It’s harder than one would expect, keeping so many secrets at once.
On my way out, I pass a group of new recruits in the hall. They are whispering, and I catch a few words like hot, crazy, and dangerous. One of them, a tall blonde with a face like a model but an expression that says he has a mind like a brick, tries to make eye contact. I stare him down until he looks away.
Not today, clone-baby Satan.
At the end of the corridor, another new recruit blocks my path. He has the smug confidence of someone who has never failed at anything, and I know this is going to suck. I try to step aside, but he misjudges both my speed and my skill. We collide, lightly, but enough that his shoulder bumps into mine.
He laughs, obviously masking nervousness with bravado. “Watch it, sweetheart. These are new shoes.”
I stop, pivot on my heel, and face him directly. The corridor is empty except for the two of us. I smile, showing all my sharp, now pointed teeth.
“Oh, I’m sorry,” I purr. “Did I throw off your balance?”
He hesitates, then tries to recover from it. “No harm done. Just surprised a fragile little party girl like you can move that fast.”
I let the silence stretch between us, waiting to see how much rope he’ll give me. “A fragile girl like me, huh?”
He shrugs. “Not a lot of women in this field, especially those who are… human. I figured maybe you’d be more… careful… about who you run into.”
I move like lightning, pinning the unlucky recruit against the wall. He smells like a third-year, and I give him a disgusted look as I hold Precious to his jugular. “Assuming that I didn’t earn my spot is a mistake—you get one mistake. Saying the pitifully idiotic things that run through your microscopic brain while I’m in the building is your second. I dare you to make a third and see if your parts remain attached in their original configuration.”
Raising my foot, I use my silver heel to grind into his kneecap. My flexibility allows me to pin him without releasing the top half of his body, and I hear the other recruits in the hallway whispering. I stomp my spiky shoe into his knee again, eliciting a howl of pain from the idiot.
“That’s what I thought. Allow this to serve as a reminder that I will gleefully kick all of your scrawny asses whether I’m in heels, fatigues, a ball gown, or a bikini. If you make it through me—which is doubtful—good luck with my husband and my mate. Talia is furious when people look at me wrong, and Taurus has been known to play with his food. Just a thought, gentlemen.” Shaking off my irritation, I stalk down the hall and disapparate, headed for my next destination. I have several visits to the otherside planned, and if I’m lucky, I won’t get zapped home to prevent a tsunami.
If I’m lucky…
Once I finishup at The Company, I head home. I put away my fancy clothes in the closet and plop onto my bed in loungewear. I’ve got a mountain of files to go over for recent assignments, plus I’ve been getting emails from Lily all afternoon. Apparently, our lovely community members have decided we need to have a town meeting to have their grievances addressed
I’ll give you two guesses who gave them that idea, and one doesn’t count.
Sari will use this forum to air dirty laundry. She got Lily to agree we’d come without clones or droids along. Just the humans and I, sitting around like some idiotic coffee klatch, as Sari vents her bile. I’d rather slice open my gut and let my innards fall on the floor.
Unfortunately, I have to do it, so I’ll persevere. I rub my temples. I haven’t decided if I’m all in on working to get the deserters back, but figuring out what their issues are versus what Sari’s slinging couldn’t hurt.
“Knock, knock,” Talia says, looking in from the doorframe to the main bedroom.
I look up, remembering the important conversation I need to have today. We gotta talk about yesterday and how to prevent that from ever happening again.
“Since when do you have to knock?” I smile, putting down my phone.
My mate’s got something behind her back, and I watch her walk over to set it on the counter. “The thief’s not around, right?”
Chuckling, I shake my head. “No, Twist is off with Aradia. She’s got a saddle bag of seeds she’s using to re-populate the gardens. He’s giving back today instead of stealing. Call it… penance.”
She dips her chin and murmurs, “I didn’t mean to ruin your space. Taurus was pretty clear that I fucked up something you worked hard on.”
I blink. “That’s the beauty of nature. Take her down and she comes back stronger than ever. I haven’t gone out there to add my special touch, but after that, it won’t be long. It’ll be beautiful in no time.”
Padding in, she shrugs. “Still, it was my fault.”
I sigh, leaning back on one arm as I stretch my legs. “I don’t think you did it on purpose. It sounds like you got the riot act from the boys.”
“Yeah,” she says, fiddling with her shirt hem.
She’s not wearing any of her blades and since Wilde’s return, she rarely takes them off. It must be difficult for her to not have anything on hand to dispel her energy with. Spinning her blades always calms and focuses her.
“Did you think I was going to bitch you out, too?”
