On the third week, while doing my laundry, I had found one of his shirts, along with two of the Prodigies, but I had also found a pair of his boxer briefs, which I most definitely did not find of the Prodigies, in my dirty clothes I had grabbed off the floor. When I had put everything away, I had hesitated for all of a moment before putting the shirt on a hanger, and scooting over my clothes in the closet, hanging his on the left side, a small place in my drawer for his underwear.
In the fourth week, I bought a toothbrush holder for multiple toothbrushes, adding a few more toothbrushes to it so the Prodigies were thoroughly confused, thinking I had some kind of fetish with oral hygiene, since Cain seemed to have an issue with leaving his out on the counter instead of putting it back in his gym bag he now carried with him on our nights together so he could shower at my place instead of rushing back so early of a morning. And I also found a pair of tennis shoes, worn with love, left on the floor, which I placed inside my closet next to my own under two more of his shirts and a pair of pants that had accumulated through doing laundry. The man, not a very tidy individual, to which he had yanked the shirts off the hanger one morning when his were all wrinkled in his bag, of course, forgetting to take the wrinkled ones with him.
During the fifth week, it slowly began to dawn on me when I rolled over after he had left one morning, my head landing on a different pillow on my bed—a black satin one smelling heavily of him—that I seriously didn’t mind so much him leaving his stuff behind.
Then, the day of reckoning came.
Standing in line for the boxing match we were attending I heard Venclaire mutter, “What the hell are they all doing here?”
As one, the other three Prodigies and I glanced where Venclaire was staring, but I couldn’t see a thing recognizable, so I asked, “Who?”
“The Kings and Elders,” Venclaire grumbled, his eyes narrowing. “You’ll see them in a few seconds.”
I barely kept my heart from escalating, thinking of my calm, cool place, more than happy I had researched what the Kings of this time even looked like, a bit thrilled Elder Merrick would be near, but more than freaked I wouldn’t act right. So…yes. A white solace of nothing was what I coated myself in as I saw them. King Townsend, the Shifter King, was on the far right. King Bridges, the Vampire King, was to the left of him. King White, the Elemental King, was next, also in the middle. King Samson, the Mage King, was on the far left. And Elder Merrick, taller and wider than all of them, walked sedately behind them with Elder Jacobs as people, Commoners and Mysticals, sort of shuffled, or damn near leapt out of their way, as the group came through.
I’d had a feeling the Prodigies were being watched, only non-intellectual Kings letting their heirs go roaming about without protection in the background, plus, every single one of them were eyeing me, confirming my assumption. I knew right then this was going to be a real interesting night of word play on my part as they came to check me out, more than likely already having done their own background checks. I glanced at the Prodigies, all of them scowling, seeing where their Kings gazes had landed, and when they started to step in front of me, I quickly stepped forward, whispering harshly, “They’re just protecting you. Get over it because I have.”
They all kind of grunted, and their scowls turned quiet…watchful.
Like a damn tiger just waiting for the right moment to pounce.
I sighed heavily, then turned my attention back to the Kings, seeing King Bridges’s eyebrows raised a bit at me, apparently having razor sharp hearing, so I raised my own eyebrows, returning the gesture, and I swear I saw a bit of excited cunning challenge dash across his expression.
Wonderful.
Maybe I should miraculously turn into a statue now or grow wings to fly away quickly, because there was brutal intelligence swimming in those eyes.
I actually debated running for a moment, worrying I wouldn’t be able to escape quickly enough with a group like this, but I still had the Primal Diamond, so my get out of free jail token was still in play. So, instead of running, I calmly shook each of their hands when they introduced themselves to me with a dry palm, steady gaze, and an even voice. A bit surprised, King White turned and introduced Elder Jacobs and Elder Merrick to me, and I quickly hooded my gaze, dumbfounded they hadn’t told the Kings they had already met me, but in the blink of an eye I had that white solace wrapped back around me, my momentary shock, in the Kings’ eyes, could be contributed to who they were, not that I already knew them. After shaking their hands, only saying their names in greeting, King White smiled generously, and waved an arm toward the entrance of the building we had yet to see since the line was so long. “Shall we? We have a box reserved.”
