Chapter 4
Killian
The stubborn female wasn’t going to back off, of that I was certain.
I could see how she circled the room to work her way slowly back toward her target.
She was good at what she did, casual and calm as she struck up conversations with those she crossed paths with.
She took a meandering route too, nothing suspicious about it, but the watchers still watched.
That was to my advantage actually, they were so focused on her, that they did not watch for other threats. Being confused for her boyfriend by the general also gave me the perfect excuse to approach him again. I needed to strike first, so my stubborn Daria couldn’t get herself into more trouble.
I was closer to him, and as luck would have it, he wanted to talk to me as much as I wanted to talk to him.
Soon I was standing side by side with the male next to a dazzling exhibit of golden statuettes.
We were pretending to admire it, but really, both of us were staring straight through the glass case that housed the artifact and at Daria on the other side.
“So, you and little Daria,” the general huffed from next to me, his arms resting in an at-ease pose at his side that didn’t fool me.
This male felt like my mate was a daughter to him, and I was about to get interviewed about my intentions.
It was good to know my female had a male watching out for her that way, even if I had a feeling that she and him were not on the same side.
“Yes, sir,” I responded, “I’ll take good care of her.
” I couldn’t stop the reflex to glance to the nearest undercover guard watching my female.
If it were up to me, I’d blow my cover and take them all out for threatening my female.
Completing this mission and then getting her out of here was going to have the be the next best thing.
“I see, and how did you meet?” he inquired, and I fed him some lines about meeting at a party, about a connection at first sight.
As close to the truth as I could keep it, I wasn’t about to tell him I was talking about this party.
Small talk was a skill I was good at, and I drew him into a comfortable conversation about his hobbies in no time.
A handshake, a slap on the shoulder, even under the watchful gazes of his two nearby bodyguards. That was all it took to slip the data chip pinned to his uniform from his collar and exchange it for the decoy. In moments I had what I had come here for, the pin burning a hole in my pocket.
When I slipped away afterward, I was certain no one had caught what I’d done.
No one except my mate. It was her sharp eyes that tracked me from the large room and its festivities.
It was she who slipped out after me and chased me to a private alcove.
Perfect. I had her exactly where I wanted her to be, at my side, safe.