“These are some of my colleagues who will be helping with the human governments in the coming weeks.”
Weeks? He is conspiring to take over human governments in a matter of weeks? Our timeline just became a helluva lot shorter. If we don’t stop the infiltration of intelligence agencies, I’m not sure how we’d get them to leave humans alone. Not once they hold de facto control over major world governments.
“Rand, why don’t you show Isolde back to her room and meet us in the conference room to go over our plans?”
Trying to keep the alarm and fear off my face is no walk in the park. I think I pull it off though, as the group of men aren’t looking at me as a mole, or imposter.
Rand angles me to slide an arm around my back and pull me into him.
“Isolde comes too. We’ll bond soon, and as my bonded she can hear anything that I am involved in.” One hand comes up to cup my jaw, and I try to accomplish a loving, devoted gaze.
Slowly, he lowers his head to slide his nose along mine before pressing a soft kiss to my lips.
“Bonding already? Well, I know it’s soon, but you wouldn’t find a better Janer mate than Rand. He will be a fine addition to your mates, and I have no doubt you two will do great things for our people.” Rainer is in such high spirits that we need to tie a string around his foot to keep him grounded.
Damn. He was easy to convince.
Rand keeps his forehead pressed to mine so all I can see are his beautiful eyes.
One of the men with Rainer clears his throat.
“Take Isolde to her room then and...get to know her a little better. We can reconvene later.” Rainer couldn’t have been more suggestive if he tried. He might as well have told Rand to go fuck my brains out.
Lifting his head to answer, Rand says, “No. We know how important this is to our people. We will come now to the meeting.”
I’m a little surprised at his offer. He can’t think any of the information we glean here will be valid once they realize we are on the opposing side. Maybe it’s more about learning the contacts and who these men are, if he doesn’t already know them.
“We don’t want to impose on this important time in your relationship.” One of the men sneers. Out of all the men with Rainer, this one definitely looks the mousiest. He must have a small-man complex.
“No bother at all. Isolde’s room will still be there when we are done meeting. Or better yet, mine.” Rand says the last bit in a husky tone in my ear. I let my eyelids flutter shut as he pulls me closer.
“We will make it quick. Let’s head toward the lodge,” Rainer commands.
Rand catches my hand, and we follow the others. The lodge isn’t far from the outbuildings, just a nice little jaunt. There are several people walking about, tending horses, practicing shooting, or just out for a stroll. Before we take five steps, we’re slammed forward from the force of an explosion at our backs.
Rand covers me. The ground shakes and vibrates, and debris and dirt rain down on our backs. Muffled screams come from all directions, almost as if we are down a tunnel. I cover my ears and lift my head, trying to get a look at what is going on around us. A residual violet haze hovers close to the ground. Everyone has been knocked off their feet. Some people are trying to stand up, but before they can get any leverage, they fall back down. The entrance to the lodge bursts open, and two men run out to gather the closest people on the ground.
In quick succession, two more explosions go off, one to the left and one to the right.
Rainer clumsily jumps up and shouts commands as a wild hysteria catches through the grounds. His hair is in disarray, dirt smudged all down the front of his shirt and sides of his slacks. He looks angry and confused.
Is this the distraction that Yunez had talked about? Surely not. Did anyone die? He wouldn’t use this as a distraction. He wouldn’t place anyone in danger that way. At least I don’t think he would.
Rand scrambles to his feet, helping me to mine and snagging my hand in a death grip before he starts running away from the burning buildings and toward the woods. We weave left and right but then straighten out. I think the blast messed with our equilibrium.
When we are almost to the tree line, Sage and Egan emerge, running toward us. My breath catches. I have never been so happy to see anyone in my whole life. I stumble, and Rand keeps pulling, making it hard for me to find my balance.
They came! They came for me!
Egan runs directly to me, tears me away from Rand’s grip, and wraps me up in his arms. His earthy, musky scent envelops me, and I shove my face into his chest, squeezing him as if my life depends on it.
