“Yes, well, you know the saying: small packages and all that malarkey.” Daniel was well aware that his five-foot-seven frame and wiry build tended to make people underestimate him, mostly to their own detriment.
Valensia smiled. “That may be but I’ve always preferred to make up my own mind about what they say about smaller men. Size doesn’t always matter as long as the man knows what to do with it.” She chuckled softly.
Daniel’s legs almost gave way. He gripped the back of the chair tightly.
Quinn grinned widely at Daniel’s obvious discomfort.
“I’ve heard a lot about you and the work you do on our behalf is welcomed.” She hesitated. “I was very sorry to hear about your wife. I knew Moira. She was a great woman.”
Daniel nodded. “She was. Thank you.”
Quinn stepped forward. “Right, now we have the introductions all sorted, I’d better let you know that no one’s expecting you here tonight so it’s going to be a bloody great surprise to all of them when they see you.”
Valensia gazed at him in exasperation. “For God’s sake, you didn’t tell them I was coming? I wondered at all the cloak-and-dagger stuff when they brought me up here.”
Quinn shook his head, his smile wolfish. “No, I thought it would have more impact this way and perhaps give that arsehole Barton Smith something to put in his pipe and smoke. I know you can handle them.”
“Talk about putting Valensia on the back foot! That’s typical you, putting the cat amongst the bloody pigeons to see what happens.” Daniel was a little aggrieved at Quinn’s manoeuvre.
Quinn raised his eyebrows at his uncle’s apparent concern. “It looks like you have a champion, Valensia,” he murmured as he went to the door to peer out and see if anyone else had arrived. “Be careful what you wish for, Dan. She can be quite a handful.”
Daniel frowned at Quinn, his face fierce. “Fuck off.”
Quinn’s chuckled quietly and Valensia threw an enigmatic smile his way. Daniel felt very out of his depth.
“Never mind him,” Valensia’s soft tone whispered close to his ear. “He can be a real arrogant sod, I’m sure you know that better than most. And by the way, age really is all in the mind of the beholder.”
Dan was still fairly taken aback by her age comment. Had she been reading his mind? Could witches do that?
Daniel nodded. “He’s always been like that. Sometimes I’ve just wanted to lock him up in a bloody cage and watch him pace up and down like a captive lion whilst throwing pieces of raw meat at him. He has that effect on people.”
There was the scent of jasmine in his nostrils as Valensia moved closer to him.
“Yet still you trust him and still you’d support him no matter what—as would I—so what does that say about us both? Are we both fools or is Quinn more manipulative than we both think?”
Her tone was slightly sad. Daniel looked up into her eyes and saw an emotion there he couldn’t quite fathom. Regret, perhaps?
Daniel sighed. “It says he is who he is and we have to live with it.”
He looked around at the room filling with people, most of them eying out Valensia in appreciation and some of them with downright lust. But she didn’t seem to care that the whole room of men was staring at her with avarice.
Barton Sinclair’s eyes were bugging out, his face almost pink with apoplexy, his hands beating a fierce tattoo on the conference table.
“It looks like Quinn’s plan has worked,” Valensia murmured quietly as she turned to smile at the men in the room. “There is a lot of stiffness and testosterone in this room tonight, something I’m sure he planned as a distraction at my expense. If it’s any consolation, with regards to my earlier comment, I don’t think either of us are fools.”
She laid a soft hand on his arm then released it, moving off to work the room with her charm and beauty.
Daniel found he could breathe again. The woman definitely had an impact; he’d have to admit that. He knew about Quinn’s relationship with her many years ago, and he was flabbergasted that Quinn would decide he preferred men to that specimen of womanhood. There was no accounting for sexual tastes obviously. He sat down at the table and waited for the meeting to begin.
Valensia came over and sat down next to him and there was a slight surge of satisfaction that she’d chosen to do that. He saw Quinn stand straight at the head of the table and stare around the room with an expression that made everyone fall quiet. Once everyone was settled, Quinn smiled briefly at the group and waved in Valensia’s direction.
