Mated To The Dragon Of Manhattan (A BBW Paranormal Romance Book 1) (17 page)

Owen scoffed. "Doesn't matter if they are. Truman and I are still stronger. Not to mention that Michael, David, and Adrian are probably the only three shifters, along with Matthew, who are disloyal to Truman. And in fact, before my psychic abilities were knocked out by Matthew, I didn't detect any negative vibes toward Truman from anyone but Matthew; though now in hindsight, maybe I did pick up some brief, strange, angry vibes coming from Michael, David, and Adrian's minds as well. But not from anyone but them. Meaning, there are still over three dozen shifters here in New York City alone still loyal to Truman. And a few dozen more in our various other government posts around the country and world. So, even if Matthew and his three traitors attacked this second, it'd be four against about three dozen. So, how does he even think he's going to accomplish this takeover of the throne here in New York?"

Annabelle lifted her slim shoulders in a shrug, dabbing at her red-rimmed hazel eyes. "I don't know. I wasn't able to overhear any specific plans to kill Truman, only that he intends to. Though, I can try to do a little more spying. Not that I'll probably be able to find out much more. Matthew usually never has phone conversations when I'm anywhere near, and lately he's been turning a radio on really loudly whenever he and Michael, David, and Adrian have their little kitchen talks, so I can't hear. And as far as me sussing out things directly from him, I just don't see that happening. He doesn't tell me anything anymore. And I doubt he ever will, particularly since part of his plan is to kill
me
. So, why would he tell me any details of his plans; he wouldn't."

Having a sudden thought, I sat up a little straighter on the couch. "I'll do it. I'll find out exactly what his plans are."

Truman scowled, tightening his arm around my shoulders. "Absolutely not. I know what you're thinking, but the answer is no. You could get hurt, or-"

"But just listen. Just listen to me, though." I removed his arm from around my shoulders and turned to face him on the couch. "Who better to find out his plans than me? Everyone else it seems like he wants to kill, and the people he doesn't, like Brianna or one of your loyal shifters, he'd be suspicious of them trying to all of a sudden get closer to him. But me...it sounds like he'd welcome me trying to get closer to him. And I have just the perfect cover story to do it."

Truman frowned, his gray eyes dark. "What do you mean?"

"Mara. Everyone knows I'm not crazy about her being back in town and working for your foundation. Because clearly, she still has a thing for you, and I'm sure she'd love nothing more than to steal you away from me before our wedding. And in fact, there's even been a lot of rumors going around that is what she intends. Which...is probably a whole other subject that should be left out of this discussion. But, anyway...all this Mara stuff hasn't even bothered me
too
badly because I know you're not interested in her like that, and I trust you completely. And now...now we can actually use the whole situation to our advantage. I'll just pretend that I have suspicions that you're cheating on me with her. I'll kind of casually turn to Matthew for a listening ear and comfort, telling him that I'm miserable, but now that I'm in this parallel forever, I just don't see a way out of our upcoming wedding. And that's when he'll tell me that there
is
a way out. Which would be me marrying
him
after he takes you out. And that's when I'll find out his exact plans, and exactly who's involved."

Truman heaved a sigh, still frowning. "Or...I could just have him and the other three jailed or executed and be done with all this."

Brianna, who'd been silent for quite a while, finally spoke, drawing her gingery brows together. "But that wouldn't be quite right. And forgive me for saying that, Truman; I respect you as lord of this nation and I'll respect any decisions you make, but...I just don't think that would be quite right. To jail and maybe even execute people, especially a person who's been our friend for so long, without first getting a little more confirmation that that person
is
actually intending to do what we think he's going to do. Because after all, all we're going on right now is Owen's and my suspicions and our connecting the dots, and a conversation heard through a door. I actually think we
do
need a spy to get more confirmation of Matthew's intentions. And I'm with Brette...I think it should be her. I think that for the reasons she's already said, she's the only one who can do it, actually."

