The sun was just starting to crest the tree line as Isabella's escort pulled up to the house. She didn't bother waiting for her escort to open her door, as she was racing up the stairs. In spite of the words of her men and Percy, she was desperate to put eyes on her child and ensure her safety for herself. She entered the security code on the door and raced inside, catching a brief glimpse of Percy lounging casually in a shorts and a t-shirt at her dining table, before he disappeared from view as she darted up the stairs.
The door to Cassidy's room was closed, and Isabella managed to control herself enough to calmly and softly open the door. She could make out the soft lump in the bed and the tangle of red hair that could only belong to her daughter. Creeping into the room, she knelt down beside her daughter, an unbidden smile morphing on her face as the constriction in her chest lessened. It was one thing to hear her daughter was safe, but seeing her was another entirely.
She was careful not to wake her little girl, poor thing had had a long night, and she could only guess how long it must have taken for her to fall asleep, and she was loathe to steal her daughter away from the rest she desperately needed. Re-tracing her steps out the room, she gently and quietly closed the door. Sighing, she rested her head against the door, a multitude of emotions warring inside her.
Most prominent though? Anger. Fury. Pure, unadulterated fury. That son of a bitch Packard. She didn't know if he knew Cassidy was at Percy's or not, but Isabella didn't care. His little stunt had threatened to harm her little girl, and she wanted nothing more than to tear the slimy son of a bitch limb from limb. She could feel her canines begin to elongate, her nails grew thick and dug into her palms so tightly that she drew blood.
She felt someone place a warm hand on her back as her nostrils filled with the familiar scent of sea spray. Her canines began returning to their usual shape and size as her nails stopped digging into her palms. Isabella felt her fury drain out of her, and the feeling was strangely exhausting, as a wave of calm washed over her. She turned, without looking up, and wrapped her arms around Percy's middle.
He didn't say anything, but his own arms wrapped around her in turn, drawing her into him. She leaned into the embrace, tucking her head under his, her eyes fluttering shut. She let out a soft sigh, but didn't say anything. Neither did she. They simply sat there, savoring the moment. After a couple of minutes, Percy pulled away. The sudden loss of comfort and heat making her uncomfortable. Percy gazed down at her, his expression…somber.
"We…should probably talk."
Isabella nodded, her mouth going dry. The calm that had taken her began to dissipate as the now familiar tightness of panic and anxiety took hold once again. She felt her body tense, and she followed Percy as he led her back downstairs and to the kitchen. There was a pair of cups of coffee on the table. She didn't need to ask which one was hers. Percy took his coffee black, with at least five packets of sugar, whereas her coffee had the light brown tone of plenty of creamer.
She took a seat behind her cup, wrapping both of her hands around the mug and kept her attention focused on the small swirling mix as Percy took his own seat at the other side of the table. She didn't know what to say, so she opted not to say anything. What was there to say? Did she confess that she'd been having him followed? That she knew he had some kind of connection to the single greatest enemy of her kind in the last fifty years?
God…why did it have to be so goddamn difficult. She wanted answers. Needed them, actually. Not just for her own sake, but for the sake of daughter. But she didn't know if she wanted to do what needed to be done in order to actually get those answers. She just couldn't understand why this was such a challenge for her. She was the head of her damned family for God's sake. She wasn't a child, so why was this so damn difficult? It didn't matter that she liked the guy, she could disassociate herself enough from her feelings that that wasn't the issue. One didn't make it as far in her life as she did without that particular skillset. So, what was her problem? Why couldn't she move on from this?
"You seem stressed."
She glanced up from her cup, and nodded.
"Bit of an understatement,"
Percy nodded at the assessment, letting loose a heavy breathe and scratching at the minor growth of stubble under his chin.
"This is probably…overdue," he said. He wasn't speaking loudly, but Isabella could hear him as clearly as if he were sitting next to her. "Probably should have done this after that meeting a couple of weeks ago. Clear up some misconceptions of you and your friends."
Her blood ran cold, and her grip tightened surreptitiously around her mug. She did her best to school her expression.
"What meeting?" She asked, taking some measure of pride in the way she managed to actually make herself sound confused.
