“He’s a very nice guy” was all Selena said.
“Are you like him—a shifter, I mean?”
Selena felt her eyes widen. She supposed it wasn’t too wild a guess that the people Craig hung out with would share that characteristic. But she didn’t want to admit it.
“Not everyone here is like your boyfriend,” said Owen from across the table. “Even if we wish we were.”
Once more Selena could have hugged him. Her status remained vague, and Owen had told the truth.
Jonas arrived a while later with the take-out boxes of Chinese food. If Selena weren’t aware of the tension in the room, she might consider this a pleasant dinner with friendly acquaintances.
But she knew better, especially when, each time she looked at Holly, Craig’s girlfriend was glancing at the doorway or checking her cell phone for the time.
Not surprising. In a similar situation, Selena figured she would be doing the same thing.
They were all finishing their meals when Lupe stood and woofed. Selena heard something outside, too.
Were the others back? It was eight o’clock, so it was certainly possible.
Would Andrea, Craig and Tim still be shifted? If so, she needed to get Yvanne and Holly out of there. No matter what they knew or didn’t know, the two women did not need to see the others in their shifted forms. That would only add to the questions they probably already had.
Even though Selena wanted to stay here and greet the shifters, no matter what form they happened to be in, she had a responsibility to Alpha Force and, consequently, to the CAs.
“I just thought of something I need to get from my room,” she said brightly and stood. “Yvanne and Holly, would you like to come with me? I’d like to show you my room.” She’d take them out the back door so they wouldn’t pass where the others would be entering.
“No, I’d rather stay here with Sal,” Yvanne said, remaining seated.
“And I want to wait and see if whoever’s outside there that Lupe’s excited about includes Craig,” said Holly.
Selena looked toward Patrick to see whether her commanding officer was all right with that or if he had an idea of his own how to get the women out of here at this potentially critical time.
“That’s okay,” Owen said. “You ladies can stay right here. But I’ve got something I need to talk over with you, Selena. Would you come with me?”
Ah, she got it. Owen and she could go meet the others and lead them downstairs, where the CAs could shift back, if necessary.
“Oh, please,” Holly said in a sarcastic voice that got Selena’s attention and seemed to capture the others’ as well. The attractive, fashion-conscious woman apparently had a temper. “Yvanne and I know what’s going on. Sal and Craig let us in on it. They also let us know the information could go no further than us, and it hasn’t, right, Yvanne?”
“Absolutely.” The other woman grasped her brother’s arm more tightly. Their family resemblance, with their light brown eyes and shining hair, seemed enhanced here despite Sal’s continued pallor. “I’d do anything to keep Sal safe—plus, I’m all for what he and the rest of your group of CAs is up to. I wouldn’t do anything to jeopardize it.”
“Me, either.” Holly was standing now. “Let’s go welcome them back. I’d love to learn how things went for them.” She glanced at each of them. “You don’t need to worry about our discretion.”
Really? Selena hoped that was true. But Holly and Yvanne hadn’t been hanging out with the CAs 24/7. They’d all already seen Holly flirting with that server at the Yukon Bar—Boyd, was it? Sure, maybe that was just to get Craig jealous, or maybe it was a harmless and meaningless flirtation, but who knew what either of the women had done with the supposedly secret information they’d been given?
Selena looked toward Owen again to see how he was reacting to the two women—and the fact they’d been told more than they should have been by shifters under his command.
Judging by his unreadable expression and the way he failed to meet her eyes, Selena assumed he wasn’t happy.
“All right,” he finally said in a voice that would have resembled a growl if he’d been a shifter. “Let’s go greet them.”
* * *
Saying nothing more, Owen rose and started toward the front door. He figured the others followed him and in fact heard footsteps as well as whispers he did not try to understand.
Nor did he want to say anything else, not then. He didn’t even want to talk to Selena because he figured she would express sympathy or concern, or even anger on his behalf.
As much as he appreciated her empathy, he didn’t want it just then or he might wind up venting that anger at her, which would be totally inappropriate.
What he really wanted to do was shake sense into all of his recruits. Or even abort their mission and disband the CAs. But the latter would be self-defeating...and impossible. And against everything inside him as a longtime member of the RCMP.
Yet he had told them all, from the minute they had each been recruited, to keep everything about the CAs and their very sensitive assignment secret. But he’d figured before, and had it confirmed, that Sal would have given at least some information to his shapeshifting sister no matter how much Owen stressed discretion. Even so, that might be okay, given her apparent interest in joining the CAs, too.
He couldn’t do anything about the fact that Holly knew the true nature of her boyfriend. But Craig never should have let Holly know that his spontaneous “vacation” here was with other shifters, let alone that they were joining a special police unit. He wouldn’t be surprised if Craig had also revealed to Holly the mission they were undertaking after their training here. Sure, it might seem exciting and glamorous to outsiders, something that might even stoke a girlfriend’s admiration that could lead to interesting physical contact. But that mission was vital. And dangerous. A woman’s life depended on its success. And to be effective, it needed to be kept secret.
