Balanced Chaos (The Void Series Book 3) Read online

  His sidearm dug into her leg, but the slight discomfort was nothing to the heat coursing through her bloodstream at the thought of the gun strapped to his hip. Absently she wondered what other weapons he had hidden in the various pockets or under the fabric of his trousers. Her imagination took her to other places under his pants and her face flushed.

  Werner’s tongue began to explore her mouth as the hand on her hip moved to run up under her shirt, caressing the smooth skin of her lower back.

  Sam felt her heart begin to race with her new-found desire. She moaned against his lips as she wound her arm around his head, as though she feared he might pull away and end the contact. Sam had never felt so free with a man before.

  Her gift had no interest in Werner. He had no mystical power to take. To her gift, he might as well have been dead.

  But he wasn’t dead. He was very much alive. And Sam could feel it in the touch of his fingers and the beat of his heart against her chest, the heat of his breath against her neck.

  Sam arched her back, pressing her breasts into his collarbones as he feathered her with kisses, starting behind her ear and trailing down to the collar of her t-shirt.

  His hand pulled on her shirt, as though he wanted to remove it, when a gentle cough interrupted their efforts.

  Sam and Corporal Werner turned their heads to look on the sick woman lying in the bed. She looked ten years younger than she had only a few minutes ago, with color in her cheeks and light in her eyes. Mrs. Newberry still looked sick, even dying, but she didn’t look as though it would be today, or even tomorrow.

  The corporal cleared his throat as he carefully lowered Sam to the floor. Her injured ankle supported her weight with effort. She avoided his gaze while adjusting her shirt and the sling she only half used before wiping her lips dry. Werner grabbed his Kevlar and put it on, quickly turning his back to the two women.

  Mrs. Newberry smiled at them, knowing their discomfort. “Thank you,” she said, still sounding hoarse.

  “I’m going to find whoever is doing this. I promise. I’ll be back in a couple days to check on you, either way, Mrs. Newberry, and I’ll find a way to keep you fed.”

  “You don’t have to do that, Sam. I don’t want… you know…”

  “No Chad. I promise,” Sam said with a smile. “Still, one way or another, I’m not letting you starve to death before I can find out who’s poisoning you. Okay?”

  Mrs. Newberry nodded.

  “Now get some rest.”

  Sam and Werner stepped out of the room and gently shut the door. Mr. Newberry and Chad waited for them at the end of the hallway.

  “Well?” demanded Mr. Newberry.

  “I’ve done what I could for her, and I’ve gotten a taste of the poison, which will make it easier to track. Now I’ll just have to…”

  “Do you mean what I think you mean?” demanded Mr. Newberry, placing his hands on his hips.

  Sam swallowed the lump in her throat, a fresh blush burning her cheeks. “I did what you should have been doing all along. I wouldn’t let her starve.”

  “How dare…”

  “You let your own embarrassment put your wife’s life at risk. Had I not done what I did, she would have been dead by the end of tomorrow. And no, I’m not guessing. Her gift was on the brink… it was…”

  Sam shook her head in disgust.

  “You cowardly bastards,” she said, all thought of playing the politician gone.

  Sam felt a warm hand squeeze her shoulder.

  “I’ll get to work on this,” she said before turning and following the corporal out.

  They remained silent until they reached the door leading to large courtyard of the reservation, lined with makeshift booths used by the residents to trade household goods and the produce grown in their tiny potted gardems.

  Werner shut the exterior door and tried to take up his habitual place behind her, but Sam wasn’t having any of it. She had to talk about what they had just done.

  “Corporal Werner,” she said to the ground, “I can never thank you enough… I know…”

  Werner reached out and gripped her shoulder again. “I admit I was a little dubious at first, but when I saw the transformation in her, well, let’s just say I’m sold.”

  Sam looked up at him, another blush heating her cheeks the minute their eyes met. To her relief, his cheeks were red too.