“Gentlemen. You may have noticed we have someone in the room who certainly isn’t one of our usual members. I’d like to welcome Valensia to this meeting and ask you all to respect who she is and who she represents—the Praetorium of the Witches. I thought it might be useful to have her here to answer any questions about the union between our two organisations as I know some of you have some concerns.”
He smiled but Daniel noticed the smile didn’t quite reach his eyes. “I’ll also have no gym locker talk in this meeting, so please can I ask you all to keep any ribald or sexist humour to yourselves until you get home, or to the mistress’s home or wherever else takes your fancy.”
There was a quiet round of chuckles at his words and then silence.
“We have someone else with us tonight who has contributed to a lot of what we have achieved: Daniel Wickman, head of RAW and also, as some of you may know, my uncle. Daniel has been working with RAW for many years and is also a key member in the Witchhunters Alliance, the people who try to kill us with regularity. I know the members of this council can be trusted. As you all know, Daniel’s position is one of the biggest advantages we have. Whilst I know I shouldn’t have to say it, I will, just for clarity. Daniel’s position in the WA is of utmost secrecy and outside of this room, no one knows about him. It must stay that way.”
His voice was vaguely threatening and Daniel had no illusions about what might happen to someone who broke Quinn’s rule. His nephew could be an unforgiving soul.
“Daniel will answer any questions you have about either of the organisations that he represents. He’ll also be working a little closer with the Praetorium going forward so we can begin to gain an insight as to how this union is benefitting us both.”
Daniel looked at Quinn in surprise; this was news to him. He glanced over at Valensia and saw the quiet smile on her face and he just knew she had been aware of Quinn’s intentions. He felt a little put out at being the last to know.
“Right, so we can call this meeting to order now we’ve all been introduced. I’ll open the floor to questions for Valensia, I think. Ladies first.”
Quinn sat down and loosened his tie, opening the top buttons of his shirt. He winked at Daniel.
Of course, true to expectations, Barton Sinclair was the first to address Valensia with a smarmy smile. “Valensia, it’s good to finally meet you. I was beginning to think Quinn was keeping you all to himself. I can certainly see why, if that was the case.”
“James.” Quinn’s voice was quiet but dangerous, any previous good humour dissipating like a puff of smoke in a breeze.
Barton Sinclair waved a hand in dismissal. “Don’t get your panties in a bunch. I was merely complimenting the lady.”
Valensia leaned forward, her long fingernails tapping impatiently on the table. “Do you have a question for me, James?” she drawled.
“I do. I merely want to know what the Praetorium is bringing to this relationship that we didn’t already have. I have no problem with a union as long as it benefits us but frankly, I’ve never quite seen where Quinn sees this benefit to be.”
Valensia sat back and regarded James thoughtfully. “The Consortium has definitely done a lot to benefit the witches. Your researchers figured out the Book of Shadows. Quinn and his Warlocks also got rid of the Witchfinder General and his new vessel. So we do owe you a debt of gratitude. But I confess I find your question a trifle naive. Do you own a company?”
Barton S
inclair looked a little taken aback by the sudden question. “I do. What has that to do with anything?”
“Have you heard of a little business tradition called networking?” Valensia tilted her head enquiringly.
“Of course I have. It’s a common business practice,” James blustered.
“You speak to people who provide you with information, sales leads, and intelligence and you make valuable allies in your quest to build your business. It’s how you grow and become stronger as a business. Would you agree with that?”
Quinn was smiling and Daniel could see he knew where this was going, as did he.
“I suppose so.” Barton Sinclair looked a little uncomfortable with some of the sly glances and chuckles around the room.
“Then I confess I’m a little confused as to why you wouldn’t see the union between our two organisations being much the same. We share intelligence, we support each other, we make friends and allies and when things go wrong, together we find the solutions. Is that not a very useful alliance to have?”
