“I never meant to force the others, just Nicholas,” Jono said. He hoped none of those in the audience would face retribution by Estelle and Youssef. He’d feel awful if they did.
Sage shrugged, finally pulling away from Marek. “That just means they’re yours.”
Jono shook his head. “You can’t know that.”
“You don’t give yourself enough credit.” Sage walked over to him and came to a stop beside Patrick. “I grew up with bad alphas on the Rez, remember? I lived under Estelle and Youssef’s rule for years. I’m not the only one who has wished for someone better to lead me and my pack.”
“You grew up on a reservation?” Patrick asked.
“I’m Diné, but I wasn’t born a weretiger. The alpha in my area of the Rez was an alcoholic and couldn’t keep his pack under control. I got bitten when I was nine years old, and the federal government removed me from my family not long after that. I was put into foster care and eventually adopted by a witch.”
“I’d say removing you should’ve been illegal, but I know how the federal government likes to fuck over the tribes. I’m sorry that happened to you.”
Sage smiled tightly. “Can’t change the past.”
Patrick made a face. “Yeah. Tell me about it.”
A crash from the pantry had everyone looking toward the kitchen. Wade’s shout was muffled, as if he was in the middle of chewing food. “I’m okay!”
Marek looked at Jono. “If you’re going to keep feeding Wade for the foreseeable future, I’ll talk to Emma about having her increase your pay. He’s like a bottomless pit.”
“You don’t know if he’s staying?” Jono asked.
Marek shook his head. “Gods, remember? The Norns can’t see an end to this fight right now.”
“That means the Dominion Sect is definitely involved,” Patrick said. Jono couldn’t get a read on him since it seemed Patrick had locked down his shields.
Jono took Patrick by the arm and ushered everyone toward the sofas in the living area. “More than you know. I saw someone familiar last night at the club.”
Patrick stopped midstep, and Jono had to push him forward. “What do you mean?”
When Patrick would’ve stayed standing, Jono dragged him down beside him on the nearest sofa. “There was a woman in the crowd who I remember from the night Ethan had me.”
He spoke the words carefully, but Jono couldn’t quite tamp down the spike of terror that came with that memory. Sage’s nostrils flared, and she moved to get up from her spot beside Marek to come to him, but Jono waved at her.
“Stay sat,” Jono said. “I’m fine.”
He wasn’t, not really, but he was learning to be. Patrick’s knowing gaze spoke volumes in that regard, but he was kind enough not to give voice to them.
“Who was it?” Patrick asked.
“I don’t know her, but I would recognize her face anywhere.”
Patrick rubbed at his temple. “There are ways we can go about identifying her. The SOA has magic users in its roster with an affinity for mind magic. They’d be able to channel the memory to a sketch artist for a portrait drawing. But that’s going to draw a lot of attention if we do.”
“Would it get you in trouble with your agency?”
“Setsuna could try to keep the request sealed, but I’m not sure how long that order would last. Congressional oversight is still making her job difficult right now.”
“Then we wait.”
“Jono—”
“Ethan is the enemy, and I’ll know the people who were with him if I see or smell them again. We don’t need to put your position at risk.”
He knew Patrick’s past better than the other two. While Emma, Leon, Marek, and Sage knew Ethan was Patrick’s father, they didn’t know the horrible details of how the Greene family was torn apart, nor what Patrick had gone through to survive. Public records on his mother’s murder case were sanitized, and only a handful of people knew Patrick had been forced to cut ties with his mother’s family at a very young age when his name was changed to keep him safe.
Patrick pressed his mouth into a thin line before finally shaking his head in capitulation. “Fine.”
The pantry door closing had Jono looking over to see Wade walking out of the kitchen area with his arms full of crisps and crackers, stuffing his face with a strawberry Pop-Tart.
“All the food choices and you go with junk food?” Jono asked.
“Marek said I could have whatever I wanted,” Wade said, sounding sulky as crumbs sprayed from his lips.
“If you’re hungry, eat some actual food.”
Wade clutched one of the Doritos bags so hard he ripped a hole in it. “Whatever I wanted.”
