Page 47 of Broken Wolf

“No, no, nothing like that. I mean their president cutting contact with us directly,” he clarified. “His aides only communicate with us and it’s setting a bad example. This last meeting of the UN, he wouldn’t even speak with me and—you understand the optics of that.”

Steam about came out of my ears. “I’m sorry, sir, but I have no idea what you think a division chief of the FBI would even remotely be able to do about that or help with.” I smiled evilly when there was a long pause. “But you’re not calling me as that role, are you? But you wouldn’t have access to Alpha Sera or the daughter of a Dorcus, so you’re—”

“Chief Thomas, I would remind you that—” someone else jumped in.

“Call any other division chief and have this conversation,” I purred. “Please, have it. Go ahead and try to abuse the chain of command and use your influence to try and use my personal life to help you with the PR nightmare you have with Iran of your own making and see how much lower your popularity tanks.”

“Jesus, Sera,” Brian whispered, his face pale as he realized I might tank my career.

“She’s completely right,” Eva defended.

“Get out, Boy Scout,” I told him. “Take a time-out because this is about to get much worse, and now they’re going to talk to Alpha Sera, or I’m going to get on the phone with both Bijan, the new president of Bolivia who is insanely popular and my mommy and start a shit storm.

“Director Galvin, you know how to contact me on video call. I suggest enough respect for all parties to be identified this time as well. Whoever just jumped in to try to tell me to get in line like a good damn dog because I work for the FBI, that’s not all I am, or you wouldn’t be calling me. You also aren’t calling because I’m friends with Bijan.

“You’re not calling someone in the FBI who went to school with the head of Amazon because you want to make introductions for them to donate. You know why? It’s unethical. It would get you dragged through the mud and IA would have a field day and Director Galvin may be out on his ass for being involved in it. So you’re not talking to Division Chief Thomas.”

And I hung up.

“Assholes. Seriously.”

“Balls the size of the ocean,” Reagan praised and gave me a quick kiss before he got Topher and hightailed it out of there.

“I’m not leaving,” Brian said firmly when I tried to shoo him out. “This is my team, babe.”

“Fine, but don’t get in the line of fire for this,” I sighed, gesturing for him to move off camera.

I wasn’t shocked when the call came in less than five minutes.

The president flinched when he saw Eva. “I didn’t realize that you were there, Mrs. Dorcus.”

She scoffed. “How can you not know how to address me?”

I blinked at the screens before looking at her. “He knows.” I nodded when she frowned. “He knows. The President of the United States has aides and everyone who advise him. The previous presidents knew how to address you. It’s a slight. He’s not acknowledging you as anything special because he won’t give any respect to leadership as a supe, humans only.”

Everyone in the room with me couldn’t hide their shock.

I shook my head. “You guys have too much faith in people sometimes. Seriously, I’m only paranoid when I’m wrong. Look at their faces. Only Galvin is shocked because he’s a good man and wouldn’t let that go. The others know the truth.” I smirked at the president. “Which is why Iran and Bolivia won’t speak to you directly.

“Your behavior, your bigoted beliefs are what hurt the US, and you’re not willing to change them but make an off-books call to someone you can pressure in the chain of command and a woman who needs guidance from your own beliefs, and since I’m an easy one, you thought no harm in using my sinful relationship with Bijan. How right am I?

“Pretty on the ball from how red your face is turning. But here’s the problem, you’ve upset me too much, too many times already. For one, you insult my family each time you don’t greet them properly and it’s petty. You want to act like you care about this country, but you only care about the humans and don’t hide that.”

“I think we have a misunderstanding here about—” he tried to rally, realizing now that not only wouldn’t I help, but I could make the situation much, much worse.

“Really? So when the administration you were a part of specifically targeted me and my pack with ICE and executive directives… You called later to check on me? Apologized when you took over from that lunatic?” I chuckled darkly. “No, you were applauding the move. You were making speeches and comments that next time you’d get the mangy shifters on that registry you guys wanted to start.

“So I might work for the country I love and be loyal to the federal government, but make no mistake that I do not work for you. Especially when your wife talks about me constantly. Does she know that you want me to use my ‘relationship’ with Bijan when she publicly calls me the whore of Babylon?”

No. It was all over his face.

“As Sera’s attorney and husband, I suggest she stop because she is going over the line,” Dain cut in. “In the First Lady’s latest speech, she made it clear that she wasn’t being flippant in her labeling my wife that, but literal. She is ramping up her vernacular that Sera is ‘The Beast’ in Revelations and should be ‘handled’ before the end of days comes.

“She also made several slanderous claims that she has inside knowledge and proof from the former Mrs. Galvin that Seraphine was his mistress. Which you know is a lie as you are privy to the actual proof they barely met in passing. Including that Sera was on assignment overseas at the time that woman lies my wife was with Director Galvin.”

“I didn’t know about any of this,” Galvin whispered in horror. “I’m so sorry, Thomas.”

“Yeah, me too, boss,” I grumbled. “But it’s enough. I gave Dain the green light to take action. Seriously, your ex-wife’s crazy is—this is more than my career. It’s fueling religious conspiracies and—I have my own family to protect.”

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