by Dannika Dark
With the wound in my thigh still throbbing, I shifted in my seat. The painkillers Shepherd had given me were finally kicking in, but only enough to dull the ache. At least he was sober enough to stanch the bleeding by dressing my wounds. Viktor was used to us coming home looking like refugees fleeing a war-torn country. Though I’d changed into a pair of clean sweatpants, my limping into the room hadn’t escaped his attention. It didn’t matter anyhow since I’d be healed by morning light. All I wanted was to get through this meeting so I could crawl into my bed.
We waited eagerly for Viktor to begin, Christian and Gem to my right with Shepherd bearing his weight on the arm of the couch. Wyatt slouched in the leather chair on my left, Niko standing behind him. All eyes were on Blue as she turned her chair to see Viktor better.
Claude strode toward us from the shadowy corner of the room, a drink in hand. After a quick sip, he widened his stance like a guard of an imperial city. Claude just had that aura about him, as if he’d stepped out of Greek mythology with those golden locks of hair and a commanding presence.
All he needed was a toga and leather sandals.
When the wood snapped in the fireplace, tiny embers floated upward like intoxicated fireflies. Viktor turned toward us, hands tucked in the pockets of his chinos. Sometimes his silvery hair and sophisticated appearance reminded me of a college professor.
“My search for a maid has come to an end.”
Blue pinched the bridge of her nose. “I think you mean to say domestic help.”
“Da. Someone who can juggle the tedious responsibilities that are never ending. Cooking, cleaning, laundry, and making sure this building doesn’t fall down around us. Fate is not without a sense of humor.” He moved around his chair and sat down. “She is to be delivered tonight.”
Claude choked on his drink. After a few coughs, he cleared his throat. “Did you say delivered?”
“I think he means dropped off,” Gem said with a giggle.
Viktor’s mouth turned down, and he tipped his head to the side. “Not entirely. I need two men to lift the crate and carry it inside.”
I shared a glance with Christian.
Claude set his glass on an accent table with a hard tap, and his jaw set. “I’m trying really hard not to judge you, Viktor, but—”
“I have no time to quarrel. Everything will be explained. But I have one rule, and that’s that no one speaks of her presence to anyone outside this house. That is why I summoned you here tonight—so you are all together at the time she arrives. She will not leave Keystone.”
Wyatt stretched his legs and crossed them at the ankles. “Until when?”
“Until I die, she dies, or someone else becomes her protector.”
When the log snapped, Gem squeaked and jumped in her seat.
Viktor leaned forward, elbows on his knees. “She has traveled a long way and is familiar with the modern age to some extent, but she has never seen it with her own eyes. I do not know if she has been exposed to television, magazines, or even kitchen appliances. This is a very unique circumstance. She will not work for money.”
Blue huffed. “You can’t expect someone to do all this work for free, Viktor. This place is a palace. Cleaning the windows alone is a job for five people. But to cook our meals? Do our laundry? Sweep the floors? Light all the candles? Shop for groceries? That’s a lot to ask.”
“Da. And it was a lot to expect of you when you had cases to work. But this will be her only job. As I said before, she will not leave the house under any circumstance, so you will be the ones purchasing the food. This situation is by her choosing. Her payment is our protection. I cannot divulge any details about her past, only that I have assured her complete privacy and security in exchange for her services.”
I lowered my voice and turned to Christian. “Is this the same woman from your trip?”
“Aye.”
“Then why didn’t you fly her back here? You sent her here by crate?”
He shot out of his seat. “Jaysus wept. You act as if I shoved her in there headfirst. What kind of man do you take me for?”
Wyatt chortled. “The kind who once glued a mall cop’s ass to a toilet seat.”
Christian pointed at him. “That prick had it coming.”
“You’re all too drunk to have a serious conversation,” Viktor said, his voice rising with irritation. “Tomorrow she’ll take stock of our kitchen supplies.”
