Chapter 19 Vanessa #4
“A week, huh? That’s not very long. Usually, my head of staff is much more on top of telling me about all the pretty girls who join our happy little family here.”
Oh, God, so many red flags. Shit, I really was in a bad situation. I needed to navigate my way out of it quickly, otherwise I would have inadvertently ruined all our plans just by existing.
Part of me didn’t want to believe that he was being creepy toward me, because I wasn’t the type of woman who usually had to worry about random men making advances on me, let alone relatively attractive ones. I was too tall, too muscled, too pudgy, and a bit too plain.
Too poor.
Someone could scrape by with one or a couple of those traits, but I had all of them.
And guys like the monster in front of me didn’t see below the surface.
So, maybe he was just teasing me. I’d let him humiliate me so he’d move on.
Then Leo could assassinate him. It was hard to take anything he said all that personally when I knew his life was about to end.
If I didn’t fuck things up, that was.
“I think everyone has been a bit busy preparing for the celebration.”
“It is quite a shindig, isn’t it? A reward for all of my loyal supporters and allies, despite all the forces that have tried to bring me down.”
By forces, did he mean justice and karma?
I didn’t say that out loud, though. Chadwicke took a couple more steps toward me. “Is that why you tricked your way in here? You wanted to see what such a glamorous event was like?”
Oh, no, oh, no, no, no, nonono! Had he somehow figured this out already? How? We’d been so careful. And how was he so calm about it?
“I, uh—”
“Ah, ah, ah, enough of that.” Suddenly his finger was on my lips, and he was still smiling at me with that creepy, empty smile.
“I don’t mind that you tried to sneak a peek.
Although I have to admit, you would have gotten a much better view if you just asked me directly, my little…
” He paused, looking me up and down. “Succubus, is it?”
“Succubus?” I repeated like he had grown a second head. He might as well.
He took his finger away and chuckled at me.
God, he was still uncomfortably close. “No need to take offense, love. Whatever glamour you have on is very effective. I can barely sense any magic on you.” Another eye shuttled up and down me, making me feel naked even though I was quite clothed in my nondescript uniform. “Is it a mind-walker, then?”
I had no idea what he was saying, but I knew that he was trying to guess what kind of magical creature I was. He definitely wouldn’t believe me if I told him I was not a magical creature.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Come now, no need to play obtuse. I don’t mind that you’re here. Actually, I’m sure one of my staff can get you something nice to wear if you’d like to join the festivities.”
What the…? Rich people were wild. Or maybe it was just warlocks.
But it was hard to believe he would stumble across some sort of magical entity he believed broke into his compound and be so cool with the situation.
Unless he was just so sure someone like me couldn’t be a danger to someone like him?
That was really the only thing that made sense.
“N-no, I’d rather stay here in the garden.”
“What, are you shy, dear?” He looked over his shoulder at his companion and huffed a laugh like the whole thing was so amusing.
It made me bristle, like I did when dealing with asshole Tiffany who seemed to take special delight in tormenting me.
“Perhaps you were looking for a haven from the big, scary humans? They’ve always had a relatively contentious relationship with a psionics like yourself. ”
“I’m not a psionic, and I’m fine. I just wanted a good job that paid well, so I could stop living out of a motel, that’s all.”
“Aww, running from a bad situation?” He practically crooned that last part, and it made me equal parts nauseated and enraged.
But I didn’t really have time to express either instinct before he took another step closer to me, completely getting into my space.
“Don’t worry, you little thing. I can protect you. ”
I was being harassed, and while it terrified me to my core, it was also incredibly confusing.
Mostly because it felt like there was absolutely zero attraction in any of it.
Chadwicke wasn’t bothering me because he found me hot or particularly alarming.
He was reveling in the power he thought he had over some sort of magical person.
It was all about control and him being in charge.
How pathetic.
If this were any other situation, I would have quit right there and then.
No job, no matter how sweet the paycheck, was worth this fetishizing powerplay.
But this wasn’t just a job. I was undercover, the linchpin in getting Leo details about the compound and sneak him inside.
Then again, maybe I should just leave. Technically, I wasn’t needed for this part of the plan, and maybe it would be a bit of a distraction to have Chadwicke steaming that his new toy had left.
