Chapter 10
The car arrived at Sam’s property a few hours before they were scheduled for departure. Sam was already waiting on the front steps of the main house, his luggage beside him, when Claudia emerged from the direction of the guest house with her own bags and an impressive number of garment carriers.
“Morning,” she called, looking far more awake than he felt. She’d apparently slept better than he had.
“Morning.” Sam moved to help her with the garment bags, but she waved him off.
“I’ve got them. They’re lighter than they look.” She loaded them carefully into the trunk while the driver handled Sam’s heavier luggage. “Maurice was very specific about how these needed to be transported.”
“Of course he was.” Sam grinned slightly and climbed into the back seat as Claudia slid in on the other side, shepherded by the driver, who was an older Clan member with impeccable defensive driving skills.
Sam noted absently that she was careful to maintain distance from him in the wide backseat, which irked his inner lion a bit, but he let it go.
The ride to the airport took forty minutes through early morning Houston traffic.
They made small talk about the weather, and Gavin’s final security checks.
They talked about anything except the tension humming between them or the fact that they’d be spending the next several days in very close quarters.
The Kinkaid Industries hangar sat on the edge of the private aviation section of the larger airport, well away from the commercial terminals. As they pulled up, Sam spotted the sleek white Learjet already on the tarmac, the Kinkaid Industries logo gleaming on its tail.
Two people stood near the aircraft stairs. Sam recognized them immediately as Amelia and Marco Diaz, the mated pair who served as his primary pilots for international flights.
Amelia was a lioness from a branch of the Kinkaid family that had settled in California three generations back. She’d taken her mate’s surname when they’d married five years ago.
Marco was a jaguar shifter, lean and black-haired, with startling green eyes. He’d been a military pilot before joining Kinkaid Industries, and his skills were exceptional. He was also a heck of a nice guy, and Sam liked him a great deal.
“Alpha,” Amelia greeted him with a warm smile as he approached. “Good to see you.”
“Amelia. Marco.” Sam shook both their hands. “I appreciate you taking this flight.”
They always had a choice whether they wanted to globetrot with him. Sam insisted on that. He had other pilots he could call on if a trip didn’t work out for Amelia and Marco.
“Are you kidding? It’s been a while since we’ve been to Nice C?te d’Azur Airport.” Marco grinned. “This beats flying executives to Dallas any day.”
Since there was no airport big enough to land the jet in Monaco, they would fly to Nice and be driven from there. They could have taken a helicopter from Nice to Monte Carlo, but Sam preferred the drive, which was only about a half hour.
“Have you two met Claudia?” Sam asked, gesturing politely as she joined them. “She’ll be accompanying me for the weekend.”
“A pleasure to meet you,” Amelia said, her keen eyes taking in Claudia with obvious interest. “We’ve heard good things about your work with the Clan.”
Claudia looked surprised but pleased as she smiled at the couple. “Thanks. Just doing my job.”
“Well, you’re doing a great job from all accounts.” Marco moved to help load their luggage. “We should get going. Weather’s clear all the way to Nice, and we’ve got a good tailwind. Should make excellent time.”
As they prepared to board, Marco caught Sam’s arm, his expression turning serious. “Alpha, there’s something you should know. We got word this morning that Mark Peppard and Nick Balam are attending the gala.”
Sam’s eyebrows rose. “Mark and Nick?”
“Last minute additions, apparently. They heard you were going and decided to provide a little backup.” Marco’s smile was slight. “They wanted me to tell you that they’ve arranged suites on the same floor as yours at the hotel. They’ll meet you there with their mates.”
Sam felt something warm settle in his chest. Mark Peppard was the Alpha of all jaguars, which made them equals among shifters.
The man was notoriously private, famously reclusive, and commanded respect from every shifter community in the world.
The fact that he’d drop everything to provide backup for Sam, without even being asked, meant more than he could easily express.
And Nick Balam, Mark’s second-in-command, was equally formidable. More social than Mark, but no less deadly when it mattered. His mate, Sullivan Lane, was a Hollywood A-lister whose presence would certainly add an interesting dynamic to the weekend.
“That’s…” Sam paused, collecting his thoughts. “That’s unexpected. And incredibly generous of them.”
“Mark said to tell you that Alphas look out for each other,” Marco said quietly. “Especially when the Venifucus is involved.”
