by Clara Martin
My eyes snapped back before I realized what he’d said. “I can drive,” I said, coldly furious.
“I know you can,” he said, voice going soft. “But I also don’t want you to die in a fiery crash because you’re glaring at me.” There was a note of laughter in his voice.
“Why would Western Wind be following me?” I asked, going for the easiest revelation.
“My guess,” Charles said, voice cold, “is it’s because of your bond with Faolain.”
Chapter 7
“It would be a tactical advantage,” I agreed, “to have someone who could listen to Faolain’s mind.” A shiver rippled down my spine.
“It’s more than that, Eileen.” Charles looked at me gravely. “Faolain probably didn’t tell you, but you can’t kill someone in a bond without also killing the other person.” He picked up my hand and squeezed it. “Kill you, kill Faolain.”
I swallowed. “The second fae said something like that,” I said, my voice small. “The day of our fight.”
“What did the second fae look like?” Charles’s voice went sharp.
I searched my memory. The second fae had been eminently forgettable, compared to Faolain. “He looked a lot like Faolain,” I said after a moment. “Like they could’ve been brothers.”
Charles leaned back with a sigh. “Eamon,” he said, voice bitter.
“Who’s Eamon?”
“Faolain’s half-brother. Another half-human, half-fae who inherited the fae side of the genetic balance.” He glanced at me. “Eamon is bad news. He’s usually tasked to assist Faolain with hunting down escaped slaves, and there’s some rumor that he serves as the spymaster for Northern Sun.”
“They give a half-human that much power?”
“He earned it.” Charles leaned forward and stared out the window. “He’s brutal,” he said, voice low. “Absolutely detests humans—they’re reminders of his, quote, weakness, unquote.” Charles looked at me. “He didn’t intervene in the fight at all?”
“No,” I said slowly. “It was between me and Faolain.”
“Interesting,” Charles said. “Normally it would’ve been his fight, not Faolain’s. It’s his job to get in between his prince and possible danger.”
Charles brooded for the rest of the drive. When we got to the NVRA, he said in a tone that brooked no arguments, “We are going to a gun store for that holster at lunch today.”
I nodded, patting the gun. I’d slid it into my waistband but could hear the screams of my old instructors echoing in my head. You’re going to blow your ass off!
I got out of the car. Charles was still sitting in the passenger seat. He pulled out his phone and began to text. “Wait a moment,” he said distractedly. He finished texting and got out of the car as well, rounding the car in long strides to meet up with me. “Ready?” he asked.
“Let’s go.”
Jenny, Anna, and Garrett were standing in the War Room, clustered around Anna’s cell phone. Anna looked up. “Good morning, Charles, Eileen,” she said. She glanced at me. “I understand you had a run-in with Severine de Bough.”
I nodded. “I wouldn’t call it a run-in. More that she appeared, threw a few cryptic sentences, and then disappeared.”
Anna sighed. “Sounds like Severine de Bough to a T,” she remarked. She pulled out a folder and handed it to me. “We just finished updating her dossier with the contact information.”
I frowned. “You call that contact? She chatted for a minute and left.”
Jenny gave a nasty laugh. Charles placed a hand protectively at the small of my back. Garrett looked stony.
“Well,” Anna said, “she is Charles’s ex-girlfriend. And she is from Western Wind. She has reason to have an interest in you.”
“Charles has a lot of ex-girlfriends,” Jenny put in sweetly. She gazed at him, eyebrows raised. He ignored her, expression cool.
Lot of ex-girlfriends lot of ex-girlfriends lot of ex-girlfriends, Joe chanted in my head. I made a face, shaking my head violently. Charles looked at me carefully.
“Are you all right?”
“Yes,” I said shortly. “Just fine.” I changed the subject. “So what’s on the agenda for today?”
“Mission briefing,” Anna said cheerfully. “We’ve assigned Strike Team 3 to the mission to Northern Sun. The medic team has been hanging out in Vermont for four days ... it’s time to move.”
