All of the photographs were decades old.
Unfortunately, Henry’s pace didn’t allow Gail to study each one of them carefully; she only managed a cursory glance while walking up the stairs and down the corridor, arriving at last in what must be the study. Shelves of dusty books lined the room, a grouping of leather arm chairs in the corner. There was a desk as well, shoehorned in between boxes upon boxes of old papers.
It was messy, but Gail felt comfortable at once. It looked a lot like Dad’s study did, or at least how it used to look back before his retirement.
“We can work here,” Henry said.
Gail nodded and stole a glance at him. So handsome. So tempting… While she admired him, he barely even looked up or paid attention to her.
Stop it, she reprimanded herself. If he wasn’t interested in her, why should she be? The best thing for both of them would be to just get on with the job they’d come here for. Do the work and go home.
Henry sighed deeply as he sat down in one of the padded wooden chairs surrounding the desk and rubbed his forehead. Was he struggling with this as well?
“I have a mate already,” Henry spoke softly, but his words were ringing in Gail’s ears nevertheless.
“I know,” she responded.
“As awkward as it is, I don’t know who to trust with this.” He gestured around at the boxes.
A closer look revealed they had Alliance labels on them. Had he taken home old records? What for?
“I understand,” Gail forced herself to reply. How about your so-called mate? Can’t you trust her with this instead?
Henry shook his head. “It’s complicated.”
Gail sat down opposite him and rested her bag against one of the legs of the desk. It wasn’t any of her business why he wasn’t working on all this with Maggie. What did she care?
Fine, whatever. Let’s get to work.
And work, they did. After that initial ice-breaker, it surprisingly became easier to stay on task too. They understood each other perfectly. They agreed on a great deal of things, and their skills and experience complemented each other well too.
Henry knew how to do field work; Gail knew how Blacke ran his office and had access to information Henry could have never obtained.
Before they knew it, they’d spent hours in that little room, discussing strategy, drawing up plans and studying some of the files Henry had obtained. Dinner, which his mom had lovingly prepared, had been their only interruption.
Suddenly, by late evening, they’d gone from a whole lot of wishful thinking regarding how things should be to having a workable plan on how to make it happen. The New Alliance was born.
It was already past midnight when they said their goodbyes. Despite the initial difficulties, Gail felt a lot more positive about what she had come here to do. If she couldn’t have him as a mate, at least they’d become friends.
Gail drove home largely on autopilot.
As much as it pained her to admit it to herself, he was right to want to remain faithful to Maggie. Henry wasn’t the sort of man to shy away from his commitments. He was honorable and faithful. If only he had been hers.
Chapter Seven
When Henry got home that night, Maggie was already asleep. He took care to make as little noise as possible getting ready for bed.
Today had been a giant leap in the right direction. With Gail’s help, this new movement of theirs actually had a chance.
The one thing he couldn’t get out of his head, though, was how she’d made him feel. He’d tried to let her down easy - a near impossible feat, considering he couldn’t even look at her straight. The hurt he knew she felt at his rejection had just made things harder.
Now, as he stood beside the bed in their shared apartment, he couldn’t look at Maggie straight either. Something felt wrong.
It’s because I’m lying to her. Hiding what I’m up to, Henry tried to convince himself. That didn’t seem right, though. More likely, he was guilty because he’d put himself in a position where he was going to spend a significant amount of time with another woman. One he found difficult to resist.
And what was worse, no matter how hard he’d fought it, he’d started to care for the other woman as well.
She’s just a colleague. We’re only working together, nothing else.
He’d tried repeating those words in his head all evening, and they still didn’t ring quite true.
But what was he to do? If he wanted the New Alliance to be successful, he’d need the help. It wasn’t easy to find someone who believed in the same things. He would have never even found out about Gail’s ideologies if he hadn’t heard her voice in his head. Surely that meant that her involvement was somehow meant to be?
Henry carefully got into bed and closed his eyes but couldn’t find rest. Images of Gail danced in front of his mind’s eye, forcing him to open his eyes again to stare at the ceiling.
They’d had their ups and downs, Maggie and him. But never before had he felt so alone in her company.
The next morning, Henry started to put one of his plans into action. He drafted in the whole Glasgow office. Everyone was to investigate certain high-risk individuals in an effort to identify anyone engaging in so-called unacceptable behavior.
They had identified so many potential suspects that he broke procedure and ordered his agents into the field individually rather than in pairs. His reasons for this were two-fold: he’d have the opportunity to sneak away to the farm without Maggie noticing, and his agents would be forced to observe rather than act if they found anything untoward.
It was one thing arresting someone when it was two-against-one, but to confront a riled up bear who might think his mate’s safety was being threatened? Nobody on his team would be reckless enough to attempt it, not even Maggie.
Blacke’s orders, Henry had said. Forget about the Sons; we’ve handed them off to HQ. I expect results on this. Find me some rule-breakers and fast.
As the office started to clear out, with all his agents leaving to start their individual assignments, he was left behind at his desk. It was shocking how easily everyone had accepted their orders. As if nobody saw the insanity in violating the privacy of their own people on such a large scale.
