heart, and it was a pain that she couldn’t imagine ever getting better. “So what do you blame your people for?”

  Kat gripped the steering wheel. “Why do you think I blame them for anything?”

  “Because I saw the way you looked at the servants. It was a look of sorrow like your heart was breaking.”

  “We all have to deal with a little heartbreak now and then, it’s what makes us strong.”

  “Are you in love with one of them?”

  Kat snorted. “No.”

  “Then what is it?”

  “Just because I'm not in love with one of them doesn't mean I can't be sympathetic when something isn't fair. I consider them my family, but pack law says they are different.”

  “Lesser.”

  Kat shrugged. “Doesn't matter. It is what it is. And I don't rock the boat over things I can't change.”

  Reagan lolled her head to the side and stared out the window. “I don’t believe that for one second. But let’s try a different topic, why was Liam so afraid you were going to hurt me?”

  Kat began to slow down in the lane of traffic and took a deep breath. “I was very close with his wife, but I’m also the reason she died.”

  “You?” Reagan shot the female werewolf a look. “How are you the reason?”

  “I was stupid and reckless and didn’t obey pack law.”

  “Okay, you can’t just leave it like that. Explain.”

  “I was dating a human, we were in love. I trusted him with everything and told him about us. I showed him my transformation and he loved me anyway. But his family found out and they began hunting us one by one. We didn’t realize it was them until one day he brought his family to meet my father and brother so he could properly ask to marry me. They were escorted to the parlor, Lia entered the room and overheard them talking about their plans to kill us all. My beloved begged his family not to do it, but when they saw Lia listening they murdered her before she could warn the others.”

  “If she was dead how do you know all of this?”

  Kat turned the Rover into an underground parking garage and pulled into a reserved parking space. As soon as the car was in park she unbuc
kled and leaned back in the seat. “My fiancé got away, he found my father and me and told us everything.”

  “What happened?”

  “My father killed him as punishment for robbing my brother of his mate. Then our family killed his, end of story.”

  Reagan blinked. “What do you mean end of story? Your father killed your fiancé and you call that end of story?”

  Kat reached over and unbuckled Reagan’s belt and waved for her to open the door. “It was over sixty years ago, I understand now why he did it. I betrayed our family; I took my brother’s wife away from him. I disobeyed pack law. There is a punishment for that.”

  “So why would that make Liam think you’d harm me?”

  “I never let outsiders get near our pack after what happened. I’ve made it my personal mission to keep our pack safe from strangers who would harm us. And to be honest, I had every intention of killing you when I went into your room.”

  Reagan felt the color drain from her face. “Why didn’t you then?”

  “I took one look at you and I knew.”

  “Knew what?”

  “What it was that he sees in you.”

  “And that is?”

  “For you to figure out on your own, now out you go. Go find him and stick to his side like glue. Seamus and I can’t help him in this fight, you are the only one who can get inside his mind and protect him.”

  She exited the vehicle and as soon as the door shut Kat reversed and burned rubber out of the garage. Reagan coughed and looked around. “Great, she could’ve at least told me where to go.”

  After leaving the garage, she made her way into the O’Conner Construction Yard. Several heads turned towards her, but no one approached her until she made her way to the doors leading into the offices. A woman in a tight pencil skirt and low cut blouse blocked the doorway and glared. “You have no business being here, the yard and building are for employees only.”

  “I’m here to see Mr. O’Conner.”

  “Sorry, he’s in a meeting and he has no scheduled meetings with,” her eyes traveled up and down Reagan as if she were sizing her up for a meal. “Anyone outside of the company. Maybe you should try scheduling an appointment next time.”

  “I’m not leaving until I see him.”

  The woman bared her fangs and a ripple coursed through her skin. Long hairs started to cover what used to be porcelain skin. Her voice grew husky as she snarled. “Leave now before I make you leave.”

  Reagan’s pulse sped up but she lifted her chin and met the woman eye to eye. Flexing her hand she focused on the woman’s thoughts. “Try it, mutt.”

  The woman attacked, and Reagan shoved her palm to the woman’s head as sharp teeth threatened to graze Reagan’s shoulder. The contact was enough for Reagan to send a searing pain through the female’s mind. She cried out in pain and Reagan felt all the watchful eyes from the work yard suddenly trained on her. She turned to run inside the building, knowing better than to look back. In the reflection of the glass she gasped as the men from the yard no longer looked like men, in their wolf forms they leaped at her. She fell forward as a rush of white fur hurdled over her and the sounds of growls and snarls filled the yard.

  She scrambled back and watched as several wolves from the yard tried to move closer, but the large white wolf snapped and snarled at them until they backed off. “Liam?” she whispered.

  He spun his head around and narrowed his eyes. Clearly not pleased to see her at the moment. He nudged his head towards the open entryway and she obeyed without question, rushing through and darting down the hallway to the door that said his name across the front. Once inside she slammed it shut, turning the lock, and then collapsed against it trying to get her heart to slow down.

  Growling, howling, and fighting filled the air, and she did her best to cover her ears to block out the sound. She stayed like that for nearly thirty minutes before someone knocked on the door.

  She didn’t say a word, didn’t dare even move until Liam’s voice called out, “Open the door, Reagan. You can’t just lock me out of my own office.”

  “How do I know you won’t hurt me?”