After giving Brianna a little look that I hoped expressed my thanks, I looked at Truman again. "I want to help. I want to help protect us from Matthew and the other three that would hurt us. And I want to help get the truth, because Brianna's right. We should probably get further confirmation of Matthew's intentions before you take any other steps. Especially since despite what Owen was able to intuit before the chandelier incident, it's possible that there may be others involved in this plot besides Matthew and the other three. And if so, we'll never know for sure if you simply have Matthew and the other three jailed or executed. So, please say yes, that I can become a spy. Please say yes, because I know I can do it. I'm not a cream puff anymore; I think I proved that I can be strong and smart and brave when I stabbed Dominic through the heart while he was in dragon form. So...." I took a deep breath. "Will you let me do this?"

Truman hesitated in answering so long I wondered if he was ever going to respond. But finally, after a deep sigh, he did.

"All right. Yes. You can be a spy. But under one condition. And you might not like it."

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

I looked at Truman, a little shocked that he'd said yes to my request so quickly, and also a little wary of what his "one condition" to me being a spy would be. "Okay. Whatever your one condition is, I can handle it. So, what is it?"

He clenched his jaw briefly, his expression unreadable. "The one condition is that you give me your blessing to spend a little time with Mara."

I didn't answer right away, my stomach suddenly in knots. "Well...but, why?"

"Because it's the only way we're going to be able to get your 'cover story' for Matthew to seem believable. If I avoid Mara like the plague at all times, like I've been doing, it might seem a little odd to him when you come to him saying that you suspect me of cheating. However, if I can have him 'catch' me spending time with her over the next few days, it might make it seem much more believable that you'd have suspicions. And I'm not thinking any scenarios that would embarrass you or lead onlookers to suspect any impropriety. And I definitely won't be leading Mara on or giving her any false hope. I'm just thinking along the lines of if Matthew were to see me having lunch with her among a group of other people right before giving her a personal tour of the throne room. Or if he were to see me working with her on a project at the foundation. That sort of thing."

I didn't know if I was crazy about the sound of
that sort of thing
. Yet, I realized that Truman was right; we had to make my 'cover story' for Matthew seem believable. And that might entail
that sort of thing
.

I nodded, gritting my teeth. "All right. Makes sense. I agree to your one condition of my spying. And so, I guess it's settled, then. I'll give you a few days to let Matthew notice you spending a little time with Mara, and then I'll approach him and start trying to get some confirmation of his plans."

With her gaze on me, Annabelle sighed, sat up straighter, and scooted to the end of the overstuffed tan chair that was almost seemed to swallow up her slender frame. "We're forgetting one thing, though. Which is that you're a terrible liar, Brette. Literally the worst. Remember Rolando Feathers? Or the story you told Brianna and me about how the security camera in the service elevator got smashed? You said you jumped up and destroyed it because you were annoyed that it was beeping, I recall. And of course, Brianna and I didn't believe you for a second. So, how are you going to get Matthew to believe you when you come to him saying that you have suspicions Truman is cheating on you with Mara? How are you going to be able to lie convincingly?"

I swallowed, not entirely sure myself. "Well...I think I'll be able to do it this time because I won't be on the spot. Which is what usually seems to make my lies so terrible. I'm usually flustered out of my mind when I tell them. But with Matthew, I won't be. I'll have had time to prepare. I'll have had time to rehearse in my mind what I'm going to say. And I think that will make a big difference."

I hoped that it would, anyway. And I was pretty sure that it would.

Annabelle moved her head in a slight nod, seeming at least fairly convinced. "I guess that makes sense. And on the chance that you
can't
pull it off, and Matthew doesn't take the bait, I guess no harm done, and the plan can simply be called off. And then Truman can jail or execute Matthew and the three others knowing that at least we tried to get confirmation of their plans."

She soon left after realizing that Matthew would be home soon, and Brianna and Owen got up to leave shortly after.

