She finally forced herself to step forward and shake with him. “What brings ye all the way over here again?”
“From what Trevor’s told me, it looks like you’ll probably end up being our newest Enforcer.”
Aisling focused on Trevor. “Finally pullin’ me off the chase, are ye?”
“No, I’m assigning you to the States to be Tamsin’s personal bodyguard. As you and I discussed a few months back.”
She scowled. “From what I understand, the Targhee’s Enforcers are the best. Why ye want me, then?”
“Told you,” Trevor said to Peyton, who still wore a smirk that annoyed Aisling.
“Yes, you did,” Peyton said to Trevor. He focused on Aisling again, crossing his arms over his chest. “Before I formally extend the invitation, we’ll need to go through an evaluation to test your skills.”
Her hackles bristled. “And ye can right go fuck yerself.”
“That’s the spirit,” Trevor joked. “Endear yourself from the start.”
“Well, at least she’ll be able to hold her own with Dewi,” Peyton said. “I didn’t mean any offense,” he said to Aisling. “I know you’re the best Trevor has. Don’t take Faegan’s ability to stay hidden personally.”
“I don’t know how I can take it any other way,” she said. “I should have brought that feckin’ rabid twat down by now.”
“There are a lot of working parts we can’t reveal to you yet,” Peyton said. “And everything we discuss here is confidential.” He held out a hand to her again, his meaning clear.
She shot another look at Trevor.
“Let him,” Trevor said. “We need you to be read into this situation as much as we safely can, but we also need to know you’ll be unable to reveal anything. Our pack is beholden and loyal to the Targhee Pack, so he is, by extension, your Pack Alpha, too.”
She crossed her arms over her chest. “I’m not gonna be a party to protectin’ some gobshite pedo or anythin’.”
“Nothing like that,” Trevor assured her. “Unfortunately, we don’t know if any Primes are helping Faegan Lewis, so we need to ensure information stays secure. OPSEC. I promise, you can trust Peyton.”
Taking a deep breath, she forced herself to extend her hand again. The man could have easily used his Prime powers on her before now.
And she trusted Trevor.
Peyton looked her in the eyes. “What we’re about to discuss with you, if you are ever forcibly questioned by a Prime we haven’t told you to discuss it with, or physically interrogated by humans, the information will disappear from your mind as if you’d never learned it. The exceptions are my sister Dewi, her mate Ken Ethelbert, Badger Williams, and Duncan Lister. With them, you will tell them you aren’t allowed to discuss it, but you will retain the information.”
She shuddered at the feel of the Prime’s order latching onto her brain. When Peyton released her hand she couldn’t help wiping it on her jeans, either.
“I hate that shite,” she told Trevor.
He gravely nodded. “I don’t like resorting to it, but these are extraordinary circumstances.” He motioned to one of the two sofas, which were positioned facing each other. “Let’s talk, shall we? Would you like something to drink?”
“A bottle of something strong would be lovely.” She gave Peyton a wide berth while making her way to her seat. “Not particular what distillery or proof, either, long as I don’t have to share much of it.”
Trevor poured her a generous glass of scotch, neat, and then took his place opposite her on the other sofa while Peyton sat in the chair at the end, between the two sofas.
“Trevor has told me about you,” Peyton said. “About all of your skills. And while I’m sorry for the tragedies in your past, what I don’t have among my Enforcers is someone with your extensive military experience and training.”
She took several swallows, relishing the liquor’s burn all the way down her throat. “Ye mean someone able and willin’ to blow things up and slit throats?”
“Exactly. Neither Trevor nor I will force you to return to the States with me, but we would both consider it a favor if you would.”
“Why’s that then?”
“Because if something should happen to me, I must have a dedicated and experienced assassin in place who doesn’t have an emotional connection to me and who can go forth and burn down the world to stop these people and protect ours. And by ‘ours’ I don’t just mean our pack—I mean shifters in general.”
Another chill washed through her. “What people?”
