“I’ll keep working with the royal techs to see if I can help them with the phone.”
“I appreciate it.”
Miller takes a breath, then says, “Will you be happy, Mirth? It’s … you haven’t chosen the Mertons, have you? It’s Sully, yes? And maybe … Bolan?”
“Nothing has been formalized. But it’s not the Mertons.” It’s the first time I’ve acknowledged that out loud. “Is there something that concerns you, more specifically than simply who I’ve chosen?”
Miller clears their throat. “Just completely unsubstantiated rumors.”
My stomach sinks. Something about the Mertons? “Perhaps a conversation for later? After I secure the children?”
“Yes. And again, the person I’m hoping to connect you to might be an … ongoing resource … in that sort of area. If you wish.”
I have absolutely no idea what Miller is referring to. Or whom the tech shifter might be about to get me tangled up with. “I’ll need a name for your contact so I can ask the royal guard to transfer the call to me.”
“It … that’s not going to be an issue. I’ve sent them a message already, along with a … data package.”
A data package. “All the info you have on the children?”
“All the info I have on you.” Miller clears their throat. “Routing a skilled tech through the switchboard isn’t much of a … barrier, Mirth.”
I laugh quietly. “Of course it isn’t.”
“Not that I tried to get through the other protections on your phone, but I have enough information that I could contact you again.”
“Please do.”
“Best of luck, Mirth. We’d better clear the line now. My contact is very … insular. It’s better if you’re alone for the first meeting.”
“Thank you, Miller. My regards to the Hernandezes.”
“Right back at you.”
I tap the screen to end the call. Silence falls around me. After a mere moment, I find I’m unable to sit within it. My mind whirls through the conversation with Miller, in anticipation of the conversation to come. Assuming Miller’s contact reaches out at all.
I have no context, no experience, with … well, any of this. So I can’t even guess what my next steps should be, let alone what they will be.
Bolan pads into the great room, moving almost silently on bare feet. His eyes are bright with the essence of his wolf, presumably to see better in the low light.
“Anything more about the kids?” he asks quietly, crouching next to my chair but not touching me.
I allow myself the moment, reaching out to lightly run my fingers through his hair. “I’m waiting on another call. You and the others can’t be here for it.”
He frowns. “Why not?”
“Those are the rules.”
He huffs. “How would anyone know?”
“They will know.”
He narrows his eyes. “No one tells you what to do.”
“Including you, Bolan.”
His energy spikes around him in a way that actually feels belligerent. I lean over him and brush a kiss across his lips before he can turn all of this into an argument. “I’ll come find you when I know more.”
He grumbles under his breath, then nips lightly at my lower lip as if he thinks that’s a punishment. It’s not.