After giving me a tight hug, Brianna asked if I thought I was going to bump the wedding day forward until everything with Matthew was resolved. "I only ask because as your matron of honor and head organizer, I should probably notify all the catering and floral people right away tomorrow if you
are
going to postpone it a few weeks, which would be more than understandable."

I looked Truman, sighing. "What do you think? I hate to do it, but under the circumstances, maybe we should. Because who knows if this will all be settled by the date of our wedding in just a few weeks. And I guess if we do bump the date up by two or three weeks, I could even use it to bolster the story I'm going to tell Matthew. I'll tell him I told you I wanted the wedding date pushed forward because I want more time to plan, but the real reason is because I suspect you of cheating with Mara and I don't think I want to marry you anymore."

Truman thought that seemed like a good idea, and so we agreed to move the wedding date up a few weeks, to mid-November. Though I didn't agree without a feeling of disappointment and general irritation. I'd so been looking forward to a late October wedding with all the trees in the rooftop garden in their full autumnal glory. And in November, we probably wouldn't be able to have an outdoor wedding at all, let alone one with a backdrop of beautiful fall colors. However, I knew the change was necessary, and there wasn't much I could do about it.

Not long after Brianna and Owen left that night, Truman and I went to bed and tried to get some sleep, but the task proved impossible, at least right away. After a little while, Truman got up and said he just needed to pace and be alone by himself for a while. I more than understood; I knew he was likely trying to control some anger, and even maybe some outright rage, directed at Matthew. I also knew he was probably dealing with some pretty profound shock and hurt at Matthew's betrayal. My heart ached for him, and before he left the bedroom, I told him how very sorry I was about what had happened and what we'd learned.

But after that, I turned my thoughts to how I could help resolve the situation and get the knowledge needed to help keep us safe from an attack on Truman by Matthew. While I tossed and turned in Truman's and my enormous, four-poster bed, I planned out in great detail some of the things I was going to say to Matthew, and then I recited some of the things in my head, though trying to say the things in a normal, non-obviously-lying sort of way, how I intended to say them. I imagined Matthew's possible responses to the things I was going to say, and then I planned out my own responses.

By two in the morning, Truman was still out of bed, and my eyes were finally beginning to close. I hated to go to sleep without his arms around me, though I figured I'd give him some peace and let him come back to bed when he was ready. And so, I curled up hugging his pillow, which held a trace of his masculine, woodsy scent, closed my eyes, and tried to let sleep take me. However, it was still a little while before that happened. Primarily because an image of Mara and Truman, together, touring the throne room, suddenly popped into my head, and I couldn't get it out right away.

Over the next few days, that image became a reality. Truman and Mara worked on a project together at his charity foundation office. They had lunch together with the foundation's board of directors. After which, Annabelle reported to me that Mara had been giggling and falling all over Truman the entire time. But Annabelle had invited Matthew to the lunch, and she'd said that he'd seemed to watch Truman and Mara with keen interest. So, the plan to lay the groundwork was working. Though I felt uneasy and unsettled about it all, but I knew it was necessary. And each morning, Truman assured me that he had no romantic feelings for Mara at all and he thought she was an absolute twit.

Early Monday afternoon, he gave her a tour of the throne room, which usually, only VIPs got to enter. And according to Truman, she definitely wasn't a VIP in any way, shape, or form. However, in keeping with the plan, he gave her the tour anyway, making sure to schedule it directly after a meeting with his advisors and lieutenants, when Matthew would still be around. And when Brianna called me later, she told me that Owen had reported that Matthew had, without a doubt, noticed the private tour.

Later that same day, I met Annabelle and Brianna for some shopping on the fifteenth floor of the tower, where a lot of our favorite boutiques were located. But after only a few minutes of browsing around, I realized I just wasn't in the mood for shopping. I decided I'd rather go up to the rooftop garden and work on a painting I was going to sell at Annabelle's and my charity fundraiser in a few months.