Charles frowned. “Strike Team 3 just went on a mission, Anna. Send someone else.”
She looked regretful. “Unfortunately, Charles, we don’t have anyone else capable of carrying out this mission.” She waved us all to the table. Charles sat, his lips compressed in a thin line.
“Here’s the operations order. Jenny just finished writing it.” She slid it across the table to Charles. He picked it up and read it, lips puckered. “I’m not comfortable with leaving Eileen right now,” he said abruptly.
“We can protect her,” Garrett rumbled.
“I can also protect myself,” I interjected
Charles snorted. “You may have driven Faolain off once, but he’ll be ready for a physical attack next time.” He lowered the operations order. “He knows you have no magic.”
“I do, however, have a pistol.”
He snorted again. “Best case, that’ll give you time to run.” He gave me a grim look.
“Look,” I said. “I have a group of people around me. You, however, are needed to smuggle some poor human out of fae territory. You are the only one who can do that.” I paused. “I’ll be fine. You go do your thing.”
He looked at me, long and level, lips compressed in a grim line. “Fine,” he bit out. “But you’d better still be here when I get back.”
“I have absolutely no intention of leaving.”
“Back to the operation,” Anna interjected. “You’ll leave here tomorrow, 0400. You’ll travel straight to Northern Sun, reach it no later than two days from now, and rendezvous with the target.” She consulted her notes. “This is a couple, a man and a woman. Both approximately eighteen years of age, reportedly in good health. You’ll take them to the Vermont safe house, with radio check-ins at base twice a day, using our secure channel. Meet up with Phillip before you leave to confirm the radios are synced magically.” She paused. “Any questions?”
“No,” Charles said, reading through the operations order, forehead creased. “I’ll brief my team tonight at 1600 hours.”
“Excellent.” Anna stood, shoving her papers back in her briefcase. “The operations order is bloodlocked, so you can take it outside of the building.”
Charles nodded absently. “I’ll need a computer in here,” he said.
“Of course.” Anna waved her hand. “Take any but the BFT system.”
He nodded, picked up the operations order without another word, and sat down at a computer. He looked deep in thought.
I felt a sudden sense of loss at the thought of Charles not being around for the next week. He’d become a fixture in my life. I frowned at the thought. Had he really? We’d known each other for only a few weeks. felt a fission of fear go down my spine at the thought of him walking into Northern Sun.
Relax, I told myself firmly. He’s done this before. He’ll be fine.
NorthernSunNorthernSunNORTHERNSUN, Sheldon chanted in my head. I shook my head sharply to dislodge him.
“All right, Eileen?” I looked up. Garrett was scrutinizing me.
I smiled weakly. “I’m fine,” I said, perhaps a bit too quickly. Garrett noticed, by the way his eyes narrowed. Before he could continue to probe me, however, Anna looked up.
“Okay,” she said, clapping her hands. “We have our last mission of the season to plan for.” She unrolled her map. “This is to the Kingdom of Texas, and we’ll be coordinating with another rescue association, since it’s so far away. The North Carolina Rescue Associat
ion.” Anna pointed at me. “You have a conference call with their assistant director today at one.”
I nodded, thrilled. They were beginning to give me more responsibility. “I’ll be there,” I promised.
Anna nodded back. “Excellent. Let’s get started.”
We mission planned for the next five hours, not breaking for lunch. At around ten, Charles left, muttering about needing to check his gear. “And you’ll do a PCC/PCI for your team,” Garrett said firmly.
Charles looked at him with exasperation. “Don’t I always check my team’s gear before we roll out?” The tension in the air deepened for a moment.
“All right,” Anna said, breaking it. “I’ll see you later, Charles.”
“Four o’clock,” he promised. He walked over to me, lifted my hand, and pressed a kiss into my palm. “Tie a yellow ribbon round the old oak tree,” he said, half laughing.
I swallowed and stood up. Grabbing his shoulders, I lifted myself up and kissed him gently on the mouth. He blinked.
“Come home quick,” I said, my voice husky. Charles nodded, eyes wide. Of all the kisses we’d shared, that had been the first one I’d initiated.
