by Lexi Blake
Sometimes, having a job to do is the only thing that keeps me sane.
“Kelsey.” My uncle got my attention. I took a deep breath to banish the tears that were threatening. I could cry later, when I was alone in the bed I should have shared with Marcus. My uncle pulled me up and didn’t even try to contain himself. He hugged me tightly. I felt him breathe in my scent. “I’m really proud of you.”
I nodded because he was managing to do what Marcus hadn’t. I pulled a tissue out of the box on his desk and wiped my eyes as he let me go, and I took my seat again. It was time to move forward. That was what I did best. “So what’s the plan?”
“You’ll go to the lieutenant’s tomorrow.” Donovan sat back down in his chair, a grim look on his face. Though he had gotten his way, it was easy to tell that he hadn’t liked the cost. “This party at Winter’s is at seven o’clock. I talked to Sloane extensively about it earlier today. He seems to know what he’s doing. All you have to do is keep your eyes and ears open. Try not to bring too much attention to yourself.”
“How much do the demons know about the new Nex Apparatus?” Zack asked. “If they know who she is, I think this is too dangerous. It could be a trap.”
Donovan drummed his fingers along the heavy wood of the table. “I can’t be completely sure, but I think she’s safe. I haven’t made a big announcement for obvious reasons. A lot of people saw her in the arena a few months back. They might question why I championed her…”
“They know,” I said confidently. “Scott knew. It’s a small world. They might not know exactly who I am, but they know there’s a new death machine in town. What am I supposed to do? Am I supposed to hide because someone might know who I am? I won’t be effective that way. I’ve already met Winter and if he knows who I am, I couldn’t tell. I think he sees what he expects to see. I know he hasn’t asked for my name. Gray wouldn’t give it to him.”
“I agree. Sloane is trustworthy when it comes to your safety,” Donovan said. “I still wish I could send you in with backup.”
I shook my head. There was no way we were getting Trent into that party. Despite the fact that the king, the queen, and Quinn had made threesomes fashionable, no one would believe Gray was involved in one. Though the idea was kind of hot. “Gray and I will be fine. I’m assuming Jamie will be monitoring the situation.”
“Yes,” the king acknowledged. “The lieutenant mentioned he was working with your brother. I think you’re in good hands. Sloane and I might have had our trouble in the past, but I don’t doubt he thinks he’s doing the right thing. I have a very specific order for you, Owens, and I expect you to follow it.”
“What’s that?” I’d decide if I would follow it after I heard what it was.
“Don’t die.”
I gave him a jaunty salute. “I’ll do my best.”
The door to the office came open and Lisa Owens popped her head in. “Dinner’s ready. I’m serving it even if you continue your business meeting. That might not mean anything to the king there, but once it’s gone, the two of you are on your own.”
“She means that.” Zack stood and smoothed down his shirt after his wife had quietly closed the door. “She’s serious about dinnertime. If we don’t get out there, she’ll leave us with a bowl of carrots or something.”
I shuddered. After a really shitty day, I couldn’t handle a vegetarian dinner. Zack walked out and I stood to follow him. I wasn’t letting all that cheese and beef get away from me.
Donovan reached out and grabbed my hand. “Don’t give up on Marcus.”
I shrugged, unwilling to show him my true feelings. “I don’t think there’s anything to give up on. He was my trainer. That’s the way these things go. If you feel like I still need a trainer, I’ll take Hugo. I promise to keep my hands firmly to myself.”
I was supposed to keep a lover around so I wouldn’t feel alone. I was supposed to form attachments. I wondered if the king would consider a vibrator a proper physical outlet. I could get attached to one, and my vibe wouldn’t dump me when I acted out.
The king stared at me for a moment, and I could practically see him trying to figure out how to handle me. He was silent for a moment before speaking. “You know what I’ve had to put up with every day for the past ten years? I’ve had to hear Marcus call my wife cara. That means dear in Italian. Never cara mia, which is my dear, just dear. He’s done it since the day he met her. Z’s always been a favorite of his. If I hadn’t been around, he’d have been all over her.”
