37. Chapter Thirty-Seven

Iwas walking into the bar when I saw them. Three agents from the BSA, one with his arm in a sling, looking more upset than the other two, who were enjoying a drink. Special Agent Collins couldn't drink while he was on the painkillers the hospital had given him, something I found both funny and sad. Instead, he spun his pack of cigarettes on the table, looking put out as Miller and an unknown woman toasted silently and drank.

As I watched the scene unfold, I heard the news on the televisions around the bar.

"Today, we're bringing you an amazing revelation that will change our country and the world. The Bureau of Supernatural Affairs has confirmed the existence of yet another supernatural species, the werecats."

It had been similar for hours since the news broke at noon. Everyone was rehashing what the BSA put out to the public over and over again.

I wasn't too worried at the moment. No one was trying to kill me, no one knew who I was, and no one knew I was the woman who spoke to the President that morning, thanking him for his respect for the deal I had come to with the BSA.

I own a bar, and I talk to the President. What a fucking world.

"I thought we had a deal," I finally said loudly as I walked toward the agents. Dirk was behind the bar, serving them, and groaned as I came closer. He was only there helping the other bartender because of the agents. That's how I knew they were even around. He was keeping an eye on them for me.

"We're having a drink in celebration," Special Agent Miller explained. "For…you know."

"And with this, we wanted to introduce you to someone," Special Agent Collins said, getting off the barstool and walking closer to me, making a semi-circle perimeter. "If you have a moment."

"Yeah—"

"Hey, Jacky! Did you hear about this?" Joey asked across the bar, pointing up at the screen closest to him.

"Yes, I did," I confirmed patiently.

"Have you met any?" he asked.

I smiled and knew my eyes shifted to my feline gold. "Yes, Joey, I've met a werecat or two." Or a dozen. "And that's the only time I'll indulge that question."

He paused, his eyes going wide. I waved and walked out the backdoor, letting the agents follow me.

"Who are you?" I asked, turning to the female agent.

"Agent Kirk, but you can call me Bethany. I'm the agent who will be stationed here to continue working with you. I currently live in Houston, but I'm looking for a home here in Jacksonville because you're going to be my number one priority."

"I'm going to have to train another one of you?" I frowned at Collins and Miller.

"We tried warning you that we're not the people who get to stay," Collins said without any sympathy. "Agent Kirk is good, and you can trust her. We've briefed her on everything we can."

"I understand you live a very private life and will do my best to respect that."

"Yeah…" I sighed. "We'll catch up later. How's Sunday when I'm off? Tonight is a friend's birthday party, so I need to head out."

"That's fine."

"Wait," Collins said, trying to step around me to stop me from running off. "You never did tell us what happened to the men who tried to kill you."

"Oh…uh…" I tsked. "That's too bad."

"Miss Leon, anything is better than nothing."

"One of them has been given work with another pack, a clean start. The two others were a little less repentant, and that's all I know. I let the werewolves deal with it because they were the ones who sent them after me. That's how these things work." I shrugged.

"That's not—"

"They're not dead or being abused. That I can promise. Reach out to Alpha Lewis. He'll be able to give you more details."

"I'll do that," he warned.

"Alpha Lewis already knows you will. Now, I'm leaving. You're not supposed to hang out in the bar in uniform, so…fix that. Customers or not, you can't be agents drinking in my bar. That doesn't work for me." I waved them back inside. When Dirk saw me, I pointed at them behind their back. "Keep an eye on them," I mouthed.

He nodded and started chatting them up the moment they got back to the bar. He was reminding them of the same rules I had put down for them after I killed Alpha Price. Miller was trying to argue, but it wasn't flying with Dirk, who was finding comfortable confidence in his new position. He was a tough guy and didn't let people intimidate him. It worked out.

I smiled and went out to my new car, a Kia Soul…with a roll cage installed, and a number of other things that didn't come standard. It had a nice bit of space in the back, though, and it was an incredibly normal vehicle otherwise, something I thought was important. I certainly didn't need the one-hundred-thousand-dollar SUV Heath had tried to convince me to get, even if I could afford it.

I drove away from my bar, feeling normal for the first time in weeks, even with pictures of my werecat form being splashed all over the news. I tried the radio and realized it was hopeless, too. Everyone and their grandmother had something to say about the new supernatural species. Everyone was wondering how many were hiding in the world, what we could do if we were just like werewolves, and more.

The identities of my people were safe. Even if the BSA leaked me, it was just me. I knew it would get hard to hold that fragile barrier up as time went on, but it was something I could survive.

I pulled up in front of Heath's, grinning as Carey came out to greet me, her father right behind her.

I was home, and everyone was safe. Alpha Price couldn't take this away from me. I grabbed the presents I put in the new Kia the day before and handed them off to Carey after a hug. Heath wrapped his arm around my shoulders as we closed the front door.

"How do you feel?" he asked softly.

"Like we're going to enjoy a moment of peace, then something else will happen," I admitted. "I just met Agent Kirk, assigned to me by the BSA to be my permanent liaison. You know that's going to be a problem."

"Yeah, but we'll enjoy the new normal while it lasts."

"We will," I agreed. "Let's have cake and ice cream and pretend everything is fine."

He laughed and held me to his side as we entered the dining room, where Carey was watching Landon put candles on the cake. She looked up and smiled at us.

"I like this," she declared. "You two. I was mad at first, but you know, now that I've thought about it a lot, it's pretty cool."

"Well, with her approval, who would dare tell us to stop?" I laughed as I sat down. Landon even smirked, shaking his head a little.

With this odd family I had found, I felt as though I could handle whatever was thrown at me next. We'd survived everything…so far.

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