Page 29 of Protector

The general’s house is a large Virginia estate sat on fenced acres of land in the middle of the countryside. The sun has long-since set by the time they arrive, but AX2 clearly sees the armed guards patrolling the grounds.

“Everyone’s been vetted,” General Thompson explains as they pull up to the gate. “For now, until Addie’s been debriefed and we’ve assessed what kind of resources the enemy might employ to return her, you’ll stay here.” He rolls down his window and allows the guard at the gate to scan his retinas.

…Return her?

“You can continue.”

AX2 jerks, but manages to disguise the movement with a flexing of his hands around the steering wheel. Wordlessly he drives them through the gate and up the long driveway, his attention on their surroundings even as his thoughts writhe like angry serpents in his skull.

He hadn’t considered the Russians who grabbed her might come for her again. But why wouldn’t they? He hasn’t been briefed on why she was taken in the first place—and over the past five days, he hasn’t had thought for anything but that aching, new sensation in his chest. While she slept fitfully in her hospital bed, he spent every second staring at her face, the haunting memory of her body softening under his overlaying every echo of torture she ever inflicted on him.

Mating her did nothing to quell his hatred for her. But the thought of someone taking her from him?

Instincts snap and snarl at him to hunker down on top of the sleeping woman in the backseat, the unpleasant reminder that someone mighthurther sending an acid shock through his biological systems. If something happened to her, he would?—

AX2 blinks as the panicked thought bubbles up from the most primitive parts of his brainstem.

He woulddie.

Just as surely as his chip would have ended him if he’d managed to take her life, his broken biology won’t allow him to live if she is killed by someone else’s hand.

An odd sort of elation mixes with the instinctive terror the thought of her death forces through his system. If she dies, his tormented existence will finally end.

As if disturbed by his thoughts, she stirs in the backseat, waking fully as the car comes to a stop in front of the steps leading to the double front doors.

“We’re home, sweetheart,” her mother murmurs. “Safe and sound.”

Her daughter chuffs a breath through her nose, but doesn’t word the uncertainty making their bond tight behind his ribs. She doesn’t feel safe.

When she reaches for the door handle, he’s moving before he’s decided to, exiting the car to double-check that the house is indeed secure. For her.

“Oh!” Mrs. Thompson makes a small, startled noise when he scales the facade of the old estate, intent on the roof.

“Leave him to it, dear. He’s bringing his new mate to an unfamiliar place—he’s going to be on edge for a bit.” Despite the somber drive, there’s now a smile in General Thompson’s voice.Hefeels safe here, AX2 realizes, in his own domain that he has personally ensured is secure.

But his daughter doesn’t share his sentiment, and even if part of AX2 wants Russian agents to swarm out of the damn house and murder her on the spot, his instincts won’t allow him to let her feel unsafe.

The roof is free of threats, and he jumps down the three stories, landing in front of the door with a dullthunkbefore his mate can reach for the handle.

She startles at his sudden appearance, a small huff escaping her lungs, and when he pushes in front of her to block her access, she narrows her eyes in warning.

AX2 ignores her and opens the door, ensuring he’s shielding her body with his own.

Warm light radiates out from within, and when he steps inside, faint traces of food, cut flowers, and domestic cleaning agents curl in his nostrils.

He’s been in houses like this on many of his missions, but the contrast to the cold light and stench of bleach in the compound where he’s lived for the past three years is still sharp. Grand and ostentatious as this house might be, it’s a home.

AX2 doesn’t wait for permission. He walks across polished wood floors and expensive rugs, scanning for threats.

There are none to be found on the ground level, and though his bond twangs unpleasantly at the separation from his female, he moves to the first floor to continue his patrol.

While the ground floor houses the communal areas, the first floor is dedicated to the family’s private rooms. He knows the instant he steps into her space, even if there is little to differentiate the layout from the four guest rooms he has already secured.

Herscent.

AX2 falters for a moment, stunned by the intimate sensation of her essence wrapping around his body and floating into his nostrils. It’s not fresh, and he knows immediately that she hasn’t spent time here for a few months, but… the layers of it run deep, stretching back years. This was her childhood room. This is where she grew up.

Became a monster.

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