But it was too late to boot out Craig for any indiscretion he might have committed or even to punish him for infringement of RCMP rules. Not now. It was also impossible to retract whatever he had told his girlfriend.
No, for now, it would be better to keep Holly in the loop so he could keep an eye on her, as well as on Yvanne.
Patrick was the first of the group to reach the front door. Good. He could assess the situation, see what form the three shifting CAs who’d been out training were in now.
“Hi,” he said quickly. “Welcome back. We’re just finishing dinner but left some for you, too. Sal’s doing well, and his sister and Holly are here with us.”
Good. He was cautioning the others not to start talking about their hopefully triumphant, but possibly less successful, training day, at least for the moment.
“Great,” Tim said. “It’s been quite an experience, and topping it off with dinner will be awesome.” So the trio was in human form. He was thankful for that, at least.
In short order, they fussed over Sal and said their hellos. Then they all sat around the dining room table, where the new arrivals ate dinner. It was like a family gathering, Owen thought—if you ignored the fact that most of the people here had met each other only a week ago.
But as friendly as everyone was, Owen felt the underlying frustration of nearly all of them. The group who’d just returned clearly wanted to talk about their experiences. The others wanted to listen to them—as long as the two women were excluded.
Owen struggled for a way to get rid of them, at least for now, so they could hold a proper debriefing. He was grateful when Selena stood up and corralled the two outsiders. “Let’s go wash the dishes,” she told them. “As an extra incentive, I’ve got some information I want to share with you two about the secret nature of this group that I know you’ve got only some knowledge of.”
Patrick stood, too. “Now, Selena, we—”
“We’ve got to be realistic,” she interrupted. “You two with me?” The two women nodded.
Ow
en wasn’t sure whether he wanted to kiss Selena or strangle her.
But on the whole, he trusted her, and clearly Patrick and the other members of Alpha Force did, too.
Even so, he definitely wished he could hear what she said to them in the kitchen. Too bad he didn’t have those extra shifter senses to help him out.
Chapter 19
Selena started gathering the dirty dishes that remained on the table, although some had already been cleared away. She handed a few to Yvanne and Holly to carry while she collected the rest.
Then she led them into the kitchen.
She wasn’t quite sure what she would say to them. But one thing she was certain of was that she would do all she could as an Alpha Force member to help accomplish her special unit’s needs. Right now one of those needs was for the group in the dining room to rehash all that had gone on that day.
From that, they would have to determine what exercises should and would be conducted tomorrow, the final opportunity before the mission went live.
She put the dishes into the sink, wishing not for the first time that this house had a dishwasher. It would be easier to let the machine do the work.
On the other hand, maybe this time it would be better to do it all by hand. It’d give the group time to debrief.
“Yvanne,” she said, “you scrape the plates, I’ll wash, and then, Holly, you dry. Okay?”
“If we must,” Holly said with a sigh.
“And if you really talk to us the way you said,” added Yvanne.
So what was she going to do? Selena wondered about it, but for only an instant.
She was going to tell them the truth.
But it would be a modified and abbreviated version that might actually gain their cooperation.
Was that still too much? She figured she would be able to explain to her CO and get him to buy in to her plan after the fact.
But Owen? This was really his operation, and he had clearly wanted total secrecy.
Secrecy that had already been breached. Surely he had to realize that. But would what she suddenly planned to reveal violate it even more in his opinion?
Would he despise her for it?
The idea made her place her hands in the hot water as if it would give her relief instead of discomfort. If she had to choose one kind of discomfort over the other, getting mildly scalded sounded better to her than garnering Owen’s hatred.
But she believed that, with the proverbial cat out of the bag anyway, she might be able to ease the problem, if just a little.
“Look,” she said, keeping her eyes on the plate she held over the sink. “I gather that Sal and Craig have most likely told you more than they were supposed to because they love you. I understand that. But did they also tell you that, not only were they supposed to maintain the secrecy of what they’re doing, but that it would also be dangerous for them to reveal it to anyone, including those they love?”
“No,” Holly whispered from beside her. “What do you mean?”
“The exercise they were on today—well, you might have gathered that it’s preparation for something else.”
“That’s right,” Yvanne said. “Sal did tell me that, and that it’s something really exciting and important, but you can be sure he didn’t tell me more than that.”
It was more than enough, Selena thought, but instead of criticizing Sal she asked, “How about Craig, Holly? Did he tell you more than Yvanne just described?”
“No, but I really wanted him to.” She paused. “Why is it dangerous for them if they told us?”
“I can’t tell you that without violating the secrecy they’re sworn to. Suffice to say that no matter what you actually know, and whether they’ve told you more than they should, you need to understand that Sal and Craig can be in great trouble—life-threatening danger, even—if word gets out about this. You need to promise that you won’t tell anyone what you know or even suspect. Got that?”
She looked first at Yvanne, then at Holly. They both wore solemn expressions, and each nodded at her as if providing the promise she had asked for.
Still, she wanted a verbal agreement. “Say it aloud,” she said.
“I promise,” Holly responded.
