Esperance: (New Adult Paranormal Romance) (Heart Lines Series Book 3)

by Heather Hildenbrand

  Behind the man in the suit, someone else entered and then stopped short, blocked by the man’s halted progress. A throat cleared and a finger appeared, tapping the man until he moved aside. I relaxed a bit at the sight of Edie. Another familiar face couldn’t hurt right now.

  She did a quick sweep of the room and also stopped on the drawing. She broke the silence with a click of her tongue. “RJ, that is the saddest drawing of a laser pointer I’ve ever seen.” And with that, she swept into the room and lowered herself into the rolling chair across the table from me.

  She winked at me and then turned back to the man in the suit, her expression the picture of seriousness.

  “Well, Simon, are we going to have this meeting or would you like to play Pictionary with my operatives?” Edie prompted.

  “I…” The man in the suit, Simon, apparently, forced himself to turn his back on the board and faced Edie, his cheeks flushed. He wedged his glasses up on his nose again. “Meeting,” he said finally.

  RJ and Brittany did their best to hold in their laughter. Edie shot them both a look that shut them up and they each took a seat at the far end of the table.

  The suited man sat in the chair at the head of the table and nodded at me. “Simon Brooks the Third,” he said.

  “Samantha Knight, uh, the first,” I said, wincing at my own awkward attempt at humor—a failed attempt judging by Simon’s expression. “And that’s RJ and Brittany.”

  “I know.” He was brusque and awkward and I wasn’t sure if that was because RJ had drawn a penis on the board that was currently raised to full mast behind Simon’s head or if it was just Simon’s personality.

  I was assuming a combination of the two.

  “Thank you for coming,” Simon said and RJ snorted at the horrible pun.

  I glanced at him and then Brittany, but she ducked her head. My palms itched but I refrained from scratching them, too afraid it would end in hairballs.

  Edie was either oblivious or a really great actress.

  “Thank you for having us,” I said.

  There was a moment of silence while Simon ruffled through some paperwork he’d carried in. Finally, he looked up abruptly as if he’d just now heard my response. “Actually, it was Ms. Godfrey who called the meeting,” Simon said and then seemed to realize that had sounded unwelcoming because he added, “Though of course I am thrilled to meet such an integral part of the initiative. Uh, Edie?”

  “Right,” Edie said, sitting up straighter in her chair. She propped her hands on the table and pressed her fingertips together, steepling her hands. “I called you all here because I needed to give you a direct connection. Simon here is our corporate and strategic liaison for northern California. He has direct access to me no matter where I am and to the rest of the board. If I am unable to be reached, he also has the authority to write orders, conduct debriefs, dispatch clean-up teams, back-up, and whatever else you need. He’s been brought up to speed on everything happening so far in your neck of the woods so he’s ready to help where you need him.”

  “Why would we need Simon to do those things?” I asked, my gaze sliding to Simon who looked a little overwhelmed after everything Edie had just listed off. “I mean, no offense,” I added quickly in his direction. And then to Edie, “I mean, isn’t that what you do for me? For us? I mean, are you going somewhere?”

  “I am needed back in DC,” she said and her expression tightened.

  Worry speared through me. “Is everything okay? Is Tara—?”

  “Everything is perfectly fine. Tara is well. She regrets that we both have to step away from everything going on here right now, but there is a bit of a divide in the board’s opinion just now about how to handle the global surge of werewolf attacks.”

  “What do you mean a divide?” I asked. But I had a feeling I already knew.

  Edie shrugged. “They’re hunters. They want to hunt. But Tara and Wes and I know there’s another option,” she added, giving me a pointed look.

  I swallowed hard, feeling a little like a fish out of water. “Right.”

  “I don’t want you to worry about any of it. There will be boring meetings and even more boring lunches and speeches. I’m tired just thinking about it but duty calls.” She rose and I blanched as I realized she meant now. She was literally leaving this moment and I was going to have to convince Simon I was the chosen one or some such. Maybe he’d do what I’d dreaded and fire me the moment Edie was gone.

