Going Under (7 page)

The red light went off to the right and the cameraperson made the
wrap it up
move with his wrist.

Molly didn’t cede any time to Briggs though, she continued on. “We are the same people
we were before this tragedy. We are your neighbors, your teachers, your friends and
family. We have harmed no one and we just want to be left alone to live our lives
as we did in the past.”

She drew it out right to the very last moment and sat back with a smile. Even Briggs
was caught up in it for a second until it was too late for him to say anything but
“So you claim,” which seemed rather petty in response to her genuine appeal.

Chapter 7

GAGE
shielded her as he walked her to the car. There was a small group of protesters outside
the studio but none close enough to get to them.

“You did a great job.”

“He’s an asshole.” Though luckily, like most assholes, he was a stupid one.

Gage laughed and she liked the sound. “He is.” Gage opened the door and looked around
before he motioned her inside. “But you dominated him in that entire interview.”

She smiled as he got in on his side.

“He’s small potatoes. That was a softball compared to what we’ll face out there from
now on. Anyway it wasn’t live so we’ll see how it’s edited.”

Her stomach growled and he gave her a sideways glance. “You hungry? We don’t have
a lot of time before the Warden meeting but they’ll probably have snacks. I’ve got
protein bars in the glove box.”

“I can wait.” Though when this was all over she had some ice cream that needed eating.
“I need to give Meriel a quick debrief.” She pulled her phone out.

“Tell her I said you kicked ass.”

Warm with his praise, she ducked her head and called Meriel to fill her in on what
had happened.

Molly liked Meriel. She was unerringly competent, intelligent and ran the clan well.
They were tight-knit without being cliquish. Close without being into each other’s
business. The people she’d met from Owen had been an eye-opener. Molly had all sorts
of preconceptions about clan life, and none of them had been correct.

Meriel told her she’d sent some recent news via email so Molly made a note to check
it out when she finished up with the wolves.

Once she’d finished, she turned to Gage. “Thank you for guarding me today. I know
things are busy in your office.”

He nodded. “It was nice to get out, actually. Gives me a chance to get to know you
better too.”

She could not lie. She wanted to hear that little flirtation in his voice. He made
her sort of . . . breathless and giddy. As this wasn’t a usual state for her she preferred
to pretend it was the novelty that she liked so much. When really it was that she
had the beginning of a crush on him. A crush was wholly fun and silly. Something to
cleanse away the negatives that surrounded her all the time.

“How are you settling in? I mean, you’ve only been here a few days I know. I imagine
it’s hard to leave everything behind.”

An understatement. But really, she’d lost so much that she still reeled from it. So
she tried not to think on it, instead pouring herself into her job.

“I miss my family.” She shrugged. “I’ve been so busy it hasn’t been as bad as it could
be, though. My mom and Rosa, my other mom, they went to my place and packed my clothes
up and have sent them. I have to find the time to look for a place to live before
I can get everything else dealt with. I guess it just falls to the bottom of my list.”

“If I can be honest, it’s better to have you at the hotel anyway. We know the owner
and most of the employees are Others. We can keep you safer there.”

It was turning out to be too busy for her to look anyway. She’d been there only a
few days and already had travel plans for work. “I’m looking forward to a time when
I can have my own place, but I’m so busy just now I don’t have time to miss my stuff.”

“We’re glad to have you and I think you’re a great asset to us. This will be over.
Someday. And when it is, you can build a life here. I’m sorry yours was so abruptly
altered.”

“Everyone’s was.” She desperately didn’t want to go there just then. She needed to
keep her focus on the meeting. Bringing the Others together, at least in some way,
was her priority. Falling apart wasn’t even on her to-do list.

“Tell me about the wolves.” Changing the subject would help and she needed the info
anyway.

“They’re smart. Well organized. Especially now with Cade Warden at the helm of the
National Pack. They have a good public face. Each pack has liaisons with local law
enforcement, which was revolutionary at the time. Still is now, I wager. Anyway, Wardens
run every influential pack in the U.S. The sister in Portland. Another sister and
brother-in-law in Chicago.”

“They speak with a unified voice then?” It would make it easier if they did. That
is if they weren’t crazy. She’d done some homework on Lex Warden and his family and
from what she could tell they’d be good allies in this fight.

