A minute later George hung up, satisfied he’d done the right thing. Certainly Chaz looked happier. Now, only time would tell if he’d made things worse or protected his agenda.

•    •    •

Sasha’s plane had flown disturbingly close to Mount Rainier on the way over the Cascades, but the view of the mountain from her hotel room was stunning. The helpful pilot had also pointed out St. Helens and Mount Adams, two of the other volcanoes in the region, as he guided the plane into its final approach to Seattle. A chill slithered over her skin at the memory, but she resisted the urge to close the drapes. She had to get used to the sight eventually, and the sooner the better.

Granted the three peaks were beautiful, but she knew their truth. Underneath all that magnificent splendor beat the cold hearts of killers. At times unstable, always unpredictable, and when the mood hit, totally lethal. Even if the mountains didn’t do the killing themselves, they also harbored the Others, crazed murderers from another world. Sasha couldn’t just enjoy the volcanoes’ rugged beauty, not when she knew about the trained warriors who lived and died under those scenic slopes, all to keep people like her safe.

The Paladins—a society shrouded in secrecy. Even working for the Regents, she’d caught only an occasional glimpse of the St. Louis contingent. Her father had done his best to protect her from the world the Paladins lived in. Even with her limited experience, she knew why.

They were warriors in the finest sense of the word—alpha males in all their glory, the kind of men who attracted women wherever they went. But not her. Not again. She knew better. It’d been another secret she’d kept from her father and the Regents; if they’d found out, they might have terminated her employment immediately. Despite the passage of time, the memories remained sharp and clear; the pain still ached like an old sports injury that acted up whenever it rained.

But enough of that. It was time. Ignoring the flutter of butterflies in her stomach, she picked up her briefcase and left her room. Her first meeting with her new charges was scheduled in less than an hour.

Devlin Bane, a legend in their world, hadn’t been happy when she’d refused his request to meet with him one-on-one ahead of time. He’d raised some valid points in their brief flurry of e-mails, but she didn’t want anything to color her first impressions of the Paladins stationed in the Seattle area. Besides, it was pretty much a sure thing that they’d close ranks to shut her out. Fine. They had good reason not to trust the Regents anymore. She expected to have to work long and hard to break through their firmly ingrained “us versus them” mentality.

If she could reestablish a positive working relationship, though, she’d guide them back into compliance with the regulations established by the Regents for the good of all. The Paladins were the best at what they did, but somehow this bunch had gone way off track—to the point of harboring the enemy among their ranks.

Her father and some of his associates were all for shipping the ringleaders out, scattering them over the globe. She’d managed to convince the Board as a whole that to do so would only spread the contagion.

No, containment was the appropriate goal and her first in a long list. As the elevator whisked her down to the ground floor, a surge of pure adrenaline hit her veins. The battle for control was about to begin.

It was time to report to the conference room. Larem had reluctantly agreed to attend the meeting as the sole Kalith representative in the crowd. Barak and Lusahn had offered to come, too, but Devlin had advised against it. At least he’d agreed that one of them should be there to hear what the representative had to say. Larem had no idea why the Paladin leader had picked him and hadn’t bothered to ask.

Larem joined the long line of Paladins making their way toward the meeting place. A fair number simply ignored him, tolerating his presence only because they’d been ordered to. Inside the room, he paused to locate his friends, who had promised to save him a place. Lonzo and Hunter stood along the back wall near one of the exits. Lonzo was on duty and needed to be the first one out the door if the barrier crashed.

“Hey, roomie, thought maybe you’d changed your mind.” Lonzo scooted to the side to make space for Larem between himself and Hunter.

D.J. joined them in the back, his eyes flitting around the room. “Rumor has it the new administrator has been ducking Devlin. What’s up with that?”

Lonzo shrugged. “Maybe he’s afraid of the big man.”

Hunter laughed, his ruined voice holding little humor. “If so, maybe the guy is smarter than we gave him credit for. Think if one Regent rep went missing, they’d get the message and leave us the hell alone?”

Larem ignored the banter, focusing instead on a sudden stir at the front of the room. Devlin had walked in, but for once he wasn’t the one leading the parade. Whoever had entered just ahead of him was too short to be seen over the assembled Paladins and guards.

Interesting.

Few in the crowd had even noticed that the party was about to begin. Devlin looked back to bark something at Trahern, who had followed him into the room. The other Paladin nodded and immediately stuck two fingers in his mouth and blew hard. The shrill whistle brought all conversation to a screeching halt.

Devlin walked up to the podium and glared around the room, his eyes locking up with Larem’s briefly. He gave a slight nod before moving on, maybe expressing his approval that Larem had dressed in jeans and a flannel shirt to better blend in with his companions. He’d also tied his hair back with a leather thong, although Larem wasn’t the only male in the room sporting hair down past his shoulders. Devlin himself wore his dark hair long although it lacked the sprinkling of gray that gave the Kalith people their distinctive look.

“Okay, everybody, listen up. I’d like to introduce our new administrator, who’s here on behalf of the Board of Regents.”

