Date: 2000-01-01 05:00:00+00:00
Keywords: Paranormal; Romance; Urban Fantasy; Fantasy; Vampires; Shapeshifters; Paranormal Romance; Werewolves; Suspense
Description: Betrayal. Vengeance. Loyalty. Dark forces are at work in the epic conclusion of the USA Today bestselling Crossbreed series. Raven has come a long way since joining Keystone. She embraced her Vampire side, learned to work with others, and even fell in love. But how far is she willing to go for the greater good? When Viktor receives an anonymous tip regarding the whereabouts of the most notorious oligarchs in the Breed world, Keystone’s courage is put to the test. The stakes are high—one wrong move could have catastrophic consequences. In a shocking turn of events, Christian’s recent disappeara

EVILDOER

CROSSBREED SERIES

BOOK TWELVE

DANNIKA DARK

Evildoer: Crossbreed Series Book 12

All Rights Reserved

Copyright © 2022 Dannika Dark

No part of this book may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the Author. You must not circulate this book in any format. The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book via the Internet without permission of the author is illegal and punishable by law. Thank you for respecting the rights of the Author.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

Edited & proofread by Victory Editing and Red Adept. Cover design by Dannika Dark. All stock purchased.

www.dannikadark.net

Created with Vellum

CONTENTS

Summary

Also By Dannika Dark:

Dedication

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Chapter 30

Back Cover

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About the Author

SUMMARY

Crossbreed Series: Book 12

Betrayal. Vengeance. Loyalty. Dark forces are at work in the epic conclusion of the USA Today bestselling Crossbreed series.

Raven has come a long way since joining Keystone. She embraced her Vampire side, learned to work with others, and even fell in love. But how far is she willing to go for the greater good?

When Viktor receives an anonymous tip regarding the whereabouts of the most notorious oligarchs in the Breed world, Keystone’s courage is put to the test. The stakes are high—one wrong move could have catastrophic consequences. In a shocking turn of events, Christian’s recent disappearance reveals secrets that could ruin him. The past is finally catching up, and Raven is faced with her greatest decision yet—one that could seal her fate forever.

Will Keystone deliver the justice these men deserve, or will the cost be greater than the reward? Find out in this powerful conclusion to the Crossbreed series.

The hardest demons to conquer are often our own.

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ALSO BY DANNIKA DARK:

THE MAGERI SERIES

Sterling

Twist

Impulse

Gravity

Shine

The Gift

MAGERI WORLD

Risk

NOVELLAS

Closer

THE SEVEN SERIES

Seven Years

Six Months

Five Weeks

Four Days

Three Hours

Two Minutes

One Second

Winter Moon

Seven Series Companion: An Insider’s Guide

SEVEN WORLD

Charming

THE CROSSBREED SERIES

Keystone

Ravenheart

Deathtrap

Gaslight

Blackout

Nevermore

Moonstruck

Spellbound

Heartless

Afterlife

Quicksilver

Evildoer

THE BLACK ARROWHEAD SERIES

The Vow

The Alpha

DEDICATION

As Seneca once said (also in a song by Semisonic), every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end. When I began writing Crossbreed, I was wrapping up my beloved Seven series. Just as readers do, writers grieve the ending of a journey. So I treat the ending of every series with love and respect.

Raven and Christian have left a mark on my heart as they are so real to me that they transcend the page. Viktor’s leadership and vulnerability inspire me. I’ll miss the banter between Shepherd and Wyatt and the unique friendship that Gem and Niko share. Claude is a sweet but sexy soul, and I was glad to be able to explore some of his past, as I did with each and every character. Blue’s story in particular was heartbreaking, but her resilience and fortitude will only strengthen the team as the years go by. I’ll always have a soft spot for Crush and his new pal Harley. Writing his scenes with Raven and Christian was unimaginably fun. And then there’s Hunter, a strong little man with selective mutism. His journey was never about someone fixing him, because he’s perfect just as he is. Hunter needed a home, stability, acceptance, reassurance, and people who loved him.

They all did.

I hope that this book will answer many of the lingering questions you’ve had through the series. My endings are always written in a way that readers can ponder the characters and what they might be doing. That’s when you know you’ve created something real.

Thank you for taking this journey with me and holding these characters close to your heart. I hope you will follow my next adventure to see where it leads, because all roads are never the same. Each series feels unlike the last, and I always want to offer something different within the Mageriverse. So sit back and enjoy the final full-length novel in the Crossbreed series.

The woods are lovely, dark and deep,

But I have promises to keep,

And miles to go before I sleep,

And miles to go before I sleep.

– Robert Frost

CHAPTER 1

I never thought the dead would drive me out of my own home. After everyone piled into the vehicles, I turned out of the driveway in my blue pickup truck, reminded that home was a fluid concept that never remained permanent. My childhood home burned to the ground, and that defining moment paved the life that followed. Flames were always licking at my heels, reminding me that happiness wouldn’t last.

I slowed down when the black van in front of us reached the gates.

Viktor stuck his fingers inside the bench seat, feeling around.

“If you’re looking for the lap belt, it’s long gone,” I said. “Don’t worry; I’ll try not to kill us.”

Gem unbuckled her seat belt. “Trade places with me.”

“Nyet. I will entrust my life with Raven,” our fearless leader replied, folding his arms. Viktor gave me a charming smile, one that must have attracted many women over the years, silver fox that he was.

I turned right after passing the front gate. “No pressure.”

“Don’t you love my new boots?” Gem had been admiring her white ankle boots all morning. They were chunky, and the heel gave her about three or four inches of height. I glanced at her ensemble—a white fur jacket and a splash of color from the pale-pink leggings. Only Gem could pull off an outfit like that. She was the definition of pizzazz.

“These boots are my New Year’s gift to myself,” she boasted. “Some cultures believe you should always wear new clothes to start a fresh new year.” She sighed grimly and pressed her face to the window as we passed wolf statues placed all along the property wall. “Viktor, they’re beautiful. And there are so many.”

Viktor had ordered them weeks ago after the battle on our property. The workers had spent the previous day placing them on concrete mounts, each bearing a small plaque with a name.

“I ordered one for every Shifter lost,” he said, his words sobering. “That includes the two lions from Samba’s pride. I placed the lions on each corner.”

“I bet the packs respect what you did for them,” she said.

“I did not do it for them. They are not aware of my actions. These are for us—so Keystone will never forget their sacrifice. You will always remember that day, and should anyone new enter our group, they will know the story.”

Gem clutched his shoulder. “Oh, Viktor. It’s tragic they can’t live their lives. Those poor souls were so brave and selfless. It doesn’t seem fair. We couldn’t die because of Sparrow’s curse, but they gave up everything.”

It had only been a few weeks since the battle against Sparrow and his Vampire minions. We’d meticulously collected and removed the Vampire remains from the property. After that, we stayed busy scrubbing away blood, repairing damaged walls and windows, and restoring the Keystone estate to its original glory.

“When do you think we can go back?” I asked, feeling uneasy about a stranger alone in our home.

“That will depend on how successful she is. I was told we should be home by this evening.” Viktor tilted the vent downward.

It was almost eleven in the morning, and we had roughly eight hours to kill.

I turned on the blinker. “I don’t understand why Wyatt can’t exorcise all the ghosts himself. He’s a Gravewalker. Isn’t that what they do? Deal with the dead?”

Gem giggled. “Wyatt’s always had an aversion to ghosts. He said that one of them walked in while he was taking a bubble bath and got in the tub with him. Then the ghost started talking about all the ways he was going to have him murdered.”

I hit a pothole before turning onto the main road. “Well, I hope this crackpot doesn’t rob us blind. We’re leaving her alone with no supervision. Maybe you should have one of us stay there, Viktor. Even if it’s just Kira.”

“I trust this Gravewalker. She comes with many… recommends.”

“I think you mean references,” Gem said. “Is it really necessary that we all leave?”

Viktor stretched out his legs. “She cannot banish the dead as long as we are there to hold their attention.”

Gem bounced forward and met eyes with me. “It creeps me out to think how many of them inhabited our home. Now that I know what it’s like to see ghosties, I haven’t had a peaceful shower in weeks. I keep thinking one of them is in there with me, watching.” She shuddered and sat back.

“Doesn’t bother me,” I admitted. “As long as I can’t see or hear them, they don’t exist.” I looked out my window at the snow and muttered, “The only ghosts I care about are the ones that are still alive.”

My thoughts drifted to events in my past, and I quickly shut them away. Sometimes that box opened just a crack, and if I didn’t put the lid back on, the nightmares slipped out.

After we parked the vehicles outside a Mexican restaurant, Blue trudged across the empty parking lot toward my truck. Snow clung to her black boots, which were tall and kept her pants dry. A gust of wind blew back the hood on her brown leather jacket, revealing her piercing blue eyes and a tangle of long hair. “Viktor, are you sure they’re open? There’s no one here, and they don’t have the neon lights turned on.”

Viktor secured his scarf and held it as we marched toward the door. When the frigid wind blustered through the parking lot, Gem squealed and ran ahead of us. After three knocks, a Hispanic man unlocked the door.

“Hola, Viktor! ¿Cómo estás? It’s so good to see you, my friend.” He patted Viktor’s arm and pulled him through the doorway. “Come inside where it’s warm. Welcome. Welcome,” he said to each of us.

Once we were all inside, the short man with a friendly smile locked the door and then circled back in front of us. “Welcome to Tia’s Taqueria. Tia is mi esposa. I am Tomás, your host. You may sit anywhere you like, but we reserved the private room just for you,” he said, gesturing to an adjoining room on the right. “Mi casa es su casa.” He nodded at Viktor. “My people will take care of all your needs. The taco bar is open, margaritas are on the way, and we have warm sopapillas and honey coming right out.” He approached Hunter and anchored his fists on his hips. “And what’s your name?”

Hunter ducked behind Shepherd.

Tomás gave a raucous laugh and handed the boy a round lollipop. “You need some ice cream. Then you will be bouncing off the walls and talking our ears off.” He turned away and spoke to the workers behind the counter in Spanish.

Gem clasped her hands together. “I adore Spanish! It’s so rhythmic, and I can understand every word. It’s one of the languages I inherited in my Relic genes. It’s so much easier to understand than the ones I’ve had to teach myself.”

Wyatt took off his jacket, proudly displaying a T-shirt that said: Taco Tango with a picture of two tacos dancing. “Are you telling me you rented this place out for the whole day? Beautiful women? Bottomless tacos?” Wyatt’s eyes lit up, and he pitched his beanie onto a nearby table.

The warm restaurant was a welcome respite on a bleak winter day. Not many people went out on New Year’s Day in our city, and the heavy snow kept most indoors. Straight ahead was a wraparound counter where customers could sit and eat. The main room had a massive mural on the back wall. I’d never seen so much color—yellows, deep reds, and blood orange with a dark-blue ceiling. Archways separated the seating areas, and in the center was a large taco buffet. Wyatt had already grabbed a plate and was filling it up.

Blue chuckled. “I guess tacos are just the appetizer?”

The ceiling had twinkle lights strung across it, and the cozy feel made me want to take my jacket off and stay for a few hours.

Blue, Claude, and I followed Viktor into the private room on the right. Tomás and his staff had beautifully set a long wooden table. It was the only table that didn’t have colorful Mexican tiles on it.

Viktor sat at the head and faced the entrance. “Please indulge yourselves. I paid extra for them to open. We can stay all day, eat and drink as much as we like—they are fully staffed. If you grow restless and want to leave, you can come back anytime before seven. They have cooks at our disposal.”

Claude sat across from me. “That’s generous. I prefer this to sitting around a hotel lobby.”

Two waiters ushered in the drinks, placing iced water and tea in front of all the seats before leaving.

Viktor studied his menu. “The hotels were all booked up. I asked Wyatt what his thoughts were, and he suggested a restaurant. I have the money, but it is not always easy to find someone willing to work on their day off. Tomás is a good friend—a trusted human who donates much to his community. I know him through charity work.”

Blue snorted. “Spooky thinks with his stomach. At least they have a TV,” she said, glancing at the upper corner behind Viktor’s chair. “We can keep an eye on the weather and see if more snow is coming.”

“Five inches is all I can take,” I said, leaning back in my chair.

Wyatt sat to my left with a plate of tacos. “Somehow I doubt that.”

After setting two plates on our side of the table, Shepherd smacked Wyatt on the back of the head. “Keep it up, Spooks, and I’ll make you into a piñata.”

Wyatt spooned salsa onto his tacos. “I just wish we’d come here on Tuesday.”

Blue reached for one of the giant bowls of fresh tortilla chips they’d put out and sat next to Claude. “Why?”

He flipped out a cloth napkin and laid it across his lap. “Because it’s Taco Tuesday. That’s the official taco day. All the humans talk about it.”

I used my straw to dunk ice cubes in my glass. “Do they taste better on Tuesday?”

Everyone laughed.

I glanced into the main room and observed Gem guiding Niko around the establishment so he could learn the layout. We’d also invited Kira and Switch, which wasn’t something we usually did, especially Kira. Since everyone had to vacate the premises, we thought it best to all stay together. Kira sat at the far end of the table, her gaze shifting from one colorful piece of décor to another.

Switch swaggered up in his bad-boy leather jacket and sat across from Shepherd. His tangled hair fell past his shoulders, and his circle beard had grown out, filling in the sides of his face. His wolfish eyebrows slanted down as he looked at his two plates. Switch had an intense gaze and a rough appearance, but he couldn’t be more serious when it came to education.

I chuckled. “Are you sure two plates are enough? We haven’t even ordered yet.”

He unzipped his jacket and grinned at his messy tacos. “Honey, I’m just getting warmed up.”

“Amen,” Shepherd replied before shoving a taco into his mouth.

When everyone was finally seated, the waiters appeared. Gem conversed with them entirely in Spanish, and though I didn’t speak it, I understood one part of it when she gestured to her glass.

Wyatt finished his first taco, listening with rapt attention to their conversation. He plucked a tiny Mexican flag from a toothpick holder and waved it. “Any Everclear you got back there, just put it all in my glass, por favor.”

Blue stood. “I can already tell this is going to be a long day. Let me see if they have a remote for the TV.”

After I finished ordering a beef enchilada plate with Spanish rice and refried beans, I got up to have a look around. We had a windowless room, so I felt closed in with all the talking. I sat at the counter and watched a guy making fresh tortillas. Though my father would enjoy this, the last thing I needed was him driving in treacherous weather.

Switch sat on the barstool next to me, a beer in hand. “How many languages does that girl speak?”

“Who? Gem?” I admired the speed with which the man in the kitchen made the tortillas. “Seventeen? Twenty? Something like that. She pays attention when we go out. Always listening, always learning.”

“Sounds like something a Relic would do.” He sipped his beer.

I couldn’t recall if Gem had ever mentioned to him that she was born a Relic, so I left the topic alone. “I know she speaks Mandarin, Russian, Spanish, and I think Arabic.”

“She’s a sweet girl. It’s interesting.”

“What’s interesting?”

He slowly took off his leather jacket, revealing a skintight T-shirt beneath. “She comes across as a little ditzy. Purple hair, tall shoes, funky clothes, always floating in the pool or skating around the mansion. You’d never know she was a bookworm. I catch her reading in the libraries a lot. I don’t know why she projects a different image.”

I stared at the owl tattoo on his muscular bicep. “I’m sure you wouldn’t know anything about that, would you?”

He glanced down at his attire. “I see your point. I just think she could attract better men if she let everyone know she has a brain.”

I stole his beer and sipped it. “If you think the women of Keystone are pinning their hopes on finding a husband, think again. We’re here because that’s not what we want in life.”

He gave me a one-sided grin before tucking his hair behind his ear. “That’s not what I hear. Word on the street is you’re engaged.”

I swiveled toward him.

He reached out and pressed his finger to my lips. “Don’t embarrass yourself. Everyone saw the banner trailing from the plane. Maybe nobody else knew what it meant, but I’ve heard Christian call you Precious more than once.”

“The banner was just a diversion.”

“Is that right?” He eased back on his elbow as if he might call my bluff. “I guess Crush wouldn’t mind if I let him in on the joke.”

“If you tell him, I’ll cut your throat in your sleep.”

“Ahh!” He caught my arm when I tried to get up. “You don’t get off that easy. We’re stuck in here all day, and if you think I’m letting this go, you’re mistaken.”

I sighed and reluctantly sat back in my seat. “Don’t say anything. Not yet.”

Switch scratched the back of his neck. “Do you think Christian’s a mate who will stick around? Vampires are loners, Raven.”

In the other room, the television was competing with the music on the speakers. “Do you forget who you’re talking to?”

“You’re only half,” he pointed out. “But he’s whole. It’s against his nature.”

“Don’t buy into the urban legend. Most of them stayed single out of necessity. We all need someone. Vampires are loners for a reason, and it has to do with their history and lifestyle.”

Before he could reply, an attractive waitress sauntered up and asked if we needed anything. Switch was not only a flirt but undeniably handsome. His features were sculpted, his brows pensive, and he always had a look on his face like he might lean in and kiss you with those soft lips. The woman blushed when he complimented her necklace. He was very respectful when it came to flirting with women—never touching them, never leering. And that was hard considering Switch was a Shifter who had different dating rituals among his own kind. With humans, he merely smiled, winked, and that was enough.

He admired her as she walked around the counter to the kitchen.

“You’re the one who needs to get mated,” I suggested.

He waggled his eyebrows. “Maybe in twelve more years.”

I frowned, uncertain where he came up with that number.

“That’s when Hunter turns eighteen,” he reminded me. “Then I’m free to go.”

“And where will you go, Switcharoo?”

“I don’t know yet. Maybe I’ll join a pack or start up a university for Breed. We don’t have our own schools. Most of the kids either get shoved into human schools or we’re taught at home. Good teachers with a broad knowledge base aren’t easy to find. If you limit what a kid learns, you limit what they’ll become. I’ve seen it too often with packs. The kids learn a trade from someone in the family, and that’s what they grow up to do. Some of those kids are damn smart and could have easily been a doctor or scientist. Who says Relics have to be the only counselors and medical specialists out there?”

“I can see you doing something like that.”

One arm resting on the counter, he turned on his stool to face me. “Where’s Christian?”

“For a minute there, I thought we might have a real conversation.”

He shrugged. “Usually I cut through the bullshit, but I didn’t want to upset you right off the bat. We just got here, and I like hanging out with you. We haven’t had a chance to sit down and shoot the breeze since before the battle. Everyone’s been busy.”

Facing forward, I looked across my shoulder at him. “The second you think there’s trouble in paradise, you swoop in.”

“It’s not like that. I just wondered why the love of your life flew the coop.”

“He’s only been gone for two days. I like my alone time too. I know it’s hard to believe, but I don’t have to know where he is at all times. I trust him.”

Switch lifted his bottle. “You don’t even know where he is? Don’t you think it’s a little suspicious he wouldn’t tell you that much?”

“I’ve taken off to see Crush without telling anyone.”

“For two days?” Switch glanced around the empty room. “If you were gone for two days without telling him, he’d lose his fucking mind thinking something had happened to you.”

“And how do you know?”

“Because that’s what you do when you love someone. Maybe I’m a little curious as to why you haven’t lost your shit.”

I wasn’t certain how to answer. I loved Christian with every fiber of my being. We had a mutual understanding that we were each entitled to our private time. Christian would never cheat on me—of that I was certain. And he knew how to take care of himself, so I never worried that his absence meant he was in danger. I often went to hang out with my dad without telling him. He never asked because our trust went both ways. Why were people suddenly placing rules all over our relationship that fit within their norms but not ours?

“Switch, next time just ask me if I’ve seen Christian. And only ask if you genuinely want to know, not because you’re trying to stir up trouble and pry into my personal life.”

He held up his hands. “I’m not prying. I just want to be sure you’re okay.”

I reached for a bowl of peppermints on the bar and ate one. “I’m not gonna defend the way I choose to love and be loved. I know you’re looking out for me because we go way back, but you’re walking on thin ice when you start judging me.”

“I wasn’t judging you.”

I slid off my stool. “It felt like judgment. Look, I don’t hold grudges or anything. I know you’re coming from a good place, but my life isn’t an open book.”

“Fine. I’ll just close the pages and read something else.” He rested his elbows on the counter behind him. “Why did Viktor pick a taqueria instead of a bar? We could have at least had a few dart boards or pool tables.”

I played with my heart pendant. “This was Wyatt’s pick. You’re lucky we didn’t end up in an arcade or strip club. I bet most of the Breed bars are busy today, snow or not. A bar’s no place for Hunter.”

“True.”

We walked toward the private room and then lingered by the archway at the entrance, both of us looking at the television.

A reporter in a pink hat stood outside a building, snow pelting her in the face. “Police have no information regarding the whereabouts of the body. Troy, back to you.”

“Sounds fishy.” Switch reached through the opening in the archway and laid down his leather jacket across a bench seat against the corner wall.

“What’s that all about? I don’t watch much TV.”

“Second body in two days. When a body goes missing from a morgue, you know what that means.”

“Breed,” I said, remembering my first days as an immortal. “Do you think it was a newly made Vampire?”

He gave me a peculiar look. “What makes you say that?”

“Sometimes Vampires fake a death so the youngling can be declared dead in the human world. That way no one is out looking for them since they’re not considered a missing person.”

He folded his arms, and I could tell he was wondering all sorts of things about me. “I don’t think it’s that. They said no signs of a struggle, which rules out Vampires since they make a mess with all the blood. Sounds more like someone got killed by a juicer.”

“What makes you say that?”

“Anytime there’s a crime, insiders check if it’s Breed. They get rid of the bodies if it is.”

“I know about them. They work in every field. Cops, hospital workers, probably lawyers.”

We both had a chuckle.

Switch leaned against the brick archway by the window. “They found a body last week. It was an unusual death according to the coroner’s report, and they deemed it a homicide.”

“Coroner’s report. If they weren’t removed from the morgue, that means they were human.”

He aimed his fingers at me like a gun and clicked his tongue. “You got it.”

I steered my gaze to the windows behind him. “So you think they juiced a human, and now they’ve upgraded to Breed?”

“Sometimes those light addicts start with humans because they’re frail and can’t fight back. Humans die easily, and I don’t think their light’s all that strong. Sounds like the sloppy work of a rogue. Could also be a feeder,” he suggested, referring to Vampires with blood addictions. “They didn’t mention cause of death. If it was a Vampire, they probably wouldn’t want to say anything since they’d be drained. People would freak out. Conspiracy theorists would have a field day. Most folks would probably pin it on a cult though.”