Sage, though. Sage runs right past us and tackles Rand. Once he’s down, Sage straddles Rand’s hips and lands a punch straight to his face.
That looked like it totally hurt.
“No! Stop! Sage what are you doing?”
I try to separate myself from Egan, but he catches me around the waist and swings me away from the two men.
“Egan! Let me go! We have to stop him.”
Behind us, Sage and Rand are rolling around trading punches. Grunts and groans ring through the air.
Both have bloody faces and thunderous expressions.
“Shhh. Sage needs to do this. Rand is trying to take his place as your bonded,” Egan says in my ear.
“No, he isn’t. We need to stop them!” I twist free of Egan and jump on Sage’s back. I’m going straight spider monkey on his ass with my arms and legs locked around his body.
“Stop, Sage. Please. We need to get Jari and leave.” I shout in his ear.
Sage stops, seeming to calm down at our contact. He’s breathing heavy, his tension deflating as if he let all the air out of his body.
“You promised, Iss. You promised you wouldn’t take another Janer mate,” he manages to grit out between deep breaths.
“I didn’t, Sage. I promise you I have not, and I don’t plan on it. Let’s get Jari and get out of here. Please,” I plead.
He heaves one last big sigh before rising off Rand, with me still on his back. Rand wipes his bloody nose on his sleeve before sitting up, avoiding looking at any of us.
Sage pulls me around so I’m wrapped around his front. One hand at my ass and one across my shoulders, he looks to Egan.
“You get Rand. I got Isolde.”
Egan crouches down next to Rand, darting a look at his surroundings. “Sorry about this, mate,” he mutters.
Egan lands a swift hit to Rand’s temple, and his eyes roll backward in his head. His body hits the ground with a thump.
I scream, “What the hell, Egan?”
Sage holds me too tightly for me to do much damage. He nimbly turns and starts running away from the lodge and deeper into the woods. Over his shoulder, I watch Egan grab hold of Rand’s arm and leg, hoisting him into a fireman’s hold before running after us.
Rainer sees too late what’s happening. He screams an enraged battle cry, calling for others to come after us, but another explosion comes out of nowhere. A flash of bright purple momentarily blinds me. The force of the explosion causes Sage to stumble sideways, but he manages to brace himself on a nearby tree. The blast is directly between Rainer and us, and now the fog is so thick, we are completely covered.
“Rand is okay. Yunez said that we needed to bring him with us, but he had to be knocked out first,” Sage rasps, gaining stride. It’s clear in his voice that he would have rather knocked Rand out and left him behind.
“What about Jari? Sage, put me down. I can run.”
“No.” He huffs. “Nato and Yunez are getting Jari.”
I sigh, resigned to ride in his arms, resting my chin on his shoulder as I watch the lodge disappear behind the cover of trees.
We stop at a black nondescript van hidden between two massive boulders on the edge of the property. I swear those boulders weren’t there earlier when we rode through here on horseback.
Nato, Yunez, and Jari are already in the van. Thank god they made it. I try to push aw
ay from Sage, but he refuses to let go.
“Jari!” I exclaim when the door opens. He greets me with a beaming smile. Sage climbs in and maneuvers to the very back with me still clinging to him. Rand is deposited in the front seat far, far away from us. Probably Sage’s intent.
“I told you they would get us out of here, didn’t I, sweets?” Jari grins and places an arm on the back of the seat, looking every bit the lighthearted heartthrob.
“I should have never doubted you.” I return the grin. Sage lets me untangle my legs from behind him and scoots all the way back. However, he does not let me go. He situates my legs so one is bent on either side of his waist.
“Sage, I can’t ride like this.”
“Quiet,” he snaps.
“What the hell?”
“We’ll have words once we get to our current home base.” He slouches a bit in the seat, adjusting me so I’m flush from his chest to groin, and locks his arms tightly around me.
Part of me is boiling mad. I’m not a little kid to be reprimanded. I didn’t even do anything wrong.
