There is a knock on my door, though he doesn’t wait for me to invite him in. He doesn’t need to. I don’t even look up from my desk and the current correspondence from the Assembly. Another veiled threat about finding a wife and attempting to take my position away from me, something that they cannot do.
“Whitecotton,” I grunt before I even look up.
I hear his body flop into the chair and a groan from him, no doubt feeling relief to be sitting on the soft cushion instead of his steed’s saddle.
“Who’s upstairs. Pretty raven-haired beauty that she is?” he asks.
That is when I lift my head. My eyes widen before I narrow them at him. “She is none of your concern,” I bite out.
Whitecotton’s lips curve up into a grin. “Oh, now I want to know more, James.”
Pressing my lips together, I shake my head once. “Tell me your reason for scheduling this meeting, then we’ll talk about other things… maybe.”
“No maybes.” He chuckles.
I lean back in my chair, placing my arms on the leather rests at my side and I wait for him to tell me what exactly he’s doing here. I know that he has not appeared for no reason. Whitecotton is a comrade, but this is business, not a friendly visit to play poker.
“There are murmurings,” he begins.
Holding up my hand, I interrupt him. “Is this about the Assembly wanting me to find a wife? If so, you needn’t come all the way out here for that,” I grunt.
Whitecotton shakes his head. “It isn’t. Though I find it comical that they’re trying to push that on you of all things. They should have really looked into you better.”
I shrug a shoulder. I have a feeling they decided that since I am a widower that I would be more than willing to go down that road again. They would be incorrect. I’m not a lonely man in search of companionship. I can find physical pleasure anywhere I so choose, and I enjoy being alone. I don’t need a woman to complete me.
Whitecotton shifts in his seat, looking nervous, then begins to speak again, explaining to me the real reason that he is here. His light eyes meet mine. He shows me the depth of his seriousness. This isn’t something as frivolous as marrying some woman and making babies. This is so much more.
“There are murmurings of a revolt.”
I bite the inside of my cheek in an effort not to roar with fury, at least not until I have the rest of the information. I’m seconds away from completely losing my composure though. Mere seconds.
“Explain,” I demand through gritted teeth.
He clears his throat, shifting in his seat again, a clear indication that I’m not going to like what he has to say next, considering he did this just a moment ago and I didn’t like what it was that he told me.
“The opponents to your position have been gathering in secret. At first, I wrote the whispers off as nothing but a disgruntled group, which is bound to happen during any kind of change, but their numbers are growing, they are recruiting. They will be attacking soon.”
There is something off about my old friend. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but I decide to shake it off, seeing how he’s telling me something of great importance.
Chapter Five
COLT
Attacking.
The word rolls around in my head and I wonder exactly how that will happen. Will they come for me first or only after they’ve taken out the Assembly? Strategically, I know how I would run an operation like this, how I would implement treason. I have before and I’m sure there will be a time where I will need to do it again.
This is not that time.
They are not me.
Whitecotton watches me, then reaches for the whiskey next to him and pours us both a glass. “I’ve sent the troops to gather and come out here,” he says before he hands me a glass of whiskey.
“How many?”
This is technically his job, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to give him full rein. It once was my job and I’m not someone who easily gives up control and I don’t blindly follow anyone, even if I trust them implicitly.
“I’m only amassing the special forces, one-hundred and twenty-five officers.”
“Then?”
He grins, walking back to his seat and sinking down, whiskey in hand. “Then, I wait for your direction on how you want to take this.”
My own lips curve up into a grin. “As much as I can’t stand the Assembly, they need protection. It is part of my duty to do that for them. Send guards that way as soon as possible.”
“And the rest?”
Pressing my lips together, I clear my throat before I lift the glass to my mouth and suck down a hearty shot.
“Get them ready and on call. They need to be completely prepared. Until we know exactly what we’re dealing with, I don’t want them to see the troops moving and get spooked or the citizens to worry, either.”
Whitecotton clears his throat and drains his glass. I know what he’s going to say next and he doesn’t disappoint me at all. His lips curve up into a grin and he chuckles.
“Spill your guts,” he grunts. “Who is she?”
I think about telling him a lie. I could say a million different things, but this is Whitecotton and he won’t think me a liar or insane for telling him the truth as I know it. Instead of lying to him, I tell him everything as I know it.
“So, she just appeared. In the middle of the desert in strange attire?” he asks.
“She did,” I agree with a nod. “She also acts as though all of this is a joke, as if it is not real at all. I’m not sure if she’s trying to play me or if she indeed thinks that she has been somehow