“They’re all attuned to their members. Each pack has its own challenges and strengths.
But they do have a unified voice, I’d say yes. They went to the brink of war several
years ago. Cade unified them. He’s one of the smartest people I’ve ever met. He understands
politics; he’s sharp. Brutal when necessary.”

She raised a brow at him. “When necessary? When is that?”

“Don’t tell me you think this can be handled if we all just love each other enough.
We’re not humans, Molly. To pretend otherwise is why we’re in this mess to start with.”

“I was under the impression we dealt with this earlier. I’m not stupid. Or naïve.
I asked a question. If you can’t answer it, you’re in the wrong job I’d say.”

He was quiet for several minutes, which made her nervous but at the same time, if
he was thinking over his answer that meant he was more thoughtful than she gave him
credit for, which was important.

“You look so soft and sweet.”

She snorted. “Is that a compliment or an insult?”

He laughed again. “An observation. Though you’re no chore to look at. What I meant
was that at first glance you look like butter wouldn’t melt in your mouth but you’re
no soft touch. I shouldn’t have assumed you were attempting to insult me or being
naïve.”

“I don’t ask questions idly. Not usually. If I’m to do this job, it’s best if I do
it with as much input as I can get.”

“To answer your question, brutality is rarely necessary, but when it is, it’s best
to not hesitate. In this specific context, I believe there’s at the very least a significant
percentage of the human population that would happily dance us all into our graves.
So brutality may be necessary to underline just how unacceptable that would be.”

She nodded. He was smart as well as muscly and handsome.

“You’re quiet over there.”

“Just listening.” Molly felt that listening was more important than talking. Many
people didn’t seem to get that.

“So are you teasing me then? What’s your take on brutality?”

She shrugged. “As it happens I agree with your take. Mostly.”

* * *

THEY
really couldn’t talk about it much more as Gage got off the freeway and they arrived
at the huge gates at the bottom of the drive to the Warden estate. Two ridiculously
large guards came from what appeared to be thin air before verifying who they were
and that they were supposed to be there.

Once they’d parked and had gone inside, Molly didn’t bother to hide her appreciation
of the beautiful home Lex and Nina Warden lived in with their children. Expansive
views from every window, wraparound decks—the place was insanely gorgeous.

Much like the Alpha couple.

Lex was dark haired with dark eyes, broody, sexy and big. The guy was massive and
when he shook Molly’s hand, hers was dwarfed.

Though this was totally a new thing for her, she wasn’t nervous. First of all, she’d
begun to think of Others as just like any other client. Even if they did turn furry
or need blood to live. Plus, Gage stuck close as they went through the introductions.
He only spoke to give her little bits of information she might need. He was pretty
good at that part and she made a mental note to thank him when they left.

Nina Warden had beautiful, long dark hair she’d braided back away from an equally
lovely face. “Welcome to Cascadia land.” Nina waved them toward some chairs set around
a large table. “Please come and sit. I wish we were meeting under better circumstances.”

“Me too. Condolences on the loss of your father.” Molly addressed Lex and then Nina.
The death of Lex Warden’s father had been a blow to the Other community, she knew
from all the background material she’d read. And she knew as much from her own losses.

Lex nodded, the pain on his face. “Thank you. I understand you have your own losses
to bear. Condolences to you and yours as well.”

She nodded briskly; best not to dwell.

They got down to business right away. “I spoke with Cade, that’s my brother and the
Alpha of the National Pack, earlier today. He’s empowered me to be the spokesperson
for the wolves here in the United States. As such, I’ll be your liaison with the different
packs.” He turned a charming smile her way briefly. “If you have any advice on how
to get a bunch of grumpy wolves to mind, let me know.”

Molly tried not to snort. “I’m afraid I’m not much of an expert on how to get anyone
to mind, much less wolves.”

Gage spoke up then. “Don’t let her bullshit you. She’s been with us only a few days
and she’s already instituted a clear channel for all communications from other clans
and covens.”

Molly waved it away. “Well, it makes sense to have one point everyone knows to start
with when they need to report something or ask a question. That’s common sense.”

Lex looked over to Nina, who smirked. “It is, but I didn’t think about it until just
now. Though my lovely mate did bring the issue of having a communications director
up to me just this afternoon.”