Valensia reached down and picked up her large handbag sitting by her side. She plonked it loudly on the table and reached inside and took out a large plastic bag, inside which resided some strange-looking object.
“I’m sure you’ll all recognise what this is.” Valensia reached in and took out the object and there was a collective loud gasp of disgust around the table. It was a hand, cut off at the wrist and still covered in dry blood.
Daniel stared at her in awe. The woman had a dismembered hand in her bloody handbag!
“This belonged to a witch who planned to disrupt the last summit we had back in June. I’ve been keeping him on ice especially for a situation like this one. Had he made it through with his plan, many of you sitting around this table may well not be here now. My team got wind of this plot simply through their own vigilance. I dealt with this particular traitor personally. Now, I know a lot of you will say that if we hadn’t had a union, we wouldn’t have had a summit, and hence the problem wouldn’t have occurred. That was what you going to say, wasn’t it, James?”
She looked over at Barton Sinclair who was sitting looking at the lonely hand in fascination, his mouth open as if poised to speak.
Her voice hardened. “But you all know that if it hadn’t been this summit, it could just as well have been another one of your Warlock conferences as this particular witch had a thing against the Consortium. He had a personal axe to grind. So I suppose you could say that I saved your bacon.”
She looked over at Quinn and he acknowledged her words with a wide smile and a wink. “And that I think sums up quite nicely what I think we bring as a benefit to this union.” She looked around the table. “Are there any more questions for me?”
The room remained silent. Valensia sat back, placed the hand back in the bag and sealed it. She took out a small container of antiseptic wipes from her bag and took one out, rubbing it over her hands. She waved at the baggie containing the severed hand. “Not very hygienic having one of those in your bag, but it serves its purpose.”
She put it and the container back in her bag and sat back in her chair. Daniel had never seen such a display of complete confidence and sheer power. It was such a turn-on. He was entranced at the knowledge that if Quinn and Valensia had actually become a couple and had children, it would have indeed been a riveting union and an incredible family dynamic, one that would have definitely been out of this world.
“Gentleman, if there are no more questions for Valensia, I suggest we turn our attention to Daniel.” Quinn’s voice was tinged with amusement and he looked over at Daniel, who drew a deep breath.
Barton Sinclair was talking quietly to Troy, but when Quinn shot a fierce glance in his direction the two men fell quiet.
The door opened and a woman came in bearing a trolley filled with tea, coffee and biscuits. There were a few satisfied murmurs throughout the room.
Quinn chuckled. “Change of plan. Daniel, I know you’ve got a few stories to tell us. I suggest we all help ourselves to a drink then we can get back together in about ten minutes.” He stood up and walked over to Valensia as the men in the room made their way toward the catering trolley.
“Well done,” he murmured quietly as Daniel looked on. “That was unexpected but totally in character. I should have known you’d do something so totally out there.”
He grinned at her with sheer affection and Daniel felt a little jealous, even thought he knew he was being totally unreasonable.
Quinn, my boy, you’ve got a bloody man of your own. You don’t need to charm this woman as well! God, I hate getting older.
Valensia moved closer to Quinn, her hands lightly grasping his bicep, and Quinn’s nostrils flared. She nodded at him in acknowledgement of the compliment. “I’m glad you enjoyed the show. I’m pleased I can still shock you just a little bit.”
Her voice was husky. Quinn moved away from Valensia, a look of slight uncertainty on his face. That expression on his face wasn’t one Daniel would have expected to see from Quinn.
Valensia turned to Daniel and laid a soft hand on his shoulder as she leaned into him. A sense of insignificance assailed him in the presence of this tall, powerful and extremely alluring woman.
“I’m looking forward to what you have to say, Daniel. I’m just parched, though. I need coffee.” She moved over to join the rather willing men at the drinks cart.
Quinn looked at Daniel. “She’s been up to her old tricks again,” he said angrily. “Just as I think I can begin to trust her, she goes and messes it up.”
Despite his perverse feeling of resentment towards his nephew, Daniel was curious about Quinn’s words. “What are you talking about?” he asked, watching Valensia laughing with the group of men around the cart.