  “Edie. Wait—” I began but she was already at the door and about to walk through it.

  “I have to catch a plane within the hour. RJ, Brittany, I’ve assigned some more bodies to your detail but this mission belongs to both of you. Assign watches as you see fit. Simon will brief you. Sam, Simon is going to take good care of you. I’ll check in when I can.”

  And with that, she was gone.

  And I was left with Simon Brooks the Third who currently had a Dry-Erase dick sticking out from behind his head.

  I scratched at my palms and a ball of brown fur fell into my lap.

  Simon seemed to take longer than the rest of us to realize we were waiting on him to take over. When he finally saw us all watching him expectantly, he ducked his head and looked down at his papers, rifling through them with quick, jerky motions.

  “Right, so, here’s the thing,” he began. “I’m sure you’re all aware of the statistically high numbers of infected werewolves in your region recently.”

  “Uh, yeah, I’d say we’re aware,” RJ said dryly.

  Simon ignored him and went on, “Previously, the number of registered werewolves in your area was only a fraction of what we’ve seen terminated in the last month alone. These numbers make it clear there is something drawing them in or attracting them to the area.” He focused on me. “We think that something is you, Sam.”

  “I’ve suspected as much but I don’t see how…” I began but then stopped and decided to lay it all out there. “My friend, Indra, can apparently do the same thing. Healing, I mean. Are you—will you—has she been contacted to maybe help too?”

  “Indra…” Simon leafed through his reports, frowning down his nose through his glasses as he searched. Then he stopped and read a bit before shaking his head. “She has declined to work with us.”

  “Oh.” I hadn’t really expected her to volunteer, not after what Alex had told me about her the other night. But I’d hoped she’d out herself in some way that would allow CHAS to investigate her. I didn’t trust her one bit but I also didn’t know exactly what I was dealing with. She’d had me fooled for so long. I wasn’t about to just walk up and take her on by myself. “Um, well, she clearly has access to magic that could be useful, but after her healing Alex, I think it would benefit everyone to look into her more closely. I was thinking I could talk to her,” I began but Simon wasn’t interested.

  “Miss Knight, with all due respect, we want you.” Brittany snorted and Simon’s face turned beet red. “Professionally speaking,” he added and I had to press my lips together to keep from smiling.

  Simon cleared his throat as if to start over. “If the legends are true—and we have reports from our analysts who have run your DNA and the lineage research your aunt sent us saying that it is—then the magic inside you is from the moon goddess herself,” Simon said and this time he didn’t need to refer to his reports as he lectured. “As the legend goes, Hina’s lunar pull had the same kind of magnetic force we see with you now. If her magic is getting stronger inside you, so is her energy. You are quite literally drawing them here and we realize that means something important for your role in all this.”

  By the time he’d finished his short explanation, my head was spinning. Alex had voiced this exact suspicion months ago, but here it was being handed out by the organization itself. And they’d done research and tests on me? On my magical heritage? But the one thing I couldn’t think past was the word he’d used to describe the moon goddess.

  “Her name is Hina?” I asked softly.

&n
bsp; “It’s one of many names used the moon goddess in the stories, but yes.” Simon frowned. “Has no one told you of this?”

  “I’ve heard the stories, but never her name,” I admitted, half-smiling. “It’s nice to have a name to go with this… power inside me.” I held up my hands but then quickly tucked them away again when I remembered they were currently producing hair randomly.

  Simon’s expression relaxed so that he actually looked marginally approachable. “I understand. Would you like to hear more about our theory on the lunar-energy pull on the werewolves?”

  “Sure.”

  “Here, let me show you.”

  He rose and with a slight hesitation, he went to the white board and picked up the eraser. He swiped back and forth until RJ’s doodle was gone and then picked up a marker. I waited while he drew a quick formula including a calendar and a moon cycle on the board.