Blue tucked her long hair behind her ears. “Why didn’t you prepare us?”
“Eh… surprises are necessary,” he said with a shrug. “I understand your concern, but she’ll keep our secrets and not intrude in our affairs. Each of you will treat her with the utmost respect. Just because she has refused money doesn’t mean she’ll be treated as less. I will provide her with everything she needs.”
“Does she have a name?” Niko asked.
Viktor combed the side of his beard with his fingers. “Kira will be our indentured servant.”
“Indentured implies she’s paying off a debt over a set period of time,” Niko pointed out.
Viktor’s eyelids fluttered. “This is not a temporary situation. It wasn’t an easy decision for me to make, but I lost a dear friend, and perhaps this is one way I can repay him in the afterlife. Keystone is her only option, so we made an arrangement. Her caretaker is dead, and she has no place to go.”
“You mean her father,” Christian added.
Viktor gave him a cross look. “Her father was her caretaker. And now, because of our friendship, that responsibility has fallen on me. I could not turn her away. It would have been cruel. You may find me at times abrasive and unfair, but a soft man cannot lead a dangerous operation such as ours. But as it so happens, I do have compassion.”
I shifted in my seat, uncertain about how a new person in the house would change the dynamic. I’d sort of fantasized about an elderly gentleman with kind eyes and failing ears working for us—someone mature enough to know how to keep secrets. But a young woman Viktor barely knew? Especially one who’d never been exposed to the temptations of the modern world?
“What’s her Breed?” I asked. “I’m assuming a Shifter like her father?”
Wyatt tapped his boot heel on the floor and gave me a peevish glance. “Why do you get in on all the secrets first, Lois Lane?”
“She is also a Shifter,” Viktor confirmed as he rose from his chair. “That is why she chose to travel by crate. Kira has never seen an airplane or a large city. She’s from the Old World, and a crate would make her animal feel safe. It’s not as uncommon as you might believe for Shifters to travel that way. It’s practical on long journeys. Have no worries—she won’t shift in our presence.”
“Wait a sec.” Blue cocked her head to the side. “Maybe we’re not working with this chick, but we have to introduce our animals if she’s going to live under the same roof. I fly freely around here, and I’m not about to get eaten by a bear in my own home.”
Viktor gently patted her head. “You’re safe. But you must trust me.”
“Then you should trust us.”
He lowered his arm. “Her secrets are hers alone, just as yours are. It is not my place to share what you have chosen to keep private. Every one of us has truths about our past that we don’t want others to see, and Kira is entitled to the same. Now go wait in the foyer. They should be here any moment.”
After everyone dispersed, I struggled to my feet and lingered behind. “Viktor, can I talk to you about something?” Tamping down the pain, I approached him.
He put his arm around me and strolled toward the warm fire. “My door is always open. You know this.”
We stopped at the hearth, and I turned to face him. “One of those case files looks promising. I know they don’t always pay since they’re old, but do you mind if I look into it?”
His brows sloped down. “Which case?”
“Vampire trafficking. The one with the girls going up on the black market. I think someone’s luring humans with fals
e promises instead of random kidnappings, so it might make it easier to catch them. I found a website recently for people obsessed with Vampires. It’s clearly run by humans based on all the misinformation, but on page one of the message board was an offer to turn someone. Something about it made me stop, so I left a message. Today I got a reply. It’s not a sure thing, but I have a hunch it’s worth checking out. Besides, I’m going stir crazy around here, staring at files and the computer all day. I get that you need to keep me in a training period, but if you don’t let me out, I’m liable to stab someone in the eye with a fork. Starting with Wyatt and his overpriced vending machine.”
“His what?”
“Never mind. I’m just wondering where you think I’m most valuable. After all, you hired me for my hunting skills, not my ability to file.”
Viktor nodded. “Keep me updated.”
I blinked in surprise. “Well, that was easy. I thought you were going to shut me down.”
