The president waited nearby, in a large, high back chair, a guard on either side. A tray with a plate of food was in front of him and he chatted on the phone as he ate a sandwich.
Leaders who hid while their men were on the front line garnered no respect from me. He couldn’t have known whether I planned on killing them or not. I hadn’t even known that.
So, technically, he’d left them all out there to die, like the coward we always knew he was. Justice exchanged a glance with me, her raised eyebrows telling me to calm down. I sucked in a deep breath, and released it just as slowly, before settling in to wait for this asshole to finish his call.
He took his fucking time, and during the minutes we stood in silence, I repeatedly stopped myself from just snapping his neck.
Finally, I'd had enough. "What the hell happened out there?" I bit out, and his head jerked toward me. "You ran away when the fighting started? Have you even discovered anything about who was bombing your compound? What sort of useless pathetic leader are you?"
He wiped his mouth like he was completely unperturbed by my questions, but I saw the tension in the tight way he gripped his napkin, tearing it against the crumbs on his face. This continued on, ignoring me, cleaning his mouth, no doubt enjoying the power play of making us wait for him, and then the asshole-with-a-death-wish lifted his fork and prepared to take a bite of salad. A beam of ruby shot from Justice, slicing right through the fork that hovered near his mouth. His expression morphed into fear and fury as he lurched to his feet, the tray scattering, food flying about.
Guns were once again trained on us, fingers hovering above their triggers.
Ignoring this, I silently swirled wind around us, subtle enough that most of them would think it was nothing more than a light breeze. A breeze I could turn into a weapon in seconds.
"You attacked me!" he spluttered. “You supernaturals are unstable!"
With a shake of my head, I chuckled. "What? A supe loses control once, steals some guns and sets some shit on fire, and suddenly he’s unstable."
No one else laughed with me, but there might have been the slightest twitch of Justice's lips.
Tough crowd.
"You're lucky I didn't kill you," I added conversationally. "After the fucking show you just put on, all the while dragging us into a dangerous war zone and then sending your men out to bomb us.”
I’d been guessing, having no evidence of that, but the reaction of the president confirmed it for me. This had all been planned. A setup.
The bastard.
Justice took a step forward, her cheeks tinged in the same ruby tones as the streaks through her hair. "I should kill you right now," she snarled, and tingles of power crossed my skin. “How dare you use and abuse your people like that? Not to mention you could have killed Jacob and me.”
Everyone in this room was scared of her, that much was obvious, but for me her show of power was turning me right the fuck on. Justice was growing as a supe, and I was glad to be here for every step of it.
"Threatening the president is a punishable offense," one of the guards stammered, waving his gun right near our faces.
With a swipe of my hand, I sent him flying into the back wall, his head slamming hard against the bricks, leaving behind a slumped-over figure.
More guns emerged. More clicks of safeties being released. More fury.
Apparently the humans were slow learners.
“Enough,” the president said, waving his hands as he faced us. "The missiles were a test so I could assess your capabilities. Until today, I've had very little evidence of what you could do."
"And what if the bomb had hit us?" Justice pressed, her voice wavering like she was at the point of furious tears. I’d known women who cried when raging mad, and they were damn scary. It was as if their tears gave their fury wings. "Or what if Jacob couldn't stop the bullets? He went out there to save you useless fucks. He should have left everyone to die."
The president scoffed. "You talk such a big game about your power. It was time to prove it."
She was going to kill him … and I was half tempted to let her.
Sure, it would be a political nightmare, but on the other hand, maybe we could cover it up, slip one of the Guild members in the position, and all go about our regular daily schedule.
"I have documents," the president said, and suddenly I was paying attention. "Documents that describe in detail everything that I've learned. Video footage—there were drones above you today. Not the ones you sensed … they were just the decoys. There are also dozens of witness statements. If I die, they will be released to every media outlet in the world, and the supernatural people will be indicted in the wrongful death of the most powerful president in the world."
"That's why you wanted us to stay with you," Justice said, shaking her head. "Not to learn about supernaturals and hopefully foster a healthy treaty between our peoples, but to gather evidence to use against us."
We all knew he was spineless, but Justice had been the one continually telling me that we shouldn't be so complacent. That he was up to something. I hadn’t disagreed, but there had been so little he could really do to stand against my people I’d never been worried.
I’d been expecting an outright attack. Not this underhanded information gathering.