  As he drew, he talked, explaining a normal moon cycle and then the one my own magic seemed to be cultivating. And as I watched, he seemed to transform from clumsy to confident. Apparently, Simon was better with data and paperwork than with people.

  “So, as you can see here, our analysts predict that the influx of infected werewolves will only increase from here on with larger events like full moons and the occasional eclipse only offering a brief respite as the earth’s lunar energy supersedes your own.” Simon replaced the marker to the ledge and dusted off his hands as he sat again, shoving his wire-rimmed glasses higher up his face. “That is, of course, until your own magic grows and supersedes all of this at which time, there will be no predicting the immigration levels as more and more wolves are drawn to Half Moon.”

  “Of course,” I muttered, my shoulders sinking a bit at that. Already, RJ and Brittany were working around the clock to keep me safe. When the numbers increased, what would we do then?

  “When do you think that might happen exactly?” he asked.

  “What?” The question threw me off and I re-focused just as Brittany let out a low warning growl in Simon’s direction.

  “Healing the break with the werewolves,” he said, avoiding Brittany’s gaze and mine.

  But he had asked a fair question. I sighed. “I’m working on it,” I said weakly.

  As if to mock me, my palms produced another hairball.

  “I understand,” Simon said. He made a note on his paper and that made me feel even worse for some reason.

  The silence felt judgmental after that and I found myself a little breathless with the thudding of my erratic heartbeat. RJ and Brittany were silent but I caught Brittany evil-eyeing Simon as he jotted more notes at his end of the table.

  “Obviously, we want to see you succeed,” Simon said at length. He looked up at me and added, “I’m here to facilitate whatever you need to make that happen. In the meantime, we’ve assigned several more operatives to you. They’ll be keeping their distance so as not to alert civilians or werewolves. We don’t want our added security making you a more obvious target. You won’t see them but rest assured they’ll be watching you closely.”

  I frowned, wondering if it was just me that took the last part a little creepy. One look at Brittany and I knew I wasn’t alone. She rolled her eyes at me and grinned.

  “I trust your current arrangement with your protection detail is suitable?” Simon asked, jarring me.

  I turned back to find him watching me and forced a smile. “Um, yes, thanks.”

  “Raymond Duluth, graduated top of your class, special commendation for strike team internship and decorated team leader. Promoted to solo operative nine months ago. Sixteen terminations and one turn-over before being assigned to Miss Knight.” Simon read from the folder and by the time he looked up, RJ had relaxed most of his suspicious stare.

  “You have a file on me?” RJ asked, not bothering to correct him on his first name.

  “Of course,” Simon said. “And Brittany Durham. Undercover as a full time student at CCU. Cover includes cheerleading team captain and well-to-do family background that supplies housing and transportation while living with mark. Three undetected terminations on current assignment before going public to your mark a week ago.”

  I couldn’t help sliding a glance toward Brittany, my expression accusing. Brittany and I kept promising to make time to sit down and talk since she’d revealed to me that she was a hunter. But so far, things had been so crazy with CHAS, meeting with Edie, and school starting again that there just hadn’t been time.

  Hearing that her family’s money was a cover was news to me.

  And it made me realize just how little I knew about Brittany, or if I did, I had yet to separate fact from fiction. I resolved to have that conversation sooner rather than later. If we were going to take on the werewolf problem and save Alex from cougar-witch, I needed the help and trust of all my friends.

  Brittany’s eyes narrowed at Simon. “My mark,” she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm, “is also my friend. And she happens to be sitting three feet from you. Maybe use her name next time.”

  “Of course.” Simon shot me what I suspected was an apologetic look. “All right, then, your team seems to be well-qualified,” he said to me before tucking the reports aside. RJ and Brittany both muttered things under their breath that Simon ignored. “Oh, before I forget.” He produced a business card and slid it my way. “This has my office number and direct line. Call me anytime.”

  “Thanks.” I took the card and Simon rose, shutting his mysterious file and shoving his pen into what looked like a pocket protector. “We’ll adjourn until, let’s say, a week from today?”