“I will,” he murmured, voice deep. He grabbed my shoulders and kissed me again, deep and long.
“All right, lovebirds.” Garrett’s voice sounded behind us. “You’re putting on a show. Time to get back to work.”
We broke apart, gasping. Charles seized my hand. “You be careful,” he whispered. “I won’t be able to help you, where I’m at.”
“I will be,” I promised.
He held my eyes, looking deep into them. Finally, he broke my gaze. “All right,” he said hoarsely. “Time to go.” With one last look at me, he walked out of the War Room.
“All right,” Anna said, looking both amused and sad. “Eileen, you have that conference call in three hours, don’t forget.”
“I haven’t,” I said, turning around.
“All right. Let’s get back to work.” She consulted her papers. “We still need to look at these scout reports for one of the routes to the Kingdom of Texas. Get a map, Jenny.”
The next three hours dragged. I couldn’t stop thinking of Charles and his mission. I had a bad feeling. It’s nothing, I told myself. Don’t worry about it. I focused back on my papers, squinting fiercely.
“All right, then, Eileen,” Anna’s voice broke in. “Time for your conference call.” I was already up and headed toward the computer. I logged in and opened Skype. The screen revealed a man’s face.
“This is the North Carolina Rescue Association. I’m Ellis,” he greeted me. “We’re on a secure line here.”
“I’m Eileen, Northern Virginia Rescue Association. We’re on a secure line here, too.”
“Awesome, Eileen. Shall we begin? We’re looking at this mission to the Kingdom of Texas next week, correct?”
“Absolutely,” I replied. “How many missions do you run?”
“We normally run smaller-scale missions, mostly into the south of Western Wind. We don’t usually touch the Kingdom of Texas. But,” he consulted a piece of paper on his desk, “we’ve received valuable intel from the rebels in the kingdom. The queen, Siobhan, is going to be in Washington, DC next week, at her embassy. It’s the perfect time to strike.”
I nodded. “Do you have any intel on the people we’re picking up?”
He shook his head. “Just a meeting place.” Ellis consulted his notes again. “Grid coordinates 78681013, 89241810. It’s the top of a small hill right outside the border of the queen’s estate.”
I frowned. “That’s going to be difficult, tactically,” I said slowly. “Top of a hill? The risk of silhouetting is very high. My team will be low crawling all the way up and down the hill. Is there any other place they can meet?”
Ellis shook his head. “Unfortunately not—those were the only coordinates provided by the rebels, and they’ve gone silent. We can’t raise them.”
I frowned. “That sounds ominous.”
“It’s not unusual,” he assured me. “Sometimes they have to move quickly, to avoid the fae hunters. They’re really trying to crack down on the rebels now.” He looked sad.
We talked for about an hour longer, going over three potential routes into the Kingdom of Texas. “I’ll send you the maps,” Ellis promised. “And you can pick the rendezvous points for our teams.” I nodded, pleased.
After he signed off, I leaned back with a sigh. I looked down at my sheet of notes and waved Anna over. “Here’s what I got from the call,” I said, handing her the sheet. She barely looked at it before thrusting it back to me.
“Great,” she said. “Type them up as a WARNO and get it to me by tomorrow evening.” I nodded, pleased. Being trusted to type up a warning order, the first step in activating a mission, was a huge sign of trust.
Garrett waved me over to where he sat at the table. “All right, Eileen,” he grunted. “Let’s go over personnel requirements for this mission.” He frowned. “We could send Strike Team 3—”
“But they will have already been on a mission this week” I objected.
Garrett looked at me sharply. “Exactly what I was going to say,” he agreed. “Maybe Strike Team 7. They haven’t been out for a month, and they’re good enough to get down to the Kingdom of Texas with minimal problems.” He paused. “We’ll also need someone at the North Carolina Rescue Association to coordinate.”
“I can go,” I said quickly.
“No, we need you here, to run the op from this side.” Garrett frowned. “We could send Rima,” he said. “She’s an experienced coordinator.”
