by Morgan Wylie
“Sometimes. Other times, not so much.” She stood up. “You know, you’re probably right. We don’t need to talk.” Poppy moved over to the other computer screen and woke it up, moving the mouse and checked a couple things Mather didn’t recognize.
Mather moved up behind her. She had just given him the out he had been wanting, but something drew him near to her. Awkwardly, he reached his hand as if to touch her shoulder but then dropped his hand. She started to turn back to him, but he retreated a step back.
“Mat, I don’t know what’s happening here”—she waved her hand between the two of them—“but there is something. Whether you want to acknowledge it or not is up to you. But I want in. I don’t want to keep pretending that the big elephant in the room isn’t purple or whatever. I want to see what could come of it.” She inhaled sharply, realizing she just bared her heart and soul to him.
Mather stood still, dumbfounded, in front of a beautiful, smart woman who wanted to be with him or at least try, and he was at a loss for the words.
“You don’t have to say anything, Mat. I mean, I just said way too much for the both of us.” Poppy laughed exasperatedly. She moved back toward her seat, but Mather’s arm reached out and grabbed her elbow as if of its own volition. She gasped in shock.
Mather looked down at his hand now holding onto her arm as if he didn’t recognize it. “I…” He gulped and shifted on his feet. The mighty wolf giving way to the young boy once more. “I don’t know if I can do this.” He waffled his hand back and forth between them, similar to what she had done, but far less graceful.
“Do what, Mat?” she whispered as she turned in toward him.
“This.” He pulled her into his chest and leaned down, capturing her mouth in one smooth fluid motion. Mather might be relationship averse, but he was not unskilled in the kissing department. He took her mouth slowly and passionately absorbing her very essence with each breath he inhaled. Her scent washed over him, flooding him with images of her luscious red lips and her sparkling green eyes.
Poppy reached up and laced her hands around his neck, pulling him to her as close as she could get him. A piece of paper couldn’t slip in between their chests. Hungrily, she took what he was offering and then some. A spark had started in her chest and wouldn’t be contained until he was inside her, a part of her.
“Mat, I…” Poppy’s voice cracked as she tried to inhale air, barely breaking contact.
Hearing her voice, Mather stilled. His arms that had been squeezing her shoulders tightly and hands that had roamed over her back suddenly shifted and fell away from her body. With unfocused eyes, Mather looked at Poppy and searched hers. “Poppy… I’m sorry. That was… I don’t know what that was,” he admitted, stepping back, putting space between them. Her face fell, but he had to let it happen.
“It was a lifeline,” she whispered as he moved even further back toward the wall.
“Poppy. This can’t happen. I will just hurt you,” Mather’s voice cracked. “I couldn’t live with myself if I hurt you in any way.”
They stood there for what seemed like minutes but was most likely seconds. The silence in the room fell heavy and disheartened. Unsure who would break the silence first or what they would say, a ding echoed in the room followed by the door opening, revealing Vi. “Did I miss the ding?”
Mather cleared his throat. “By a second.”
Vi paused and looked between the two she had left in the room. Squinting her eyes and puckering her mouth, she studied them. Poppy turned quickly around, straightening her blouse while Mather’s fingertips smoothed across his lips. Nervous energy shot through the room as if they were two kids caught in a disapproved act. “Seems I missed more than that.” She moved forward to look at the machine with the letter in it.
Poppy took in a shaky breath and put on her work face. “Ok, let’s see what this baby can do!”
Mather watched her. It killed something inside him to hurt her, but better now than further down the road when neither one of them could continue to work together.
Poppy put her gloves back on and grabbed the tweezers to pull the envelope out of the microwave thing. She moved slowly and deliberately. And only someone looking as closely as Mather was would have seen the slight tremor in her hand. After putting the envelope down, she pushed a button, and a file appeared on the screen at her desk. For everyday work, the large wall-mounted screen that they usually used for video conferencing was too overwhelming.
