Page 20 of Peacock Me Like a Hurricane (Rise of the Resistance #2)

TALIA

H e’s in so much pain.

As Taurus’ primary mate and a skilled empath, I feel the block he put on our connection. It’s been a long time since he’s shut me out, so I know he’s also shutting out the ‘magical minx’. She must have caused this disaster.

If Taurus is off the chain, a disaster it will certainly be.

For all his varied skills and flaws, he’s the more emotional, more impulsive of the two of us. He’s a flashover where I’m a slow burn and his emotions consume his entire being when he’s in primal mode.

I’m sitting on the porch, watching our new neighbors move in. Since Taurus’ last tantrum—the one where he ate one of the human employees from the Cabal Quarter—a few weeks ago, the house down the lane has been empty. That move normally would have earned him a month of fighting and a few well-placed bruises in the sparring ring—except that he’s been so wrapped up in Deli. He was too happy for me to poke holes in him even if I did spend three days on the paperwork detailing the incident.

I’m a real romantic at heart, let me tell you.

Baby is spinning like rapid fire in my right-hand—a sure sign of my agitation over the bird’s mental block. I won’t send Damien and Theodora after him yet. I’m going to wait to see what asinine dilemma he’s gone off half-cocked and gotten himself into first.

But I worry.

He’s far more mercurial than I’ve ever seen him since he met the wonder kitty. I’m concerned that as high as his highs are right now—annoyingly so, let me tell you—his lows might be just as low. That’s not so bad for a normal person, but for a trained killer with a whole wide world full of people to wreak havoc on?

It’s a concern. We’ll leave it at that.

The Company has rules. It deals with its own rogue agents, even freelancers like Taurus. He often pushes those boundaries, but he’s so fucking good at what he does that they usually let him off with a punishment that will irritate him more than anything. It’s how he got stuck teaching knitting to newbies more than once. Our boss is pretty damn good at making certain Taurus knows how pissed he is without losing his temper and letting out his infamous dark side.

I can only protect him so much before their sense of justice kicks in. They ‘de-activate’ agents when they are deemed a danger to the secrecy of the Company and its initiatives. Their credo is to complete the mission, do it right, and keep us far from the fallout. Clones that draw attention to the existence of the Company, the Rift, or its myriad secret technologies and holdings get de-activated without question.

I hope that he’s not out guaranteeing that my Monday will suck. Mikhail’s patience only stretches so far. While Taurus is the best damned agent they have, the clone that runs the agents’ hand can be forced by Oversight.

Hell, I could have to go before a panel for letting him off the chain. I’ll kill him myself. Those fucking meetings are the worst part of my job, and I sure as hell don’t want to be the subject of one. Every single time some asshat suggests they ‘re-educate’ Taurus because he’s too old school and I tell them they really want him on their side, not as an enemy. That’s true… he’s far more vicious than the newer breeds of agents and so much more intelligent.

Sighing, I look out into the night.

What in the hell caused this?

All I can do now is hope that his new mate can get him under control because I’m completely in the dark.