"Jonas was right, Harmony," he warned her. "The existence of the mating heat is a time bomb just waiting to explode. When it does, the Breeds will never know safety."
"What do you suggest then?" She waved her hand mockingly. "Let's just turn him right over to the Council while we're at it. Because the Coyotes will beat the Breed Enforcers to him. There's no way to keep him safe if knowledge of this reaches Sanctuary."
"We get the information and go from there" he said. "With any luck, something about the mating heat will be contained in that hard drive or discs you found." His voice vibrated with the knowledge. God, this wind stuff was really going to drive her crazy.
She wiped her hands over her face, pressing the heels of her hands against her eyes as she fought with her need not just to protect and find the first Leo but to protect her own reality as well.
"If he's so good at hiding people, then perhaps this Dane is hiding the Leo as well," Lance suggested then. "We could go through the information ourselves…"
"Most of it is encrypted." She shook her head. "I can't break the code." She dropped her hands and stared back at him in despair.
Lance smiled as he rose from his desk.
"I have a cousin-in-law who just happens to excel at breaking Council encrypted files," he said. "You can trust Braden, Harmony. We can trust him. We keep what you want to stay hidden and we bargain with Jonas on the rest. That will buy us the time we need to find your Leo."
"We're playing with the identity of the first Leo," she whispered. "And his safety."
"If he's still alive, then he's well experienced in protecting himself. Let's see what you have, then we'll decide. First we weigh our options, then we go from there."
"Getting away from Dane and Jonas won't be easy," she murmured worriedly. "Not to mention whoever our friendly neighborhood copycat assassin is. They could be waiting on this. I still think we should tell Dane."
Lance watched her silently, his gaze thoughtful.
"Oh, they definitely are." He finally moved around the desk and stalked toward her. "But we have an ace up our sleeve, baby. We have the winds. And I have it on the highest authority that there's this badass assassin who knows well how to avoid pesky little tails. Between the two, I think we'll have them beat. As for telling Dane anything, have you considered that maybe he doesn't know about the Leo? If he doesn't, then you don't want to reveal that information. And he'll never leave without an explanation."
"They'll be waiting on me to go for the information. They're going to expect this, Lance." She stayed well clear of the area where she had hidden the leather satchel of information she had stolen. She had kept the hard drive for a while, until she gave up on figuring out how to open the encrypted files. She had packed it protectively then included it with the rest of the stash. That had been years ago.
"Harmony, we don't have a choice." His voice as well as his expression hardened. "I won't let Jonas continue to jerk you around like this. And I'll be damned if I'm going to let that son of a bitch Dane attempt to kidnap you and my child. This stops here!" Harmony almost shivered at that tone of voice. She did cream. She could feel the juices gathering, heating between her thighs, preparing her. Who knew she could be so female? She sure hadn't. She hadn't been before Lance.
Drawing in a deep breath, she restrained herself from jumping his bones. She couldn't even blame it on the mating heat. The heat flowing through her now was different, but it was also hotter. Brighter. And it was more destructive to her peace of mind than the mating heat had ever been.
Was there a part of her selectively programmed to submission? Or was this natural?
Was this love?
"Harmony." His voice was a warning growl as she realized she was still staring up at him with a frown.
"Fine. We get the information." She shoved her hands into her pockets before turning away from him and pacing across the room to stand by the window.
The shade had been drawn, blocking the sight of the playground outside. It didn't matter; she wouldn't have seen the day reflected there anyway.
This was too unfamiliar. What the hell was she supposed to do now? A mate was one thing. She was getting used to the mate stuff. She was handling that, right?
Her hand dropped to her stomach again.
"I'm frightened," she whispered as she lifted her hand and stared back at Lance. Bitter amusement sliced through her. "I don't think I've ever been frightened before, Lance."
She had shot her way out of the labs, and not once had she known fear. She had gone against serial ra**sts, killers, crime figures and Coyotes, and she had never batted an eye at the danger she faced. But the thought of a child was terrifying her. She fought back her tears as she glimpsed his expression. Anger lurked in his gaze, but overriding it was concern and dark determination.
Lance strode quickly across the room and folded her against his body, tucking her head against his chest as his arms held her close. God, how would he survive without her?
From first sight she had begun worming her way into his heart and taking over his soul. She breathed life into his world, and he had no intention of allowing anyone to take that from him. Not Jonas, not the unknown Dane and sure as hell not the Genetics Council. He felt her arms grip his back and the shudder that raced through her body as he pressed his face against her hair.
"Our child is going to be fine," he whispered. "We'll teach him how to play baseball and how to hunt. We'll learn how to bake brownies for him, and how to make him laugh. And we'll protect him, Harmony. I promise you."
She trembled against him again, trying to duck her head as he leaned back to stare down at her.
"Trust me," he whispered.
Her face lifted, her eyes, those beautiful pale green cat's eyes, swimming with tears as she stared back at him.
"Being a woman sucks," she whispered. "I never had this problem until you." He frowned in confusion. What the hell was she talking about?
"What problem?"
"Needing someone else," she whispered. "Needing him more than I need freedom or need to run. Needing him more than I need what I've fought for, for so long." He smoothed her hair back from her face, feeling his chest tighten further as she broke his heart all over again. What other women took for granted—the love of a man, needing him, being close to him—his woman saw with an edge of wonder.