Tiger spoke. “I don’t understand why they used her to launch this attack in the media. It wasn’t flattering to them. The last female I’d have f**k my enemy would be the one set to marry someone so high up in their organization.”
“I can think of some good reasons they picked her.” Tim stood.
“Name them,” Fury demanded.
Tim didn’t hesitate. “They probably figured a New Species would end up killing her. She’s frail-looking, judging by that video, and has that girl-next-door look that would piss off everyone. What better way to gain public sympathy for their cause than losing someone so important to the family? They could also have sued the NSO for her death to the tune of millions. They’d assume their pockets would get lined and drain ours at the same time. It would have also kept their name in the papers and made New Species look like hell for killing that girl.”
Rage twisted inside Smiley. “You mean the son fooled Vanni into believing he loved her when he just set her up to be killed?”
Tim shrugged. “I don’t know much about him but I’ve done my research on Gregory Woods. He’s a piece of work. I wouldn’t put it past him to have chosen her out of maliciousness. He wasn’t happy when their engagement was announced. It might have been a way to just stop the wedding and get a shot in at us at the same time. Either way, I bet he’s thrilled their wedding is off.”
“Unless the son still wants to marry her.” Tiger frowned.
Tim snorted. “No guy is going to still marry her after that video went viral. He’d be a laughingstock.”
“Why?” Smiley thought that seemed insulting to Vanni.
Tim met his stare. “Pride. She was all over you. No one would ever let him forget it.”
Flame grinned. “Not to mention, would she still want to marry him after Smiley? That was one pathetic-looking human male.”
“Flame.” Fury shook his head. “This is no time for jokes.”
“I’m just saying the son looks puny.”
“What if she got pregnant?” Jericho frowned.
“She’s not. She is on birth control.” Smiley clenched his fists. “I wasn’t that out of it. I asked.”
“What kind?” Bestial peered at him.
“I’m not certain.” Smiley shrugged.
“The breeding drug can override certain contraceptives.”
Smiley felt sucker punched. “Are you certain?”
The council member nodded. “Pretty certain. Condoms work but only if they don’t break. I don’t suppose you used one?”
“No.”
“Did you release inside her?”
“Yes.”
Bestial grimaced. “Then it’s a possibility we need to be aware of and make a contingency plan for.”
Vanni pregnant with my child. Smiley bolted to his feet, unable to remain seated any longer. “We need her brought to Homeland. Where is she?”
“Calm,” Jericho ordered.
“What if she’s carrying my child? She’s out there alone.” Smiley refused to back down. “Our enemies could go after her to steal my son or kill her outright to prevent his birth. Tim said she’s in danger from that church. Someone from there set her up. We need to retrieve her now to secure her safety.”
“Smiley?” Fury drew his attention. “We’ll keep a surveillance team on her but we can’t send a team to pick her up. It would seem as though we’re kidnapping her. That would be bad publicity.”
“They said she was in seclusion at her home. Do we know if that’s true?” Smiley wasn’t even sure if she was okay or not.
“Yes.” Tim nodded. “I have a two-man team outside her apartment masquerading as paparazzi. We went to the wrong address last night. The one listed on her driver’s license was outdated. She moved last month. We have visual confirmation that she and her roommate, an Elisabeth Goss, are holed up inside. They are refusing to take incoming calls or answer the door. The only reason we know for sure she’s there is because someone called the cops reporting a possible suicide.”
“What?” Smiley snarled.
“She’s fine. It’s a bullshit ruse some of the paparazzi pull to draw out whomever they want to photograph. It’s standard procedure for the cops to do a wellness check and interview the residents to make sure there isn’t a real problem. My men verified the call didn’t come from inside the residence. In this case the police had Travanni and Elisabeth talk to them on the doorstep after the apartment manager unlocked the door for them. They weren’t opening it up for anyone.”
“Your team actually saw her? They are certain?” Smiley needed confirmation.
Tim nodded. “Yeah.”
That calmed Smiley a bit. “Did she look well?”
“I don’t know.” Tim frowned. “She was talking to the cops and they left without calling an ambulance so I assume so.”
Fury drew Smiley’s attention. “I can only imagine the stress you are under right now but this isn’t the time to pull her into Homeland for questioning. This is a media frenzy and all focus is on her. We need to wait for things to blow over a little before we make a move.”
“She’ll pay for what she did,” Bestial promised. “We’re good with patiently waiting when we need to.”
