The Enemy Within (Daughters of the People Series Book 3) (8 page)

He’d needed her,
really needed her judging by the husky moans rumbling from his throat when
she’d pulled him down and opened to him. Her breasts had grown heavy and wet
heat had pooled in her nethers, and she’d reveled in the feel of his fingers
biting into her skin. Every brush of his body against hers had sent a wonderful
rush of feeling through her. Heat, desire. Need.

And not a whit
of guilt or shame.

She licked her
lower lip and closed her eyes to savor the taste of him clinging to her mouth,
and relished the thought of touching him again without the horror of that long
ago day tainting their passion.

When her tea finished
steeping, she pulled the tea leaf strainer out and stirred in a touch of honey
before sipping delicately at the steaming liquid.

Would he want to
kiss her again?

She huffed out a
laugh.
Silly Indi
. Of course, he would. He could barely keep his hands
off her when they walked through a public area fully clothed. And when they
were alone…

A rush of heat
shivered through her. When they were alone with that heavy need between them,
what would he do?

So far, he’d
been a gentleman, or as much of a gentleman as a man like Bobby was capable of
being. So maybe his hands strayed where they shouldn’t a time or two. Maybe his
mouth touched her where it oughtn’t more often than not, but that kiss.
Mmm,
that kiss
.

What if she
enticed him?

No
. They were
friends, and friends didn’t try to seduce one another.

Did they?

She knit her
brow, mulling over the ethics of seducing a friend.

Of course not.
That would be…wrong. And deceitful.

The memory of
his hand on her bottom, pressing her against him, popped into her mind. She
wanted to feel that again, feel his need, let it consume her.

Dare she seduce
him?

No
, she thought
again, and allowed her lips to curl into a secretive smile. But she could think
about it, couldn’t she?

The break room’s
door opened. Indigo glanced over her shoulder and barely stifled a groan at the
considering stare on Margaret’s face.

Margaret Mary,
Bobby’s oldest and most deadly sister, who had nearly caught them kissing the week
before.

“Margaret,”
Indigo said.

“Indigo.”
Margaret stalked forward and grabbed a mug from the cabinet above the sink,
helped herself to the coffee. “How’s your mother?”

“Very well,
thank you.”

“I’d like to
drop by when the baby’s born, pay my respects.”

Indigo sipped
her tea and watched Margaret carefully, waiting for the other shoe to drop. One
could never tell what was going on behind Margaret’s cold eyes. “I’m sure
she’ll love to see you.”

Margaret leaned
her bottom against the counter and regarded Indigo with equal caution. “Do they
know the sex yet?”

“They wanted it
to be a surprise.”

“Mmm. Are you
fucking my brother?”

“No.” Indigo
sighed and gripped her mug tightly. “Not that it’s any of your business.”

“Maybe I think
he can do better.”

“Maybe you
should let him decide,” Indigo shot back.

“If you hurt him
again…”

“Is that what
this is about? Protecting your brother?” Indigo compressed her lips into a thin
line. “Or are you using him as an excuse to keep me from helping him?”

“Maybe a little
of both,” Margaret admitted. Her gaze was fixed on Indigo as she sipped from
her mug.

Indigo weighed
her options, considered the other woman, and took a calculated risk. “Are you a
member of the Eternal Order?”

Margaret
sputtered out a laugh. “What makes you think that?”

“Oh, get real,
Margaret. Like I could draw any other conclusion after you brushed Bobby off
last week.”

“I’m not a
member of the Order,” Margaret said evenly.

“What about the
High Guard?”

Margaret’s
expression remained blank and cold. “I couldn’t tell you even if I wanted to.”

Indigo tapped a
finger against her cup. “Will you hinder Bobby’s efforts to track down the
People’s enemies?”

“Why would I do
that?”

“Because he
might get in your way.”

“No.” Margaret’s
lips twitched into what might have been a smile. “In this instance, his agenda
is my own.”

“I see.”

