by Morgan Wylie
Mather was positioned behind a two-way mirror set up especially for guards of dignitaries or other important people with various members of other security teams. He could see a majority of the event space. A basic ballroom similar to many others in hotels, this one was essentially a large box. However, this one had a two-story balcony that wrapped around the back half of the room. While nice for guests, it sat directly above where Mather was located. He had to ensure he trusted the eyes he placed up there because his own couldn’t see that spot. Waitstaff were bustling around with final preparations before the doors opened to fill the room with pretentious people pretending to want to be in the same room together for a united cause. The event organizers were also scurrying about, straightening displays and donor items and directing volunteers on where to place items. One woman stood in the center of the tables, not moving, holding a clipboard with a very official look about her. Mather couldn’t remember the exact cause for tonight’s auction, but he thought it something to do with a children’s hospital or perhaps the humane society. As it was, there were tables lined up in several rows with various items donated for the lovely people of Seattle to spend their hard-earned or trust-fund money on. In two corners of the room were the big-ticket items, and in the opposite two were appetizer and beverage stations, complete with a full bar. On the upper balcony were additional items to bid on. Mather had never attended an auction, but from what Rylen had explained beforehand, it was a silent auction where the guests continued to hover or watch the items they wanted in an effort to outbid the person before them instead of an auctioneer carrying on about loudly while people raised their silly paddles to outbid the others in a public and ostentatious display of their wealth. Mather had actually been interested in hearing the auctioneer rattle off the bids with excessive speed, but this alternative method was quite dull.
“Team leader?” one of the team inquired.
“Go for team leader,” Mather replied.
“I have a… visitor here requesting to speak with you,” the team member said in return with a hint of hesitation, cluing Mather in that it was probably not one of the auction guests wanting to speak to him.
“What section are you in?”
“Quadrant two. Want me to send him to you?”
“Send him to the mirror wall. A public viewing should ensure his behavior,” Mather grumbled as he headed toward the interior door next to the two-way mirror. He quickly snuck a peek through the window side and saw a guy he knew to be a vampire. “Shit,” he said under his breath, “what’s a bloody vamp doing here?” He almost smiled at his own play on words as he exited the room.
Mather was a show of intimidation in all black, with his large arms folded over his clearly defined pecs in a shirt about two sizes too small. One hand reached up to stroke his bushy yet controlled beard then landed back on top of the other arm. The vampire approached him cautiously, skirting the outside of the room careful not to enter too far in and be seen by anyone else. Obviously, he was not part of the setup crew nor an invited guest. Mather remained quiet as his visitor got closer. The vampire was clearly uncomfortable being there, either in the room in general or in Mather’s presence, he wasn’t quite sure. His eyes darted swiftly to and fro around the room, and his hands wrung together nervously.
“Can I help you?” Mather decided to cut the poor fool some slack since he was seeking him out.
The vampire was about to move in close then thought better of it and just stopped in his tracks. “I… I have information to pass on to your boss,” he began with a stutter.
“What kind of information would my boss be interested in from you?”
“The kind that involves a certain alliance,” he spoke quietly, his eyes shifting once more.
“Go on,” Mather encouraged.
“I want immunity.”
“What? From who?” Mather asked incredulously. Stupid vampires.
“From the others… the other vampires, if they find out I came to you,” the vamp clarified.
“Why did you come to me, and how did you know where I’d be?” Mather’s eyes narrowed on the sniveling being before him. He mostly knew vampires to be cockier and more arrogant than this one here. He must be scared of his own people.
“I know Enock. He’s a good man. As for how I found you? I followed you.”
Mather stifled the growl that was clawing its way up and out of his chest. He wanted to rip out the guy’s throat here and now, but alas, it was a public venue, which would’ve been the vamp’s plan all along. “All right. What’s your information? And be quick about it, the event will start soon.” Mather’s gaze shot out toward the rest of the room.
The vampire bobbed his head quickly in return. “Right.” He moved forward this time and kept his voice low, knowing Mather could hear him just fine. Mather listened to what he had to say and was about to respond just when he heard another voice.
“About to exit the vehicle,” Mai’s voice penetrated his observations through his earpiece.
“Time to go,” Mather directed the vampire. “I’ll pass your info on to my boss. If it’s accurate, it won’t go unrewarded.” The vampire nodded and quickly fled the room as discreetly as he had entered it.
“Roger that,” Mather spoke as he walked back into the box that would be his hideout for the evening. “Sparrow, check in at the designated points. Positions, report when visual is attained,” Mather ordered using the call name they decided on for Mai before arriving; everyone else had position numbers. He quickly surveyed the other units in his room. Others were responding to their respective delegates as guests began to arrive. One woman furthest away from him caught his eye, but her gaze quickly darted away as she appeared to communicate with her party while tapping her fingers on a computer faced away from him.
