Fading sunlight dappled his sandy-brown hair. How she’d loved holding him close, wishing never to let go.
She had to let go now. Because if Sam brought her back, the council would be there, including Senator Rogers, most likely. She was going to use all her magick to free herself.
“Screw this,” he muttered. “You are not going back.”
Picking up the cell, he punched in a number. Sam stood, displaying the cords of muscle on his back and across his muscled, taut ass.
Remembering how strongly he’d pumped that ass to thrust deep inside her, Kelly squirmed on the bed. As he left the bedroom, talking on the phone, her hands fisted tighter in the sheets until her knuckles whitened.
She remained like that until he returned.
“I called Curt. Told him I’m going back to base. Neglected to say I’m going alone.”
He ran his thumb along her knuckles, his touch reassuring. “You’ll stay here. I warded the land enough so even a tank filled with Mages can’t come onto the property. I’ll break the bond between us so we can separate.”
He trusted her not to run for it. She had to trust that he’d fight for her.
“What will you do at the base?”
A fierce look came over him. “I’m going to find out what the hell is going on.”
Shay grappled with the problem during the flight to Virginia. As a SEAL, he fought with courage, conviction and the sureness of knowing he did the right thing.
Now doing the right thing was wrong in his superior’s eyes. He stood to lose everything as a SEAL.
Curt’s voice echoed in his mind. “You’re too involved. Step back and let us handle this.” Hell, it sounded like Curt, even the clipped words. Was the man a doppelganger?
He needed to see the man for himself.
At the airport, he flagged down a cab. He’d given a vague arrival time. Didn’t want to chance getting a little surprise.
But the surprise greeted him as he walked into ST 21’s ready room. Curt stood by the desk. In the front chair, Senator Robert Rogers. Next to them...
The entire Council of Mages, including Allen Shaymore, his dark gaze sharp as he nodded to Shay.
“Uncle Al. No retreat this year?”
“They cut it short.” Al scowled, tugging at the collar of his white starched shirt beneath the formal purple velvet robes of a Mage Elder. “Sent an air force jet to retrieve me so I could put on this damn monkey suit. What the hell’s the deal, son? You in trouble again?”
An air force jet? Shay’s heart dropped to his stomach. Rogers had pulled plenty of strings to make that happen. Unless the conspiracy went a lot deeper than he’d realized.
An expectant hush filled the air as the Mages looked at Lieutenant Commander Curtis.
“Where is Kelly Denning, Chief Petty Officer Shaymore?”
Curt never called him by his full title.
He shrugged. “Looks like a welcoming party. If I’d known you’d go through all this trouble, I’d have brought the beer.”
Al laughed, but Curt scowled. Rogers stood, his elegant frame trembling with rage. “Where the hell is Kelly Denning?”
“Chill, Senator. Don’t want to burst a blood vessel.” Shay kept his body loose and ready for action. If that SOB came at him, he’d get a fist smashed into his surgically altered nose.
“You’re a U.S. Navy SEAL and you were ordered...”
“I know my orders,” Shay fired back. “Yeah, I’m a SEAL. You call us adrenaline junkies, but we’re trained professionals. And part of any op is gathering good intel before we deploy.”
His gaze swept over the council. “I need information.”
“You are a soldier. You follow orders. Your job is to do what you’re told.” Rogers’s mouth thinned as he flexed his manicured hands, as if itching to wrap them around Shay’s neck.
“I’m not turning Kelly over until I know why she’s being charged, and what the formal charges are.” Shay narrowed his gaze.
Before Rogers could retort, he pushed on. “Section five fifty-seven, Code of Honor of the Executive Council of Honored Mages. And I quote, ‘If an Arcane is suspected of breaking Mage law, and bringing harm to Elemental Mages, the council will ensure due process is served and appoint a skilled attorney fluent in Code law to serve as counsel to the defendant. No Arcane shall be imprisoned without formal charges until such counsel can be found.’”
“You’re an arrogant son of a bitch,” the senator sputtered.
He considered. “Yeah. But we’re discussing Kelly Denning, not me.” He flashed a cold smile. “She deserves a lawyer. Are you trying to circumvent our sacred laws?”
“Of course not,” Rogers snapped. “We will, of course, see that she gets a fair trial. If she’s guilty, she’ll be executed.”
But the truth was carved on the faces of each Elder, except his uncle. Kelly was a dead woman.
“He’s right. The girl deserves representation. I’ll make sure she gets it.” Allen’s gaze was sly as he looked at his nephew, who grinned back.
Expecting Rogers to retort, he watched Curt signal to a waiting aide.
“We have a small surprise for you, Chief Petty Officer Shaymore. Someone who’s been missing all these years, who wanted dearly to see you again. Someone who will make you see reason.” Curt smiled.
Right. Not a fat chance. Shay’s hand dropped to his sidearm. And he nearly dropped with cold shock as a ghost strolled into the room. A gray-haired, stately ghost with hazel eyes like his own.
“Dad,” he whispered. Couldn’t be. The council was playing tricks on him. Or maybe this was a doppelganger, as well...but sweet hellfire, how could they have taken his DNA if his father had been dead for twelve years?
The room spun around like a top. Shay braced his hands on a desktop.
“Samuel.” The ghost offered a thin smile. “You’re here. I knew you would come.”
Only his father called him by his full name. Shay swung his gaze to his uncle, who stared at the floor and then back to the ghost. “I buried your remains...”
“You buried a servant who lost his life in the blaze. I’m here and quite alive. Samuel, my son. How I have missed you.”
“You’re dead.”
“Quite alive. I’ve been in hiding all these years. Too crazed with grief, living in the shadows.” His father’s face contorted with emotion. “In a way, I have been a true phantom, a ghost.”
The crack of a fist slamming into flesh. Shay watched in quiet satisfaction as the ghost stumbled backward.
“Don’t feel like a ghost to me,” he said, flexing his fist.
Colton wiped blood from his split lip. “Excuse me. I need a moment alone with my son.”
Shay fought for control as they walked to a nearby storage closet. Nothing ever surprised a SEAL. They had to adapt swiftly to sudden change. But all the hard training never prepared him for this.
Closing the door, Shay leaned against it.
“I will forgive you for hitting me because I owe you an apology for not telling you sooner.”
“Apology? You owe me a hell of a lot more,” Shay snapped. “Sooner? Twelve years ago would have been sweet! Why didn’t you tell me you were alive? Where the hell were you when the fire broke out? The day I fucking