“Drum roll please,” Poppy requested, and Vi obliged with a finger tap on the chair back. Poppy opened the file. To anyone else it would appear to be a bunch of gibberish, but to Poppy it was a language all her own.
“What does it say?” Vi asked.
Mather wondered, too, but his words weren’t working. He stood back behind the girls, almost uninterested in what he had been obsessing over for the last couple days. A numbness spread through his chest. His wolf was peculiarly absent. He had gone quiet only one other time when he hadn’t agreed with Mather’s human response to a situation. He was pouting.
“It basically says that there are traces of magic on the paper. It can’t tell me who it is exactly, but what it is telling me is the components of magic have created a cloaking spell to hide the sender or at least the maker.”
“So it was magic?” Vi clarified. “That’s helpful right, Mather? Can’t Rylen then find magic to undo it?”
Mather slowly nodded his head, coming back to the conversation at hand. He had a job to do. “It is helpful, thank you, Poppy,” he said, back to business. “I’m not sure exactly what Rylen can do with it. His magic is different, but he will be glad to know this. I’ll go inform him right now.” Mather turned without waiting for any response and left the command center and the woman pulling at his soul.
Poppy’s shoulders fell, as did her face. Vi reached over and placed her hand on Poppy’s arm. “He’ll come around,” she whispered.
“What if he doesn’t?” Poppy whispered in return.
~~~~~
Mather stopped outside the door and leaned against the wall, wiping his hand down his face wearily. He had kissed Poppy and kissed her good. He had wanted to do that for a long time now. He didn’t know what had possessed him, but most likely his wolf had come to the forefront and taken control. He only did that once in awhile and only if he felt strongly enough about something that Mather the person wasn’t paying attention to. They had to look out for each other.
He hadn’t received the information regarding the job for the night. He sighed. She would have to get it to him another way. “Oh well, I’m not going back in there,” he acknowledged under his breath.
Mather smiled, remembering the kiss and the way her lips felt on his, the little sounds she had made that beckoned him closer. Just thinking about her made him want her more, but he quickly squelched all feelings as a cold trickle of awareness shot down his spine. Mather straightened, on alert, and looked around slowly. He was in a hall with only the lab behind him and Headquarters to the side. A few other rooms dotted the hallway, but all the doors were shut. Subtly, he glanced ahead readying himself for whatever could lie ahead around the corner. He moved slowly, a predator on the prowl. His long legs, supporting his hefty build, moved him silently and gracefully down the remainder of the corridor. Approaching the corner, he slowed and prepared himself and his wolf to be ready. Oddly, he hadn’t smelled anyone that shouldn’t be there, nor had he heard anything. He leaned around the corner just enough to see what was on the other side.
“What are you doing, Mat?” Rylen practically growled at him.
Mather visibly relaxed and faced his friend. “I felt like I was being watched.” He sighed. “I was just being cautious.”
“Me too,” Rylen said with a frown. “Did you see or hear anything?”
“No. You?” Rylen shook his head in response. “What the hell? Magic?”
“We have wards. Outside magic couldn’t have gotten inside unless brought in somehow by you, me, or t
he guys. Only the inner circle could bring in outside magic—so not even the girls,” Rylen divulged secretly, reminding Mather of when they had first placed the wards when they transitioned to this Lair.
“What, then? We’re just going crazy?” Mather laughed. “I’d rather believe that one.”
“Me too, Mat,” Rylen slapped Mather’s shoulder affectionately. “Keep a sharp eye. I don’t like feeling watched in my own house. Let’s figure this out.”
“Gotcha. Just add it to the list,” Mather mumbled. “Oh, I was coming to find you.”
Rylen turned toward Mather to hear him out. “What’s up?”
“Poppy created a program to read the envelopes we’ve gotten. So far, she’s been able to ascertain that it came from someone who can do magic or used someone who can. It is cloaked by magic to be scentless. Like a fingerprint eraser.”