  I stared up at him. “You want us to come back?” I asked.

  Simon hesitated, flustered. “That’s protocol,” he said. “Did you meet differently before?”

  “Edie usually just asked me for an update while driving me home from the latest crisis,” I said. And then with a much more pained tone, I added, “Or Alex relayed things.”

  Simon frowned. “Alex Channing is not assigned to this mission any longer.” His tone left no room for argument. Not that I disagreed.

  “I think we owe it to him to at least look into what’s happened to him—”

  Simon cut me off with a frown that bordered on irritation. “Alex Channing has been examined and cleared. There’s nothing to look into. When he decides to come in and ask for help, we’ll happily give it. Is that understood?”

  I glared across the table at him and then shot a glance at RJ and Brittany, searching their faces for some sign that they agreed with me. But neither one even met my gaze. I was on my own when it came to Alex. My shoulders sagged and I turned back to Simon.

  “Yes,” I said quietly, biting back the temper that rose in me at his denial. Alex needed help. And if CHAS wasn’t going to give it, then it was up to me. I wasn’t going to abandon him.

  “We follow a strict protocol here, Miss Knight. We’ll meet once a week for debrief. If you need me before then, call my office and the receptionist will fit you in. I look forward to hearing all of your progress by the time we speak again.” He looked quickly between the three of us still in our chairs and dipped his chin. “Have a nice day,” he added as he left.

  The door clicked shut behind him and we all sat in silence.

  I tried not to think too hard about what I’d gotten myself into here in case I regretted it. Simon Brooks was awkward as hell with people but he didn’t mess around with business. I couldn’t keep going like I had, not with weekly reports due on my progress. I needed to do something more with my magic. And hopefully before next week’s meeting.

  RJ’s chair creaked as he rose, making his way to the front of the room. He picked up a marker and Brittany shot to her feet. “RJ, I swear to God, if you draw the same—” she began.

  “Not the same,” RJ said, his gaze flicking to me and becoming worried. He turned his attention to the board and I had a feeling whatever he was doing, it was for my benefit. I was still sitting, frozen in my chair with the threat of next week
’s progress report looming.

  Brittany was silent while RJ went back to sketching on the board. But within a few strokes with the marker I knew he was up to no good. When he was done, he stood back, gesturing proudly to his handiwork.

  Brittany groaned and I got up, following her to the door. I rolled my eyes as I passed RJ.

  “What?” he demanded, returning the marker to the ledge and following us out. “It’s not the same.”

  Neither of us responded as we made our way past the receptionist and out into the hall to call the elevator. Brittany pushed the button and we waited.

  “You guys are no fun,” RJ said, pouting.

  “RJ, you drew a penis both times even if the second one had a face on it. How is that not the same?” I asked.

  “What?” RJ’s eyes bulged in mock indignation. “You’re insane. It was a penis the first time.” He grinned devilishly—an expression I rarely saw on him. “The second time it was a dick named Simon.”

  My laughter was loud and short-lived but it did what I suspected RJ had wanted all along: the stress inside me unwound a bit and my breathing steadied. I smiled to myself as we piled into the elevator. My life was definitely a run-away train headed for crazy, but I had the world’s best friends as fellow passengers and they were clearly more than willing to take the ride with me. For that, I was grateful.

  Chapter Nine

  Alex

  I slammed out of the house and into my truck, revving the engine good and loud before punching it into gear. Breck had taken my rental when he’d stormed out yesterday and who knew whether he planned to drive it on my dime or turn it in for me. I was guessing the former after his little threat.

  After his big reveal and his promise to kill me if I went anywhere near Sam, I’d spent the entire day trying to work off the fiery rage he’d left me with. I’d run five miles, but even sweaty and utterly exhausted physically, I’d still been barely able to restrain myself from either hunting down the first werewolf I could find and staking it through the eye—or going to find Indra again and asking her to put me to work.