Blonde & Blue (Alexa O'Brien, Huntress #4)(12)

Chapter Five

I didn’t expect to see Kale’s car in the parking lot when I got to the office. Good. I had a few things to say to him after I was through speaking with Veryl. It had been a while since the bossman had wanted to see me. Our relationship was strained. I had little to say to him these days.

I’m not sure what made me do it, but I cloaked my presence before exiting the car. Neither of them would be able to detect me. Another advantage of being other than human was how easy it was to slip inside unheard. The front door made the slightest squeak, causing me to swear beneath my breath.

Pausing in the entryway, I listened to the sounds of the office. My sensitive ears picked up the low tones of two male voices. The sound of the clock ticking in the kitchen was especially loud as I concentrated. Whatever Veryl and Kale were discussing, it was heated.

I really hadn’t intended to eavesdrop when I snuck inside. I was simply curious, and lately, I’d been incredibly suspicious. I was in the dark on too many of the things going on around here. That had to stop.

I slowly made my way down the hall. Veryl’s door was at the very end. It was closed. Their voices carried, and I was surprised to hear the absolute venom in Kale’s tone. It was a far cry from his usual calm, cool and collected. Interesting.

“She’s never going to do it, you know. You need to tell her what’s really going on around here. And when you do, shit is going to hit the fan.”

There was silence, and I held my breath, waiting for Veryl’s response. I had a sick feeling in my stomach that the “her” in their conversation was me. We worked with a few other women. It could be any of them, right? Yeah, not likely.

“It’s not that simple. You should know that. I didn’t expect her to have as much power as she does. It makes her better for this than I could have imagined. They want her on the big jobs now, but how do I say that to her without getting my head torn off?” Veryl sounded desperate.

“I know that she doesn’t take lightly to deception. Can you blame her? Either lay it on the line and let her choose or don’t, but I’m not keeping anything from her anymore.” Kale’s tone was low and deadly.

My pulse began to race. I didn’t like what I was hearing. I swallowed hard. Should I keep listening or show myself? I didn’t think I needed to hear anymore. I dropped my hold on the power enforcing my shields and waited.

Instant silence. As I’d expected. A full minute passed before the door opened. Veryl stood in its frame, a frown marring his sharp features. “Alexa. Funny. I didn’t sense your arrival.”

“Good. You weren’t supposed to.” My wolf stared out at him through my eyes. He appeared unnerved.

“We were just discussing something. Why don’t you come in and join us?”

I stepped into the room and took the chair next to Kale. I gave him a pointed look which he ignored. Despite his poker face, I could see the truth in his mismatched eyes: they had definitely been talking about me.

Veryl took his place behind the desk. He turned off his computer monitor before turning his attention to me. “I suppose we should talk. How much did you hear?”

“Enough to know that I was right to be suspicious. Just cut the crap and tell it like it is. Please, don’t screw with me anymore.”

I’d worked with Veryl for years. He was a former paranormal investigator turned vampire. He had people like Kale, Jez and me work for him, along with a few others. We were pretty much hired guns. We killed other supernaturals, and for the most part, we weren’t given a lot of reason for it. I’d always assumed there was a reason to wipe them out, the main one being that some of them risked drawing unnecessary attention to the rest of us. I had known for a while that there were things going on behind the scenes that Veryl kept from us. I had a feeling I was about to discover one of them.

“I’m going to level with you, Alexa.” Veryl leaned forward on his desk to pin me with his gaze. “You’re a smart lady. You know by now that things aren’t exactly what they seem here. I am only one man in a very large and powerful organization. Somewhat of a paranormal CIA, if you will.”

That verified some of my suspicions. I’d suspected Veryl’s orders came from somewhere else. However, having it confirmed did nothing to ease the sick feeling growing in the pit of my stomach.

“How much of it is human government?”

“The question really is, how much of the government is human? Anyway, that’s an entirely different topic.”

That was reassuring. “I knew there was more going on than you’d ever say. But go ahead, tell me what it really has to do with me. And, why wait until now to tell me about it?”

Kale remained too quiet for my liking. I wanted to kick him but resisted the urge. I didn’t dare take my eyes from Veryl. Whether I could make him squirm or not, I wanted him to feel the weight of my gaze.

“Isn’t it obvious? We recruit those with serious power. You have it. You always have. But naturally, we started you out small. Simple vampire kills, something to help hone your skills while reducing the number of vermin on the streets. But now, you’re big time.”

He let that last sentence hang between us, allowing its true meaning to sink in. Fury crashed over me like a wave on the beach. I was suddenly soaked in it. Deep breaths did little to help.

“And, someone wants to take advantage of that. Right?”