Chapter 18
When Lily opened the door that afternoon, she was surprised to find not just Kevin for his twice-a-day visit but also Lonergan, Kodiak, and Talia with him. She stepped back and allowed them into the apartment, knowing it was time to face the music.
Sailor was feeling better and stronger by the hour so she had a feeling Kevin would release him earlier than originally expected.
That took care of her last reason for staying.
Closing the door, she motioned for them to take the seats around the room.
Instead of sitting, she decided to stand, though it did little to force the men to look up at her.
“Are you kicking me out?” she asked, looking at Lonergan as the institute’s director.
“No. But we need your help to force Governor Bowersox to leave us alone,” Lonergan said, pulling Talia tighter into his side. Talia looked pissed, but Lily figured if someone tried to take her from Sailor, she’d be angry as well.
“What do you want me to do?”
“We want you to take this stick-drive to your boss and tell him what you saw while you were here,” Lonergan said, holding out a small usb drive.
“What’s on it?”
“A copy of the videotape of my hearing before the Council to include my father’s outburst and threats. There’s a second video of me telling exactly how my parents treated me and why I would never go back to live with them, even if Bratburg were to close.”
Lily blinked and stared at the woman who had become a friend. “Are you sure you want this to be part of my report?”
“Absolutely. My father is an abusive son-of-a-nutcracker, and I refuse to allow him to bully me any longer. He still doesn’t understand that Bratburg Institute is a privately owned facility, and he has no say here,” Talia said.
“Even if I did go home, Lonergan would go with me, and I doubt it would be a day before my Daddy burned down the governor’s house with my parents tied to their beds. ”
Lily giggled at the visual the other woman’s words invoked before growing serious again. “This is fine, but he’ll still be in office and will continue looking for some way to put Bratburg out of business.”
“Not when we leak those videos along with a pile of other evidence that proves he’s embezzled money from the state, imprisoned people without going through the courts, and committed numerous other illegal acts to the press.
To say nothing of his questionable mental history.
By the time we finish with him, he’ll be out of office and probably in jail for more years than he has left,” Lonergan said with a feral smile. “Will you help us?”
Lily thought about all that she’d seen while working for the Department of Special Investigations and her latest encounter with the governor. The man was on the edge of insanity, if he had not already fallen over into the pit of crazy.
“Yes. Whatever I can do to help,” she finally said.
“Not without me,” Sailor said from the doorway.
“Are you strong enough for a trip to the city?” Lonergan asked, looking over his shoulder at the gorilla shifter.
“Kevin?” Sailor said, stepping aside so the medic could join them in the living room.
“As amazing as it sounds, he’s fully recovered,” Kevin said. “I’m releasing him from my care, though I still think he should take it easy for a few more days before returning to full duty, just in case.”
“Now we just have to figure out who the intruder was.” Kodiak finally broke his silence.
“You might want to check with the governor’s security team. I think he might be one of them,” Lily said.
“I need to see the body,” Talia said looking from her Daddy to Kodiak. “I know them all, and they’ve all worked for the governor since he took office years ago. He didn’t like change in the men around him.”
The next morning, Sailor followed Lily into the offices of the Department of Special Investigations. He was about as comfortable as a cat in a room full of rocking chairs, but he had to protect Lily from whatever might come at her.
After Talia had indeed identified the dead intruder as a member of her father’s security team, the entire population of Bratburg gathered in the dining hall and had a meeting. The Daddies grew growly as the Littles watched wide-eyed without saying a word.
Lily tearfully explained why she’d come to Bratburg, but that she’d not found any reason for the governor to close the place, and even if she had, she could not tell him because she loved the Institute and all the Littles, and could not imagine her newly chosen family being broken up.
After Lonergan said she’d been well punished for her deception, and Sailor stood up as her mate even though everyone already knew it, she was forgiven by the community. The Littles welcomed her into their group with hugs and a few tears of their own as they imagined what she’d been going through.
Then they began planning. Patrols would double while Kodiak, Lonergan, and Talia joined them in a trip to the capital.
Kodiak and Harrigan, the helicopter pilot, would deliver the intruder’s body to a local funeral home while the two couples headed in different directions.
Lonergan and Talia would visit the local television news station and newspaper while he and Lily went to her office and delivered the report she’d written the night before.
Walking down the hall into a large room filled with desks and chairs and people, Sailor tensed. Only Lily taking his hand kept him moving forward to her desk at the back of the room. He carried an empty box in his other hand.
She was nearly done packing her personal belongings into the box when a voice bellowed across the room, “Lily, is that really you?”
A man stepped out of his office and approached fast enough that Sailor’s protective instincts kicked in. He stepped in between them and gave a low-throated growl of warning.
Lily elbowing him in the back shocked him. Turning, he frowned at her. “What was that for?”
“He’s my boss, the one we need to talk to. Be nice,” Lily said as she rose from her rolling office chair and stepped in front of him. “Hi, Ian. Yes, it’s me. I’ve come to file my report and clear out my desk.”
“What the fuck are you talking about? Clear out your desk? Let’s go into my office and talk.”
“There’s nothing to talk about. Here’s my report and the documentation to back it up.
Bratburg is not abusing women, is not hurting anyone unless you think a consensual spanking is abuse.
The women are happy and adored and they love the men who have claimed them.
On the other hand, this assignment is a vindictive attempt on the governor to tear his daughter away from her mate and close down a facility that helps the women who are sent there.
And yes, I’m clearing out my desk. My resignation is effective immediately. ”
Sailor watched as she picked up her box and looked at him. “Come on, Sailor. I’m done here.”
He immediately took the box from her with a stern look. “You don’t carry boxes while I’m around.”
Before Ian could gather his wits to argue, Lily led the way back to the elevators. They were still waiting when Ian came charging after them.
“Lily, you can’t leave. I have another assignment for the Chameleon,” he said, sounding desperate.
Lily waited until the elevator doors opened before looking at him.
“Find yourself another Chameleon. I’m done.
Oh and tell the governor that the body of the security man he sent to kidnap his daughter has been delivered to Cotton and Burke’s funeral home.
He had an unfortunate accident after trespassing on private property.
All of that is included in the report on my desk.
Goodbye, Ian. It’s been interesting working with you. ”
Sailor shifted the box to hold it under one arm and wrapped the other around Lily to pull her into his body once the doors closed. “I’m so proud of you, little flower. Are you sure you want to return to Bratburg? It sounds like you’re an important person.”
Lily buried her face in his shirt and shook her head. “I was good at the job, but I’d much rather play with Talia, Irish, and the others and have you read me fairytales at Bratburg. If I get bored, maybe Lonergan and Kodiak will let me join the security team.”
“Over my dead body,” Sailor stated flatly. “If you really want to work, maybe you can help Chef in the kitchen, or Sullivan can find you a job helping take care of the animals.”
She dropped a kiss on his chest before looking up at him. “Okay, Papa. Playing with the animals would be a lot more fun than tromping through the woods. Let’s go to the apartment and pack quickly so we can go home.”
Taking a deep breath, he nodded. “That sounds like a very good plan. I love you, little flower. More than you’ll ever be able to understand.”
Lily smiled up at him with tears filling her eyes. “I love you, too, Papa. So, so very much.”