Yeah, he definitely seemed the type to get upset about that.
“Please, I only wanna do my job. You can ask my boss. I’ve been really good for the team.” I took a step back, trying to create space between us as I internally bemoaned that he had even found me.
What were the chances that he’d just happened to be tagging along with the mother of Rosette, who just happened to stumble across me in the garden I just happened to be assigned to?
But suddenly, his hand whipped out and gripped my wrist like iron. “I’m your boss,” the warlock hissed, tone completely flipping on itself. “You would do well to remember that.”
Nope.
I was donezo. There were a lot of things I would tolerate, but that wasn’t one of them. I tried to rip my wrist out of his grip, but he was freaking strong.
“Let me go! I’ll get my things and leave. You will never have to see me again!”
“Leave now, and miss out on the party?” His tone flipped right back to overly sweet and grossly charming. It was all so fake. “I’m sure if you stayed, you’d have a good time. I know I always do.” His smile grew far too toothy for my liking. “Then again, I’ve always been lucky that way.”
His companion huffed a laugh, but I didn’t get the joke. It was too much, and if he wouldn’t let me go, then I’d make him.
“Get off me!” I screamed before pulling my free hand back and punching him right in the face.
“You bitch!”
Several things happened all at once. Chadwicke let go of my wrist. I stumbled back several steps.
His companion rushed forward, pulling a weapon out of his jacket.
Meanwhile, the warlock held a hand to his bleeding nose and began muttering words that sounded a lot like Latin. Was he about to cast a spell?
I didn’t really get to find out about the spell or the weapon because a giant wolf leaped out from a line of trees and bounded toward us.
Leo.
I would recognize his wolf form anywhere. After all, saving him in the woods had started the whole thing I had become embroiled in. Leo let out a truly terrifying howl as he charged, and both men whirled around, paying no attention to me.
That was my cue.
“Security! Where’s my security?” Chadwicke cried as I raced for cover. I had no idea where I was going, but I hoped the fight would be short enough that hunkering down behind the massive tea bush would be sufficient cover.
I still tried to position myself so I could see. Leo tackled the armed guard, barreling him over hardly even a pause. No, his eyes were set entirely on Chadwicke, who was beginning to rise off the ground and crackle with an electric sort of energy.
Whatever the warlock was planning, however, didn’t quite pan out. Because one moment Leo was racing toward him, paws galloping and his muzzle opened wide in a snarl, and the next, the wolf shifter was leaping through the air, his jaws snapping around Chadwick’s throat.
God, there was so much blood. I closed my eyes, but I couldn’t escape the sound of the visceral tearing and resulting gurgle as Leo completed his revenge. It really was awful, but balance needed to be restored.
It was hard to stomach, but I did the best I could, waiting until there was quiet before creeping out of my hiding place. Sure enough, Leo was still standing there as a wolf, his face and parts of his body completely covered with the incriminating crimson.
“You did it,” I murmured quietly, only barely straightening up.
As much as I told myself that Leo would never do anything to hurt me in any of his forms, it terrified me to see him in such a grisly scene.
It was a blunt reminder that he came from a different world—a world that had different rules than mine.
One with a lot of savagery I wasn’t used to.
“It’s done now. Let’s go find Ricky before anyone catches us. ”
I should have known it was na?ve to hope, but I was new to this whole assassination thing.
Before the words were really even out of my mouth, several security guards rushed toward us, their weapons fully drawn.
I’d thought that once they saw that their employer was dead, they’d all run for the hills.
Apparently, I was wrong.
“Encroaching shifter, three o’clock!” one shouted before they began to fire.
I dived right back behind the tea bush as Leo went even wilder than he had when he’d attacked Chadwicke.
He spun on his hind legs, racing toward the closest guard, closing the distance to them in mere seconds despite the hail of bullets.
It was like he didn’t even feel them. Once more, I was struck by how fast he could move.
One moment he whirled to charge at his attacker, the next he’d reached his target, his jaws closing on either side of the man’s head and ripping it clean off.
“Oh, my God.” I slapped my hands over my mouth.