by Dannika Dark
Christian swaggered into view, his arms also folded. “Do you see what I’ve had to endure? Wyatt rings me with an update, and this one goes ballistic.”
“What update?” I asked.
“Street surveillance outside the burning church caught four men running out.”
“You hear that?” Patrick snapped. “It’s an assassination plot. You’re going to get us all killed.”
I’d never seen Patrick this flustered, and after tonight’s news, I enjoyed watching him squirm. “Go out there and have a debate, but make it quick. Our contact wants a vote by the majority.”
“Let me speak to Viktor. I’m not letting another man vote on my life.”
“That’s not how democracy works. If only four men are responsible for the attack, we’ve got you covered. There are more Regulators guarding this church than there were the other one, and besides,” I said, gesturing to Christian, “you have us to protect you.”
Patrick lunged, and I lunged back. I rammed my left arm against his throat to shove him back and reached for the dagger on my belt.
Christian wedged between us and gripped my wrist. “There’ll be no penetration in the holy temple, and that includes your blade.”
I let go of the grip. “Fine. But if he touches me again, you’ll need Father Martin down here to give him his last rites.”
Christian shoved Patrick, putting more distance between us.
Sweat beaded on Patrick’s pasty brow, and it wasn’t hot down here by a mile. Sweat stained his armpits, and he was behaving erratically. “I’ll pay you. Leave the others here if you want, but let me out.”
“And what makes you think the killers won’t follow you out of here?” Christian asked. “You’ll be on your own. No Regulators, no bodyguards—”
“I’ll take my chances,” he bit out.
Christian’s jaw clenched. “Why are you so paranoid? Did you leave the door to your porn stash unlocked?”
“Don’t trifle with me, boy. I could have you executed with a snap of my fingers.” When Patrick snapped his fingers for emphasis, the tension crackled.
Christian’s stare went ice-cold.
I pushed the sleeves of my sweater up. “Let’s just cool down for a minute. You’ve convinced a few people out there to change their minds. I have my opinion on the matter, but we have to follow orders. The person overseeing this operation wants a vote from every church location before he makes a decision.”
“Bloody hell!” Patrick threw his hands up in the air. “All the locations? So ours is just one part of the larger vote? That’s just grand.”
“I think you guys should separate, but it’s not up to me. Chances are slim that someone knows about all the locations. How could they? Nobody knew about the evacuation in advance.”
The muted television to the right flashed cell phone video of the church ablaze. Flames licked the outside walls from the shattered windows, and the red banner that ran at the bottom of the screen displayed the words: Breaking News. The film looped once more while the camera zoomed in on the shadowy images of four hooded men sprinting from the front door. It was too dark and grainy to make out their faces.
Patrick sat down on the sofa, his hands trembling as he shielded his face. “We’re going to die down here.”
Christian pulled out his phone to check his messages. “Don’t get your knickers in a bunch.”
I noticed him staring at the phone with a bemused look. “What is it?”
He turned away from Patrick and lowered his voice. “Wyatt has an update on one of your murder victims.”
“Why did he send it to you?”
Christian tilted his head to the side. “Is your phone turned off?”
I looked down at the leather jacket I wasn’t wearing. “I must have left it at home when I changed clothes.”
Christian handed me his phone.
“Is that a gas station?” I asked, studying the image.
“Aye. He said there’s video, but that’s a still image of the best shot. The license plate matches your last victim.”
In the picture, Mathilda was holding the gas pump. I used my fingers to zoom in on the passenger seat of the car since the image was a front view of the vehicle. The man’s face was nondescript due to distance and video quality. Wyatt was crazy if he thought this picture could provide a positive ID, but as I looked closer, I noticed the man’s arm resting on the car window. I zoomed in as far as it would go. “I think I know who that is.”
“That’s a shite picture,” he pointed out.
Still keeping my voice low, I pointed at the screen. “See that tattoo on his bicep? That’s Cyrus, the guy who fought Niko outside Flavors. He’s one of Patrick’s personal guards. I’m sure of it.”
“That could be anyone’s ink. You can’t even make out the pattern.”
“But you can tell it’s tribal.”
“That’s not enough to convict a man.”
“How many inked men did you see at the party? Most of them were politicians. And besides, he’s not even wearing a suit.”
“You think arseface over there has something to do with it?”
“I don’t know. These guys might have their own agenda.”
Christian’s gaze drifted to the ceiling. “He’ll never talk.”
“Maybe you can threaten him with holy water.”
Christian snatched the phone and strode toward the sofa. He leaned forward and held the phone in front of his own face. “If I give you this, do you swear to behave?”
When Patrick’s eyes lifted, his expression went blank.
“Now that I have your undivided attention,” Christian began, taking a seat beside him, “I want you to look deep in my eyes and trust me. I’m a friend you can confide in. A man of the cloth would never lie to you, now would he?”
“No.”
“Raven, lock the door.”
Panic swept over me. “Christian, don’t do it. It’s treason.”
“Do as I say, lass. There’s no turning back now.”
After locking the door, I hurried over to the leather chair. “If you’re wrong, they’ll execute us.”
Christian held his gaze. “Tell me about Cyrus.”