“Are you trying to make me feel better?” If he was, he was doing a shitty job. Marcus probably would have stuck around to fight it out with the queen.
“I’m trying to make a point.” Donovan leaned forward. “Every day for the last ten years, he’s greeted her with a ‘good morning, cara.’ Until one day, a little over three months ago. He saw her and said, ‘good morning, Zoey.’ I didn’t think much of it until I realized he never called her anything but Zoey or Your Highness after the night he met you. Marcus is a charming playboy until he decides to settle down, and then he’s loyal to the bone.”
“He walked out on me.” I felt a hollow space open inside me. He was leaving me. I wondered if he would even say good-bye.
“I doubt he walked far.” The king’s blue eyes regarded me with something like sympathy. “I have some selfish reasons why it would be better if you and Marcus weren’t together.”
“You want him to marry your daughter one day.” It was the only thing that made sense.
“She’s a companion. You have no idea how much that tiny bundle of light scares the crap out of me,” the king admitted. “The boys are easier. Evan…well, she makes me almost wish we’d only had boys. I love that baby girl. From the moment the midwife put her in my arms, I knew I would die for my daughter. I want her safe. Every vampire in the world is going to want her. I trust Marcus. It’s the one thing Dev and I have fought over since we formed our triad. Still, I can see you need him, and he needs you. I have to believe things will work out as they were meant to.”
“I wouldn’t have taken you for a philosopher.” The king was awfully hard to dislike when he was simply being a guy. It made me remember that we’d been friends once. We’d played together online before I’d turned into some weirdo, half-wolf, demon-slaying thing. It hadn’t been much, but for a while that group of guys was all I had. Nathan had given that to me. I remembered something I should have told the king yesterday. “They’re worried about the conference that’s coming up in the next couple of years. They think you’re going to cancel the contracts.”
Donovan’s face became completely enigmatic. He said nothing, just waited for me to continue.
“They want to fracture the vampires.” I took a deep breath and told him the news no parent could possibly want to hear. “They’re willing to use your children, Donovan. They talked specifically about using Evan to cause a rift between you and Marcus.”
Donovan already knew. I read it on his face. The thought caused his fangs to lengthen though. When he spoke, they were large in his mouth. “Yes, the lieutenant mentioned it. I’ve already upped Evan’s security. Trent is hiring some extra guards for the boys and Z, too. Bris has strict orders to take over the body if Dev does something stupid. I’m on it, Kelsey. If anything happens…”
My response was instantaneous. “The kids are my highest priority. I’ll do what it takes.”
Donovan nodded slowly, and I watched him calm down. “I appreciate that, Kelsey. Know that Dev and I will sacrifice anything for our wife and children. Now, we should get to the dining room table. Think about what I said. Don’t give up on Marcus. You just fought for yourself, and you won. Now fight for him. He needs it. And try to keep your pants on this time.”
“I make no promises.” I would be seeing Sloane. My pants tended to dissolve around him.
The king followed me out the door, and we joined my new family for dinner.
Chapter Fifteen
Dinner was delicious, but my hear
t wasn’t in it. All around me this new family I found myself in laughed and joked. The king sat at one end of the table. There was no plate piled high in front of him, but he sat there, Evangeline on his lap. He was content to cut her food into tiny squares. The little girl leaned back against her father and chewed happily. Lee and Rhys argued about which video games were best. Quinn had a long discussion with my uncle on the new high-definition television he’d bought. The women talked about new clothes and their kids. Liv joined in, telling stories about her job and what teaching high school supernaturals was like.
I was quiet.
I wondered if I would ever feel like I belonged somewhere. I’d felt like I belonged with Gray, but that was a lie. I’d felt like I belonged with Marcus, but I’d screwed that up as well. I found my eyes moving over to the side table where I’d stashed the picture of my dad inside my purse. He was a lone wolf. How much of that instinct to be alone was written into my DNA? Would I always push away the people who cared about me?