Mather did not have large fancy equipment, unlike some of the other guard details who had had to set up computers and miscellaneous gadgets. He would have to remember to thank Poppy for that. All he had were their communication devices and an app on his phone that could track Mai’s and her “date’s” GPS signals if they lost contact at any point. Poppy had snuck the locators into a part of their earpieces—so small, it was almost undetectable. He wasn’t even sure if Mai was aware they were there. After her kidnapping, Poppy had decided they all needed to be able to find each other out on missions if anything went wrong—of course, that didn’t help if they were just outside their own homes like she had been—but still, it was a start. Whenever Mather thought of Poppy being in the hands of their enemies, the fucking Fairfax Alliance, he could feel his wolf wrestled internally, needing to make sure she was all right. He remembered he had access to her. It wouldn’t hurt just to check in, would it?
“Team leader to home base. In position on site, awaiting commencement.” There, that wasn’t so hard. It sounded planned and official, Mather thought.
“Oh… ok, thanks, team leader,” Poppy’s voice, hesitant and unsure of how she should respond, came back to him, which made the corner of Mather’s mouth twitch. She continued, “All good here. I’m here when you need me.”
Those last words were simply her offering her assistance to the team, but something in them twisted Mather’s gut as if they had more meaning… meaning specifically for him. But even if they did, he couldn’t get involved. He had already done too much… that kiss… that fleeting moment when their mouths and their souls collided and brought them together. It had been enough for his wolf to confirm the connection it had been feeling to her and enough to send Mather into a part of his past he hadn’t been willing to touch in a very long time… and still wasn’t. Poppy deserved more than that—more than him.
“Roger that,” Mather spoke officially, “clear the line.” Silence followed. What did he expect when he had just told her to get off the comm line? He was the one who contacted her, the one who opened the channel, the one reaching out. She didn’t deserve that. He could be such a dickhead. Heaviness weighed on his shoulders as guilt lay like a blank
et around him. Mather would have to fix that when he got home.
He heard a commotion on the other side of the glass. Looking out into the ballroom, he watched the organizer, microphone in hand, announce to the room the doors were opening in five minutes. They were to finalize their duties and clear the room or proceed to their welcoming stations. Mather was neither impressed nor unimpressed with how the event was functioning thus far, but he appreciated the air of authority coming from the woman with the clipboard.
“Entering the corridor,” Mai’s voice broke through the shuffle. In the background, Mather could hear the voices of those talking near her. Slightly louder was her date as he escorted her through the throngs of guests, stopping to introduce her when he recognized someone he knew. Using an app Poppy had installed on his phone, he silenced her comm to stop the excess chatter. The comm would reactivate the next time she spoke.
“Team at the ready—the birds are about to soar.” Mather could almost feel the tension ratchet up a notch through the comm line. His team was ready and all eyes would soon be on the mark, Mai’s date.
From inside his secluded glass box, an announcement, from whom he guessed was the woman with the clipboard, came across the speaker system in the ballroom. “In position. The doors are about to open. Remember, friendly faces and attitudes of service.”
Mather ventured a peek at the other guards, bodyguards, and watchmen in the room with him. He noted several attempts at preventing a snicker or hiding a smile at the announcer’s public service announcement; however, all he refrained from was rolling his eyes.
“The doors are opening, be advised,” Mai said quietly. The childish attitude in the room quickly dissolved as others heard from their charges.
“I have eyes on Sparrow and Robin,” one of his team members announced as soon as the doors opened and the guests started flooding through them.
Finally, once the guests had moved far enough into the room, Mather was able to have his own eyes on the elegant pair dressed in their finest. Mai and John mingled and perused the items up for auction. She pointed at different items and preened as he made his bids, putting on a show as if they were the happiest of couples—or, at the very least, that he was willing to buy her immediate happiness. Mai laughed and placed her hand on his arm flirtatiously as she held her champagne glass in the other hand, hardly sipping it since she was on duty.
“You gotta make it look like you’re drinking at least some of that, Mai,” Mather teased across the line.
Without missing a beat or looking for where Mather was stationed, Mai nodded at something her date said, and through a plastered on smile stated, “I’m doing my best.”
“I bet you could slam that down then grab another and still be able to kick all our asses,” Mather huffed.
“Don’t tempt me.” Mai smiled and turned to be introduced to yet another acquaintance of her date. As she turned to face the man, she was the epitome of congeniality and class as if she attended these events on the regular. Mather watched as her eyes darted to another guest just over the man’s shoulders. Her own shoulders stiffened, but only someone trained to watch for such signs would notice it. She recovered quickly, and the man before her went on his way after toasting her and her date for the evening.
“Sparrow? What just happened?” Mather questioned.
“Nothing. I thought I saw someone from the Alliance, but false alarm,” Mai replied quickly as her date moved her around the room to the next set of tables. She gazed into his eyes as if talking to him. None were the wiser.
“Sure?”
“Yes.”
Mather switched channels on his app to speak to the team separately. “Be advised, possible sighting of the Alliance even though Sparrow retracted her initial sighting.” After several “rogers,” Mather switched the channel back to include Mai. He was met with silence on her end, too much silence.
