by Lauren Dane
“Oh.” She blinked several times. “Should I be worried?”
He bent, brushing his lips over hers, savoring the heat of her before he stood again, taking a step back. “Not for your safety. Good night, Helena. I’ll see you in the morning.”
He left her there, but not before he caught sight of the way she pressed her fingertips to her lips.
* * *
SHE woke up without an alarm, at six. Pretty much the same way she had most every morning of her adult life. She lay in bed awhile and thought about her day. It was her way of meditating, of getting herself organized for the hours—and the challenges—she faced.
The meetings would be stressful because the state capital was so crowded. Mainly it was state business handled there. Sato had a senatorial office near the capitol building where he met with his constituents and held meetings. But due to the insanity of the security concerns, his people worked with the state folks and they’d let them use their conference spaces, even for federal issues. Of course the hearings they were going to dealt with State of California business, so Sato would only be there if they needed him to speak on federal issues.
It was mind-blowing, all the different local, county, state and federal issues they drowned in. So many different egos to soothe, everyone had their own turf, their own rules to adhere to, their own processes. At least all Helena needed to do was be sure no one got hurt. All the politics were Molly’s problem.
She pushed out of bed. A hard workout would help cut through some of the stress burning through her muscles. She’d run and lift weights and shoot at things and then she’d shower. By the time they needed to head over to Sato’s office to pick him up, she’d be in a better mental space for all the things she’d need to do that day.
She got dressed quickly, dealing with her hair, securing it in a ponytail after she’d washed her face and brushed her teeth. Her sneakers were on and she headed across the hall to knock on Faine’s door.
Faine.
He’d kissed her. Had gotten up in her face and kissed her. Her mouth still felt the touch, the brush of his lips against hers. The dirty truth was that she’d been hot for Faine Leviathan from the first moment she’d seen him. He was everything she’d never known she found alluring in a man.
She’d been standing with Lark talking about the hows and whys of a speaking event with Molly and he’d come around a corner with Simon. The two were clearly brothers, both dressed quite nattily in suits. But Faine was eleven thousand kinds of delicious. He moved in a long lope, and yet there was a predator’s grace in him. People got out of his way, probably without even realizing it. He’d smiled as Simon had spoken, and then his gaze, which had been taking in the surroundings, had landed on Helena’s and it shocked her to her toes.
It had only deepened the longer she knew him.
Cocky. Self-assured. He knew what he wanted and he simply considered it his due when he got it. He was a badass with his fists. She’d never seen him shift, but she had the feeling he was a big ol’ beast then too. He was gorgeous and his voice was a low, gravelly rumble she felt in her gut every time he spoke.
He watched her, she’d noticed, like a predator watches prey. Not the same way the human separatists watched her. It wasn’t that he thought less of her in any way. But like she fascinated him and he was taking down everything she did for when he decided to run her to ground.
She bet he was the type to bite a girl’s neck to hold her in place when he got her into bed.
A flash of heat raced over her skin at the idea.
So of course, that’s when he opened his door. “Well, good morning to you, Helena.” One of his brows went up like he knew she’d just been imagining him naked and sexing her up until she passed out.
She blew out a breath. “Morning. Ready to run?”
“Yes, I am.”
Chapter 6
“THESE things are not allowed in the hearing room.” A burly human male—obviously a private guard of some type—blocked her way.
They’d spent the day before in one meeting after the next all over the capitol complex. That day they ventured into a town-hall-type space near Sato’s Federal Building office.
So this joker, with his prison white-power ink and his permanent scowl that said more about his lack of intelligence than his toughness, had no business at all stopping her entry to any public space.
Tosh was right behind her, Sperry on his other side. Fanned out in the hallway was the rest of the group with their various guards. It was monumentally stupid for this guy to think he had any chance at all of stopping them.
Helena ignored him, moving to go around him. And he made the mistake of touching her. “I said—”
She grabbed his wrist, twisting and bending it, levering his arm, forcing him to his knees. She leaned down, getting close enough to say in a low tone, laced with magick, “I don’t give a fuck what you said other than, Please let me get the door for you, ma’am.”
He began to grab for a weapon and she bent his wrist harder. Just a bit more and she’d break something.
“I wouldn’t recommend that.”
“Get off me, bitch.”
Helena kept his wrist, though other security had begun to gather around. Harsh, whispered orders were being given all around her but she put all her focus on this asshole at her feet.
One thing she noticed more than anything else was the presence of a handgun at his back. She’d had to go through a full-body pat-down and a metal detector. So how was it this asshole had a gun?
“Why does this man have a weapon?” Straightening, still keeping her tight hold on him, she managed to ask this calmly, feeling anything but.
“You need to let him go. Now.” A police officer approached.
She remained exactly where she was, keeping her body between the approaching cop and Senator Sato. “My name is Helena Jaansen and I am part of Senator Sato’s security detail. This man accosted me as I attempted to enter the hearing room. I’m going to need one of you to come and take his weapon before I let him go. For the safety of myself and the people I’m guarding.”