“Do you?”

The two of them
locked gazes and shared a moment of understanding Indigo would’ve been hard
pressed to explain to anyone else.

When the silence
stretched thin, she said, “I care about Bobby.”

“See that you
do.”

Laura walked in
and flushed when she spotted Indigo.

Margaret
freshened her coffee and lifted the mug in a salute to Indigo on her way out.
“Have fun.”

“Thanks,” Indigo
said drily, and girded herself for the next battle.

Bobby squeezed
time from his schedule to drive to Tellowee and see his mother without making
an appointment. It would likely piss her off, but that was ok. He wanted
answers. Now that Indigo had confessed her fears about India’s ties to the
Eternal Order, he would damn well get them.

He caught
Rebecca as she entered her office.

“Bobby.” She
raised on tiptoes to kiss his cheek before continuing into her
sanctum
sanctorum
. “What a pleasant surprise.”

He followed her
in and closed the door behind them. “Do you have a minute?”

She turned a
puzzled look on him, an elegant one, and his heart softened. He’d heard the
stories of her youth, about the young girl who had wielded a sword with such
dazzling cunning that it had been given to her. She’d used it to cut a swathe
through generations of armies in Europe, Africa, and Asia, first as a soldier
and eventually as a leader. That sword rested in a case in the corner of her
office, protected by glass, unlike the woman who stood before him. Her heart
had fallen to his father, the charming history professor with a bent for
genealogy, and now it was Bobby’s as well.

He waited for
her to take a seat behind her desk before dropping into one of the chairs in
front of it. “How’s Dad?”

“Better. The new
medicine is working very well.” She leaned forward in her chair and pierced him
with a questioning stare. “We missed you this weekend.”

“I stayed at the
office. We officially started work on the IECS job today and I wanted to be
ready.”

She dropped her
eyes to the desk and shifted a paper.

Uh-oh
.

“I thought you
might have spent the weekend with Indigo.”

“Why would you
think that?”

“You’re working
with her, aren’t you?”

“That doesn’t
mean I’m seeing her.” Which he wasn’t. Exactly.

“True. Are you
at least on speaking terms?”

His mind drifted
to the kiss they’d shared that morning, the weight of her body against his, the
way she’d curled her fingers into his hair and pulled him down for more. “Sort
of.”

“Are you trying
to get along with her or are you being stubborn like your father?”

Bobby breathed
out a laugh. “Mom, really. We’re getting along fine.”

“Well.” She
narrowed her gaze on him and he struggled not to shrink beneath it like a child
caught with his hand in the cookie jar. That steely gaze had likely brought
down a hundred armies all on its own. “As long as you’re trying.”

“I am.” And he
was. If he were trying any harder, they’d be married with babies on the way.

A little girl
with Indigo’s sapphire eyes, holding her hands up and calling him Daddy.

Indigo round
with child, glowing softly the way expectant mothers did when they were happy
and healthy.

Indigo under
him, her ebony hair spread out across his sheets, her body caught in rapture as
he stroked into her until she came, over and over again.

“Bobby?”

He looked up to
find his mother watching him with raised eyebrows.

“Sorry. Work.” He
cleared his throat and shifted in his seat. “Lots going on.”

“Of course.”

A knowing smile
played across Rebecca’s mouth, and heat rose in his cheeks. Dammit, why
couldn’t he get his mind under control and off of Indigo?

“What brings you
by today?” she said.

“India Furia.”
He leaned forward and pinned her with a sharp stare. “She’s been visiting my
team members, threatening them if they don’t back off.”

“Not an
unexpected development.”

“Not much of
one, anyway. She stopped by Indigo’s on Friday, mentioned her plans for
stopping the Prophecy.”

Rebecca’s gaze
remained steady. “Any specifics?”

“Just a threat
to snuff out the Light.” He kept his gaze as careful as hers. “Indigo thinks
India’s part of the Eternal Order.”

