Ruby and I had spent our time trying out domestic bliss. It was the happiest I’d been in my life. Everything seemed so easy with her. Sure, she was stubborn and we were very differentpeople, but overall we were very compatible. I tried to imagine what it would be like once this case was over, when I’d go back to working other security cases and Ruby would go back to traveling the country with her team, leaving us separated for weeks at a time.
It made me sad to think about it, but we’d work it out. I had no doubt about that. I wasn’t the only agent who needed to navigate time spent away from a mate.
As the awards gala drew closer, I started to have a bad feeling. Maybe it was intuition. Maybe it was because chances were really good that my asshole father would be in attendance. Maybe it was the fact that most of the players from the U.S. team at the International Games would be there, making the event a tempting target for the stalker. But I just knew, deep in my soul, that it wouldn’t be a good night.
Lois was having similar thoughts, because she’d decided to plant some additional agents onsite to give me and Alexei some back-up.
For some reason, Ruby and Eleanor wanted to get ready for the gala together. They relegated me and Alexei to the kitchen, commandeering the bathroom and telling us not to bother them until they were ready to leave.
Alexei arrived in his gala outfit – an expensive looking suit that was tailored to his bulky form, which he wore with a white shirt and a burgundy tie.
“You clean up nice,” I observed.
He really was a handsome guy, big and burly but with a sweet face and soulful eyes. If I was single and straight I’d totally be attracted to the bear.
“Thank you. Eleanor tells me I must wear this red color,” he said, pointing to his tie. “Is important that we match.”
“Are we going to prom or an awards gala?” I mumbled, checking out my own outfit and hoping it would be okay. Ruby hadn’t given me any instructions.
I’d gone with a woman’s cut suit that I’d paired with a white silk blouse and boots that looked dressy but had weapons built into both heels. It was pretty but functional, with a jacket loose enough to hide my gun holster. I’d left my hair down for the event instead of pulling it back in a ponytail and applied some mascara and lip gloss. It was a super dressy outfit for me but still allowed me to bring supplies and I’d be able to move around easily in a fight.
Alexei made a choking sound and I looked up, following his gaze. Eleanor and Ruby were both wearing red dresses, Eleanor’s a burgundy sheath that matched her mate’s tie, and Ruby wearing a sparkly color reminiscent of her name.
My mate’s dress was fitted at the bodice, with a skirt that flared out around her toned thighs.
“Do you like it?” she asked, turning in a circle to demonstrate how the skirt floated with the movement.
“You look beautiful,” I said, my voice sounding like ground glass.
She was wearing high heeled black shoes and a face full of make-up, including a smoky eye and a lipstick that perfectly matched her dress. With her hair pinned up in a complicated up-do, Ruby looked cool and sophisticated. It was a big change from her usual sportsy ‘girl next door’ look. She looked sexy but classy, and I wanted nothing more than to drop to my knees and stick my head between her thighs until she was screaming out my name.
“Dad’s sending us a limo,” Ruby told me.
“I don’t like that idea.”
She gave me a wink. “It’s bullet proof. He made sure.”
“Okay then.”
I’d never actually been in the back of a limo before, despite my famous father, and I was pleasantly surprised by how comfortable it was. The vehicle was long enough so that Alexei could spread his legs out and not touch us in the seat across from him. The four of us shared a bottle of champagne and chatted easily as the limo made its way downtown to the hotel where the event was being held.
As we exited the limo Alexei and I were both on alert, watching the small crowd that had gathered outside the entrance in the hopes of seeing some of their favorite sports stars. The crowd was humming excitedly about two Seattle basketball players who arrived ahead of us, but a few of the younger woman got even more excited when they saw Eleanor and Ruby. We stood by for a few minutes as our mates signed autographs and took selfies, then shepherded them inside.
I’d taken about four steps into the atrium area where the pre-dinner cocktail reception was taking place when I heard it: the obnoxious laugh that I associated with my father’s drinking. Slowly I turned around, clocking him in the center of the room, surrounded by lackeys with my mother at his side.
Mom looked frail. I hadn’t seen her in at least ten years, but she looked much older than her sixty-five years, her hair gray and her figure gaunt. My father, however, looked like the picture of health in his designer suit with his perfectly styled hair and blindingly white teeth.
His nostrils flared as he caught my scent, then his eyes popped up to meet mine. I noticed the way his mouth tightened just a little, no doubt as irritated by my presence as I was by his. My mother, noticing his distraction, followed his gaze, her expression brightening as she saw me. That was surprising. After a few whispered words with my father she came over, looking like a strong breeze could blow her away.
“Cassie! I heard you’d moved back to Seattle. I’ve been hoping you’d stop by the house to see me.”
Ignoring the thread of hurt in her voice, I let her pull me into a hug. Although I was surprised by her spontaneous display of affection, I found no comfort in it. I knew my mother was just as much of a victim of my father as I was – much more so in fact – but I couldn’t forgive her for being my father’s doormat. I also couldn’t forgive her for putting her desperate need for the crumbs of his affection above her own daughter’s safety.
“Hey Mom.”
We pulled apart and her eyes went to the woman at my side.
“Ruby Wozniak, this is my mother, Fredericka Weatherby. Mom, this is my mate Ruby.”
