I closed my eyes when we landed, more glad than I could remember ever being that we were on terra firma again. Mesmer patted my back with his huge hands, and I stood in his arms and just shook uncontrollably. I leaned against him for support, trying to calm my breathing and my racing thoughts.
I could feel the people’s emotions on the bridge. Some were calm, but most of them were scared, frustrated, even a few were angry (I sensed those knew Mesmer personally) and the mix of emotional overload hit me hard. I groaned, trying to shut them out, but couldn’t until I remembered Mr. Leto’s unintended advice from last night. That an empath’s strength came from their equanimity. I wondered if that also meant that I could shut out other people’s emotions if I myself were calm? I quickly tested that theory by breathing steadily in and out several times until I found my center and then I tried to put up a shield around what I viewed as my heartcenter, which to all others was the brain, but I viewed it as brain and spirit combined. I huffed a weary laugh when it worked and stood a little more steadily on my own two feet.
A Sheriff’s car braked, skidding onto the knoll and out of the flow of traffic. I could barely see around me because Mesmer had me cocooned in his thick, leathery wings, so I was out of the public eye and less of a target. Impatiently, I pushed them away from me so I could talk with the cop.
A furious man, wiry and lean with muscle, got out of the car, but stayed by his open door until Mesmer nodded for him to approach us. I couldn’t focus. I kept seeing the hugewhooshof water that had spewed up after the boomof the bomb in my minds eye.
There had been a bomb in the car.
There had been abombin the car!
Underthe car, most likely!
Mesmer had saved my life! I wanted to kiss him or strangle him in a hug. I knew he was my chief bodyguard, but my body had neverneededguarding before, and I’d certainly never lived through an attempted bombing. Adrenaline was still pumping through my system, making me feel weak and shaky.
The officer stayed well away from Mesmer, giving us a ring of space that he didn’t cross into. Mesmer felt my hand shake from the dump of adrenaline and wrongly assumed I was afraid of the cop. His wings shot out again like a huge accordion, blocking me from view. “It’s okay, Mesmer. We can talk with him.” I was feeling calmer now. Not calm, but calmer. I could handle talking with law enforcement.
His eyes (which I noticed were pale yellow in his full gargoyle form) speared me for a moment, before he grunted and pulled his wings back just enough so I could see in front of me.
The Sheriff nodded curtly to both of us in greeting. He had cat’s eyes that were yellow and green, and he looked mad enough to punch a polar bear. He pulled off his blue ball cap that had an S with an 8 star compass on it, crushed it in his hands (not standard wear, I was guessing), and glared up at Mesmer. Personally, I would have been terrified of glaring at Mesmer. The guy washuge!
“You want to tell me why you almost blew up my bridge, Mesmer!” he yelled. “I’ve got 19 accidents out there, a hole in the bridge, a car in the lake, and a mess on my hands! What happened!”
Whoa, his eyes wereglowing.
Mesmer grunted, not at all impressed with the glowing eyes or the alpha posturing the guy was doing, and kept circling his gaze around us, looking for danger or more crazy people with bombs. I, personally, wanted him to keep doing that, so I swallowed my fear, and stuck my still shaking out. “Hi. I’m Draven Leto’s new assistant, Mia Durran. I can give you my statement. Mesmer was just protecting me. He’s my bodyguard.”
The Sheriff glared up at Mesmer, before he shook my hand. “Finn Daranell.” His words still came out growly, even though he seemed to temper them somewhat for me. I appreciated that. I sensed he was some kind of alpha supernatural. He had what felt like the growl of an alpha. I wondered if he was some kind of cat shifter.
“Is it rude to ask what you are?” I couldn’t help it; I was insanely curious, despite the disaster that had just taken place.
“Lion shifter. Now you wanna tell me about this mess?” He jerked a thumb in the bridge’s direction.
“Umm, I’m not really sure.” I worked to piece together my thoughts. “We’d just made a trip to the bank. We were on our way back to the Leto Villa when Mesmer suddenly twisted the wheel so that it would crash into the side of the bridge, gunned the gas, grabbed me, and smashed out of the driver’s side door. He hovered over the lake as the car went through the railing and hit the water. Not ten seconds after it submerged completely, there was an enormousboomand water spewed up in every direction.”
I looked up at Mesmer’s stoic face. “I’m guessing…a bomb had been placed on the car somewhere, maybe after we’d stopped at the bank, and Mesmer heard it or sensed something was wrong.”
Sheriff Finn growled and sighed deeply, yanking his hair in frustration, and closed his eyes. He muttered under his breath as he picked up his hat, dusted it off, and smashed it back on his head. Backwards.
If I hadn’t just almost gotten blown up, I would have smiled. I liked the Sheriff. He had a baseball cap, an attitude, and he seemed like a good guy. I felt safe in his presence, safe and calm. He focused my empathy in a distinct way, like a clarifying agent. I wondered if that was a pull that alphas had? In any case, I felt better knowing that he was Sheriff over the town.
“Alright,” he sighed. “If you could just send a Leto employee representative to the station later for an official statement, we’ll call that good. I’m glad you’re safe, ma’am.” He smirked. “And welcome to Moonhaven Cove.”
I grimaced at him and watched as he got into the police cruiser and sped off to the scene of the disaster, sirens blazing.
“Mesmer?”
Yellow eyes looked down at me. “Thank you.”
He nodded regally. I shrieked in surprise when he launched us into the air again. When we touched down in the villa’s courtyard, at least ten bodyguards greeted us. Mesmer nodded at them, but ushered me up the stairs and into the foyer without speaking with them. When we crossed the threshold, my eyes had to adjust to the lower light. Spots danced briefly as I tried to focus, and when I did, I drew in a surprised breath.
Draven was there, and he looked furious. Power was rolling off of him, darkening the lights, making the floor tremble, and making my knees wobble. I struggled to stay standing, helped only by Mesmer’s grip on my arm.
“Mesmer. My office.” Draven’s voice punched through the space with a ton of power. Even still, Mesmer hesitated, searching Draven’s eyes. After finding whatever he’d been looking for, he nodded, squeezed my arms softly, and strode toward Draven’s office.
I vaguely noticed he was in his normal form again, or whatever it was called. His human looking form.
In a blink, Draven was five inches from my face as his eyes carefully traced over every square inch of skin that was visible. And then he did it again, just to be sure.