He tilted his head to the side. “Our world is a dark place. Yes, we have Councils, the Mageri, and the higher authority, but they are relatively new. Immortals have gone thousands of years without laws, and some men will resist the laws that bind them. Our ability to govern is a work in progress, so that is why organizations like Keystone exist. We cannot mirror what humans have done in creating a nation filled with prisons, so the higher authority rules with an iron fist and overlooks lesser crimes. No one has time to chase a car thief or lock up a drug addict. Vampire trafficking is another story. Those who illegally bring in new immortals for profit are a threat to our way of life.”
I blanched. “Is that what you think of me? A threat to everyone’s way of life?”
Viktor put his hand on my shoulder. “Of course not. But the approval process for making an immortal exists for a reason. Had I not intervened, you would have reached a point of no return.” He smiled warmly and lowered his arm. “I like initiative, and you’ll learn that working independently is permissible and sometimes necessary. I do not wish to lead a team who cannot think for themselves. You coming to me with this shows that you’re learning how we operate. If the lead is promising, I will speak to the person who initiated the investigation to negotiate payment. What is your plan with the suspect?”
“Bait him. In public, of course. I promise not to drain him in the bathroom.” When Viktor didn’t smile, I continued. “It shouldn’t be difficult to set a trap. Assuming he’s a Vampire, he won’t be able to tell that I’m not human.”
“Do you plan to do this alone?”
“No,” a voice called from the adjoining room.
I glimpsed a shadow beyond one of the archways. I didn’t need to see his face to know it was Christian.
I turned back to Viktor. “I won’t do anything crazy without your approval. The plan is to lay out a trap. I have a good feeling a human didn’t post that message and we’re dealing with a Vampire. That means he’s fishing on human sites for his prey.”
“And if you catch him?”
I shifted my stance. “I won’t kill him. Cross my heart. But if you want to know the truth, I’d be doing the world a favor. Imagine all the humans we’d save, and who knows what became of his younglings. Maybe they’re still prisoners, but they might have escaped and are now a menace to society. Chances are the higher authority will execute him, so why not save them the trouble?”
“Sometimes I look at you and I still see the Shadow. Try not to go on a murdering spree. Unless we are given specific orders or have no choice, we hand them over alive.”
That wasn’t always the golden rule, and we both knew it. I remembered with perfect clarity how Viktor left Shepherd alone with the Mage who had killed his old flame. But rules kept us legit and gained Viktor’s trust. They were necessary.
“It could be dangerous,” he said.
I flashed him a grin. “My kind of party.”
He placed his hand on my shoulder and gave it a firm squeeze. “Very well. Keep me informed on your progress. If you’re in over your heads, let me know.” Viktor wagged his finger. “Don’t make me have to call the cleaners.”
“I’ll be good.”
His grey eyes twinkled, and his lips mashed together as if he was suppressing a grin. “I’m proud of you, Raven Black. You are more selfless than I first thought.”
Christian chuckled, and I gave him the finger behind my back.
Viktor folded his arms. “Are you going to share what happened to your leg?”
“I tripped over Christian’s ego.”
He conjured a smile and then glanced at his watch. “Christian, I need your help unloading the crate. I don’t want those men on my property.”
“Ah, yes,” I said, limping behind him as we moved into the dining room. “The crate. I hope she came by air and not by sea. That would have been a long boat ride without a toilet.”
Viktor briefly looked over his shoulder. “I hear the judgment in your voice, but need I remind you that it was not my decision. This was at her insistence.”
I flashed a playful grin at Christian as we passed him. “So… this woman would have rather flown cargo instead of first class next to Christian? I think I’m beginning to like her already.”
Chapter 5
When the deliverymen buzzed at the gate, Christian and Claude hurried out to meet them. The rest of us remained in the foyer, taking a dim view of Viktor’s transportation arrangements.
“Careful!” Viktor bellowed as they moved inside with the crate. “Set her down gently.”
