“Very well then,” returned Auberi. “Now, about the mission.”
Rurik twisted and glanced out the window again in the direction of Liberty’s house. For a second, he thought he saw someone in the upstairs window, looking back at him, but he blinked and there was nothing there. Just the light sway of the curtains as the fan continued to blow them.
Taking a deep breath, he caught the telltale smell of pending rain just as a light breeze started. That only added to the movement in the windows from across the street. If he didn’t get a handle on his jumpy over-vigilance, he’d end up waging a war against drapery.
That would earn him Asshole of the Week for sure. Hell, the guys would probably get him a valance or something to commemorate the moment.
“Are you listening, or did you hang up?” asked Auberi, aggravated.
“I hung up,” snapped Rurik.
“Aren’t you pleasant. I’m almost sad I’m not there with you to enjoy your lovely disposition,” said Auberi.
“What did you want to tell me about the mission?” demanded Rurik. “More bullshit about Liberty working for The Corporation? She’s not. Neither are her roommates. I’m sure of it.”
Auberi was quiet a moment before speaking. “Rurik?”
“What?”
“Want to tell me why it is you sound so passionate about the women not being part of The Corporation?” asked Auberi.
Rurik considered telling Auberi to go fuck himself but resisted. “Because they’re not. They can’t be. I know evil. They’re not it. They were concerned over Bill’s well-being and confronted me over my treatment of him.”
“Do I want to know what kind of treatment we’re talking about here? This wouldn’t happen to be Geneva-Convention-level infractions, would it?” asked Auberi, concern in his voice. “My daughter has taken a liking to Bill. I don’t want to have to explain why I let a bear-shifter eat him.”
“I haven’t eaten him,” said Rurik, glancing at Bill to find the man had somehow managed to wrap himself up in the cords of the surveillance equipment and was now hopping on one foot in a rather pathetic attempt to get loose. “Yet.”
With the way Rurik’s last several weeks had been going, everyone in the neighborhood was probably watching the events unfold since Bill had left the door open to the room, permitting the hallway light to illuminate the room for all to see. They’d probably gotten a good look at Rurik’s dick in the process too.
He groaned at the thought.
“That really is all I can ask for when it comes to Bill,” admitted Auberi. “Now, back to the women you’re there to observe.”
Going to the door of the room, Rurik closed it before taking his position at the window once more. His eyes needed a second to adjust to the absence of extra light. When they did, he thought he saw shadows in the upstairs windows of the other home.
That couldn’t be, especially since Liberty was currently opening the front door and checking the mailbox and Isobel and Daisy weren’t there.
He really needed to get his head straight. As if it wasn’t bad enough that he was masturbating while on watch and had entertained the idea she could be his mate, he was now seeing things. Duke would mock him endlessly if he found out about it all.
“Rurik,” said Auberi. “Are you there?”
“I am,” returned Rurik as he considered killing Bill simply to keep his secret. “I know you sent me here with the idea these women are wrapped up with The Corporation, but I don’t think they’re part of it at all. No. I know they’re not.”
“Here is the thing, Rurik, I have confirmation that they are wrapped up with The Corporation,” said Auberi.
Rurik’s bear side picked then to surge. He snarled into the phone, his mouth starting to change shape. “No!”
“Oh shit!” shouted Bill, putting his hands up as if to signal surrender. “Don’t go bearing out on us. I ain’t in the mood to handle a massive shitstorm. Speaking of shit…what kind of question is ‘does a bear shit in the woods?’ Of course bears shit in the woods. Unless they’re Russian shifters and then they do it in a toilet—at least I hope they do.”
Rurik snarled at Bill.
“Whoa, calm down, Rurik,” said Auberi. “You didn’t let me finish what I was trying to say. I have confirmation the women are tied to The Corporation, just not in the way we first thought. There’s been an incident at headquarters. We’ve uncovered another mole at this division of PSI. With that discovery came new intel. So, you’re right in the sense the women aren’t working with The Corporation, but you’re wrong in thinking they have no ties to them, because they do.”
Rurik tensed, his mouth returning to its normal shape. “How so?”
“Are you ready for this?” asked Auberi. “If what I’m looking over is right, the women were part of The Asia Project testing. I have people digging for additional details, but what they’re coming back with already is eye-opening. The level of detail the mole had on the women in Durham is frightening.”
Rurik felt faint. “W-what does the information say?”
Auberi was quiet a second before speaking. “That the women were among one of the groups of children that came through this PSI branch about twenty years back. I didn’t have any direct dealings with them because I was locked in a cell on a cooling-off period, if you’ll recall, but I think you did, Rurik. At least that is what these notes indicate.”
Rurik stared blankly at the house across the street as the onslaught of additional information swept over him. Hope surged as he thought about Little Paw, until he realized none of the women had scars on their faces. Knowing how substantial
