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Colby snorted. Even he didn’t believe that, but he needed to force her hand. They were running out of time and options. The Shadow Sisters needed to become part of the Resistance, not just an ally running wild. They needed to be part of the bigger picture.
Hearing the arrival of the car he'd sent to pick her up, Colby activated the listening devices he’d set up throughout the entire hotel. He needed to know what was being said to and by Brie. She could get snarly if not handled correctly, and sometimes his men didn’t realize that. Many of them remembered her as the scared little girl she’d once been. She had long outgrown that and had evolved into a highly trained and effective operative. Colby had to admit Brie’s intelligence network was second only to his own.
He had to bite back the sigh that threatened to escape his lips as she exited the limo, not waiting for the driver. At least his doorman had been paying attention and rushed down the steps to hold open the vehicle’s door. He’d thought about sending someone to the dock to ensure her safety instead of allowing her to make her way to him on her own, but he wanted to show her he could give her a life of luxury, ease, and security.
“Ms. Hawthorne, the alpha is waiting for you in the dining room. Dinner has been laid out, and no one will disturb you. We have a small but more than adequate security team to ensure your safety and privacy,” said the man.
Brie shook her head. “You do know this is a bit much, right? We could easily have met somewhere close to the dock or even at the Space Needle.”
Colby wasn’t sure if she was actually speaking to the man or knew him well enough to know he would be listening and was making a point.
“The alpha wanted to ensure you had the privacy and safety he felt a lady of your importance to the cause deserved.”
Brie barked a very unladylike laugh. “No. Your boss is trying to impress me with his wealth and power. I couldn't care less about either. What I do care about are his intentions and that he understands the Shadow Sisters will not become one more asset in his criminal and espionage circles.”
“I can assure you, the alpha…” the man argued.
“Save it,” she said, waving him off. “I’m going to go in, meet with the man, and leave. Any deviation or hindrance to my plan will be met with deadly force. Got it? You might want to let the rest of your team know that.”
She was definitely speaking to him. Colby smiled. His fated mate knew him all too well.
Brie pushed past the liveried doorman and entered the lobby of the beautiful and sophisticated hotel. She was exquisite. Every single time he saw her, she took his breath away. Tall and curvaceous with a mane of barely tamed red curls, she had been the one woman in all his dreams and fantasies over the years. Even when another woman’s lips were wrapped around his cock, it was Brie that he saw when he closed his eyes.
He almost welcomed the overwhelming bout of dizziness and nausea that felt like a blow to the gut. He was certain she felt the same when he saw her falter. He joined her in the lobby, reaching out to steady her to keep the feeling from driving her to her knees. She looked up at him and seemed to be mesmerized for just a moment. It would seem that absence not only made the heart grow fonder, but it increased the power of the connection between them.
“I wondered if that might not be the case,” Colby purred. “I’ve felt your presence off and on since you left the ferry. You should know you’ll never be able to completely shut down the link.”
“You don’t know that for a fact,” she said, withdrawing her hand from his.
“I do, but I sense a strong streak of willfulness in you. Not to worry. I like a good challenge.”
CHAPTER 4
BRIE
Brie arched her eyebrow at him. Why did he have to be so bloody handsome? Why did the way he looked at her make every erotic synapse in her body switch on? Why couldn’t they just be two lynx-shifters who were fated mates? Why did everything have to be so damn hard?
Choosing to ignore the wickedly suggestive grin he shot her and the tone with which he addressed her, she dismissed what they both knew to be true. Instead, she tried to steer the discussion back to the real reason for this meeting. At least it was the reason he had stated for the meeting and the one that she had convinced herself was true.
Brie ignored his sexually charged innuendo. “I rarely worry about things that don’t matter to me. What does matter to me is your increasing presence in the work of the Shadow Sisters.”
Colby smiled and gestured to a candlelit dining room, stepping back so she could precede him. Brie had to hand it to him; he was smooth, polished, had impeccable manners, and was sexy as hell. The room was inviting and intimate. She’d never been as wildly attracted to a man as she was to Colby Reynolds.
But she guessed that’s what happened with fated mates. She had known for so long that he was her mate and that only he could fulfill the calling of her heart and soul, but she had a job to do. Her mother had entrusted the leadership of the Sisters to her, and they in turn had put their faith in Brie.
She allowed Colby to help her with her seat at the beautifully laid table, and they spent the next several hours discussing the Shadow League and their mutual belief that neither the Council nor the League itself was the ultimate power behind what was happening within the shifter community at large. Brie was reminded that Colby had always treated her as an equal, and in general had a far more enlightened view of the role of females within shifter society than most.
The real issue was that Brie knew what she was discussing, but Colby was directing the conversation on a whole other level. Oh, ostensibly they were discussing tactics and the best way to finally defeat the Shadow League, but Colby managed to weave his own personal agenda where she was concerned into the discussion. Brie did her best to focus on the Shadow League and to avoid Colby’s more personal conversational attempts.
Talk of upcoming confrontations with the League began to come to a close and Colby tried to shift their talk to more of a tête-à-tête, in the direction and toward the goal she was sure he’d always intended. But Brie wasn’t having it. She knew what he wanted; knew he believed what she did. They were fated mates, but their time had yet to come, and she sometimes wondered if it ever would.
When she felt as though she had elicited all of the information from him that she could, Brie stood, looking down for the brief moment before he too got to his feet. “This has been enlightening, Colby. As always, it’s good to know we have your support—financial and otherwise—if we need it. But for now, the Shadow Sisters will continue as we are. While we are in agreement with your assessment and plans regarding the League, there are far too many in the Resistance who do not respect our right to exist, much less to thrive. We will ally ourselves with the Resistance, but we will never allow them to usurp our freedom.”
Colby shook his head. “That makes no sense, Brie. No one is trying to take anything from you—least of all me. Your network, while more successful than anyone even knows, has grown large and unwieldy. You need a centralized headquarters where you can set up an intelligence gathering and analysis group. You need far better weapons, computers, and networking than you currently have. All of that exists at Windsong and your operatives, as well as those women needing sanctuary until you can find them a permanent place, could have a safe home from which they could come and go as they please. You know my track record where females are concerned. Any number of your rescued women now reside permanently at Windsong. For God’s sake, Brie, my beta until recently was not only a snow leopard, but a female one at that.”
“I know, and I know that those who now call Windsong home are grateful, as am I. But here’s the thing, Reynolds, there's one question you never answered, regardless of how many times or ways I asked it. What’s in it for you?”
“We have the same goals.”