“Let him eat. It’s fine. He’s making room for our next grocery run anyway,” Marek said.
Jono eyed Wade and the way even Patrick’s T-shirt hung loose on his skinny frame. He’d much prefer to cook Wade a better meal, but calories were calories at this point. He’d let Wade demolish the snacks and then make a proper lunch for him later.
“How long do these alpha meetings usually last?” Patrick wanted to know.
“Depends on what needs to be discussed,” Sage said as she toed off her high heels and curled up against Marek on the sofa. “Considering how we left, the meeting might take longer.”
“I fucking hope not. I hate waiting.”
They ended up waiting two hours for Emma and Leon to make it home. In that time, Jono cooked Wade the fry-up they’d missed that morning, made a pot of coffee that Patrick drank by himself, and made a second pot he banned Patrick from drinking. He also spoke to Sage’s managing partner regarding her absence from the office—apparently being her alpha now meant he was qualified to excuse her from work—and hid Marek’s mobile to keep him from calling the god pack alphas and threatening them with a lawsuit.
“I can keep them busy in the courts if I want to,” Marek snapped when Jono refused to give back his mobile.
“Trust me, mate. Now is not the time,” Jono said.
“I don’t know, I’d be all for suing that bitch,” Emma said tiredly as she entered the apartment.
Jono hadn’t heard their arrival, belatedly realizing the silence ward Patrick had put up earlier was still active. He pushed himself to his feet at their arrival, taking in their bloodied clothes but healed bodies.
“You all right?” Jono asked.
Emma smiled in a way that spoke of remembered pain. They must have shifted at some point to heal their wounds, but their clothes were still mostly intact. “We’re fine. Still a pack. Still tithing Estelle and Youssef.”
“For now,” Leon muttered.
Sage stood and took a hesitant step toward her former alpha, expression twisting. “Emma…”
Emma closed the distance between them and pulled Sage into a hard hug. “I’m so sorry I couldn’t keep you safe.”
Sage shook her head, her knuckles going white with how hard she held on to Emma. “Don’t. You have nothing to apologize for.”
“You know you always have a home here, no matter what Estelle and Youssef said. This is my territory, and it’s your home. Your name is on the title next to Marek’s.” Emma looked over Sage’s shoulder at Jono, never blinking. “Thank you for claiming her, Jono.”
“Couldn’t let that bollocks stand,” Jono said.
Emma carefully put Sage at arm’s length, giving the other woman a tired smile and a gentle shake. “You are always welcome here, Sage. Remember that. Goes for all of you.”
“Don’t think Estelle and Youssef will appreciate me being in your territory, Em.”
“Yeah, they said as much,” Leon said as he sank down into an armchair and stretched out his legs. “We expect you to be at your shift when this whole case Patrick has going on blows over. I’m not dealing with the bar after overseeing people debug code all day and sitting in meetings.”
“Slave driver,” Patrick said, before wincing. “Shit. Sorry, Wade.”
Wade froze, one hand bur
ied in the Cheez-Its box he’d purloined from the pantry, the other clutching Marek’s mobile that Jono had hidden in the hall closet. His pockets were bulging suspiciously. “Um.”
“Is that my phone?” Marek demanded.
“Uh.” Wade glanced at Jono. “No?”
“Try again,” Jono said.
“Empty your pockets,” Patrick told Wade.
Scowling, Wade proceeded to empty his pockets of a candy bar, two sets of car keys, a steak knife that had Patrick rolling his eyes, Jono’s credit card of all things, and a small bottle of vodka.
“You’re under the drinking age,” Patrick said, leaning forward to move the vodka farther down the coffee table.
“Fuck you,” Wade muttered. “I’m an adult. I deserve a drink.”
“Therapy first.”
“Who’s gonna pay for it? You?”
“Yes.” Patrick handed Jono back his credit card before tossing Marek his mobile. “Sorry. He literally can’t help it.”
“He’s stealing our stuff and you’re saying he can’t help it?” Emma asked, not sounding impressed with that explanation.
