“Because I like you, Lorelei.” The air around her lips glittered
with truth. I wasn’t sure if it was because I was half asleep. Maybe I was
imagining it.
“I am your boss but I do care about you too.”
I leaned back into the seat, feeling drained and unable to fight
sleep. I soaked up the comfort Frei was offering me with her words.
She meant them, she cared but then I thought Renee had too.
Chapter 36
FREI KEPT ME busy over the next few days, working on a program
with Miranda and coming up with a realistic goal to stop her failing.
We’d both figured that by passing as many of the students as we
could, we’d have a great shot at bankrupting Caprock. That meant at least one
academy would close. It wasn’t much, but it was something.
I hadn’t seen Renee but I didn’t want to either. I was content for
it to be a good while before I did. I had nothing that I wanted to say to her.
Frei’s reassurance that Renee wasn’t a jerk didn’t convince me. I knew at least
that Frei
did
care.
It was good to know and her quiet strength made me feel a bit less
wobbly. An hour of meditating each day was helping to bring renewed calm too.
I was on my way to check on Jed, who sat alone in the quadrant
when Jäger strolled out of Renee’s building and flashed a charming smile at me.
Jed scampered at the sight of him but I had no such luxury. I
flashed Jäger a fake smile back, wanting to ignore the fact that he had beaten
a sixteen-year-old girl. Coward.
“Samson, such a beautiful picture you are this afternoon.”
With that line, he wanted something. Whenever folks started with
an amped-up compliment, “I need a favor,” followed. “You ain’t looking bad
yourself.”
He looked like he always did. He had the same black suit. Same
haircut.
“You’re quite an asset.” His eyes lingered too long and in a way
that gave me the urge to head butt him. “Your group is raising its stock.”
“I like getting good value.” He slid his arm around my waist and
guided me toward his building. How he wore a suit and tie in the heat, I didn’t
know.
“Yes,” his voice purred out low and deep. “But there’s no reason I
can’t appreciate
you
first.”
Uh oh.
He pinched my butt.
It took a second for it to register, another for the anger to
ignite and a few more to restrain myself from knocking his teeth out.
“What’s the issue?” I managed through gritted teeth.
“Gold group.” He held open the door for me. I liked politeness but
the way he was acting made me want to slam it in his face. The guy gave me the
‘eebies.
“Typical as gala night is coming up but we have had threats. The
girl is worth more now.”
“So is this a heads-up, keep her safe or else chat?” I shuddered.
Not so much from the icy AC but from his closeness. If he walked any nearer,
I’d be carrying him.
“No, no. That isn’t it at all.” He leaned in. “Oh, Alex, I don’t
expect you to bother yourself with the slaves.” He waved his hand to dismiss it
and I tried not to look confused. I was Alex Riley here. I could cope with
Samson because it felt like a nickname, having somebody look at me and call me
by someone else’s name felt so strange. “You leave that kind of thing to me.
No, I want you to do what you’re so good at.”
“Which is?”
He leaned in and brushed his stubbled chin against my ear. Great,
now it was itchy. “Look beautiful.”
And he pinched my butt again.
“You been drinking?” My tone reflected my mood, unimpressed.
Jäger laughed. “Why do I need to drink to appreciate you?” He
stopped me outside his office and leaned against the wall next to me. His face
was inches from mine. “I have a proposition for you. I can tell you more about
it when you come to my office later.”
It sounded sketchy. I didn’t know how, what, or why he’d got that
impression. I didn’t have a whole load of experience in such matters.
“I got classes and stuff.” It was the only excuse I could think
of. I hated how dumb it sounded. I also hated the leery look in his eyes. I’d
seen guys looking at Renee like that and hated it. It felt a lot worse being
the one in that creepy situation. “Besides, who will watch Locks?”
Uh oh, he leaned in. Not good. Alarm bells clanged.
“Don’t you worry about her. After curfew would be better. Just be
your tantalizing self, hmm?”
If he got any closer, we’d be nose to nose.
Do not punch him. Do not raise your knee, do
not
raise your
knee.
What was it with me and homicidal maniacs anyway?
“Deputy, may I have a word?”
Relief and dread flooded through me. It had to be Renee, didn’t
it? She stood a few feet away with a look of complete disgust in her eyes. I
knew how she felt.
Anger flared deep inside. She’d fed me a load of crap and got me
to trust her. That irritation and sense of betrayal ignited so I got the urge
to do something that would give her a lot to think about.
I leaned forward, planted a kiss on Jäger’s cheek, and sauntered
off down the hall.
Stubble wasn’t pleasant, itchy, scratchy stubble. Yuck.
My brain caught up with me, reminding me that perhaps that hadn’t
been the wisest course of action. He was a killer with extremely violent
tendencies and he’d hurt Frei.
I grinned. It was worth the look of shock on Renee’s face.
Stick that, Black.
“Seven, my office,” Jäger called out to me as
I attempted not to scratch at my face. What kind of hair did he have, poison
ivy?
“Looking forward to it,” I called back, wishing my mouth would
quit getting me into more trouble.
I hoped Jäger had a business proposition or wanted to discuss the
finer details of gym equipment. The look in his eyes had said he didn’t. That
sent a shiver through me. Unlike Miss Duplicity back there, I couldn’t fake
affection.
URSULA STOOD WITH her cell phone next to the tower. There were
complications, then there was this.
“Pick up . . .” she muttered into the headset “Pick up.”
“What’s happened?” Lilia was tense.
“Aeron.”
“Is she ok—”
“She’s healthy. She’s just gone and launched herself into a
situation she’s not ready for.” Ursula wanted to bang her head against the
wall.
“Explain.”
