Tarson paced while he listened to his next instructions. Although pacing might have been an overstatement in the tiny motel room he occupied. He’d had a bad taste in his mouth for weeks
,
and it wasn’t getting any better. Fear? Anger? Distrust?
“You do understand the importance of this mission, don’t you?” the voice asked.
“Yeah, yeah, I got it.” Tarson ran his hands through his hair.
“Those women must be brought to justice.”
“Of course.”
Right?
I mean the audacity of the females in this world is appalling. Who the hell do they think they are?
He understood that part. And then there was The Head Council. Bastards. He would do anything he could do to help against those mother fuckers.
Hell, the reason he’d gone rogue himself so many years ago was to avoid having to deal with the politics of the damn shifter community. So many fucking rules and regulations. He could hear his mother’s nasally, sing-songy tone from when he was a child. “Most importantly, don’t let any humans catch you shifting.”
Whatever.
He’d left that shithole of a life first chance he could
,
and he’d been on his own for years. When hard times hit bad, he’d been approached by a group of drifters and offered a job. It had been all sunshine and roses for months. He’d finally found people he could agree with. Their mission was something he could get on board with.
He didn’t know everything about the Romulus. He’d never even been to their main headquarters, but he knew enough. They were a growing power against The Head Council and its stupid politics
,
and they had the good sense to realize women were not superior to men. Fucking humans and shifters alike had succumbed to that line of bullshit.
Crazy bitches needed to know their place. Especially these damn women he’d heard had banded together and left their mates. Who the fuck did they think they were?
If the Romulus intended to bring them back into the fold and teach them a lesson, he was in. But it was going to take a hell of a lot more manpower than Tarson alone to get the job done.
“We need you to go back to the ranch one more time and scope things out some more.”
“You realize I’m going to need help with this, right? That place is swarming with shifters
,
and they have the military on their side.” Though why the hell NAR would be inclined to get involved with a bunch of fucking runaway women, he had no idea.
“Yep. And you’ll have it. But first, I need specifics. I need to know how many shifters are there, how many men, how many women, how many children. We can’t make a move until we’re sure about that. Any specific details you can provide would be helpful.”
“Why not just let them go, the ungrateful bitches?” Who’d want them back anyway?
“Their actions are considered criminal. Or at least they should be. Not only did they steal from their mates, but some of them are with child. Can you imagine some bitch running off pregnant with your offspring?”
Was this guy kidding? Tarson couldn’t imagine anyone even producing him any brats. The last thing in the world he wanted was some damn crying babies to go with some damn whining bitches.
“Anyway, we’re counting on you to give us the lowdown so we can prepare.”
“Got it. I’ll get out there first thing tomorrow. I can’t get very close
,
though. Damn close call last time. I wasn’t expecting all those fucking military dudes.” Nor had he been expecting everyone present to be shifters.
“Take binoculars and do what you can. We need good surveillance in order to proceed.”
“I’m on it.” Tarson hung up when the line went dead. He set his head in his hands and tried to think. How the hell was he going to gain enough intel to be worthwhile with all those guards circling the place?
Allison unpacked the last of their things for the second time in a few days and turned toward her mate. “I feel helpless,” she said as she approached him and sat next to him on the love seat.
He was working on his computer, reading through page after page of information, but when she touched him, he put his arm around her and turned his head in her direction. “You shouldn’t. You’re key to this crazy mess. Without you we wouldn’t have half the information we have.”
“You mean like blurry sketches of some white room I may or may not be imagining in a place I can’t describe and never saw? That kind of information? Cause that doesn’t seem helpful to me. I don’t even know what state it’s in!” She raised her voice and then quickly lowered it again. If they’d lacked privacy in the first place they’d stayed
,
which had been more like a motel room, this room was ten times worse.
Now they were inside an enormous building. The room they occupied was about the same size and configuration
,
but they were surrounded by other rooms on every side. She needed to keep her voice down.
Daniel pulled her closer and leaned back. “Baby, you can’t think like that. It doesn’t work that way. You’re safe now, and that’s what matters most. Every minute detail you’ve given NAR and The Head Council is important. What may seem trivial to you could be a key piece of intel later.”
“Okay, but I’m not useful here now
,
and you’re about to go off and join NAR yourself full time. I came here wearing a chip that surely has led the Romulus to The Head Council’s front door. As soon as they figure out they’ve been had, they’re going to freak.”
“What are you trying to say?” He narrowed his gaze at her.
“I think I should leave.”
He shook his head, more in disbelief than negation. “And go where?” He grasped her biceps with both hands and held her at arm’s length. “What do you mean?”
“I think I should go to New York, spend some time with my parents.”
“Are you kidding? No way. Do you think for a moment the Romulus doesn’t know where your parents live? Allie, we have members of NAR watching your family even now. You wouldn’t be safe there at all.”
Allison shrugged free of Daniel’s grasp and stood. She needed to move around while she reasoned with him. The deflated look on his face alone made her pause. But she needed to speak her piece. “Daniel, listen to me. I’ve met for hours with everyone related to this case. My services are no longer needed. I’m of no use on this base to anyone—”
“That’s
insane
,” Daniel shouted as he stood, setting his computer on the coffee table and bumping his knees against the edge in his haste. “First of all, you’re my mate and I’ve only had you for about a week. I can’t stand the idea of you being out of the room for one minute, let alone out of the state for an indefinite length of time.” His head was shaking as he spoke, his hands fisted at his side.
She let him keep up his rant for a bit longer, knowing he would need to state his case. If he didn’t, he wouldn’t be able to hear reason.
“You’re my life, Allison. I can’t breathe right when I’m not with you. I know it’s normal and it will ease with time, but a week isn’t enough. I hope to God you feel the same way about me?” He lifted a brow in accusation. “If you don’t, please enlighten me. Because I don’t know how the hell you could even entertain the idea of leaving me, let alone plan it out to the point that you’d approach me with a proposal.”
