Cold stabbed his heart. “There will be a next time?”
She held his gaze steadily. Her deep brown eyes were clear and unguarded, offering him the depths of her soul. “That’s up to you, Ash.”
He was the one to look away first.
“No more dangerous men with tattoos,” he said, rather more harshly than he’d intended. “Promise me that, at least.”
“No more dangerous men with tattoos,” she agreed, with a faint sigh. “I promise.”
Chapter 6
Past
20 years ago…
This is a terrible idea, the sensible part of Rose’s mind screamed as she circled over the compound. Turn around and go home!
She ignored her fears, stretching her wings to stay as high as possible. The thin air burned in her lungs. If any of the soldiers patrolling the high barbed-wire fences happened to look up, she’d be nothing more than a dot in the sky. Just another bird.
The mate-call tugged at her, trying to pull her down to a grim, plain concrete building at the heart of the complex. She swept around it in wide, steady circles, waiting her moment.
She’d spent three days covertly studying the strange base. It was hidden deep within an otherwise untouched stretch of forest, with no other buildings for miles around. Only a single dirt path led to it. In all the time she’d been watching, she’d only seen a handful of vehicles approach or leave. They’d all been plain black, with smoked glass windows hiding their occupants.
What kind of place is this?
She still couldn’t decide if it was a military compound or some kind of peculiar academic retreat. The barbed wire and watchtowers—not to mention the uniformed soldiers with their semi-automatic rifles—definitely suggested the former.
But she’d seen other people too, in strange flowing robes, looking for all the world like students heading to a graduation ceremony. And though the compound was lined with low, utilitarian barracks, there were older, grander structures as well.
A mansion, built in the elegant old style with sweeping porticos. Smaller houses lining quads and formal gardens. A big, stately stone hall that wouldn’t have looked out of place in Oxford or Cambridge University, set behind a manicured lawn.
It was like someone had taken a very private, very exclusive college, and fortified it.
She had no idea what it all meant. All she knew was that her mate was down there.
And he needed her.
So she circled, and waited.
Her pulse picked up as she heard the sound of honking. The flock of wild geese was returning, as they had every evening at sunset, calling back and forth to each other. Their voices sharpened in disgruntled affront as she slid into their midst.
Don’t mind me, she silently willed, as beady eyes stared at her in suspicion. I just need to fly with you for a moment. Don’t make a fuss.
Beaks clacked at her, but the flock still swung down to their usual pond. Rose landed too, stretching out her webbed feet to splash into the cool water. As quickly as she could, she paddled away from the irritated geese. She hid herself in the reeds lining the water, surreptitiously craning her neck to peer out.
So far so good.
No one seemed to have noticed the geese’s noisier-than-usual arrival. The pond was off to the eastern side of the campus, surrounded by manicured lawns and formal flowerbed
s. Over the past few days, she’d seen the robed people strolling through the garden or relaxing on the scattered benches, but never any of the soldiers. She had the impression that this part of the complex was reserved for the students, if that’s what they were.
Now for the tricky part.
Rose scrambled out of the pond. A large, jet-black swan was hardly inconspicuous, but still less likely to attract attention than a naked woman. Sticking as close as she could to the shadow of bushes, she set off toward one of the low buildings.
She’d seen people go in and out enough times to know that it was where they stored cleaning supplies. Even more importantly, it didn’t seem to be locked or guarded. Who would break into a secret base in order to steal mops and buckets?
Someone who really, really needs to borrow a janitor’s uniform.