“If it is a blood addict, it seems like picking off humans would be the easier choice. They don’t taste any different than Breed. Why start targeting Breed, who would be more difficult to kill?”

He curled his lip, clearly disgusted with facts. “The more humans you kill, the more cops on the streets. Most feeders have hunting grounds, and a lot of bodies turning up would shut it down real quick. It’s easier with Breed. We collect bodies from the morgue and erase evidence and memories. The trouble is, when the news starts reporting the stories, you can’t steal the bodies without it getting noticed.”

“Sounds like someone needs to hire a tracker and find the killer.”

“The higher authority won’t do anything about juicers and feeders, so usually it falls on sentries—those guys who patrol the streets. Whoever’s behind it is probably more concerned about keeping cops away from his hunting ground than anything. That’s why they switched over to Breed.”

“Maybe you should have been a detective.”

“I’ve been watching this stuff play out for years. If you pay attention to the news, you’ll see it too. You can bet the cops are working to bury the story even though they’ll probably be dealing with more murders. Missing bodies make them look incompetent. Just another day in Cognito.” Switch rubbed his hands together as a parade of servers carried in the food. “I should have worn bigger pants.”

While he followed behind the food procession, I glanced out the window at the snowy parking lot. A white owl was sitting atop my truck, and I almost didn’t notice him until he twisted his head around. We stared at each other for a long time. Why was Houdini here? The last I’d seen of him, he had decided to remain half-dead in the shadow realm. Since we’d never recovered any additional jewelry taken from Lenore’s party, I wasn’t certain of his fate.

Perhaps he’d shown up to fill me in, but I wasn’t about to let Houdini rain on my fiesta.

CHAPTER 2

As much as I loved tequila, I stuck with the tea during lunch. The food was tremendous, and the staff went out of their way to make it a memorable visit. All of us planned to pitch in for a generous tip. Despite the festive atmosphere, I couldn’t get over seeing Houdini in the parking lot.

After rising from my chair, I slipped on my leather jacket. “I’m heading out for a while,” I announced, pulling a black beanie from my coat pocket and putting it on. “I feel like being alone for a while.”

I could have said I was going to check out the roads or see what was open, but that might invite others to join. No one paid attention as I grabbed my keys and headed outside.

My breath fogged the wintry air as my black boots crunched across the fresh snow. I scanned the empty parking lot—no sign of Houdini. Once inside the truck, I slammed the door and fired up the engine. It purred like a hungry lion, and the wipers came on, flicking snow left and right.

Houdini’s owl suddenly landed on my hood. I kept waiting for him to shift, wondering if he’d still be dressed in the gothic red-and-black attire from the winter ball last month. Houdini would never shift around my team—he didn’t want people I knew to see him, let alone know his secrets.

When he flapped his large wings and flew off, I watched him glide over to a stop sign and wait patiently until I pulled out of the parking lot. The road was easy to navigate since the tire tracks kept me from striking the curb. After a few more turns, I realized we weren’t heading toward the Breed district or anything familiar. His owl stayed ahead of me, and anytime it got too far away, it would land on something and wait. Eventually I wound up on a road that led out of the city.

“This is ridiculous,” I grumbled. “If you want to talk, just pick a diner. It’s too cold to stand in the fucking woods.”

Curiosity led me on. When the turns grew familiar and he flew up a private country road, I realized exactly where we were going.

Christian’s house—or Château Cinderblock, as I liked to call it—was nestled deep in the woods. He’d bought the land as a place to get away. No electricity, no people. My heart sped up at the thought that something might be wrong. The private road turned into a dirt pathway, so I had to follow Houdini to avoid getting stuck since there were no tracks to follow. Trees stood against the white backdrop like burnt matchsticks, their branches bejeweled with pendants of ice that hung like glistening diamonds. Houdini’s owl landed in a pine tree and waited when my wheels spun in the mud. Not wanting to get stuck, I backed up and then drove forward again, regaining traction. His owl soared ahead and landed on the windowless structure. Christian’s bike was out front, the seat covered in a layer of snow.

When I shut off the engine, I recalled a conversation I’d had with Houdini where he suggested Christian might have a bloodslave. With that in mind, I got out of the truck, sickened that Houdini might have been right all along. This wasn’t how I wanted to find out.

When I glanced up, Houdini’s owl ascended to the skies and flew away. He didn’t want to get involved. He wanted to show me.

Show me what?

Christian should have heard me coming, so why hadn’t he come out?

The trees chattered as icy limbs swayed into each other.

I noticed there weren’t any footprints around the door, so I took a deep breath before opening it. Light poured into the dark, empty room. He normally kept an old mattress on the floor, but it was leaning up against the right wall behind the small table and chair. Aside from the strip of light coming in, the room was painted in shadows. As I turned away, something caught my eye that I’d never seen before—chains mounted on a wall. I drew closer, staring at the length. Just enough to allow a person to sit. Then I saw the broken shackles.

Anger flooded my veins like hot magma.

“Raven…”

I spun on my heel. Christian stood in the open doorway, white light silhouetting him. Snow covered his worn lace-up boots, and his pants below the knee were wet with a glaze of frost covering the fabric. I noticed small twigs and pine needles on his tight black shirt. But what really stood out was the look on his face, like someone had caught him with his hand in the cookie jar.

I adjusted my knit hat, feeling like a volcano about to erupt. “I didn’t want to believe it was true. I kept telling myself you weren’t the type of man who would deceive me.” I stalked forward and slapped him. “How could you lie to me?”

Being a Vampire, he wasn’t fazed by the slap. He just stood there with a blank expression.

“This is worse than you having an affair.”

He dipped his chin, his voice lower than usual. “Raven, what do you think is happening here?”

“Where did you bury the body? Am I going to find a graveyard out back filled with your victims?”

“This is not what you think.”

“I think we’re past lying.”

“Aye, that we are. But this isn’t what it seems. It’s much worse.”

“Worse than keeping a bloodslave? Do tell.”

“A bloodslave? Is that what you think of me?” He gestured to the chair. “Sit down, and I’ll tell you everything.”

“I’d rather stand.”

“If you wish.” Christian strode into the room toward the chains and stared quietly at them. He turned his head sharply toward the door and then closed it. I listened to his footfalls move around the room until he struck a match and lit several candles on the table. “Are you warm enough?” He collected his trench coat from the table and handed it to me.

I put my hands in my coat pockets, my back to the door. “Not one more lie better come out of your mouth.”

He draped the coat over the back of the chair and mirrored my stance. “Do you remember when Houdini kidnapped you?”

“Yes.”

“And after that, how he sold you on the black market?”

“I don’t need a recap.”

Christian chewed on his lip for a minute. “When we found you with your Creator, he got away.”

“I’m aware.”

“Raven, he never got away.”

Dizzy, I stumbled over to the chair and sat.

Christian knelt in front of me. “I tracked him down and kept him here. I’ve had Fletcher Black in my possession this entire time.”

My heart raced at a frantic beat, and I wrung my hands. How had he been able to keep this from me? I tried to piece it together. “Is this where you come when you disappear at night? Or when you take off at random times?”

“Aye.”

I thought about all those nights. I’d always assumed he was going to a bar or enjoying a long drive on his bike. I remembered Lenore’s party when we needed a place to lie low and how Christian was quick to reject this place as a temporary refuge.

No wonder. We would have walked in and found my Creator chained to the wall.

My eyes settled on a trunk a few feet in front of me, and I realized this was where Christian had come to change clothes back when we were staying at the Flamingo Hotel.

So many secrets.

I flicked my eyes back to his. “Were you feeding off him?”

“I don’t deny that I once had a blood addiction, but that was Lenore’s blood. I didn’t drink from every bloodbag on the streets. I won’t deny that I indulged in the occasional drink, but that can be said for all Vampires. That wasn’t why I brought him here.”

I wiped my hand over my face, still in disbelief. “Fletcher was here? This whole time? You had him?”

He stood with his head down. “Aye.”

Incensed, I shot up and cut around him. All the trauma resurfacing was pulling me under like quicksand. Tears welled in my eyes when I looked at the chains and remembered all the horrible things I endured—the humiliation Fletcher inflicted on me and reveled in. “Why didn’t you tell me!”

“Because you weren’t ready. You were having nightmares. I wanted to give him to you, but not before he paid for all the pain and suffering he put you through. And then you were getting better, and I was afraid that giving him to you would make you suffer all over again. So I kept him here.”

I wiped my eyes with the heels of my hands. “Where is he?”

“I don’t know.”

I spun around and erased the distance between us. “What do you mean you don’t know?”

“Has it crossed your mind why I might have been missing for two days? I’d never go that long without telling you first. When I came here, the chains were broken, and he was nowhere to be found. I’ve been searching day and night, thinking he might be hiding somewhere in the woods.” Christian pinched his chin and averted his eyes. “I can’t see how he would have gotten far. He was emaciated and weak. I suspect he escaped before the snow since there weren’t any tracks to follow. I’ve been walking these woods for days. When I heard your truck coming, I knew I’d have explaining to do.”

I was only half listening since my brain was spinning. “You’ve had him for over a year?” I pounded my fists against his chest. “A year?”

“And I would have kept him for longer.” Christian snared my wrists in his hands and lowered my arms. “Do you remember the vow I made? I’ve kept him here, delivering the same neglect, the same torture and humiliation that he put upon you.”

“No. Not the same.” I jerked my arms free. “You lied to me.”

“I never lied. I just never told you.”

“You had no right… I—” My speech faltered as I tried to take it all in. Fletcher haunted my dreams, and I wasn’t certain I’d ever be over what he’d done to me. I couldn’t fathom what might have happened had I walked in and found him here. Would I have cowered? Would I have tortured or killed him? Even I didn’t know.

In the dim candlelight, Christian took a deep breath and looked upward, his body rigid. “I never wanted it to happen this way. I never meant to hurt you.” He stalked to the table and rested his palms on it. “If you don’t understand what I’ve done, that’s something I can live with. The horrors he put you through will never leave my mind any more than they’ll leave yours. If violence is the only means to ease your suffering, then I would gladly have tortured him for another century.” Christian slammed his fist on the table, cracking it down the center. “I’ll not apologize!”

“I never asked for an apology. I only wanted to trust you.”

He rushed toward me and gripped my shoulders. “Don’t you understand? You can. Everything I did was to protect you. If I turned him in, they would have learned about your creation. Do you know what they do to rogues like you? Viktor might have pleaded on your behalf, but the higher authority would have handed you over to the Mageri. And if they looked at your history of murder, they could have deemed you unfit for immortality. I’ve seen it happen, Raven. They execute those they perceive as a threat. You work for Keystone, but doing what? Murder, that’s what. They won’t look kindly on your situation.” Christian caressed my arms as he lowered his hands. “I almost killed him. Then… something dark possessed me. I wanted him to suffer.”

Dizzy, I made my way back to the chair. My energy was starting to spiral, and I had to level it down before I passed out. “I need to sit.”

When I did, Christian got on both knees and rested his arms on my lap. His bottomless eyes stared up at mine, summoning goose bumps on my arms. “I would tear down the world for you.”

I wiped my face dry, feeling a sense of calm coming over me. “I’m tired of this bullshit. You’ve been keeping secrets, and I’ve been keeping secrets. We promised we wouldn’t do that. I don’t care about the little things, but this has to stop now. We both need to come clean. Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Because if I go down for this, I go alone. This was my vengeance, not yours. What do you think would happen if someone found out you were involved in his death? He’s your Creator.”

“It should be my vengeance.”

“I vowed I would slay anyone who harmed you, and I meant it. Fletcher is an abomination. He doesn’t deserve to breathe, so I made him breathe every day to remember the suffering he put you through. I unleashed my fury upon him every chance I had. Lashings, beatings, and when it went too far, I’d give him just enough blood to survive. I’ve starved him, kept him in the cold and heat. I’m in too deep, Raven. If the Vampire elders or higher authority find out what I’ve done, that’ll be the end of me. The Mageri could take his criminal history into account, but they’ve always protected their own. They’ll see to my death.”

The candles behind me illuminated his face, exposing his darkness with their golden light.

“And what secrets have you kept from me?” he asked.

I knew telling him could change things, especially after seeing his wrath on Fletcher. But I didn’t want these secrets to destroy us. “Remember when I was working undercover at the sex club and someone spiked my drink? Houdini did it. He didn’t know that guy would lock me up in the room or else I’m certain he would have stopped it. Houdini does random things to see what’ll happen. He was teaching me a lesson since I was drinking too much on the job.”

“It sounds like he’ll be the one learning the lesson.”

“Don’t do it, Christian. I didn’t tell you to bait you into killing my maker. This has to stop somewhere.”

“Then why did you never tell me?”

I chuckled. “I guess for the same reason you kept Lenore being the one who buried me a secret. You were trying to protect me, and I was trying to protect you from doing something stupid. Houdini led me here. I followed his owl.”

Christian shot to his feet. “Feck me. We can’t trust he won’t tell someone. Was he the one who broke the chains?”

“I don’t think so. He didn’t seem to know what was going on in here. He just assumed. You’re not very good at being discreet. Even Switch noticed you taking off a lot, but he thought you were having an affair.”

Christian paced toward the chains and stared at them. “You can’t trust your maker. You don’t know what he’s thinking. Perhaps he freed him to sabotage our relationship.”

I stood and joined his side. “I don’t think it was Houdini. He wanted me to find out what was going on in here. Maybe he saw Fletcher escape and that’s why he came for me today of all days. Or maybe he saw you searching the woods. My gut tells me that he didn’t free Fletcher because… because I think he feels guilty.”

Christian peered over his shoulder at me. “For what?”

“For selling me to Fletcher in the first place. He didn’t know, and when I told him, he seemed insulted. I don’t think Houdini feels any emotion toward me, but I do think he feels ownership. He doesn’t like anyone tampering with his things.”

“He sold you. What did he think would happen?”

“That I would escape. I don’t know. I can’t rationalize his madness. All I know is that this doesn’t feel like Houdini’s work. If you kill my maker and my Creator, how the hell am I ever going to trust leaving you alone with my dad?”

The humor broke the tension.

Christian turned and swept my hair behind my shoulder. “After what your maker put you through, you don’t want him dead?”

“I won’t see you rotting in jail over something this frivolous.”

“I’ll have you know that him selling you wasn’t frivolous.”

“I know, but it’s past. It’s done. Houdini’s not out to kill me. He just likes fucking with my head.” I turned to Christian and fell into his embrace, nestling my face in his chest. Hearing his strong heartbeat made me feel safe and protected. He didn’t return the hug.

“You’re not vexed? Or… is this goodbye?”

“I’m still mad, but I know why you did it,” I said, staring at the chain.

And I truly did. I had to look past my emotions and think back to when my Creator had fled. Had we found Fletcher, would Viktor have turned him in? Probably. Viktor always did the right thing. Would anyone care what a Creator did to their Learner? Would justice have been served? If Fletcher had never spent a night in jail, that would have been so much worse. Until now, I hadn’t considered the other consequences—of the Mageri finding out about my creation and history of murder. Had he walked away scot-free, I would have become obsessed with killing him, and murdering one’s Creator is illegal and punishable by death. Viktor wouldn’t want anyone unstable working for him.

I shut my eyes. “Now he’s out there.”

Christian leaned back and cupped my head in his hands, his gaze so intense I felt my energy buzz. “On my word, I’ll find him.”

“If he hadn’t escaped, how long would you have kept him?”

“Decades.”

I tilted my head back and gave him a chaste kiss.

He rested his forehead against mine. “Your lips erase any regrets I might have had.”

“Any more secrets?” I asked.

“Aye. Just one.” He brushed a lock of hair away from my face. “I might have seen a phoenix.”

I laughed. “I’m being serious.”

“So am I! Flew right over those Vampires and burned them all up. On my word.”

“Okay, Poe. That was your last chance. If you drop any more bombs, that’ll be it. I just want anything of importance out on the table. If you’re sneaking off to help the homeless or eat donuts, I don’t care. We both know the secrets that matter. I don’t want anything else coming between us. No matter the risk.”

“No secrets. Well, there’s one more. But I can’t tell you.”

I stared daggers at him.

“Trust me, it’s something good. I just can’t spoil the fun.”

I took a deep breath and sighed. “What now?”

“We track him.”

I shook my head. “If it’s been two days and you haven’t found anything, he’s long gone by now. He might have left the city.”

“I wouldn’t be so certain of that. I had a wee bit of fun torturing the bastard. If there’s any spite left in him, he’ll be coming for me.”

“We need to get back to the taco place.”

His lips twitched. “Did I miss something?”

“Viktor hired a Gravewalker to come in and kick all the ghosts out so Wyatt doesn’t go insane. He’s been looking pretty bad lately.”

“Aye. Caught him running down the hallway a week ago in nothing but his underpants.”

While Christian snuffed out the candles and grabbed his coat, I stepped outside and searched the trees for Houdini. There was no trace of him, and I knew he wouldn’t have stuck around for long. Was he hoping whatever was behind this door would split Christian and me apart? Or did he want to see if I would partake? I’d spent the past year believing that Fletcher was out there somewhere, maybe waiting for another opportunity to strike. All this time, Christian had kept me safe.

This was a convoluted mess, and I had a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. Fletcher might run, yet he might be so incensed by his treatment that he would come after us. And what if he went after my father?

I picked up the phone and dialed his cell.

“What’s up?” Crush answered.

I blew out a breath. “Just checking in.”

“Uh-huh.”

“You’re not at work are you? The roads are a mess.”

“I got tire chains.”

“I can’t do this with you right now. I might swing by your house later. You better be there.”

“Are you shittin’ me?”

I ended the call.

Once inside the truck, I reclined my head to process everything. I couldn’t keep yanking my father out of his life to protect him from my enemies. Fletcher wouldn’t be the last, so where did it end?

Christian lifted his Ducati over his head as if it weighed nothing and set it in the back of my truck. When he got inside, he held my hand, and we stared at the concrete structure for a long time. This moment changed everything. I could no longer go about my life as before. Fletcher would come, sooner rather than later. He wasn’t a man who took shame very well. And I knew firsthand how rage could fester until it became all-consuming.

“Your da can live with us,” Christian finally said.

“No, he can’t. Viktor doesn’t run a boarding house. Crush isn’t gonna like getting dragged out of his house every time I think he’s in danger.” I hit the steering wheel. “Fuck!”

“That fleabag he calls a pet will keep him safe.” Christian rested his elbow on the door and covered his face. “Feck me. I can’t ask that man if I can marry you now. Instead of seeing me to the door, he’ll see me right to the grave.”

“I have no choice but to tell him what’s going on. He has to know. Fletcher doesn’t have the balls to come after our team, so there’s no need to tell Viktor. If he ever finds out what you did—”

“He’ll toss me out on my arse. I knew the risk, but let’s just say that I was thinking less clearly back then than I am now.” He laced his fingers across his stomach. “I regret nothing. Hearing that man scream was a symphony to my ears.”

“Are you sure no one followed you here?”

“I would have heard them.”

“On that loud bike?” I started the truck. “Whoever stumbled upon your little house of horrors probably struck a deal with him.”

“Aye. Maybe he’s someone else’s problem now.”

I dug my thumbnails into the bottom part of the steering wheel. “Did he say anything about me?”

“I forbade him from speaking your name. He did it once. After the first night, he never did again.”

CHAPTER 3

When Christian and I walked into the Mexican restaurant, we stood frozen in the entryway, taking in the chaos. Wyatt danced on a table, a sombrero on his head, shaking two maracas while a mariachi band played behind him. A crowd of customers looked over their shoulders at him and laughed before sipping their margaritas. Wyatt turned around and slapped the maracas against his ass in perfect rhythm.

Christian grabbed a peppermint from a bowl near the door. “Is this the private gathering you were referring to?”

I made a beeline into our room on the right. Switch was snoozing on one of the benches against the archways, his leather coat draped over his head.

I ducked when Hunter swung a long stick as he attacked the piñata hanging from the ceiling. Someone had let him up on the table, and he was having the time of his life.

Shepherd puffed on his cigarette from his chair by the wall. “Hit him in the legs. That’s right.”

I made my way to the far end of the table where Blue had a piñata of her own made from chocolate. Claude watched from the other side while she cracked open the chocolate with a tap of her knife, releasing a ton of fruit.

“Wonders never cease,” he said, breaking the larger pieces with another knife.

Blue divvied up the berries and fruit onto multiple plates. After Claude added a little chocolate to each one, they passed them around. Viktor hadn’t moved from his chair at the end, his cheeks flushed and beer glass empty. He looked ready for a nap. Kira sat behind him against the wall, two chairs facing each other so she could put her feet up.

“Well, this is casual,” I said, taking a seat next to Blue. “I thought we rented the whole place to ourselves?”

Blue scooted her chair in. “People saw our cars in the parking lot and kept coming up to the door. Viktor paid for privacy, but he talked with the manager and said it was fine to let the hungry people in. I think the employees were getting bored sitting around. I have no idea where the band came from. Wyatt’s in there making an ass out of himself and probably getting uploaded to the internet.”

Christian took the chair across from me. “And the eejit doesn’t care that his picture will be all over social media?”

Blue finished devouring a strawberry. “Does he look like he cares? He promised Viktor he’d track down and erase anything that leaked out. I don’t know how he’ll do that, but if he doesn’t get them all, serves him right.”

“Delivery girl!” Gem breezed in with a tray in her hands. “They let me watch them and everything!” She set down a platter, and I drooled. An army of churros surrounded a giant cheesecake with strawberries in the middle. And they had drizzled chocolate syrup over everything like a dirty fantasy.

I chuckled at all the desserts. “Uh, Viktor? How much food do they expect us to eat?”

Claude served himself a slice of cheesecake with churros. “They can serve all the pastries they want. My stomach is here for it.”

I looked around, doing a head count. “Where’s Niko?”

“Outside,” Blue answered. “He got sensory overload. All the energy was giving him a headache, so he’s taking a walk.”

“In the snow?”

“He’s a Thermal.” She ate a slice of melon. “How much do you wanna bet he’s just circling the building? He wouldn’t venture off, especially if it meant getting his shoes and pants wet.”

“Perhaps it’s time to stop the party,” I suggested.

Blue chuckled and tucked her long brown hair behind her ears. “By all means. If you want to deal with drunk Wyatt, be my guest. He’s past caring about threats. I don’t know if he’s more drunk on the alcohol or the carbs.” She nibbled on a piece of chocolate while staring at Christian. “Where did you come from?”

“He can’t ride his bike in this snow,” I quickly answered. “So I gave him a lift.”

Christian folded his arms on the table and watched Hunter beating the hell out of a blue pony. “I’m so glad I came for this. It’s the next best thing to the sanitarium.”