“That makes sense. Magic is like a signature. Each magic user, warlock, witch—anyone able to wield any level of magic—leaves a kind of fingerprint with their magic when it is used.” Rylen glanced at Mather and nodded. “Good work, well, I’ll have to tell her.”
Mather shifted his feet like he wanted to say more or like he wanted to run.
“Mat, what’s up? I can see your wolf pacing in your eyes,” Rylen asked, concerned.
“I kissed her.”
Rylen’s face broke into a smile. “About time. Why don’t you seem happy about this?”
“I don’t know.” Mather turned away and attempted to pace, but the space was too tight. Instead, he just turned away and then back. “I don’t deserve her, and I’ll just let her down or hurt her. What’s she want with a mangy wolf like me, anyhow?” Mather’s face was contorted with a mix of pain and hope. “She can, and should, do better than me. I can’t give her what she needs, and what if… what if it’s like before?”
Mather stalked off, lumbering the rest of the way through the Lair, headed toward the elevator then to his room in the upper apartment. Rylen watched with concern for his friend and brother. He remembered the last girl Mather had tried to have a relationship with and understood his worry but didn’t agree with it in this case.
Chapter Eight
Mather stormed down the hallway all decked out in his black fatigues, a tight black t-shirt, his combat boots, and a backpack. At the entry to the Lair, he pressed the button on the intercom system.
“Team A for tonight’s job, ready to roll,” Mather announced, calling them all to the door leading to the tunnel and the garage. The first one to arrive, Mather began to more securely tie one of his boots while he waited.
“Where’s the rest of the team?” her voice pierced straight to his soul.
He didn’t look up at Poppy; he kept tucking his pant leg into the second boot and then proceeded to tie it, as well. “Not here yet.”
“I can see that.” Poppy sighed. She sounded weary for the first time since she had been back. It pulled Mather’s eyes up to hers. “Well, let me know as soon as they are, and I’ll pass out the comms.” She turned to head toward Headquarters, where she would take control of the command center tonight for their mission and run any technical side teams they might need.
“Poppy,” Mather called to her. She stopped and slightly turned her head back to him. “You ok?”
“Yeah, thanks, Mather. I’m just tired tonight. I think I got bit by something and it’s giving me a headache. No worries. I’ll be fine later. Just need some coffee first.” She gave him a small smile and proceeded to her home away from home.
“Coffee, my ass,” Mather mumbled under his breath even though she wouldn’t have been able to hear him. “She needs to take a break and recover is what she needs.” Mather would have to sit her down with Doc to make her see reason. They could function a few more days while she rested and recovered back to 100% Poppy.
Several footsteps thudded down the hall to where he was waiting. “Get your gear and suit up,” Mather instructed. Mather had received a dossier from Poppy via email about all the potential threats regarding the person of interest. It seemed straightforward. He figured it would be a simple job: guarding a politician—but, then again, you never knew who their enemies truly were. There were five guys on his team for tonight including Mai. He didn’t need that many on actual guard duty, but three of them would play side detail in case they had to include law enforcement or some other alternative for crowd control. In their line of work, they were always on guard for the few times when it seemed too easy. But those instances had been something altogether different. This job was referred by one of their regular guard clients, and Mather hoped it was truly as simple as it appeared.
“Ready, Mather,” one of the guys suited up, wearing clothes similar to Mather’s, said. “John, code name Robin, is penguined up and awaiting his escort,” he snickered.
The elevator dinged, and out came Mai, dressed in a long black sequined dress that shimmered as the light hit it. A slit a mile high started at her shiny black high heels and traveled up her legs, ending mid-thigh. The plunging neckline was kept up by capped sleeves that revealed her toned biceps. She had on a perfectly fitted diamond chain necklace and matching teardrop earrings. She reached for her hair and wrapped it up in a twist, securing it with fancy looking chopsticks as she walked out of the elevator. Standing next to her, Bastion carried a matching small black-and-sequined clutch and looked quite uncomfortable doing so.