Before he could complete the introduction, the crowd turned restless as several Paladins shouted out comments and questions. Larem didn’t bother to join the chorus of angry voices, figuring it wouldn’t accomplish anything. Still, there was part of him that was glad the Paladins weren’t going to make it easy for the Regents’ representative to impose his will over them.

Devlin obviously had a different take on the situation. When the rumbling continued, he shouted, “Will you guys shut the fuck up!”

Then he flushed red as he turned to face his unpopular companion. “Sorry about that.”

Lonzo looked like he’d swallowed a worm. “Did Dev just apologize to a Regent?”

“Yeah, that’s just wrong.” D.J. rose up on his toes to see better. “Well, I’ll be damned.”

“Yeah, you will,” Hunter muttered, “but can you see the guy?”

D.J. shook his head, as if to clear it, before answering, “He’s a she.”

That had all of them stretching their necks, hoping to see over the crush of oversized men that filled the room. Finally, the new administrator made it easier on everybody by climbing up on a chair. As the woman waited for her unwilling audience to fall silent, she did her own fair share of staring back at them.

Larem’s heart lurched in his chest. Not only was he a she, but she was striking. Or at least she would be if she didn’t wear her flaming red hair yanked back from her face in that unruly wad at the nape of her neck. He couldn’t see what color her eyes were from across the room, but they looked dark and intelligent. Her clothing was plain yet showed off her compact feminine curves rather nicely.

If she was nervous facing a boisterous crowd of angry men, it didn’t show. He respected that about her, but then he’d served with a female Sworn Guardian long enough to know that courage wasn’t determined by gender. The woman’s gaze swept past Larem without pausing, which would ease Devlin’s concerns but left Larem feeling oddly disappointed.

When she cleared her throat and prepared to speak, he crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the wall. When she was done, he’d report back to Barak and Lusahn before deciding what to do next. His first choice was to stay right where he was because he had commitments he didn’t want to renege on. Too many were depending on him and his particular skill set. If forced, he’d hide out at Hunter’s place for a while, but that reeked of cowardice. No, if he and this woman were to be enemies, it suited his nature to face her directly.

“Gentlemen, my name is Sasha Willis.” Her voice had an appealing huskiness to it as her words rang out over the room, carrying to the far corners with a surprising amount of confidence. Larem wasn’t the only one who straightened up to get a better look at her. There was a lot of power crammed into that petite package.

“My last name may sound familiar as my father is a member of the Board of Regents. I have been serving in Ordnance for the past five years, reporting directly to the Board.”

Once again, she panned the room, as if assessing each man individually before continuing. “You have absolutely no reason to trust me at this point, and I certainly don’t blame you for feeling that way. Too many times the organization has failed you. But I’d like to change that. Rest assured that I have the utmost respect for the Paladins and the amazing job you all do.”

She drew a deep breath. “For starters, I plan to meet with the Handlers to reestablish a set schedule for all types of testing, including scans.”

Once again, murmurs of discontent started building. She ignored them and waited for silence to settle over the room before speaking again.

“I am well aware that Colonel Kincade used scans as a punitive measure. I’ve already issued orders to ensure that practice will cease immediately. Diagnostic procedures are to be done on a regular schedule only, unless the Handlers feel a particular case warrants more frequent monitoring.”

Larem bet that his eyes weren’t the only ones that immediately sought out Trahern. It was common knowledge that his test results had been getting steadily closer to the edge for years. They all knew that the only reason the Paladin still lived and breathed was because Brenna and Laurel had been too stubborn to give up on the man the last time he’d died. By all reports, it had been a close call. Too close.

“In that same vein, I’m happy to announce that I will be authorizing additional staff and funding to enable Dr. Young to continue her studies in that area. She and I will be discussing the matter in greater detail in the near future.”

Trahern looked happier, but not by much. Devlin had left the administrator’s side to stand next to his longtime friend in a show of support. From the look the Willis woman gave him, she hadn’t missed the gesture or mistaken its meaning.

“I will be studying all of your files, hoping to familiarize myself with everyone who is stationed here in Seattle, starting with the Paladins. As time allows, I’ll move on to the guards and other support personnel. I understand that we also have special guests living and working here in Seattle. I will be dealing with them, too.”

Okay, so that definitely sounded like a threat to him. At least she hadn’t come right out and demanded that the local Kalith population be rounded up for immediate disposal. That didn’t mean she wouldn’t at some point. He doubted his friends would appreciate the dark turn of his thoughts, but then they had nothing to fear from the Regents. Paladins were too short in supply for their masters to risk alienating them completely.

The meeting was evidently winding down as Sasha Willis continued. “I know you all have questions, ones I hope to answer in time. For now, I want to extend my personal gratitude for the work you’ve done, and continue to do, here in Seattle. Thank you for your attention, gentlemen.”

Then she hopped down off the chair and made a beeline for the door. Once again, Devlin headed for the podium. His men fell silent, waiting to hear what their leader had to say.

“Like the lady said. We have questions and she has no answers—yet. I’m asking that you give her a chance.”

“What fucking choice do we have?”

The comment came from somewhere in the middle of the pack, but Larem didn’t recognize the voice. Devlin must have, though, because he shot the guy a sharp look.