Total pages in book: 113
Estimated words: 108517 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 543(@200wpm)___ 434(@250wpm)___ 362(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 108517 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 543(@200wpm)___ 434(@250wpm)___ 362(@300wpm)
Rooster exploded into barks. She wasn’t just loud. She was deafening.
“Dear God,” Konstantin yelled over the noise, “it’s like being punched in the eardrums.”
“Change back, please,” Matilda ordered.
Konstantin reappeared. Rooster fell silent and panted at him.
“Rooster barks at 112 decibels,” Matilda informed him. “She can continue to bark for hours without straining herself. If you change shape, she will bark. If you attempt to escape, she will bark. If you try to separate from her in any way . . .”
“She will bark?” Konstantin asked.
“Yes. If she barks for longer than one minute, the electronic sensor in her collar will send an alert. Cutting the collar or removing it will also trigger an alert.” Matilda stared at him. “If anything happens to Rooster or her collar, I will know. I will come. I will bring friends. I hope we understand each other.”
“Crystal clear,” he told her.
“Please follow me now,” Matilda told him. “I’ve been asked to familiarize you with the layout of the Compound.”
“I’d be delighted,” he told her.
The two of them walked down the path, flanked by a bear and an arcane tentacled tiger. Rooster trotted after them, her gaze fixed on Konstantin.
Patricia came out of the office and stood beside me. “Is that wise?”
“We can’t contain him, and we can’t keep him locked up. Might as well let him wander, supervised.”
Patricia sighed. “We are being watched.”
“We knew that.”
“No, Arkan kept an eye on us. They’d buzz us with a drone once in a while or put some cameras on random trees just outside the property line, which we would find and take down. Now he has two active watch posts. One is on Orduna’s ranch, watching our front gate, and the other is on the Reading property, watching our driveway. They have us under 24-hour surveillance.”
“It can’t be helped. It can be an advantage in certain circumstances.”
Patricia nodded. “Also, I’ve been approached.”
“Stick or carrot?”
“The stick for now. They’re trying to blackmail me. Walk away or else.”
“Regina?”
Patricia nodded again. She was our knight in shining armor, who made sure our guard force acted as a unit. Without her, we would be dead in the water. Her wife was hiding a secret. Regina was Patricia’s weakness. Of course they would zero in on her.
“Have you told her?”
“Yes.”
“How do the two of you feel about that?”
Patricia smiled, her light British accent crisp. “We are not in the habit of rolling over.”
I let out an internal breath.
“We didn’t meet under the best of circumstances,” Patricia said.
“True.”
When Patricia had walked into our office two years ago, our defenses were in shambles and her reputation was in tatters. She was practically unhireable by most House standards, but we were desperate, and she came highly recommended by Sgt. Heart, one of Connor’s veteran operatives, a scary and competent man whom everyone held in a very high regard. Especially Mom. In the past year their romance had progressed from discreet meetings and Mom casually mentioning that “Benjiro called” to full on dinners in public and chilling together in the pool. They were on the cusp of making it official, and all of us were in favor of it. Patricia couldn’t have come with a better recommendation.
Patricia faced me. “This is home now. We like it here.”
“I’m glad.”
Patricia laughed softly.
“If we do survive this, you will be in high demand,” I said.
She raised her eyebrows at me.
“A security chief who held off Arkan. Whatever stains and blotches are on your record will be wiped clean. Houses will fall over their feet trying to hire you. You could write your own ticket.”
“You realize it’s not in your best interests to point this out?”
“Yes, but it is fair.”
“Then you better think of a way to keep me here, Prime Baylor.” Her tone suggested it wouldn’t be very hard.
“I’ll put it on my list,” I told her.
Chapter 10
I paced back and forth, trying to match the speed of my body to the speed of my brain. I had notified most of our allies and most of the probable high-risk targets that we were under attack and declined a dozen offers of assistance. Cornelius’ sister and brother were in DC on business, in the public eye and well protected. My disaster of an aunt had been pulled off the street in Mexico by a private security firm. They would sit on her until the danger passed.
I had tried Wahl’s cell, but the call went straight to voice mail, which likely meant the FBI agent was still recuperating.
I also had a long and grueling conversation regarding logistics and compensation with the man who would help us make sure Arkan went deaf and blind. It was like swimming in a very small pool with a very large shark. It was so bad, I texted Arabella two-thirds of the way through and let her take over the bargaining.