Henry listlessly stared at the papers on his desk; he was unable to focus on any words in particular, though. It was all just a blur.
He sat back and rubbed his eyes. Thanks to his late return from the farm, he’d not had much sleep. If there was one thing bears didn’t like, it was a lack of sleep or food for that matter.
But this was not the time for rest. A strong and extra sweet cup of coffee later, Henry forced himself back to work. After handing off the field jobs to his team, it was down to him to contact all the shifter families with young children to inform them about the tracker project. It wasn’t ideal, trying to gauge their reactions over the phone, but this was the only way he could do it by himself.
Then, by the afternoon, he’d make a quick call to Gail to update her with any progress made. In turn, she would give him the latest updates on what was happening at the HQ.
That’s exactly how the day went, and the day after that. By the third day into this new routine, some of Henry’s team, most notably Maggie, had gathered actionable intel.
They were starting to deliver Henry’s so-called rule-breakers, just as he had ordered. File after file containing observations from his agents landed on his desk. It was down to him to decide follow-up action.
It was sickening. All these lives, which Blacke intended to ruin. Couples, even families, to be torn apart. And everyone except Henry was so enthusiastic about it too.
At the same time, his work on Project Safeguard was chugging along slowly. He’d made progress for Blacke - a lot of the families sounded positive. Fear was a strong motivator to throw one’s privacy out the window. This was bad news for the New Alliance.
“Another one?” Henry asked, his heart heavy with dread as Maggie delivered yet another file.
/> “This one’s the most promising one yet. The couple has been together for years.” She grinned at him.
“And the man is human, you say?” Henry asked, scanning Maggie’s report.
“Yep. I verified it myself.”
“Good job,” Henry mumbled while flipping the page to find some holiday snaps of the couple together.
“So, when do we go in?” Maggie asked.
“This is a delicate matter. We don’t want to tip off the others, or they might try to run,” Henry reasoned. Actually, he didn’t want to take official action at all, just approach these people himself to drum up support for the New Alliance.
“Understood. So… When?”
“I’ll discuss it with Headquarters. Perhaps they’ve drawn up some guidelines…”
Maggie squinted at him and pursed her lips. What was she thinking? How convenient it would be if he could just read her thoughts too.
“In the meantime, here are some more cases you can look into.” Henry handed her a stack of new files. “Good work. Keep it up.”
She didn’t look pleased, but he couldn’t afford to get into a lengthy conversation about it right now either. Henry picked up another pending file off his desk and pretended to read until she walked away.
He counted the reports his agents had turned in. Half a dozen already, with more to come as they completed their various assignments. He’d contact HQ today, but not to ask for Blacke’s orders on the matter.
After visiting with these people, he’d have to let Gail know about their progress.
Once Maggie had left the premises again, he picked up the first file from his desk. The one she’d just delivered. Most promising indeed… These people would have the most to lose.
Henry would start with them, try to reason with the woman on her own first, then perhaps involve the human partner in discussions as well.
It took him the whole afternoon to track them down, but at last, he managed to locate the woman, Irene Finch, and take her aside for a quiet chat outside her office.
“What is it you want from me, exactly?” she asked while studying his ID.
“Well - I hope you don’t mind me calling you Irene-” Henry began.
She shook her head.
“You know about what we do at the Alliance?”
“Yeah. You investigate threats against shifters.”
“Right, well, let’s say that in recent times the Alliance’s focus has shifted - excuse the pun.”
“I don’t understand.” Irene gave Henry back his credentials.
“You might want to sit down.” Henry nodded at a park bench near where they were standing.
She reluctantly followed him and took a seat. That’s when he told her the whole Alliance story, from beginning to end. About Blacke’s new initiatives, the trackers, the concerns about secrecy.
By the end, Irene had turned white as a sheet.
“What do we do? Clive is my mate. I can’t just-” She held her head in her hands. “Oh, God.”
“It’s okay. I don’t agree with them either. A few of us are planning an initiative of our own.”
“I’m listening.”
And so Henry told her a better-rehearsed version of what he’d said to Matt that day. Going public was the only way forward. If he didn’t already believe in his cause so strongly, he would have convinced himself. Luckily, Irene agreed.
She was in. And even better, she knew a whole bunch of couples not yet on the Alliance radar who were in a very similar situation. With her help, the New Alliance would grow significantly overnight.
They called it viral marketing; Henry had read up on it. When you tell your friends about something, and they tell their friends. Within a short time, the number of people involved would grow exponentially, just like a virus.
By the time he left Irene, Henry was feeling pumped. It would soon get dark, early as it always did in winter. But he wasn’t ready to head back to the office. Instead, he informed Gail of his progress and then pulled out the next file from the stack his agents had turned in. Perhaps he’d be able to locate another potential recruit.
They had no time to lose. Sooner or later, Maggie would lose patience and insist that they start rounding people up. He could only protect these couples for so long.
