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His gaze was hooded. “That’s a long way off. ”
“Then peace will be even further away,” she informed him bleakly. “The reason I was valuable to the Tallant organization is the fact that I can see the threads that bind events. Where to cut them, where to strengthen them. Because I knew how to profile people and events. If you don’t begin building that critical thread now, then you’re screwed. ”
“You tell us in one breath that David is in danger of being abducted by the Council at any time, and you say send him to public school in the next,” he accused.
She shrugged philosophically. “The President’s children have attended school with their Secret Service agents in tow. Create a force just for the protection of these children. It would be easy to do. Buffalo Gap, the small town outside Sanctuary, is very small. Build them a new school, fund it, bring in the supplies they need to better educate their children, and they will cooperate with you. ”
“Which will cause the town to grow,” he argued, his golden eyes swirling with frustration. “Which provides a fertile ground for the Council to lay in their soldiers and their killers. ”
“That’s the risk you took when you based yourself in the States rather than hiding in Africa. ” She turned on him, staring back at him in determination. “You have Breeds that could be trained to teach school. Several files I read marked them as perfect teachers. They’re not just trained to kill; they’re trained to teach. Make them available to a new school with new supplies and better opportunities. Until you do this, the Breeds will never fit in, Tanner, and timing is crucial at this point to keep the pure blood societies from gaining ground. ”
She didn’t mention the mating heat, but she knew from what Jonas had said at the caverns that it was the Breeds’ most destructive secret. If Cyrus ever gained this information, he would destroy the Breeds with it.
“The Breed Cabinet convenes monthly for ideas,” he told her then. “You can attend the meeting and propose it. ”
Her lips twitched. “I can just see Jonas embracing it, let alone the parents of those children. Breeds are very stubborn, I’ve noticed. ”
“So are you. ” He gripped her arm, turning her toward the sheltered, camouflaged area farther behind the house. “All you have to do is fight for it. ”
She might have a chance if she had a hope of having children herself.
“Live for it,” he whispered a second later.
Scheme jerked her gaze away, staring instead into the dappled sunlight that pierced the netting into the yard.
“Tanner,” she began to protest.
“Scheme. ” He crowded her. His larger body seemed to surround her as he backed her into a small grotto of flowering bushes.
“I’m not trying to die, you know,” she bit out, frustrated by the needs of her own body and the need to learn as much as she could to figure out the identity of the assassin within Sanctuary. “This isn’t helping me do my job. ”
“I don’t want you to do your fucking job,” he growled. “I want you back in the house. I want you safe until this is over. ”
“And how is it supposed to be over?” she hissed back. “I can help here. ”
“Not until that spy is caught. ”
“I’m the only one who can draw that bastard out. ” Her whisper was frustrated. “He won’t try to kill me; he’ll try to take me. Try working with me for a change. ”
They had raged over this argument since early that morning, and still Tanner refused to see sense. The only reason she had made it out of the house to begin with was because Cabal had finally out-argued his brother. And Tanner hadn’t been pleased over it.
“I’ve had enough. ” His lips drew back from his teeth, red flickering in that golden gaze. “We’ve been out here for more than a half hour, plenty of time to draw him out if he was going to be drawn. ”
Her eyes narrowed. “You know better than that, Tanner,” she argued. “I need more time. ”
“Time for him to load his rifle and get in place for the shot?” he asked, his voice dangerously calm.
She scoffed. “Not hardly. Time for Cabal to see who’s watching and how close. That’s all the spy will do until he makes his move. ”
She lifted her hand to touch his face, marveling at the perfection of it, at least to her. The strong planes and savage angles. The fallen-angel sensuality and long, shielded golden eyes.
“I don’t want to die,” she said. “I want to live and laugh, and fight with you for years to come, but we won’t have that chance if the spy doesn’t show himself. ” Her voice
dropped. “You know that as well as I do. ”
“You terrify me,” he growled. “Waiting around on a bullet is no way to fight back. ”
“Trust me Tanner, there will be no bullet. ” She let her lips twitch with amusement. “But he will make plans. He’ll watch. He’ll test security. All we need is one mistake and then you can take him down. I promise not to interfere in that. ”