Ursula clenched her jaw. Lilia had wanted her to keep quiet, to
stay out of Renee and Aeron’s business, let them sort it out and this is where
it had gotten them.
“She’s in Jäger’s sights, he wants a meeting with her . . . in his
office.” It wasn’t worth risking her near Jäger and the silence from Lilia said
it all. “Tonight.”
Lilia blew out a breath. “She was close to Sam
. . . But Nan . . . maybe—”
“No. She’s given him the wrong impression.” Ursula leaned her head
back against the wall. “We need to get her out of it.”
“You can’t,” Lilia muttered. “He’ll get suspicious.”
Ursula controlled her breathing, getting snappy wouldn’t help.
“He’ll get suspicious when the woman who is flirting with him and kissing him
on the cheek has a freak out.”
“She did what?”
Oh now Lilia acted worried. Wonderful. “She’s using her training.
If she was any other agent I’d be watching on with pride.” She stared up at the
deep blue above her. “Problem is, I didn’t train her in those skills. She
doesn’t even have vials.” And why was that? Yes, because Lilia didn’t think
Aeron needed full training. Aeron had been worked by Renee instead of
concentrating fully on protection training. Ursula had advised, she’d
re-iterated, she’d laid it on a platter that Aeron needed more training. Lilia
was set on treating Aeron with kid gloves.
“Then get them off Renee.”
“I can’t.” Ursula could hear the impatience in her voice and took
a long breath. “Renee and I aren’t on the best of terms right now.”
“General Frei, what is going on in there?” Lilia sounded so much
like Aeron when she had a mood on.
“What you said would happen. We’d fall apart.” Ursula hated that
it was right. She’d wanted to disprove the vision Lilia had. “We’ve fallen
apart. Now how do we put it back together and get us and the children to safety
without anyone losing a limb.” She thought of Jäger. “Or worse.”
She pushed off the wall as if demanding the answer had pressed a
button in her mind. “She can do it.”
“What?”
Ursula smiled. “Aeron can pull it off. Renee will come through. We
can do this.”
“You know what the vision said—”
“Aeron’s said we would.” Ursula felt renewed energy pulse through
her. “And no offense, but her eyes, untrained or otherwise can see a lot better
than any of ours.”
Lilia tutted. “Aeron didn’t have her gifts when she made up her
vision.”
“Noble heart, broken lock, shield. You thought they meant traits,
right?” Ursula glanced up at the shape of the gym.
“Yes, she has a noble heart, she was released from prison and she
has her armor. I saw the heart, her. I saw the lock break and I saw the
necklace.”
“They realize through faith and hope they can soar, right?”
Lilia sighed, her impatience telegraphed down the line. “Yes. She
has it in abundance but don’t forget the rest. And now these three remain—”
“If I speak in the tongues of men or angels but do not have love,
I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of
prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and knowledge, and if I have a faith that
can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess
to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have
love, I gain nothing.” Ursula felt it begin to make sense.
Aeron had been on one Corinthians chapter thirteen. The Jesuit
meditations had pointed her there.
“I’m not following, I know the passage.” Lilia was muttering to
herself as if looking through the scripture.
“And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the
greatest of these is love.”
Lilia cleared her throat. “Are
you
following scripture or
did you swallow the gospel?”
“Your vision. It missed out something. It missed the fact that you
take everything from us, you put us at odds . . . but there’ll always be love.
We hope for each other, we have faith in each other and we love each other.”
She started walking, it was time she stopped standing back and got involved.
“That’s all well and good but how does that help Aeron survive
colluding with
Jäger?
”
Lilia was cautious. She saw but she knew it wasn’t always the full picture.
They still had to fill in the blanks.
“I know how we can get them out. Just be ready with the plane.
Gala night. I’ll send details later,” Ursula said, slowing as she reached her
building, her finger poised over her phone.
“Wait, how will you do it. You’re making no sense.”
“Together,” she said with a smile. “A noble heart, a shield, and a
broken lock. Use our strengths in other words.”
“Are you sure?” Lilia sounded relieved. They both knew that Ursula
would never say a word if she wasn’t.
“Yes, I’m certain.” Ursula shook her head, kissed the cross around
her neck, and focused on three words contained in the same chapter. Three words
that would see them through this. “Love never fails.”
MY IMPENDING INTERLUDE with Jäger made my stomach ache. I’d hidden
in my office after telling Frei and I was planning to stay there until someone
rescued me.
“Samson, we need you.” Jessie burst into my office, red in the
face and wheezing.
“What?” My heart pounded from just looking at the panic in her
eyes. I pulled out her spare inhaler from the drawer in my desk and handed it
to her.
“Jed,” she wheezed and shot the pump with tears in her eyes.
“Owens . . . trying to fail him.” The terror pulsed off her in a way that told
me she knew more than she was letting on.
Miranda appeared in the doorway behind her. She shook her head.
“He won’t stand a chance.”
Jessie led the way out as we hurried down the hallway. Frei nodded
as we passed. “Remember, you have Jäger onside.”
That didn’t make me feel a whole lot better. I shot Frei what I
hoped was a confident smile and followed the girls out into the heat. “What
d’you mean trying to fail him?”
Both glanced at me. “Pop quiz,” was shot my way.
“Owens failed half of the others with them,” Miranda added.
Wonderful. “Subject?”
“History, the British civil war,” Jessie muttered. “Something Jed
won’t know.”
“They had one too?” I asked.
Both shot a smirk at me.
“My high school education was kinda . . . different.” Neither
looked impressed. Trying to explain that my education involved hiding from
packs of bullies then being locked up for manslaughter probably wouldn’t help
much.
“Why Britain?”
Jessie rolled her eyes at Miranda who giggled, and swiped us through
the door at the top of the stairs. “Sucking up to Professor Worthington.”