  “She wouldn’t be where she is now had they been feeding her all along. As it is, what we gave her won’t last for long,” Sam said, her anger resurfacing. “They’re just too embarrassed to do anything about it.”

  “But not you?” Werner asked, guiding her into motion; this time he walked beside her.

  “Within the fae, I have no embarrassment left. They all hate me anyway.”

  “Not her.”

  “No. Not her, and a few others, I guess. Amber. You haven’t met her yet. She’s my best friend. She doesn’t hate me either. But there are precious few beyond them. And since I know how she feels, having her gift be considered unworthy of their precious expectations, I will not let her starve… even if I have to make out with Chad.”

  “But she said not Chad, if I’m not mistaken.”

  Sam chuckled, unwilling to tell Werner he sounded jealous. Their situation was awkward enough without either one of them getting emotional.

  “As I mentioned, Chad is the ex-boyfriend. And his parents, well his father, basically arranged the match.”

  “Why? I thought you said you were the ‘pariah’ among the fae.”

  Sam nodded. “But my parents aren’t… they are the royalty, so to speak.”

  “That’s an unfortunate combination.”

  “You have no idea. They were heartbroken when my gift revealed itself.”

  Sam paused, forcing herself not to remember the horrible night when she told them about her abilities. She had been eleven—young for a fae to form their gift. She had accidentally taken the powers of a werewolf and spent half the school day hiding, trying to figure out how to get her hands to change back from werewolf paws. Naturally, her parents demanded to know why the school teacher had visited them after school and asked where she had been. After a long evening of the third-degree, she broke down and told them everything. They were mortified, and she was forever their little leper.

  Sam shook off the memory. “It doesn’t matter. I caught on to Chad’s game and broke off the relationship before it could become a formal engagement. Of course, the families were upset, but whatever.”

  “So, not Chad.”

  Sam frowned, unsure what Werner meant. It took her a moment to realize he was referring back to Mrs. Newberry and the need for a kissing partner. Sam blushed again.

  “Right. Not Chad. It doesn’t matter. She’ll be good for at least a day or two.”

  “And then?” he asked.

  Sam shrugged, not willing to look at him. “Don’t worry, Corporal, I won’t ask you again.”

  “Afraid you liked it a little too much?”

  Sam glanced up at him, missing the first step of the admin building.

  Chapter Nine

  Sam and Werner entered the administration building laughing over her inability to walk up a simple flight of stairs.

  “Come find me if you need to go out again,” Werner said by way of parting as he slapped her gently across the back.

  “Will do.”

  Sam waved and forced herself to not watch him walk away. She didn’t need to notice his shapely backside or the natural sway of his strong arms.

  “When did you two kiss and make up?”

  “Uhh—what?” stuttered Sam, frantically wondering how Halstead knew what they had done.

  She turned to find the major watching her.

  “You and Corporal Werner seem to be getting along better,” Major Halstead explained.

  “Oh-uh-yes. I-uh-I apologized for my joke earlier, and we-we got a chance to talk some today,” Sam said, still stuttering as a blush rose to her cheeks.

  She
could only imagine what the major’s response would be if she told him about their impromptu make out session.

  “Did you get to talk to the clan leaders?” the major asked, seemingly oblivious to her discomfort.

  “Not exactly. My contact is making me jump through hoops.”

  “Meaning?”

  Sam began to explain about Mrs. Newberry’s illness. She barely got two sentences out before Halstead held up his hand.

  “Ever heard the phrase ‘less is more’?”

  “Uh, yes, sir?”

  “I think this might be one of those situations, Gollet,” the major said, once again using her last name as though they were strangers. “If Gallagher asks, just tell him you’re having to jump through some hoops. Don’t tell him the details.”

  Sam tried to hide her confusion as she nodded.

  “Oh, Major, if I need to leave to—umm, jump through hoops, how do I arrange it with Corporal Werner?” Sam asked as a fresh blush burned her cheeks.

  “He’s yours to use as needed. Just find him and take him.”

