“I lied about why I’m here. While I am hiding from an ex-boss who threatened my life from my last assignment, the truth is I was sent to find something on the Institute that could be used to close it down.”
The two men remained silent as if waiting for her to continue speaking. But she’d learned in her first foster home to only answer the question asked and not give any more information than absolutely necessary.
The silence stretched out until she was sure it would shatter before Lonergan spoke, his tone controlled, but icy-cold. “Who sent you?”
“Governor Bowersox. I’m supposed to find something that he could use to shut the Institute down. He says he wants his daughter back. I’m supposed to return to the capital on Friday.”
Sailor was tempted to rise and pull his mate away from the dragon shifter when Lonergan reacted to the latest bit of information Lily shared. His roar filled the room, deafening him and had several other staff members running into the doorway.
Lily looked at him, and the stark fear in her expression had him pushing to sit up. He needed to get to her and protect her.
“What the fuck are you doing?” Kevin asked as he swiftly crossed the room and stepped between him and his mate.
“Bring Lily to me,” he said into the medic’s ear as Lonergan’s roar continued at a deafening decibel.
Kevin nodded and after getting him situated in an upright position, turned and slowly approached Lonergan. The dragon shifter looked like he was fighting to remain in his human form as he continued the loud angry rumble.
“Let me have her,” Kevin said in his no-nonsense medical-professional tone.
Lonergan lifted his hands and spread his legs, allowing the medic to lift Lily from his lap. He then carried her to Sailor. She hissed with the pain in her ass as he set her on the table beside the still-naked man.
Lily remained pale and wide-eyed as she shifted closer, pressing herself against his side, clearly scared out of her mind.Sailor wrapped both arms around her to hold her close and keep her safe from the other shifters in the area.
Finally Lonergan took a breath, the silence startling after the roar that had lasted nearly two minutes.
“Feeling better?” Kodiak asked from the doorway where he was keeping the rest of the staff from entering the room.
Lonergan took a breath and nodded. “Yes, as a matter of fact, I am. But I’ll feel even better once we do something about the monster sitting in the governor’s chair. Lily, did you know the intruder?”
Lily shook her head. “He’s no one I know from work. But that doesn’t mean he doesn’t work for the governor in another office. I doubt my ex-boss sent him since he doesn’t know where I am.”
Lonergan nodded. “All right. You’re going to go with Sailor back to his apartment to help him recover while we deal with the governor. Then we’ll look into this ex-boss of yours and make sure he knows to leave you alone, now and in the future.”
“That it?” Kodiak asked from the doorway.
Lonergan looked at the chief of security and said, “Yes, that’s it. Sailor and I will deal with the governor. In the meantime, you need to identify the man in the other room and why he was up on my mountain. Was he a government agent, or was he a hired killer? Or was he here for some other purpose?”
Kodiak swept the room before turning and pushing his way through the crowd in the hallway that had grown to include the Littles. His grumbling could be heard as he stormed down the hall and out of the processing center.
Sailor relaxed minimally as the tension in the room dropped several degrees. “If someone could get me some clothes, I’ll be happy to take Lily and head home.”
“Home being the apartment in the dormitory, right?” Kevin asked as he handed the man his red bag that now had some darker red stains on it.
“Yeah. Sure. Whatever you say,” Sailor agreed, though he’d meant the log cabin in the woods where he could protect his mate from anyone who might show up on the doorstep.
“You’re not going back to the cabin,” Lonergan stated. “You’ll stay at the apartment until your house is ready. That way we can help keep Lily safe if need be.”
CHAPTER 17
Once Kevin determined Sailor was healed enough to leave, he and Diego walked them back to the apartment, holding the gorilla shifter between them. Lily followed behind, carrying his red bag and feeling like every person in Bratburg was frowning at her.
When they reached their door, the men stepped to the side, allowing her to unlock it. Opening the door, she led the way to the bedroom, pulling back the covers so they could lay the man down. She took off his shoes and socks.
“I’ll be back this afternoon to check on him and give you a break,” he said when he finished listing instructions on the care and feeding of a shifter on the mend.
“Yes, Sir,” she answered, still feeling nervous.
Sailor’s cuts and bruises and bullet holes were mending fast, but he was weak enough that he did not fight the two men who’d practically carried him between them across the patio and up to their second-floor apartment.
