“She doesn’t know what you do yet?”
“No, not yet.
I’m fairly certain she thinks I run the vineyard with my family,” Madden explained.
“Why didn’t you tell her?”
“You saw how spooked she gets. We need to ease her into all of this. Telling her that I head up an invisible arm of the CIA, the
Terrorist Elimination Unit
—
TEU
—
would’ve been too much, too soon.”
Madden was worried, had always been concerned, that should he take a mate, she’d be living in danger. Now he planned to take every precaution to keep Layla safe.
“I think you underestimate her, my friend,” Anton replied, shaking his head.
“I think you will see when she wakes up and wants to play twenty questions,” Madden returned sarcastically.
“I’m certain she will have questions.” Anton
chuckled and
agreed with Madden on all accounts but especially that this perfect woman would be filled with questions.
“And I am certain you will find it most easy to ease her concerns.” Madden grinned
.
B
oth
men were
aware now of
Anton’s
charms when it
came
to Layla. The talents of a
Tre Adoro
are only unlocked when he meets the female in the
mat
ed
couple he is meant to serve. Years in service to the Santucci family had never brought such an honor to Anton
,
but finally, he ha
d
been satisfied.
Chapter Four
Madden sat behind his large
mahogany
desk surveying the latest files delivered since he’d left his office on Friday. Unaware of the profound e
vents the weekend
would
h
o
ld for him, his plan had been to sort, research and assign out the
recent
cases this week. Most likely, he
would have
be
en
taking on a few
himself
,
b
ut he was second-guessing that now. Being away from Layla during this period of Acclimation was dangerous for them. As their bond grew, they needed to be near one another
, to be
able to nurture the
Tre Adoro
C
oupling
and
drink from each other as often as possible until the levels in their blood leveled out
.
The knock came quick
ly
, followed by the entrance of Agents Seamus and Donovan. “Madden, we got
the
message you needed to see us t
his morning.”
Two of Madden's largest men f
illed his doorway, both tall and wide, each nearly equal to Madden’s own height by virtue of their
Valendite Breed
lineage.
It was ingenious o
f the US government
to strike a partnership
,
albeit a highly confidential one, with the Valendite Breed when an agency discovered their existence. Now the TEU worked under Madden’s guidance to
eliminate the world’s most he
inous criminals.
It was work he was proud of
,
but also work that might endanger his new mate.
“Thanks for coming so quickly. I try not to call you away with such haste unless it’s
vitally
important.”
“We understan
d,”
Seamus
said as they sat in the two leather chairs facing Madden’s desk. Madden didn’t watch to see
who sat where
.
T
he two agents, longtime friends, were nearly interchangeable.
“No big deal. We were having a little boxing competition down in the gym,” Seamus laughed and tilted his head toward Donovan, “but someone was glad for the distraction since I had him pinned.”
“Fuck you, muskrat. I was giving you a breather before I spun out to flip you on your ass.”
“Is that what you call that move? It looked a little like taking a nap
to me
.”
They could argue for hours if you let them
,
and usually Madden enjoyed their antics but he had things to get back to at home. He needed to focus them on their task
.
Once he got them on a mission,
there were no other men more focused
than Seamus and Donovan.
“Okay, boys, as fun as it is to watch your banter, we’ve got one lead that needs immediate follow-up. The rest will wait.” Madden wanted to get down to business and back to
his
house where Layla was hopefully
relaxing
.
“What are we waiting on, boss?”
Always direct
, Madden
came right out with it
.
“I’ve claimed my mate.
Obviously, that means
now isn’t a good time for me to be away. I’m going to need us to
lie
back if we can and
to
give m
yself
a chance to acclimate
.” The room was silent
.
N
either
man
made
any of the smart remarks Madden was certain they were thinking. “You don’t have to act like I just told you I had cancer.”
“Boss, you have a mate.” Leave it to Seamus to state the obvious.
“Yes I do.”
“Shit
,
” Donovan snickered
. “
You okay?
I mean, it’s not every day one of us finds a mate.
”
“Yeah, for us it really is like
a
one-in-a-million chance,” Seamus added.
“Like I said, it’s not like I have cancer. It’s just
a mate. She
—
she’s my mate,” Madden took a breath and shook his head
.
“
Her name is Layla
,
a
nd I am sure you will meet her soon
enough
. But she’ll need some time to get used to our life here at the compound.”
“Sure,” Donovan agreed
.
“So what can we do?”
Leave it to Donovan to get them back to business.
“There’s a new lead on Abdul
-
Nassir
. You two will go check it out.