  “I just saved your ass; that’s how.”

  He had a good point, a point she really didn’t want to think about. Reluctantly she opened the door to find him bloody but not worse for wear leaning against the door jamb. “What the hell happened?”

  “I had to show them that they couldn’t touch you. And that they couldn’t test me on the subject.”

  She pulled him inside and started examining his wounds. “I’m so sorry. I just wanted to help you.”

  “Help me by injuring my secretary and starting a riot?”

  “She deserved it, she tried to attack me. And for the record, she isn’t injured., it was just a jolt of pain.”

  “You’re right, you had every right to defend yourself, but in her defense, she had no idea who you were.”

  “You should have told them.”

  “I told you I’d be back later, you weren’t supposed to show up here.”

  She gave him a look. “That’s not true.”

  “What” his face paled.

  “You knew damn well I’d show up here.”

  “Are you in my mind right now? Don’t do that to me, Reagan.”

  She frowned. “I’m not in your mind, Liam.” Echoing his name in the same condescending tone he’d used. “But I’m beginning to know you well enough to know that you did this as a challenge to see if I would pursue you. Well, congratulations, you win. I came to find you just like you’d hoped. Are you proud of yourself now?”

  His mouth hung open. When he finally shut it, he reached out and caressed her cheek. “Reagan, I never want to hurt you.”

  “Well, you have. I shouldn’t give a damn about you, but now for some ungodly reason I do. You left today and put yourself in danger just to test me and it’s not fair to do that to people.” She balled up her fists and struck him on the chest. “You can’t play games with people just because you think you are better and smarter than them.”

  “I don’t think that, Reagan, I really don’t. It wasn’t a game.” She hit him again but this time he caught her wrists in his hands. “I was giving you space after last night. I know you don’t like wolves, whatever happened in your past you have a huge problem with us, so after last night I wanted to give you space and to be honest I needed space too.”

  “For what?” She shot back.

  “To cool down. I wanted you last night, hell, I still want you now. I could barely make myself send you away. I needed room to breathe before I did something that you would hate both of us for in the morning. But yes, a part of me hoped you would come find me and maybe prove to me that you might not hate me as much as you seem to, but it wasn’t a game and it wasn’t a test. It was simply wishful thinking.”

  She stared up at him. What was he talking about, wishful thinking? She wasn’t falling for him. She wouldn’t allow herself to go down that path, and yet her body warmed next to his. His eyes pierced her soul she could feel his intentions. They ran deep and protective. Her breath hitched as he dipped his head and she stiffened. His lips hovered over hers as he whispered, “Don’t run away.”

  Reagan held perfectly still as Liam’s lips brushed against hers. The kiss was soft and needful, not demanding and hard like last night and she welcomed it. Her lips parted and she tasted him again with a clearer mind than the last time. The intercom on his desk buzzed and his secretary cleared her throat. “Seamus is on his way, he’ll be there in—”

  Her voice cut off as Liam’s door flung open and Seamus stood fuming at the sight of Liam holding Reagan. His eyes went from one to the other and finally settled on Liam. “If you continue down this path I won’t be able to help you.”

  Liam stayed his ground and as Reagan tried to pull away he tightened his grip on her. “What I do with my personal time is my business. Remember that, brother.”

  “She is a danger to all of us.”


  Reagan pushed away from Liam and came face to face with Seamus. “I’m not a danger, I’ve told you that.”

  He dismissed her as if she hadn’t even spoke. “You gave her an order to stay at the compound and she disobeyed. She needs to be punished.”

  “She isn’t a pack member, she isn’t subject to pack laws.”

  “She’s under your care, you have to show strength or you’ll lose your position.” Seamus glanced over at Reagan and then spun on Liam. “She agreed to the terms you gave her. She left the compound without security and she is challenging your authority in front of the pack.”

  “If she disobeys again I will deal with it, but she came here to protect me, not to challenge me.” Liam clenched his teeth. “I will not lose my position. Are you challenging me?”

  “Never,” Seamus quickly replied, “but Colt McGregor would love to get his hands on your territory, and if something happens to you,” he took a deep breath as something wordless passed between the two wolves. Seamus lowered his voice and whispered, “If something happens to you, then the pack is screwed. Your family will lose everything. And if he sees that this female is causing you to be weak he’s going to take advantage of it. Have you thought about your sisters? You know what will happen to them.”

  Liam made his way to his desk and sat down. “Seamus, you don’t have to remind me about that. I know I have to be careful, but Reagan is here to help me and she is not subject to pack law. She will not be punished and I’m sure,” he pinned her with a heavy stare, “she will obey all orders from here on out. Right, Reagan?”

  She nodded and took a seat on the edge of the couch. “Yes.”

  Seamus didn’t seem to buy her complacency, he settled in on the opposite end of the couch as if to crowd her with his presence. “Speaking of the McGregor clan. One of Colt’s men is here to see you.”

  “About?”

  “Didn’t say. He said Colt had a message for you. I’m not sure you’ll want your psychic here for this meeting.”

  Reagan folded her arms over her chest. “I’m not leaving. What if this McGregor person is behind the attacks? If they’re your enemy they could have hired a freelance witch to take you out. A psychic attack would be perfect, no one could pin it on the other wolves. Clearly he has some sort of grudge against your pack.”