Master Unchained (Stealth Guardians #2)

1

Councilwoman Tessa Wallace was typewritten on the plain white envelope. No address. No stamp. But when she opened it and read the note inside, Tessa began to tremble. Her breath caught in her throat, and her heartbeat accelerated. Cold sweat began to build on her nape.

Get out while you still can. You don’t want to end up like the last mayor, do you?

The note wasn’t signed. But the threat was clear. Somebody didn’t like the fact that she was running for the highest office in the city of Baltimore—an office that had become vacant after the previous mayor, John Yardley, had died two months earlier.

For a moment, she closed her eyes, allowing a shaky sigh to escape. She’d always known that politics was a dirty and dangerous game. But this went too far. The only reason she’d thrown her hat into the ring after the mayor’s untimely death was because she believed that the acting mayor, Robert Gunn, wasn’t the right man for the job. His incendiary rhetoric only aggravated the civil unrest that currently raged in the city. What this city needed was a peacemaker, not an ambitious politician who had no qualms about issuing executive orders that curbed the rights of minorities. He even went so far as to encourage police brutality against Blacks and Latinos, while white thugs got a free pass. Reports of racially motivated false arrests and illegal seizure of property were piling up, and Gunn didn’t see anything wrong with it.

But despite the fact that Gunn was a terrible choice for mayor, she didn’t think he’d do something as reckless as threaten her. On the other hand, she wouldn’t put it past his many supporters to try and scare her off, thus allowing him to run for mayor unopposed.

A brief knock at the door startled her more than it should have. Before she could answer, the door was ripped open, and Poppy Connor, her campaign manager, charged in. A woman gifted with more energy than an Energizer bunny, the curvy redhead held up a sheet of paper and grinned triumphantly.

“Hot off the press! The latest poll numbers.”

Poppy nearly tripped over her own feet on the way to the desk, where she placed the sheet in front of Tessa.

Automatically, Tessa glanced at it, but she didn’t get a chance to read the numbers, before Poppy announced, “You’re up by five points. This calls for a celebratory drink.” Excitement spilled from her voice and colored her face. As if Poppy needed a reason to drink. She’d always been a party girl.

Tessa forced a smile. “That’s still within the margin of error.”

Poppy clicked her tongue. “That’s not what you said when Gunn was five points ahead of you two weeks ago.” She pointed at the sheet again. “I mean, look at it! That’s a huge swing in only two weeks. I think our approach is working. You’re appealing to the people. They see something in you.”

Tessa shrugged, unable to enjoy the good news, the effect of the threatening note still lingering. “Yeah, I guess.”

Her campaign manager cast her a questioning look. “You guess? What’s wrong? I thought you’d be jumping up and down at that news. Isn’t this what you want? Don’t you want to win?”

Tessa lifted her eyes. “I do. The people of Baltimore deserve better than Gunn. But…”

“But what? Don’t tell me you haven’t got the stomach for this. I know people have been attacking you for your youth and inexperience, but you can’t let that get to you.”

“I’m not.” She hesitated, wondering whether to tell Poppy about the note. She took a few breaths. Maybe it was best to just ignore it. Somebody didn’t want her to be mayor. Not exactly a surprise.

Tessa pasted a smile on her face. “I’m just a little exhausted.” She picked up the piece of paper and studied the poll numbers more closely. “These numbers look really good.”

Poppy leaned closer and looked over her shoulder. “And look at the Hispanic and Black voters.”

“I’m way ahead with them.”

“You’re killing it in that demographic!” Poppy confirmed.

“But we have to get the unions on our side. Have you arranged the talk at the—”

“What’s that?” Poppy’s hand shot past Tessa’s shoulder, pointing to the note lying exposed on the desk, now that Tessa had moved the poll sheet.

“That’s nothing.” Tessa made an attempt to snatch it before Poppy could take it. Too late.

Poppy stepped away, perusing the note, then holding it up. “Nothing? That’s a death threat! Jesus Christ, Tessa, when did you get this?”