“Don’t be a grump.” Gem ducked when Hunter took another backward swing. “This is the most fun I’ve had in ages. Do you want a margarita?”

“I’ll have a pint of the black stuff.”

Gem pulled out the chair to my right and sat down. “That sounds wonderful! You can get it yourself.”

Blue spit out her drink.

Gem sat cross-legged in the chair before grabbing the tongs and filling her plate with fried churros. “I brought the desserts since I watched them make it, but I’m not your waitress. They’ll take your order at the front.”

Christian snapped his fingers at the waitress and frowned when she didn’t notice him.

I gobbled up a hunk of chocolate. “Welcome to the new era, Poe. Where women aren’t here to serve you.”

He scooted back his chair. “You have a tongue that could clip a hedge.” Then he wagged his finger at Gem. “And you’re getting too sassy for your britches.”

“Your comebacks are deadly,” she said in a mock Irish accent.

Amusement danced in his eyes as he swaggered out of the room.

Blue and Claude feasted on their desserts while Viktor rested his eyes. I kept staring at my plate, strangely detached. Things would have gone differently had I walked in and found Fletcher myself—seen him in the flesh. All this time, Christian had been torturing my Creator. Could I trust him after this? Had I made a mistake accepting his proposal? We still hadn’t told anyone about it since weddings weren’t big among most Breeds. What would I have done had he told me about Fletcher from the beginning, back when my nightmares were at their worst? I rested my elbow on the arm of my chair and took off my hat.

Gem touched my arm. “Are you feeling okay? I brought stomach medicine just in case.”

“No, I’m fine.”

“You just seem a little retro.”

I furrowed my brow as Hunter took another whack at the piñatas. “What do you mean by that?”

“Retro Raven—like how you were when we first met. Quiet. Brooding eyes. Antisocial. Pensive. Kind of like Christian.”

Claude lifted his head, and his nose twitched. When he swung his eyes up to mine, I scooted my chair back and stood.

“Viktor, I need to head out for a while,” I announced, deciding I couldn’t be around these people right now. “My phone’s charged if you need to get ahold of me. I think I’m with Niko on the sensory overload thing. Too much noise. Is that cool?”

Viktor waved, not even cracking his eyelids open.

I breezed past Hunter just when he smashed a hole in the blue pony. Candy trickled out onto the table and floor, and Shepherd clapped, a cigarette wedged between his lips. This was the worst place to be in my current state. If Claude didn’t smell my distress, Shepherd would feel it soon enough.

Christian met me at the brick archway with a glass of beer in hand. “Where are you off to?”

“I need to talk to my dad. You can stay here.”

“No. I need to be there for that.” He slowly gulped down his ale to the last drop and then set the empty glass on the table. “I might need another.”

When I entered the main room, I noticed Wyatt had lost the maracas along with his shoes. He sat barefoot, his shirt tied in a knot, strumming a guitar for a lovely señorita who was shaking her head at him.

Christian frowned. “That man is a walking advertisement for contraception.”

Wyatt had indulged in so many tacos and beers that he looked like an expectant mother. With the sombrero still on his head and a twinkle in his eye, he changed his tune and slowed the music down.

When he opened his mouth and sang the first few lines of “Open Arms,” I flung open the door and got the hell out of there as fast as my feet would carry me.

* * *

I sat in my parked truck, staring at my father’s trailer. Unless he’d gone out or was at work, his red truck must have been in the garage. There weren’t any tracks in the yard or driveway, and all the curtains were drawn. Not that he ever kept them open.

“Maybe he’s not home,” I said, feeling a shot of anxiety.

“Aye, your da’s in there, clipping the claws on his feet. Snip. Snip.”

“I’m not just telling him about Fletcher—he needs to know about us.”

“Does it have to be today? Can’t I have a few weeks to butter up that turkey?”

I took off my fingerless gloves and set them on the dash. “I want everything out on the table. The sooner he knows, the sooner you can start winning him over. Assuming he lets you live.”

Christian opened the passenger door and jumped out. Before I had the chance to unbuckle my seat belt, he was already hiking up the snow-covered steps.

When Crush opened the door, I heard Harley barking ferociously. Christian one-handedly sailed over the porch railing, landing on his feet. He sprinted back to the truck and jumped inside.

After navigating the slippery steps, the bullmastiff charged toward us and jumped against Christian’s door.

“I’ll not have that dog shred holes in my trousers while you’re telling your da I’m the one.”

I got out of the truck and spotted my dad belly-laughing at the top of the steps.

Christian wasn’t afraid of dogs even though Harley could have ripped a few fingers off. He was avoiding a confrontation so he wouldn’t accidentally hurt my father’s best friend.

“Call off the dog,” I said, climbing the steps. “What’s the matter with you?”

When Crush put two fingers in his mouth and whistled, Harley delivered an assertive bark before trotting back inside the trailer.

My father gave him a rewarding pat on the side, still laughing. “That never gets old.”

Christian stepped out of the truck and dusted off his trench coat. To my surprise, he didn’t make any sharp comebacks.

Once inside, we stomped our snowy shoes on a pink towel spread out in front of us, making sure not to track water on the linoleum floor. I unzipped my leather jacket and hung it on the back of a vinyl kitchen chair. Crush’s single-wide trailer was my childhood home, and very little about it had changed. When you walked inside, the kitchen table was to the immediate left, and the kitchen across from it. There was only one bedroom in the back left hall. I glanced in the living room to my right and watched Harley jump onto the brown sofa facing the door. As he stretched his big body out, I couldn’t help but think how small this place was getting, especially now that my father had a dog.

While Crush fiddled with the microwave, I sat down next to Christian, who was facing the kitchen so he could watch my father. Crush didn’t have any shoes on, just a pair of plaid pajama bottoms and a sweatshirt.

“I wasn’t sure if you’d be here since you’re a workaholic,” I said, rolling my heart pendant between my fingers.

“I was just messing with you earlier. Nobody’s taking their car to the shop on a day like this. That comes later when these dumbasses get out on the road. I just have a few vehicles on-site. Some are waiting on parts, and two others I’m doing modifications on. Besides, it’s New Year’s Day. My boys need a day off.”

I rested my arms on the table and played with the toothpick holder. “You should take the rest of the week off.”

“Don’t push it.”

“I don’t want you spinning out on the road.”

Crush set a mug of hot cocoa in front of me and sat down with his own cup. Three tiny marshmallows floated on top, just the way I liked. He flicked a glance at Christian. “I’d get you a drink, but I’m all out of blood.”

Christian kept his hands in his lap and his lips pressed tight. I could see him working things out, wondering if he should declare his intentions first or wait until I dropped the other bomb.

Crush sipped his cocoa, his blue eyes darting between us. “You two are up to something.”

I warmed my hands on the mug, wondering how easily this table would break if the two most important men in my life went after each other.

“What’s your given name?” Christian asked.

Crush set down his mug. “Why the hell would you ask a question like that?”

I waited for Christian to snap back. Instead, he gave me butterflies when he crossed his arms on the table and leaned in real close.

“Because if I’m gonna ask to marry your daughter, I want to know the name of the man I’m asking.”

Thunderstruck, my father slowly set down his cup and gave Christian a baleful look. When he slid that gaze over to me, he realized it wasn’t a joke.

“Tell him your name, Daddy.”

Crush sat back and folded his tattooed arms. “Eugene Graves.”

The two men stared each other down, the tension in the air palpable.

Christian abruptly stood and clasped his hands behind his back. “The first time I met Raven, I thought she was beneath me.”

My dad’s chair scooted back.

Oh yeah. This is going well.

“Then I realized it was the other way around,” Christian continued. “Aye, she’s rough around the edges and has a mouth like a sailor, or in this case, her father, but we have a bond that can’t be severed. I’m not a perfect man—I’ve made mistakes. I haven’t prepared a speech because I’ve never done anything like this before, and I don’t know how it goes. But here’s what I do know: I love Raven something fierce. There’s no one I wouldn’t kill for her. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for her. Unless I’m burned at the stake or beheaded, I’ll be walking this earth for longer than I’d care to. And Raven’s in the same position. Someday she might decide she deserves better, and I’ll do whatever makes her happy. Make no mistake—I love her to the depths of my soul. That’ll never change. I don’t know what kind of relationship that’ll make between us, but it’s important we acknowledge it. Even if it’s just private vows between the two of us. You’re her da, and you mean the world to her.” Christian put a fist over his heart. “I, Christian Poe, ask Eugene Graves if he’ll grant permission to marry his daughter.”

I could have swooned.

Christian had delivered the most impassioned speech, wearing his heart on his sleeve for the first time in front of others. My father didn’t see it the same way. He stood up, got in Christian’s face, and unleashed years of pent-up speeches that he’d never gotten to deliver to any of my past boyfriends. The language he used was beyond the pale. Crush was testing him, and I wondered if Christian recognized that. He was seeing if Christian had a breaking point where he might either walk out or attack him. I wondered myself with some of the accusations my father was throwing around about him being a cocky fanghole that treated women just as shitty as the bike he drove.

Christian lowered his head, and Harley pranced in, barking as loudly as my father.

“Crush, sit down before the dog attacks someone,” I said, worried about his blood pressure when I saw the vein pulsing in his forehead. “We’re not getting married. Not yet.”

Crush snapped his attention to me. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means I gave him a condition. He’s not asking you to be formal. I told him I won’t marry him unless you give your approval.”

Crush rolled his shoulders back and gave Christian a thorough appraisal. A smile touched his lips. With a clap of his hands, he ordered the dog out of the room before easing back down in his chair. After putting his feet up in the adjacent chair, he gestured for Christian to sit. I could tell by the smug look on his face that he wished he had a cigar to smoke. “Well, that changes everything.”

Christian returned to his chair, glaring at my dad’s big feet, which were too close to him. He remained uncharacteristically quiet.

“You mentioned something about making mistakes,” Crush began, lacing his fingers across his stomach. “Let’s talk about that.”

“Actually, that’s why we’re here.” I sipped my cocoa, waiting for the tension to come down to an acceptable level.

Crush scratched the side of his nose before putting his feet down so he could face me. He reached across the table and gripped my arm. “Out with it. If anyone hurt my baby girl, I’ll kill him. I don’t care how much you love him.”

I sat back and put my hands in my lap. I could already feel myself getting out of breath. I’d told him about Fletcher but had never elaborated on every detail of the abuse. I couldn’t. I still couldn’t. “It’s about Fletcher.”

Crush’s hand balled up into a fist. “Tell me you found the bastard.”

“He escaped over a year ago. Or so I thought. Today I found out Christian had him the whole time.”

Crush slammed his fist on the table and stood. “Where is he? I wanna see him!”

“He’s gone,” I said, staring at the marshmallows. “He got away.”

Crush turned a sharp eye to Christian. “You had him this whole time, and you let that motherfucker slip through your fingers? I’ll kill you!”

Before I knew what was happening, Crush rounded the table and grabbed Christian by the collar. He hoisted him right out of the seat and pinned him against the wall, snarling colorful profanities I’d never heard.

I shot up and pulled my father’s arm, trying to pry him off. “It’s not his fault!” When he didn’t budge, I wedged myself between them with Christian behind me. “Please stop this. I can’t… I can’t take this.”

Crush pointed a finger in Christian’s face. “You’re walking on thin ice. You got that?” He turned away and stormed into the kitchen. “I would have killed that sonofabitch.”

“And what kind of punishment is that?” Christian fired back. “I made him suffer. I made him scream. And I would have done it for years longer before I gave him the sweet relief of death.” Christian wrapped his arms around me from behind. “I won’t let him come after her again.”

Crush turned and leaned against the sink. “Your promise isn’t good enough. Why didn’t you tell her?”

“Because I wanted him to myself. And Raven wasn’t ready to face him. Deep down, I think she knows it. She’s the strongest woman I’ve ever met. The toughest. The bravest. But the wound was too fresh. I didn’t want him dead. Not yet. Not without suffering. I planned to offer him to her if and when she was ready. And if you think I don’t know about suffering, I do. The demons we carry are all different, but they haunt us just the same. I wanted nothing more than to murder my demon straight away. Doing so would have wrecked me. I’ve spent years becoming a stronger man, and when I finally face that person, it’ll be with a smile and not with a tear.”

Crush lowered his head and heaved a sigh. “Why are you telling me this?”

I stepped out of Christian’s embrace and crossed the room. “Because Fletcher will be out for revenge. He’ll want Christian dead, and he might come for you.” Hot tears filled my eyes, and I quickly wiped them away. “I don’t know what the hell to do. I can’t always be here to protect you, but I don’t want you to die because of me. I can’t live with that.”

Crush pulled me into a tight bear hug and kissed the top of my head. “Don’t cry, baby girl. You can’t put a bubble around me. I take risks—always have. Your enemies are my enemies, and if one of them comes for me, I can’t think of a better way to die than in battle. My worst nightmare is kicking the bucket on the toilet and having one of my buddies find me slumped over with my pants down.”

I chortled into his chest. “Stop making me laugh. This isn’t funny.” I stepped back and wiped my face. “I can’t protect you, but at least I can warn you. So if the dog starts barking, don’t dismiss it. Fletcher’s a Mage, and I want you to have stunners.”

“Got ’em.”

“How many? Because if you need more—”

“I got connections,” he assured me with a wink. “I can get whatever I need.”

I wanted to invite him to stay with us, but I knew it would be answered with a resounding no. Besides that, we would have to explain to Viktor what had happened, and that was out of the question. Christian had committed an offense that went against everything Keystone stood for. The Mageri wouldn’t care what Fletcher had done to me. He was my Creator and held rights. Besides that, he knew I’d never turn him in if it meant the Mageri investigating my mental health and background. They would put me down like a rabid dog despite all the good I’d done for Keystone. Viktor’s integrity would be questioned, and I didn’t want to drag him down with me. I intended to protect everything and everyone I loved.

“What if I moved in here for a while?” I suggested.

Christian joined us. “Then you would draw him here for sure.”

“Maybe that ain’t a bad idea.” Crush pinched his goatee. “We could bait him.”

“Hell no,” I snapped. “I’m not taking chances with your life. That’s a bad idea.” I combed my fingers through my hair until they caught in a tangle. “Do you think any of your buddies would be willing to guard your house?”

He scoffed. “Ren just buried his dead. I’m not about to ask him to babysit my ass and get more of his people killed. Don’t worry about me. Whatever’s meant to be is meant to be.”

“Are you giving me your approval to wed?” Christian asked, not wasting any time in catching Crush in a better mood.

“You don’t get off that easy.” Crush ambled back to his chair, sat down, and put his right foot up in the next chair. “I can’t reach my feet like I used to, and I still have to clip the nails on my right foot. Could use a little help finishing the job.”

Christian gave him a thorny look. “Perhaps you need a chainsaw. I’m not clipping your nails. That’s extortion.”

“I don’t give two shits what you call it, peckerhead. If you want my answer, you’re gonna have to grease the wheels. Just be glad I’m not asking you to snip the dog’s nails. Now get the clippers off the end table and start trimming. Raven, sit down and finish your cocoa. If you want more, my houseboy will get you a refill.”

While Christian went digging around in the living room, I pulled my chair close to my dad. He put his arm around me and told me everything was gonna be all right.

But deep down, I knew it wouldn’t.

CHAPTER 4

Sweat beaded on Shepherd’s brow as he hiked up the stairs, irritated that Wyatt’s bedroom was on the third floor. Even though Shepherd kept in shape, his shoulder hurt from the weight of his partner. Wyatt must have put on fifteen pounds’ worth of Mexican food. Hell, they all had. So Shepherd was in no mood for this shit. The Gravewalker Viktor hired was done clearing the house. Once Spooky woke up from his beer-induced coma and had a look around, they’d know for certain if it worked.

“Next time, you’re gonna be the designated driver,” he grumbled, reaching the second level.

Niko and Gem strode toward him. Gem secured the ties on her kimono robe, and he guessed they were heading down to the heated pool. Niko had on his usual crotch-drop pants and no shirt.

Gem pinned up her hair. “We’re going down to the hot tub if you want to join.”

Shepherd took a breath, feeling a pinch in his shoulder. “After I haul his ass upstairs, I’ll be done for the night.”

“Put him in my room,” Niko offered, securing the white towels under his arm.

Shepherd’s lips twitched. “Are you sure? He had a lot to drink. He might wet the bed.”

Gem wrinkled her nose. “Or vomit. Put him in a storage room.”

Shepherd kept moving, leaving them to their chatter as they headed downstairs. He didn’t mind hanging out with the group occasionally even though he wasn’t much of a talker. Drinks or a game of darts was more his speed. Having Hunter around forced him to be social, but not much. Shepherd was too set in his ways. He liked working out, meditating, sharpening his knives, and playing jokes on Wyatt. His partner drove him batshit crazy sometimes, but Wyatt was smart, easygoing, and didn’t hold a grudge.

Usually.

When Shepherd first partnered with him and found out his fear was butterflies, he had a guy deliver a large box of them. Once Wyatt went to sleep, he snuck into his bedroom and released them. Shepherd sat in the hall all night, waiting to see what would happen. The next morning, Wyatt woke up shrieking. After that, Shepherd was careful not to reveal his fear of rats, worried that Wyatt would seek out revenge. But Wyatt had grown up with nine older sisters. Nine. Maybe that had something to do with Wyatt never fixating on upping his revenge. He picked his moments, like bringing everyone except Shepherd take-out food. Or the time he’d reinstalled Shepherd’s pull-up bar in the gym to be an inch higher than he could reach.

Shepherd never got pissed at the pranks because Spooky was a good guy. Yet despite his upbeat attitude, Wyatt had painful trauma buried deep down. Shepherd knew his entire family was dead but not much else. He’d gotten mixed up with the wrong people, ruined his reputation, lost his home and probably his woman. A person didn’t tattoo Lost Soul on their body unless it meant something.

When he entered Wyatt’s office, he flipped on the wall switch. The red floor lamp behind the L-shaped sofa blinked on. Shepherd dropped Wyatt onto the couch and then stretched out the kink in his back muscle. A bright-blue pillow tumbled to the floor, so he picked it up and tucked it under Wyatt’s head. Spooky was a night owl and would probably be up in a few hours anyhow.

“You are one sad-looking bastard,” he said, hands on his hips.

Wyatt was still shirtless and barefoot, and the skull belt buckle had left a red mark on his stomach. His black cowboy boots were still in the van along with his dignity. Wyatt rolled onto his left side and clutched a bright-yellow pillow. “I am an edacious eater.”

Wyatt sometimes picked a random word from his crossword puzzles as his word of the day. He’d already used it in conversation twice.

Shepherd turned away. “Sleep tight. Don’t let the dead people bite.”

“Not funny,” Wyatt mumbled before snorting on a long inhale. “I met a girl. She’s muy bonita. You’re a good guy, Shep. My feet are cold,” he went on, rambling incoherently.

Shepherd headed downstairs and noticed Viktor on the phone in the study. That was where he held most of his private business calls. Hopefully he had a job lined up. They had all put their asses on the line to save those rich assholes and all of Cognito from Godfrey Sparrow, and not one of them got paid a red cent. They’d done what they’d had to do, but only money put food on the table. And for Shepherd, a paying job meant securing Hunter’s future.

When Shepherd checked in on Hunter, who was fast asleep in his bed, he hoped like hell that the kid didn’t turn out like him. Maybe instead, he’d do Relic work using his inherent knowledge of human genetics. There were jobs to be had in the medical field, and Hunter didn’t necessarily have to work in the Breed world. He could work in the human world and change his identity when he outlived the one he was in. It was a hell of a lot safer than working for a group like Keystone. No, he wouldn’t wish this life on his son. This was a job for people who had reached the end of their rope.

On his way to the medical room, he bumped into Viktor.

“Have Raven and Christian returned?”

Shepherd shrugged. “Haven’t seen ’em.”

“I need to speak to them. This will involve some of you but not all. Very, very important.”

“Let me know if you need anything. I’m gonna be in the medical room going over inventory.”

Viktor seemed anxious or excited about something. Had Viktor touched anything, Shepherd might have been tempted to lift his emotions to see what was up.

Kira’s door was ajar. She slept close by his medical room on the other side of the hall. Curious, he walked up and peered inside.

He should have looked away. It wasn’t right to invade a woman’s privacy. Shepherd felt protective of women and didn’t like the way men ogled them or made sexual innuendos. But it wasn’t her nudity that held his attention; it was the long tattoo down her back.

Candlelight glowed against her creamy skin, which was peppered with tiny moles and freckles. Wearing only a pair of panties, she lifted a white gown over her head and slipped it on. He turned away, his back to the wall as the image of her tattoo seared into his mind. The symbols traveled from her nape to her lower spine. Kira always dressed modestly, wearing frocks and shawls that covered her body. From what Viktor said, she had never lived in the modern world, so she knew nothing of fashion. Sometimes she wore black eyeliner that made her eyes pretty, though Gem must have lent her the makeup for fun. Other than that, Kira didn’t partake in superficial rituals.

When she briskly walked out of the room and noticed Shepherd pinned against the wall, she clutched her chest and hopped back a step.

He felt the shame of having spied on her. “Didn’t mean to scare you. But you’ve been dodging me for weeks. How long are you gonna go on pretending you can’t understand me?”

She touched her loose braid, which draped over her right shoulder.

“Christian’s gone right now, so he can’t hear us. Come with me. I have questions.” Shepherd escorted her down a long hall that went around the courtyard.

Kira followed him, her bare feet padding across the floor.

When he reached a soundproof room, he went right to the fireplace and put wood on the grate. While he got the kindling going and opened the flue, Kira closed the door and lit candles with a match. Two emerald-green love seats flanked a round coffee table in front of the fireplace. There were dozens of rooms like this, lightly furnished for private conversations. The fire took the chill out of the air. After he set the mesh screen in front of the firebox, he gestured for Kira to sit.

Without a word, she lowered herself onto one love seat, her hands tucked beneath her legs. She frowned at the gold carpet beneath their feet.

Shepherd sat on the sofa across from her. “Don’t even think about cleaning these empty rooms. You got enough work to do.”

She directed her gaze to the fire.

Shepherd cracked his knuckles. Kira must have recognized that he had leverage over her, but he didn’t want to give her the wrong idea. That’s not what this conversation was about. Back when they were taking refuge at the hotel, Kira had spoken to him in English. Just once. She’d promised to watch Hunter if anything happened to Shepherd. Neither of them had spoken since. They’d been too busy with cleaning, repairs, contractors, and restoring a sense of normality.

“How much can you understand?” he asked.

“Enough,” she answered, her voice gentle like summer rain. Her accent was similar to Viktor’s, only the consonants softer.

