by Amelia Jade
“He was watching you,” Garrin said with a sigh.
“Who was? That house has been empty since the last owners moved out.”
“No it’s not. He’s been living there for weeks, watching you through the windows,” came the bored reply. “Are you going to let me in?”
“I’m still deciding on that,” she replied. “Why did you lie to me?”
There was a pause. “What did I lie about?”
Genuine confusion was evident in his question.
“You didn’t tell me you were going to follow me home and kill my neighbor.”
Another pause.
“True. He wasn’t your neighbor, though. He was a shifter mercenary hired by them to watch you, and likely eliminate you if you failed to provide information, or after you’d served your purpose. And I never told you that I wasn’t going to follow you home either.”
“Semantics.” She bit off the single word.
“Not really,” came the exasperated reply. “You never asked, it never came up, nothing at all. Should I have told you? Perhaps. But the fact is I didn’t lie to you about it. Ideally you were never even supposed to know I’d followed you.”
Mia frowned. “What do you mean?”
“Ahh,” Garrin said awkwardly. “Let’s just say that it didn’t go as planned.”
“No, explain yourself.”
The sigh was almost audible.
“I made a lot of noise trying to sneak up on him, and he was alerted. If I hadn’t stepped in dog shit, he’d have died quietly and I would have left, not bothering you until I came to officially visit tomorrow.”
Mia opened the door a crack, eyeing his bloodied and dirtied appearance with distaste.
“So wait, you stepped in dog poo and that warned him?”
Garrin looked sheepish, trying to brush off some dust or something from his outfit as he nodded.
She swung the door open, shaking her head, trying to contain laughter. “Okay, come in. That sounds like I want to hear the rest of this story. But don’t leave anything out this time, okay?”
The colonel took his boots off on her front porch and then stepped inside.
***
“You really know how to sneak up on someone,” she laughed five minutes later as they lounged against the dark gray granite countertop of the island in her kitchen.
“Not my finest hour,” he admitted. “And I would be greatly obliged if you never repeated that to anyone again.”
“I’m sure you would,” she said with a grin. “But I make no promises. There may come a time when I have to embarrass you like that.”
Garrin sighed and bowed his head while the two of them shared another laugh.
Mia brought a hand to her face, feeling the warmth in her cheek. Oh my goodness! She was flirting with him!
Get ahold of yourself, girl. Now is not the time for that.
Why wasn’t it though? He was here. She was here. Nobody else was around.
He’s covered in dried blood and just fought and in all probability killed another shifter?
Oh. Right. That.
It was amazing how easily his smile and charm brushed little details like that to the side.
“So, what do you do here in Cloud Lake?” he asked as they both looked away in awkwardness, the tension that had been building flowing away once more as neither of them acted upon it.
“Like, for a job?” she asked, caught completely by surprise at the abrupt change in subject.
Garrin nodded.
“I actually work at the logistics center that handles all the deliveries to Cadia.”
“Really?” he asked, seemingly genuinely interested. “That’s actually one place I’ve never visited or looked into. I know it’s there of course, but never been to it. Do you like it?”
She smiled. “Yeah, you know what, I do. There’s good people there, we do honest work, and we have fun doing it.”
Garrin looked at her appraisingly. “Sweet. What do you do?”
“I’m actually the coordination manager.”
The shifter’s eyebrows rose. “That sounds important.”
Mia blushed. She didn’t like to blow her own horn, but the truth of the matter was, she was kind of important. There was only one person above her in the chain of command, and it was a spot she’d worked damned hard to get.
“Don’t get shy on me now!” he teased.
“I’m not,” she replied. “But I suppose that it’s an important position, yes. I handle all the inbound and outbound routes and the teams assigned to coordinate them. Although there’s only fifteen thousand or so of you there, you shifters eat a ton, among other things. We send through twenty or so tractor trailers a day just into Cadia. We have at least three times that many come here delivering skids or truckloads of this or that.”
“And you’re responsible for all that?” he asked with a low whistle. “Good for you.”
“Thank you,” she said with a blush.
“I’m serious, that’s an impressive position to hold for someone of what, twenty-seven? Eight?”
“I can’t believe I’m telling you this, but I’m actually the big three-oh this year,” she giggled.
“Could have fooled me,” Garrin replied instantly with a wink.
He was flirting back!
“Stop,” she told him with another giggle, then switched the subject. “So what about you, Colonel? What is it that you do besides sneak through backyards and step in piles of crap?”
Garrin closed his eyes, his head moving very slightly back and forth. “Never going to live that down,” he muttered to himself, before his eyelids flicked back open and he regarded her with eyes full of desire.
Mia was forced to take a slow breath as she met his gaze, to help calm her suddenly racing heart.
“I do whatever is necessary. Lots of paperwork, mainly. Too much, to be honest. I don’t get out into the field often enough, which means others are being put into harm’s way when it should be me.”
There was a bitterness in his voice, something that didn’t have to do with the events of half an hour ago, she mused. Nor did she think it was because he had to do a lot of paperwork.