I'd been painting more and more, because for one thing, it seemed to be the only thing that could fully take my mind off of Truman and Mara, and the whole Matthew situation, at least for short periods of time. And for another thing, I just simply loved it and had thoroughly enjoyed being able to spend more time doing it ever since my days as a bank teller had ended when I'd crossed the parallel from
my
New York City. And in fact, Truman and I had even had a talk the night before about painting and art possibly being my official new career, a thought that thrilled me, as did his support. I couldn't think of any career or pursuit I'd like more than creating art to sell at auctions to benefit Truman's charity foundation and others. Because after all, with Truman's very considerable wealth, it wasn't as if we needed any additional income for ourselves.

After telling Annabelle and Brianna I just wasn't in the mood for shopping and was going to go up to the garden to paint, I left the boutique, walked past a long line of shops to the elevator bay, and stepped inside the first elevator that opened. And to my extreme irritation, I saw that Mara was the only passenger. And because she'd initially had a magazine up to her face, I saw this way too late to get out without likely being seen as childish or petty, two opinions I didn't want her to have of me.

And so, I simply hit the button for the penthouse while giving her the tiniest of polite smiles. "Hello, Mara."

She smiled in return, though actually, her "smile" was clearly leaning toward being a smirk. "Hello, Brette. Lovely day today, isn't it?"

While the glass-walled elevator began ascending, I surveyed the sunlit sprawl of New York City beyond the tower, glad to have something else to look at besides her creamy-skinned, quite beautiful face. "Mm-hmm."

"It was also a lovely day to have Truman give me a personal tour of his throne room. Which
he
actually suggested, and which is something he didn't even do while we were dating. And in fact, if I didn't know better, Brette, I'd say it seems like Truman still has feelings for me. Feelings that may have even grown stronger during the time we've been apart."

Fighting the urge to ball my fists, I turned my gaze to her. "If that's what you think, I actually feel sorry for you. Because you couldn't possibly be more wrong."

Scoffing, she stuffed her magazine into her giant shoulder bag and then looked at me, smirking again. "Is that why I heard today that you and Truman have pushed your wedding date up? Because to me, that seems like a sign that someone has cold feet. Maybe because that someone has realized that they're still in love with their ex."

"You're so dead wrong, I'm trying not to laugh."

I really was. Though I was torn between wanting to laugh and wanting to give her a little smack right upside her head.

Snorting, she tossed her glossy, dark blonde hair over one shoulder. "We'll see if I'm dead wrong. We'll just see."

I snorted myself. "Yes, we will."

We both fell silent. Mara stared at the elevator door, her mouth seeming to be fixed in a permanent smirk. I pretended to be interested in the row of numbered buttons next to the elevator door, fighting an urge to roll my eyes.

But just after we'd passed the thirtieth floor of the tower, Mara turned to me and spoke again. "You know...I wasn't going to say this to your face. Just because I'm a polite, decent person, I guess. But now, you've kind of pissed me off a little, so I guess I
will
say what I have to say, and it's this. I'm going to win Truman back. You're not ever going to have your wedding.
I'm
going to be Lord Truman's wife.
I'm
going to have his little dragon shifter babies. Everyone's going to bow and curtsey to me as Lady Mara, first lady of this nation.
Not
you. And there's not a damn thing you can do about it." She took a step closer to me. "Because now that I've got Truman close to me again...now that I've obviously got him thinking about my body again, and what I can do with it...well, it's just a matter of time before he not only pushes your wedding date ahead again but cancels the whole thing entirely. So, enjoy your last few nights in bed with him. Because soon
I'll
be the one enjoying that big rod of steel he has. And my oh my...it's
quite
the rod, isn't it? I'm
so
looking forward to becoming reacquainted with it." She actually winked, drawing the edges of her red-lipsticked mouth upward in some perversion of a smile. "Won't be long now. And let's just say I'll be riding it until I've had my complete
fill
, so to speak."