“Of course I feel the same way about you,” she calmly replied. “You know I do. And I realize that under ordinary circumstances, mates tend to hibernate together for weeks until they can stand to be around other people. But, Daniel, these are not ordinary times.”
He shook, his fists tightening as he stared at her in shock.
She looked around the room and held out her arms to encompass their surroundings. “Daniel, the shifter species is about to go to war. You know that better than I do. And there’s a good chance now that I’ve been here on this base wearing a GPS device that war is going to start right here.” She pointed at her feet. “On this base. In this city.
“NAR and The Head Council can shuffle their feet all they want trying to move those damn chips around the country, luring the Romulus to some faraway locations in order to preserve the secrecy of our species. But the reality is eventually all that’s going to happen is that the Romulus is going to be fucking pissed off when they figure out they’ve been duped.
“Sure, they’ll send a few men to track my chip, but what do you think is going to happen when they figure out I’m not there? Their infrastructure has to be enormous. They aren’t stupid. This was the last place they tracked me.
“Same goes true with the other chips from the women in Texas. You can lead the Romulus on a wild goose chase for a few days, maybe a week, but the clock is ticking. Sooner or later, it’s all going to come back to here. This base. They know I’m here. Or that I was.”
Daniel flexed his hands. “I can’t stand the idea of you being outside of the safety of this location. It’s heavily guarded. You’re with me.” He shook his head. “You can’t just jump on a plane and go to New York for a little vacation. I would freak out with worry every second. It would be too distracting.”
Allison took a deep breath. “Daniel. Think about what you’re saying. I’m so distracting to you here you can’t do your job. The Head Council said they would give you a few weeks to get adjusted, but that was before the situation escalated. Already you’re working night and day on this. And I’m distracting the hell out of you just by being in the room.
“My presence here is far more detrimental to this mission than if I left. You would be able to devote yourself entirely to the task, and when the Romulus descends on this base—when, not
if
—you won’t have to worry about my safety.
“I’m not carrying a GPS device anymore, Daniel. No one will trace me.”
“Is this what you want?” he asked, his face scrunched in pain.
Allison stepped toward him and wrapped her arms around his stiff waist to hold him while she looked up at his face. He didn’t move his arms from his sides. “No. What I want is for the last year to never have happened and for me to have met you on a normal sunny day while picnicking in Central Park.
“What I want is for us to have seen each other from a distance, known we were meant to be together
,
and walked off into the sunset hand in hand to spend the rest of our lives staring into each other’s eyes and planning every day like it was better than the last.”
Daniel gave a wry chuckle and rolled his eyes.
“Hey, I’m a romantic.” She smiled up at him, waiting for him to soften. “But I can’t have any of that. I was dealt a different hand. I’m the luckiest woman alive—”
“How can you say that?” he interrupted.
“Because in spite of what I’ve been through the past year and the fact that I never intended to ride a horse in this lifetime and there’s a war about to erupt that threatens our very existence and my mate is going to fight that battle scaring the shit out of me every single day… Despite all that, I found you
,
anyway. I wouldn’t trade a single minute of hard times from the past or the future if it meant I couldn’t have met you and known as much happiness as I’ve known in the hours we’ve spent together.
“I love you. I will always love you. And I’ll be with you in spirit no matter where we are. Until this mess is sorted out, you have a job to do. And I’m getting in between you and your work.”
Daniel set his forehead on hers first, his breath coming out in short gasps. After he stared into her eyes for a few moments, a metaphorical clock ticking the seconds away in her mind, he finally wrapped his arms around her and held her tight. “I hate the idea of you not being where I can see you every day.”
“I know.”
“Why do you have to be right?”
She smiled. “I’m not right. I’m practical.”
“I want you with me.”
“And I want to be with you. Don’t doubt that. I’ve thought about this a lot. Staying here is selfish of me. It puts us both in danger.”
He groaned and closed his eyes. “Okay.” His shoulders slumped. “I can’t deny you aren’t safe here. I’m not for one moment worried about your presence here making others unsafe. We’re way past that. The Romulus has at least one mole on the inside. They know exactly where this base is and what happens here. You have nothing to do with that.
“However, in the interest of your safety and my peace of mind, I agree you should be moved. Not New York, though. Let me think about it.”
The next thing she knew he swept her off the ground and took long strides across the room to the bed.
Allison squealed as he tossed her on the bed.
Daniel pulled his shirt over his head and dropped it on the floor. He wriggled out of his jeans next, stopping only to remove his shoes before he could step out of the denim. His cock peeked out the top of his underwear, and Allison watched as the first bead of precum leaked from the head before he lowered that last piece of clothing to the floor and stepped out.
He nailed her with his gaze. “You just going to lie there?” he teased. “How about you get undressed too
,
and then I won’t feel so silly.”
“You were listening to me before, right?”
“I was. But your damn intelligent brain made me horny. I need to be inside you now. Can we examine the living arrangement crisis further after?”
She smiled, but narrowed her gaze. “This isn’t over.”
“Of course it isn’t. I would be disappointed in my stiff-spined mate if I believed otherwise.”
“You will take me seriously.”
“I will.” He sobered, but he also climbed onto the bed and tapped her nose. “Naked.”
Between the two of them they managed to divest her of her clothes also.
Daniel lay in the
V
of her legs and kissed her senseless. When he lifted his face minutes later, his forehead was scrunched. “Is your neck okay?”
She nodded, licking her lips and tasting him. “Of course. It’s just a scratch. Can’t even feel it now.” Bless him for thinking of it
,
though. She knew for a fact his little head was in charge right then. The evidence of it was pressing into her thigh.