No, she decided, it was bitterness born from helplessness. From seeing his men go out, fight, and likely all too often die, while he sat behind his desk in relative safety. Mia wasn’t sure how she knew that, or how she knew she was correct, but she did. This was a man who knew he was needed where he was, but hated himself for it nonetheless.
“Your men are better off with you where you are,” she said, reaching out to squeeze his arm reassuringly. “Otherwise you wouldn’t still be there. So don’t beat yourself up over it,” she told him.
Garrin frowned. “How is it you’re so understanding of something you’ve never been a part of?”
Mia shook her head gently. “I’m not. I just see things from an impartial viewpoint. You’re a little biased on things, and you’re the type that hates to take any credit when things go well, but will take all the blame when it goes sideways. You’re a good man, Garrin, and it shows. People just have to stop long enough to notice, that’s all.”
The massive shifter shied away from her praise, just as she’d expected him to. It didn’t matter though; Mia would have said it anyway. She could tell that he didn’t like taking compliments, but everyone needed to know they were wanted, that they were liked and respected. It cost her nothing to let him know that others, not just those below him in the chain of command, could see it. His men didn’t follow him through blind obedience. Mia had known him all of a few hours and she could tell that they genuinely liked him.
“How are you feeling?” he asked, changing the subject.
“Stressed,” she said bluntly, not bothering to sugar coat it. “This whole thing has me worrying about the safety of my brother. That, and I can’t help but wondering what we do next.”
Garrin looked at her, a certain expression, one of determination and…something else, something she couldn�
��t place, etching itself into his features.
“Next is we go and get your brother back,” he said in a low, fierce voice.
Chapter Four
Garrin
“This had better be important,” Jarvis grumbled under his breath as he filed into the meeting room, a steaming cup of coffee in his hand.
Garrin watched as his immediate subordinate wafted up some of the scent into his nose, a tight smile stretching his lips slightly as he woke up just a little more.
“Let’s just say that it’s interesting.”
“I hate when he says that,” Luther said from where he was already sitting on the table. “I really do. It’s always followed by something like ‘This is going to hurt’ or ‘I have faith in you Captain, that you can execute this nearly impossible mission with absolutely no support.’”
The rest of the room chuckled, while the man with the buzz-cut kept going.
“Then of course, I get back from achieving said impossible task. And then he goes, ‘Well that looked like it was fun, so, picture if you will…’ And then he comes up with some ridiculously hard new training regimen. Can I resign my commission before we get started?” he asked plaintively.
Garrin smiled, letting the banter go on for several minutes. It was good for his men.
“No, I bet this time it’s going to be a round of surprise dress inspections,” Captain Gabriel Korver chimed in from his seat on the far side.
There was a chorus of groans from the assembled team.
Everyone hated dress inspections.
“Or maybe we have to go play honor guard for some dignitary. Remember the last time that happened?” Major Jarvis said with a dull shake of his head.
The assembled group shuddered at the idea of having to babysit a civilian.
“I can assure you that it’s not dress inspections,” he said, striding into the room. “Nor is it bodyguard duty…not exactly at least.”
Luther arched an eyebrow. “I noticed you didn’t mention anything about it not being an impossible mission.”
There was a low groan as the others clued in.
“Noticed that, did you?” Garrin said with a smile.
The groans redoubled.
“Oh come on,” he laughed. “It’s not that bad.”
Jarvis conspiratorially leaned over to the pair of captains. “This is the part where he says something ridiculous, like we’re gonna go raid Fenris itself or something.”
Garrin just looked at the major.
And kept looking.
Jarvis returned the look at first. Then his eyes began to widen. “You can’t be serious,” he said in disbelief. “You want us to go to Fenris?!”
Astonished chatter broke out between the shifter command team he’d assembled.
Jarvis Eidelhorn. Major.
Luther Klein. Captain.
Gabriel Korver. Captain.
Aksel Muller. Lieutenant.
Kiefer Hartmann. Lieutenant.
They were some of his most trusted men, the brain trust behind the raid he was hoping to pull off.
Slowly the shock wore off, and the group of them turned as one to look at him.
“Why are we going?” Jarvis asked slowly. “A raid was never in the plans, though we’ve all argued for one in strength. But it got shot down every single time. What changed?”
Garrin steeled himself. “They have Mia’s brother.”
There was a moment of silence, then all five of them began to speak at once, a jumble of words that washed over him. Garrin let it go on for five seconds. Ten. Fifteen.
“Enough.” He said it silently enough, but the sudden command tone was unmistakable and they all fell quiet instantly. “Now, think about it. This woman came to us, and put her twin brother’s life in jeopardy, so that she could tell us about Fenris’s plans. They clearly want to move against us in force. I don’t know how they’re ready to do that, but they are, and we need to be aware of it.”
The others sobered as they let that sink in.
“Exactly. She put her family in harm’s way, so that she could help us save our family. If Fenris got all the information from her they wanted, we would have been in serious trouble when they attacked. Cloud Lake is now the single largest concentration of Green Bearets outside of Cadia itself. If we were overrun and destroyed here, it would be years before we could recover.”
