by Wren Weston
The idea repelled her.
Besides, her mother would never sell her mark back to her, not unless she followed Alex’s tactic and blackmailed her matron into it.
That was something she’d never do. She had a duty to her family. If she was of more use as the president of Wolf Industries rather than its chief of security, then perhaps that was her burden. The chairwoman had known exactly what buttons to push during breakfast.
“You could have forced mother to make Jewel keep her promise,” Pax said. “She would have been forced. You can count on it. Mother wouldn’t have approved of Aunt Georgina becoming heir. She’s too bloodthirsty. I suspect it’s from being around all those brides and grooms all day long. But you love Jewel and Mother even though you don’t get along with either of them, so you’ll become prime and make everyone happy even though it’s not what you want.”
“Is that so? I suspect you think too kindly of me, Pax.”
“No, I just know you. Mother was right this morning. You would have gotten bored in the security office. You need more of a challenge. You need a bigger chessboard.”
Lila narrowed her eyes. “How would you know what was talked about this morning?” She wasn’t quite sure what annoyed her more: that he had clearly eavesdropped or that he was partly right. Because it was true that Lila had tired of the drudgery of her office soon after becoming chief. The only challenge, the only pleasure she had received over the last few years, had been working with Tristan and her father.
Perhaps Saxony had been a much bigger chessboard.
Perhaps the Randolph compounds were so much smaller in comparison.
“I have my ways.”
“Yes, you do. You like games too, Pax. You dabble in intrigue too much for your own good. Perhaps you shouldn’t choose medicine after all.”
Her brother laughed. “Being prime isn’t so bad, is it? You’ll control everything after Mother retires. You can do whatever you want then.”
Lila wanted to contradict Pax. She wanted to tell him that she didn’t want to control everything, that she only wanted to make everyone safe.
“Think of what you can make of the hospital when you’re prime. You could turn it into a whole system spread throughout Saxony.” Pax’s eyes shone, partly due to his youthful optimism and partly due to his calling. Lila wasn’t sure if she had been the one to instill this drive toward medicine or if it had been Holly’s death, but she was glad that the boy had found his purpose early. He already volunteered at Randolph Hospital several times a week, and would go more if he could fit it around his studies, which must have been why Ms. Beaumont tarried so late.
Lila had expressly forbidden Pax from doing more volunteer work. His interest in medicine had only increased since his best friend Trevor had died several months back. Trevor had been stabbed in front of him, murdered, though no one really understood why. None of Lila’s private spies had turned up any answers.
Lila hadn’t either.
Pax had retreated into himself immediately after. No one could get him to return to boarding school, for he was determined to become a trauma surgeon as soon as possible. He told everyone that the rest of the students slowed him down, but Lila knew the real reason. He simply couldn’t walk down the halls without his friend, a friend that Lila knew had been far more than a friend.
She wondered if Pax had even realized it.
Lila had banned him from too much time at the hospital, hoping that he wouldn’t use it as a crutch to retreat, but she didn’t think it was helping. He rarely went out unless it was to visit the hospital or the library. He’d become something of a hermit.
Lila stood up and grabbed his chin affectionately. “That was a really good pep talk. Bullstow would have been lucky to have you,” she said, and kissed his cheek.
He twisted his face in annoyance.
“What? Have you gotten too old for kisses from your sister?”
“No, I’m just glad I don’t have to live in Bullstow. I couldn’t imagine having to give speeches all day.”
Lila nearly laughed at his horrified expression. It was true that Pax was not skilled in the masculine arts. He was neither witty nor skilled at diplomacy and public speaking. For all his rowdy bluster with family and friends, he sometimes still blushed when he greeted a stranger. Even if Pax practiced all his life, Lila doubted that he could make a speech before a room of ten friends, much less High House.
It had only gotten worse after Trevor died.
Pax would never be able to take a role with another highborn family, in politics or negotiations among the houses. Unfortunately, the only things masculine about her brother were his size and his skill in taking care of people. That, coupled with his rather prodigious brain, gave her hope for a successful marriage, for the pool of men who favored men among the highborn, at least enough to marry, was quite small, and she wanted him to have his pick.
Regardless of marriage, Lila knew that she would be able to find a use for him, either as a doctor at Randolph General if he could get over his difficulty speaking with strangers, or as a researcher at Grace Medical if he could not. The pay would not be enough for him to leave the family, not if he wanted to afford the life that he had grown accustomed to with his dividends, but Pax was not the sort who would leave.
Besides, he’d never have to leave his family. Any husband with any brains would agree to become a Randolph if given half a chance, highborn or not.
Lila gave Pax a last pat on the cheek. “Go study, you old gossip, or I’ll have to pay a thousand bribes to get you into medical school.”
Pax chuckled at his sister and returned to Ms. Beaumont and the large stack of books spread out on the table.