Then another part of me is touched because he’s obviously concerned for me. He worried about me while I was gone. Of course, he could just be jealous that Rand was taking his place. That isn’t a safe line of thought. I’m going with concerned. He did grow up with hardly anyone until the boys came along and saved him, and he might not know how to process his feelings.
With everyone piled in, Nato starts driving, taking up position of unofficial leader once more. There is no chit chat. I think there are too many thoughts running through everyone’s head. Mine included.
I crane my neck to get a look at everyone, but it’s too uncomfortable. I settle for watching the scenery behind us as we make our getaway.
The one question that dominates my brain, running through the front of my thoughts as if on a replay loop, is what kind of explosions those were. The purple smoke is undeniable. If that is what has been attacking Fennina, how did it happen here? And how did Yunez do this as a decoy?
Is he behind the attacks?
Or does he know who is?
All these thoughts are very dangerous to be having right now. Especially as we speed toward wherever Yunez is leading us.
The whole drive, Sage keeps a tight grip on my hips. He has settled down a bit, but his body is still tense. The miles slide by, and the scenery changes from dense trees and the occasional boulder to mostly cliffs and rock, completely devoid of any colors not in the grayscale.
I don’t know that I like this place we are going. I’m exposed here. There aren’t any trees or rocks to hide behind. No background to blend into. Just the blaring sun, bleaching everything in sight.
HOURS LATER, WE arrive at a a different gated property. Without a tail, I might add, because I am one kickass guard. You know, since I had to look out the back the whole time.
Yunez jumps out of the passenger seat, runs to the keypad, and enters a series of numbers before placing his full palm on the bottom of the pad. The gate swings inward as he makes his way back to the car.
When I twist back around, I come nose to nose with Sage. He is pretty expressionless, which isn’t unusual for Sage. He does a great impression of a rock when he wants to. But I’ve seen the side of Sage that feels deep and loves hard.
His eyelids flicker as he stares out the window.Thoughts are working behind his eyes, but I can’t begin to guess what he’s thinking. When the vehicle comes to a stop and the doors open, he wraps his arms around me once again and runs off.
Everyone else makes their way to the house, but Sage takes off in the direction of a small cottage behind a thorny hedge.
“Sage. Everyone is going that way.”
“Quiet.”
“The fuck, Sage! Put me down.” I unwrap my legs from his waist, but he has such a good grip that he is still carrying me, only my legs are dangling. I immediately lift my feet back so I don’t trip him up.
He opens the door to a little cottage that I’m sure I would appreciate if I had time to view it. He gently deposits me on the floor, shuts the door, and turns the lock. Bracing both hands on the doorframe, he expels a deep breath.
I cross my arms over my chest and wait to see what his next move is, watching the bunching of his shoulders and neck. He takes a few minutes, gradually lowering his shoulders and standing straighter.
Finally, he turns around and glares at me. Whoa, that’s a change from expressionless.
“What the fuck, Isolde? I thought you were going to hold off any relationship with any Janer members until we know if we can work or not. What the hell did Egan and I watch? Rand kissed you. I saw it with my own eyes, and if my ears didn’t deceive me, I’m pretty sure you agreed to bond to him. Lucia was fucking right about you. All the attention is fucking with your head!” He shouts the last, pulling on his hair with a touch of crazy eyes for good measure.
I’m almost vibrating with fury.
How dare he. How. Dare. He.
“Why don’t you take a moment and think about what you are saying. Where do you get off coming at me like this? Huh? Maybe you should ask Yunez why we were acting that way. He said we had to make Rainer believe we would bond or he would torture Jari to force the issue. Is that what you wanted? Jari to be hurt because of me?” I scream at him, leaning deep and fisting my hands at my sides.
Sage starts to open his mouth and then stops. Shuts it.
“You are saying there are no feelings there, that Rand doesn’t want you?” He comes across as so condescending that I want to slap him into next week.