Lisa placed a piece of chocolate cake in front of me. The icing looked rich and dark. If Marcus had been beside me, his eyes would have filled with anticipation. He loved chocolate. His sweet tooth would have caused me to get overweight if I didn’t have that trusty werewolf metabolism. His hand would already be on the fork. He would hold it to my mouth and tease my lips with it until I took a bite. We would enjoy the flavor, the taste so much sweeter because I knew he shared it with me.
How long would it take before the bond between us was broken? Would mere distance mean he couldn’t feel my moods or taste what I tasted? Would I feel the same way about Hugo that I felt about Marcus? I doubted it. I hoped Hugo’s mistress didn’t hate me.
“Kelsey?” I was pulled out of my morbid thoughts by Liv calling to me. “Are you all right? Where did Marcus go?”
“He needed to pack.” My answer was short and I couldn’t look her in the eye. It was the same talk we always had. I fucked up and someone who could have been good for me was gone. “He’s going back to Italy in the morning.”
The table went quiet. I hated the way they stared at me. So much flipping sympathy. I couldn’t stand it. I smiled. It was totally fake. I wanted the attention off me. I brazenly used my four-year-old cousin to deflect attention. “So Court, what did Santa bring you this year?”
Christmas had been about four weeks before. I’d enjoyed an Italian Christmas with Marcus. Christmas dinner had been nine courses.
Courtney’s brown eyes were huge, and there was no mistaking her terror. “I don’t wike Santa Cwaus. I don’t wike his wong bweawd.” She shook her head vigorously.
“It’s all right, cupcake.” Zack patted his daughter on the back. “Santa is never coming again. Remember Uncle Daniel killed Santa Claus.”
My mouth dropped open. “You killed Santa? Dude, that’s rude.”
Donovan shook his head. “Turns out he was a demon. The old folklore on the guy was right. He was some bad shit. He liked to catch kids in his beard and pull them in and…”
He let me figure out the last part for myself.
“That was when Dan decided to seriously start looking for a sheriff,” Quinn offered. “If you’d been around, you could have sent Saint Nick to his eternal damnation. Dan had to do it. The boys sulked for a month.”
“Then fake Santa brought us new bikes,” Rhys piped up with his eternal smile.
“Fake Santa was better.” Lee finished off his cake. “But, hey, the Easter Bunny is still out there somewhere. Kelsey can kill that.”
“Good to know.” I wasn’t looking forward to that job. “Do I want to know what the Easter Bunny does to small children?”
Donovan shook his head firmly. “No, you do not. Ever seen Monty Python? ’Cause someone on that show has met the little fucker, let me tell you.”
Courtney gave me a rundown of all the things that scared her. It was an impressive list. Ice cream trucks, trains, hairless cats, clowns, the color orange, string beans…the list went on. After a while she got tired of talking to adults and wandered off to play with Evan.
I was listening intently to stories about my father when there was a knock at the door. Lisa got up to answer it. I glanced at my uncle, who sniffed the air and then completely ignored whoever it was. It seemed a good hint that whoever was at the door wasn’t a threat.
“Are you really going to kill the Easter Bunny?” Liv leaned forward. She had a hand on my arm and I could tell she was happily plastered. I was going to have so much fun with her tomorrow. Of course, there was still tonight. I wondered where Casey was.
“Yeah.” I was much more cheerful. No one was looking at me like the lovelorn idiot. “And probably the tooth faery, too. Tell me something, Livvie. Do you think Casey is somewhere strumming his sad guitar, making up songs about how much he loves you?”
She flushed. It made me giggle.
“I was helping out.” She frowned. I knew my BFF. She was thinking about him. She was thinking about the egghead, wannabe-skater-turned-pacifist vampire.
“Seriously?” I didn’t have to say anything more. We had a shorthand, Liv and I.
She rolled her eyes like I was talking crazy. “No.”
That no sounded an awful lot like a maybe to me.
“Dev,” Lisa said, walking into the dining room. “Two of your bouncers are here. They said there’s some trouble in the club.”