Percy rolled his eyes, taking a sip from the mug. "Let's not do that, please?" He asked, "I've never been much one for politicking and playing games, so do me a favor please and spare me. I was at the meeting where Packard gave you the DSI dossier on me."
It felt like someone had gripped tightly around her esophagus and began squeezing. Her breath came in shorter and shorter bursts, and her hand tightened so much around the cup that it shattered - exploding in a mess of plaster and coffee. She squeaked in surprise and embarrassment, but Percy didn't bat an eye. Instead, he simply waved a single hand. A dismissive gesture. Then, and to Isabella's mounting confusion, the coffee on the table disappeared. There was no fanfare. No spectacle. One moment it was there, and the next it wasn't. As though it had simply vanished into nothingness.
Her eyes tracked slowly from the table, back up to Percy. His eyes seemed like they were glowing, and Isabella could have sworn that she could power and magic roiling just beneath the surface of those sea-green eyes,
"What are you?" She asked, surprising even herself with how calm she managed to keep herself. Percy chuckled.
"I can't tell you that," he said, "Not because I don't want to, but because there rules and laws that quite literally prevent me from telling me. Just know that I'm capable of taking care of myself. But then again, you already knew that. I have no doubt that the two guys you've had following me for the last couple of weeks filled you in on what happened tonight."
She shouldn't have been surprised. She absolutely should not have been surprised. Percy had clearly proven that he was far, far more resourceful than they had initially anticipated. And yet, she was. Sury and Paulaskaite were her best. She never knew of them to be made by anyone before. She schooled her features.
"Very well then," she said, her voice flat. Even. "Might as well do this. Your connection with the DSI. Explain."
Percy shrugged, clearly not as stressed about the conversation as she was. Then again, if she had just killed seven wolves and looked like she hadn't been so much as been licked, she probably would have been pretty calm as well. She was…intimately aware that if Percy genuinely wished her harm, then it was likely that she wouldn't have been able to much about it. She was powerful, likely the strongest in her family. She had to be. But not even she was sure that she could have handled a pack the way that Percy had. And certainly not on her own.
"I worked with DSI for a couple of years," Percy explained. "Civilian contractor. I had a security clearance, but never high enough to give me access to anything interesting. Technically I was supposedly subordinate to the director of the Department, but she knew better than to try and get me to do anything I didn't want to do."
The response was somehow even more confusing to Isabella than it was helpful. Though she maintained her neutral expression and tried not to react in any way.
"What were you doing for the DSI?" She asked, getting to the meat of what she wanted to know.
"I killed things." Percy said simply, and Isabella's heart rate began to sky-rocket again. "Not shifters thought. I'm sorry if you find this insulting, but frankly, your kind has never been dangerous enough to warrant my kind of attention."
"And what, precisely, did warrant your attention?" She fought down the flash of indignation his flippant dismissal of shifters had raised in her. She would be lying if she said she wasn't offended by the rather…flippant dismissal.
"Trolls, half-giants, dragons, rogue mages and warlocks, vampires and werewolves. Really, anything that can't think much for itself and is just an outright danger or menace to society."
"And your job," said Isabella slowly, "Was to kill these things?"
"Track 'em down and kill 'em, but yeah," Percy nodded, taking another long pull from his coffee. "Like I said, I was a civilian contractor. They hired me to do the jobs too risky to send their own people to do. I charged a premium, but there wasn't anyone else willing to do it, so they didn't really have a choice in the matter."
The casual and open way he spoke was…wildly disconcerting. Isabella was not used to such blunt candidness from anybody. But he didn't seem to have any issue being completely honest with her, and she was fairly certain that he was, indeed, being honest with her. Still, she needed to push him a little.
"How can I trust what you're saying?" She demanded, and Percy shrugged.
"I'm sure you already have some of your people looking into me and my background with the DSI. You'll be able to confirm my story soon enough." He smiled at her, "Besides, you and I both know I haven't lied about anything since I moved here."
"Some would say that a lie of omission is still a lie."
"And I would say that you'd be reaching for bullshit semantics," laughed Percy, rolling his eyes.
"Besides, why would I tell you anything like this if it wasn't the truth? I'd sooner just make up some crap about working for their tech or analyst department."