  Sam cleared her throat as fresh, unwanted images sprung to her mind.

  “Yes… but…where?”

  “He’ll be in his room. We had him moved in here from the camp when he was assigned to your protection detail. He’s in the room next to yours,” Halstead added, his voice darkening.

  “Oh.”

  With that the major turned and marched away.

  Sam swallowed moisture back into her mouth and forced her feet into motion. She didn’t want anyone to ask why she was standing in the foyer licking her lips. She made it three steps.

  “Sam?”

  Letting out a long, frustrated sigh, Sam slid to a stop and worked to control her features before turning.

  “Hey, Roman.”

  The mage trotted down the steps leading up to the second story where large suites were located for the V.I.P. guests. Sam felt her stomach twist into knots. In the time since her brief, confusing interlude with Werner, she hadn’t stopped to consider Roman. She didn’t even know if they were in a relationship.

  Am I supposed to feel guilty? What I did was for a dying woman!

  “I have to go back to the city in an hour. Can we talk?” he asked, taking her by the elbow and gently guiding her toward her room.

  “Talk?” she asked, her mind running to their last encounter where they had done anything but talked.

  Roman smiled, showing his white teeth. Sam felt her heart slam against her chest.

  This is Roman, her mind screamed, the man who killed for me!

  “Yes, just talk…” he said, trailing off as a grin robbed him of his power of speech.

  Sam took a deep breath, somehow doubting the truth of his words. She nodded all the same. Roman guided her down the hallway to her room. She swallowed the lump in her throat as she noticed Corporal Werner just entering his own room, right next to hers.

  He nodded to her, his eyes trained on Roman and the hand carefully placed on the small of her back.

  “Gollet,” Werner said before disappearing into his own room.

  “Isn’t that the guy who was with you before?” Roman asked as he followed her into her room.

  “Yeah. He’s on my protection detail,” she explained, hoping Roman would drop the subject.

  Roman plopped onto her bed, leaning his head against his fist.

  “You with a protection detail. I’d like to see that.”

  “It’s not so bad,” Sam said as she turned away to adjust the chair at her desk.

  “Ha!” barked Roman with a laugh. “Already turning into the politician. They must be getting to you. So, what do they have you doing?”

  “I’m not sure the lieutenant colonel would want me to talk about my work for him.”

  Roman rolled his eyes. “Fine, fine.”

  Sam frowned at him, annoyance rising with his off-handed demeanor. “What about you? What are you really doing here?”

  “I told you. My company has been called in to do some more upgrades.”

  “And you couldn’t get out of it? You couldn’t get someone else to come oversee those upgrades?”

  “Why would I?”

  Sam lowered her voice. “Oh, I don’t know, maybe because you’re a mage. The Res should be the last place you want to be. If they found out what you really were…”

  “They’re not gonna, Sam. Calm done.”

  “You don’t know that.”

  Roman smiled. “I like it when you worry about me. Super cute.”

  “Fine. Whatever. Be an idiot. How long are you staying?”

  “Not sure. My work teams aren’t even here yet. I’m still just assessing costs for my boss. It’ll be a while. How are your injuries?”

  She frowned, stopping to think about them for the first time since tripping up the stairs of the administration building. Yet another blush colored her cheeks as she remembered why she had missed the first step. Werner had been teasing her about liking his kissing prowess.

  “They’re okay. I think Breena’s power did more than I realized,” she lied.

  “See? You should take more.”

  “Stop, Roman. That conversation is over.”

  Roman climbed to his feet, the finality of his movement lost in the awkward battle with the blankets on her bed.

  “Fine,” he said once he reached his feet. “But when you wise up, let me know.”

  He stomped out, slamming her door behind her. Sam glanced around her bare room, noting the green duffel bag at the foot of her bed, still unpacked. She considered transferring her clothing to the footlocker, but chose wallowing on her bed instead.

  How did I get here? she wondered as she stared up at the sterile-looking ceiling. This has to be my weirdest day to date… and that’s really saying something.