“How long have you spoken English?”

“My father teach me, but his English was not good.”

“Does Viktor know?”

“Ne. He knows I speak Bulgarian and Russian.” She put her hands on her lap.

“That’s not the language you two speak.”

“It is ancient language of my mother. Gem is smart girl. She listens. She speaks Russian and other languages, so we are careful to not speak often around her. If she heard me speak Russian, she would try to speak with me, and Viktor does not want this.” Kira was clearly struggling to formulate her thoughts as she furrowed her brow and fidgeted. “Viktor wants secrets, and that cannot be when I understand. I am fast learner. I practice in my head and watch the moving pictures. There are many books here—old books—that translate like dictionary. Viktor say they belong to his family. Now they help me. I hearing you repeat words you want me to understand. More butter. More drink. More soup. I can cook and clean if I know what is my job.”

Her English was definitely broken, yet he understood perfectly. Hell, she made more sense than Viktor when he drank too much. The team frequently asked her to fetch things or perform various tasks, and over time, they noticed she appeared to understand. And if she understood the English alphabet, then looking at the grocery list online probably helped even more.

“Please do not tell secret to Viktor,” she begged, her eyes downcast. “When my father died, Viktor asked my circumstance. He lives in America with secret job and would only agree to take me if I never spoke Russian or Bulgarian. Only my mother’s language we could speak, and only when he speak to me. He does not want me to learn English or speak to tiny woman.”

Shepherd stifled a smile. She must have meant Gem.

Kira gazed at the fire. “I have no family. My father was not rich man. It was not safe for me to live there alone. I am here because Viktor and my father were, eh… good friends.”

“Why would your father make you live a sheltered life?” Shepherd thought his words might confuse her, so he added, “Why did you live alone with him? No friends? No job?”

She seemed surprised by the question as her eyebrows drew together. “My father was great leader of wolves.”

“A Packmaster?”

She shrugged, probably uncertain of the terminology. “My mother was… mph.” She got stuck on a word. “She was not like him. The wolves did not want her. The pack…” Kira used her hands to make a gesture of separating, and he nodded. “They lived happy life. I only left farm to deliver letters between Viktor and Valko.”

“Your father.”

“Da. I never meet Viktor. My father was friend to him.”

Keystone was the worst place for a sweet girl like her.

“I beg you not to say my secret,” she pleaded, clasping her hands together. “This is good land. There is much work. I am hard worker. I am useful. I make no trouble. I can farm land if you need more.”

“Don’t go farming the land. We make enough money to buy food.”

“When I come here, there is so much dirt on everything. Spiderwebs, dirty windows, candle wax on floor, dishes in sink, and I do not even speak to the mountain of ashes in fireplace. You live like pigs.”

Shepherd barked out a laugh and then buried it. “Sorry, I’m not laughing at you. It’s true.”

“I have place here. I cannot take chance of Viktor sending me away and erasing my memories.”

Shepherd gave it some thought. Viktor was kind and generous, but he also carried the responsibility of being a good leader. That meant making tough decisions to protect his team and organization. While he might like Kira and feel an obligation to her father, at the end of the day, she was a liability. There was zero guarantee that Viktor would warm up to the idea that Kira had deceived him. She clearly had no other place to go, and Shepherd felt beholden to her for looking out for his son.

“I promise I won’t say anything,” he said, looking her firmly in the eye. “But it’s dangerous for you to listen to our conversations.”

She adamantly shook her head. “I do not listen. When you speak of important matters, I leave room. I go away. I look at dishes and hum a song. I do not listen. I take care of boy. He is such good boy.”

Shepherd flicked his gaze to the fire, suddenly overwhelmed by how passionately she cared for his son. Yet there was a burning question he’d always wanted to know. “Why are you afraid of me?”

Kira went as silent as a mouse, her eyes downcast and frown lines wrinkling her forehead.

“If you want me to keep your secret, I deserve to know.”

Kira played with the end of her braid. “You are s-strong man. You are powerful.”

“That’s not it. I’m a Sensor. Do you know what that is?”

She flicked a glance at his hands. “Da. You feel what others feel.”

“Sorta. And I’ve felt your fear from day one. Christian’s a lot more scary-looking than I am. Hell, even Claude has a stare that will make a man piss his pants. I don’t get it. I know I’m rough-looking with all the tattoos and scars, but I’ve always been nice.”

Kira rose to leave. “I do not know what you want me to say.”

Shepherd launched to his feet and blocked her. “I just want to know what I did wrong. Is it all my scars?” He swallowed hard. Shepherd had fifty-three knife wounds on his hands, arms, and chest. It was a lot to take in.

Kira cupped her elbows as if she were cold. At this close proximity, he smelled honeysuckle. It must have been a lotion or shampoo she used.

Shepherd didn’t want to corner her or make her feel obligated to do his bidding since he had a secret on her. Breaking the ice was a start. “Just don’t be scared of me,” he finally said. “I’d never hurt you. We protect one another in this house. Got it? I do bad things, but you don’t need to be afraid of me. And… and thanks.”

She flashed her eyes up to meet his. Shepherd was six foot two, and she was about five inches shorter. “For what?”

“For offering to take care of Hunter if something happened to me. I don’t know if you meant it. If you did, I can’t think of anyone else I’d rather have to raise him. He likes you, and you’re good with him.”

“Hunter is such special boy. You know this?”

She meant his abilities. Or maybe she meant the fact that he didn’t ever speak.

“Yeah, I know this.”

“Special children need protection. Give him education but do not hide him. He must know how to live in this world. Not like me—depending on kindness of strangers. I trust you will not tell Viktor my secret.”

“I want to finish this conversation. Try not to run from me next time.”

“Da, ser. Good night.”

After she left, he went over their conversation in his head. Viktor obviously felt reassured that she didn’t understand any of them and therefore would present no danger to their organization. Part of it must have been the uncertainty if she would betray them or the possibility someone could force her to reveal their secrets. It was a bad situation to put anyone in, including Switch. At least Switch knew the deal, and so he kept his distance. It was harder for Kira to do that since she did so much housework and was always lurking in the halls, picking up their papers, and serving their meals. It was inevitable she would overhear something she wasn’t supposed to, simply because the team didn’t realize she understood. Viktor might find out eventually, but Shepherd wasn’t a snitch. He’d given his word, and that had to mean something in this world.

Besides that, he had good instincts about people. He trusted her, and that made him feel protective of her.

The one thing he couldn’t stop thinking about was her advice on not sheltering Hunter—that special children needed protection, but they also needed the tools to live independently. Was she also once a special child? Why had her father’s pack rejected her mother? A Packmaster could basically mate whomever the fuck they wanted. Some of the packmates might split from the pack, but for the entire pack to break apart? Simply because she was a foreigner or different Breed?

Something didn’t sit right. Why would her father flee to a small town in the middle of nowhere instead of starting up a new pack? Wolves placed importance on packs because they offered protection. If the trouble had to do with her mother, why wouldn’t he have formed a pack after her death? Being alone made them vulnerable. Shepherd also wanted to know what had happened back at the hotel—where she had disappeared to.

So many questions.

So few answers.

CHAPTER 5

Instead of returning to the taqueria, Christian and I hung out at my father’s house for the remainder of the day. Without being prompted, Christian went outside and shoveled snow from my father’s entire yard. I wasn’t sure if he was doing it to get out of my father’s hair or to get on his good side. Either way, Crush contentedly looked out the window and watched him labor. I ran a quick errand to a market I found open and bought bananas, prepackaged meals, and healthy snacks like cashews and yogurt. Though he balked about my cleaning his kitchen, I needed to keep my mind focused on anything besides Fletcher. The more I thought about him, the sicker I felt.

By the time we headed home that evening, I was ready for a stiff drink.

Unfortunately, the moment we walked in the door, Blue led us upstairs to an emergency meeting.

“I’ve never been in here before,” I said, entering what looked like a windowless boardroom.

Everyone sat at a long wooden table while Viktor and Wyatt tinkered with a laptop on the left side of the table.

I glanced up at the long row of fluorescent lights. “Electricity?”

“Wyatt’s office is next door,” Gem pointed out while towel-drying her hair. “He said he originally set up this room for us to have our meetings in, but Viktor didn’t like the formality, so it’s been locked ever since.”

Claude, Gem, Niko, and Blue sat on the opposite side. Claude rubbed coconut-scented lotion all over his bare chest while Gem and Niko reminisced over the day’s feast.

I pulled out a leather chair and sat between Shepherd and Christian. Shepherd’s hands were laced over his stomach, his eyes shut.

“Just click on that file when you’re ready.” Wyatt shuffled to the empty seat to Christian’s right and sat down with a melodic yawn.

“A three-hour nap wasn’t enough?” Claude asked, smoothing lotion around his bicep.

Wyatt raised the seat on his chair. “I think they slipped Everclear in my margarita. I only had two beers, so it wasn’t that. I blacked out toward the end. I don’t even remember how I got in my office or why I was half naked.”

I rolled my leather chair back to see him better. “How did the Gravewalker do? Are all the dead people gone?”

He raised his arms dramatically. “Hallelujah, the demons are exorcised,” he said in an exaggerated Southern accent, probably the one he was born with. “Well, so far, so good.”

Gem giggled. “Maybe she put them all in your wardrobe, and the moment you open it—”

“I move out,” he finished, using air quotes.

“You’re still not using those correctly,” Blue remarked about Wyatt’s liberal use of air quotes. “You’re just embarrassing yourself.”

Claude put the cap back on his lotion. “He already embarrassed himself this afternoon during his impromptu music concert.”

Wyatt scooted his chair back and propped his feet on the table. “People don’t have good taste in music anymore.”

Shepherd grabbed a marble ashtray from the credenza behind us. “You were botching the hell out of whatever song that was.”

“You missed out,” Gem said to me while tying her damp hair up in two knots. “The band was leaving, and Wyatt refused to give up the guitar. When the musician yanked it out of his hands and one of the strings broke, he slapped Wyatt in the face.”

“I don’t remember that part.” Wyatt scratched his head with a look of confusion. “I have a vague recollection of someone trying to put refried beans down my pants. Man, best day ever.”

Viktor knocked on the table. “I need your attention. Normally we would do this in the morning when we are rested and sober, but I want to get to work as soon as possible. I have taken a very sensitive case. That is why we are in this soundproof room. While I trust our help, I cannot take chances.” He pushed a button on the laptop, and a blue image appeared on the screen behind him. When he tapped a few more keys, cursing under his breath, a video suddenly played. We watched cupcakes glide down a factory conveyer belt while a machine drizzled chocolate over them.

“Hold your ponies.” Wyatt launched out of his chair and rushed to Viktor’s aid.

“What the hell is that?” Shepherd leaned forward and squinted at the images.

Blue scoffed. “Food porn.”

Wyatt switched off the overhead lights and then tapped a few keys on his computer before a photo came up of three men talking. “There. Now don’t click on the wrong file or I can’t promise what else you might see.”

“Your fetish for gargoyles?” Christian offered under his breath. “There are fantasy clubs for that.”

Viktor cleared his throat, and we all quieted down. “Hundreds of years ago in Russia, thirteen oligarchs held all the power. They were the most influential men and women in the world, each a different Breed. Instead of warring with one another, they formed a powerful alliance that controlled all political decisions. Their goal was to begin in one country and slowly acquire power throughout the world.”

“Wait a second,” I said, counting on my fingers. “You said thirteen different Breeds? I’ve only heard of what? Eight? Shifters, Vampires, Sensors, Relics, Gravewalkers…”

“There’s always been more,” Gem cut in. “Most people only know the common ones, but lesser Breeds exist. It’s just impossible to keep track of whether they’re all extinct. No one keeps tabs on every person in the world.”

I sat back and rocked my chair. “Wow. That’s a lot to process.”

“I can lend you a book that describes most of the common ones. Many are extinct, and others we just don’t know. So it’s rather pointless to document them all. Some might even be fictional.” Gem quieted down when she caught Viktor’s look.

“Sorry to interrupt,” I said.

Viktor rolled the end chair away from the table and placed it in the corner. “Some of us called this group Zmei Gorynich. The name was an old fable about a serpent with many heads.”

“Which I think he means dragon,” Gem said, retying her kimono. “Not a real dragon. It’s probably a metaphor.”

Viktor returned to the table. “Shifters were gaining power, and war broke out when the oligarchs were envious of our land and wanted to wipe us out. Freedom was at stake, and not just for Shifters. All were at their mercy. And then there was an uprising. My family sailed to America, and I stayed behind. Some of us formed a group and decided the way to victory was not to fight a battle but to cut every head off the dragon. We killed ten, and the remaining three fled the country. They were never seen again, but rumors have always existed. For many, they became a fable. There are no photographs in this time, and they would have changed their names.” Viktor clicked the mouse and expanded the picture of three men standing by a car. Two were clasping arms, something I’d seen Breed do instead of shaking hands. “This photograph was taken three weeks ago.”

Shepherd leaned forward and squinted. “You think that’s them? How do you know?”

Viktor gestured to the only visible face. “Because I have seen their faces. And then there is this.” When he clicked the mouse and the picture disappeared, he cursed.

Wyatt jumped out of his seat and tapped on his computer until it zoomed in on someone’s hand.

Viktor pointed out a tattoo of three interlocked triangles located above the thumb. “They all have the Valknut marked on their right hand. No one knows this except those of us who were in the room that day. We knew it would someday lead us to them, and if we were not careful in keeping it secret, their followers would have gotten the same mark. That is what people do—they copy their leaders. These men did not want others to see the marks.”

Blue tilted in her chair. “How could people not see it?”

“Because they always wore gloves. Always. They also had masks. They were shrouded in mystery, which made them feared. We only uncovered their secrets during the assassination. Before burning the remains, we noticed the marks.” Viktor pointed to a man with short grey hair and a widow’s peak. “This one went by the name Borislav. He is a Vampire, and his name suggests he is Russian. The tall man on the left is Ivar, and he is a Chitah. He was the only one we heard speak, and none of us recognized the language.”

“Ivar sounds like Old Norse,” Gem suggested.

“The other on the right with the short black hair is a Mage. His exact name is uncertain. One woman heard someone call him Li Han.”

“That’s Chinese origin,” Niko said, water dripping down his chest from his long, damp hair. He and Gem must have been in the pool. “Apologies for interrupting—how did these men communicate with one another? Did they share a common language?”

“There was one interpreter,” Viktor answered. “We were going to extract information from him, but someone killed him. It was not one of us, so we can only presume one of the thirteen knew how valuable he would be. The interpreter was a Relic with inherent knowledge of many languages—like Gem.” Viktor walked to the chair in the dark corner and sat. “The fact these men are together has me worried they might once again be conspiring; only now, I cannot imagine for what. We no longer live in simple times.”

As Wyatt panned out, I stared at the tattoo and put it to memory.

“These men cannot be captured,” Viktor said, watching Wyatt take his seat again.

Christian eased back in his chair. “Then why are we here?”

Viktor said something to Gem in Russian, and they conversed for a minute or two.

Gem nodded and then spoke on his behalf, perhaps to better translate his true meaning. “What he means to say is that our orders are not to capture these men alive. It’s a tremendous risk since they have immense power and wealth. Their influence is beyond simply buying their freedom. People fear them—even our leaders. Not because they themselves are especially powerful or skilled warriors, but because if the masses found out they were alive—especially the ancients—many would follow them. They’ve risen to power in the past and had a legion of loyalists—people who would fall on their sword for them. That’s not easy for even the richest man to claim. That’s why they can’t escape. They have the potential to organize and galvanize because people are afraid of their following. And we don’t know what they might already be planning.”

“Spasibo,” Viktor said, pinching the bridge of his nose. “We must use what time we have to track them down before they leave the country. Each man will likely have underlings. There are bounties on their heads, but they are brushed away…” He and Gem shared a short exchange as Viktor struggled with his words after a long day of beer and food. “Like cold case file. No one is actively looking for them.”

Shepherd took another drag off his cigarette. “What’s the payout? Do we get a cut of their wealth?”

Viktor rose from his chair and approached the table, the light from the projector shining on his face. “In cases like this, any recovered fortune goes to the authorities. They decide how to distribute the money. Victims deserve compensation, and they must research many centuries back to locate. In this case, I would assume Russian leaders who oversee Breed will demand ownership. Wyatt will research the reward from Russian higher authorities. I also want to compare it to ours to see which is more, and that is how we will determine who we work with. We will only take a percentage.”

Niko tipped his head to the side. “Percentage? Is your contact asking for a cut of the reward?”

“I did not receive this tip from the higher authority. It was from anonymous.”

“He calls himself Mr. X,” Wyatt chimed in. “Not very original. I got the private message on the dark web for Breed.”

Blue folded her arms. “How do you know it wasn’t a joke?”

Wyatt coughed as if choking on something. “Because someone sent over a hundred large to Viktor’s banker. Nobody puts down a deposit for a job, especially when they’re not the ones paying the reward. That’s ludicrous. They want a slice of the money pie, and my guess is it’s a big pie.”

Viktor stepped out of the light. “Mr. X is anonymous because they know how barbaric these men are. If this person made their identity known, and we failed in our mission, they would be hunted by supporters of the final three.”

I tapped my hand on the table. “And we won’t?”

Viktor shrugged. “Perhaps. But that is a risk we are willing to take. Not many others can say the same. How many organizations would seize this opportunity? No matter how noble, the risk is too great. In the end, it is those who hired the hit that will be remembered, not the hitmen. Besides, this case is personal to me.”

Shepherd stubbed out his cigarette.

I thought about how rich these guys must be. They probably spread their wealth out all over the place, so I had doubts we would ever get our hands on it. “How do we find them?”

“Enter Wyatt Blessing.” Wyatt stood up and strutted to the front while flaunting his recently acquired beer belly. “Once I confirm with Mr. X what the reward is, he promised to send more info. He can’t get them together at the same time, so you’ll be playing the role of Grim Reaper three times. After each kill, you need to confiscate any and all electronic devices in their possession, such as computers, phones, and tracking devices hidden in their private parts. Since Gem is fluent in Klingon and every obscure language that nobody speaks, she’ll review the data while I—”

“Sit on your ass and stare at the computer while eating chocolate-covered raisins?” Blue finished.

He waggled his eyebrows in the affirmative. “I’ll be coordinating your efforts and researching anything of interest that Gem uncovers. We don’t know if they’re in contact with each other or have a third-party associate, so we can’t tip off the other baddies or they’ll split town. We’ll have to constantly monitor all the incoming phone calls, messages, and emails. And if you haven’t already figured it out, that means—”

“No witnesses,” Shepherd said. “We got it. Who’s on the mission?”

“We play it by ear.” Viktor closed the photo. “It may depend on location. I do not know how many guards they will have. Gather your weapons, including guns.”

“How about a bazooka?” I mused.

“This is the big fish.” Viktor turned off Wyatt’s computer and threw us into the dark. A moment later, he switched on the light. “I want you all rested. No more drinking. Sharpen your skills in the gym and sharpen your weapons.”

Everyone got up and filed out of the room. All I could think about was Viktor’s orders not to drink, and that was exactly what I’d planned on doing all night long.

Once again, destiny screws me over.

“Raven, will you join me downstairs?” Niko asked. “I was heading that way before Viktor called us in.”

I nodded at Christian as we parted ways.

Niko joined my side. “What are your thoughts on the case?”

“Russian oligarchs? Bottomless wealth? A mysterious Mr. X? It sounds more like a movie.”

Niko held the railing as we walked downstairs. “This is what we were hired for. Few organizations will accept a job on the condition the target is exterminated. A bounty means dead or alive, and most will go out of their way to turn them in alive so the criminal can face punishment. We accepted a few of these hit jobs before you came along, but not many. You were always the missing piece.”

When we entered the downstairs gym, Niko closed the door. I headed to the long rope hanging from the ceiling, one we climbed on. Strengthening the muscles in my arms was something I continually worked at, though it wasn’t easy.

“Climb,” he said, joining my side.

“Maybe I should practice throwing knives or firing off a few rounds outside.”

“You’re already good at those things. Whenever you’re training, focus on your weaknesses and prepare for the unexpected. You might have to chase your target up a pole.”

“I’ll shoot his ass down,” I said with a chuckle.

“What if you’ve lost your weapons?”

“I gotcha. The only thing I don’t like is the unknown.” I gripped the rope between my hands and glanced up. “I love this job, but waiting until the last minute for details makes me nervous. Before Keystone, I used to plan out my attacks. It was satisfying. This feels more like getting dropped off in the dark where lions roam.”

“I’m always in the dark.” Niko bent over and placed his hands flat on the floor. “Killing a man is never simple. We might get one without trouble, though it largely depends on how prepared they are. It sounds to me like their power lies in the forces that protect them.”

With controlled strength, Niko lifted his legs off the ground until he was in a handstand position. After adjusting the space between his hands, he slowly lowered his body until it was parallel to the floor.

I jumped up the rope and used my feet to anchor me. Sometimes I climbed as far as I could with just my hands, and when I grew tired, I’d use my feet by looping the rope around one foot and securing it with the other. Niko and I operated differently when it came to working out. He excelled at every physical challenge and believed muscle mass had nothing to do with strength—that it came from within.

Halfway up the rope, I started to question myself. I ran on adrenaline, and without it, I spent too much time thinking about consequences. The higher I got, the more I thought about the fall. There was a mat down there, but I could still roll off and crack my head on the hard floor.

“Why were you upset before the meeting?” he asked, still parallel to the floor. “I noticed blue flutters in your light. You’re afraid of something.”

I kept climbing. “Christian and I had a disagreement.”

“You’re lying.”

My arms trembled, and I slid down a little before scrambling to get a grip. When I couldn’t, I panicked.

“Your light is black and red now. I can tell when you’re hiding something.”

I glanced down and saw he was now standing and watching me. “It’s none of your business!” I finally got a grip of the rope with my feet.

Niko shook the rope. “I don’t care about your business. I want you to recognize how your emotions weaken you. If your enemy sees it, he’ll use it against you. Stay focused and climb.”

I looked up—only five more feet to go. Claude could pull himself up easily without the use of his feet, but he had strong arms, and Chitahs were excellent climbers.

“Is there something wrong with your father?” he went on. “Is he dying?”

That speared my heart, and I hesitated.

“Keep climbing, Raven. Stay in control.”

I reached higher and used my feet until I was at the top. Once there, the fear of falling disappeared like a distant dream. After a few seconds basking in my victory, I began my descent.

“How did Christian deceive you?” Niko asked.

The rope slipped from beneath my foot. When I hit the mat, I cracked my shoulder and cried out.