And so, with the Prodigies fucking flanking me, going all protective, we moved around the waiting line, cutting way up to the front, which I seriously wished now, seeing Elder Merrick dressed in black wool pants and a gray V-neck cashmere sweater, the sleeves pushed up to his forearms, that he hadn’t come. I had a damn death grip on my white solace, trying really freaking hard to control my libido, when all I really wanted to do was turn around where he walked directly behind me, wrap my hands in his soft, black curls and pull his lush lips down to mine, but, instead, I got a rude awakening at the gate.
I blinked at the security woman who confronted me, all the men—kindly—letting the lady go first. The blood practically drained from my face when the woman motioned to a damn metal detector I was going to have to go through. And since I had a small arsenal on me it wasn’t a great time to have the Kings and Elders around.
Bitch asked gruffly, “Is there a problem, ma’am?” She glanced behind me, surveying who I was with—for the third time—before her hard gaze came back to me, her own protective nature coming to the fore. She gestured to a side door. “I can take you in there and search you myself, if you prefer?”
My lips thinned, feeling a little dizzy, but I shook my head quickly. “That won’t be necessary.” I licked my lips. “I do have a few weapons on me, though, for my own protection. I would hate to lose them.”
She grunted, crossing her muscular Shifter arms. “We have a section set aside for any weapons confiscated.” She grinned. “They’ll be taken to the police, and you’re more than welcome to try to retrieve them there.”
I shifted my boot the barest bit, barely grazing her toe, and opened the barest bit of my power, just a tiny sliver. I floated in the cosmos, connecting with her, grabbing her tether, and bringing to my lips swiftly. I whispered, “Agree with me.”
I cut the connection instantly, and then stated clearly, “I would prefer to have them back at the end of the night. I’m sure there’s a safe somewhere you can put them in, right?”
She smiled, and it was instantly friendly. “Actually, yes, we do. I would be happy to do that for you.”
“Thank you.” I moved to the table next to the metal detector, and unzipped my purse, still completely mortified as everyone watched silently. But I swiftly removed my gun, popping the clip out, asking the woman, “Do you have a bag I can put my stuff in?”
“Yes.” She nodded once, smiling at me and taking off her own bag crisscrossed over her shoulders. “Will this work?”
“Perfect,” I mumbled.
I counted the silver bullets I let drop into my open palm, barely flinching, wanting to make sure I got the right amount back, before putting them back into the clip and tossing the gun and clip in the bag. Next, I pulled out the beautiful, silver wicked blade I had inside at the bottom of my purse, dropping it inside as it gleamed under the horrendous yellow light. The next silver knife was at the bottom of my purse, a smaller blade, but no less deadly. I unzipped the hidden compartment, and pulled out the small diamond blade I had and the diamond bladed knuckles, dropping those into the bag. I reached behind me, pulling out a gun from the back of my jeans that I had stolen here in the first three months, not real interested in those bullets since they weren’t silver, but I pulled the clip on it, putting both of those in the bag. I patt
ed my jacket, realizing I had both knives in the inside pocket, also not silver, but I took those out and dropped them in absently. I lifted my right boot onto the table, lifting my jeans a bit, pulling out the other gun I had stolen, taking off that holster. Up came my other leg next and I removed that knife. I zipped my purse up and slung it over my shoulder. I mumbled into the dead silence, “That should be it.” And I tried to walk through the metal detector.
It beeped. Loudly.
My chest heaved, and I instantly walked backward, and turned to face the guard, who was still smiling at me. I tapped my lips lightly with my finger, trying to remember what else I had on me. I ran a hand over my left arm, but I didn’t have a knife there. Even felt under my breasts, but there was no weapon I may have placed there. My brows puckered, staring at Smiling Bitch, and then I snapped my fingers. “I know.”
I kicked my right boot up on the table, clunked the back of it perfectly, and the silver knife tipped with a diamond sprung out from the toe of the boot. Gritting my teeth, I gripped the silver with one hand, and finagled the latch inside the boot to release the knife. I dropped that one in the bag, wiping the sweat that had beaded on my forehead off with the back of my hand, then kicked my left boot up on the table, hitting that latch right, and proceeded to pull it out. During that process, I remembered the bullet I had thrown in my purse that had stopped me here in the past. I held up a finger, then unzipped my purse, rifling through it until I found the little bugger, still blood stained and all. I kept my hand around it as I dumped it in the bag. At the last minute, I took out my keys, setting them on the table.