Mai was to be the icing on the cake for their client. Apparently, it was a plus one event. Their mark was single and in need of a date. So the Lair was providing one who could also add to his security detail. Mai and Bastion walked out to catcalls and whistles from the few other members standing with Mather. Mai glared at each of them, promising retribution if they continued their current course of action. Instantly they silenced, knowing she could follow through with her subliminal threat.
“You look nice, Mai,” Mather complimented.
“Are we ready?” Mai asked straight to business, not acknowledging Mather’s words.
He nodded his head. “Just waiting on Poppy to return with the comms then we will depart.”
“Well, inform her we are ready. We don’t need to be late waiting on her,” Mai said coldly.
Mather frowned, about to say something in Poppy’s defense, but she braced her hand on his arm, letting him know she was there and not to pursue anything with Mai. “Not necessary, I’m here with all your comms.” Her gaze settled on Mai, and she smiled politely as if they had not previously been friends. Mai was quickly becoming a stranger to the entire crew with this new attitude she had adopted.
“Come and get ‘em,” Poppy announced to the gathered group as she held out the technology on her open palm. After most of the team had taken their individual comms and begun placing them in their ears, Poppy pulled out a special one for Mai and her escort. They were smaller than the rest of the crew’s, fitting discreetly inside their ears so they wouldn’t be noticed with their more formal attire. Poppy held back the last comm from Mather, and while the others were fitting theirs properly, she approached him with a raised eyebrow. He nodded and allowed her to reach up and attach it to his ear. His body moved with submission to her assistance, but his face held confusion. Even though he had scented her approaching, he was still slightly shocked that she had snuck up so quietly behind him. She gently tucked a few strands of his hair away from his ear and positioned the comm snugly around his ear. As she finished and pulled away, her fingers tenderly stroked the outer skin of his earlobe. It was the smallest of touches, but involuntarily, he closed his eyes, reveling briefly in the affection. Awareness of his behavior came to him just as he was about to release a rumble akin to purring from within his chest. He cleared his throat and stiffened his shoulders, closing himself off. She quickly pulled away as if nothing had happened or, at the very least like it was unintentional. Mather rotated his wrist to check his watch and silently moved back himself.
“Check. Check. Am I clear?” Poppy suddenly spoke into the remot
e receiver she held in her hand as she turned away from the gathered group. Each of the crew members touched their ears and took turns responding to ensure two-way and intra-team communication. “Good.” Poppy nodded once, satisfied. “I’ll be monitoring from here at HQ. If you run into any trouble that you need assistance with, alert me. If there is no time for explanation, the emergency backup code word tonight is pistol.”
“Thank you, Poppy,” Mather said officially and rounded up his equipment. “Gear up, team. Head to the Denali.” Each of the men did as he said, and Mai reached down and took off her heels, muttering her hate for the dreaded contraptions. Mather laughed at her predicament and couldn’t imagine what they would feel like. He was grateful he would never have to experience them.
“Return safe, Mather,” Poppy spoke quietly, but he heard her. He always did. He turned around and gave her the barest of nods and followed the team out the door heading into the tunnel.
~~~~~
After coordinating the pick-up for John Swanson, Mai’s “date,” Mather and the ghosts for the night—his team hiding in shadow for guard duty—exited their black Denali one block behind where the event was being held in the Lower Queen Anne district near Seattle Center. Bastion, who was the driver for the decked-out couple attending the high profile auction, and Mai remained inside, both ready to pick up her date.
The team quickly split up once inside; Mather had already pre-positioned everyone according to the blueprints Poppy had given him of the building earlier in the day. Thinking of her light touches on his ear as she positioned the comm made an unfamiliar feeling stir in Mather’s gut. He had liked it… a lot and could only imagine how those same fingers, light and feather soft, would feel caressing over other areas of his skin. Getting out of his head and back to the job at hand, he focused on ensuring that his guards were in position and ready for the event to start. It was not to be a large event, but large enough that in a room full of the wealthy and high-profile residents of Seattle, they could lose sight of their “man” if they didn’t have bodies and eyes in each sector of the room.