The woman leading the evening stepped forward to the microphone on a platform stage set up at the back end of the room. She was dressed in a long black velvet gown that flattered her aging appearance. Her silver hair was coiffed and twisted up in a french roll for an overall elegant construct. “We’d like to begin this evening,” she began after tapping the microphone, leaving the audience covering their ears from the feedback surge, “by saying thank you to all the supporters, donors, and of course, you, our guests for the evening.”
“Sparrow, what’s your twenty?” Mather asked.
Once again, he was met with silence.
“Sparrow, come in.”
Still nothing.
“Does anyone have a twenty on Sparrow and Robin?” Mather asked the team, frustrated no one was chiming in.
“Last I saw her, she was in quadrant four, grabbing an appetizer with Robin,” one team member replied.
“Nothing from up top,” another answered.
“Quadrant four leader?” Mather asked, now more perturbed than anything. How could they lose her in just a few minutes?
“No sign of either Sparrow or Rob… no, wait, I see Robin. Sparrow is not with him and not in this quadrant.”
“Sparrow, where the hell are you? Report,” Mather demanded.
“Calm down, can’t a lady sneak away to the little girls’ room?” Mai’s voice finally came through the communications system.
“Not without telling us. Plus, you left your mark alone,” growled Mather through clenched teeth, beyond frustrated at Mai’s blatant disregard for their protocol, which she knew very well.
“Fine. Be advised, I’m headed to the ladies’ room. I will return shortly. Robin is secure in quadrant four and will not leave that space unless to go to his designated seat,” Mai shot back. “Quadrant four, do you have Robin in your sights?”
“Affirmative for quadrant four,” he replied in return to her question.
“Watch him.” Mai’s voice was haughty and even a bit winded like she was moving fast. At least she would be back quickly.
“Copy that, Sparrow. Don’t let it happen again,” Mather stated, taking control of the team once more.
“Aye, aye, captain. Approaching the ladies’ room. Tuning out for obvious reasons.”
“No, don’t turn off your—” With that Mather heard the almost inaudible click of a comm turning off. Mai had gone against protocol once more and cut off her communication. Rylen would have to hear about that one. She had never done such a thing before. He had ways of muting her out for privacy, and she knew that. Something was up, and Mather was going to find out what it was.
Switching channels, he informed the crew he would be temporarily relocating and to double up their watches over Robin. He turned on his locator app and dialed into Mai’s GPS, which would work even with her device shut down. A little green blip popped on the screen, moving swiftly down a corridor where the bathrooms were located. She might just be using the bathroom, but his gut told him otherwise.
Chapter Nine
Mather, silent as an experienced predator, sleuthed down the carpeted corridor leading to where the signs designated the closest restrooms. Looking down at the app on his phone, he watched the green dot blink in and out as Mai moved. She appeared to head straight for the restroom just as she said. He approached the end of the hallway right before he would need to turn out into the open. Mather paused at the corner, flattening himself against the wall in case she looked over her shoulder. Mai had excellent intuition, and Mather would be wise to stay as far back as he could. He slowly peered his head around the corner just enough so he could spy without looking all the way around it. The bathrooms were down another hallway just behind the grand staircase in the entryway where the guests had all arrived. He saw the swath of Mai’s black hair as she turned behind the staircase. It all appeared to be on the up and up, but Mather’s gut twisted with a wrongness that he couldn’t shake. He, too, had excellent intuition—his wolf’s senses were usually unmatched in situations such as this on location.
He heard the opening of a door coming from that hall behind
the staircase. Now was his chance to get closer. According to his app, Mai had paused in front of where the bathroom was located and then proceeded further down the hallway toward the kitchens and loading docks, where he and his team had entered the building when the guests were arriving out front.
A spine-tingling chill crept up his back, and the hairs on the back of his neck rose, indicating something he didn’t want to yet admit out loud. Mai, what have you gotten yourself into? Mather sighed and crept closer to the hallway. He didn’t need to see with his eyes to know which door she went through; he could follow her scent. The building was old, one of those kinds registered with historic societies that wouldn’t let it be updated more than what was necessary to keep it beautiful and functioning. They tried to preserve as much of the original state of the building as possible without it falling apart. He could smell places against the walls where paint had been touched up, and the carpet was blanketed with so many scents, from various guests to the multiple cleaning products used to give it the appearance of being clean—but to him, it was a landing pad for all kinds of filth built up over the decades. He wouldn’t be caught dead on that carpet, but apparently somebody else had. A concentrated amount of product was used in one particular area just outside the loading bay doors. He did not want to know what had happened there, but the lingering scent of death meant it must not have taken place that long ago. Without paying too much attention to it earlier, he realized he had smelled similar scents at other places throughout the corridor to the wing their event was held in. Strange. What else could this place be used for?
After a few minutes, he deemed it safe to creep along the hallway to get closer to catch Mai in the act… of what, he wasn’t sure he was prepared to see. She had always been so loyal to Rylen and the team, he couldn’t imagine that she had turned on them, but worse things had happened to them before. He just didn’t want to think it was possible of Mai. That would alter his faith in the supernatural community once more—not that he had that much left, but he still held a decent amount for those he considered family within the PAC.
