TEMPORARY MATES PERMANENT CRAVINGS novel Chapter 239

Two hundred and thirty nine

A strange reluctance settled over me as I followed Victoria out. Cassidy was the only familiar person in this place. Victoria was already halfway to the door by the time I caught up.

“How far along are you?” she asked as we headed down the hallway.

“Almost six months.”

She glanced at my stomach with a faraway smile. “You’ll probably get tired of everyone asking you that.”

“I doubt it.” I smiled. “You must be one of the older members.”

Victoria let out a scoff.

“Not even close. I’ve been here a month.”

I wondered what her story was. Every woman I’d met here seemed to carry one, but asking would be rude.

We continued walking.

“So…” she said. “Which Alpha is your case tied to?”

“Alpha Cameron. Wild Fangs.”

She stopped. I didn’t miss the flash of surprise that crossed her face before it disappeared. Then she whispered, ” Evangeline.”

“You know her?”

“Sort of,” she said.

Questions rushed through my mind. Was she close to Evangeline? She didn’t seem to want to say more, so I let the silence stand instead of pushing for answers as she led me to a different building that looked more like a dormitory. She held my hand as we climbed the front stairs.

“This is the chapter house.”

Women moved through the space as though it were simply home, laughing and going about their chores. In the lobby, about five women were watching TV. This place seemed to be beyond where the Daughters met. It was where some of them rebuilt whatever the Meridian had left behind.

Victoria retrieved a key from the porter and led me to the second floor, which seemed quieter, stopping beside a section divided by polished wooden partitions.

“This space is yours whenever you’re required to stay.”

I looked at the small room in front of me.

If things became worse with the Meridian, would this become my home?

The thought unsettled me, but it also carried a sliver of hope. There was a place of protection waiting for me if everything else fell apart.

Victoria remained silent as she watched me take in the room.

“If you need anything, ask. If I don’t know the answer, I’ll tell you I don’t know.”

She waited while I looked around before turning toward the doorway. Victoria left me at the end of the corridor

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where Cassidy was already waiting.

“It’s getting late.”

That was all.

I fell into step beside her, and together we headed for the exit.

“Can I ask you something?”

Cassidy didn’t look up from what she was doing.

“You just did.”

I almost smiled.

“When Joanna said the Meridian wouldn’t leave me alive…” I hesitated. “Was she exaggerating?”

“No.”

The answer came so quickly that it ended the hope before it could grow.

“They remove anything that becomes a threat to their plans,” Cassidy continued. “People. Evidence. Witnesses. Children. It doesn’t matter whether the honeypot agrees with it. Once the Meridian decides something is an obstacle, they deal with it.”

Silence settled between us.

“They convince people they’re making their own choices,” Cassidy said. “That’s the dangerous part.”

“Then… how do you fight something like that?”

“You stop thinking you’re fighting one woman.”

I frowned.

“Evangeline isn’t the Meridian. She’s one operative. Remove her and they’ll send another. What you’re fighting is the machine behind her.”

I let that sink in.

“Can I ask you something else?”

Cassidy nodded.

“Your son…” I chose my words carefully. “Was it the Meridian?”

Cassidy’s hands became still.

“I can’t prove it.”

“But you believe they were involved.”

“I believe they had every reason to remove what stood in their way.”

“My son did.”

I didn’t know what to say.

After a long silence, Cassidy spoke again.

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“That’s why Joanna approved your review.”

I looked at her.

“The Meridian doesn’t stop because someone surrenders. They stop when they no longer have the opportunity,”

Cassidy returned to what she was doing.

“And that’s what we’re trying to take away from them.”

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