Blessedly, I walked through the metal detector without it beeping.
Grabbing my keys off the table, I plunked them in my purse. My attention honed on the guard. “I’m sure you’ll want to take all of that to the safe now, and make sure no one touches or looks at it, and then, you’ll find our box as soon as the match is done, and bring it all to me, right?”
She nodded once, zipping the bag. “Yes, ma’am. That sounds like a splendid idea.”
“Right,” I muttered, brushing my hair out of my face, watching her walk away with my goods, my items, until I couldn’t see her anymore. Then, I slowly turned to the group still standing mute. I smiled ever so sweetly at the Kings, looking at none others. I asked bluntly, “So…how hard is it going to be to convince the four of you I have no ill intentions toward your Prodigies now?”
And dammit, I heard Elder Jacobs start choking down a laugh on the left side of the group, where he would have had the best vantage point to witness my humiliation, and I saw him quickly walk away, muttering curtly, “I’ll be back in a moment.”
But, it was King Bridges’s lips which tilted as all four Kings stared at me with silent eyes, and he stated quietly, “Well, I believe it will be fun to see you try, Ms. Farrow.”
My own smile altered, mimicking him again. “I do believe we’re in the correct place for a match.”
He actually grinned with those quiet eyes. “Indeed.”
Chapter Five
It was like a fixed poker table where I sat in the box, but I had taken the best seat, the one closest to the exit, also giving me the best view of the fight around the enormous granite table. The Kings sat two on each side of me, the Prodigies directly across from me, and an Elder on each side, specifically, Elder Merrick on my right and Elder Jacobs on my left. The Prodigies wore scowls still for their King, only giving me looks of respect, while the Elders wore quietly blanked expressions, more years of training for that, and the Kings wore varying looks of barely banked hostility.
While I sat back in my seat, keeping my feet firmly planted in case I needed to push back, and stared at them with a lazy, bored expression. The sounds were loud around us before the fight began as others took their seats. “So,” I waved an absent hand, “fire away.”
Fergus interceded when King White opened his mouth, asking me, “So, Sadie…have you talked to Elder Farrar recently?”
And, dammit, that quickly, my fucking cool broke, freezing completely as I stared across the table at him, everyone except for the Prodigies damn near coming to attention with the mere mention of that name. But, Fergus only smiled, looking damn coy, asking King White, “Oh…you didn’t know she’s friends with Elder Farrar?” Fergus blinked. “I just talked to him not too long ago on the phone at her apartment.” He smiled. “He got a cell phone, and was calling to brag about it to Sadie.”
Oh, God.
As one, every single King or Elder turned to stare at me with completely blank expressions.
Elder Jacobs leaned forward, placing his forearms on the table, asking slowly, “You know Elder Farrar?”
I knew what they were thinking. That I had duped the Prodigies. That was how I had gotten the “in” with them. And therefore, I had bad intentions toward them. And with the weapon show earlier, those intentions would be very poor, definitely the opposite of honorable.
And I knew Elder Farrar didn’t want to be found. I hadn’t gotten his number the last time we talked a week ago, the thought slipping my mind again, so…I had no way to prove I actually knew him other than to go to his place, snatch him back here, say “Ta-da”, then flash him back.
I swallowed hard, peering back to Fergus, and the other three Prodigies, their faces patiently waiting, although the longer I took, I noticed their eyes began to blank slowly. My gaze roamed over all of their faces. I couldn’t sit here and make fools out of them. I hated it, but in the end, Elder Farrar was much more capable of taking care of himself than they were, much more equipped to take care of himself than I even was, so, in a very small voice, I stated quietly, “Yes. I know Elder Farrar.”
“That’s bullshit,” King Samson muttered instantly, even as the Prodigies all instantly wore tiny smiles, sitting back comfortably on their chairs, that expression gone from their eyes. “Elder Farrar has not been seen since after his ruling as King. He’s fucking disappeared. No one can find him.”