"Then why are you telling me?" She asked, not refuting the point.
Percy's expression grew stony, as all traces of levity disappeared. He leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table as he met her gaze. That strange glow was back, and she could have sworn that the air pressure in the room grew more intense.
"So, you'll be able to tell the others the truth when I kill Packard and his little friends."
Isabella stared at Percy. Her mouth working uselessly for a few moments as she struggled to formulate the necessary words. It wasn't the act in and of itself that scared her. She was not so naive. It wasn't even that he had so brazenly told her that it was Packard. God above only know how many times a week she fantasized about ripping the bastard's throat out. But he was the son of the head of the O'Sullivan family. Regardless of her personal feelings…you didn't kill someone like that. Not with the agreement in place anyway. It had the potential of unravelling everything. Decades of peace, gone in an instant.
"I'm sorry?" She finally managed to say.
"Packard," Percy said again, "I'm going to kill him. And then I'm going to kill every last one of his little boys." His expression was so neutral, so devoid of emotion, that he looked…inhuman. It was an out-of-place expression on the usually jubilant man, and was all the more disconcerting for it.
"Percy…" she said carefully, biting at her lip. "You don't have to-"
Percy cut her off, "I'm not doing this for you." He glanced up at the ceiling, in the direction of where they both knew Cassidy's bedroom was, and where she was still sleeping.
"Though I would be lying if I said that her safety was not a factor." He looked back down and met Isabella's gaze. "These bastards have attacked me twice now. Have tried to kill my animals, burn me alive, and cost me my livelihood. Even if Cassidy had been with you last night, my decision would be the same. The fact that she was with me, just hammers home the expediency with which I need to do this."
Isabella gulped.
"Percy…I don't think you really understand who-"
"I know that little shit is son of the O'Sullivan family," he interrupted, stunning Isabella into silence. He smirked, "You're not the only one who's been doing a little research, Isabella." He leaned back in the chair, casually draping his arm over the back of the chair and taking another deep pull of his drink.
"I know a fair bit about this town. About that little council of yours. All of the members of it are the leaders of their own given 'family' though I'm using that term rather loosely. I know that several of you are what are considered criminal organizations. That you have all been under investigation by the DSI for one reason or another, and that Paradise holds some kind of special meaning to all of you that I can't for the life of me understand, but really don't care about if I'm being honest." He stretched one arm behind his head, scratching between his shoulders.
"Now I don't know this for a fact, but I've inferred it. There's some kind of peace agreement between the families. Only explanation for why you all stopped trying to kill one another thirty years ago. Which brings me to the reason I'm telling you what I am. I'm not the brightest but I'm not so much of an idiot that I can't figure out that killing Packard is going to cause more than a little bit of a panic. You people have your agreement or treaty or whatever it is after all, and I'd rather not put the two people I gave a single damn about in this town in unnecessary danger."
He smiled sheepishly at her, and Isabella tried to fight off the distracting sensation in the pit of her stomach.
"That being said," Percy continued, "This is my way of letting you know, that you should probably give your council people a call and let them know what's going down."
"You do remember that Packard is on that council, right?" She asked,
"And?" He asked, and Isabella stared incredulously at him,
"And I would think that the absolute last thing in the world that you would want would be to announce to the guy you're planning on killing, that you're going to kill him."
Percy shrugged. "It won't make much of a difference if I'm being honest."
"In spite of what you might believe, arrogance isn't attractive Percy," she said dryly.
Percy shrugged. "You can call it arrogance if you like, but it's true. I've been trying to keep a low-profile lately. Keep my head down and mind my own business. Clearly, however, that isn't in the cards anymore so now I'm taking the training wheels off."
"Then why tell me to tell the council?" She asked, "If you're 'taking the training wheels off' then wouldn't you want to have every possible advantage possible?"
"Didn't I just tell you why I wanted to tell the council?" Percy asked,
"You did," she nodded, "But I'm still having a hard time understanding why."
Percy rolled his eyes, and swore under his breath in a language that she didn't quite understand. Though it sounded like it might have been…Latin?