“You don’t give the orders here, witch.” The cop’s lip curled and she narrowed her gaze at him for a moment.
Helena centered herself, connecting with her magick, spooling more up from the earth beneath her feet. “This isn’t going to end well, Officer. Now. You can do your job, or I will break this man’s wrist, and even if you shoot me, my people will take out every last one of you in this hallway. And for what? I’m not letting this man go. He’s got a weapon and I’m protecting a United States senator. Once you have taken his weapon, I will happily let him go.”
She caught Gage’s attention and he had the same readiness about him.
It was Tosh who spoke next. Pulling all his authority around himself, but keeping himself behind her, which was very smart.
“Officer, you’re going to need to help Ms. Jaansen immediately. Remove the weapon from the gentleman on the ground, pat him down and then you may take him into custody.”
The cop sighed, but moved to obey, removing the gun. Helena let go of the wrist of the guy on the ground and he tried to lunge at her. But she was prepared and far more than a prison thug in the pay of asshole bigots.
Feet solidly planted, her balance braced for trouble, she cocked her fist and gave him a solid right to his mouth, sending him sprawling as she neatly stepped back.
“I’ll give you another if you move even a tiny bit.” She didn’t take her attention from the guy on the ground but she addressed the cop as more streamed into the hallway. “If I were your boss, you’d be sitting out the next few weeks on administrative leave as you went through the process of getting fired. You’re sloppy. Sloppy gets people killed.”
“I don’t need any advice from you.”
“Please.” She rolled her eyes as the cop got the other guy in cuffs and hauled him to his feet. “Of the two of us, only one is good at their job. And it’s not you. I hope you think your stupi
dity can protect you, because your piss-poor training sure won’t.”
She glanced back at her people and then headed into the room where it was already standing-room only.
* * *
THE following day, Tosh smiled at the sight of Helena coming back into the room. “Thank you for all your help this trip. I hope DC will be calmer.”
Delilah laughed. “I doubt that. But, Helena, I believe you scared a few years’ life from that one cop in the hallway earlier. Nicely done.”
The sound of that laugh did things to him. He’d been working closely with Delilah Sperry for months now. Even before he knew she was a werewolf he’d been attracted to her. She was long and lean with keen eyes that missed absolutely nothing. Her hair was a tawny gold and she often had it back from a face that managed to be delicate and bold all at once.
They’d danced around each other for a few months now. Tosh had been so busy at what felt like every single moment of his waking day, he’d told himself it wasn’t the time.
But the heightened danger had only sharpened his hunger for the delightfully sexy, canny and powerful Senator Delilah Sperry.
“He should have been scared. If he’d have been one of my people I’d have busted him back to cleaning toilets. We did meet with his boss later while you two were in another meeting with Molly. He apologized for the past two days’ worth of unpleasantness from his officers.” Helena took the glass of water his assistant handed her. “They’re short-staffed like everyone else. But he was a good man and I accepted his apology. They’ve got their own problems in the ranks, I suppose.”
Helena was distracted. And exhausted. Tosh saw it around her edges and hoped the way Faine stared at her meant the wolf—whatever he was—would see to it she got some rest.
“I appreciate you handling that. Ben was just singing your praises earlier today.” Delilah spoke of Ben Stoner of the Great Lakes Pack and her own Alpha, as she hailed from Chicago. “We appreciate all the effort the witches are putting into this. You’re smart and strong and we’re proud to be protected by you all.”
Helena tipped her chin slightly and Toshio knew it was a sign of thanks and respect. “That’s a nice thing to hear. His and Tegan’s Enforcer team is something I admire a great deal. We should get moving to the airport now. I’ve received several reports that Others can get hassled quite a bit going through security so we should build in the extra time. I’m spoiled in that I’ve been flying privately of late, so I’ve been able to avoid most of that nonsense.”
Delilah’s mouth hardened. “The last time I flew I was chosen for an enhanced pat-down. They held me up for an entire hour. Everything was fine until they ran my ticket through. I’ve asked about whether or not there’s some sort of TSA tracking system for Others, but I can’t get any answers. Which only says there is one.”
Helena nodded. “Oh yes, you know there’s a list.”
That turned Tosh’s stomach. Lists of Others got very close to what had happened over and over throughout history. Keeping track of people because they were different—and not in a way that protects society like lists of sex offenders or violent felons—wasn’t the America he believed in.
“I’m sorry.” He sighed.
Helena shrugged. “You’re trying to stop it. That’s what counts. In the meantime, we can’t make a huge deal of it or we get picked on even worse. They’ve got so much power these days that even raising this treatment as an issue while it’s occurring is cause for them to not let someone fly. So for now, we plan ahead and document everything.”
“Doesn’t mean we have to like it.” Delilah stood, brushing the front of her skirt down. “But she’s right. Let’s get moving. I’d like to sleep in my own bed tonight and we all need the rest before we deal with Marlon tomorrow.”
Tosh nearly snarled at his fellow senator’s name. Marlon Hayes had become a legislative mouthpiece for the PURITY movement and it turned his stomach every time he had to deal with the man. There’d be a hearing first thing in the morning on the companion bill to House Bill 877, the Domestic Security Act. A fine-sounding name for a bill that would strip Others of their civil and human rights along with their property and citizenship.