I chuckled quietly, staring at the table. “I found him.”
King Samson snorted. “Again, bullsh—”
“She’s telling the truth,” King Townsend interrupted him steadily. “At least, what she believes as the truth.”
It was quiet for a few moments as those who didn’t have truth sniffers thought that through, then Elder Jacobs asked slowly, “Where does he live, if you know him?”
My lips pinched, and I altered my gaze to the rafters, watching the twirling spotlights above. “I believe he wants his privacy.”
“Truth,” King Townsend murmured. “How can you prove you know him?”
Sighing heavily, I studied my fingernails, and started picking at them absently, and opened my mouth to say the truth—
Ring. Ring. Ring.
“That’s my cell phone,” King White muttered, pulling a gawking black contraption from his pocket. “Hold that thought, Ms. Farrow.” He pressed a button putting the gaudy thing to his ear. “King White here.” His brows instantly slammed together. “Excuse me?” His nostrils flared, appearing fucking pissed, opening his mouth, but he quickly snapped it shut, his face becoming even more enraged before he hissed, “I will allow this, if you ask nicely.” A pause, and he appeared a bit mollified before he held the phone away from his ear across the table, stating, “Elder Merrick, it’s for you.”
A slow gravelly word. “Me.” He leaned forward slowly, his brows together; taking the phone from King White, stating into the receiver, “This is Elder Merrick.” He froze, but ever so slowly his lips began twitching, and I saw King Bridges and Venclaire both place hands over their mouths as they apparently watched, and listened, making me all the more curious. Elder Merrick sat back calmly on his chair, and flat out grinned. “Yes, I would agree at this point.” Staring at the table where his other hand rested, he began drumming his fingers. “Interesting…in the correct terminology.” A pause. “Fascinating would also work in the situation.” His fingers stilled on the table, his gaze flying to King Bridg
es and Venclaire, and he quickly muttered, “You do realize there are others at this table that can overhear, correct?” He instantly relaxed, chuckled quietly, making wonder if that was played. “Yes, that, too.” He nodded his head once. “It’s good to talk to you, too.” He pressed a button, ending the call, handing the phone back to King White. “That was Elder Farrar. I’d know his voice anywhere, not to mention he referenced an event that occurred in the past just between us, only he and I know about. And,” his head tilted toward me, but he kept his navy blue eyes on King White, “he knows her. Says he likes her. And kindly asks that everyone leave her alone.”
Venclaire snorted, and then glanced away.
Elder Merrick smiled a bit, his eyes hooded. “Or not so kindly.”
It was damn hard not to smile. God, Elder Farrar was a damn godsend. Like a damn guardian angel. I really wanted to call and thank him.
Elder Merrick glanced at me, his gaze trapping mine, the first time we had looked each other in the eye all night long, and he stated quietly, “Elder Farrar also said, “You’re welcome”.” His lips twitched. “And that he expects you to knock the next time you enter his home because he did not appreciate the injury he was inflicted with the last time.” I couldn’t help it, holding my stomach; a deep belly laugh erupted from my mouth, even as an enormous blush stole over my cheeks, vividly picturing what I had seen. Navy eyes ran over my face, black brows lifting as he murmured quietly, “And…he said you would laugh and blush.” He shook his head, black curls tossing about his face. “What the hell have you been up to, Ms. Farrow?”
Still laughing, I muttered, “Seeing way too much, and luckily, remembering the towel’s on to the right.” I flicked my finger, laughing it up. “My right, no one else’s right.” And after that, the Kings left me the fuck alone for the evening, silent, all of them so obviously deep in thought, while Elder Jacobs smiled at me, a real one, and actually propositioned me in front of everyone. My eyes popped wide at that, and I stuttered a polite “no”, but I was flattered for the offer, and actually meaning it, which he humbly accepted, appearing a bit downcast about the fact. The Prodigies and I left for less stuffy affairs after a few drinks, the fight, and my weapons being returned by the Butch Smiling Bitch, and I barely managed to not give Elder Merrick a covert glance of carnal sin the entire time.
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