"Pretty sure I also told you that," he grunted, falling silent for a few moments. Then, with the air of a man who seemed to come to a decision, he said "But fine. You really need me to spell it out for you Red? I'll spell it out for you." Percy got up from his chair, walked around the edge of the table and over to her. He knelt on the ground beside her, his large frame still keeping him at eye level with her even as he knelt. Isabella's heart hammered against her ribs, her cheeks going flush and her eyes going wide as Percy gently cupped her cheeks in his hands.
"I like you Red," he said, "I like you a hell of a lot. Spending time with you and Cass…it's made me happier than I've felt in…in a very, very long time. Which means that if I need to give this asshole a heads up that I'm going to tear him apart, so that you and Cass aren't put at risk at being killed by the rest of those freaks on the council, so be it." He leaned forward pressing his forward against hers. She could feel his breath on her lips, could practically feel the scratch of his early morning scruff against her chin.
Her own breath caught in her throat, and she shuddered. Her eyes flitting shut for a moment. When she opened them again, Percy was still gazing at her intently. His hands still cupping her face. His forehead still on hers. There was a question in his eyes. A request for permission. To finally act on this intense…something between them. To act on what they both wanted. What she wanted.
She only hesitated for a moment. Maybe it was the exhaustion and the fact that she hadn't slept in twenty-seven hours. Maybe it was the stress of the day before and the worry about the safety of Percy and Cassidy.
Or maybe she just wanted this every bit as much as he did. She searched his face. And only saw hope, care, and kindness.
Her resolve shattered.
"Fuck it," she leaned forward, and captured his lips in hers.
He tasted like lukewarm coffee and sugar. The whiskers of his scruff tickled and scratched at her cheeks, chin, and lips pleasantly, sending a shiver done her spine. She allowed herself to lose herself to the embrace. Her hands rode up his torso, running her hands along his hardened pectorals. She let out a small whimper of pleasure as her nipped at her lower lip, placing one his hands around the back of her head and tracing the other along the length of her neck. She bundled the front of his shirt in her hands, running her tongue along his lips, begging for entry.
But then her rationale brain caught up with her, and she forced herself to pull away. She rested her head against his, panting slightly, her hands still bundled around the front of his shirt. He nuzzled his scruff against her cheek, and she smiled as the scruff tickled against her.
"Sorry," he apologized, "Might have…might have gotten a little carried away."
"Me too," she panted lightly. Swallowing heavily before looking up meaningfully up at the ceiling. Percy followed the look, and chuckled.
"Might have been a little traumatizing, yeah," He placed a small kiss against her forehead and leaned back.
"Don't suppose there's anything I can say to change your mind about killing Packard?"
He looked at her quizzically.
"Don't get me wrong," she corrected, "Packard is scum, I'm not bothered by taking him out. In fact, I think it's well worth it, especially given what I suspect about him. But…this could have some fairly serious ramifications for the stability of the town."
Percy stared at her for a moment, before sighing and pulling over a chair and sat down next to her. His knee bumped into hers, and a soft thrill shot down her arms at the little touch. Jesus Christ, she felt like she was sixteen again. Shaking off the feeling, she spoke when he nodded at her that he was willing to listen.
"You said you suspected that there was an agreement between the families?" He nodded and she continued, "You were right. Back in '86 the families were all still at war with another. A lot of our families' messes were, perhaps incorrectly, blamed on the organized crime syndicates of the mundanes. A lot of innocents were getting caught in the crossfire. A lot. Mostly mundanes. Many simply in the wrong place at the wrong time, or having seen something that they shouldn't have. Eventually the DSI began to push back against them. I don't know how much you know about the politics of the Supernatural world…"
"Little to nothing," Percy admitted, "Never really cared or had the patience for it. I knew that the DSI was fairly political, and I didn't want to get drawn into their bullshit unnecessarily."
Isabella nodded; she had assumed as much. "Here's what you need to know. The law is, the DSI controls everything. We have no Supernatural government. No state. The families control the power, and the DSI controls the families."
