by Lisa Edmonds
“I’m okay. Hang on.” I muted the call and set the phone down so I could use the bed to stand up.
Two sets of footsteps rushed up the stairs and down the hall. The bedroom door flew open before I could get to my feet. Sean came in, followed by Nan. They’d apparently heard the thud from downstairs and come running.
“Alice,” Sean said worriedly, crouching next to me. “What happened?”
I sighed. “I’m all right. I had no idea just hearing him speak on the phone would have such a powerful effect.”
Sean’s expression darkened. “Here—let’s get you up.” He lifted me to my feet.
I sat on the bed and shook my head to clear it. “I drank I don’t even know how much of his blood and they put more into my veins through the IV. When he spoke, I just dropped.”
Sean muttered a curse. “If we’d had any other choice—”
“—But we didn’t,” I reminded him. “I’m good. Thanks for running up here, you guys.”
Nan’s frown hadn’t budged. “You need to be resting and not hosting guests. Take care of your phone call and we’ll get going.” She hugged me, much more gently this time. “I’m thrilled about your decision to buy a house. We’ll talk about it again soon.” She headed back downstairs.
Sean lingered, watching me with his brow furrowed.
“I’m okay,” I assured him. “Go on so I can talk to Charles.”
He kissed my forehead. “Let me know when you’re done.” He left, closing the door behind him.
I steeled myself, strengthened my shields as much as I could, and unmuted the call. “Sorry about that, Charles. I tripped and fell.”
He chuckled. “I do not believe you tripped, but I am willing to pretend that is what occurred.”
I shivered hard at his voice, but my shields held. Yay, me.
His tone grew serious. “I was quite relieved to hear you woke. I must confess I was not at all certain you would survive such severe injuries. Your association with the wolves very nearly cost you your life.”
“Don’t start,” I warned him. “My association with the Vampire Court nearly got me killed the night Hawthorne’s was bombed, and again when Kent Stevens shot me. That’s not what I wanted to talk to you about, though. Before I get to that, thank you for saving me. I guess I had to cash in that boon a hell of a lot sooner than I expected to.”
“I do not consider the boon fulfilled,” he said, surprising me. “Or perhaps I shall say, I do not consider it entirely fulfilled. I believe myself to still be in your debt.”
I frowned. “I saved you, you saved me. How does that not make us square?”
“Because I have said we are not.” His voice was crisp. “It is to your advantage that I believe it to be so. Perhaps you should accept this, rather than once again arguing against your own best interest.”
I harrumphed. “I don’t understand, but fine. I’m calling because I would like to purchase some information.”
“Indeed?” I could almost see his ears perk up. “You are employing my services?”
“Possibly. It would depend on whether you’re able to get the information I want and how much that information would cost.”
“We must discuss terms, then,” he said briskly, going into business mode. “Let us treat this transaction as separate from all other business between us.”
That would make negotiations much easier. “Agreed.”
“What information do you seek?”
“I would like to know what Darius Bell plans to do with all the nulls he’s collected.”
“A difficult proposition,” he said thoughtfully. “None of my usual sources will be privy to that knowledge. Discovering it will likely prove costly and somewhat dangerous.”
“Your specialty, in other words.”
He chuckled. “The challenge appeals to me. What do you offer me in return?”
“I have a dagger. A very rare one.”
“Have I been privileged to see this object?”
“You have. I used it on Sunday as part of the ritual that saved you.” I’d noticed him admiring it then and remembered his reaction when Sean asked me what I had to offer Charles in return for the information I wanted. “It’s valuable.”
“Of that I have no doubt. I have rarely seen its equal. But there are many ritual daggers, and while yours is quite lovely, I do not believe it is quite enough compensation given the amount of risk involved in this endeavor.”
“Maybe in itself that might be true, but you’re forgetting one thing: whose dagger it is.”
A pause. “Ah, yes, a fair point. The dagger is resonant with magic.”
“Magic powerful enough to allow someone to cut spellwork or wards without having magic themselves. That makes it very valuable.”
A long silence. Charles was thinking. I waited.
At last, he spoke. “I find myself wondering why this information about Bell’s plans has such value for you.”
“He’s kidnapping mages left and right and holding them prisoner. He took my client’s kid, and then he took my client, and then he took my client’s ex.” Charles already knew that, so there was no point pretending my motives weren’t personal. “He’s planning something—something big—and I want to know what.”
“What do you intend to do with this information?”
“That depends entirely on what you find out.”
“If the dagger is capable of the magic you describe, its value is immense. Perhaps we can reach an agreement if you are willing to add one small item to the purchase price.”
I’d expected at least a little haggling. “And that would be—?”
“I wish to dance with you at the upcoming Court gala.”
My eyebrows went up. “You want to dance?”
“Yes. We have never danced, Alice, and I find myself desiring to do so.”
Given my reaction to hearing his voice, I almost flatly refused, but the gala was nearly a week away. Much of the effects of drinking his blood should have faded by then. “It’s just a dance,” I warned him. “Nothing more. No blood, no bites, no nookie, no nothing.”
“I shall refrain from molesting you in any way.” His tone had a note of humor, which I was glad to hear given the condition he’d been in on Sunday.
