“I’m sure, but what does that have to do with me?” Reggie avoided looking Grey in the eyes, instead staring at the steady drip, drip, drip of the coffeepot. The bastard knew something. The question was what.
“We have a list of people who questioned Kerry’s right to assume the throne when Dame Judith died.” Grey pushed enough energy to ensure that his eyes were flaming. “You and your cousin Lawrence were right at the top.”
All pretense of good humor disappeared from Reggie’s expression. “Damn it, I knew he’d go too far.”
“Who would?”
Reggie looked thoroughly disgusted. “Lawrence, of course. He and I used to be close. But ever since he got it in his head that Adele was the anointed one, he’s been impossible. Putting on airs, acting like it was only a matter of time before he took control of our world. Since Judith died and Dame Kerry took over, he’s gotten worse and worse.”
Reggie got up to fetch the coffee. “He asked me to send a letter expressing my concern over a relative newcomer to our culture wielding so much power. I still feel that way, but that’s all it was—concern, nothing more.”
“But your cousin feels differently.” It wasn’t a question.
“Yes. But when he started talking about a bunch of us forcing the new Dame to abdicate, I backed away quickly. I want nothing to do with that kind of talk. As I already said, Dame Kerry is a nice young woman. Who knows, I trusted Judith’s judgment in everything else.” He shrugged. “Maybe she knew what she was doing when she chose Kerry as her heir.”
“When’s the last time you heard from your cousin?”
Once again Reggie’s eyes flicked to the side. “Last time I saw him was when I took a trip to London earlier this year.”
Okay, now he was definitely dancing around the truth. “Reggie, that’s not what I asked. When did you last hear from him?” Grey injected a compulsion into his question, determined to get a straight answer.
Reggie fought him briefly, but then slumped back like a deflated balloon. “Last night. He called wanting to know if I’d seen his daughter lately, you know, here in Seattle. I told him no. I haven’t seen nor heard from Adele.”
“Is there anything else you haven’t told me?”
Reggie wrapped his hands around his coffee mug, probably to hide their shaking. “I’m not part of this, Mr. Danby. Whatever it is you think Lawrence is involved in. I swear.”
Grey believed him. “If you hear from Lawrence or Adele, I expect a call. Should I learn that you’ve been less than forthcoming, I will be back. Trust me, Harcourt, you do not want that to happen.
“Thank you for the coffee.” He stood up and held his hand out to Harcourt, mostly to make sure the man saw the surges of energy burning under his skin. “I can see myself out.”
Just before he reached the end of the hallway, he glanced back at his host. Reggie was leaning forward, elbows on the table, supporting his head with his hands. Grey’s gut feeling said Reggie would throw his cousin overboard if it would keep the Talions off his back. He might even warn others before they threw in their lot with Lawrence.
Mission accomplished.
Time to pick up Piper.
“So should I try calling her again or not?” Harcourt asked himself, wishing he had a more satisfactory answer to offer than, “What else can I do?”
He could call Grey Danby. He even considered it for all of ten seconds before rejecting the idea. That would be tantamount to signing his daughter’s death warrant and quite possibly his own. Right now, he’d let them have Adele in a heartbeat if it meant saving his own skin. If that made him a bad father, well, he could live with it.
Literally.
All right, he would call her one more time. If she didn’t answer, he’d have no choice left but to sacrifice her for the greater good and save himself. As he reached for the phone, it started vibrating. Could the silly twit finally be showing some common sense and returning his call? A glance at the name and number displayed on the small screen quickly disavowed him of that notion.
His blood ran cold.
What did Greyhill Danby want with him now? It was a bit late for that fool to suddenly decide to clue Harcourt in on his activities since returning to Seattle. In fact, the Talion had made it clear that he had no intention of betraying Dame Kerry.
Before answering, Harcourt swallowed hard in a vain attempt to dislodge the bitter lump of fear clogging his throat. “Danby, what do you want? It’s the middle of the night in London.”
