Play of Passion

by Nalini Singh

Page 45

 

  Indigo’s lips twitched a little. “Awful man. ” Gripping the lapels of his white shirt, she tugged him down for a kiss.

  A passing packmate whistled at them and was ignored.

  “Try hard. ” She let him feel the prick of her claws before she let go. “What’re you doing today?”

  “I had a message on my phone to see Hawke when I returned to the den, so he’s probably got a job for me. ”

  Frown lines marred Indigo’s brow. “When are you supposed to head back out again to do your rounds of our territory?”

  “A couple of weeks. ” He hated the idea of being away from her for that long. Especially since they were finally really, truly bonding. Because, though strong, that bond wasn’t yet set in stone. “I might be able to rework things, come back to the den on a more regular basis. ”

  Indigo’s gaze was dark when she looked at him. “What you do, it’s important, Drew. Don’t shortchange the pack because—”

  “Shh. ” He kissed her this time. “You make me happy. A happy Andrew is a more productive Andrew. ”

  Indigo rolled her eyes. “When was the last time you lost an argument?”

  He pretended to think about it. Then, leaning down, he whispered in her ear, “A few hours ago when you refused to stop the car and crawl into the backseat with me. ”

  Not long afterward, Andrew stared at his alpha as they stood looking down over a beautiful green valley. “Huh. ”

  Hawke raised an eyebrow. “Not quite the reaction I was hoping for. ”

  “Just a little unexpected, that’s all. ” He took a moment to think about the proposal. “Why me?”

  “Adam likes you,” Hawke said, naming the leader of the WindHaven falcons as he leaned against a large fir, his hair almost pure silver in this light. But it wasn’t a silver that shouted of age—no, it was the silver of precious metals, unique and startling. Especially given the other man’s wolf-pale eyes. “You okay with taking it on?”

  Looking away from his alpha, Andrew paced to the edge of the cliff. “Sure. I mean, I’ve got no problem acting as liaison with the falcons, but won’t Adam be talking to you directly on most matters?”

  “The big things, yes,” Hawke said. “But, as with DarkRiver, there are going to be matters that don’t need an alpha’s attention, but do need to be looked at by someone senior. ”

  Andrew nodded. As alpha, Hawke had a thousand things on his plate. Delegation of some responsibility was key not only to his own sanity, but to ensuring the health of his pack; that many strong wolves with nothing to do would be a recipe for disaster. “Why not ask one of the lieutenants?”

  “They’ve all got heavy responsibilities already . . . and we both know you could be a lieutenant if you wanted to be. ”

  Andrew shook his head. “I couldn’t do what I do if I was. ” He needed to be seen as approachable by even their weakest and least confident, not someone who was automatically identified as part of the pack’s power structure.

  “It would make your relationship with Indigo easier,” Hawke said, and Andrew knew it was a question.

  “No, it wouldn’t. The basic issues would remain. ” His age, the fact of her higher dominance. “Out of curiosity—when did I hit your radar as a possible lieutenant?”

  “I always knew you had it in you,” Hawke said, surprising him. “That’s why I originally had you stationed as the sector leader in San Diego, and you more than delivered. Your work over the past ten months has only been the icing on the cake. But I’m ruthless when it comes to the pack. You were useful to me exactly where you were. ”

  “You, ruthless?” Andrew put a hand on his chest, feigning a heart attack.

  Hawke’s grin was sharp. “Adam says the liaison on their side will be Jacques. ”

  “I met him. He’s okay. ” A little quiet, but after growing up with Riley, Andrew could deal with that fine. You just had to poke at the quiet ones until they spoke up. “Who’re the cats using as their liaison?” Because Andrew would have to work with him or her.

  “Nathan,” Hawke said, naming the most senior of DarkRiver’s sentinels.

  “We should probably set up a meeting to nut out some basics. ” Pushing his hands into the pockets of his jeans, he rocked back on his heels. “I’ll try and hook us all up for a quick comm-conference when I get back to the den. ”

  Hawke nodded and pushed off the tree. “I’m going to run up to the northern edge, see how things are going. ”

  “Any further indications of Psy interference?”

  “No. And the techs have found no other buried objects of any kind. ” Deep grooves appeared on either side of Hawke’s mouth. “But Judd called with some information last night. He’s heard whispers that suggest Henry Scott wanted—still wants—our land to use as a staging post for an armed take-over of the entire city. ”

  “Wouldn’t they be too far, physically speaking?” Andrew asked.