The corner of
Rebecca’s eye twitched in an otherwise neutral expression, and his heart sank. “When
were you going to tell me?”

“About what?”

“Don’t play
games with me, Mom.”

They faced off
against one another, cool stares clashing across the desk.

“Some things are
better left unknown.”

The careful note
in her voice set him on edge. “I’m not risking my people on an unknown.”

“Life is an
unknown, Bobby.” She swiveled in her chair to look out the windows running
along one side of her office. “You’re old enough to understand that.”

His jaws
clenched at the reprimand. “I’ve been old enough to understand that for a long
time.”

“True.”

She sounded sad,
regretful even. For the first time, he noticed the faint lines around her eyes
and the gray in her ash blonde hair. His gut twisted into a hard knot. Sweet
Goddess. When had she gotten old on him?

“Tell me about
the Order,” he said softly.

She sighed and
swiveled back to face him. “I can only tell you so much.”

“Then tell me
what you can.”

He reached
across the desk and waited for her to take his hand, as she’d done when he was
a little boy. She’d always been there for him, protecting him, loving him. Now,
maybe it was his turn to return the favor.

“Sweet boy.”
Rebecca clasped his hand in hers. “You were always my favorite.”

He grinned. “You
say that to all of us.”

“And it’s always
true.” She squeezed his hand gently before letting go. “I suppose you’re going
to share everything I tell you with your team.”

“Not all of
them. Hiro and Drew, yeah.”

“And Indigo?”
she said with a coy tilt of her head.

“Let’s not go
there again.”

“I want you to
be happy.”

He let his gaze
go flat over the humor. “You’re stalling.”

“Only a little. So
you’ll tell Hiro, Drew, and Indigo, whom you aren’t seeing.”

“Mom.”

“Don’t approach
Margaret,” she warned.

“Too late. Now
spill.”

Rebecca pressed
her lips into a thin line. “The Eternal Order is real.”

He rolled his
eyes skyward. “I got that part.”

“Don’t be smart,
young man.” Rebecca tapped the top of her desk with one finger. “I can still put
you in your place, if needs must.”

He rubbed a
finger across the smile that rose. She could indeed, and would probably always
be able to. “Yes, ma’am.”

“And don’t think
I can’t see that smirk. Honestly. Kids these days.”

They shared a
grin, and then Bobby listened while his mother told him everything she could
about the Eternal Order and its struggle to stop the Prophecy from being
fulfilled.

* * *

Rebecca leaned
back in her chair and watched her youngest child as he left her office. Trying
to find a balance between giving him the information he needed and protecting
the larger interests of the People had exhausted her.

Bobby had probed
her knowledge relentlessly, seeking the information he needed to close in on
India Furia and other possible traitors to the People. An intelligent mind
focused ruthlessly on the overall objective, exactly what the People needed to
defend themselves. Her mother’s heart filled with pride that her son would be
the one to solve this problem and bring their enemies to justice.

The intercom
buzzed, announcing her next appointment. She picked up the phone’s handset and
instructed her receptionist to give her a moment before sending anyone in.

She took a sip
of cool water, relished the feel of it trickling down her throat, and ignored
the fatigue that seemed to dog every movement she took these days. A quick make-up
check in the hand-held mirror she kept in her desk reassured her that she
didn’t look nearly as old as she felt.

Of course, if
she felt her true age, she would feel old indeed.

She still had a
couple of decades before she hit the millennium mark, and hoped she’d be around
for it. Robert had promised her a party to end all parties as a celebration.
She intended to hold him to it, but first, she had to lead the People through
their current crisis.

The door opened
to admit Sigrid Glyvynsdatter, their in-house genetics specialist, and George
Howe, a young man whom Rebecca had invited to the IECS to assist Sigrid in
gathering and analyzing DNA samples from living members of the People, as well
as from the remains of the dead.