“You don’t sound as if I got you out of bed. Are you having trouble sleeping for some reason?” A nasty laugh echoed in his ear. “Besides, that’s not very friendly, Harcourt, but no offense taken.”
That was a lie. Cold fury dripped from every word the man spoke.
Harcourt tried to bluff. “I repeat, what do you want? I have more important things to do than talk to you.”
“No, actually, you don’t. As Chief Talion, I’m officially putting you on notice.”
There was a definite predatory growl underlying his words that had Harcourt’s knees shaking. It was so very tempting to simply hang up, but that would leave him wondering what kind of threat Grey posed to him and Adele.
“About what?”
“Someone is playing games with us, Harcourt. Dangerous games. If I manage to trace any of this back to you—and I suspect I will—the consequences will be terminal. I can’t wait to check your credit card records. What little surprises will I find?”
Dear God, this was a bloody disaster. Had Grey stumbled across something that could possibly link Adele to some attack on the Dame? Or was the Talion casting his line in hopes of startling Harcourt into confessing something? How best to play this?
He aimed for righteous indignation. “Danby, you have no right to make such threats against me. The new Dame may think you’re worthy of serving her, but we both know the truth. You’re nothing but a guttersnipe playing dress up to mimic your betters.”
“The thing about guttersnipes, Harcourt, is that we know our way around shadows and back alleys. You’ll never see me coming.” Then the bastard laughed. “Take care, Harcourt, and give my regards to your daughter.”
• • •
Grey disconnected the call just as he saw Piper coming out of the building. Perfect timing. Later he’d have to think long and hard about Harcourt’s response to his call. Had that really been a faint note of panic he’d heard in Harcourt’s voice? Maybe. It definitely put the man at the top of Grey’s list. He’d tried the same surprise calls on two others before dialing Harcourt’s number and had definitely gotten them out of bed. Somehow, their anger had felt more genuine, although that didn’t let them off the hook, either.
But right now, he planned to concentrate all his attention on the woman who’d just spotted him and waved.
As Piper made her way down the steps, a couple of college punks watched her walk by. As she moved, he caught a glimpse of that tat on her thigh. God, how had he missed how short that skirt was when he’d dropped her off? If he was the jealous sort, he’d tell them to keep their effing lechery to themselves.
Considering he was now out of the car and heading straight for the little pricks, he guessed he was that sort. Lucky for them, Piper walked straight into his arms and allowed him to give her the kind of kiss that staked a very public claim. When he was sure the point had been made, he gave her a second kiss, meant for her alone.
She gave him a considering look. “Somehow I think there was more to that kiss than that you were glad to see me.”
He didn’t bother to deny it. “But I am glad to see you.”
She fell into step beside him and caught his hand in hers. “Good. Let’s go home. I want a hot bath, some greasy food, and some quiet while I study. How does that sound?”
“Fine, as long as I get to scrub your back.” He lifted her hand up to kiss it. “I also have work to do tonight, so I think we’re set. What kind of grease do you want for dinner? Pizza? Burgers?”
“How about fish and chips? I know a great little place closeby.”
“Perfect. It will remind me of home.”
Piper sat curled up on the couch studying for her history exam. Every few minutes, though, her eyes were drawn to the man sitting at the table across their hotel room. She’d soak up a few seconds of his compelling presence and then drag herself back to her book. Each time, a variety of expressions paraded across Grey’s face as he stared at his computer screen.
Right now he was looking decidedly grim, as if what he’d been reading had given him a bitch of a headache. She could help with that. After marking her place, she set the book aside.
As soon as she touched his shoulders, Grey reached up to pat her hand without taking his eyes off the laptop. She began to knead the tight muscles across his shoulders.
Grey sighed as he tipped his head forward, offering her easier access to the back of his neck. “That feels like heaven. Do you think you might have a touch of the healing gift?”
“I’ve never been tested, but anything’s possible.” She moved on to gently rub his temples. “You looked as if you might have a headache coming on.”
