Circe's Recruits: Gideon: A Multiple Partner Shifter Book by Marie Harte

a way that had only increased attention paid to her by the media. She could go nowhere, swamped by photographers and tabloids. They’d never known the real her, never had time for a shy little girl who only wanted her father’s attention. Instead, she’d been groomed to be a glory hound. Anything to please the people around her and make daddy look like the world’s best father.
    She’d done that…for a time, at least.
    Senator Timothy Norton, her father, had given her the best money could buy. In the past few years, he’d seen fit to include her in his vast network of intelligence and government initiatives. She had more power than he ever had at her age. Now retired, he spent all his time keeping their secrets and eliminating threats.
    She stared onscreen as Dr. Lang conferred with his team of scientists. Time would tell if Lang could be trusted to enter her inner sanctum, as Duane Smith had. She’d been fortunate enough that he’d stepped into her path at the right time and place. As if fate had thrown them together for a specific purpose. She trusted Duane, though common sense said she shouldn’t.
    He did whatever she wanted without question. Even better, beneath that average façade dwelled a byzantine mind and hardcore sadist, one who knew how to keep his mouth shut.
    A knock on her office door. She’d sent her personal staff to Paris for a few days, hoping for a creative burst. The lack of people breathing down her throat gave her the opportunity to deal with Lang’s recent failure. “Come in.”
    Duane entered. Neither tall nor short, fat nor slender, he had average features and an even temperament. On the surface. Now, as he approached, she saw the fire behind those pale brown eyes.
    She suppressed a shiver and raised a brow. “Tell me exactly what happened.”
    Duane glowered.
    With her in private, he became another man. No longer the meek science nerd who swallowed every word Dr. Lang spoke as gospel, no longer the scared little boy who’d been abused unmercifully by his father, ignored by his mother, and treated as no more than a case number by social services, Duane drew on all the black stuff in his past and turned into the hardened man she’d seen buried under so much placidness.
    Like Duane, Amelia had lived to type, doing exactly what others wanted of her for too long. And like Duane, she’d broken, then put herself back together. Daddy hadn’t realized she had a will of her own. Not until it had been too late to stop her.
    “Lang fucked up.” Duane didn’t bother with niceties. “He trusted Alex Palmer, despite my concerns. Now Palmer, Spencer, Ortiz and Freeman are gone.”
    She frowned. “Our successful Circs, no longer under our control?” A Series, no longer theirs?
    “Correct. But we still have some of the B Series left. They’re not psychic, but they pass for normal and they’re strong.” He rattled off a bunch of names, ending with, “Myers, Yates, Sheer and Caldane. Oh, and we still have a few of our stronger psychics with us. They’ve been moved to this location and are currently in the white wing, under guard.”
    “Good.” The psychics were as valuable as the Circs. It grated that the ones she’d planned to reap after breeding had gone missing, but she’d make do with what she had. “Work the females through Myers and his friends.”
    “They’re a pack. That’s how they refer to themselves.”
    “Fascinating.” She couldn’t care less. “I need fetal tissue. You know that.”
    He nodded. “We’ve already harvested what we had from those still viable.” He scowled. “Sheer is getting out of hand. He keeps killing our subjects.”
    She smiled. “After fucking them to death. Yes, I know. He intrigues me.” Almost as much as that wonderfully monstrous Caldane. She rose from behind her desk and walked to Duane, pleased when he stiffened and stared at her.
    She wore a gossamer negligee, having expected him. Behind her back she held a crop. “I’ve missed