The two were
opposites in nearly every way. Raised in the time of the Vikings to be a
ruthless and fierce warrior, Sigrid had, like most immortal Daughters,
maintained her warrior’s form, lean and quick, and had the grace and confidence
to match. George was slightly dumpy, and fidgeted himself into a nervous frenzy
whenever his co-worker’s frosty gaze rested on him. Though they were both
brilliant scientists, their mindsets were often at complete odds.

Strangely
enough, it brought out the best in both of them. Rebecca had personally hoped
the two would find love together, but the unpretentious Mr. Howe had apparently
already given his heart to another Daughter. Sigrid showed no signs of
challenging the other woman’s claim.

George sat down
in one of the chairs situated in front of Rebecca’s desk. Sigrid handed Rebecca
a folder before seating herself.

“Our report,”
Sigrid said in a voice still thick with her native tongue.

Rebecca flipped
it open and skimmed through their latest findings. “Anything of special note?”

“Nothing
untoward or unexpected,” Sigrid answered.

George slumped
slightly in his chair.

Rebecca closed
the folder and pinned him with a curious stare. “Would you like to add
something, Mr. Howe?”

“No.” He cleared
his throat and slid a little lower. “Only, if we could just…”

Sigrid turned a
glacial stare on him, and he halted in mid-word.

“Yes?” Rebecca
prompted.

“Mr. Howe would
like to send some of our samples to off site labs,” Sigrid said.

He tugged at his
collar and shifted in his seat. “It would speed up our work tremendously.”

“And leave it
open to infiltration by others.” Sigrid dismissed his argument with a decisive blink.
“I’m concerned about receiving results that have been deliberately tampered
with, or possibly having samples stolen outright.”

“Concerns
noted,” Rebecca said. “Mr. Howe, our labs will simply have to be sufficient.”

“Yes, ma’am.”
His shoulders hunched miserably. “Can we at least bring in some more people,
maybe equip another room to use as a lab?”

Rebecca raised a
questioning eyebrow at Sigrid, who looked briefly skyward.

“It would ease some
of the workload and hasten our work,” Sigrid admitted.

“All right. I’ll
expect a formal request on my desk by the end of the week, along with a list of
names of appropriate personnel,” Rebecca said. “Have you made any headway on
identifying the Sandby borg Daughter?”

George perked
up. “Some. We found a small amount of DNA in her bones and are testing it now.”

“Good. I want to
be informed as soon as you know anything.” Rebecca clasped her hands together
and rested them on the desk. “How’s testing of the general population going?”

“Slowly. Many of
the older Daughters are resistant to being tested.” Sigrid unbent enough to
twist her lips into something resembling a wry grin. “But it’s coming along. It
would be helpful if we could dedicate one person simply to record keeping.”

“Whatever you
need.”

George and
Sigrid exchanged a look.

“What?” Rebecca
asked.

George leaned
forward, confidence entering his posture for the first time since he’d entered
the room. “We’ve started testing the skeleton found at that nightclub Bones a
couple of weeks ago.”

“Very
interesting,” Sigrid murmured.

“How so?”
Rebecca asked, intrigued.

“The bones are
old.” George’s cheeks flushed with excitement. “Possibly old enough to be a
Sister, if I understand the timetable correctly.”

“Perhaps not
that old,” Sigrid cautioned. “But old, indeed. This could help us cement some
of the lineages that are in question now.”

Rebecca pressed
her lips together, trying to quell her own excitement.

“I’d like to
expand testing to later generations,” George said. “Later, of course, once
we’ve finished testing the remains held at the IECS and known members of the People.”

“Of course,”
Rebecca said. “I bow to your good judgment.”

George burst
into a frenzy of technical talk that went straight over Rebecca’s head, about
mitochondrial DNA, which she had at least heard of, and a host of new tests and
research that left her dizzy. When Sigrid jumped in with her own opinions,
Rebecca sat back and listened to them argue, and allowed the promise of their
research to lift her hopes. Perhaps one day, the mysteries of the People’s
history would be fully unraveled.