Niko appeared at my side and placed his hands on my shoulder. Warmth penetrated my skin, and a burst of energy pulsed through my body followed by a bright light and a snap. I shut my eyes. When it was over, I sat up and rolled my shoulder.

Niko took a seat in front of me. “For some, their weakness is their ego. For others, it’s physical. Your weakness is others. That wasn’t always the case. You were different when you first came to us and didn’t have anyone. I can’t tell you to stop caring for people, but it’s imperative that you don’t let your adversaries know what rattles your cage. If you can’t control your mind, then you can’t control your body. Do you understand?”

I massaged my shoulder. “Yeah. I know what you’re trying to do.”

“You’re very good at seeking out what triggers other people to lose their focus, but it’s crucial that you recognize your own flaws. Once you know what they are, you can subdue those emotions as they arise. You have to refrain from reacting. I learned this skill many centuries ago. An impulsive man is one who has no emotional control. Your enemies will always use your weakness against you, especially those you cannot kill.”

That last part resonated. I leaned back on my hands. “I’m nervous about the no-witness thing. What if there are servants? How am I supposed to kill a maid or a cook? I know these guys are a big deal, and letting anyone go would jeopardize the mission, but I don’t like murdering innocents.”

“You won’t have to worry about that. People this powerful only surround themselves with trained killers. My hope is we’ll be isolating them in a location where they can’t escape.”

Niko stood up and walked over to a recently acquired pommel horse with two metal pommels on top. After hearing about men’s gymnastics on television, he was interested in learning. He had no trouble finding the pommel horse since he’d memorized every square inch of the mansion. Unless something was out of place, he knew his way around without any help.

Niko gripped the pommels and did a maneuver where he spun his legs around and around, keeping them perfectly straight. When he got warmed up, he lifted himself up in a handstand, still holding the bars, and then let go with one hand.

I walked over.

Every muscle in his arm locked, demonstrating the perfect control he had over his body. What would break Niko’s concentration? Since he was a private person, I narrowed down what made him uncomfortable.

Women.

From the interactions I’d seen, he struggled with conversation and had zero flirting technique. “Have you ever been married?” Niko didn’t move an inch, so I circled around to the side where I could see his face. His long hair hung down as if reaching for the floor. “Are you gay?” I stood back and studied his impeccable form. “Do you prefer multiple partners at once?”

None of my questions rattled him.

Should I ask?

Something had been on my mind lately, something I’d noticed. “Are you in love with Gem?”

Niko’s arm wobbled, and he fell off the horse and hit the mat.

My jaw slackened. He had always been sweet with her, but something between them changed recently, and I wasn’t sure when.

Niko sat up and held his wrist. “Why would you ask something like that?”

I sat down next to him. “I don’t know. Lately you two are as thick as thieves. I know what it’s like to love someone and have to hide it, but I don’t see how you can hide it from Shepherd and Claude. Their senses are bound to pick up on it.”

Niko swept his hair back. “Gem and I are… best friends. Nothing more.”

Gem was gregarious and physically affectionate with anyone she felt close to, and the more I thought about it, the more I realized the change had been on his end. “Did she friend-zone you?”

“I’m afraid I don’t know what that means. Don’t read into something that isn’t there. Gem is a special lady; one I’m privileged to know.”

Then I saw it—a flicker in his blue eyes. That and the way he said her name that brimmed with affection. “I don’t know what you two have or haven’t discussed between each other, and that’s none of my business. But if your feelings are stronger than hers, be careful. Unrequited love never ends well. You know the risk if you plan to explore those feelings and it doesn’t work out. Leaving Keystone means getting a memory wipe, so make sure it’s worth it. If you’re worried I’ll mention this to Christian, don’t be. You’ve just seemed different around her lately. Nothing obvious. Honestly, I didn’t think it was love—I was just messing with you to get you to fall. I thought maybe you two might have hooked up in secret.”

“Someday you’ll discover that a true friend is more invaluable and everlasting than a lover. Relationships are complicated.”

I leaned back on my hands. “Tell me about it.”

“So I wasn’t wrong when you were up on the rope?”

“When I first met Christian, I thought he was a fanghole. Then I saw how he had his shit together. Now I don’t know. He’s just as fucked up as I am. But I love him. I don’t know if I’m making a mistake. I just have to follow my gut. Or my heart. I’m not sure if they’re the same thing,” I said, falling onto my back and sighing. “He really does love me—that much I know. Sometimes I wonder if that love will destroy us in the end.”

“Are you not happy? I can see in your light that you love him.”

“How do you know when someone’s gone too far? When they’ve crossed a line? I don’t even know where the line is.”

Niko bent his knee and draped his arm over it. “There’s no universal rule that applies to us all when it comes to love, Ravenheart. You have to navigate your own waters. Our hearts are resilient, but our spirits are not. A heart is a mosaic, one that’s been broken many times yet holds its shape. Our spirit is what carries us through life, and when someone chips away at our spirit, we give up. We succumb to fear or self-loathing or doubt. People broke my spirit long ago, and it took a long time for me to recover. What helped facilitate that is that I had no feelings for those men. However, if someone you love inflicts the damage, it might be more difficult to overcome.”

Fletcher had broken my spirit, and I had only recently begun healing. Now those fissures were threatening to crack wide open, but not because of Christian. If anything, I felt stronger around him—more capable. Christian was my other half and made me feel like I could conquer the world. I just wished he hadn’t kept this secret. Though his intention might have been to protect me, I knew he selfishly wanted Fletcher all to himself. That was Christian’s weakness.

“Well, Niko. All I have to say is that if I bump into you a thousand years from now and you two haven’t hooked up, I’ll be extremely disappointed.”

Niko stood and offered me his hand. “Perhaps you will, but I won’t.”

CHAPTER 6

The next day, after we slept off the booze and Mexican food, we got down to business. Gem shut herself away in her secret library, searching her books for anything on these oligarchs. Her research was more out of curiosity and not necessity. Wyatt covertly scoured the dark web for reward information. The rest of us spent all day in the gym practicing combat maneuvers.

Knowing our enemies were a Mage, a Chitah, and a Vampire allowed us to zero in on those vulnerabilities. Christian emphasized that their goons would distract us, buying enough time for their boss to escape. We didn’t know anything about their locations, the number of people who worked for them, or even what two of the men looked like. When evening rolled around, Viktor requested that I accompany him to a meeting as his guard. Christian tagged along for the ride.

I parked my truck across the street from a skyscraper that stretched to the dark heavens. “At least they don’t have any parking meters around here.”

“That is a human contraption,” Viktor replied from the passenger seat.

I pressed my cheek against the icy window and looked up at the high-rise. “So this is where Lenore lives.”

“Unless she raises the subject, do not mention her previous home. I’m sure she was not pleased with all the bodies left to rot.”

Maybe she wasn’t, but I sure was.

When we exited the vehicle, I unzipped my leather jacket and walked around to the truck bed.

Christian gawked at the high-rise as he stood. “Jaysus wept. Can you imagine if they had a fire?”

I tossed him the keys. “Keep an eye on my truck.”

He hopped out on the opposite side of the truck by the sidewalk. “I don’t think you have anything to worry about. I’ve seen how she handles a slippery curve. There won’t be anyone fighting over this hunk of metal. Not around here.” He crunched on a piece of candy he must have been eating on the ride over, a sardonic look on his face.

I loved my truck, and I wasn’t going to stand for his insults.

Since littering was one of his peeves, I’d accumulated quite the collection of wrappers in my pockets to avoid his complaints. With a straight face, I reached inside my jacket pocket and tossed a handful of wrappers into the wind.

He folded his arms over the truck bed. “Do you think that bothers me?”

“Poe, if they sent you to Times Square on New Year’s Eve, they wouldn’t need to hire anyone to sweep the confetti the next day. Have fun.” I smiled and crossed the snowy street. Without looking back, I flicked the last wrapper. The plastic drifted across the snow before stopping by a hydrant.

The city lights reflecting off the snow made it unnaturally bright. All the weathermen could talk about were school and business closings due to extreme snowfall. I hadn’t seen anything too crazy, but my truck fishtailed a few times on the overpass.

“What do you want me to do once we’re up there?” I asked as we crossed the street.

“Remain silent,” Viktor advised me. “Miss Parrish wants to speak privately. Christian has exceptional hearing, and that is why I could not invite him. Shepherd is busy—”

“Polishing his axes,” I finished with a chuckle. “I walked by his room earlier, and it looked like an armory. I hope I don’t have to carry all that on me.”

“That is how he prepares. We all have our rituals.”

When we reached the glass building, I stomped the sludge off my boots and opened the door for Viktor.

The black granite walls drew my eyes up to the lofty ceiling. While Viktor signed in at the long black counter, I ventured farther in. I’d heard about this place. It made the news when it was first built—a coveted high-rise for millionaires. I’d always wondered what it was like inside. My boots knocked against the hard floor, dirty snow still clinging to the toes. Upholstered chairs were clustered alongside the windows on the left, and it had a business vibe. Not so much a place I’d want to live in. I peered down a hallway to my right, wondering where it led. Probably a mail room… or a wine cellar.

Viktor led me past a huge column to the elevators. “There is a pool, a restaurant, a club, a theater, and in-house food delivery service. One never has to leave.”

“Sounds like a real ant farm.”

A tall Chitah stepped out of the elevator and tipped his hat as we went inside.

When the doors closed, I noticed all the buttons—more than I’d ever seen in an elevator. Viktor pressed 61.

“Top floor?” I asked. “You’ve got to be kidding me. Why would a Vampire want to live in a condo surrounded by glass windows? All that sunlight—she must be a masochist.”

“Let us keep the chatter to a minimum,” he said quietly, hands clasped in front of him.

The elevator moved swiftly and quietly. Lenore lived on an island before coming to Cognito. It was too bad the myth about Vampires burning up in sunlight wasn’t true. All it did was hurt their sensitive eyes, so I didn’t get why she was so eager to surround herself with it.

Poor Viktor. I wondered how he’d been getting on these past weeks after Christian scrubbed his memories. Christian had cut a deal with Lenore in order to restore my life, so we had to erase his memories of her joining up with Sparrow. For all he knew, she broke it off with him. She had some nerve summoning Viktor up to her apartment. Granted, she was his primary contact with the higher authority, but this could have easily been handled over the phone or a video conference.

My stomach dipped when we reached the top floor. The doors opened, revealing a private hallway lit in blue. Penthouse suite meant she had the entire top floor to herself. The other door had a picture on it with a person walking down the stairs.

I reached inside my open jacket to make sure my dagger was accessible. If worse came to worse, I might have to slice off all of Lenore’s toes one by one.

A girl can dream.

I shadowed behind Viktor while he rang the bell.

“Viktor, darling.” Lenore opened the door wider to invite us in. When she offered him her hand to kiss, he took it and bowed instead. “Make yourself at home,” she said, gesturing to our left.

I crossed the threshold, avoiding eye contact since I was on duty. A guard’s role was to remain invisible.

“Hello, Raven.” Lenore’s tone was unexpectedly laced with amusement.

Without replying, I entered a large room and stood with my back against the wall. With the hallway to my immediate right, I had a good strategic view of the loft as well as the entrance. The floor-to-ceiling windows covered the left-hand wall and the one straight ahead. The open space wasn’t a perfect rectangle, as one corner came inward. White drapes softened the edges of each window, matching the furniture. Everything was immaculate. I wanted desperately to press my face against the glass and look out at the city. Instead, I scanned my surroundings. The pastoral paintings and nude statues were familiar, ones she’d hauled over from her old mansion. Lenore clearly had an obsession with cold, inanimate objects. Even her fireplace against the central wall was marble.

“The ceilings are fourteen feet high,” she bragged, walking the floor like a real estate agent. She gestured to an entryway that cut through the central wall. “This connecting room was previously a library, but I converted it into a bar. Would you like a drink?”

“Nyet.”

“Please, let me take your coat.”

Viktor removed his long trench coat and handed it to her. Lenore assessed his brown slacks and grey cardigan, no doubt wondering why he hadn’t bothered to dress up for her. I thought he looked great, but when Lenore turned away to put his jacket in the hall, I saw her snobbishly arch an eyebrow.

“The original tenants had wall-to-wall carpeting,” she said, hanging his coat on a hook. “No one had changed it until I moved in. Absolutely dreadful. Marble floors are much easier to clean. Wouldn’t you agree?”

To clean the blood, I mused. If I had to guess, she really installed hard flooring so she could hear her enemies sneaking in to kill her.

Lenore floated past me and crossed the spacious room. “Oh wait. Of course you know. I forgot you have that old stone. Are you sure I can’t get you a drink?”

Viktor put his hands in his pants pockets and walked toward the sofas. “There is no need to make this social. You have a very nice place.”

“Nice,” she said, letting the word roll around on her tongue. “That’s one way to put it.” She gestured for him to sit on one of the two white sofas and then sat across from him, facing me. “Unfortunately, I had to sell my home because of the scandal. No one will ever attend a party there again. And besides”—she crossed her legs—“I couldn’t get the stench out from all the bodies you left behind. I always thought Christian was a man who picked up after himself.”

I bit the inside of my lip, irritated she would bring his name up in a bad light, especially after all we’d done for her.

“Keystone had bigger priorities,” Viktor fired back. “That is something for the cleaners to take care of. We are not a body-disposal service.”

“No matter. I’m far happier in my new home. This is a place where I can truly luxuriate and feel safe.”

I stepped forward when a man suddenly entered the room from the central hall, a suit jacket in his hand.

Lenore caught my quick reaction and stood. “Viktor, I’d like to introduce you to Ronald Jefferson Frazier, my partner.”

Partner? Higher authority members didn’t have partners that I knew about. They worked independently, like congressmen or senators.

Viktor stood and bowed. “Viktor Kazan. A pleasure to make your acquaintance.”

It hadn’t escaped my attention that Lenore had only addressed Viktor by his first name but gave Ronald McDonald the full introduction.

“I’m afraid I can’t stay. I’m just now leaving.” Ronald stuck out his hand, and Viktor stared at it before accepting a handshake.

Very strange.

“I’m sorry to interrupt your meeting,” he said unapologetically. “I just came to kiss my sweetie goodbye.”

Lenore placed her hand on his chest. “Must you leave?”

Oh. That kind of partner.

After putting on his jacket, Ronald leaned over and gave Lenore a kiss.

Right in front of Viktor.

I took my place against the wall and looked down like an obedient guard, pretending I wasn’t paying attention. But man, that had to stab Viktor in the heart. How could she be so flagrant about her newfound love only weeks after leaving Viktor in the dust? He deserved better than that.

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” Ronald said before striding past me. He smelled like Hugo Boss cologne and looked like a young Robert Redford. Lenore was probably made in her late twenties or early thirties, depending on how women in her time aged. He looked closer to forty-five. Younger than Viktor, more conventionally handsome, and better dressed. Something else caught my attention.

Hmm. Definitely a human.

Human energy was distinctly weaker than all other Breeds, including Relics.

After he closed the door, Lenore entered the central hall, walking out of view. I glanced to my right at the foyer, noticing another living space in the back. The lights were out, and that must have been where her bedrooms were located.

Lenore returned with a glass of white wine. “Isn’t he a doll? Ronald’s the reason I was able to purchase this place. We met, hit it off, and he happened to be looking for a mansion in the historic district closer to some of his clients. He originally paid thirty million for this place. Instead of selling it for a profit, he offered me a price I couldn’t refuse. Can you believe it? A human.” She returned to her seat. “A rare few have done exceedingly well for themselves while staying out of the limelight.”

Viktor sat. “Does he know?”

“That I’m a Vampire?” She chuckled and sipped her wine. “Of course. He’s a trusted human.”

Viktor turned his gaze up to the high ceilings. “What is his line of work, if you don’t mind my asking?”

She set her wine on the glass table. “I believe he started as an investment broker. Then he began working with Breed in banking, but he does much more now. Darling, I don’t like boring you with details.”

Viktor and I were on the same page. Brokers and bankers didn’t make mega millions that I knew of, so he must have dipped his toe in Breed investments. As far as I knew, most of us didn’t get involved in human financial institutions since it created a hassle with false identities, taxes, and organizations that might track suspicious activity. We relied on our own debit cards, bankers, and financial advisors to live separately from humans. Perhaps people like Ronald bridged that gap—someone experienced who knew all the traps to avoid. Someone who took care of tax and identity issues, allowing immortals to profit in the human world. Did he also give advice on laundering money or how to will inheritances to yourself after faking your death? I wondered how deep that rabbit hole went.

Then again, maybe he had simply won the lottery.

“I’m thinking about turning one of the rooms into a conservatory. I’m not able to get them to tear away the ceiling and replace it with glass, so I plan to hire professionals to install special lighting for growing plants. I need a retreat with lush greenery.” Lenore stood. “Shall I give you a tour? We can speak privately in my office. I’m afraid I haven’t soundproofed this place—it’s tricky with all the glass. Jack, come clear the table.”

Jack? Who the fuck is Jack?

A man emerged from the large column behind her, and when he stepped into view, my blood ran cold. It was the closest I’d ever come to having an out-of-body experience.

Lenore grinned. “This is Jack, my guard. He’s gracious enough to help with other requests. Christian never came through in finding me a bodyguard, so I had to take matters into my own hands. Jack is very capable at controlling a situation.” She glanced my way. “Dear oh dear. How thoughtless of me. I didn’t offer you a drink. Jack, please fetch our guest a glass of wine.”

I couldn’t say no. I couldn’t run. I couldn’t even move.

Fletcher Black, my Creator, walked coolly into the adjoining liquor room.

“Are you feeling well?” Lenore asked me.

Paralyzed, I flicked a glance to Viktor, my mouth open but no words coming out.

“I have instructed her not to speak,” Viktor said, oblivious to my internal meltdown. “Shall we go somewhere private?”

Lenore gracefully moved a swath of blond hair away from her face while she looked at me. “You two keep each other company. As guards, I’m sure you have a lot in common.”

When they left the room, I waited to see if maybe I’d imagined him. Look-alikes are possible.

From the central hall ahead on my right, Fletcher strutted in with a wineglass in his hand. I got tunnel vision staring at his piercing deep-blue eyes. Little had changed about him. He was still shaving his head bald, though I could make out the shadow of his widow’s peak. Fletcher’s wiry beard was light brown with a reddish tint, his mustache long enough to cover his upper lip. And his eyebrows slanted in a constant frown.

As he neared, I noticed something had changed.

The way he looked at me.

This wasn’t the look of control, domination, or even disgust. No, that look was pure animosity. I reached inside my coat, fingers gripping the handle of my dagger.

“Hello, love,” he said, his voice making my skin crawl. Fletcher spoke with a British accent that was lower-class, like a man who had lived on the streets for a hundred years, stealing light and torturing his Learners. I wouldn’t have been surprised at all to find out he was the real Jack the Ripper.

He handed me a glass of wine. “I’ve missed my little pet.”

I knocked the drink out of his hand, and it shattered on the floor.

He sneered. “You little cunt. She’ll make me clean that up, she will.”

Every hair on my body stood on end, and I had to get as far away from him as I could before I stabbed him in the heart. I rushed toward the windows and kept my eyes trained on him as he slowly walked toward me, dressed in a grey button-up shirt and slacks.

“I bet you’re wondering why I’m here,” he growled. “Your Vampire is a proper fool. He should have killed me while he had the chance. No matter.” Fletcher circled the couch. “Give daddy a kiss.”

I flashed to the center of the room, trying not to box myself in. I wanted desperately to say something, but the words were stuck in my throat like glue. I hated him. I feared him. I wanted him dead. My thoughts were nebulous, and I couldn’t discern what was happening.

“It seems the Miss was curious about your dirty little Vamp living off in the woods. We came to an arrangement after she freed me, and I think it worked out all right,” he said, thumbs in his pockets. “Penthouse suite. Isn’t it grand? I went from a bag of bones to a right proper gentleman.”

“You were never a gentleman,” I hissed.

“There’s the insolent Raven I know. I much prefer you in chains. Don’t worry, love,” he said with a salacious grin. “All in good time.”

I flashed at him and seized his throat, squeezing as hard as I could. Fletcher lost his balance and stumbled backward against a window.

He rammed his arms forward and broke my hold, then coughed violently, the skin around his neck turning pink. “Play nicey-nicey. Wouldn’t want your boss man to walk in, now would we?”

My heart thudded against my chest.

Stay calm. He wants to see your fear. Don’t let him get in your head. I can’t believe this is happening. Why is he here?

My thoughts were scattered. I stepped away, unable to strip my eyes from the man who had kept me in chains and stolen my light. I’d imagined this moment a thousand times over, with me killing him, but now I couldn’t.

Lenore knew he was my Creator, and she set up this meeting intentionally. Christian couldn’t come after her because he’d given his word, so that left me. It wouldn’t be easy for her to hire someone to take me out without risking a scandal, so I could see her master plan unfolding like a black cloud over the horizon. Lenore was using Fletcher to bait me.

I remembered Niko’s talk about controlling my emotions before they controlled me.

Pull it together. Don’t let him think he’s gotten to you.

I returned to my original spot and kicked the glass shards across the floor. I could see it was aggravating him since he wasn’t just her guard but also her servant. “You smell just as bad as the day we met—like dead bodies. I guess it’s from working in the morgue all those years. All the smells from autopsies and putrefying bodies probably seeped into your pores and fused with your DNA.”

He bared his teeth before ducking into the next room. It gave me a chance to catch my breath and get my head together. I could not lose my shit in front of Viktor. Especially with Lenore present. Nothing would thrill her more than walking out of their meeting and finding me shoving a dagger into Fletcher’s skull. Viktor didn’t know what Fletcher looked like—no one did except Christian. He would never make the connection with Lenore referring to him as Jack, probably short for Jack the Ripper.

I wondered what Christian would have done had he been the one to escort Viktor. Lenore probably asked for him to stay behind. I would have bet my right arm that she recommended me in his place. And now my enemies were teamed up. Hopefully Viktor wouldn’t invite her over. I couldn’t handle the thought of Fletcher in my home. In my room.

He returned with a dustpan and brush.

I kicked another piece across the room, and it clinked against the wall. “Looks like you finally got the job you deserve. Don’t forget the mop. You wouldn’t want your master to slip and crack her skull open.”

Fletcher knelt and swept up the broken glass. “I have plans for you, love. Just you wait.”

I strutted past him. “Missed a spot.”

He growled and seized my ankle, his fingers encircling like tiny snakes. I jerked my leg from his grasp and coolly returned to the windows.

