Cassa was in her thirties, cool and polished. A natural blonde with steady gray eyes and porcelain skin. She could be amusing but frighteningly sharp.
“Of course I am, Cassa.” Scheme smiled as Tanner tucked her hand into the curve of his arm and glared at the reporters. “Tanner can be quite addictive in certain areas.”
They had no clue how addictive.
Cassa’s agreeable laughter was soft, but her eyes missed nothing. Not Tanner’s good looks or the way he seemed to hover over Scheme protectively.
“He could be indeed,” she agreed. “Do you think he would allow us a few moments alone? He’s glaring at me, you know.”
And he was. Glaring at her and the camerman behind her.
“Tanner, I’ll be fine.” She slid her hand from his arm and glanced around. “There are enough enforcers here to fight a small war. And I could use a drink if you don’t mind.”
His amber eyes gleamed down at her, rich with amusement and a shade of disapproval.
“I won’t be far,” he promised her, warned the others.
“He’s very protective,” Cassa said softly as Tanner moved to Sherra, resplendent in a smoky gown as she stood beside her husband, Kane Tyler.
“He’s had reason to be.” Scheme let her gaze harden as she stared back at the reporter, then her cameraman, before moving back to Cassa. “Turn him off.”
Cassa sighed. “Go get a drink, Monty, and some nice shots of the party.”
Monty mumbled and moved away before Scheme turned to the other two reporters. “Sorry, guys.” She smiled. “Girl talk. Can we chat later?”
The promise to chat later had them smiling agreeably, if suspiciously, before moving away.
“General Tallant is frothing at the mouth,” Cassa said as Scheme led her to the far end of the foyer with a small indication to the enforcers to keep others at bay. “And word is that the pure blood societies are arming to attack any Breed they come across.”
“They do anyway.” Scheme sighed. “Now let me ask you something, Cassa. Whose side are you on?”
“The truth.” The answer was given without hesitation. And Scheme believed her. Cassa was a fanatic about the truth. It had nearly cost her her job and her life on more than one occasion.
“Excellent.” Scheme stared back at her in focused determination. “You and I have talked often in the past. Do you believe General Tallant, or what you see now?”
Cassa’s lips twitched. “Honey, I doubt the devil himself could brainwash you. So why don’t you tell me what’s going on and if the rumors are true that General Tallant is fighting to keep the skeletons in the closet, or just his little girl close to his side. And if it’s okay with you, let my cameraman back in here.”
The last was said with subtle mockery. Cassa wanted an exclusive, but she was willing to play nice with it.
Scheme nodded to the enforcer a few feet away, who waved the cameraman over.
With polished expertise, Cassa turned to the camera. “I’m talking to Scheme Tallant, General Cyrus Tallant’s daughter and rumored personal assistant. We’re at Sanctuary, the home of countless Feline Breeds and the main base of operations, where Miss Tallant and Mr. Tanner Reynolds are preparing to announce their engagement on the heels of her father’s accusations of brainwashing and coercion.” She turned back to Scheme. “Miss Tallant, I must say after knowing you for several years, you don’t look in the least brainwashed. Why is your father claiming you are?”
Scheme put on her “public” face and gave Cassa a practiced, charming smile.
“To hide the truth.”
“And the truth is, Miss Tallant?”
“That he would do anything to silence the truth that will be revealed in the coming weeks. The truth that he’s murdered countless Breeds, and had Tanner not moved quickly, he would have murdered me as well.”
Her heart ached, and she didn’t know why. He had never been a father. He had never cared for anything other than his fanatical dreams of controlling the Breeds.
“Why would your father want you dead?”
“Because I know the atrocities he’s committed. Because, Ms. Hawkins, for the past eight years I’ve been a double agent for the Bureau of Breed Affairs, working directly with Jonas Wyatt. I know my father’s secrets. And he would do anything to silence me.”
The interview with Cassa went smoothly, despite the constant interruptions the other reporters tried to make. The enforcers held them off dutifully though, and once she finished with Cassa, Scheme gave the others a few minutes with their questions. It wasn’t much, but they would have airtime. Tanner had also talked with them, and before they entered the ballroom, Tanner and Scheme were interviewed together.