Jarvis shook his head. “So you want to lead us into danger, and possibly provoke an even stronger attack in retaliation?”
“Essentially, yes,” he said. “We know they’re planning something. Right now, they don’t know we know. We can use that to our advantage.”
“You mean feed them false information,” Luther said.
“Exactly. We can keep them off balance long enough until we can get in, get her brother, and get home. At which point we can arrange a proper reception for any Fenris attack that may reach us here.”
The others shook their heads, not liking it.
“This is suicide,” Jarvis said. “Five of us against all of Fenris? We’ll never survive.”
Garrin rolled his eyes. “First off, there are six people in this room. Secondly, I don’t plan on it being just us six who go. Seriously, give me a little bit of credit here. I’m not blind to the risks of the plan. I know we’ll need some backup.”
“What kind of backup are we going to have?” Kiefer asked.
Garrin looked at the young lieutenant, one of the newest members to his command staff. He was newly arrived from Cadia and at the head of two squads of Green Bearets who had just finished training at Base Camp, the Green Bearet training center in Cadia itself. The young man was coming along nicely, and it wouldn’t be long now before he was ready for a captaincy, and command of his own company.
“I’ll be going to talk to Daxxton Ryker,” he said at last.
The room broke out into low, hushed tones once more. Daxxton Ryker was the newly installed King of Cadia, having taken over via a coup from a corrupt ruling body at the start of the war with Fenris. He was a dragon shifter, and one of the most powerful of their kind.
“Well, if we had a wing of dragons along with us, then we could definitely make it work,” Aksel said. “Get in, get the guy, and get out. Smash and grab.”
Jarvis eyed the newly promoted lieutenant, the junior-most member of the command staff. “It’s a little more complicated than that.”
“Well, yeah,” Aksel protested slightly, before subsiding into silence.
Garrin smiled.
“Umm, question,” Gabriel said, speaking up from the far side of the table.
He nodded at the other man to voice his thoughts.
“Fenris isn’t exactly tiny. How, ah, how exactly will we know where to strike?”
The colonel nodded. “How indeed. Well, I intend to ask Mia if they sent any video, or pictorial proof that they even have her brother. Assuming they did, then I’m hoping that one of us will recognize the location, so we can use it to plan out our strike with precision.”
“And what if she has nothing?” Jarvis asked cautiously.
“If we have nothing to go on, then we scrap the plan. I will not have us going in there without some clue of where it is we need to hit. We owe Mia, yes. But we will not throw away our lives needlessly, that I promise you.”
His men nodded appreciatively at his statement.
“Well, if we know where to hit, and if the dragons are on board, then what the hell,” Luther said. “Should be a fun ride.”
The others shrugged helplessly and chimed in their agreement.
“Good, I’m glad you’re all on board with it. Once I have a location from Mia, we’ll begin the actual planning. Until then, see to your men, and discreetly look for some volunteers. If all goes well, I want to take more than just us six in.”
The others nodded and rose up, knowing when they were being dismissed.
Jarvis, despite being closest to the door, lingered behind after all the others had left.
“I s
ure hope you know what you’re doing, Garrin,” he said, his voice low and respectful, even as he challenged his commanding office.
Normally Garrin wouldn’t have tolerated such a challenge to his authority. But he also knew that this was an irregular mission, one brought about by his own words, not military necessity.
“What’s your big concern?” he asked, giving his subordinate leave to speak freely.
“Honestly?” Jarvis asked.
Garrin frowned. This wasn’t like his friend. Normally Jarvis would just speak his mind. Why was he tiptoeing around everything?
“What’s your holdup?” he asked, pushing the door closed. “This isn’t like you.”
Jarvis hesitated again. This was very unlike him.
“I’m a little nervous that if I bring it up, you’re going to chew my head off,” the other shifter admitted at last.
Garrin rocked back on his heels. Never before had one of his men been afraid to approach him with concerns or problems.
“Jarvis, what the hell are you talking about? Spit it out, man. We’ve known each other for twenty years now. I promise, I won’t chew your head off.”
The junior shifter arched an eyebrow. “Okay then.” He took a deep breath. “I think this is a bad idea, and I think you’re only doing it because you’re smitten with her, and unwilling to say no.”
Jarvis visibly braced himself for the onslaught he expected in return.
“Well, never let it be said that you’re unwilling to speak your mind,” Garrin said, his head bouncing slightly as he paused to fully digest the words his friend had spoken.
“You told me to!” Jarvis exclaimed.
“Yes, I suppose I did, didn’t I.” He grinned. “You might be right. I might be smitten with her. I don’t know yet. There is…something about her that intrigues me. But I believe myself to have been sound of mind at the time I told her we’d attempt to get him back.” His eyes bore into Jarvis’s. “It’s the right thing to do, Jar,” he said, using the short form of his friend’s name to let him know he wasn’t mad. “She could have given them the information without telling us. Most people probably would have. But she recognized the danger, and came to warn us of it. We owe her for that.”
