The Future in My Veins

Chapter Twenty-One

Unedited

Chapter Twenty-One

Strength, I told myself.

"He told me you weren't in," she said finally.

"He told you what I instructed him to tell you." That should tell her all sorts of things. "What do you want?" I demanded.

She gave a less than pleased look. "Can we go to your office—"

"I'm having it renovated." Which was true. Along with the request to temporarily relocate, I also put in the order for the revamping of the space. It had bad juju that needed to go away. "And I believe the only Panther on this planet that I love told you I didn't want to see you."

My brother had damn well delivered that message.

"Georgiana—" she took a step and I raised an eyebrow, forcing her to stop, "—I know you're angry with me—"

I shook my head. "At this point it's more indifference than anger. I cycled through anger years ago."

She slid her hands into the back pockets of her jeans and rocked back on her heels. It made her look much younger and not at all like the grandmother she was. Nostalgia hit me like a hammer, but I didn't let it show on my face. She'd hook into the weakness and gut me with it. My ruthlessness did come from somewhere after all.

"Can we talk? Please."

"About how shitty of a parent you are?" I gave her my fake, predatory smile. "Sure, Mrs. Vertigo, as long as that's all we discuss. Follow me."

That familiar look of disapproval crossed her face, but I ignored it as I about-faced and restarted my trek to my temp office. She could follow me or not, I didn't care. Her disapproval or opinion no longer mattered to me. I distanced myself, pushed them away, for a reason and it wasn't as simple as I didn't want my young death to hurt them. That was the blanket cause that I let myself and others believe.

Every Slayer we passed tilted their head in greeting and respect. It was something I got used to shortly after becoming SC and at this point, I ignored it, hardly noticed it. But my mother, who had caught up with me, looked at them as if she didn't understand why they were doing it.

We'd just reached my office when a recruit rushed up in a blind panic. "Ma'am!" He came to a screeching stop and immediately started babbling about—something. I wasn't sure what he was saying as all of his words blurred together so it sounded like this high-pitched toddler jumble.

"Stop," I commanded when it became clear he'd neither slow down or start to make sense. He stopped, sucking in air. "Breathe." He let out a breath then sucked one back in. I made him repeat the process a few times before I asking, "Better?" He nodded. "Good. Now. Start from the beginning and speak clearly. I'm not in the mood to decipher recruit gibberish. You're about two hours late on that one."

He blushed in embarrassment. "I'm sorry, my mentor swore if I didn't' get your signature on this, he'd send me out on mandatory patrol duty on New Year's Eve and—"

I waved the rest of his explanation off. "What is it?"

"What's what?"

I checked the urge to roll my eyes. "Whatever he sent you here for me to sign."

"Oh!" He reached in his gear and pulled out the envelope. "It's a request for a transfer. Though I'm not sure what he wants to transfer."

Oh, I had an idea. I took the envelope and read over the contents with a frown. The recruit shifted awkwardly from one foot to the other as I read, still so anxious he began to make me anxious. Norchov requested exactly what I thought he had and though I tended to indulge the older Slayer, I couldn't this time. I'd met him at one of the New Year Eve bashes and he'd charmed me by commiserating over the fact Lena had forced us both to be there. We sat drinking in the corner the entire night until Gregori had come to carry me off to bed, smiling the entire way since I was a happy drunk for once and couldn't stop laughing because of the way his pants creased over his butt as he walked.