“I’ll try not to lord it over you. Too much anyway.” Nina turned her attention back
to Molly. “You’re that, right? The communications director?”

“Yes, apparently. Though today I was referred to as a PR minister, which sounds better
than communications director.”

“Briggs Anderson interviewed her. You should have seen her kick his ass.” Gage tipped
his head in Molly’s direction.

“Oh him.” Nina rolled her eyes. “Okay, so things are bad. I don’t see the use in not
just laying it all out there so we can work together. We’ve got wolves all across
the country who are being discriminated against. Attacked. They’re receiving threats,
vandalism to their businesses and homes. We’ve made an effort to keep things calm,
but each day that passes means there is more of this nonsense.”

“And each day that passes means Others nationwide are coming out of their grief-filled
stupor and realizing just how bad it’s getting.” Lex added with a raised brow. “It’s
only a matter of time before we start fighting back.”

“And what’s wrong with that?” Gage demanded.

“Well, to be honest, nothing is wrong with it. We should be allowed to defend ourselves.”
Molly looked over to him. “But I’d prefer to find solutions that don’t involve us
having to defend our homes and families from being firebombed. It’s not good for our
children to have to fear all the time. It doesn’t
have
to be lying down to be killed or doing the killing ourselves. Not yet anyway.”

She spread her hands on the table and looked Lex and Nina square on. She’d been reading
up on how to address shifters and she hoped she didn’t mess it up. “I’d like the opportunity
to provide a unified front with all the Others, to stand together and strong. There
is all this stuff going on and as long as we remain in our camps, we’re weaker.”

“No one speaks for wolves, but wolves.” Lex nearly growled it.

Gage moved closer. Close enough that Molly felt the warmth of his magick as it came
from him in waves. It made her a little light-headed.

Molly contented herself with a raised brow and a sniff in Lex’s direction. “I don’t
want to speak for you. I have enough on my plate; I don’t want to run your pack. I
don’t want to tell you what to do. This is war, Mr. Warden. We can make a far less
attractive target if we stand together. You can do what you want. Working with us
isn’t mandatory. But I’ll be making this same pitch to the cats and to the vampires.”

Slightly chastened, Lex nodded. “Just what is it you’re pitching then?”

“Two things—they’re actually connected I think. For practical reasons, I’d like Others
to have wide-open lines of communication with their people so they can be updated
on a regular basis. Others need to feel heard. We need a place to report the things
we’re experiencing. A place where we can connect them to help and services and be
sure they’re getting the help they need. Meriel has been gathering legal resources
and I’m happy to share that.”

“Makes sense. God knows how many Others have had something happen to them but didn’t
know where to turn to get help.” Lex took a quick note. “The other thing?”

“You need a council of Others. A governing body of sorts. And then at the top of that,
we need representatives from each group who will accompany me to different appearances
and press conferences. Humans need to see us. They need to hear our voices and be
reminded we are the same as we were before the Magister came. They need to hear that
we understand their fear and upset, but are unwilling to be their victims. It’s an
easier message to hear if it’s delivered right.”

“And snarling, seven-foot-tall werewolves, even in nice suits, make it harder to hear?”
Nina’s mouth twitched as she studiously avoided her husband’s gaze.

He snorted though.

“They knew about some of us. You’ve been out for a time, the cats were working on
it, vamps too. But this is different. They found out about us in a terrifying way.”

“Did they lose their father? Their uncle or their children? How dare they get scared
of something that didn’t hurt them at all!” Lex pounded the table and Molly was proud
she didn’t jump.

“Don’t raise your voice to her.” Gage spoke calmly and simply, but he was just as
scary as Lex had been.

The two males locked gazes as the room got very, very silent.

“She’s making apologies for what’s happening,” Lex said at last.

“Bullshit,” Gage countered.

“If I may.” Molly rapped the table with her knuckles. “There’s a difference between
making apologies and understanding motivations. How can we begin to make peace with
the humans if we don’t even take into account how they’re feeling? How can we address
it and still get our point across that we are not going to take this nonsense if we
don’t even understand why they do what they do? It’s stupid, in my opinion, to go
to war with anyone without a basic understanding of who and what they are and what
makes them tick. If I make an apology, I do it openly and honestly. I do not appreciate
being accused of something I have the courage to do without pulling punches. I was
raised to believe that sort of thing was insulting.”