Page 29 of Mysterious Mate

“You gave me a good team.”

Cage grinned. Colby had a point. “I gave you good people. You turned them into a team. And trust me when I tell you they are Team Cage all the way.”

“So where do we stand with Interpol and the League?”

“The League was not pleased with what they believe was Carlyle’s botched and ill-conceived plan to kill Willow. While they may now know where she is—do you still believe you’re secure there?”

“I do,” said Cage nodding. “This is the most secure facility we have. I think if we moved Willow, we’d be putting her in more danger. Let’s face it; the Shadow League’s intelligence capabilities aren’t far behind yours. The attack gave us valuable information about our defenses, and yes, my team has been remedying them. If and when the League mounts an attack of their own…”

“Do you believe they will?” asked Colby.

“Without a doubt. When they do, we’ll be ready for them. In fact, one of my guys is working on an idea he has about the electromagnetic fields that surround shifters and how they might be interrupted to force someone to shift back.” Seeing the gleam in Colby’s eyes, Cage held up his hand. “It’s still in the infancy stage, but I thought it was intriguing and gave him the go ahead.”

Colby nodded. “Good. Let me know if he needs anything above and beyond what you have there. As I was saying, the League isn’t happy with Carlyle. Our sources say that once the divorce is finalized…”

“And when is that going to be?” asked Cage, hoping his eagerness would not be noticed.

Colby grinned. No such luck.

“End of the day. If not, first thing tomorrow.”

“How did you manage that?”

“Lots of money. Lots and lots of money.” Cage couldn’t help but grin. The lynx-shifter continued. “Once I realized it was important to you and your sense of honor, I made it a priority. As soon as the ink is dry on the paperwork, I’ll make sure you know. I think once it is, Carlyle’s days are numbered.”

It was Cage’s turn to nod. “He’ll be of no more use to them even as a way to keep Interpol and Willow in check. I think I’m going to beef up our security and our patrols.”

“Not a bad idea. Anything else?”

“Not at the moment, but I would appreciate knowing as soon as that divorce is final.”

“Will do. If there isn’t anything else, I’ll sign off.”

Cage ended the transmission, secured the laptop, and put it back in the safe. He had an app on his watch that would alert him if any messages came in over that dedicated line.

He hoped Willow had been getting a lot of sleep, because once his leash came off, Cage meant to see she never got a full night’s sleep again.

CHAPTER 15

WILLOW

Willow smiled as she entered the dining room that evening. After breakfast, she’d decided that while she might be willing to let Cage lead in the whole relationship thing, there was absolutely nothing wrong in showing him what she could offer. She was glad to have a chance to spend some time with Jones. During the attack, they’d gotten to know one another a little better and this afternoon he’d been far more relaxed in what he’d allowed to slip about Cage and the level of his interest in her.

“You really shouldn’t do that to him, you know,” Jones had said. “You’re driving him crazy.”

She’d looked at him and said, “Him? What about me? Sometimes I don’t even think it registers with him that I’m female.”

Jones had laughed. “Oh, trust me, it registers. I’ve never known a man to be more aware of a woman than he is about you.”

“How can you say that? Half of the time when he’s around me, he all but growls at me, and the other half he’s so quiet that he barely says two words.”

“But at least he says them. Look, Willow, it’s not my place, but I like both of you. I respect and admire the courage it took for you to gather that intel on Carlyle and the League, and I’d follow Cage through the gates of hell if he wanted to go and I wouldn’t much care why.”

“I think he’d rather go to hell than spend time with me…”

“You do know he’s in charge around here, right? If he didn’t want to spend time with you, he could assign someone else to provide close cover, but he doesn’t.”

“He’s just afraid seeing me naked might put off one of the other men.”

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