The Mercenary and the Shifters (The Turning Stone Chronicles) by C.D. Hersh

What time is the meeting?”
    Was he right? Did she need the protection of rogues because she was now aligned with them? She tucked her chin against her chest, stretching her tense neck muscles. She was the one who got in bed with the devil. She had to follow through.
    “Ten a.m., I’ll text you the location.” She removed the phone from her ear, but heard Falhman speak.
    “One more thing, my dear. How did things go with Kyle Morrison last night? Have you news I can report to OmniWorld?”
    “We hit it off. I have a date tonight. I didn’t even have to give him a donation.”
    “Excellent.”
    She wasn’t certain the night had been excellent, except for the donation part. She needed the money.
    “When do I get my training session?” she asked.
    “Since you are busy today, how does tomorrow sound?”
    Finally! Some progress. “Great. Where shall we meet?”
    “I’ll be in touch.”
    The line went dead. Fiona checked the number Falhman had used. Blocked. It figured he’d be all undercover and spyish. She hung up and climbed in the car.
    “Problems?” George asked.
    “No more than usual.”
    “I heard from Mike this morning,” George said. “He’ll be home tonight.”
    “Good,” she said as she pulled out of the garage. George hummphed and she added, “Not that you haven’t been a stellar employee.”
    “Thank you,” he said.
    She glanced over at the bodyguard. “Do you know Mike well?”
    “Been working with him for about three years now.”
    “Something you said the other night intrigued me. ‘They all like him better.’ What did you mean?”
    “The women,” George said. “I guess it’s because he plays hard-to-get.”
    “He gets involved with his clients?”
    “More like they get involved with him. Or they want to.”
    She understood. Mike’s macho masculinity tinged with the hint of caring she’d seen him display would make any woman feel safe. When he was around, she felt very secure.
    “Even the married ones. He’s got some kind of charm. But he’s a stand-up guy. You won’t find a better man anywhere.”
    She needed a good man. Knowing he would be here soon lifted her spirits. Then she remembered she wouldn’t be able to see him until the morning.
    “Darn,” she said, hitting the steering wheel with the palm of her hand. “I won’t be here tonight.”
    George gave her a questioning look.
    “I’ve got a date with Kyle Morrison, and I can’t break it.”
    George laughed.
    “I didn’t mean I wanted to,” she hastened to add. “I just thought I should be here to get the news about LJ.”
    “Like I said, they all like him better.”
    Unfortunately, George had read her right. She did have feelings for Mike. Those emotions would be a problem while she courted Kyle for less than romantic purposes.
    Oh, what tangled webs we weave when first we practice to deceive.
    If she wasn’t careful she’d become the fly caught in the web instead of the spider hunting prey. The thought gave her no comfort.
    Her company lawyer protested when she told him she’d added another attorney to the meeting, but she overruled him, using the lie that the federal agent who’d helped her with the smuggling incident recommended she add additional counsel. Promising to put the company’s counsel first smoothed her lawyer’s bruised ego somewhat. The promise was not hard since she barely trusted Swindell. But Dad had always used the old adage Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.
    When Swindell entered Fiona rose to meet him, greeting him at the doorway. “I thought OmniWorld was sending a lawyer,” she whispered.
    “My dear, you offend me. What makes you think I’m not a lawyer?”
    “I thought you were a corporate representative, not a lawyer.”
    “I am many things. Like an onion, I have layers which peel back to reveal facets you never dreamed of.”
    Fiona rolled her eyes at his obtuse explanation. “A non-answer. Spoken like a true lawyer.”
    She introduced him to her