Quinn looked at him as if he’d said something he shouldn’t. “Uhm, it’s nothing. Don’t worry about it.”
“I saw your reaction when she touched you.” Daniel said softly. “Something happened to you.”
His nephew looked very ill at ease. “She has this annoying habit of enhancing her Fey side, being half witch, half Fey, and she knows it makes me feel bloody uncomfortable.”
“Ah. I see, that wonderful Fey-Warlock sexual thing. I didn’t realise she was half Fey. I can see that must be a little difficult for you.”
“The woman just can’t accept the fact I’m with Cade. She’s a bloody menace but I need to work with her.”
“Quinn, I heard that.” Valensia’s voice cut in like iced water as she came up behind Quinn. Daniel turned to see her pale face and clenched lips. She looked formidable.
“I have not done anything to attract you, I can assure you, you arrogant prat.” She spoke the words between gritted teeth. “If you’re having urges for me, they’re your own, not due to anything I’m doing.” She glanced down at Quinn’s groin. “Perhaps you should be controlling yourself a little more, or perhaps you’re not getting enough at home.” The witch spat out the words.
Quinn’s face was expressionless. Valensia turned to Daniel. “I think my part of this dog and pony show is over. I shall remain and listen, Quinn, but don’t bloody talk to me. Daniel, it’s been lovely meeting you, which is more than I can say for your imbecile of a nephew. Perhaps we could get together some time for a drink and you can fill me in personally on your work. I think I might like that.”
She handed Daniel a small silver-embossed card. “My number. Call me.”
Valensia moved to the far end of the boardroom table and sat down. Her body language was one that dared anyone to approach her. Daniel thought she might rip off people’s heads and chew on them just for fun. He looked at the card in his hand then up at Quinn’s white face.
“Erm, that didn’t go too well for you. She was really pissed off.”
Privately he was wondering whether there had been any double entendre in her words about “filling her in personally,” or whether it was just perhaps his mind in the gutter. This woman seemed to have that effect on me
n. And for the first time in his life, Quinn seemed lost for words.
“I really thought—” Quinn shook his head as he cut off his own words. “I thought she was trying it on. Shit, she was pissed off with me, wasn’t she?” He looked around to see if anyone else had noticed the heated exchange then glanced at Valensia who ignored him completely.
Quinn looked at the card in his hand. “Daniel—”
“Oh no, don’t you dare get involved. I’m a big boy now. I’ll make my own mind up about things.” Daniel heard the steely determination in his voice. “I can look after myself.”
Quinn shrugged his broad shoulders. “Okay. You do that. Don’t say I didn’t try and warn you.”
He moved away to round up the men for the rest of the meeting. Soon they were seated again listening to Daniel tell them about the latest news from RAW and the latest plans to murder witches by the Witchhunters Alliance.
“They asked me to sanction two killings earlier this week. Witch and Warlock. I did, but it was a touch-and-go situation to try and save them both in time. It was almost like the Honour Whitebrook killings. Something happened to scupper our plans and we had to work twice as hard to get to them.”
Quinn winced at the reminder of the Whitebrook incident.
“But I’m slowly feeling as if I’m running out of time. I think there have been too many last-minute rescues and I think they may be getting a little suspicious. Not of me, per se, but that something isn’t quite right. So I need to be very careful and keep my head down.” He looked around at the serious faces watching him speak. “If I was a real bastard, I’d say I need to let someone die so I build some more trust. But I’m afraid I’m not that man and I can’t do that.”
He was very aware of Quinn’s utter stillness at the head of the conference table as some eyes glanced furtively in his direction. There were still some around the table who believed that Quinn’s decision to delay the rescue of the Whitebrook family had been a stroke of genius and one that Quinn had planned all along to enforce the deaths of the family. But they didn’t get to see the man who had nightmares and woke up soaked in sweat, his face white and his body trembling with grief.
Double Alchemy: Climax Page 25