Fletcher would never know it to look at me that I was coming unhinged. I’d never seen him when I wasn’t in chains, and I suddenly wished that I could have seen him before he escaped. That I could have been the one to make him scream and beg for death.

Watching him on his hands and knees, frantically cleaning because he was afraid his boss would be upset, brought me a sliver of satisfaction.

I had to choose my words carefully. We weren’t alone, and Lenore was undoubtedly splitting her attention between Viktor and us. I didn’t want her to know she’d gotten to me. I wanted her to realize that she was the one who’d made the mistake by freeing him.

“Do you know what that sodding Vamp did to me?” Fletcher asked.

“Not every detail, but I’m looking forward to hearing those stories over Christmas dinners in the future.” I stepped on a shard of glass, pressing down until it crunched into pieces.

Fletcher shot up like an arrow and glowered. “You were always trouble. A nasty little halfling with a dirty mouth.”

“Speaking of dirty habits, I saw the news yesterday. They found a few dead bodies. Looks like someone with a bad juicing habit out of control. You wouldn’t know anything about that, would you? Does Lenore know about your light addiction?”

I knew she was listening, and if she didn’t know Fletcher was a light addict, I’d make sure she found out. As long as he was under her wing, he had protection. I needed to clip that wing.

“I’m sure you made her all sorts of promises. Am I right?” I leaned against the sofa. “Maybe she controls your life, but she can’t control your addiction. You’re messy, Fletcher. I know you had something to do with all those bodies. You don’t know how to control yourself. A juicer knows when to stop, but you can’t stop, can you? All those months without a single drop of light—I bet you couldn’t wait. You were weak and frail and probably started with humans before graduating to stronger light. Then you remembered how good that light tasted and didn’t stop until they were dead. That’s messy. Lenore doesn’t like messy.” I kicked the tiny particles of glass, and they skittered across the floor.

Fletcher’s nostrils flared like an angry bull. He hurled the brush at my head. I ducked, and it struck the window.

I chuckled. “Hope it didn’t chip the glass.”

He slowly approached, menace in every step, and bent over, spearing me with his gaze. “I’m gonna fucking rip you apart.”

“And I’m gonna turn you in.”

He barked out a laugh. “For what, love? I have connections. I built a reputation with the Mageri. Do you think they really care what I do on the side?”

“If your mistress sees the mess you’ve made, you’ll be the one who’s fucking torn apart. Better hurry. She’ll be coming out soon.”

As much as Fletcher wanted to taunt me, he must have known how Lenore liked things just so.

I wondered if he stayed here all the time. Surely not. She probably called on him when needed, which meant he was staying somewhere close. He obviously had enough free time to feed his light addiction. I had my doubts he lived in a secluded home. Fletcher liked his privacy, but Lenore wouldn’t want him too far from her reach. It wouldn’t be long before he would get the itch to take a light slave, and I would be damned if I let that happen to anyone else.

Embers burned in the pit of my stomach the more I thought about it. When Fletcher returned with a long broom and a mop, I went to the corner and faced the window. My dark reflection watched as if it were another side of me—the one I’d left behind when I joined Keystone. I was done speaking to Fletcher. I didn’t have the strength, and I didn’t want to give either him or Lenore the satisfaction of my anger. I stared at the twinkling lights and imagined myself living up here. I loved heights. I loved looking down on the city and feeling its pulse beneath my gaze.

“I’m glad we could work this out,” Lenore said from a distant hall. “Next time you visit, you should join Ronald and me for drinks in the restaurant downstairs. We’d love to have you. He’s such a busy man but always makes time for me.”

Yeah, I’m sure Viktor would love nothing more than to hang out with the woman who dumped him for a tyrant.

Not that he knew about her treasonous act, but she had left him all the same.

“I am a very busy man.” Viktor squinted at his watch. “I am pleased you have found someone who is not so busy.”

I tried not to smile at the backhanded compliment.

“Before you go, join me on the balcony. I insist. Raven, you too. It’s a view of Cognito unlike any you’ve ever seen.”

When she unlocked the glass door and opened it, a blast of cold air ruffled her cream-colored pantsuit. Though her silk blouse only had thin spaghetti straps, not a single goose bump appeared on her arms as she stepped onto the balcony and the icy wind blew back her hair.

Viktor stiffened, arms at his sides.

“Isn’t this absolutely delicious?” Lenore rested her hands on the curved metal railing, which ran atop a glass wall. “You should see it at sunrise. It’s my favorite time of day, when purple and orange paint the sky. It’s almost like you’re a god in the heavens. I don’t know why I never considered living here before. I somehow thought a stuffy old mansion would suit me, but those are the old ways.”

I leaned over the railing and searched for Christian. We were too high up, and I couldn’t see the street very clearly. “I’m glad our stuffy old mansion can’t kill us.”

She turned toward me. “Pardon me?”

I needed to be tactful in Viktor’s presence. “I’d be worried about inviting someone up here who was my enemy—someone I didn’t trust. That’s a long drop.”

She tipped her head to the side, blond hair rippling in the wind. “That never occurred to me.”

Bullshit. Lenore did away with perceived enemies, and here she was, pretending she didn’t have any. She must have had scores based on the number of people Christian had killed for her. Lenore had put herself up in a high-security building, assuming she was untouchable.

“Your guard seems”—I observed Fletcher carrying the dustpan into the other room— “eager to please.”

“One simply doesn’t have a guard stand around and do nothing,” she said with derision. “I’ve had a guard or two in my past, and I have always expected more from them than just protecting me.”

“If you will allow me to use your facilities before I leave?” Viktor asked.

Lenore pointed inside. “Straight down the center hall, last door on the right.” She waited until he was inside. “Poor man. I never realized his weakness was women. All this time, I thought it was Keystone. It’s truly quite pathetic for a man his age to be pining over what will never be.”

I rested my arm on the railing. “Speaking of pathetic, where did you and moneybags meet? The gas station? You work fast.”

She inched closer. “I thought you would be more interested in my new guard. He comes with an exceptional background.”

That stung, but I was shivering from the cold, so it was easy to mask my emotions. “If you think that guy won’t land you in trouble, you’re dumber than you look.”

“You have some nerve speaking to me this way.”

“Cut the shit. We both know where we stand, traitor.”

Her eyes flicked down to my chest. “How are you enjoying your necklace?”

“Almost as much as I’m enjoying my loyal man. You’ll never know that kind of loyalty, Lenore. You can’t buy it no matter how much money or how much dirt you hold over someone. And I know that deep down, that pisses you off. Or else you wouldn’t be making such a flagrant attempt to intimidate me by keeping Fletcher at your side. I know you buried me. I’m done with all the secrets and lies. I’ll play nice because I have to, but you’ve made an enemy for life.”

Lenore’s imperious demeanor suggested she thought herself a goddess, and I just a mere mortal she could toy with. “The only enemies I fear are the ones who hide their contempt behind a smile. If I know where you stand, you’re no longer a threat. Merely… an annoyance.”

I glanced inside at Fletcher approaching Viktor with his jacket. Alarmed, I reached for the door handle.

Lenore captured my arm, her eyes narrowing. “Did Christian tell you about our arrangement?”

I jerked my arm free since she only had hold of my jacket. “Christian keeps his promises. He won’t hunt you down and kill you.”

She gave a sardonic smile. “And what about you, Raven Black?”

“I could have shoved you off the ledge five minutes ago.”

Lenore drew closer, her perfume stripped off by the frigid wind. “Don’t pretend it doesn’t sting. You look dreadful, like a deer seconds before a car strikes it and leaves its dead carcass on the road. Sleep well.” As we walked inside, her tone became genial. “Of course! Come back anytime you like, Raven. I’m certain you’d love the view in the daytime.”

Fletcher stood on the other side of the room, his hands clasped. When he waggled his eyebrows, my stomach knotted.

Lenore and Viktor entered the hall and exchanged private words.

“See you again, love,” Fletcher said quietly, his promise making my skin crawl.

The quick elevator ride down was silent. I didn’t want to talk, and by the looks of it, neither did Viktor. It felt like I had hypothermia after standing out on the balcony in this weather. The air was colder up there and unhindered by buildings. I flexed my fingers, which were pale and numb.

As we crossed the freshly plowed street, I steeled myself. Christian had the engine humming.

He hopped out of the back and grinned cockily. “I’ll have you know I didn’t pick up a one.”

Viktor rounded the truck and got in the passenger side.

“I need you to drive,” I said to Christian. “I’ll ride in the back.”

He canted his head. “Are you having a go with me?”

“Just drive.”

When I moved toward the bumper, he sidestepped and blocked my path.

Christian dipped his chin, his black eyes staring into my soul. “Did she threaten you? If that be the case, I’ll throw her bony arse off that balcony and see that she shuffles off this mortal coil.”

“I just need you to drive. And unless Viktor strikes up a chat, turn on the radio or something. It wasn’t easy for him to see Lenore,” I said, lowering my voice. “She paraded her new man around before their private meeting. Kissed him right in front of Viktor.”

“Jaysus.”

“Help me in.”

Christian helped me into the back of the truck with an effortless lift. I was still processing what I’d just seen, replaying it in my head like a bad movie. I needed to be numb, and sitting in the freezing cold was the literal way to do it. Christian had self-control when it mattered, but I didn’t want him steering us off the road with the newfound knowledge that the man he’d been torturing for over a year was an elevator ride away.

CHAPTER 7

After returning home from Lenore’s, I ran inside while Christian parked, hoping like hell Viktor wouldn’t call us into a meeting. When I reached my room, I couldn’t go in. I wasn’t sure why, but I needed to be in Christian’s space, where I felt safer. When I arrived at his door, I entered the dark room and stoked up a roaring fire. Still freezing from the truck ride, I climbed into his bed and curled up.

Christian quietly walked in and closed the door behind him. “I went to your room. Thought that’s where you’d be. I know how you hate all the spiders in here,” he mused, hanging his trench coat in the armoire. “Whatever she said, put it out of your mind.” Christian reached over and touched my arm. “Jaysus, you’re freezing. You should have let me ride in the back.”

He reached underneath the bed and pulled out the heavy blanket he kept there for the nights I stayed with him. Mostly we slept in my room since I had a cozy space with windows, whereas Christian dwelled in a functional tomb. His fireplace was opposite the door to the left, a good distance from his bed, which was up against the right wall. The bathroom entryway was across from the bed, and aside from a bedside table and armoire, he didn’t have any décor. No rugs, no pictures on the wall, no furniture except for a small armchair he moved around. The candy dish was the only possession he owned aside from weapons and clothing. I stared at the glowing flames as I lay on my right side.

Christian sat in front of me and unlaced his shoes. “What happened?”

“Lenore invited us inside. Then she introduced Viktor to her new… whatever. Man.”

“Ah. So that’s it? Lenore has a skilled way of crushing a man’s heart until he never wants to go back to her. It’s her way of finalizing the death of a relationship.”

“Fletcher was there.”

A shoe dropped.

Christian looked over his shoulder at me. “Come again?”

“I always thought I’d know what to say or do. Instead, I just froze.”

He made a tight fist. “Are you telling me that Lenore Parrish took that troll under her wing? How did he manage that?”

Unable to lie still and talk about Fletcher, I scooted off the bed. “Under her wing? That vulture is the one who broke him out of your house of horrors. How did she know about that place? Did you tell her? Did you take her there?”

“No!” Christian faced me from the other side of the bed. He started to say something and then covered his mouth and turned away.

“What? Tell me.”

“It doesn’t matter.”

I clenched my fists. “Yes, it does. Everything matters.”

“Remember when we fled her party and were trying to figure out where to hide? You mentioned my secret cabin, and she heard you. Lenore doesn’t like secrets. She must have followed me or had someone do it,” he said, pacing. “But I’m always exceedingly careful.”

“Obviously not careful enough.”

His gaze was searching as he rounded the bed and approached me. “What happened?”

Despite my taking a deep breath, my hands were shaking. I folded my arms, not wanting to show Christian how rattled I was. But he must have heard my racing heart and noticed a change in me all the same, because he kept the distance between us.

“He’s her guard.” I shook my head and averted my gaze. “He’s her right-hand man. She left us alone during their meeting.”

Christian dipped his chin. “And?”

I took another deep breath and turned to the door.

“Where are you going?”

“I need a drink.”

He lightly gripped my arm. “You can’t drown yourself in the bottle. Viktor needs us, and we have to stay ready.”

“What do you expect me to do? Stay calm? I can’t stay calm! That fucking maniac is living in the lap of luxury, protected by a higher authority member. You made that deal with Lenore, and neither of us can go after her. With him at her side, it’s like she’s daring us.”

“Aye. She wants us to take the bait. And rest assured she has plans for when we do.”

“I’m not afraid of dying.”

“You should be more afraid of living. She’ll put us in Breed jail. Do you know how long those convicted sit in there? Imagine serving a few centuries. They don’t have television or books, and it’s not uncommon for them to impale a Vampire during their entire sentence.”

I covered my face, the rage trembling in me like a feral animal.

“I won’t let him harm you,” he said, his vow threading through my soul like a needle sealing a wound. “So I don’t want to see you lying in the fetal position again.”

“I’ll toughen up by tomorrow, but God help her if she parades him around here. This is the only safe space I have.”

“I won’t let that happen.”

I lowered my arms and took a breath. “Do you know the betrayal I felt when I first realized that Creators were supposed to mentor and protect you? Now that he’s out, he could do it again to someone else. I know he’s been juicing in his spare time. He’s a light addict. I don’t think spending months in chains would get it out of his system. He’s addicted to the power and control he has over people when he’s juicing.” I touched my pendant. “I wasn’t expecting to feel this way. I wasn’t expecting a rush of memories and… things I just want to forget.”

Christian sat on the bed, his hands clasped. “I felt that way the first time I saw Lenore. Unlike you, I had more years to process what she did to me. Fletcher put you through hell every day with no escape for months on end. I’ll never truly understand that pain. Maybe it never goes away. But now you know, Raven.”

“Know what?”

“Why the ancients are so detached. Why the older you get, the harder you become. Sometimes I don’t know if I want to help you build a wall or tear it down. All I know is the best peace you’ll ever get is justice. And that won’t happen in any court of law. Fletcher has full rights to you as your Creator, and the Mageri turns a blind eye to what happens behind closed doors. Creators are rare, and they’re the only ones who can make another Mage. So the laws protect him more than you.”

I stalked to the fireplace, my blood burning hotter than the flames. Blinded by rage, I picked up the fireplace poker and beat the wall with it. The stone chipped, and the metal end broke and flew at me.

Christian’s arm shot out from behind me, and he caught it in his hand.

When I dropped the metal poker, it clanged against the floor.

“Hit me if it makes you feel better,” he offered. “I won’t feel a thing.”

“You’re not my punching bag.” On a shaky breath, I wiped away a few hot tears. “I’m just mad. And I don’t even know that I’m mad he’s free. It was the way he smiled at me. Like he still owned me. It’s how he was treated with dignity, like he deserves his freedom. Does she know what he did? My own father doesn’t even know every sordid detail. And if she does know, how could she offer a sadistic pig like him protection? I know she’s a lying bitch, but she’s also a woman. Fletcher isn’t the type who would brag about it to others, so she had to have charmed him. I know she did. She probably knows everything.”

Christian pitched the broken metal into the hearth. “Lenore means to win this war. It’s personal now. She’s throwing chum in the water—Fletcher being the chum—and waiting for the sharks.”

“And I guess we’re the sharks?”

“We’re the orcas.”

“Jesus.” I sat down in the chair.

Christian sat at my feet, his black eyes glittering with firelight. “I know what you’re gonna say; just hear me out. I used to admire sharks. They’re rogues, like us. But lately I’m feeling less like a shark and more like—”

“Free Willy?”

He scratched his beard. “Orcas are intelligent apex predators. They’re strategic and hunt in deadly pods of twenty or more. They’re the ones who prey on the sharks. They use echolocation to hunt.”

“I guess that explains your exceptional hearing. You’re just communicating with your pod.”

He gave me a mirthless smile. “I’m an impulsive man, but I’m also a patient one. I nabbed Fletcher and kept him to myself. Had he not been freed, I would have dragged it out for years. I don’t know how I’ll feel about seeing him with Lenore, but I know one thing: we can’t let her draw us into whatever trap she’s setting. An emotional trap. Now we know why she wanted you there instead of me. Not for privacy. She was hoping you’d lash out. Either do something to get arrested or make Viktor fire you.”

“I know. I confronted her on it.”

He blanched. “Y-You confronted her?”

“Yep. Maybe that’ll shake things up. She thinks she’s untouchable, so I wanted her to hear from my mouth that we were enemies. That she crossed a fucking line she’ll never be able to uncross. And you know how much it burns me that we can’t go after her. You bought my life with that promise, and I’d never do anything to put your life in danger. That doesn’t mean I can’t ruin her world and tear down every dream she’s ever had, every relationship she’s ever built. I don’t want to be an orca. I want to be a termite or black mold. Something invasive that destroys everything around her.”

He leaned against my legs and held my hand. “That’s my girl.”

“I want them to suffer. I just don’t know how to handle Fletcher. What if she brings him over here?”

“I’ll talk to Viktor.”

“The hell you will.”

“I won’t tell him about that. Too many questions.”

I traced my thumb over his dark eyebrow, studying the contours of his face. “I have certain places I feel safe in, and I don’t want him anywhere near those places. I don’t know how you’ve maintained your composure each time Lenore pops in.”

“Every dog has its day.”

I threaded my fingers through my hair as he watched me. “Do you think if we were both human, we would’ve wound up together?”

“Aye. You would have crashed into me and ruined my car because of your terrible driving.”

“After one look at my legs, you would have asked me out on a date to the zoo.”

“And we lived happily ever after. Until I spent all your money gambling and you planned my murder to recoup the money in life insurance.”

A smile touched my lips. “Maybe an accident on a safari. I speed away in the Jeep while you try to outrun a pack of rhinos.”

“A poetic ending, to be sure. Except you forgot one thing.”

“What’s that?”

“A safari falls under hazardous activities, so your claim was denied.”

I shrugged. “I guess my only joy would come out of having you stuffed with the rhino’s horn up your ass.”

Christian rose up on his knees and wedged himself between my legs, his soft lips barely touching mine. For a fleeting moment, I forgot about Fletcher. I forgot about Lenore’s tight grip on our lives. Only Christian could erase the pain.

“It’s a crash,” he said.

“What is?”

“You said a pack of rhinos. A group of rhinos is called—”

“Shut up and kiss me, Poe.”

Christian’s lips melted against mine. Not hurried. Not salacious. Not even smoldering. I didn’t feel the velvety stroke of his tongue—just his satin lips against mine. He tenderly cupped my neck, and that kiss radiated love like a song from the angels.

Only, we were devils. Two wicked creatures who loved as much as we hated. Who lived as much as we killed. And who dreamed as much as we had nightmares.

I broke the kiss, and our eyes met. “Will you stay with me tonight? I know Viktor might need you for something, but—”

Christian lifted me into his arms and stood. “Your bed or mine?”

“Yours.”

“Whatever you desire, Precious.”

Christian set me on his bed and took off my shoes and socks. Then he undressed me down to my underwear. After pulling back the sheets, he waited for me to crawl in.

“Aren’t you coming too?” I asked. “I thought you were going to stay with me.”

He unfurled the blanket over the black sheets. “You need your rest. I’ll be standing by the door.”

“Standing? You can get the chair. Look, if this is putting you out, I’ll leave.”

“No, you won’t. You’ll stay right there and sleep while I guard you. Because that’s what you need right now. I’ve got no windows, so unless he’s Old Saint Nick, Fletcher’s not slipping down the chimney or into your dreams. I’ll keep him out. Let me guard you.” Christian bent over and kissed my forehead before backing up into the shadows by the door.

The image of him standing in the shadows like a fanged monster might have terrified some, but his protective presence made it easier for me to relax. Though my rational mind knew that Fletcher wouldn’t sneak into Keystone in the middle of the night, I wasn’t feeling all that rational at the moment. Viktor needed us for a job, and I refused to let Fletcher and Lenore sabotage my work because I couldn’t sleep or stay focused.

I rolled onto my side and stared at Christian. As the fire burned down and the light dimmed, my eyelids grew heavier. That shadow by the door only darkened, never moving.

* * *

Blue headed down to the kitchen for a drink. Her long red dress kept her legs warm. It was cotton with no designs, just bell sleeves and a hood. The medieval look suited her surroundings. She often wondered about the previous owner given she found it in one of the rooms. Viktor had never said anything about it, so he likely had no idea where she’d gotten it from.

While she normally got water from the sink upstairs using a glass, Kira had collected all the dirty dishes around the house that morning. In any case, Blue had a taste for coconut water.

On her way back up, she noticed the light on in Shepherd’s medical room. “Have you seen Viktor?”

Shepherd finished scribbling on a piece of paper. “Upstairs, I think. Do me a favor and give this to Wyatt. Tell him I need these supplies ASAP.”

“Gotcha.”

While guzzling her coconut water, Blue thought about Viktor’s mood when they’d returned from Lenore’s. Even Raven was in an altered state, her skin pale and snow in her hair. After checking the usual places Viktor retreated to, Blue visited his private hall and saw his door open. There weren’t any lights on inside, suggesting he must be somewhere else in the mansion. Deciding to give him his space, she headed to Wyatt’s office and flicked the paper onto his desk.

He reached for it. “What the immortal hell is this?”

“Shepherd wants you to order that stuff pronto.” Blue finished her small carton of coconut water and then tossed it into the trash.

Two LED lights with rotating colors illuminated his desk, which ran along the entire right-hand wall. Dual monitors and a laptop were simultaneously running.

When Wyatt turned his leather chair around, she couldn’t help but laugh at his giant slippers. They looked like hamburgers on his feet. He opened the drawer and grabbed a box of Whoppers candy.

“Those are ridiculous,” she pointed out. “I’m beginning to see why you never married.”

“I’m not the marrying kind,” he retorted before pouring chocolate malt balls into his mouth.

Blue walked past him and sat down, swiveling the leather chair until it faced him and the doorway. “Don’t worry. I’m sure if true love is out there, she’s wearing a pair of taco slippers and drives a ridiculous car.”

He crunched on his candy, cheeks puffed out like a chipmunk.

Blue rocked her chair. “Did that Gravewalker really get rid of all the ghosts?”

Still chewing, Wyatt knocked on his wooden desk and then crossed his fingers.

“Well, after getting a taste of your world, I can see why you’d rather work on computers all day.”

He licked chocolate off his palm. “Just because you’re born into a gift doesn’t mean you have to use it. It’s a fallback plan. Unlike most, I’ve got options. Not all Gravewalkers do.”