Percy arched an eyebrow, "I have a hard time believing that the families would subjugate themselves to the Feds without a fight,"
"You'd be right," sighed Isabella, "Which brings me back to 1986. Things came a nasty head and the DSI came down hard on the Supernatural world. The DSI stopped playing by mundane rules and laws when it came to policing us, and turned to overt force. No more warrants. No more arrests. Simply finding the troublemakers, and putting them down with extreme prejudice. Hundreds of shifters, werewolves, skinwalkers, vampires, it didn't matter. The Families began to panic, and the heads fled to Paradise, which had been something of a safe haven for our kind since the turn of the century. They held a conference, and initiated talks about forming an alliance against the DSI and the mortal government."
Percy whistled lowly, leaning back in his chair in thought. "Can't imagine they were too thrilled about the idea of that."
"They weren't," Isabella agreed, "But it got worse. There was a traitor among the Families, and someone slipped the information to the DSI about the conference. The DSI descended on the town en masse. Of the ten thousand people living in the town, nearly half were wiped in the fighting. Eventually, the Families capitulated, and agreed to sign an Agreement between us not to begin fighting again. The then Director of the DSI informed the family heads that it would be there one and only strike. That if they should step out of line again, that the DSI would systematically begin exterminating us one at a time. Some think it's a bluff, but…it scared enough of the right people to buy into the Agreement."
"Almost definitely a bluff," Percy agreed, "But the families wouldn't have been in much of a position to contest it."
"And with the newer generations aging further and further from the incursion, more and more are beginning to speak out against the Agreement and the peace."
"That's where Packard comes in, I'm guessing?"
Isabella nodded, "He's been trying to…recruit me."
Percy arched a brow, "Is that what he calls it now?"
In spite of herself, Isabella giggled, lightly batting Percy's thigh with her foot.
"Shut up. Anyways, he keeps talking about how the other Families are trying to push us out. Trying to recruit me to some kind of…alliance for a better word. And this has all been coming on the heels of constantly speaking out during meetings about fighting back against the DSI…"
She sighed, and took a sip of coffee from her, now cold, coffee.
"He's going to make a push for something soon, I can feel it."
"Okay," said Percy in understanding, "And how does this relate to the destabilization of the town if I gank the shithead?"
"Because it will look like I ordered a hit to stay off a potential subversive," she explained,
"Everyone knows you and I are close. Everyone knows that Packard and I have been at odds with one another. If he dies now, it looks like I ordered it as payback for what he's done to you. That is a violation of the terms of the Agreement. It makes the entire Agreement null and void, which means we probably have the DSI knocking on our doorstep at any goddamn moment."
Percy absorbed the information, reaching out to the other side of the table and grabbing his own cold coffee to take a drink. When he placed the cup back down, he was frowning.
"Okay, then what do you suggest we do? Because like it or not, that bastard has to eat dirt. He's not going to stop coming for me, and by extension you, until he's six feet under."
Isabella nibbled at her lip for a moment, hesitant.
"You've got something," said Percy, "What're you thinking in that big brain of yours?"
She glanced at him, and sighed, sagging in her chair. "It ties in to some suspicions I've been having for some time now. His father, Alex, hasn't been seen in over a year. Orders haven't been coming from him directly, and only through his lieutenants and his son…Orders, that have been more and more of a departure from his usual M.O…do you see where I'm going with this?"
"You think his kid killed him and has taken over in the meantime." Percy nodded, exhaling sharply through his nose. "That makes sense." He looked over at her, "Is there a clause somewhere in the Agreement about dealing with internal problems on your own?"
She nodded, "The DSI encourages us to…resolve the problems in-house. Without them having to resort to interfering."
"Which sounds like exactly like the situation you were in before their involvement," Percy snorted, "That sounds about right."
"So let me guess, you want to find the evidence to substantiate this claim, present it to the council, and get the go ahead to take him out as a violator of the Agreement."
"Got it in one," agreed Isabella.
Percy smiled, a feral and menacing look that chilled her blood.
"Well then…let's get to work."
AN: Shoutout to Double for helping me with this idea and for being the best beta on the planet. Check out the link in my channel for the discord server I'm in. My upload schedule is there and you can come hang out with me a bunch of other really awesome and talented authors. Thanks for all the love, and hope you're enjoying the ride thus far.
Love,
LilDB