Claude gingerly lowered his end and then anchored his hands on his knees to catch his breath.
I tipped my head toward Blue. “Am I really seeing this? Are we getting a servant delivered by ground shipping?”
“Maybe she’s dead. Wyatt might have a new best friend.”
“Perish the thought.”
The crate was the width of the door and about four feet tall, but the men had set it down longways. Had she packed water in there? Food? It was winter, and the plane likely didn’t have heating in the storage area. The small gaps between the boards weren’t wide enough to see inside but were big enough so her animal could breathe.
Viktor approached with a crowbar and attempted to pry open the top. We all stood around in the foyer, watching with slightly horrified expressions.
I tilted my head to the side. “By the size of the crate, I think we can rule out her being a horse. Wouldn’t her animal go berserk in there?”
“In the old days, they used to transport Shifters in cages and crates,” Blue said, reiterating what Viktor had already told us. “Especially those who worked in the circus.”
I jerked my neck back. “They put Shifters in the circus? That’s a little demeaning.”
She folded her arms, which were a lustrous brown hue despite it being winter. “It was a dark time in our history. Some of the Breeds ran circus rings to turn a buck. This was before our emancipation, and even some of the humans were in on it. Everyone knows about Shifter slavery, but new immortals aren’t usually educated on the underworld of cage fighting, circus troupes, and using our kind as beasts of burden.”
A few nails popped out of the board, and Christian pried off the lid with his bare hands.
“She’s afraid,” Niko murmured. He knelt down on one knee before the crate.
The board hit the floor with a loud thud, and Viktor tossed the crowbar aside. I watched eagerly to see what kind of animal would leap out.
Slender fingers gripped the top of the crate from inside, and a head emerged, pieces of straw clinging to her hair.
Shepherd cut a sharp look toward Viktor. “She didn’t travel in animal form?” he growled.
The woman peered over the top of the crate at the semicircle of strangers.
“Huh. Red hair,” Blue muttered.
“Why do you say it like that?” I asked quietly.
“It’s a rare color among Shifters. They supposedly have stronger offspring than the rest of us. Not all wolves have an alpha
child, but redheads almost always do. Assuming she’s a wolf.” Blue sucked on her teeth and gave the crate a skeptical glance. “I hope Viktor knows what he’s doing. I don’t want my bird to end up on her dinner plate.”
“Maybe she’s a mouse and she’ll end up on yours.”
Blue chuckled and shifted her weight to one leg. Despite the late hour, her tomahawk was hanging on the side of her dark-green cargo pants. Blue’s tough demeanor and wardrobe never entirely erased the fact that she had a killer body. She stood two inches taller than me, and that was when she didn’t have her boots on. She appraised the new girl as if working out a problem in her head.
Kira rose to her feet, and I admired the length of her wavy hair. The red changed to a golden shade at the ends, a blazing ombré effect resembling fire.
“Claude’s gonna love that hair,” Blue mused.
Kira’s sage-green dress was old-fashioned, the laces tied in front. Beneath was a long-sleeve blouse with drawstrings on the cuffs. Her copper-colored eyes looked among us, and when she found Viktor, her expression changed to one of relief.
Viktor clasped her hands and planted a kiss on each cheek. When he spoke, it wasn’t with the usual Russian words and speech pattern I was familiar with.
Gem furrowed a brow and stepped out of line. Then she cartoonishly whirled around to face us. “I’ve never heard that language before. Ever.”
“There’s a first,” Wyatt quipped.
Viktor said something and gestured toward Christian. She nodded warily.
“Help her out,” Viktor ordered him. “Her legs are weak from the confinement. I do not wish her to fall on her first night.”
The moment my Vampire partner tucked his hands beneath her arms, a knot tightened in my stomach. It was obvious by her guarded reaction that they had never been intimate, but Christian wasn’t exactly blasé about the graceful way in which he handled her.