Blue considered what a Gravewalker’s life must have been like. “Have you ever seen family members? I bet that’s rough,” she added, thinking about the death of her sons. She wasn’t sure whether seeing their spirits would be a blessing or a curse.

Wyatt closed the flap on the box and tossed it back into the drawer. “Now I’ve lost my appetite.”

“Sorry—you don’t have to answer. I can appreciate how hard it would be now that I’ve seen it with my own eyes. It’s not pretty.”

“No, it’s not.” He rested one elbow on the armrest and propped his fist against his cheek. “If you ever die, don’t linger behind. Not for anyone.”

Blue pondered that advice. Keystone had a code about their past being private, but it was hard to let a remark like that slide. It was up to them how much they chose to hide or conceal from one another. She had no desire to share details about her dead children to anyone she knew. There was a before and after version of herself, and she suspected that was the case with everyone in the house. Wyatt was an enigma, however. He had bouts of depression every so often, but mostly he was an easygoing guy with insane computer skills, a flirtatious attitude, and a bottomless stomach. The fact they lived in a massive mansion where he had to walk long distances and climb stairs contributed to his healthy weight.

He scratched underneath his grey beanie, which matched his cotton shirt. “A long time ago, I met a girl. In a nutshell, I completely fucked up my entire life and lost it all. I had no means to support myself, no home, no money, no prospects. I had plans to marry her.” Wyatt turned toward his desk and lightly rocked the chair. “We used to live in an apartment. She was an artist. Had all these paintings hanging on the walls she wanted to sell someday in her own store. This was before the internet. Now people can sell anything online.”

“Was she a Gravewalker too?”

He slowly pulled off his hat. “No. She was human.”

Blue’s eyebrows arched in surprise. Being a Gravewalker, Wyatt didn’t have much reverence when it came to death, and he never spoke highly of humans any more than the rest of them. Why would a Gravewalker, who could live up to a thousand years, settle for a human with finite time?

“I know what you’re thinking,” he said, as if reading her mind. “It just happened. We met, and it was like two magnets coming together.”

“And then she left you when you lost your home,” Blue said, trying to piece it together without asking what he had done to lose everything.

“I wish,” he muttered under his breath. “We bounced around to a few places—people I knew. But nobody could keep us for long. I couldn’t find work doing Gravewalker stuff since I didn’t have an established reputation. The dead wanted to work with me more than the living did. Then she surprised me with a cheap studio apartment. Sold all her paintings. Said we’d make it through anything together.” Wyatt suddenly rolled his chair back. “We didn’t make it through cancer.”

Blue’s stomach dropped. She knew about human diseases but had never seen what that looked like.

“If I hadn’t lost everything, maybe she’d still be alive. Anyhow, it only got worse when she died.” He rubbed at the tattoo on his knuckles and heaved a sigh. “When her spirit saw me, she didn’t want to leave. She stayed behind for me, and I spent years watching her slowly go mad. That’s what time does to a ghost—it turns their memories into SpaghettiOs. Eventually she forgot me. She forgot herself. She forgot us. That was almost as bad as the cancer.” Wyatt snatched up Shepherd’s note and unhooked his laptop, tucking it under his arm. “Don’t ever linger. Go into the light, follow the voices—whatever. Just go. I never had to watch any of my family stay behind. Gravewalkers know better.”

Blue watched him stand up in those ridiculous slippers. Watching his lover’s spirit waste away must have been devastating. And she was probably still out there somewhere, still wandering, still uncertain who she was or where she was supposed to be.

“Well, lesson learned,” he said. “I don’t get mixed up with humans anymore, and I’m not the marrying kind. That’ll never change. Suits me fine. I like the company of women, but I’ve been punished enough.” Wyatt heaved another sigh and shuffled away. “I’m gonna go put my tunes on. If Viktor comes back in here, tell him I’m in my room, working.”

Blue understood exactly where he was coming from. People undervalued friendship, solitude, and purpose. Your life is never enough in someone else’s eyes. She’d suffered a great loss and learned her time was better spent serving others. Apparently Wyatt Blessing felt the same.

When he reached the door, she called out, “Wyatt?”

He clutched the doorjamb.

“What was her name?”

Wyatt turned his head, showing her his profile. “Dawn. Her name was Dawn.”

CHAPTER 8

A few days had passed since Viktor relayed to Mr. X the reward info. We were on high alert, ready to move at a moment’s notice. The gas tanks were full, the weapons were cleaned and sharpened, and we were all on edge. Viktor couldn’t formulate a strategy since we were still waiting on Mr. X’s reply with no idea where this job would take us. We slept in our clothes and kept our phones on us at all times. Wyatt was confident his role wouldn’t take him out of the house, let alone his office.

I couldn’t take watching Ghostbusters another minute longer, not with Wyatt giving a dissertation on the impossibility of sucking a soul into a positron collider. So I left his office and headed downstairs.

Turning a corner, Shepherd slammed into me, and I dropped my orange soda.

“What the hell?” I raked him over as I picked up the plastic bottle. “Now it’s gonna go flat.”

He blew out a breath, his chest glistening with sweat. Shepherd’s tattoo collection was as impressive as his scar collection. The phoenix on his right arm spread onto his chest and back, the black ink extremely detailed. He had a lover’s knot on the back of his neck and a compass with Hunter’s name on his left inside forearm. I’d never spotted our Keystone tattoo, so I presumed that, like Christian, he’d put it somewhere below the waist.

Shepherd hitched up his track pants and put his hands on his hips. “Sorry about that. What’s going on?”

I slowly turned the cap to release the air without the liquid bubbling out. “Nothing. Wyatt’s just ruining Ghostbusters again.”

Shepherd chuckled and steered his gaze up to a wall lantern. “Sounds about right. Did he ever tell you he tried to make one of those little ghost-sucking machines?”

“Why am I not surprised?”

Shepherd wiped the sweat from his forehead. “It was back in the 80s. He contacted some guy at MIT. Then he researched the writers for the movie to see if any were Breed. I guess some dopes write our secrets in fiction. He was convinced that a Gravewalker had figured out how to vacuum up all the spooks. Nobody’s got time for that.”

I glanced down at his running shoes. “You should be dressed. Viktor might call, and you’ll be half naked and sweaty.”

He reached in his back pocket and checked his phone. “You should rethink your wardrobe. Not dark enough.”

“My leather coat and jeans are black.”

“Your shirt is red.”

My lips eased into a grin. “That’s to camouflage the blood.”

“I don’t see the gun I gave you.”

I opened up my jacket to show him the lining, which had my daggers. “I got more than enough weapons. Not to mention my buckle and boot.”

He put his phone back in his pocket. “Guns work better from a distance. It won’t kill them, but it’ll put enough holes in them that they might bleed out and weaken.”

“It’s loud and calls too much attention. Besides, a gun is harder to hide.” I finished opening my soda and took a sip. “Do you think we can really kill some guy on short notice? Does Viktor expect us to just walk up, tap the guy on the shoulder, and ask if it’s okay to murder him?”

“Never ask permission.”

We both chuckled.

Gem suddenly flashed past us. The quick movement lifted a tendril of my hair, and before it settled back down, Claude followed after.

“What’s going on?” I called out.

Niko jogged toward us, his hand running alongside the wall. “Wyatt just heard from Mr. X.”

Our phones started vibrating.

Shepherd checked his messages. “Gear up. He wants us by the front door in five minutes.”

Blue appeared at the end of the hall and quickened her step.

Wyatt poked his head around the corner. “Hold your ponies, Ladyhawke! You stay with me.”

She came to a stop and frowned. “It said everyone, didn’t it?”

“Did your phone vibrate?”

“No,” she bit out.

“Then you weren’t chosen. I need an assistant, and the boss wants you here,” he said, ducking out of sight.

Blue cursed as we headed downstairs. Shepherd took off ahead of us, probably to get dressed.

“Do you need anything from your room to get ready?” Niko asked.

When I reached the second landing, I looked back at him. “I was born ready. What did I miss?”

“Oh, the usual. Wyatt’s thoughts on ghost slime. Then he received a notification on the computer, picked up the phone, and Viktor sent out the messages to those he selected for the job.”

I slowed my descent when I saw Christian leaning against the stone railing on the first floor.

“Are you ready, lass?”

I stopped near the bottom and looked down at him. “Where’s Viktor?”

“He went for a wee.”

“I’m serious.”

Christian put his hands under my arms and lifted me off the staircase with ease. Sometimes I forgot how incredibly strong he was, how he could lift heavy objects without holding his breath or grunting as most people did.

Gem walked around one of the winged statues and combed her fingers through her lavender locks. Claude had recently trimmed her wavy hair and made the color more vibrant. “Should I get my coat? I thought he wanted me here to translate messages on the phones you bring back. I’m nervous.” She bounced on her toes.

Claude walked over to the closet and retrieved their jackets. “Put this on in case.” After giving Gem her winter coat with the fur collar, he put on his brown leather jacket and smoothed his hands over his loose curls. Nothing he did ever made that head of hair unattractive.

I tugged at one of the buttons on Christian’s long trench coat. “Whatcha got in there?”

“Sexual goodness.”

“I meant weapons.”

A dark, rapturous look twirled in his eyes.

“I meant a weapon you know how to use.”

He pursed his lips and gave me an indignant look. We both knew his bedroom skills were unparalleled, but I felt like a rubber band stretched to its limits that was about to fly off.

Viktor marched toward us from the hall by the stairs. Judging by his tan chinos and brown sweater jacket, he wasn’t going. “Where is Shepherd?”

“He’s on his way,” I answered.

Viktor tugged up his sleeve and glanced at his watch.

A minute later, Shepherd jogged into the room. He had on jeans, a heather-grey T-shirt, and a jacket. He raised his black medical bag. “Do I need this, or am I staying here? I need to let Switch know if I’m leaving in case Hunter wakes up. Sometimes he gets up in the middle of the night when he has a nightmare. I don’t want him panicking if I’m not there.”

“I will take care of that.” Viktor waved us closer into a tight circle. “You only get one chance with each man. If you fail, they might inform the others of the assassination attempt and flee the city. Your first target is Ivar, the Chitah. We received information that he has a private shopping tour at Kleinman’s.”

Gem’s eyebrows rose. “The crystal shop? Boy, they’re expensive! I went in there once to look for gemstones.”

“Is it like those Swarovski crystals?” I asked.

She adamantly shook her head. “No. I mean yes, they sell some of those for humans who wander in, but they specialize in collectibles. Breed antiques made from some of the finest jewelers and craftsmen. It’s not like what they sell at auction where the items come with a history; these are simply the most beautifully designed objects by some of the best. And don’t even go near the crystal egg. They’ve got it locked in a case on a pedestal with rope around it. I leaned in to look for the price and a security guard put me in a choke hold.” She dusted off her jacket with a look of annoyance. “Ten thousand is too much for an egg.”

“A choke hold? Is this a Breed shop?”

“Uh-huh.”

“What time is the private tour?” I asked Viktor.

He looked at his watch again. “Eleven o’clock.”

My internal Mage clock told me it was only nine. Once we got there, we’d have just enough time to come up with a plan, get ourselves in position, and make our move.

I scratched under my collar. “They’ll probably roll the car right up to either the front or back, and they’ll be ready. On the street, he’ll be able to get away. Let’s do this from the inside—pose as workers.”

“If it’s a private tour, we won’t be able to get inside,” Claude pointed out.

I put my hands in my pockets. “He won’t be there until eleven, so they’ll have to let in regular shoppers. If not, we force our way in.”

Christian nodded. “I see where you’re going with this. I’ll take care of the numpty in uniform.”

Gem cringed. “You want to kill all the workers?”

I shook my head. “It shouldn’t be hard to subdue them since I doubt they’re professional fighters. We can use stunners and our gifts to immobilize them. Then, after we capture Ivar, Christian will scrub their memories. If they’re a Breed shop, they won’t have surveillance cameras or security alarms.”

“I like that plan,” Shepherd said. “A hell of a lot easier than chasing them around the city. We need to impersonate the workers and make it believable.”

Viktor looked between us. “Gem will give him the tour. Perhaps if there is no interpreter, you can speak his language. On the other hand, money needs no interpretation. Christian will be guard. Shepherd, you smell like sweat. A Chitah would find that suspicious in a fancy store.”

He pulled his leather jacket away and sniffed. “I’ll stay outside and secure the perimeter.”

Viktor gestured to Claude. “You are very good with people. I want you to play second helper to Gem. Christian and Raven will secure the shop. You will need to figure that out. If there is a guard, one of you must put on his uniform. No one escapes alive.” He turned his attention to Gem and Claude. “Change into nice clothes. Hurry up.”

Gem flashed up the stairs, Claude right beside her.

“Am I not assisting?” Niko asked.

“Nyet.” Viktor tucked his hands in his sweater jacket. “If someone escapes, I need people who they have not seen so we can use them on the next mission. That is why you and Blue stay home—as a precaution.”

Niko bowed. “As you wish.”

I looked at Christian. “What cars should we take? We have to get in the store first, and someone has to be a big-shot buyer.”

“I’ll get my Honda.”

I snorted. “Really?”

“And what’ll you suggest? Blue’s Mustang? Or perhaps Wyatt’s toy car? We don’t have many options for luxury vehicles, and no man hires a driver for a Porsche.”

“Maybe we should buy a fancy car for jobs like these. Fine. Get the Honda. I’m sure that’ll impress them.”

He gave me a peevish glance before heading outside.

Pinching my bottom lip, I stared at the floor. Arriving early would allow us to case the joint. I didn’t have any problems fighting a Chitah so long as he wasn’t an expert swordsman. I looked at Shepherd. “I bet he puts a couple of his men outside to guard the door.”

“I’ll take care of them.”

When Gem and Claude finally returned, Gem had on a pristine white silk blouse with a black pencil skirt and tall heels.

“Nice hat,” I said, admiring the old-fashioned black accessory.

Gem adjusted the short brim. “Behold, the cloche hat. A trendy design from the 1920s. I needed to cover up my hair. Nobody would believe a store like that would hire anyone with purple hair. Isn’t it divine?”

Claude finished tying his grey tie. “There are no pockets inside my jacket. Any suggestions?” he asked Shepherd.

“I got a sack of weapons in the van,” Shepherd informed him. “Head out with Christian since you’re dressed like a businessman, but wait for me at the front gate. I’ve got something you can strap on your ankle beneath your pants if it’ll stay concealed. If not, we’ll figure something out.”

“I will tell Switch to watch over the boy,” Viktor assured Shepherd. “Be careful. All of you. This man cannot escape. Do what you must.”

* * *

Christian and Claude rode ahead in the Honda, Claude sitting in the back, pretending he was a wealthy man buying his mate an anniversary gift.

Our van hit another bump before slowing to a stop. While Gem and Shepherd were watching everything from the front, I rummaged through a sack of weapons. “Maybe we should stay away from the guns,” I suggested. “They’ll attract attention. I was hoping we’d be going to an underground location or abandoned warehouse.”

Gem twisted around in her seat. “There aren’t any apartments or clubs on this street, and most of the shops are closed. Even if someone did hear gunfire, they’d ignore it. Nobody likes the cops sticking their noses in Breed business.”

Shepherd lit up a smoke. “That might change. I heard a rumor they’re trying to get more insiders so they can assign them to work the Breed district. Less to clean up if a human calls them out.”

“That would make sense.” Gem applied a bright-red lipstick while looking into the mirror of her compact. “I can only imagine the work involved when they arrest one of us. All the data they have to erase before getting them out. All the memories they have to scrub. That’s a job I wouldn’t want.”

I walked up to the front of the van and looked through the window. Christian stood outside the shop, which wasn’t open. A lady approached the door, but she kept it closed. Christian gestured to Claude, who was acting aloof by looking at his watch. Through the large windows, I observed her walk to the back of the store and have a brief exchange with another employee.

“Those windows will be a problem,” I remarked. “You can see everything.”

“Stores like these always have security gates or shutters.” When Shepherd blew out a cloud of cigarette smoke, Gem waved it away from her face.

The woman walked briskly to the front and opened the door. Before Claude approached, Christian leaned forward, and the woman stared at him. He was charming her.

Once inside, Christian coolly strode to the back and spoke to the man by the counter. Shutters began lowering in front of every window, and Claude waved us in.

While Gem opened her door and got out, I climbed over her seat and followed. We jogged across the street, adrenaline teasing me with an extra burst of energy. Shepherd jumped into the Honda to move it.

“Shoot. I forgot perfume.” Gem hopped onto the curb and rushed inside.

After Claude closed the door, I glanced around at the pretentious décor. Some of this junk reminded me of the trinkets I’d seen in the mall. The cases inside the walls were lit up, creating a dazzling display of the crystal, Hummel, and Lladró figurines. Those were the only recognizable items to me, and they were toward the front. As we reached the back, the items were like nothing I’d ever seen before and came with hefty price tags. Christian dragged a man from behind a jewelry case along the left wall. There tall shelves on the right were spaced amply apart, each holding encased items on display. Two white chairs near the back offered seating, probably so customers could sip their champagne.

“There it is!” Gem exclaimed, dashing up to a velvet rope surrounding a pedestal. On top was a large crystal egg protected by a glass box.

The woman walked mechanically to the center of the room and stood.

Gem sized her up and then removed her diamond earrings before putting them on. “Do you have any perfume?”

The woman didn’t respond.

Gem turned. “Christian, ask her if she has any perfume!”

Christian appeared from the back, a pair of trousers in his hand. “I’m a wee bit busy at the moment undressing the guard.”

Gem strutted toward him with a sophisticated swagger. “I can’t let anything tip him off that things aren’t copasetic. A woman in her position wears expensive perfume. Besides that, it’ll mask my emotions. And right now you don’t want to smell what’s going on in my head.”

“No, you don’t,” Claude agreed.

Christian cursed under his breath before leading the woman to the back.

While they worked out the perfume situation, I joined Claude by the doors. “When they get here, tell them the shutters are closed for privacy. That protecting clients is of the utmost importance and all that bullshit.”

“I’ll know if the male is suspicious. He can’t hide his emotional scent.”

I glanced up at the gap in the lofty ceiling where decorative crystals hung. “What about the shutters for the door?”

“We’ll activate them once he’s inside.”

“If he tries to run, he’ll probably go out the back.”

I jogged through the spacious store and stopped at the register where a large black sign that said Kleinman’s in gold lettering hung on the wall. “Gem, see if you can find a dimmer. It’s too damn bright in here.”

There wasn’t much to see past the Staff Only door. A short hall to the left had a vending machine, water fountain, and bathroom. I opened a door to the right and looked inside an unremarkable office with a large desk and computer. When I didn’t see anything of interest, I walked to the back through the swinging doors and looked around the storage room.

I kicked a crate. “What’s in all the boxes? Inventory? Customers who didn’t pay up?”

“This won’t work.”

“What won’t—?” I turned and sputtered with laughter.

Christian stood in nothing except his boxer briefs. The guard’s slacks were stuck halfway up his thighs. “This is just grand. Of all the guards, I wind up with Barney Fife.”

“Give me the pants.”

Christian stepped out of the dark slacks and tossed them at me. They were tight around the waist, but I managed to get them on.

I snorted when I noticed how tight the pant legs were. The unconscious man with the stunner in his back didn’t have any meat on his bones.

Christian tossed me the button-up and then put his clothes back on.

I frowned. “The buttons are backward.”

Ignoring me, he secured a gun belt around my waist. Then he curved his hands around my thighs and growled sexily. “I’d bury my face in your crotch if not for the fact that Barney’s ball sack was just in there.”

“You always say things that make my heart go pitter-patter.” I tucked in the dark-grey shirt and smoothed out wrinkles. “Does he have one of those cool mall-cop hats?”

Christian swiped a tie off the floor. “I hate to dampen your excitement, but all you get are handcuffs.”

“We’ll save those for later.”

He looped a dark tie around my neck. “Don’t tease me, Miss Black.”

I noticed the woman and another worker lying on the floor next to a stack of crates. “What’s their Breed?”

“The woman’s a Mage. The man wouldn’t say, so I drained him before charming him to sleep for eight hours. Do me a favor and don’t take any deep breaths.”

“Why?”

He tapped one of my buttons. “You’ll come right out of that, and I’ll have to ravage you on the floor.”

“Maybe if I slip off my bra, it’ll free up some room. My nipples are suffocating.”

“You keep talking to me with that dirty mouth, and I’ll take you right here against the wall.”

I tucked my fingers inside his pants and yanked him toward me. “Don’t make promises you can’t keep.”

Christian and I had explosive chemistry before, during, and after a dangerous mission. Though we exchanged lustful looks, we didn’t have time for a sexual interlude.

I left my clothes in a neat pile near the door. The uniform fit all wrong, and the shirt was too tight around the chest area. I reached inside my jacket pocket and pulled out a hair tie. Ponytails seemed to be the common fashion with female security guards that I’d seen.

“I’ve only got one dagger.” I lifted my pant leg to make sure I could get to it. “The one in my boot heel is a last resort—something I only use when I’m in a tangle.”

“He’s a Chitah. You have a gun, a dagger, and your bare hands. Not to mention a store full of glass. I’ll be right behind the door.”

I pulled the gun from the holster. “What the heck is this?”

“It’s a Taser.”

I chortled and tossed it at him. “My hands can do more damage than that puny space gun.”

He handed it back. “Aye, but it’s just for show. You need to look the part.” Christian pushed a large crate and blocked the back door that led to the alley.

“What if there’s a fire?” I put my hands on my hips. “We could burn up if we’re trapped.”

“I’ll throw my body on your corpse to put out the flames.”

“Promise?”

Gem’s heels noisily preceded her entrance. “Are you ready?”

“How do I look?”

She raked me over with one glance. “That doesn’t fit you properly.”

“We didn’t have time for alterations.” I walked past her and into the employee hallway. “Where does security usually stand?”

Gem scuttled ahead of me, nervously adjusting her hat. “How should I know? He came out of nowhere and choked me.”

I jerked my thumb toward the back. “That scrawny guy?”

She gave me a sour look as we entered the showroom. “There was a different guard back then. A big one with a bushy beard and… Jiminy Christmas! What if Ivar bites me?” She clutched her slender throat. “He could kill me.”

“I won’t let that happen, female.” Claude branched away from the door and met us in the center of the room. “Be courteous, but keep your distance. Lead him in as far as possible; then go behind the counter. I’ll close the gate to keep anyone outside from getting in. If his guards are Vampires, it won’t take them long to break through the shutters.”

I walked behind one of the tall display cabinets, hiding myself from the main entrance. “Where should I stand?”