  Before she could parse through her thoughts and feelings, before she could even decide if she wanted to work on her feelings, she heard a firm knock on her door. Sam pulled herself into a sitting position, resting against the wall with her legs dangling off the edge of the twin-size mattress.

  “Come in,” she called.

  To no surprise, Werner poked his head in. Sam suspected he had heard Roman’s noisy exit and came to check on her.

  “Dinner?” he asked with an innocent grin as he produced two plates, their plastic covers fogged over to where she couldn’t identify their contents.

  “The service at this hotel is fantastic,” she said with a playful smirk, trying her best to brush off the weight of Roman’s anger.

  “I live to serve,” the corporal replied as he shouldered his way through the door and handed her a plate. “May I?”

  Sam glanced at her rumpled bed and shrugged, wincing as the movement hurt her healing shoulder. Werner pulled the napkin-wrapped utensils from his pocket before taking a seat next to her on the bed, their shoulders touching. Sam glanced at him, admiring his body once again now that he had stripped of his gear. He wore a pair of cargo pants, decked out with more pockets than she could swiftly count, and a snug, long-sleeve shirt that hugged his muscles like a second skin.

  Sam dug into her food, savoring the spicy food she didn’t recognize. The plate was filled with a long rolled-up piece of what appeared to be extremely thin bread. The thin bread was stuffed with cheese and chicken, doused in a spicy red sauce, and accompanied with rice and some sort of bluish-gray paste Sam had never seen before.

  “What’s this?” she asked as she poked at the paste with her fork.

  “Refried beans?” Werner said, sounding more like he was asking a question.

  “Re-fried beans?”

  “Never had them before?” he asked.

  “Never even heard of them.”

  “Weird.”

  Once again, Sam held her tongue. She knew she didn’t need to lash out each time a human showed his or her ignorance. There was no way for them to know what the mystics got to eat within the Res.

  “I don’t like them.”

  Werner l
aughed. “Mix them with the rice and the cheese. They’re a good source of protein.”

  She did and found them less repulsive when lost in the mix of all the other foods, though it didn’t look very appetizing.

  “Can I ask you something?” Sam asked after a few minutes of companionable silence.

  “’Course.”

  “Major Halstead asked me about our meeting today, and when I tried to explain about healing Mrs. Newberry, he stopped me, saying ‘less is mo…”

  “You didn’t tell him about our… I mean… what we…”

  “No, of course not!” said Sam, cutting him off just as he had done to her.

  “Oh good.”

  “I wouldn’t. That doesn’t seem like something he needs to know. But he didn’t want to know what hoops I was having to jump through, just that I was having to jump through them. Then he told me if Gallagher asks to just say ‘I’m having to jump through hoops.’ What’s that all about?”

  Werner let out a long sigh and set his empty plate down on the foot of the bed.

  “Sometimes in the military the officers know that to get things done we can’t exactly obey the rules. Thing is, they don’t want to know about it. The less they know the better… sometimes. It’s plausible deniability. That way, if the shit hits the fan, they can say, ‘No, I had no idea my men were doing…’ fill in the blank. Halstead is just protecting his ass… and protecting Gallagher’s ass too. I wouldn’t worry about it. We just have to worry about getting our job done, whatever it takes.”

  “Whatever it takes,” she repeated before setting her half-finished plate aside.

  “That bother you?”

  Sam frowned. “No. Just trying to adjust to that mentality.”

  Werner smiled. “You’ll get used to it.”

  She looked at him for a long moment.

  “Ask,” he said, reading her mind.

  “What’s your first name?”

  His lips pulled up into a wide smile bringing light into his blue-green eyes. “Philip.”

  Sam smiled back. “Good to know.”

  “So, you need to go back out tonight?” he asked, leaning a little deeper into her shoulder.

  Sam nodded, not much interested in actually doing it. Neither of them got up. After a long lapse of silence, Werner pushed himself away from her and climbed to his feet.