“He’s a dragon. They hoard things.”
Jono let the others go through the stages of disbelief as he pulled out his wallet and slipped his credit card back into its slot. “Didn’t even feel you nick it. You’re good.”
“If they didn’t have me fighting, they’d put me to work on the streets pickpocketing,” Wade said, sinking into the corner of the couch, his box of Cheez-Its forgotten. He kept his gaze downcast, not looking at anyone.
“Just you?”
Wade shrugged. “There were others.”
Out of the corner of his eye, Jono saw Emma open her mouth, but he held up a hand to quiet her. “Are they still alive?”
Wade picked at his borrowed jeans where the fabric stretched over his knee. “Dunno. They were the other night. Doesn’t mean much though. Tloque Nahuaque kills on a whim.”
His voice was back to the flat monotone that made Jono want to gnash his teeth. “Were they werecreatures?”
Wade rubbed at his throat where the collar once sat. “Yeah. Most were.”
“Who the fuck is Tloque Nahuaque?” Leon asked. “Another god?”
“Tezcatlipoca,” Patrick said.
Leon stared at him. “Those names aren’t remotely close to being the same thing. You sure they aren’t two different assholes?”
Jono snorted. “There’s two of the wankers, but the other one is Quetzalcoatl.”
“Tloque Nahuaque is kind of like a title for Tezcatlipoca,” Patrick said. “He’s got a few.”
“In English please?” Leon asked. “I might speak Spanish, but that’s not close to any words I know.”
“Lord of the Near and the Nigh.”
“He’s Aztec, with ties to the Dominion Sect,” Jono added.
“He lives off of sacrifices. It’s why we always fought to the death,” Wade said dully.
Leon shoved himself to his feet. “That’s it. I’m breaking out the tequila. If we’re going to talk about hell gods, I need something stronger than water.”
While Leon went to rummage around the wet bar for his drink of choice, Emma claimed his seat and tucked her feet beneath her on the cushion. She looked tired, and Jono knew she probably needed to get some rest after the meeting.
“They sold werecreatures to the vampires, Jono,” Emma said.
“I know,” he said.
“So what are we going to do about it? And don’t tell me not to get involved. I’m being forced to pay retribution to the Manhattan Night Court to pay for the damages at the club last night because Estelle refuses to dip into the tithes. I’d rather Tremaine gets what is coming to him before I have to make a payment.”
Patrick looked at Jono, raising an eyebrow. “Guess I’m paying that asshole another visit.”
“I think you mean we,” Jono told him.
“One of us needs to keep an eye on Wade. I volunteer you.”
“You’re off your bloody head if you think I’m letting you go into the Manhattan Night Court alone, Pat.”
“I’m a mage, remember?”
“You’re a disaster waiting to happen. You need me.”
Jono didn’t voice why. He knew Patrick would pick up on what he wasn’t saying. They hadn’t talked much about the soulbond and what it meant in regards to Patrick’s magic, but maybe they needed to have that conversation. This situation was exactly why Patrick needed Jono by his side to access the full strength of his magic again through Jono’s soul.
“I’ll take Lucien.”
Jono couldn’t help the growl that came out of his throat. “The fuck you will.”
“I’ll go,” Sage interjected. “I’m…”
She trailed off and Jono turned to look at her. “You’re what?”
Sage glanced at Patrick. “I was going to say I’d be your beta if Jono is the only alpha. Unless both you and Patrick are taking up alpha roles, in which case you won’t need a beta?”
“Not a werecreature,” Patrick pointed out.
“I’m not god pack.”
“Do you want to be?” Jono asked her. “I know I didn’t really give you a choice in the ring.”
He would never keep Sage if she didn’t want to stay. If she wanted him to remove his claim to her, he would. But the way she lifted her chin and glared at him told Jono that wasn’t going to happen.
“No. My home is here, through you now. I’m not giving that up. I know god packs are far more prominent in the public eye, and I can learn to live with that level of scrutiny. Besides, working with my firm and representing Marek hasn’t exactly enabled me to keep my private life completely private, even with the artifact I wear.”