“Very well, agreed. The dagger and a dance for the information.”
“I am pleased with our terms. I will begin inquiries.”
“Please let me know as soon as you know something, regardless of the time.”
“Very well. In the meantime, please do rest.”
“I’m going back to bed momentarily,” I assured him. “Thank you, Charles.”
“You are most welcome, Alice. I shall see you soon.”
“Good night.”
We disconnected. With a sigh of relief, I flopped back on the bed and stared up at the ceiling. Out front, I heard engines starting. The others must be leaving.
Sean came upstairs and tapped on the door. “Come in,” I said.
He opened the door and smiled at the sight of me sprawled on the bed. “You look exhausted.”
“I am,” I admitted. “How I can feel so tired after sleeping for almost a full day, I have no idea. You’d think I’d be well-rested.”
“There’s a difference between being unconscious and actual restful sleep,” he said dryly. “You should know that by now, as many times as you’ve experienced it.”
“Some would say I’m a slow learner.” I rolled off the bed and headed for the bathroom. “Charles is going to find out about the nulls.”
Sean joined me in the bathroom. “What was the sale price?”
“That fancy dagger I used on Sunday to save him from the Tepes stone and a dance at the Court gala.”
He frowned. “A dance?”
“Yep. Just a dance.” I smiled wryly. “He’ll regret asking me when he discovers I can’t dance, but it seemed like a harmless request.”
“It had better be.” He pulled his shirt off and dropped it into the h
amper. Mmm. He shook his head. “Don’t look at me like that, Alice. We’re going straight to sleep.”
“Are you sure?” I sidled over to him and started undoing his belt. “I’m fairly certain I have just enough energy for some fun before bedtime.”
He let me undo the belt and the button on his jeans, but when I reached for the zipper, he caught my hand and pressed a kiss to my knuckles. “As much as I’d like to let you keep going, I think I have to insist that we sleep.”
I pulled my top off over my head and tossed it on top of the hamper. “Still insisting on sleep?”
He folded his arms and frowned. “Yes.”
If that pose was supposed to look intimidating, it had the opposite effect. I hadn’t thought it would be possible for him to look any better to me than he already did, but the wolf amulet was like an aphrodisiac, and the way that pose accentuated his shoulders and chest nearly made me weak in the knees.
I slid my hand under the amulet to feel the warmth of the magic it contained and the heat of his skin. His chest rumbled and his eyes went golden. Better.
I unhooked my bra, slid the straps down over my shoulders, and set it on top of the hamper. I kissed him gently, teasing his lip with my teeth as my breasts brushed his chest. His hands rested on my hips and drew me closer. The kiss grew hungrier, but I sensed he was still holding back. Stubborn werewolf. This called for extreme measures.
I turned away from him and slid my jeans off slowly. I stepped out of them on my way to the bathroom door. In the doorway, I turned to glance over my shoulder. His jeans looked uncomfortably tight.
“I’ll just be in the bedroom, in case you change your mind,” I said with a wink. I headed for the bed, putting a little extra sway in my hips as I walked. I heard a rustle of clothes behind me and smiled.
He was on me before I got halfway to the bed.
We did get to sleep eventually, though I got a bit of rug burn first. It was a small price to pay for some very excellent werewolf TLC.
Even after a full night’s sleep, I was far from recovered from burning the werewolf virus from my body. I spent most of Thursday sleeping, waking only to eat and then going right back to bed. Sean stayed with me, working from home and holding me when nightmares plagued my sleep. Most of the pack checked in on me during the day, either by text message or by coming by Sean’s house in person. Sean reassured them I was on the mend, but I needed rest to recover.
By Thursday night, I started to feel more like myself. I showered, ate dinner, and went to bed around eleven, feeling like I’d be back on my feet in the morning with one more night’s uninterrupted rest, and then I could focus on finding Aden and Jana and freeing them from Bell. Their situation gnawed on me incessantly during my involuntary day of rest.
The sound of my phone ringing dragged me from a sound sleep long before dawn, however. Sean grumbled as I untangled myself and fumbled around on the nightstand until I found the phone. I rubbed my bleary eyes until I could read the screen.
I took a deep breath, braced myself, and answered. “Charles?”
“Alice, I apologize for disturbing your rest.” His voice made me shiver hard. “You did wish for me to call if I had the information you requested.”
That cleared the cobwebs from my brain. “That didn’t take long,” I said, surprised.
“Every man has his price,” Charles said. “My profession requires that I know what those prices are. As such, sometimes I am able to expedite matters for my clients.”
“So what did you find out?”
“Bell now has approximately a dozen strong nulls in his employment. Most did not come to work for him voluntarily, but their cooperation has been assured via a combination of promises and threats. They are held in small groups at three locations in the city. Who is kept where is information I do not have at the moment.”
More than a dozen strong nulls was nearly an army. “What’s his plan for them? Defense against another attack from Moses Murphy?”
“I believe they were originally intended as defense, but it would appear Mr. Bell now intends to go on the offense.”
I didn’t like the sound of that—not for Aden and Garrett’s sake, anyway. “What do you know?”
