?
“It’s not wrong. Far from it. You’ve never felt comfortable in the mortal world, have you? You’re too beautiful and confident to be a loner, but you never really felt like you fit in.” He looked at her with those knowing eyes, seeing right through her. “There’s no shame in wanting to feel acknowledged for who you are and at ease in your surroundings.”
“I certainly don’t fit in here .” But she couldn’t deny that, deep down, she felt as if she did. And that Adrian was a large part of the reason why. He knew what she did and he accepted her without hesitation. That gave her a sense of fulfillment she’d never had before.
“Don’t you?”
“Not yet.” But she thought she might.
God . . . What would it be like to work alongside others who fought the same fight she did, to not feel so utterly alone in this vicious, lethal world she’d been initiated into with her mother’s death?
Reaching up, Lindsay rubbed the back of her neck. “This decision should really be much harder to make— for both of us. I’m going to slow you down and be a liability.”
“Agreed,” Damien said.
Adrian lifted one shoulder in an artlessly elegant shrug. “There’s a use for every talent.”
“I need income,” she pointed out. “Regardless of choosing one life over the other, I won’t accept a free ride.”
“Mortals,” Damien drawled, “are so obsessed with material wealth.”
Adrian’s mouth curved in a ghost of a smile. “Every day, I’m sending teams all over the world. The duty of making those flight and hotel reservations falls to whoever is unfortunate enough to be near me in the morning; I can’t assign it to my office staff at Mitchell Aeronautics without rousing suspicions. Today, that individual will be you. Barring complete ineptitude or profound dislike, we’ll keep you busy with that task indefinitely. We can negotiate your salary and rent. I provide cell phones, expense accounts, and transportation to all of the Sentinels. You can choose to maintain your own cellular service, but you’ll be carrying two phones.”
“Sentinels?”
“All the angels you see around us.”
Lindsay’s gaze swept over the wide deck. “How many of you are there?”
“One hundred and sixty-two, as of yesterday.”
“Total?”
He nodded.
A short laugh escaped her. “No wonder you’re willing to put up with me. You need all the help you can get.”
“We have the lycans,” Damien rumbled.
She looked at the guards dotting the perimeter of the deck. The disparity in their physical build compared to the angels helped to distinguish them. The angels were lithe and lean, which probably helped them aerodynamically, while the lycans were thicker and more muscular.
Adrian glanced at Damien. “I want to search the area around where Phineas was attacked, and I think it’s time for me to visit the Navajo Lake pack again.”
Damien nodded and stood. “I’ll send a reconnaissance team ahead to secure the base.”
“No. That would allude to fear and distrust, which isn’t a message I want to send.”
“Send a different message then,” Lindsay suggested. “A real one, letting them know you’re coming.”
Both angels looked at her.
She waved one hand in a careless gesture. “I don’t know what’s going on, so maybe I’m off base, but it sounds like you’re going someplace that poses a risk and you don’t want the people you’re visiting to know you consider it risky. So . . . let ’em see you coming. Announce it. That shows fearlessness—you’re handing them the opportunity to do whatever it is you’re worried about. But first, run with Damien’s reconnaissance idea, but on the down low. Canvass the area without them knowing. Put some people around to scope the place out before you send the message that you’re coming. Then watch what they do when they get it.”
Damien’s gaze narrowed. “Lycans have a strong sense of smell. They would know they were being
“It’s not wrong. Far from it. You’ve never felt comfortable in the mortal world, have you? You’re too beautiful and confident to be a loner, but you never really felt like you fit in.” He looked at her with those knowing eyes, seeing right through her. “There’s no shame in wanting to feel acknowledged for who you are and at ease in your surroundings.”
“I certainly don’t fit in here .” But she couldn’t deny that, deep down, she felt as if she did. And that Adrian was a large part of the reason why. He knew what she did and he accepted her without hesitation. That gave her a sense of fulfillment she’d never had before.
“Don’t you?”
“Not yet.” But she thought she might.
God . . . What would it be like to work alongside others who fought the same fight she did, to not feel so utterly alone in this vicious, lethal world she’d been initiated into with her mother’s death?
Reaching up, Lindsay rubbed the back of her neck. “This decision should really be much harder to make— for both of us. I’m going to slow you down and be a liability.”
“Agreed,” Damien said.
Adrian lifted one shoulder in an artlessly elegant shrug. “There’s a use for every talent.”
“I need income,” she pointed out. “Regardless of choosing one life over the other, I won’t accept a free ride.”
“Mortals,” Damien drawled, “are so obsessed with material wealth.”
Adrian’s mouth curved in a ghost of a smile. “Every day, I’m sending teams all over the world. The duty of making those flight and hotel reservations falls to whoever is unfortunate enough to be near me in the morning; I can’t assign it to my office staff at Mitchell Aeronautics without rousing suspicions. Today, that individual will be you. Barring complete ineptitude or profound dislike, we’ll keep you busy with that task indefinitely. We can negotiate your salary and rent. I provide cell phones, expense accounts, and transportation to all of the Sentinels. You can choose to maintain your own cellular service, but you’ll be carrying two phones.”
“Sentinels?”
“All the angels you see around us.”
Lindsay’s gaze swept over the wide deck. “How many of you are there?”
“One hundred and sixty-two, as of yesterday.”
“Total?”
He nodded.
A short laugh escaped her. “No wonder you’re willing to put up with me. You need all the help you can get.”
“We have the lycans,” Damien rumbled.
She looked at the guards dotting the perimeter of the deck. The disparity in their physical build compared to the angels helped to distinguish them. The angels were lithe and lean, which probably helped them aerodynamically, while the lycans were thicker and more muscular.
Adrian glanced at Damien. “I want to search the area around where Phineas was attacked, and I think it’s time for me to visit the Navajo Lake pack again.”
Damien nodded and stood. “I’ll send a reconnaissance team ahead to secure the base.”
“No. That would allude to fear and distrust, which isn’t a message I want to send.”
“Send a different message then,” Lindsay suggested. “A real one, letting them know you’re coming.”
Both angels looked at her.
She waved one hand in a careless gesture. “I don’t know what’s going on, so maybe I’m off base, but it sounds like you’re going someplace that poses a risk and you don’t want the people you’re visiting to know you consider it risky. So . . . let ’em see you coming. Announce it. That shows fearlessness—you’re handing them the opportunity to do whatever it is you’re worried about. But first, run with Damien’s reconnaissance idea, but on the down low. Canvass the area without them knowing. Put some people around to scope the place out before you send the message that you’re coming. Then watch what they do when they get it.”
Damien’s gaze narrowed. “Lycans have a strong sense of smell. They would know they were being
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