“I don’t know a Cyrus.”
“He’s lying,” I said.
Christian turned the onyx ring on his finger. “Do you have personal guards?”
“Yes.”
“Are any of them Asian?”
“No,” Patrick said flatly, caught in Christian’s charm.
“Jaysus, Raven. Are you sure about this?”
“Yes. I even saw him inside Patrick’s house. Maybe they weren’t really hired as his bodyguards.”
Christian sighed heavily. “Do you employ a man of Asian descent?”
“Yes.”
“But he’s not your guard.”
“No.”
“What do you pay him for?”
Patrick was caught in a dreamlike state, and his pale-green eyes showed no indication he comprehended what was happening to him. “I hired him to do as I ask. They are not my guards.”
“This is like pulling teeth,” Christian growled. “What are their names, and what specifically do you pay them to do?”
“Their names are Tom, Dick, Harry, and John.”
I snorted.
“The less I know about them, the better,” he continued. “They are assassins for hire.”
“Now we’re getting somewhere.” Christian shifted in his seat. “And who are you hiring them to kill?”
“The officials who support human rights.”
I stood up and put my hand on Christian’s shoulder. “Ask him why.”
“Why?”
Patrick tilted his head to the side. “To destroy humans. That is our ultimate goal, and the first step toward freedom is to tip the laws in our favor.”
“The higher authority exists in many cities,” Christian pointed out. “How is changing one city going to make a difference?”
“It’s
the domino effect. I’m not the only one.”
Chills ran down my spine.
Christian stood up and severed the connection. “You little shitebag. I should have known.”
Patrick blinked a few times, and the visceral look on his face when he stood up made me reach for my dagger. “You have the audacity to charm a man of the law? How dare you!”
Christian nonchalantly folded his arms, a smug look on his face. “Go ahead and turn me in.”
Patrick’s gaze flicked back and forth between us, his lips pressed thin.
We were at a stalemate. Neither Christian nor I could use his admission as evidence to turn him in. Charming a member of the higher authority was treasonous. And Patrick Bane could gripe all he wanted about our conniving behavior, but he wouldn’t risk turning us in. They would question our motives, and if someone charmed Christian, they might discover Patrick’s confession. Funny how the law worked. I was kind of hoping Patrick would turn us in, but even if they convicted him, Christian and I still wouldn’t escape the charges of treason.
So there we all stood, helpless to the facts.
I let go of my dagger. “What do you have against humans?”
Patrick looked at me with disdain. “Something you’ll never understand, lass. You’re too green and attached to their ways. I lived in squalor until I met my Creator. He gave me a chance at a life of comfort, but when humans beheaded him for treason against their king, where do you think that left me? I lived for centuries as a vagabond, and I hid the fact I was a Mage so they wouldn’t execute me for witchery. It took me years to acquire money and status. Do you think I’m going to waste my life protecting humans when they’ve done everything to upend and destroy my liberties?”
“You think they haven’t done the same to me?” Christian lowered his arms and glowered. “Pull up your britches and stop your sniveling.”
I shook my head. “I don’t get it. So you kill everyone who supports human rights. I know firsthand that the Mageri now recommends those who are supporters. It looks like they have their own agenda.”
Patrick barked out a laugh and strode to the counter to pour himself a glass of Chartreuse from a half-empty bottle. “Since you’d be fools to turn me in after committing treason, I’ll tell you. I have clout with the Mageri. I’m the one who reviews their recommendations for preapproval. There are those who support my vision—our vision—and are willing to lie to claim a chair on the panel. We’ve been grooming people for years to fill these seats and tip the scales in our favor when it’s time to vote on new laws.” Patrick took a long gulp of wine and smiled ruefully at his glass. “The blackout ruined everything.”
I leaned against the door, my mind racing. What the hell were we going to do with this information? If that was the clearest shot Wyatt could get from the surveillance video, we were screwed. Patrick didn’t even know Cyrus’s real name, and that posed an additional problem if they were to charm him. Patrick knew exactly what he was doing.
I put on my best poker face. “We have surveillance video.”
He swallowed his wine audibly, fingertips turning white around the wineglass as he gripped it tighter. “If you had evidence, you wouldn’t have charmed me.”
“What do you even know about those guys?” I asked. “You have to be the dumbest person I’ve ever met to blindly hire men off the street to do your dirty work.”
He finished his wine and set down the empty glass. “Don’t be daft. Uneducated criminals are the easiest to dupe. Never hire a smart man to do your bidding. That simpleton didn’t even negotiate a higher pay. I don’t plan to keep them around for long. Once you’re done with the trash, you take it out.”
I shared a furtive glance with Christian, and we read each other’s minds. Patrick confiding in us had nothing to do with trust; he planned to kill us. Maybe not tonight, but he was a powerful man who could pull it off, and we would never see it coming.
I thought about the crime scenes and my debunked theory about Regulators. “How did you get those people to open the door for your men?”
Patrick strolled across the room, hands in his pockets. “Easy. I was with them. All except for the last one. Mathilda’s desperation made her an easy target.”
“You killed Hooper.”
He pivoted on his heel. “Who?”