“I do not have all the details as of yet, as my source is not privy to them, but my understanding is that Moses Murphy himself is coming to our city to purchase a weapon he intends to use against Bell.”
Moses was coming here? For a moment, I couldn’t breathe. Shock took my breath away.
Beside me, Sean growled quietly, his eyes going gold as he sensed my reaction. I tried to push the fear away and shake off the paralysis caused by Charles’s news, but I couldn’t. This was my worst fear coming true.
Oblivious to my reaction to his words, Charles continued, “Bell learned of the transaction a few days ago and plans to use the nulls to gain entrance to the location where Murphy will purchase the item in question.”
I rose from the bed and paced. “Murphy will have the weapon brought to a building he owns to make the purchase. He would never risk a transaction like that anywhere but on his own turf. The building will have the same kind of wards Murphy uses to protect his compound.”
“Bell apparently believes a dozen nulls will be capable of breaking the wards on a building that is not Murphy’s primary residence.”
I closed my eyes. Moses’s wards wouldn’t break. The landmines they contained would kill every last one of the nulls, including Aden and his father. I knew that because I’d helped make the wards on Moses’s compound and on a dozen other buildings he owned. Moses never skimped on the deadliness of his wards.
“Alice?” Charles prompted. “Is this information sufficient?”
I opened my eyes and found Sean standing in front of me, his shoulders rigid with tension and worry.
“Can you find out where Bell’s holding Aden and Jana Peters?” I asked.
A long pause. “It is my understanding the Court has advised you not to pursue this line of inquiry.”
“That’s not what I asked.” My hand gripped the phone so tightly that it hurt. “Can you find out or not?”
“It is possible. However—”
“Then please find out. I’ll enhance the wards on your private quarters under 1792 in exchange for the information.”
“I am reluctant to do so if it means you will risk making an enemy of both Bell and Valas.”
My hands shook. “If you don’t find out for me, I’ll find someone who will.”
“I will make inquiries,” he said finally. “But I strongly encourage you to discuss your strategy with me before you act. It is possible that we may contrive a way to extract your client and her son without making it necessary for you to take matters into your own hands.”
“Just get the information and we’ll go from there. Thank you for calling.” I disconnected and set the phone on the nightstand.
Sean took my hand and led me back to the bed. He sat down and pulled me into his lap so he could nuzzle my hair. “What do you know that you didn’t want to tell Vaughan?”
Once again, I thought about telling him I was Moses’s granddaughter, and once again the words died in my throat. He’ll think you’re a monster, I thought. No amount of assurances from Malcolm could silence that terrible inner voice.
I couldn’t let on that I had personal knowledge of Moses’s wards, but I could still tell him what I feared. “No building belonging to the Murphy cabal will have wards that can simply be broken by nulls. If Bell tries to break the wards, all he’ll do is kill the nulls, including Aden and his father. Look what happened when Moses broke the wards at Bell’s compound last month. Almost every mage died.” My magic flared on my fingertips. “They use us as cannon fodder. I won’t let him kill Aden like that, Sean. I won’t.”
“What are our options?”
“Even if I find out where Aden and Jana are being held and get them out, that leaves Garrett and the other nulls. I don’t want them killed either.” I rubbed my face.
“If we go after Aden and Jana, that may put us at odds with Valas and the Court.” He rested his chin on my shoulder. “As much as I hate to say it, Vaughan may have a point asking you to talk strategy with him. If there’s a way to get Aden and his mom out, he’ll know what it is.”
I stilled.
His arms tightened around me. “Alice, tell me what you’re thinking.”
“Every man has his price, even Bell.” I moved so I could see his face. “It would be a very steep price, but he has one, and I think I know what it might be.”
His expression darkened. “You are not for sale,” he said flatly. “Not at any price. Not to Vaughan, not to Bell, not to the Court, not to anyone.”
“Sean, I need you to hear me out on this.”
“No. Damn it, no. You already had to escape a cabal once and you’ve been in hiding ever since. I will not let another cabal get its hands on you, not even for this kid.”
“I don’t intend to let a cabal get its hands on me. In fact, I intend to take great pains to make sure that doesn’t happen.” I squeezed his hand. “But I am not going to do anything unless you agree it’s the right course of action.”
He didn’t say anything for a long time. Finally, he kissed my temple. “I realize saying that represents a huge step for you. Not so long ago, you’d have gone ahead with your plan regardless of what I thought. The least I can do is hear you out, but you should know the odds of me agreeing to this are slim to none.”
My mouth quirked. “Would it help if I told you Charles plays a pretty significant role in my plan?”
He looked even more grim. “No, it would not, but let’s hear it.”
The phone rang three times. I glanced at the clock. It had taken me damn near forty-five minutes to talk Sean into agreeing to my plan, and now dawn was only minutes away. Pick up, pick up, pick up, I thought.
Just as I thought I would have to leave a message, Charles’s voice came on the line. “Alice, this is an eleventh-hour call.” To my relief, he sounded fully awake.
“I know, and I’ll keep it short.” I spoke quickly. “I would like to employ your services as a broker. I have something to sell, I know the buyer who will want it, and you stand to make a truckload of money.”
