Two deltas flank him—Jordan and Kade. Officially, they work for Lucien. Unofficially, they work for the government. Admittedly, this probably wasn’t what Governor Brach had in mind, but when needs must and all that.
They give me a chin lift. Kade, the blonde one with the unhinged glint in his eyes, casually draws his gun and screws a silencer on.
He hands it to me.
“What is this?” the man bound and kneeling before me stammers. “You don’t need to do this. I’ll tell you everything. I can be useful! I swear!”
Yeah, I’m not falling for his bullshit.
I walk forward and put the muzzle right up against his forehead.
“Please—” he stammers. “I didn’t know she was your mate!’”
“Three,” I say.
“This is a mistake!”
“Two.”
“I can tell you the names of the people on the inside!”
I pause, glance over at Lucien. He shakes his head.
“One.” I pull the trigger.
The sound is no more than a hiss. His body jerks. There’s a hole in the forehead and blood pools slowly across the plastic sheeting beneath him.
I hand the gun back to Kade, who takes it with a nod.
Lucien takes another long draw of his cigar, then exhales slowly. “Come by the club later,” he says. “Bring Esme. Madalyn would love to meet her. Might even be able to persuade Ethan and Ryker to bring Lilly if she knows the other girls will be there.”
“Thanks,” I say. “I just might.”
Esme
“This is a little short notice,” I say, adjusting the strap of my dress and checking my reflection in the closet mirror.
I’m not used to clothes like this. The fabric is exquisite, like wearing a whisper. My shoes are equally gorgeous with delicate straps and high heels. Nothing like the silk healer dresses… and the battle gear. My wardrobe is full of designer labels. They still feel like they belong to someone else.
I fell in love with a soldier… and ended up mated to a politician.
“Who is this mysterious acquaintance, anyway?” I ask. “You mentioned knowing him from the military.”
“Lucien Banner,” Zeb says, voice distant as he does something out of sight.
“As intheLucien Banner? The business mogul who owns Peppermint Moon?”
He reappears, fully dressed in a dark suit that hugs his frame just right. The open necked black shirt underneath makes him look dangerous, and hot. My breath catches.
He crosses the room, tucks a strand of my hair behind my ear, lifts my chin with two fingers, and presses a kiss to my lips—lazy, hot, enough to knock the air from my lungs.
“Wouldn’t you rather stay in?” I murmur turning to fully face him. How did I get so lucky? How did this man become mine?
His lips curl. His smirk still ties my stomach in knots.
“It will do you good to get out. You’ll like his mate, Madelyn. She’s a friend of Lilly’s.”
“She is?”
