Page 12 of Seamus: Unconventional
Barking has me running. “Shadow, Light!” I yell in German. The bark wasn’t from my partners but the one behind me is. I turn fast and trip to the side but don’t hit the floor, Light does for me. Shadow streaks past us toward the back with Falcon and the colonel following.
“Thanks.Luz, Pres.” I take the offered arm and Pres pulls me up. When I’m steady, I bend and check Light. “You okay?”
His chuff and the thumbs up in the link is all I’m getting. He runs, so I close my eyes and look for them in the link. Shadow is pissed. Prometheus and a dog I don’t know are standing over a kid mopping water from the wood floor.
I smile at Pres. “They have it under control.”
He follows me to the kitchen. “You’re not going to see what the water is about?”
“When it’s done, I’ll get it. Right now, they have VP, Falcon and the colonel in there with four pissed off dogs. The Prospect is already a wreck.”
He takes a water and sits by me at the table part of the island. “A Pres stepping in means he’s more terrified. They don’t know you’re Pres yet though.” He is so he’ll get why I’m staying here in a second.
I shrug. “We’ve been the only ones on the compound for a week. Even the kid can figure that one out, Pres.”
“Call me Kristos and you’re right, he knows. Cort is landing at Honor so he’ll be here in a few minutes.” Seer shit never stops for him either.
Wonderful.
He laughs, leaning to bump my shoulder. “He won’t stay long. The small Clubs aren’t where he hangs. He’ll be at the big Club and pop over here. Spano said he clears the meeting room for him and gets round-the-clock Prospects on him. I started doing it and it works. My Club knows so Seth already has it set for him. You’re new, he’s intrigued with Delta Force and the chip in your head. He loves freaky and has a suit to fly in, meets at the reservation and now the possibility of reading without reading.”
“Fuck.”
He smiles bigger. “Yeah. He asks a million questions so be prepared. He’s not a bother to me or my Club and has his own house in VIP so he’ll be here until he gets his answers.”
Fuck. He laughs right out now.
***
Officially named Maestro Club
Kristos, as he asked to be called, was wrong. Cort has everyone here on the small Club grounds and called for tents. Asa said they’ll be putting a tent city up and went to help with planning. The Flight Crew Lead, Myers, said the last tent city wasn’t seen by anyone but Badass higher ups and it was huge. I like Myers and the engineer, Tony. They’re staying on the compound now so I’ll see them daily.
“Pres.”
Kristos said he was going back to Honor but I turn to see who is here now. A Brother I’ve seen before is jogging right toward me. There isn’t anyone else behind me. I’m Pres to this guy. Closing my eyes to see what my partners think of this, I smile getting a giant thumbs up from Shadow and an emoji with clown makeup and what looks like a polka dotted dunce hat on back from Light.
Hands on me has me reacting before my eyes open. Estimating height and distance, raising my right hand to the side, I squeeze then let go fast. Fuck. “Damn it all to hell! Why the fuck were you grabbing my arm?”
The kid is looking up at me but not moving. The shadow above me draws my eyes up. Great. Cort flying in the suit is now real to me. Someone said this but seeing it is surreal. I keep my eyes on him while wondering what he’s going to think about this. So much for Pres, not that I agreed to it, but that doesn’t seem to matter around here.
The smile has me broadcasting his gentle landing to my partners. Light shows just behind him without drawing attention. They’re so good at stealth.
“Boss.” I look down then back up. “I reacted to his hands on me before I opened my eyes.”
Cort’s smile gets bigger. “What did you do?”
I shrug like it happens all the time. “Disabled him so his hands were off me. When I saw it was him, I took my fingers off the pressure point. He shouldn’t still be down.”
The kid looks terrified. “Pres, Boss. I’m afraid to move wrong.”
I smile when Cort laughs. I’m not so sure I’d tell anyone I’m afraid to move, it happens, but I wouldn’t admit it out loud. I brace my feet, put a hand out and the guy takes my forearm, so I can pull him up. “Hands on me, before a warning, is a problem for me. My partners weren’t with me.”
Cort laughs again. “They’re not…”
I point to his right causing him to turn. “I was sending shit to them. Alone, I disable as an automatic response. How many people put hands on you without your eyes open or a word?”
His surprise tells me he gets it. “You put hands on him before telling him?” He asks the kid.
