Page 36 of Hidden Nature

The guys did not look thrilled with my answer, but I didn’t need them to be. I just needed them to trust me. I headed out to the porch, took a seat on the swing, curled up on the cushions, and dialed Margaret’s personal number that I’d memorized many years ago. Not one to give out information like that, I knew it meant I was special to her in some way but having hope like that was dangerous, so I crushed those thoughts. Now it was time to see if I’d been right.

The call went to voicemail which I expected since she wouldn’t know the number. Now I had to find the right message to leave her that wouldn’t give anything away if the phone was compromised but let her know I needed her. “Zero-Zero-Five, there is a fox in the henhouse sent by the eagles. I just wanted to make sure you were aware.” With that, I ended the call, knowing it would catch her attention, and it was vague enough that she would have to call me back.

If she was working with the Senate, she would want to know what I know, and if she weren’t, she would demand to know who was using her agents. Margaret wasn’t one to share her assets without getting something in return. All situations to her were a business deal, which is why the fact she offered to help me was so surprising. Granted, I haven’t asked her yet to see if she is going to make me pay something in some way for her help. Depending on what it was and how much she could help, I would be open to barter. If you’ve got the skills, it’s better to use them to your advantage, than get caught in bigger trouble because I didn’t.

The phone started to vibrate in my hand and I saw it was a blocked number. “Hello?”

“Is this a secure line?” Maranda asked brusquely.

I grinned, appreciating how, no matter what, she stuck to protocol and procedure. “It is.”

“I warned you not to make this call unless it was something life or death because it would only happen once. Are you sure you want to use it now?”

“Margaret, Tabitha came claiming she had a job for me and I almost got shipped off to an auction held by the Dark Ring. Can you think of a better time for me to call in a favor?” I inquired, curious to see what she thought of that bit of information.

The line went silent for a moment, but I could still hear her breathing, so I knew she hadn’t hung up on me. “Tell me exactly what happened and what was said.”

My brows furrowed at the tone in her voice. She sounded worried. “What’s going on?”

“Answer me first, Finley. I need to know exactly what occurred before I share information,” Margaret snapped.

I flinched at her tone as it caught me off guard, so I explained down to the smallest detail what happened while leaving out everything to do with the supernatural side of the matter. There was no reason for her to know I was an elf or that I had an elven mate who I found. Margaret was now a person on the outside of my life. I was quickly finding that only those I was mated to were safe for me to share every detail of my life with. Once I was done, Margaret swore, and the sound of an object crashing against a wall was a blatant clue that something was desperately wrong.

“Finley, Tabitha went rogue a year ago, and no matter who I sent after her, we couldn’t find her,” Margaret confided in me. “I feared that she might have gone to the Senate choosing to be their assassin, but I wasn’t sure. She could have been dead for all I knew. After what you told me, it’s clear she is either working for the Senate or the Dark Ring themselves. Honestly, I’m not sure what scares me more. Both leave us in a less than ideal situation.”

“So you never sent Tabitha to come get me and send me on a mission?” I questioned, needing confirmation that I had well and truly been played because of my blind loyalty to the Organization.

At that moment, I wanted nothing more than to have my old life back and fix my mistake. Clearly, that whole situation was showing me how naïve I’d been to be played so easily. Tabitha was the one person besides Margaret who could get me to do something so stupid, another reason why having friends as an assassin was never a wise choice.

“No, Finley, as far as the Organization is concerned, you died on that last mission, and your body was never found. No one should have come looking for you. I’m one of three people who know you’re still alive,” Margaret explained.

Three people? Who could possibly be the other two?

“Will you tell me who the other two are? If my life is in danger because of those people, I deserve to know what I’m up against. That was why I called, to find out what you knew and how the hell shit went so wrong,” I admitted.

“The other two people are the leaders of the Organization, and I don’t even know their real names, just their code names. To ensure they didn’t come after you and the Senate left you alone as well, we came up with that cover story. As an omega, you were protected, but some rules aren’t always so black and white when it comes to the Senate.”

I let out a huff of laughter at that. “Yes, I believe I’ve seen firsthand how far they are willing to go to get what they want.” I hesitated a moment before speaking, knowing I was going to push the limits of our relationship, but I wasn’t going to make the same mistake twice. “I need the code names for the two other people who know about me. I also need the name of whoever requested the first assassination from the Senate. Lastly, I’ll need access to our database so I can research what the fuck is going on. I’m one of the best, Margaret, and I have my own connections that aren’t tied to the Organization that I can go through, but you gather the best intel known to man. Not to mention this sounds like anus problem at the moment. They took and used one of our own to manipulate me. They could do the same to others since you never announced that Tabitha was no longer an asset.”

“Can’t say I’m not proud of you for realizing you have me by the proverbial balls here. As for this being a problem for both of us, I’ll agree to that, but I’m not going to give you code names unless you prove to me that they were involved. If I’m going after two scary motherfuckers, then I damn well want to make sure I’m right to do so. As for the Senate, it was an aid for the Senate as a whole. They voted on the matter and decided it was time to take action against the group. We were the first step, but now I wonder if they had a different plan all along, and I don’t think they expected me to send a human. Hell, if Tabitha is working for them, they might have known you were coming all along,” Margaret rambled.

Her agitation was clear as her usually permanent calm and collected exterior started to crack. “I still need a name as to who that aide was, so I have somewhere to start when you get me the other information I asked for.”

“Can I reach you on this phone when I decide on a dead drop location for the secure laptop? I’ll make sure to have all the information you need loaded onto it as well as clearance to access all of our data that will be useful. If you run into something you can’t get into, reach out to me, and I’ll decide if you can view it or not. While I understand you are helping yourself as well as us at the same time, you are no longer the Finley I trained. She would bleed for the Organization and choose death before sharing secrets. Even over the phone, I can tell how much you’ve changed being on your own. Who knows what that means for the future, but I still have others to protect along the way,” Margaret mused.

Had I changed that much? Memories of my short time here with the guys flashed through my mind reminding me how much they were drawing me out of my cold exterior.

“Yes, you can reach me here, and I accept those terms,” I answered. “Before I agree to the dead drop, though, I have to know what your price is?”

“Smart girl, nothing comes free. Tabitha needs to be dealt with and the best chance we have of that is you. Depending on what you find out along the way, there might be a few more names added to that list, but I have a feeling they’ll already be on yours,” Margaret said, a hint of humor in her voice. “You were never one to let a slight go unpunished.”

That was true, and if I was honest with myself, that trait was only becoming worse the more I cared about the people around me.

twenty

Finished with the call, I headed back into the house where the guys were talking amongst themselves, none of them looking all that happy. I paused, watching them as Mason spoke with his whole body, arms moving, face animated, while Noah sat next to him, chin resting on his hand, looking thoughtful. Those two couldn’t be more different from each other, but they both had a heart of gold when it came to the people they cared about.

Elias turned his head meeting my gaze, letting me know that I hadn’t gone unnoticed by him. Although I had to wonder if it was more so our bond than it was him actually sensing I was here. Along with the long hair, perfect skin, and ever so slightly pointed ears, I noticed my steps were practically silent when I walked. Even more so than just from being a werewolf, the fact that Elias was the only one who’d reacted to me being here made me think they might not know.