“Pay?” Smiley glared at him. “I’m not even sure if she did it. She denied drugging us.”
“I can think of some good reasons they picked her.” Tim stood.
“Name them,” Fury demanded.
Tim didn’t hesitate. “They probably figured a New Species would end up killing her. She’s frail-looking, judging by that video, and has that girl-next-door look that would piss off everyone. What better way to gain public sympathy for their cause than losing someone so important to the family? They could also have sued the NSO for her death to the tune of millions. They’d assume their pockets would get lined and drain ours at the same time. It would have also kept their name in the papers and made New Species look like hell for killing that girl.”
Rage twisted inside Smiley. “You mean the son fooled Vanni into believing he loved her when he just set her up to be killed?”
Tim shrugged. “I don’t know much about him but I’ve done my research on Gregory Woods. He’s a piece of work. I wouldn’t put it past him to have chosen her out of maliciousness. He wasn’t happy when their engagement was announced. It might have been a way to just stop the wedding and get a shot in at us at the same time. Either way, I bet he’s thrilled their wedding is off.”
“Unless the son still wants to marry her.” Tiger frowned.
Tim snorted. “No guy is going to still marry her after that video went viral. He’d be a laughingstock.”
“Why?” Smiley thought that seemed insulting to Vanni.
Tim met his stare. “Pride. She was all over you. No one would ever let him forget it.”
Flame grinned. “Not to mention, would she still want to marry him after Smiley? That was one pathetic-looking human male.”
“Flame.” Fury shook his head. “This is no time for jokes.”
“I’m just saying the son looks puny.”
“What if she got pregnant?” Jericho frowned.
“She’s not. She is on birth control.” Smiley clenched his fists. “I wasn’t that out of it. I asked.”
“What kind?” Bestial peered at him.
“I’m not certain.” Smiley shrugged.
“The breeding drug can override certain contraceptives.”
Smiley felt sucker punched. “Are you certain?”
The council member nodded. “Pretty certain. Condoms work but only if they don’t break. I don’t suppose you used one?”
“No.”
“Did you release inside her?”
“Yes.”
Bestial grimaced. “Then it’s a possibility we need to be aware of and make a contingency plan for.”
Vanni pregnant with my child. Smiley bolted to his feet, unable to remain seated any longer. “We need her brought to Homeland. Where is she?”
“Calm,” Jericho ordered.
“What if she’s carrying my child? She’s out there alone.” Smiley refused to back down. “Our enemies could go after her to steal my son or kill her outright to prevent his birth. Tim said she’s in danger from that church. Someone from there set her up. We need to retrieve her now to secure her safety.”
“Smiley?” Fury drew his attention. “We’ll keep a surveillance team on her but we can’t send a team to pick her up. It would seem as though we’re kidnapping her. That would be bad publicity.”
“They said she was in seclusion at her home. Do we know if that’s true?” Smiley wasn’t even sure if she was okay or not.
“Yes.” Tim nodded. “I have a two-man team outside her apartment masquerading as paparazzi. We went to the wrong address last night. The one listed on her driver’s license was outdated. She moved last month. We have visual confirmation that she and her roommate, an Elisabeth Goss, are holed up inside. They are refusing to take incoming calls or answer the door. The only reason we know for sure she’s there is because someone called the cops reporting a possible suicide.”
“What?” Smiley snarled.
“She’s fine. It’s a bullshit ruse some of the paparazzi pull to draw out whomever they want to photograph. It’s standard procedure for the cops to do a wellness check and interview the residents to make sure there isn’t a real problem. My men verified the call didn’t come from inside the residence. In this case the police had Travanni and Elisabeth talk to them on the doorstep after the apartment manager unlocked the door for them. They weren’t opening it up for anyone.”
“Your team actually saw her? They are certain?” Smiley needed confirmation.
Tim nodded. “Yeah.”
That calmed Smiley a bit. “Did she look well?”
“I don’t know.” Tim frowned. “She was talking to the cops and they left without calling an ambulance so I assume so.”
Fury drew Smiley’s attention. “I can only imagine the stress you are under right now but this isn’t the time to pull her into Homeland for questioning. This is a media frenzy and all focus is on her. We need to wait for things to blow over a little before we make a move.”
“She’ll pay for what she did,” Bestial promised. “We’re good with patiently waiting when we need to.”
“Pay?” Smiley glared at him. “I’m not even sure if she did it. She denied drugging us.”