At least they got to move through security in a shorter line, but Helena was pulled aside for an enhanced check, which took an extra half hour. She was far more patient than he was, and it wasn’t until he started making calls and taking down names that things moved more quickly. They still checked her, but the overt slowing down of the process stopped and they got on with it.
The unfairness of it deeply bothered him. No one should be treated this way and yet it was happening. It happened every day to many people. And it wasn’t right.
He was relieved when they finally boarded and got settled in. The flight attendants were friendly and helpful and he was seated next to Delilah. It did wonders for his mood.
The entire flight Tosh considered ways to ask Delilah over for a drink when they arrived back in DC. But things kept coming up. He got interrupted by his aide many times over. The times he spoke to Delilah they were in a group and it wasn’t the right place to ask.
And by the time they landed he was so tired his eyes burned and all he could think about was a hot shower and a good night’s sleep. Still, he’d made a decision to move forward and, that done, he rarely lost sight of something he’d set his mind to do. Within the next two days he would ask Delilah over for a drink. He could do this. It was long past time.
* * *
THE plane touched down and Helena managed to get everyone into a car and safely delivered to their Washington, DC, homes, where they all had personal security, and she and Faine joined the rest of the Others at a huge house owned by the National Pack.
“You should go to sleep.” Faine shouldered her bag once they’d entered the front gates and she let him. Too tired to refuse.
“I’m surprised there aren’t any protesters.”
“I suppose they may not know this location is Other-owned yet. Are you even listening? You’re dead on your feet. As usual. You should rest.”
She grinned at the agitation in his voice, for some reason cheered by needling him. Stupid, really, to poke at a giant beast wearing a man’s skin. But she liked to live dangerously. “No. Come on. I’m hungry.”
He frowned at her, but followed her into the house where the magick of all the Others inside greeted his senses, easing his tension.
“It’s so nice to be in a friendly space.” He watched as the frown lines around her eyes eased back and that made him feel better.
“I was just thinking that.”
Molly got up as they entered the main living room. “Hello, you two. Glad you got in all right. Come on upstairs. I’ll show you your rooms and you can put your bags down.”
They followed her up the stairs and down a long hallway to the end. Molly turned to Helena. “I put you facing the courtyard. The plants out there make me feel better. I figured you’d think so as well.”
The room was nice sized and had an en suite bathroom.
“Faine is on the other side.”
He nodded. “Thank you, Molly.” He turned to Helena. “I’ll be back in a moment and then you and I are eating some dinner.”
“There’s a huge kitchen here. Cade Warden sent a chef down so there’s a lot of food as well. Are you all right?”
“It’s been a challenging day,” Faine said as he came back into Helena’s bedroom. “We were chosen for an enhanced search at the airport. There was a fight between three security people, one of whom was an asshole but the other two, also human, were not. Sato had to intervene and make calls to get it moved along. The plane trip was long, but thankfully, as we took up the entire first-class cabin, we didn’t have to deal with much animosity.”
Molly looked to Helena. “But you felt it.”
Helena nodded, pressing her fingers to her temples.
“You can feel it?” He pushed his anger that she hadn’t said so down as far as he could. She
wasn’t a natural sharer, this one, but he wanted her to lighten her damned load with him sometimes just the same.
It was Molly who spoke to explain. “A lot of negative energy, especially when it’s aimed at you and you’re in a confined space, is toxic. Planes tend to amplify our magick as well, so it’s a one-two punch.” Molly took Helena’s hands. “Why don’t you go out into the courtyard for a recharge? I’ll let the chef know you’ll be eating in a few minutes. But clear out all that bad energy, you’ll feel better and the food will go down easier too.”
Faine wanted to scoop her up and cosset her. He had no idea all the dirty looks and nasty comments people made under their breath would affect her like that.
“Is it all right if I come along?”
Helena shrugged. “Sure.”
Molly took them down a back staircase—slowly and carefully in her walking cast—and showed them through large French doors into an enclosed courtyard, full of life. Container gardens spilled with plants and flowers.
“Gage and I are in the living room watching movies when you’re ready.” Molly hugged Helena and then Faine and went back inside.
Faine settled on a bench and watched as Helena took her shoes and socks off, along with her sweater, leaving her in a T-shirt that showed the whipcord strength of her upper body. She freed her hair from the bun she’d been wearing, running her fingers through it as she did.
Then she wandered through the path, letting her outstretched fingertips brush over the plants, against the bark of the trees, through the rushing water of the water feature. She stepped up and then down into the bed of a large garden space.
He saw it then, the light of her aura as she drew all the magick around her. It settled against her skin like snowflakes and then seemed to melt into her. She breathed slow and deep as she walked. Occasionally she’d pause, burying her face in a bunch of leaves or flowers.
This side of her was soft. Lush and so achingly intimate it was as if he’d been spying on her. But she’d allowed it. Moved around knowing he was there watching.