“Me, too,” said Yvanne. “But this is all so dratted frustrating.” She shoved the plate she held against the side of the garbage can as if breaking it might make her feel better. The plate survived, fortunately, and so, apparently, did Yvanne’s temper. “I’m a shifter like my brother. I know he was so excited that he was going to get to use that skill in a really special way, but he didn’t tell me how, just teased me that I’d envy him because of the way he’d be able to shift from now on.”
“And do you envy him?” Holly asked.
“I don’t know enough about what he’s talking about to be sure, but just being able to use his shifting ability for something special... Well, yes.”
“I envy you both, in a way,” Holly said. “I love Craig. A lot. We’ll marry someday. But I’ll never be able to do all that he does, even though he has told me how it feels to shift and be a wolf creature and all that, and our kids should be like him.” She moved toward Selena. “You’re a shifter, too, I gather. I envy you, too.”
“Thanks,” Selena said. “There are good and bad things about shifting. Not everyone believes in our ability and some who do fear it. It’s generally important for shifters to keep quiet about it because there are those who fear and hate us and would even kill us if they learned we were real. I’m glad you’re not one of them, Holly. It sounds like Craig is a lucky man to have you.”
And Owen? Selena couldn’t help thinking about him in the context of this conversation. He knew shifters were real. From what he’d told her, he had known it for a long time, but his initial experiences had made him despise them, too—until he had spent this week with a new set of shifters.
Good thing she already knew what a bad idea it would be to really let herself go and care for him for anything but wonderful, hot sex—assuming they ever got to be alone together again, which at this point seemed highly unlikely.
Holly could envy her all she wanted, though, as long as she didn’t tell anyone.
“Okay,” she finally said. “I think I’ve said all I can, and we need to dig in and finish the dishes.”
* * *
Owen appreciated Selena’s removing the two women from the dining room so tactfully. He and the others needed a summation of what had really gone on today during his CAs’ exercise.
Selena’s act was worth even more gratitude when he considered that she, too, would want to know the same information he and her fellow Alpha Force members learned. She would hear it later, of course, either from him or the others. But he had gotten to know her well enough to realize her action really was a sacrifice on her part.
She liked to learn as fast as possible, or at least that was the impression she gave. That way, she could work on how to include any appropriate new knowledge in the instructions she provided about shifting.
He listened as his recruits recounted their experiences.
At first, Andrea had waxed eloquent about how well things had gone from her perspective. “If our target area is anything like this, I’ll be able to soar like any other raptors present. And Craig, Tim, Sal and I talked before about how I’ll communicate by circling right or left or which wing I dip.” Her thin face was one huge smile beneath her prominent nose and caused Owen to grin a little, too.
“That’s right,” Tim agreed. “Andrea succeeded in directing us to a particular clearing, where Craig and I headed. No kidnappers there, unsurprisingly, but we did stalk a couple of squirrels. Didn’t harm them, though, since there was no need to.” The round-faced guy appeared to attempt to look serious, but he clearly was beaming. “It was so cool to be out there and know we were people on a mission, even though it was just an exercise.”
“We conducted an exercise today,” said Patrick, who sat beside Owen. “There’ll be another one tomorrow. But... Owen,
please let everyone know about the phone call the RCMP received.” Owen complied, and when he was done Patrick continued. “So you now know why we’re stepping up the timing. The actual operation begins the day after tomorrow. Were there any particular things you felt needed some work today?”
“My presence,” Sal said. “I want to experience what they did today so I’ll be of help during our real mission. Okay, guys?” His youth shone through in his eager expression.
“Of course,” Craig assured him. “I especially like those mini video cameras that were strapped around our necks. They’re small enough not to be too visible, and it was great having our aides not only monitor what we saw, but also be able to talk to us. But what if we’re separated and one of us thinks we need to meet up? We can’t exactly talk and tell the aides monitoring us what’s on our minds when we’re shifted.”
“What we often do is also plan ahead where to meet and how often,” Marshall said, leaning forward at the table. “But with your specific instructions, you may not be able to do that. You should decide ahead of time where we’ll be—your aides—so that’ll be the place you return to. You should also determine a signal of urgency for Andrea to give you if things start looking bad from her perspective so you can rejoin us. And likewise, there should be some signal any of you can give to her so she’ll know she should inform the others that you should leave what you’re doing and all meet up with us.”
“Sounds good,” Tim said.
“To me, too,” Andrea added. “We did a little of that today but it wasn’t organized enough. Let me think a bit about what I’ll be able to see most easily from the air, and we’ll practice it some more tomorrow.”
“One thing, though—something I asked before.” Craig, at Andrea’s other side, had one hand up, palm out. “Even though we shifting CAs appreciate all we’ve learned from you Alpha Force guys, I thought we were going to be an independent, all-Canadian team to take care of a Canadian problem.” He looked at Owen, who nodded, but before he could speak Craig continued, “Then why aren’t our aides part of the CAs? Or at least from our country? Will they be soon?”
Canadian Wolf (Paranormal Nocturne Romance) Page 17