  “Yes, but evidence indicates they have several teleport-capable telekinetics in their group. ”

  Andrew thought about it. “Yeah, that could have worked. ” SnowDancer land was remote enough that any invading army wouldn’t be immediately noted from the city. “Especially if they’re considering surgical strikes, rather than a full assault. ”

  “You really need to start sitting in on the lieutenant meetings,” Hawke said. “Since intel is your job. ”

  Andrew nodded. When he’d first taken on this position, it had only been about keeping a finger on the pulse of the pack, but the network he’d constructed now meant information of all kinds flowed through to him. “I’ll have Indy give me a heads-up before the next one. ”

  “Good. ” Hawke reached down to pet a wild wolf that appeared out of the trees. “Judd found something else, too—looks like Pure Psy has commandeered a remote mountain village to use as its gathering place for arms and supplies, and as a training ground. ”

  “What’s he recommend?”

  “Leaving the operation in place. He says he can keep an eye on them—and it’s better to know where the vipers are hiding. ” Hawke’s face was without mercy when he looked up. “That way, we can hit them hard if the Scotts do move to strike against the city, disabling a large part of their strength at a critical time. ”

  Dismissing the group of her people that she’d brought outside for a meeting on how best to cover—in the long term—the wider patrol area necessitated by the Psy incursions, Indigo picked up a bracelet that had slipped off someone’s wrist and was about to head back up to the den herself when she caught an unexpected—but not unknown—scent on the wind. Her wolf was already crouching to leap in welcome when Matthias walked into the clearing. Giving a whoop, she flew into his arms, wrapping her legs around his hips.

  Not many men could’ve stood firm against the impact of her welcome, but since Matthias was built like a tank, he just caught her, giving her one of those small, quiet smiles that had fooled many a woman into thinking him shy. Half an hour after that and most of those women had probably found themselves sprawled naked under him.

  “What’re you doing here?” she asked after giving him an affectionate kiss.

  Eyes as dark as mountain skies at midnight met hers as he squeezed the arm he had around her hips. “I’ve been hearing some mighty surprising rumors about you, darling. ”

  “Is that right?” Arching an eyebrow, she unhooked herself from his body and took enough of a step back that she could look up into his face.

  Matthias wasn’t only built like a tank, he was taller than every other male in the pack, coming to something like six feet six. All of which would’ve made him a threatening-looking package but for that amazing face; a haunting mixture of Spain, the Far East, and the warm dark of his mother’s home-land of Tanzania, it had a way of making people forget just how lethal he could be.

  But Indigo had known him too long to be bamboozled—and right now, she was very aware of the
teasing light in those eyes of liquid night. “And what exactly,” she drawled, “have you been hearing?”

  “Something about you setting up house with Riley’s baby brother. ”

  She knew it was a deliberate dig, meant to get her to give up information, so she plastered an innocent expression on her face. “Really? How interesting. ” The hairs on the back of her neck rose at that moment, and she suddenly realized she could scent another male getting ever closer.

  “Yeah,” Matthias said even as she was turning on her heel, “so I thought I better come on over and make sure you hadn’t forgotten who you belonged to. ”

  A growl of rage filled the air an instant before Drew’s body slammed out of the forest and into Matthias’s, taking the male lieutenant down to the ground.

  CHAPTER 38

  “Fuck,” Indigo muttered as Matthias retaliated instinctively, one of those massive fists clocking Drew in the ribs.

  Shaking off the blow as if he hadn’t even felt it, Drew slammed a punch into Matthias’s face, snapping it back. Matthias snarled and shoved Drew off his chest. Except Drew didn’t budge, crunching another fist into the other man’s jaw. This time, Matthias responded with a similar hit.

  Indigo, having watched for a gap, jumped in between the two men as they flowed to their feet. “Stop!”

  Drew’s eyes were wolf-copper when she looked up at him, and they were focused on Matthias. Who was doing a good job of imitating a wolf in human form. “Get out of my way, Indigo,” the big lieutenant snarled.

  Drew’s body vibrated against her palm. “Don’t give her orders!” Reaching as if to pull her behind him, Drew sucked in a breath when she elbowed him sharply in the stomach at the same time that she kicked Matthias in the knee. He was too big to go down, but it did snap his attention to her.