“Great. Then it’s settled. I’ll take Sage and you watch Wade,” Patrick said.
Jono glared at him. “No.”
“Yes. I can get a warrant based off of Wade’s testimony that will get me through the front door. I’ll take Sage as backup and reach out to Lucien, see if he can’t spare a bloodsucker or two.”
“You’ll take Lucien but you won’t take me? That’s a load of bollocks.”
Patrick sighed in frustration. “I promised Lucien I would help him take over the Manhattan Night Court. I can’t keep him out of the loop about this.”
“He’d as soon stab you in the back as help you.”
“I realize that but I’m going, Jono. I have to. Tremaine has hostages and I can’t leave them there.”
“That one has a god, maybe two, backing him, neither of which you’ve ever faced before. Sage won’t be enough as backup.”
“Way to show your faith in your brand-new pack member,” Patrick said with a hard snort.
Jono scowled. “Our pack. And I know Sage can handle herself, but the two of you alone against a Night Court and gods are shit odds.”
“I’ve been dealing with gods for nearly three-quarters of my life. I have a better chance than you at getting out alive, and I won’t be leaving Sage behind. I won’t be leaving anyone we find in there behind.”
Jono wanted to argue—he had a god riding his soul, after all—but he wasn’t a combat mage. He hadn’t spent almost a decade on the front lines of the fight against the hells. He hadn’t sold his soul to survive.
Patrick, Jono knew, was the sort of bloke who would break off bits of himself first before letting someone else even get a scratch.
“I don’t trust Tremaine or Lucien,” Jono said into the tense quiet that had settled over the room.
Patrick grimaced. “Makes two of us. That’s why I need you to stay behind to keep Wade safe but also because one of us needs to be on the outside. If things go wrong, I know you’ll find me. I trust you, Jono.”
His logic was sound, Jono just didn’t care for it. He’d rather be by Patrick’s side, in the thick of things. What he wanted wasn’t what he could allow himself to have. Not as the alpha of a pack that was more than just two people now. That realization was sobering, and Jono
rubbed hard at his eyes. Part of being an alpha was knowing when to delegate. Jono had learned that through watching the packs he’d orbited over the years. He just never realized how hard it was to do.
“I’ll find you,” Jono promised, meaning it with everything he had.
Patrick smiled, the expression lopsided, but his shields had thinned out enough that Jono could smell the relief emanating from him. “I know you will.”
11
It took twenty-four hours to pry the facts out of Wade and submit them to the court for a warrant. Patrick ran the legal paperwork through the SOA rather than the PCB because the case had federal jurisdiction. Aside from that, the DEA had already reached out to the SOA about interference and the two legal sides were squabbling. At the end of the day, the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York didn’t fuck around when it came to prosecuting vampires and the warrant was issued.
The conflicts of interest were something Patrick was pretending didn’t exist.
The case the SOA was building against Tremaine was in the extremely early stages, but all evidence was being filed under seal. Patrick needed to protect Wade’s identity, but he also didn’t want to give Tremaine a heads-up. He didn’t know what kind of inroads the master vampire might have made within the legal community, but Patrick hoped they didn’t go too deep.
Getting the legal paperwork done meant Patrick couldn’t approach the Crimson Diamond until Tuesday night. He’d declined backup from the SOA and argued with SAIC Henry Ng over that decision. Normally, Patrick would never turn down investigative help for a search warrant, but he was going into a Night Court who held allegiances to a couple of immortals. That changed the playing field immensely, and not for the better.
Patrick refused to put the lives of people who didn’t know what they were heading into on the line like that. Vampires were one thing. Gods were something else entirely. It took a direct phone call from Setsuna to gloss over the friction between himself and Henry, but in the end, Patrick got his way. He was going in armed with his dagger, HK USP 9mm tactical pistol, and his magic, with Sage as support and one of Lucien’s vampires. That would have to be enough.
All his precautions weren’t enough to stop Jono from worrying.
All Souls Near & Nigh (Soulbound Book 2) Page 15