“How did he know about that?” Sam wondered aloud.
Marco grinned. “It’s not too hard to put together after the trouble the Kinkaid Clan has had of late.
The suddenness of your coming out of hiding and attending such a public affair has raised a lot of eyebrows.
Mark and Nick put two and two together. The rest of the world is speculating that you’re either trying to impress a woman, close a business deal, or raise your social profile. ”
“You don’t say,” Sam nodded, his mind already adjusting their plans to account for this new variable. Having Mark and Nick there changed things. Changed them for the better, certainly, but it still required recalculation.
“Come on, folks,” Amelia called merrily from the aircraft stairs. “Let’s get you two in the air.”
The interior of the Learjet was configured for comfort rather than capacity. Eight leather seats arranged in facing pairs, a small galley, and a private cabin in the rear. Claudia chose a seat by the window, and Sam settled across from her, their knees almost touching in the intimate space.
Amelia went through the standard safety briefing while Marco handled the pre-flight checks. Within minutes, they were taxiing to the runway, and then, the engines roared, and they were airborne, Houston falling away beneath them.
Once they reached cruising altitude and Marco had given them the all-clear to move about the cabin, Sam unbuckled and leaned forward, his elbows on his knees.
“So,” Claudia said, “Mark Peppard and Nick Balam. I’ve heard their names, of course, but I don’t know much about them.”
“Mark is the jaguar Alpha,” Sam explained. “He’s brilliant, ruthless when he needs to be, and fiercely protective of his people. He’s also one of the most private people I’ve ever met. The fact that he’s coming to Monaco at all is remarkable.”
“And his mate?”
“Shelly. She’s an architect, and a mage. They met a few years ago during some kind of magical crisis. From what I understand, she’s powerful in her own right, which is probably why they work so well together.” Sam smiled at the memory of meeting them. “She keeps him grounded.”
“And Nick Balam?”
“Mark’s second-in-command. He’s head of security for Peppard. He’s charming, dangerous, and absolutely devoted to Mark and the jaguar Clan.” Sam paused. “His mate is Sullivan Lane.”
Claudia’s eyes widened. “The Sullivan Lane? The actress?”
“The very same. She’s talented, beautiful, and draws attention wherever she goes. Which is normally the opposite of what Nick would want, but somehow, they make it work.”
“So we’re going to have two powerful allies at the gala,” Claudia said slowly. “That changes things.”
“It does.” Sam pulled out his tablet and opened the notes from Gavin’s briefing. “Let’s think through how we want to play this.”
They spent the next hours going over various scenarios. How to coordinate with Mark and Nick without making it obvious they were working together. How Sullivan’s celebrity status might affect the dynamics of the weekend. How Shelly’s magical abilities could support Claudia if needed.
“Having another mage there is actually a huge relief,” Claudia admitted. “If something goes wrong magically, I won’t be the only one trying to handle it.”
“Assuming Shelly’s willing to get involved,” Sam cautioned. “Mark is protective of her. He might not want her taking risks.”
“Then we’ll make sure she doesn’t have to.” Claudia made notes on her own tablet. “But it’s still good to know she’s there as a backup, though I’ll have to find out what sorts of magic are her best.”
They worked through contingency plans until Claudia’s eyes started to glaze over from exhaustion and information overload. Sam called for a break and got coffee from the small galley.
“How much longer?” Sam asked, stopping by the cockpit.
“About four more hours,” Amelia said. “We’re making good time. You should both try to get some rest. It’s going to be a busy few days.”
She was right, of course. Sam settled back in his seat and watched Claudia doze off against the window, her features soft in sleep. The urge to reach across and brush the hair from her face was almost overwhelming, but he kept his hands to himself.
This was going to be a very long weekend.
Sam was watching her when Claudia woke three hours later. She was an unconsciously beautiful woman who intrigued him to no end.
“What?” she asked, seeming self-conscious.
“Nothing. You just looked peaceful.” He handed her a bottle of water. “We’ll be landing in about an hour. You should eat something.”
They shared a quiet meal, the conversation carefully neutral, both of them avoiding the topics that mattered most. By the time Amelia announced their descent into Nice, Sam felt wound tight with tension that had nothing to do with the mission.
The landing was smooth, and within minutes, they were taxiing to a private area of the airport. Through the window, Sam could see a sleek silver Bently waiting on the tarmac.