“The second victim at your party.”
Patrick reclined his head, searching his memory. “Ah. The bartender. He was the only way we could get the target outside alone. Your friend sold sensory magic on the side, you know.”
“He didn’t deserve to die for it.”
Patrick shrugged. “One could say the same about Elaine’s lover. My sources told me he wasn’t usually the first to arrive at the apartment on their designated nights, so we weren’t expecting him. When he answered, I simply told him I needed to speak to Elaine about a life-and-death matter. Can’t be too careful about lying to a Chitah. Your friend and Elaine’s lover are what you might call collateral damage. Wrong place, wrong time. I can’t afford witnesses.” Patrick pursed his lips and looked toward the television. “Things were going so well until the blackout thwarted my plans. You see, a blackout makes people more reluctant to answer their door. Neighbors are peeking out windows at the sound of every barking dog and car passing by. Even now, once we’re released from this godforsaken hole in the ground, my colleagues will be on high alert.”
Christian swaggered toward him. “My deepest apologies that your killing spree was interrupted.”
Patrick stumbled backward. “Stay away from me, Vamp.”
Christian grabbed a fistful of Patrick’s shirt and yanked him close. One of the buttons popped off and clicked against the floor as it went skittering underneath the sofa. “You’re gonna tell me where we can find your henchmen.”
Patrick looked at me instead of Christian. “I’m not that stupid.”
Christian’s lips peeled back. “No, you’re a fecking eejit. Tell me now, or I’ll rip your tongue out and shove it up your arse.”
“I don’t know their names, and I don’t know where they sleep at night. I call them at a throwaway number when I need them. You can’t prove my involvement in any of this. They won’t question me based on your accusation alone. It’s inadmissible. Slander laws prohibit investigations against us without hard evidence.”
“Aye, that’s why I need your henchmen.”
Patrick laughed haughtily. “I left the scene of every murder. I wasn’t even there. I didn’t actually see anything.”
Christian shook him. “But you ordered the hits!”
“Says who? You have nothing on me, Vampire.”
Christian shoved him so hard that Patrick flew against the sofa, hitting his head on the wall before slumping over. “Entitled bastard,” he murmured.
I looked down at Patrick’s unconscious body. “How’s your temper tantrum going to help?”
Christian stared daggers at me. “He’s got connections everywhere. He’ll have those men killed before we ever get our hands on them. We have just enough evidence on them to open an inquiry, and if we can get the higher authority to approve legal questioning about the church attack, they’ll charm those shitebags to find out who they’re working for. Patrick will be implicated, but not directly because of us. It’s the only way to save ourselves.”
I rubbed the healing wound on my shoulder from Merry’s bite. “Save ourselves from what?”
“How long do you think it’ll be before he pins the murders on Keystone? He won’t just come after us, Raven. He’ll see our entire team as a threat. A man in his position can create evidence out of thin air.”
My lungs filled with oxygen as his words sank in. “I hadn’t thought of that.”
Patrick sending his goons to kill Christian and me was a given, but he was too smart to think we’d keep this information all to ourselves and not include our boss. To be on the safe side, he’d come after Keystone. If Christian and I were out of the picture, it would be even easier to pin the cri
mes on us.
Christian walked over and rested his shoulder against the door. “I’ve been around, and I know how men like him think. He aims to see us six feet under.”
“So scrub his memory of this entire conversation.”
Christian shook his head. “It’s too dangerous. If anyone notices a lapse in his memory, they’ll use skilled Vampires to pick his mind. If they’re not able to undo the erasing, they’ll question us since we were seen entering this room by everyone outside. We can’t do anything impulsive that would dig our graves even deeper. Perhaps he won’t do anything asinine to call attention to himself now that he knows we’re onto him.”
“Don’t tell Viktor what you did,” I warned him. “He doesn’t like secrets, but he’ll flip his lid if he finds out about this. And Patrick will know if we’ve told him. They spend a lot of time together at parties, and you can bet your ass that Patrick will be using that boy to find out the truth.”
Christian’s head thumped against the door.
I stretched my collar with both hands. “We should pull Niko in on this. He’s got history with these guys. Give me your phone.”
“I’d rather you not use the phone. Someone might intercept the call.” Christian’s dark eyes met mine. “You can’t tell him what I’ve done. No one can know, or they’ll execute me. Have you ever gone to the courts and witnessed a trial? They perform the execution right then and there, Raven. Your head rolls right in front of a live audience.”
My stomach turned. “Fine. I’ll drive home and fill him in. He might know where to find these guys. Promise I won’t be long.” I tugged the sleeve of his cassock. “Shepherd brought you a change of clothes. I want to see you out of this dress by the time I come back.”
He stroked my cheek with his fingertips, but the humor was absent from his eyes. “Aye, Precious.”
The tenderness in his touch pinched my heart unexpectedly. It was in that moment I realized I needed to let go of the past and stop doubting his intentions. It was a losing battle.
“Are you going to be okay in here?” I asked. “What if he tells everyone you attacked him?”
Christian tucked a lock of hair behind my ear. “He’s had too much to drink. More than half the wine’s gone. Poor bastard slipped and hit his head.”