Chapter 7
Commander Sutton hopped to her feet as soon as Lila entered the parlor. A stout woman in her mid-fifties, she wore her blackcoat as elegantly as an evening gown. She could also take down a man twice her size, not that she needed to rely on hand-to-hand. She’d been a sniper in the army, a sniper who had only gotten more and more experienced with her endless practice at the gun range. As Lila’s mentor, she’d demanded the same relentlessness with her charge. Lila had become one of the best shots in all of Saxony under her and Sergeant Jenkins’s tutelage.
Lila had never been worth much at hand-to-hand, though. Since she could bull’s-eye a target at fifty meters in a fraction of a second, besting all but a few shooters in Saxony, she didn’t see the problem with being horrible on the mat. She’d decided a long time ago that avoidance and distance were the best ways of handling herself.
Speak softly and carry a rather large gun.
It might not have helped her with Peter and Reaper, but it had saved her and her friends at the warehouse.
Lila sat across from the gray-haired commander, choosing a spot on a white leather sofa, large enough for Pax to stretch across. The commander plopped down in the thick armchair across from her.
“I apologize for keeping you from the security office,” Lila said in greeting, glad that Alex had already put out a kettle of hot chocolate for their meeting.
“New scenery is always welcome, as is seeing the great house. But a woman in your condition should already be in bed. You’re a fool for even having this meeting. It can all be discussed tomorrow.”
“My condition?”
“Your mother messaged me this morning. She requested that I see to your security personally. She told me that you would be too weak after your doctor’s appointment at the women’s clinic to defend yourself should there be an attempt on your life.”
Great, the chairwoman had basically informed her second-in-command that Lila would be reversing her birth control.
“With the exception of Peter Kruger last month, no one has attempted to assassinate an heir in the last thirty years, at least outside of a family compound,” Sutton continued. “Still, it’s best to be safe. I would have gon
e myself if I could have gotten away. I assigned Sergeant Norwood in my stead. He’s discreet, and I figured you would prefer a man of few words.”
“I appreciate it.” Lila poured them both a mug of hot chocolate. The sweet smell turned her stomach, but she refused to show it.
Commander Sutton thanked her and swallowed heartily. “Husband never lets me have any these days. Says it makes me bitchy.”
Lila hid a smirk. She was all too aware of her husband’s ban.
“I always told you that you’d change your mind about having a kid. I just didn’t think it’d be so soon. I can’t stop wondering when we might expect a new baby in the great house.”
Lila sighed, knowing her commander’s words heralded the first of many such statements by well-meaning relations on the estate. It would only get worse once she wore the whitecoat.
She brushed at her sleeve as though she had found a bit of dust on the cuff.
“If you find the right senator at the Closing Ball on Friday night—”
“Commander,” she warned.
“Lucia is a marvelous name.”
“Is it now?”
“My mother thought so.”
Lila took a very small sip from her mug, shirking from the sweetness. “I’ve missed nearly two weeks of updates, commander. A report, if you please.”
For the next half-hour, Sutton broke down everything of importance that had happened, or was still happening, throughout the Randolph family holdings. A pipe had burst in Beaulac, but there was no evidence of foul play. A few employees had crashed a family truck in La Porte after a few beers, but the local commander had it well in hand. A manufacturing plant outside of New Bristol had been shut down for an hour due to a squirrel.
After several years at her job, Lila had come to one conclusion: squirrels were evil, costly, and prone to barbecuing themselves in electrical boxes at every opportunity.
“So nothing out of the ordinary, then?” Lila asked.
“Not much, chief. I did get a report from Captain McKinley a few hours ago. It seems there was a…” Sutton trailed off in an unbecoming huff after glimpsing Lila’s face. “Let me guess—she called you. Infernal woman was supposed to leave you alone. You’re still officially on vacation.”
“She had more information. She found out the caller’s full name and the name of his partner. Sergeant Park-Davies and Sergeant Weberly-Muller.”
The commander’s frustration vanished. “Toewon Research Group and Web Corp? Well, well, well, isn’t that an interesting picture?”
“Yes. I find it very interesting that rival companies are involved. Leave them to me, commander. I’m going to look into it more thoroughly as soon as I wake in the morning.”
“As you wish. I’m guessing they work the day shift. It’s well after seven now. They won’t pester us until tomorrow morning, whether they are on the clock or working well away from it.”
Lila nodded and paged Isabel, calling for a bottle of champagne.
Commander Sutton eyed her suspiciously but said nothing while the drinks were poured.
“I know that expression, commander. I probably shouldn’t be drinking so soon after anesthesia, but if you dare to use the phrase ‘in your condition’ one more time today, I will put you ‘in a condition.’”
Sutton laughed, a bellowing laugh that started from the tips of her toes and ended with one hand flopped around her middle. “I’d like to see you try. Do you remember that day in hand-to-hand training when you—”
“I’m sure I do.” Lila picked up one of the champagne flutes, and Sutton let the subject drop with a last delayed snicker. “Without going too far into the reasons, I find myself in need of a successor in the security office.”
“You’re leaving the militia?” Sutton said, nearly dropping her glass. “Why?”