“All right, Rima it is.”
We talked for another hour before he let me go. “You’ll need to alert the Strike Team 7 team leader as soon as you get that WARNO done,” Garrett said gruffly.
“I know,” I said, patience wearing thin.
Garrett laughed. “I haven’t forgotten your training, Eileen. But I’m an old sergeant first class. My job is to check lieutenants.” His eyes twinkled merrily at me. I sighed and laughed.
“You might as well go home, Eileen,” Anna said from the other side of the room. “You’ve done all your work for today, and you’ll be here late enough later. Get some rest while you can.”
I nodded. “Thanks, Anna. And thanks, Garrett,” I added, looking over at him. He nodded, raising a hand, and Anna smiled.
“And I know that Charles wanted you to get a holster for your pistol,” she added. Her eyes flickered down to where the pistol was still stashed in my waistband. I grinned.
“Yeah, I should go do that,” I said, raising my hand in farewell. I jogged outside. I glanced at my cell phone. Three o’clock. Charles would be holding his briefing for his team in an hour.
My phone buzzed. There was a text from an unknown number. I opened it, frowning.
“Hey beautiful. I’m thinking of you.”
My heart started to beat faster. “Who is this?” I texted back.
“Charles.”
My heart slowed. “How did you get my number?”
There was a minute’s delay before the response came in. “I have intelligence assets everywhere.”
I laughed. “Do they begin and end with A?”
“I’ll never give up my sources.”
I sighed. “I’ll miss you,” I typed, and then paused, my finger hovering over the send button. I compressed my lips and resolutely hit it.
“I’ll miss you too, beautiful.”
I smiled softly and unlocked my car. My phone buzzed again.
“Now go buy yourself a holster.”
I laughed, slightly hysterically, and pulled out of the parking lot.
I stopped by the gun store and bought a holster, lingering to look at the accessories. I just didn’t want to go home, I thought, and face having to think about Charles.
I bought myself Chinese and sat in one of the booths, idly people watching. My phone buzzed again. Smiling, I looked down at it.
“You’re making a mistake.”
I frowned. “Who is this?” I texted back
“A friend. You shouldn’t trust Charles Talbot. He keeps secrets.”
“Like what?” I asked. I waited, but there was no reply.
Rattled, I gathered up my tray and threw away my trash. I walked outside, looking carefully through the parking lot. There was no one standing out or looking suspicious. I jogged to my car, keys at the ready, and locked myself in. I pulled out my cell phone again and texted Charles.
“You okay?” I waited, but there was no response. I pulled out of the parking space, driving home as quickly as I could. There was no one there.
I went up to my room, shivering slightly. I could feel the adrenaline rushing, needing to do something. I checked my cell phone. I had just enough time to make it to Muay Thai. I changed into my boxing shorts and a tank top and pulled my hair back into a ponytail. Grabbing my bag of gear, I headed out to my car.
I made it to Muay Thai with just under five minutes to spare. The coach, Dominic, looked up at me when I walked into the gym. He raised an eyebrow. “Been a few weeks,” he commented.
I shrugged. “I ran out of money, got a job, lost a job, got another job ... you know how it goes.”
“Oh?” He raised an eyebrow. “Where are you working?”
“The Northern Virginia Rescue Association,” I replied, a little nervous. It was a controversial topic, especially with the sanctuary law under fire.
“That’s awesome,” he said, impressed. “You’re doing good work.”
“Thanks,” I said with a smile. I dropped my bag on a bench. “Not many people here tonight.”
“Not really,” he agreed, “but we’ll have enough.” He waved his hand. “Let’s go. It’s time.”
I walked out into the center of the gym, where five men already waited. I knew most of them—Tom, Hayashi, Jerry, and Ivan were already warming up, swinging kicks at punching bags. The fifth man was punching the bag, his face sweaty. I stared at him. He wasn’t wearing a shirt, only boxing shorts; I could see his muscled physique from the other side of the gym. I blushed, thinking of Charles.