“No. Rand has made his feelings clear. But I have not slept with him. He wanted me to in exchange to see Jari, but I told him about my promise to you, and that I couldn’t go back on my word.”
“Of course. I won’t hold you to that promise if you want him instead. By all means…” He sweeps out his hand toward the main house.
I tip my head back and scream at the top of my lungs.
“Fuck you, Sage! Fuck you to Tuesday. I don’t have time for your insecurities. I like you. I’m drawn to you. That’s my honest truth. But as long as you act like a spoiled little brat, we will never be anything more. Think about that,” I huff.
I stomp right over to him and tilt my head back, sending death glares right at him.
“And think about this while you’re at it.”
I pull his head down to my level and slam my lips against his. I run my tongue along the seam of his lips until they open. He grabs my hips and spins me around to slam me against the wall. Instead of letting the kiss deepen, I bite his bottom lip. Hard.
He yelps and pulls back. Shoving against his shoulders, I stomp my happy ass right out the door and to the main house. Fuck. Him.
I don’t hear him behind me, so he must be taking a few minutes to gather his thoughts in a safe space. Totally his new nickname: Snowflake.
I don’t even try to conceal my anger as I slam the front door. The house is huge, but only by regular house standards. This isn’t anywhere close in size to Rainer’s lodge.
It only takes a minute to find everyone in a formal sitting room on the bottom floor.
I’m sure I look like one of hell’s furies storming into the room. All flushed, with wild, flying hair, huffing and puffing.
Conversation stops completely.
“Well, nice of you to join us, my lovely. Where, might I ask, is Sage?” Yunez grins at me before winking.
“Fuck you.” I point at him. “This is your fault. You could have told him that you told Rand and me to act as if we were going to bond soon,” I say indignantly.
Rand is awake and sitting in a chair in the corner, holding a bag of…frozen strawberries to his face?
“I told you it had to be authentic. Rainer had to believe you were serious if Jari was to stay unharmed until we were able to rescue you. It’s also a benefit for him to believe that Rand was kidnapped. What better way than to see him physically assaulted and carried away?”
“Right
. You could have said something in the car. I’m sure you saw what an ass he was going to make of himself.”
Yunez’s grin widens into a smile. “A little passion is good for relationships. It lets you know the other person cares.”
I roll my eyes.
That is his reason for keeping silent? Seriously? I think he watches too many soap operas. He should stop trying to create—or allow—so much avoidable drama in everyday life.
I sulk over to a couch by the window and plop myself down.
“Does anyone want to explain to me what those explosions were?”
Nato grunts, drawing my attention. He looks pretty angry, but it’s all directed at Yunez.
“It appears Yunez is keeping bigger secrets than we thought. You want to share with Iss what you just shared with us?”
“Certainly. That was an attack exactly like the ones Fennina has been plagued with for the last several decades.”
I suck in a sharp breath. That’s what I thought it was. It was too much of a coincidence for the attacks not to be connected. That’s a really freaking scary thought.
“I need more explanation than that, Yunez.”
He chuckles before crossing his arms and leaning back deeper in his chair. “I have the sight, don’t forget. I know how the attacks have been made. I can’t prevent them, only recreate. I can’t watch every single person all the time, and a different person has orchestrated these attacks each time. I thought this would be the perfect distraction since the attacks have originated with people that are close to Rainer’s camp. They won’t know why they are being attacked, and it can potentially cause their hierarchy to crumble from the inside out.”
Rand stands up, dropping his strawberries. “No. I know Rainer is a lot of things. Manipulator, wannabe world dominator, but he isn’t a murderer. And that’s what those people are. Murderers,” he spits vehemently. It makes me wonder who he lost in the attacks.
“Sit down, Rand. I don’t think Rainer is behind the attacks. Only that they are somehow affiliated. I have a plan, though, to figure it out.”
Marks of the Mazza: Reverse Harem (Mazza Series Book 1) Page 20
