Page 54 of After the Fall

“I’m fine.” The twangy tunes disappeared as I turned off the key.

“What happened?” Tank opened the door. “She packed a bag and stormed out. Dennytried to stop her from leaving, but shewouldn’t listen. Fiona was the only one who could get through to her. She convinced her to get a ride with her in the Range Rover.”

I was still holding the steering wheel, and stared straight ahead. “She’s not my soulmate.”

“I could’ve told you that,” Tank muttered, then held up his hands as I whipped to glare at him.

Instead of tearing a strip off of him, I just shrugged. “I lied to her about sleeping with Valentina.”

“That was years ago.” Tank’s brow furrowed. “The girl’s got jealousy issues.”

Sighing, I got out of the truck. “I lied, Tank. That’s the problem. But the bigger problem is that she wants to have kids, and….” I let my voice trail off. I didn’t need to tell him that like a dolphin and a lion, it was impossible for Harper and I to have a baby. He knew.

He fell into step next to me as we headed to the house. “Like I said, Boss, what cruel world would give you a soulmate who can’t continue our bloodline?”

For a dumbass, Tank was actually making some good points. “I hate to admit it.” I choked out a laugh. “But I think that you might be right. For once.”

Tank slung his arm over my shoulders. “You know what they say about getting over someone?”

“Stop.” I shrugged his arm off my body. “I’m not getting under anyone else.”

He grinned. “That’s not what I was going to say, but it’s not a bad idea.” He elbowed me. “Put on your camo gear and go for a wild run in the woods. Maybe destroy an evil empire on your way.”

I stood a little taller. Yes, I was heartbroken, whatever that meant. But I also had a job to do. And even though Harper and I weren’t together romantically, I had made her a promise. I wasgoing to save her and her father from whatever was lurking out there in the woods.

There were horrors worse than us out there.

The conference roomwas buzzing and the air was thick with the smell of cedar and tension. Bannon, the head of the Dakota Wolves, sat next to Connor to my right. Valentina sat at the foot of the table, flanked by four of her crew. Savannah sat to my left, her hands gripping an expensive-looking computer bag. She pulled out a tablet and a pen thing, and proceeded to scribble something on its screen.

“What are we waiting for?” Bannon growled.

The doors opened and Fiona strode in with Atticus and Tank. They slid into the chairs next to Savannah. The lone human in the room shifted closer to me as the giant members of my crew settled into their seats.

As long as Savannah was sleeping with Connor, none of my crew would dare harm her while she was on the property. Valentina had been staring her down, and whispering to her closest henchman in hushed Portuguese.

“Just a few more minutes.” I checked my watch. Tim was a flighty scientist. It didn’t surprise me that he was late for the meeting.

Gloria entered through the swinging door from the kitchen with a tray of white moss-infused water. It had been my request. I wanted us to have a bit more reasoning capacity. I figured with all of the egos in the room, it wouldn’t hurt to give everyone the sasquatch version of Xanax. It wouldn’t work on the wolves, but when they were in their human form, I wasn’t afraid of them. I could take both of them at once, even at my weakest. Theyweren’t going to pull any shit in a room full of the most powerful creatures in the world.

After Gloria filled everyone’s glasses, I beckoned her to me. As I whispered for her to tear Tim away from the greenhouse, the French door creaked open. The scientist’s glasses fogged as he stepped inside. “My apologies for being late, but I was finishing up something very important.”

Valentina tsk’ed and studied her nails.

“Thank you, Tim. I appreciate your dedication to your work. Please have a seat.”

The only free seat was next to Bannon. Tim shuddered visibly, but gulped and took a seat next to the scraggly-looking biker.

“As you all know, we have an issue with Genocorp.” I stood and addressed the group. “Today, we are coming together to form a plan. Their masquerade ball is tomorrow, on Halloween, and it’s the perfect opportunity for us to get in close to their inner circle and figure out what the hell they’re doing in the forest.”

There was a grumble of agreeance as everyone nodded their heads. “Valentina and I will attend the masquerade together, accompanied by two bodyguards.” I knew that the lack of bodyguards would bother Valentina, but I needed her men for another mission. And the forest mission was going to be a hell of a lot more dangerous than wearing a mask and networking with the Genocorp executives.

Savannah stiffened as I put my hand on her shoulder. “Miss Savannah Smith is running PR for the event. She’s going to be our point person. Meanwhile, Atticus will run the mission to break into the Genocorp lab and get some intel. Once we figure out what’s going on, we can decide how to put a stop to it – if necessary.”

“If necessary.” Valentina mocked me. “They’re running experiments. We should drop a rocket on the lab and put a stop to it immediately.”

“That’s why she’s not in charge,” Connor whispered.

It wasn’t a quiet whisper, and Valentina shot Connor one of her death glares. Connor gave her a wink and made a gun with his fingers.

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