By the time Henry got home, Maggie was already sitting in her usual seat at the dinner table, waiting. It had been her turn to cook tonight; food was on the table.
“Where have you been?” she asked.
He waved away her question. “Oh, I was just talking to some of the families who are good candidates for Project Safeguard. Some needed a bit more convincing than what I could manage over the phone.” He took off his coat and eagerly joined her. “This smells amazing.”
Henry smiled at her, but she didn’t reciprocate.
“Potatoes?” Maggie held up the dish in his direction.
“Thanks.”
The food tasted good too. Running around all afternoon had made him hungry, so he didn’t hesitate to load up his plate. As he started to eat, Maggie just observed him.
“So how many candidates have we got?” she asked finally.
He shrugged. “Most of my afternoon was spent just trying to convince one set of parents. Don’t you miss the good old days, when our days were spent running after the bad guys?” Henry joked.
Maggie didn’t crack even the smallest of smiles. “We’re still doing that, running after bad guys, just more quietly.”
“Right,” Henry said. Spying on unsuspecting people who might have mistakenly fallen in love with the wrong person would have been a more accurate description.
“I feel like I hardly see you anymore, now that we’re working apart every day,” Maggie remarked.
Henry looked up, to find those sharp eyes of hers staring at him.
“Perhaps we can go away somewhere, just the two of us, this weekend?” she suggested.
Henry looked down at his plate again and loaded his fork with more meat.
“Actually, I was hoping to visit mom again. As you know, she’s-”
“I know,” Maggie interrupted him. “She’s been having a hard time lately.”
She picked up her half-full plate and put some of the potatoes back into the dish. Then she got up and carried it towards the kitchen.
“You’re done?” Henry asked.
Maggie didn’t respond.
Henry shrugged and continued eating. They’d had some version of this argument already the day before he’d driven up to Stirling to meet Gail. Why Maggie seemed so jealous of him spending time with his mother, he’d never understand. He never did understand what went on inside her head most of the time.
Once finished, he did his half of the work for the evening; tidying up the kitchen. Then, he wanted nothing more than to crash for the night.
Maggie was already asleep on her side of the bed, so he took care not to make too much noise.
As soon as he’d rested his head on the pillow, just a couple of little words turned his world up-side-down.
“Who’s Gail?”
Chapter Eight
Ever since Blacke had returned from his short visit to London, Gail’s days had become busier than ever. There was always someone to call, a memo to write, a parcel to courier.
At the same time, her nights were shorter than ever. When she wasn’t coordinating with Henry over the phone, she spent a ridiculous amount of time fantasizing about him. It was painful, recalling the details of their few meetings, and yet she couldn’t stop thinking about him.
This morning was no different. Gail had been drifting in and out of sleep for hours; her mind occupied with just one thing. Every time she’d closed her eyes, the same images had overwhelmed her. Henry, looking at her with the love and admiration she knew he’d be capable of, if only he’d accept that fate intended for them to be together.
If she let herself, the images would get more intimate, more intense.
Oh, why not. She’d never felt anything
as exciting as what she experienced when she let her mind run wild with the fantasy of Henry Weston.
All the bears she knew had hard, strong bodies, but none of them had anything on Henry. The visions her imagination chose to feed her were beyond compare. He was perfect.
Henry hovered over her for a moment, holding his weight up with those muscular arms of his. His eyes focused on her lips for a moment, then he dove down and tasted her.
Gail sighed. It never took long for the fantasy to have an effect.
She reached down between her legs and felt that she was already wet.
He lowered himself on top of her, slowly. His naked skin felt hot against her fingertips as she explored the contours of his upper arms and back. Gail reached around him and pulled him against her tighter.
Together, they made the perfect couple. Hard muscle against soft curves.
Gail had never dated much. A true romantic, she’d held out for Mr. Right. The one upside to this relative inexperience was that she knew exactly how to take matters into her own hands. Literally.
She writhed against the sheets as her fingertips found those special, forbidden places that very few had found before. What else could she do? This was the best she could hope for. To finger herself to orgasm to the dream of Henry Weston.
There was no way she’d get over him. No way could she bring herself to consider another man.
Gail’s moment of ecstasy was short-lived. Her alarm pierced the silence of her bedroom, jerking her back into reality. Damn.
Another day of rushing around the Alliance HQ, running various errands for Blacke, awaited. Despite the pleasure she’d just felt, the loss that overwhelmed her now, while dragging herself out of bed, cut deep. Would she ever experience anything like what she’d fantasized about?
Probably not.
As much as that knowledge hurt, a light still awaited Gail at the end of what was going to be a long, dark day. Her daily phone conversation with Henry. Despite everything, she couldn’t wait to hear his voice.
Today, Gail didn’t need to wait too long to hear from Henry. By four, he’d sent her a message, giving her some very good news indeed. He’d confronted the first of a number of mixed couples his office had identified in response to Blacke’s recent orders.
Scottish Werebear: A Painful Dilemma: A BBW Bear Shifter Paranormal Romance (Scottish Werebears Book 5) Page 5