“Personal reasons. They’ll become clear in—”
“Oh my gods, you’re finally taking over for Jewel.” Sutton stood up and grasped her chair back, fumbling for words. “It’s finally happening, isn’t it?”
“You seem happy, commander.”
“You’re damn right I’m happy. You were born to be prime. You’ve made a damn good chief, don’t get me wrong, but the family needs an able prime at the helm. Someone who will not only match your mother’s reign but best it. The family ascended to Saxony because of her. You could take us to Unity. So, you’re damn right I’m happy. The family has drifted over the last ten years. We’ve waited for too long.”
Sutton drained her glass of champagne.
“Keep it to yourself. It’s not official yet.”
“What will be official?”
“At first, that I’m taking time away from the security office. Later, I’ll reveal that I’ll bear an heir for the family.”
“You don’t want to be mobbed at the Closing Ball?”
“That’s the idea.”
“It’s probably for the best.” Sutton sat back down and refilled her glass. “I’m guessing you’ll need me to fill in as acting chief for a bit longer. I’d be happy to do so.”
“Are you sure? It might take me a while to find a replacement. I need someone more than just competent. I need someone trustworthy, who will care for every person on every Randolph compound and all our holdings. I need someone who can lead a militia that’s spread over the whole of Saxony. I need someone who might not mind a little time away from their husband.”
Sutton perked up, finally realizing where Lila’s thoughts had turned.
“Yes, you idiot. I want you to be that woman, Chief Sutton.”
Lila raised her glass to the woman’s new title and clinked her champagne flute against the one in Sutton’s hand.
The commander had not moved at the announcement. Her forehead crinkled in a comical expression. “I don’t know what to say, Ch— President?” She snorted and rubbed her face. “Gods, I don’t even know what to call you.”
“Stick with chief for now.”
“Chief.” She smiled, sipping her champagne at last. “I assumed I’d never be promoted past commander. My tech skills have never been all that good.”
“I have a solution for that,” Lila assured her, and took a very small sip of the champagne. Her stomach flopped in protest at the smell and taste of alcohol, but she ignored it. She studied the commander over the rim, knowing that her next words would knock some of the smile off Sutton’s face. “I believe that Commander McKinley will be an invaluable asset to you in your new position.”
“Commander McKinley?” Sutton repeated, and drained her glass. Lila poured another for her, knowing Sutton might have to finish the whole bottle before speaking again.
“Look at it this way, chief. If I don’t promote her, you’ll be subject to every suck-up call she’s likely to place. Besides, she is good at what she does, and she’ll need all the data coming to her so that she can plug the gaps in your knowledge. She’ll be an invaluable consult on any tech problem. You’ll both have to find a way to make it work.”
“I will endeavor to do just that,” Sutton said, as though being led to the noose.
It was Lila’s turn to laugh. “It could be worse. You could be working with your husband.”
Sutton considered the thought. “I’m not sure which idea is worse.”
“You should be the one to tell Commander McKinley. The news should come from her new superior. Later. Much later. I don’t want this getting out before I’m ready. That means no husband. No children. No one knows.”
The pair sipped champagne for several quiet moments. “You’re awfully thoughtful,” Sutton said. “Anything else you want to run past me? You didn’t promote me because I’m not one to be trusted.”
Lila tapped her fingers on her armrest. “It’s this thing with Senator Dubois,” she began, before bringing the commander up to speed. “I find it odd that a senator would s
uddenly become seedless at his age, don’t you?”
“So that’s what happened.” The commander reclined into her seat. “It’s highly irregular. When do they go through testing? Eighteen?”
“Yes. Shiloh was just tested this summer.”
“I bet that went over well.”
“I was at Randolph General when they brought the interns in. Poor kid. He was extremely embarrassed about the whole thing, came out red-faced. I’m not sure that I made it any better. Father and I took him shopping afterward to get his mind off it.”
“I think anyone would be embarrassed. Testing is necessary, though. The kids need to find out before they devote two years to an internship that might prove fruitless in the end, as does the senate.”
“I agree. Senator Dubois passed before he became an intern. It’s difficult for me to believe that his situation could have changed so completely between then and now.”
“He either passed, or someone paid good money to make it look like he passed,” Sutton conceded. “Those are the only two options.”
“Paying off the senate doctors doesn’t really make sense. Even if you could accomplish it, which you can’t. The doctors might spend some time at Randolph General, but they are still men of Bullstow. They cannot be bribed. The cost is far too high. It would be treason to falsify a report like that. Besides, the Masson family is comfortably highborn. His mother is only the sixth heir, and Senator Dubois is far from the only Masson son in the New Bristol and Saxony High Houses. There is absolutely no reason for the Masson family to waste the money, the resources, or the effort in getting him into the senate. Not when he’d be found out in two or three years anyway, which he would have, if Jewel hadn’t become enamored with him and muddied the waters.”
“True. People talk, but everyone has assumed that it’s a love match and that Jewel hasn’t been ready to conceive, especially since she hasn’t given him up.”
“It’s worked in his favor.”
Sutton crossed her legs. “The Massons are a computer family. Consoles, software, and the like?”