“It was on my desk when I got back from the council meeting. It’s probably just some wacko nutbag.” She took the note from Poppy’s hand. “I’m not taking it seriously.” Even though the threatening words had given her a fright at first, she wasn’t going to admit that to Poppy. The less she made of it the better. “If I took every stupid threat seriously, I wouldn’t get any work done.”

Poppy stilled. “What are you saying?”

“I just told you: I’m not taking it seriously.”

Poppy shook her head and gripped Tessa’s shoulders, almost pulling her out of her chair. “Look at me.” She brought her face closer. “Are you implying that this is not the first threat you’ve gotten?”

Tessa’s breath hitched. She’d never been very good at hiding things—or at lying. Maybe she shouldn’t have become a politician. Her father had told her all along that she was too honest for this profession. Too good, whatever that meant.

Poppy’s eyes widened. “Oh, my God! You’ve gotten other threats like this, haven’t you?”

“I wouldn’t call them threats,” Tessa said, attempting to diffuse Poppy’s concern.

“What would you call them then?”

Tessa shrugged. She had no answer. Instead, she pulled the top drawer of her desk open. Inside were several other notes, all possibly from the same sender, though before today, the messages had been more suggestion than threat.

Poppy pulled a few notes out of the drawer. “Oh crap, Tessa!”

Tessa watched silently as Poppy skimmed the notes.
“When did you get the first one?”

“A couple of weeks after I announced my candidacy for mayor.”

Poppy pointed to the remainder of the notes. “I’ll take these.”

“What are you gonna do with them?”

“Show them to somebody who can help you.”

Tessa jumped up. “I can help myself!”

Poppy braced her hands on her hips. “No, you can’t. Not when it comes to something as serious as this. You need a professional.”

“A professional?”

“Yes, somebody who can protect you, because as your campaign manager, I’m not only responsible for getting you votes, I’m also responsible for your safety.” She pointed to the note from today. “I’m not going to stand idly by while somebody clearly wants you dead. I’d be a piss-poor excuse for a friend if I did.”

“You can’t just go over my head about this!” Tessa protested. “I’m not in danger. This is just some disgruntled voter who’d rather have Gunn as mayor.”

“How many disgruntled voters do you know who issue death threats?” Poppy gave her a stern look. “You’re getting protection, and that’s that.”

By now, Tessa was fuming. She jumped up. “If you do that, I’ll fire you!”

“Do what you have to, but if you don’t accept protection, I’m going to show these to your father. We’ll see what he has to say about it.”

Tessa’s chin dropped. If her father thought she was in danger, he would personally march down to City Hall and put her in protective custody. He’d always looked out for her, though even he hadn’t been able to protect her all the time. He’d failed her once, and it had made him even more overprotective. She had no intention of worrying him over something like this. He had enough on his plate. “You wouldn’t!”

“Oh, I would, in a heartbeat!” Poppy crossed her arms over her chest. “Your choice.”

Tessa pressed her lips together, knowing she’d lost this round. “I should have never hired you. Friendship and business clearly don’t mix.”

Poppy smiled sweetly. “Honey, hiring me was the best thing you ever did.”

Able to render themselves invisible, immortal Stealth Guardians have been protecting humans from the dark power of the Demons of Fear for centuries. The Guardians live in compounds, which are invisible to humans and demons alike, but danger is never far away. Only the Stealth Guardians stand between mankind and the demons' evil plans of ruling mankind. While protecting humans from the demons and their evil leader Zoltan, the Great One, they have to risk their own lives to fulfill their mission without the humans finding out who they are. But not everything goes according to plan. And even immortal guardians can fall in love.

Each book can be read as a standalone and always centers around a new couple finding love, but the series is more enjoyable when read in order.

Book 1: Lover Uncloaked

Book 2: Master Unchained

Book 3: Warrior Unraveled

Book 4: Guardian Undone

Book 5: Immortal Unveiled

Book 6: Protector Unmatched

Book 7: Demon Unleashed

Stealth Guardians (Books 1 – 4)

Stealth Guardians (Books 5 – 7)

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