“More like a pain in the ass,” he grumbled as he typed.
She loved the play of his muscles under her fingers as the knots melted away. Massaging him this way reminded her of all the ways she liked to touch and be touched by him. Especially naked. Maybe this wasn’t a good idea, not if either one of them wanted to get any work done.
That didn’t mean it would be easy for her to let go and walk all the way back to the sofa without him. She eased her hands down the front of his chest and rested her head next to his. “Feel better?”
“Actually, quite a bit.”
She could feel him smile. “Want to take a break?”
“I could use one. Just let me finish this search first.”
“Perfect, I’ll make a fresh pot of coffee.”
Before she could back away, Grey suddenly tensed up and craned his head forward toward the screen.
“Bloody fucking hell!” He slammed his hand down on the table hard enough to rattle the dishes left over from their dinner. “I cannot believe this!”
“Grey?” she asked.
He jabbed a finger toward the e-mail on the screen. “I talked to this wanker right before I picked you up at school. And did he bother telling me that he was here in Seattle? No. In fact, hell no!”
She held on to the back of Grey’s chair with a death grip. “Who is it?”
“Lawrence Harcourt, a first-class prick who is currently at the top of our list of suspects and is apparently already here in Seattle.”
“And that’s a bad thing.” It wasn’t a question.
Grey turned bleak eyes in her direction. “He’s a self-righteous prig, but the bastard served in the SAS. I’m betting he could blow us all to hell and back again without breaking a sweat. Grab your things. We’re going back to Kerry’s.”
Chapter 14
Ranulf stood in front of the door to the Thorsens’ private quarters, putting himself between her and any threat that might come her way. Grey couldn’t fault his intentions except that the Viking was also blocking Grey’s access to the Dame. If the berserker thought Grey was the enemy, then there was no hope of him keeping her safe.
“I need to talk to Kerry, Ranulf.”
“No, you don’t. I’ll relay any messages.”
Okay, so that’s the way it was going to be. He fought for control before speaking again. “As Consort, your job may be to support your wife, but it’s sure as hell not to restrict my access to the Dame. Now move out of my way or I’ll move you.” He would, too, no matter the cost.
“You mean you’ll try.” Ranulf widened his stance and clenched his fists.
As tempting as it was to throw a few punches, that wouldn’t get them any closer to finding the real villain in this mess.
Grey tried for diplomatic. “Only a few hours ago we pledged to end this mess together. Now you’re treating me as if I’m the enemy. What happened since then?”
“We got an interesting e-mail from Adele Harcourt. At her suggestion, we checked your bank records. You’ve been receiving regular payments from her father since you arrived here. We’d initially suspected you came here as a spy, but we were willing to give you a fair chance. Now we know you’ve been in the employ of Lawrence Harcourt. How much have you told him?”
Ranulf’s smile turned nasty as he continued, “I bet you weren’t at all pleased with your partner in crime when it was you who almost got blown to bits the other day. What’s the matter? Did the two of you have some kind of falling out?”
All right, obviously Little Miss Adele has been busy stirring up discord. Clearly, she wanted to turn the Dame against him. The question was why?
“I’ve already told Sandor that I used Harcourt’s interest in Kerry as an excuse to come to Seattle, but I don’t know a damn thing about any payments. I’m guessing the same person who has been manipulating our e-mails has something to do with it. Divide and conquer, and all that. But no matter what you think, I am not now, nor have I ever been, anything but loyal to the Dame of our people.”
His skin burned with the need to strike out at their unseen enemy. “As far as the money goes, you can ask Harcourt about it yourself as soon as I find him. It shouldn’t take long since the bastard is here in town.”
Ranulf sneered. “Yeah, and how long have you known that? Adele’s worried about her father because he came here to meet you.”
“The hell he did. I found out he was here thirty minutes ago when a search of his finances showed a ticket to Seattle. I came straight here, stopping only long enough to print out his records in my office. Ask Piper. She was with me at the hotel when I found out.”
