Page 39 of Warrior

“Beck,” I said, dragging out his name in warning.“She knows her job.Back the fuck off.”

Marinah smirked and rolled her eyes before responding in a sing-song voice.“I’m good, Beck.Thanks for the reminder.”She paused dramatically.“It’s only the plane ride that has me worried.If we crash, I might survive just to get eaten by sharks or hellhounds in the water.”

Beck grumbled under his breath and finally walked off.

I pulled her aside, needing a moment of privacy before her plane left.In another hour, I’d be taking off with a group of Warriors, along with two more planes, each carrying an additional one hundred men.We’d be landing far from Washington, staying out of sight until it was time to act.What that action would be depended entirely on Marinah’s recommendation.

Her assignment was clear: Unravel the truth hidden beneath the Federation’s lies.

“Are you going to kiss me or just stand there looking fierce?”Marinah asked, giving a playful tug on one of my braids.

“Fierce, huh?”I teased.I carried so much dread over sending her without me, and it took everything I had to keep our goodbye light.

“Just kiss me.”She didn’t wait for me to move, tugging harder this time and pulling me in for a kiss.I didn’t want to let her go.

No,Beast whispered inside me.

I agreed.

Her lips were warm and inviting, her movements bold.She nipped and sucked, her tongue tangling with mine, spreading her wild, tangy flavor through me.Her hands slid under the straps at my back, her nails raking my skin.Every touch, every taste, burned inside my veins.

“Don’t forget me,” she whispered, her dreamy eyes making me forget to breathe.

“Never.”

“It’s time,” she added softly.

“Never,” I repeated, refusing to let her go.

We kissed again, slower this time, as if we could stretch the moment into forever.I didn’t pull away until Labyrinth cleared his throat, signaling it was time for Marinah to board.

She was the last to get on the plane.My Warriors had been prepped to follow Marinah’s lead if it became necessary.If that time arrived, they’d follow her without question.If she took control, it would be as a Warrior, and the men, even the ones who grumbled, would understand.They might not like that they hadn’t known our secret, but they’d accept her for the miracle she was.Until then, they were to obey Labyrinth.

For her safety and the success of our plan, the longer we kept the secret hidden, the better.To help her prepare, we’d woken before dawn and left the citadel to run for hours in beast form.Anger and stress still triggered her transformation, and once she was on Federation soil, she’d need to keep herself under control.There could be no mistakes.

I had an unsettled feeling about the entire plan, but we didn’t have a better one.

I didn’t board the plane with her.My being in close proximity to her and so many Warriors wasn’t a risk we could take.Not now.She wore the same clothes she’d arrived in.I could care less about the clothing, but they made her uncomfortable, and it pissed me off that the Federation had used sexual enticement to get me to fall in line in the first place.Beast and I were in full agreement that I needed to wrap my fingers around the throat of whoever came up with that stupid plan.

After one last kiss, she turned and walked up the steps.I stood there watching as the plane taxied down the runway and lifted into the sky.I stared until it disappeared from view, no longer even a speck in the distance.

Marinah was gone.

Chapter Thirteen

Marinah

This plane ride was nothing like the last one.I was an entirely different person now, or rather, I was Warrior.

The fear I carried wasn’t the same, and most of it stemmed from leaving King.He’d given me a location to meet him if nothing happened after a month.Just the thought of being away from him that long depressed me.To make it worse, Ms.Beast was throwing fits.

You will be good,I told her firmly when her grumbling started up again.

It was hard to explain what talking to Ms.Beast and being harassed by her by means of pain in certain areas was like.The speaking was more of a feeling that drifted into my head, not an actual voice.The so-calledkickswere bursts of K5 that caused pain in certain spots.

She quieted, and I let out a sigh loud enough to draw a glance from Labyrinth.I fastened my seat belt and glanced down at my feet, grimacing at the heels I’d hoped to never wear again.It was funny how walking in the ridiculous shoes was effortless now.Once we landed, I’d need to remember to wobble, along with acting like the terrified woman I once was.

Not that I wasn’t nervous, but overwhelming fear, the kind that kept me from thinking straight, was nowhere to be found.

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