The faery pushed back his chair with a sigh. “A club owner’s work is never done.” He leaned over and kissed his wife. “I’ll be back.” The king started to push back his chair, and Dev sent him a questioning look. “Stay here, Dan. I can handle the club.”
I was watching Lisa. I didn’t like the tight look in her eyes. Her jaw was rigid. She didn’t look like a woman who’d greeted some welcome guests. Then there was the fact that she followed Dev out of the dining room rather than sitting back down. Something didn’t feel right, and I’ve learned to follow my instincts.
I didn’t have all the resources I needed on my own, but then I had a whole family around me. I turned to my uncle. “Do you smell anything odd?”
Zack breathed the air deeply. The king stared at Zack while the queen immediately stood and started counting children. The minute I asked the question, she went into protection mode. I kind of took it as a compliment. The queen knew when it was time to circle the wagons. Lee was still at the table, but Rhys had wandered off. Evangeline had toddled back into the dining room, but I couldn’t see Courtney.
Zack didn’t look terribly concerned. “It’s Ray and Walter. They’re bouncers. Huh. That’s weird. Are they wearing perfume? I smell something sweet.”
Something was wrong. Trent had mentioned a sweet smell on Alan. It couldn’t be a coincidence. I figured the scent came out in the sweat. I stood calmly, pushing my chair back. Donovan stood as well.
I shook my head his way, an indication for him to stay put. “I’ll handle it. You take care of the people in here.”
“What’s going on?” Zack stood up beside me. “My wife is out there.”
My uncle is a badass, but he’s not an alpha.
“Follow me.” I made my voice deep and commanding. There was no doubt in my tone. I walked and he followed. The king nodded to me. Zoey clutched Evangeline as I strode toward the door. Rhys walked in and was surprised to find himself quickly in his mother’s hold. Lee stood.
“Don’t you even think about it.” Lee’s eyes widened at his vampire father’s stern tone, but he quickly sat back down.
I felt confident that I didn’t have a bunch of hangers-on. I didn’t insist on my uncle staying behind. His wife was out there. A thought occurred to me. Lisa hadn’t even tried to warn anyone, though now I could see she knew something was wrong. Only one thing could have bought her compliance. “Zack, is Courtney out there?”
His nose was in the air. He went stark white. “Oh god, Kelsey. She is out there and she’s scared. So is Lisa.”
I put my hand on the door. It made sense. Courtney and Lisa made go
od hostages. Devinshea Quinn was out of his element. I thought about the entryway, going over it in my mind. There were no plants in that part of the apartment. Even as I had the thought, I nearly tripped over a thin green vine snaking its way toward the dining room door. It was an ivy coming from one of the back rooms, I supposed. I picked up the pace. I wasn’t sure what Quinn was planning, but I had to get my little cousin and my uncle’s wife out of there before he did it.
“You stay calm.” I put my mouth up to my uncle’s ear. Whatever those bouncers were, they had good hearing. “When I open the door, take care of Courtney and then Lisa. I’ll handle the crazed drug addicts. What are they, anyway?”
He pointed to his own chest. Werewolves. They would be strong and fast. They could change forms quickly, and then they would be even stronger and faster. I felt my uncle press something in my hand. A small, semiautomatic pistol shone in the dim light. I flicked the safety off. Zack pulled another gun from an ankle holster. I wondered briefly how many weapons my uncle usually wore to family dinners. His face was tense, his eyes dark. He was ready to change if he needed to.
The thin green vine slithered past me like a snake seeking prey. It easily fit under the door. I decided it was time to give Quinn a helpful distraction. I kicked the door open. I was pleased when it came off its hinges instead of merely swinging. I’m much stronger when the adrenaline is flowing.
It was definitely flowing then, and it mixed with rage when I saw the fucker had my niece in midair, with his claws around her throat. She dangled there. Her sneakers with Dora the Explorer kicked, trying desperately to find balance. Tears streamed from her brown eyes. I was betting Courtney had some new things she was afraid of.
Zack growled behind me.
