Page 25 of Furever Loyal
Haley shrugged, an awkward-looking gesture because of her position. “It’s weird. I’ll give you that.”
Kincaid smiled faintly. “I’ll take it, I guess. It’s better than you being totally convinced I’m a traitorous piece of shit.”
“Now I know the reason for the animosity between you and these Canis people, it lends a bit more credibility to the fact that there might be something more going on. But it doesn’t mean you aren’t a part of it either.”
“I understand.” She was just saying that to cover her tracks, he was pretty positive.
“What do we do now?”
“First, I see what else I need to do, to ensure that you understand the need to keep my secret quiet. That you aren’t going to suddenly blurt it out or go tell anyone you shouldn’t.”
“Is that a threat? That I’d better keep quiet, or else?”
“No. I’m just trying to get ahead of any problems before they arise,” he said peacefully, spreading his hands. “I can’t really get a handle on how you’re doing over there.”
Haley sighed again. “I’m sorry. It’s just that this is tough to come to grips with. To believe something that should be impossible. I know I saw it, but a big part of me keeps asking, well what if I’m insane? What if I’m hallucinating it, and I’m slowly losing my grip on reality?”
Kincaid got up, walked around the desk and without being asked, dug his fingers into her shoulders. “I promise you, you’re not going insane. You are not hallucinating anything.”
“What are you doing? Stop that,” she said, though she made no attempt to remove his fingers from her skin.
“Just loosening some tension, so you can think straight. I don’t know where to go from here, and I need your help.”
Haley let him work for a few minutes, and he felt some of the stress leave her muscles as they relaxed, until she finally sighed and sat up straight. Taking his cue, he went and sat back down, making no mention of what had just happened. It would be easier that way.
“I’m not sure what else to do either,” she admitted. “Not unless we can somehow hack into the bank and get the records of where the money went after it left your account or the records of the holding company to do the same. Without either of those…well, we’re screwed. And that’s way beyond my skills.”
Kincaid was forced to agree. “I’m no hacker either. I don’t think we have anyone at the House who could even do that.”
The two of them were silent once more, but this time, it was different. Haley was no longer lost in her own mind. He suspected she would get through this just fine, that her brain would be able to adapt to the new world she was a part of. It would help that she worked with him and the Ursidae on the regular. He knew it would take more time for her to truly accept it, but he was no longer worried about her freaking out and telling everyone.
Despite that, he was determined to keep her safe, unharmed, and behind the desk, where she belonged, like she’d said. The fieldwork, the stuff he was most comfortable with, he would do that on his own and then bring whatever he found to her. Then they could go over it together to form conclusions. Besides, the less she knew of what he was up against, the better.
The last thing I want is for her to have to watch me kill some Canis asshole who won’t take no for an answer.
Without speaking, he stood up, preparing to leave.
“Where are you going?” she asked, looking up sharply.
“To dig into this a little deeper.”
“Where?”
“On my own.” He smiled at her. “You’re right, Haley. You don’t need to get involved. I can handle this on my own from here. If I come up with some proof or something, I’ll let you know. I’ll bring it here, we can go over it together, that sort of thing. But I don’t want you to get hurt. I’ll do this by myself. You don’t have to come.”
He spoke the truth. Though he found her irritating, especially her unwillingness to believe him, Kincaid was starting to realize he didn’t want to put her in danger. Begrudgingly so, of course, but nonetheless. It was hard to deny after the way he’d nearly lost himself in battle lust when the Canim had gone after her instead of him.
Kincaid expected that she would be grateful to him for giving her the out, so she didn’t have to bring it up herself. Although, he wasn’t interested in her gratitude, and that wasn’t why he’d done it. All he wanted was for her—and his secret—to be safe.
“Yes, I do.” Haley stood up as well, facing him across the desk. “Yes. I do. Kaelyn, your Queen, which I guess actually means something closer to that and not just a weird term for President, told me I had to work with you. That we had to worktogether, to figure this out. Did you forget that already?”
“Of course not. But that was before things got complicated. They’re different now.”
“Not really. You’re still looking like a traitor to your…House? Is that the right way to use that term?”
He nodded but kept quiet.
“Right. Well, until we can prove definitively one way or another, I go with you. My ass is on the line here too. I might not be in trouble the way you are, but I want to keep the account. You guys payreallywell, and the last thing I want to do is deprive myself of that. I amnotlosing it. Got it?”