If the Dame and her Consort chose not to believe him, there wasn’t much Grey could do about it. That didn’t mean he wouldn’t do his job. He’d prefer not to get physical with Ranulf, but the Viking wasn’t leaving him much choice. It also didn’t help that Piper was already in there with Kerry, so he couldn’t get to her either.
“I repeat, as Chief Talion, I’m requesting an audience with the Grand Dame of our people.” He drew himself up to his full height, his hands flexing with the familiar burn of energy. “Stand aside, Viking, and let me pass.”
Before Ranulf could refuse yet again, the door behind him opened. Kerry didn’t try to push past her husband, probably knowing it wouldn’t do any good.
“Ranulf, let him in. He deserves a chance to defend himself. Other than those two payments, there’s nothing to indicate he’s done anything wrong. Until now we’ve had no reason to doubt him.”
Her husband growled, “That we know of.”
“True, but we won’t learn anything if we don’t let the man explain.”
Finally, Ranulf moved to the side—only far enough to allow Grey to barely squeeze past. Then, of course, the big jerk followed him inside.
Grey had never been invited into the Dame’s personal quarters before. The furniture—obviously chosen for comfort—made it clear that this was where Kerry and Ranulf really lived. She plopped down on the closest chair. Ranulf stood beside her, still looking as if he’d rather be swinging his sword than exchanging words.
“Have a seat, Grey.” Kerry waved him toward the other chairs in the room.
Time to get down to business. “I understand that Adele Harcourt has e-mailed you, Grand Dame. I regret more than I can say that I didn’t come to you before this about the exact circumstances of my arrival here.”
“Why didn’t you?”
She put a little heat behind the question, the small blast of energy pressing him against the back of the chair. Clearly, Kerry wasn’t as calm as she appeared. But then she’d already been blindsided with one unexpected revelation today.
He considered his choices and settled on blunt. “For this exact reason. I figured if you found out, you wouldn’t trust me. I realize now that I had it backwards. If I had come clean from
the beginning, you’d have no reason to doubt me now. I should’ve told you that I was asked to come, not just by Lawrence Harcourt, but by a group of Kyth in the UK. They wanted me to meet you in person and offer my opinion of how suitable you were to replace Grand Dame Judith. You can understand their concern when you were thrust into the job with little warning and no training.”
He shot his cuffs, using the gesture as a distraction. “Your unexpected ascension to the throne sent huge ripples of unrest throughout our kind. Harcourt had hoped that his daughter Adele would be Judith’s heir, and he took it particularly hard.”
Kerry sat forward, gold sparks swirling in her eyes. “Some of the memories I inherited from Judith were muddled. Harcourt and his daughter definitely ring a bell, but the details are vague. Was she really qualified for the position, possessing all the gifts needed to rule?”
Which answer was Kerry hoping for? That there was someone else she could hand off the baton to or that she alone had the ability to serve their people as Grand Dame?
He could only report what he’d heard. “Adele’s repertoire was said to lack several key ingredients, although she tested high in the gifts she did have.”
Kerry’s normally expressive face was remarkably stoic at the moment. “How did she feel about being replaced?”
“We never discussed the matter. She’s always followed her father’s dictates, and he definitely wanted her to take the throne. I met with his cousin Reggie this afternoon, and he confirmed my suspicions about Lawrence.”
Ranulf finally entered the discussion. “Why do you think Adele chose to reveal his unannounced arrival in Seattle? Is she hoping to protect him by giving us a chance to catch the bastard before he does anything else?”
Grey had been wondering about that himself. “That’s definitely one possibility, but somehow that doesn’t ring true. Maybe she’s in on it with him.”
The Consort’s eyes were finally starting to thaw when he looked in Grey’s direction. “What do we do next?”
“Several things. First of all, I want Sandor and Lena take the three kids out of town until this is settled. That will leave six fewer targets for whoever is behind this.”
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