Under the radar.
And remember as always, we do not exist. Lucas will be your go
-
to guy until I can check back in.”
Madden ha
nded the file to Donovan just as his computer beeped with an incoming message. “That’s Caedon with
the
research I’m waiting for. Be safe.” With
those simple words, Madden sent
his agents from his office and turn
ed
his attention to his computer.
“What do you have for me?”
“I’ve worked all angles on the family. All seems in place. She’s not on any radar
—
clean and clear, that’s your girl.”
“Good. Consider this me issuing a permanent watch on anything regarding Layla. So much as her name popping up on anything, you shut it down and let me know.”
“You got it, boss.”
“She’s vulnerable, Caedon. And I can’t
allow anything to happen to her because she was unlucky enough to be my mate.”
“I doubt she’s thinking about being unlucky right now.” The knowing taunt in his voi
ce
al
luded to Caedon knowing more than he spoke
aloud
.
“Want to tell me what you know?”
Madden wasn’t used to this tightening in his gut when he talked to any of his men about women they’d spent time with. It was different with Layla and Madden expected a lot to change at the compound in the coming months.
“I’m watchin
g her out on the far lawn with Anton. He’s showing her the gardens and she seems
happy
.”
“
Right.
Those cameras you have, C
aedon
…
” Madden paused
, not sure how to ask what he most wanted to know.
“
…
Are not anywhere in anyone’s personal quarters,” Caedon finished before Madden needed to ask his question. How fortunate he was to have such good friends.
They’d been together since most of them were just boys in their early twenties. Five decades together meant knowing one another on a whole different level. He’d had Caedon’s back and vice versa more times than Madden could count. There were no other men he trusted more.
Caedon, the
department’s computer geek, was solid
in both stature and beliefs.
Caedon was n
ot your typical
computer
geek
.
T
he other
TEU
agents got a laugh every time a newbie met him and realized that Caedon was the one behind the screen.
“Good then. I need to go.
I’m off.
”
Madden clicked the key to terminate his chat box.
He c
los
ed
up his computer
,
forward
ed
his calls to his cell,
and
made his way to the gardens. It was good to know he was going to find a happy Layla. He’d have to thank Anton for that later.
*
*
*
*
Layla
wrung her hands
while she
waited
for
Madden to get dressed for
dinner with
his
parents
.
With her boiling nerves, she’d gotten ready early and began pacing. Nothing he said seemed to calm her.
“Layla
l
ove, my parents will love you,” Madden reassured her, “and if they don’t, I still do.”
“Thanks but that isn’t so helpful. I’m not good with people, Madden,” Layla confided her fear. She trembled
and
Madden
was
certain
she would
explode any moment u
nless he could relieve some of that tension
. Moving quietly into the palatial c
hanging suite where Layla now
sat moving the empty hang
e
rs by controlling the air
, Madden lowered himself onto his knees
in front of her
.
“What?” Layla scowled
but she looked more scared and
uncertain than angry
.
Honestly, Madden thought she looked adorable. Her spunky façade was crumbling under all this uncert
ainty. He liked the spunky side
, wanted her to feel secure and safe with him
but the vulnerability meant she needed him
.
“I thought you had a nice time with Anton in the gardens?” Madden had no idea what had
wound her up
so he would start with this.
Looking up into her eyes as she stared back at him, he raised a
brow and waited. She was beautiful even as she pinched her lips together and looked at him so disdainfully.
“I did have a nice walk with Anton. That does not mean
I am any less unhappy about having dinner with your parents.” As she spoke, he took her feet into his hands and began
to
strok
e
them. Her words became less harsh, her back less rigid. “I would have thought you could’ve given me more time. We’ve only
just
mated
.
”
“They would want to meet you. It’s just dinner,” Madden worked at reassuring her again.
“I won’t know what to say. I don’t do
good
with people.”
“You do
good
with me,” Madden rubbed his palm along her cheek and she pushed into his touch.
“And Anton.”
“It’s different. These are people I don’t know…”
“…who will love you as if they’ve known you forever,” Madden finished for her.
“Now, on to more important things,” Madden prompted, “How can we help you become more comfortable here?”
“I don’t know.
There is a whirlwind surrounding me and I’m
barely
able to see straight. I have nothing of my own here. I haven’t s
een my sisters today
..
.”
A tear escaped her eye and ran downward to her cheek. Madden
stopped her rambling and quickly swiped
t
he tear
with his thumb
,
rais
ing
himself towards her to kiss her tears away.