“Don’t hide,” Claude warned me. “That’ll make him nervous, especially if he can scent your excitement. Calm down. I can smell it over here. And Gem, you need to be your delightful self. Don’t try too hard. He’s probably used to intimidating people, so smile. Your excitement will be easily confused with an eagerness for him to spend money.”

I wandered over to the crystal egg, faced the door, and clasped my hands in front of me.

“I think that’s him,” Gem squeaked, spritzing perfume on her neck.

“Stay here, female. I’ll escort him inside. You do all the talking. That’s something you excel at.”

I watched a car roll up to the front of the building. Two men got out, looked around, and one opened the rear door. A tall man exited the vehicle. I couldn’t see much since Claude blocked the doorway to let him inside.

Something occurred to me in that moment. We only knew him by his first name.

Claude opened the door, letting in a cold breeze. “Good evening, sir. We’ve been expecting your arrival. Welcome to Kleinman’s.”

The tall Chitah strode in. He was wider than Claude—broad shoulders, a square jaw, small but piercing blue eyes, and thinning blond hair that was combed back and styled in place with gel. I glanced down at his black gloves before directing my attention to his companions. Evidently they weren’t Chitahs. It wasn’t easy to tell if they were Vampires either from across the room. After scanning the shop, they turned their attention to the door, one standing on either side.

Claude gestured for Ivar to meet up with Gem, who jutted her hip and smiled. “To ensure your privacy and safety, we’ve shuttered all the windows. We only do this for our most prestigious clients. Allow me to shutter the door.”

Ivar raised one hand, not turning around to look at Claude. “No,” he simply said. He had an accent, but I couldn’t decipher it from only one word.

Gem bowed. “It’s an absolute pleasure to welcome you to Kleinman’s. Is there anything in particular you have in mind, or would you like to browse and see what catches your eye?”

Claude stood near the control for the automated shutters and nonchalantly looked around.

Ivar approached Gem, towering over her.

Gem had a counterfeit smile painted across her face. “You have guaranteed privacy and security in Kleinman’s, and we are open for as long as you need. Would you like to start with our most exclusive collection of jewelry?” She sashayed herself behind the counter to put distance between them.

Ivar slid his eyes in my direction, and I felt that predatory gaze that only a Chitah could deliver. It was enough to make the bravest men tremble with fear. I swallowed, trying to look a little anxious, but I was more excited than nervous. Hopefully he couldn’t sniff that out.

When he stopped right behind me and drew in a deep breath, my stomach knotted. I turned and faced the opposite side of the store to keep them in view.

He mumbled something I couldn’t understand.

Gem replied in what I assumed was his language. She laughed nervously and gestured to me, then said something else.

His brows drew together as he looked me up and down. This guy had shown up too damn early. We weren’t given enough time to formulate a plan, and the more this charade went on, the sicker I got.

Gem snapped her fingers at me. “Guard, can you stand over there? I don’t want your presence to offend our guest.”

Offend?

Irritated, I casually walked toward the front. Gem must have wanted me to help Claude secure the door, only that would leave her vulnerable.

“Please make yourself comfortable,” she went on. “You can either take a seat or look around. We have champagne reserved for special clients. Would you like me to get a bottle? It’s on the house, Mr. Ivar. Or would you rather I call you by your surname?”

When Claude’s nostrils flared, I stopped in my tracks.

“Ivar?” the Chitah asked. The next words he spoke were sharp and in what I guessed was Old Norse or similar.

Claude shot across the room like a bullet in her direction. Without looking, I flashed to the panel and hit the switch to lower the shutters.

One of the guards bolted toward me. I bent over and charged at him like a bull, lifting one of his legs and throwing him off-balance. His blade sliced across my shoulder on his way down. Before he could stab me in the leg, I flashed at the other man, who was going for the switch that raised the shutters. I gripped his arm and blasted him with energy.

Ivar’s goon smiled at me, something only a Mage would do after getting hit with that much power.

Since regular energy differed from Mage energy, I reached for the Taser and zapped him in the neck. “Suck on that!”

When the shutter reached the floor, I rammed the first guy into the wall. The glass door on the display shattered, and pricey Lladrós smashed against the floor when I slammed his hand repeatedly against the shelf until he dropped the dagger.

Christian appeared out of nowhere. “Need a hand?” He seized the man and flung him across the store. “I’ll take care of the two stooges.”

While Christian shoved the other goon to the ground and began drinking his blood, I scanned the room. Gem blocked the door that led to the back while Claude played cat and mouse with our special guest. They were too fast for Christian, which was why trading places made sense.

Ivar grabbed a heavy vase and hurled it at Claude. Then he threw something else that smashed on the floor. I retrieved the dagger from beneath my pant leg. Keeping an eye on everyone, I limped up the center of the room. When Ivar blurred by me, I reached out and felt my blade slice through fabric and flesh, but he kept running. He was too fast for me to blast with energy, too fast to stab. The three shelves offered him protection as he kept weaving around them and throwing more objects at Claude. I tried in vain to push one of the heavy shelves down.

Instead, I threw a jade vase when he ran by again. It cracked against his skull as he blurred out of sight. I grabbed another item and then another, throwing them each time he passed by.

Claude briefly stopped and snarled at me. “That was my head.”

“Sorry.”

When Ivar charged toward the back, Gem’s eyes rounded. She held her ground, still blocking the door. It happened too fast for her to charge up her light, and he tackled her to the ground with a crunching thud.

I sprinted toward them and punched his back. “Get off her, meathead!” I put him in a choke hold, anchoring my feet on the ground so I could pry him away from her neck. I didn’t have time to think about blasting him with energy since I was using all my strength to keep his fangs off her.

Gem crawled out from beneath him, but her feet got stuck.

When he pulled my hair, I let go and slammed his forehead against the floor.

Gem sprang to her feet like a cat and ran off.

Ivar quickly rolled to the side, knocking me over. I struck the back of my head against the counter, and before I could move, Claude dragged him away from me by his feet.

Ivar clutched my leg. I kicked him in the face, and blood poured from his nose.

Claude let go, then lifted my dagger off the ground.

“Not yet!” I said, crawling after him. “We have to make sure it’s him. Hold him down!”

Ivar must have understood enough English that he knew what was going on. He suddenly catapulted to his feet and slammed Claude into one of the shelves. The force caused the shelf to tip, and it remained suspended for a breathless second before crashing into the one behind it.

I grabbed Ivar’s arm, and he jolted when I blasted him with energy. Claude jumped back to avoid getting shocked.

“Just fall already!” I growled, frustrated by his resistance. “We don’t have all day.” I channeled a safe amount of energy into him. Before going on a killing spree, we needed to knock this guy out and confirm his identity.

Ivar’s knees buckled, and he dropped to the ground, chin up with a defiant look. He rocked like a cat about to vomit as he kept tugging his arm, trying to wrench it free while all his muscles were failing.

Gem walked up, arms raised, and smashed a priceless crystal egg over his head. Ivar’s eyes rolled back as he fell onto his stomach.

I smiled at her. “Nice job.”

She adjusted her hat. “I have zero regrets. There was no energy in that egg. No life. It wasn’t natural anyhow.”

I tugged at the Chitah’s black glove and peeled it off. When I turned his wrist, I showed everyone the Valknut tattoo. “It’s him. He’s one of the thirteen.”

The metal shutters rising startled us. Christian opened the door to let Shepherd in. He had a sword in one hand and a bloody axe in the other.

“Let’s get this show on the road.” Shepherd handed Christian the axe and stalked toward us. “Is it him?”

I rolled Ivar onto his back. “Yep. Wanna do the honors before he wakes up?”

Gem helped me to my feet.

“What did he say to you earlier?” I asked her.

“Oh that.” She blushed. “He said you smelled like a man. I didn’t know what to say, so I told him you were.”

“That explains the look he gave me.”

She nibbled on her fingernail. “I fudged up by saying his name. Apparently he didn’t give his true name to the store when reserving his private tour. It never occurred to me that he would be using an alias.” She hit the palm of her hand against her head. “I feel like such an idiot.”

I averted my eyes when Christian raised the axe over one of Ivar’s goons. Metal struck the floor.

Claude darted across the room like a bullet. “The door, Christian!” He turned the switch, lowering the solid shutters. After heaving a sigh, he gave Christian a critical look. “You can’t do that in plain view.”

Shepherd got down on his knees, raised the sword, and took Ivar’s head.

“What about the store workers?” I asked, doing my best to dissociate from the death around me. “Viktor said no witnesses.”

Gem kicked a broken vase. “It wouldn’t be right. Viktor said to take care of their servants, not innocent bystanders.”

Christian joined our group—blood on his lips, beard, hands, and spattered across his coat. “I already took care of them.”

“As in—” Gem covered her mouth, eyes wide in terror.

“Jaysus wept. I’m not a psychopath.”

I gave him a sideways glance. “Says the man covered in blood, holding an axe.”

“I scrubbed their memories and put them to sleep. They’ll be fine.” He looked over his shoulder at the horror show. “We have to burn the bodies.”

“Can’t do it here,” Shepherd said, wiping his bloody blade on Ivar’s suit. “This is a high-end store. If the fire department doesn’t show up, Regulators might.”

“Isn’t the higher authority the one giving us the reward?” Gem took off the earrings she had borrowed from the worker. “Why not turn the bodies over to the officials?”

Christian raked his hair back and disheveled it. “We’re to photograph the face, the mark, and collect electronic devices. Viktor gave us explicit instructions. If anyone saw us, or we couldn’t trust the Regulator we’re handing the body over to, the other oligarchs might get tipped off. We can’t risk it.”

After setting down the sword, Shepherd snapped a few pictures and then searched the body.

“Maybe we should cut off his hand,” I suggested. “The one with the tattoo. If something happens to Shepherd’s pictures or the phones, at least we’ll have physical evidence. We can store it as backup. Viktor recognized the tattoos, so I’m sure he knows people who can corroborate his story.”

Christian picked up the sword. “Gem, be a sweetheart and find something to put it in.”

She curled her lip and then skipped off to the back room.

I knelt down, unfastened the buttons on Ivar’s cuff, and pushed up his sleeve. “I bet you can’t make a clean cut right below the wrist bone.”

Christian canted his head as he stood over me. “You only make wagers when you want something.”

“Yeah, I want you to not cut off my fingers.” I pulled the arm all the way out and held it in place.

Christian found a good position, knelt, and brought the blade down.

Claude approached the body. “Shepherd, back up the van to the doors. I’ll carry the body, but someone needs to collect the head.”

Christian tossed Ivar’s hand at Claude. “Let me give you a hand.”

“I found a baggy!” Gem announced, flourishing a plastic zipper bag that had a sandwich inside. “Think it will fit?”

“Let me see.” Shepherd took the bag and began eating the sandwich.

“Look for any large plastic bags or garbage bags,” Claude said. “And find a mop. We need to clean up the blood. Christian can erase the store worker’s memories and plant something new, but it won’t explain pools of blood.”

I stood up and surveyed the damage. Crystal and porcelain fragments sparkled on the floor. Almost everything breakable was shattered, including the display counters. Velvet rope lay on the floor around the pedestal, and fragmented pieces from the priceless egg surrounded the decapitated body.

Everyone jumped when a shelf inside the outer wall collapsed, sending a massive porcelain ship filled with figurines sliding to its demise.

Shepherd struck a match and lit up a smoke. “This looks like something we’ll have to deny later.”

CHAPTER 9

The moment we got home, I went to Shepherd’s medical room to wash my hands. I no longer had on the security uniform, and we couldn’t give it back to the guard since it was ripped and bloodied. Christian had found out where each store worker lived by looking at their ID. After charming them into submission, he was left in charge of driving each one home and scrubbing their memories of the evening. Because there was so much damage, he said he would plant the suggestion that it was a senseless vandalism that occurred after hours. As for the uniform, he said he would come up with something and not to worry. The rest of us were tasked with gathering up Ivar and all his men, loading them into the van, and taking them to a place Shepherd knew about to incinerate the remains. Shepherd was still outside, hosing down the back of the van and cleaning it spotless.

“Everything okay?”

I glanced over my left shoulder at Switch in the open doorway. “Peachy.”

“Might want to use the soap Shepherd keeps under the sink.” He knelt beside me and opened the lower cabinet door. After handing me a giant bar of soap, he casually leaned his back against the cabinet.

“Don’t your feet get cold?” I asked, noticing he wasn’t wearing any shoes.

“Nah. I’m tough like that. Now that you’re home, I thought I might go out for a run.”

“That explains the boxer shorts.”

“What do you mean?”

I lathered up my hands and arms, watching the soap turn pink. “Sometimes I find a pair of boxers lying in the grass. Didn’t your pack teach you to pick up after yourself?”

He nudged me with his elbow. “You should talk. I remember once going inside your dad’s trailer during a party and finding your panties hanging up all over the bathroom.”

“That must have been when our washer broke. I’m an adult now. I don’t leave my dirty drawers lying around. I doubt Kira likes picking up after you.”

“I sometimes forget after a long night running the land. Everything okay?”

“Sure.”

“You haven’t been right since the day we went out for tacos. Don’t think I haven’t noticed you sitting on the roof for hours. I know you like heights, but you only do that when something’s on your mind.”

I leaned forward and sighed.

Switch shut the door. “You know I’m here if you need to talk. Or have a beer. Or let me beat you at a game of pool.”

I stared at the running water as it splashed over my fingers. “Sometimes I don’t know if I’m the good guy or the bad guy.”

“Do you feel guilty about anything you do?”

“No.” I shut off the faucet. “It’s not that I don’t feel guilty—it’s that I enjoy it.”

“I’m sure it’s because deep down, you know you’re saving someone else from a tragedy. I’ve walked that road. If you’re not happy, quit.”

I cut him a sharp glare and straightened up. “This is all I’ve got.”

Switch stared at me with that wolfish gaze, his dark eyebrows lowering. “Life’s like a movie. Write your own ending.”

“Who said that? Some famous poet?”

“Kermit the Frog.” He tipped his head to the side. “We spend a lot of time figuring out where we’re supposed to be instead of who we’re supposed to be. That’s why I don’t think too much about what’ll happen when Hunter grows up and I leave Keystone. Plans are for idiots. Just when you think you have it all mapped out, something knocks you on your ass. Half the time it’s because of the choices we make. I don’t regret my choices, but I have to live with them. Stop overanalyzing it. We’re not human. We don’t live by their rules.”

“But I was human. I grew up with those values of right and wrong, and now it’s all fucked up. I don’t have a moral compass anymore. I felt good about tonight until you walked in and gave me that look. When I think about how others see me, I wonder if I’m a bad person.”

“You’re not a bad person. You’re a badass bitch.” Switch wrapped his arms around me. “I wouldn’t be here if you weren’t a good person.”

I shrank in his arms and sucked in a sharp breath.

He jerked back. “Are you hurt?”

“It’s fine.”

Switch hastily ducked out of the room. I grabbed a wad of paper towels and dried the counter where bloody water had splashed. Why the hell couldn’t I get Fletcher out of my head? I’d thought tonight’s job would distract me, yet I couldn’t stop wondering if Lenore had a plan. Maybe she just wanted to intimidate or bait me. Especially knowing that I wouldn’t go after her. Couldn’t was the operative word. I’d never do anything to put Christian’s life in danger.

After a few minutes, Shepherd appeared and shut the door. “Switch called me in to patch you up. Let me see.”

I grimaced as I slipped out of my jacket and turned around.

Shepherd pulled my shirt open over my shoulder. “It’s not deep.”

“He just sliced me real good. Every time I turn my arm, it hurts like hell.”

“Hop up.”

I took off my shirt and sat on the metal table. I had cuts on my arms, and I wasn’t sure if they were from the dagger or all the flying glass. “I hope the other guys are just as easy to catch.”

“Don’t count on it. It depends if we can catch them off guard.”

“He should have had Vampire guards.”

Shepherd carried a bottle of disinfectant, bandages, rags, and a roll of tape. “Can’t put stitches in you since you’ll heal in the morning. You want me to call Niko down?”

“No,” I quickly said.

With Fletcher on my mind, I’d been thinking more about his light addiction and how I didn’t want to wind up like him. Healing light wasn’t the same, but I didn’t want to use Niko unless I absolutely couldn’t hold out until morning. Sunlight wasn’t addictive, and I could probably tough out the pain until then.

I rubbed my eyes. “What happened to you out there?”

Shepherd wiped my shoulder with something cold. “I couldn’t make my move on the driver until you guys shut the windows. Something tipped him off before I even got to him.”

“The show started early.” I hissed when he poured alcohol on my wound. “Why bother? It’s not like I can get an infection.”

“Old habits die hard. Anyhow, my plan was to coolly walk down the street, pretend to need a light, and stab his ass with a stunner. Then I had to reassess. I carry a silencer, and I’m a decent shot. So I found a good position and took a few shots. One got him in the head, but I didn’t expect a second guard. Guess he followed them on his bike and hid around a corner.” Shepherd dried my back with a towel and then tossed the bloody thing into a basket. “I’m gonna put surgical tape on the wound to keep it closed. That’ll hold until morning. Just try not to stretch your arm too much. You want me to numb the pain?”

“With a shot or…” I glanced at his hands. “Uh, no. I’m fine. How did you take out the second guy?”

Shepherd applied the strips of tape. “The fucker was hiding. Stabbed me in the fucking back.”

My eyes widened as I looked over my shoulder at him. “How the hell did you carry bodies and keep working?”

He gave me a stony look, the lines in his forehead deepening as he arched his eyebrows. “It’s not my first rodeo with a knife, honey. It helps when they have shit aim and miss all the arteries. Niko already fixed me up when he came to check on me in the garage. Hell of a gift. We’re lucky to have a Healer in the house. Makes my job easier.”

“Claude was pretty banged up. He had some nasty cuts on his head from all the stuff Ivar was throwing at him.”

“Pretty boy is probably in the shower, lathering up his golden locks with that fancy shampoo he keeps sneaking in my bathroom. I don’t have enough hair for that mess. Just give me a bottle of dishwashing soap.”

We both chuckled as Shepherd applied a large bandage to my back.

“Good as new.” He collected his supplies and set them on the counter. Following a heavy sigh, he lathered up his hands and arms to remove the dried blood. “Christian had to drive those people home in their own cars, so he’ll be gone for a while. You okay to be alone?”

“Why wouldn’t I be?” I hopped off the table and put on my shirt.

“Because this job is no joke. Maybe you should go straight to bed.”

I wasn’t one to be coddled, but I knew what Shepherd was getting at. He was afraid I’d hit the bottle, and that was the moment I realized how much I’d been sliding into a bad habit—one that others had noticed. Shepherd was no stranger to drinking. Hell, we all got ripped some nights after dinner. I had never been one to drink alone, but lately I’d found myself hitting the bottle when no one was around. It hadn’t yet become habitual, but I needed to keep it in check.

“That’s the plan,” I said truthfully, feeling my energy drained. Lying down sounded like an excellent idea. “Right after a hot bath.” I patted him on the back on my way out. “Don’t worry, I’ll be sober.”

* * *

Despite her bloody clothes after handling the bodies, Gem didn’t even think about showering when they got home. Her partner’s injuries required attention, and that became her primary concern.

She brushed back Claude’s hair. He had such pretty curls, all big and loose. He kept it at the perfect length, like the statue of David. Only now, his handsome locks were matted with blood.

Gem picked out another small shard of glass from his scalp and dropped it into a bowl. Then she parted his hair and ran her finger along the gash.

Claude sucked in a sharp breath and scooted back in the leather chair. “Must you do that, female?”

“Quiet now. It’s better if we get all the glass out before Niko seals up your wounds. Otherwise, Shepherd will have to cut it open all over again.”

Niko waited on Claude’s bed, quietly listening. “This is less traumatic, wouldn’t you agree?”

Claude frowned and gave Gem a black look. He had handsome features and eyes like two gold coins. A Chitah’s gaze could strike a primal chord deep down, and most Breeds couldn’t hold eye contact with one.

She giggled and tapped his nose. “You’re not a very good patient.”

“Maybe you’re not a good doctor.”

“Moi? Look down. I think I see something in the back.” She manipulated his head toward the lantern on the wall. Claude had more lanterns in his room than everyone else, and that extra glow made his circular window and its clockwork design even more exquisite from outside.

She grimaced at the shard tucked beneath his scalp. It was bigger than the others. When she touched it with her finger, he growled. “Maybe we should get Shepherd.”

“Just pull it out.”

“This will hurt. Please don’t be mad at me.” Gem gripped it with two fingers and, making sure she had a good hold, pulled it out in one motion.

Claude snarled like a wild animal. Then he dropped his head against her chest and began purring.

“I take it you got it all,” Niko said with amusement.

Claude lifted his head and regarded her for a moment. “Thank you, female.”

She dropped the shard into the bowl. “I just wish I could have done more to help tonight.”

“You weren’t sent to fight,” he said, holding her gaze. “That was our job. You lured him in, kept him calm—”

“And almost died from Chitah venom.”

Niko touched her shoulder. “He bit you?”

“Almost,” she repeated, turning to face him. “When he threw me down, I went into panic mode. I should have blasted him, but it happened so fast and I wasn’t thinking clearly. I just got a few scrapes and bruises—nothing serious.” She moped toward the door, wishing she could jump in a time machine and do things differently. “Do you need anything, Claude? I can bring food.”

“If it’s all the same to you, I’d rather just shower and go to bed.”

“Good night.”

They had all fought bravely. Why couldn’t she be more like Raven? Instead of chasing Ivar around the store, Raven had collected her thoughts and come up with a quick strategy. She was cool under pressure and never faltered. Gem had all this power, but she still buckled under pressure. Ivar was fast, and throwing energy balls at him might have killed someone.

“Gem! Wait up,” Niko called from behind. When he caught up, he matched her pace. “Where are you hurt?”

“It’s nothing. Really.”

He ran his hand alongside the doors until he found his room. “Come with me. I see spots in your light. Allow me to look.”

Gem reluctantly entered his bedroom. His bed and desk were on the left, so she felt around in the dark until she located the chair. After taking a seat, she listened to him opening the fireplace flue and then striking a match. Niko didn’t have windows, making it even darker. Once he got the kindling going, he put a log on the grate. Niko was incredibly thoughtful. He had no use for lanterns or candles, but he kept them in his room for the benefit of others. As he walked around and lit them all, Gem steered her gaze about the room.

She adored Niko’s sense of taste. From wood flooring and furry blankets to glass knobs on the dresser, he surrounded himself with tactile possessions. It even smelled nice in here because of the sachets of dried lavender he kept in the drawers. His shoes were neatly lined up on the wooden bench on the right wall, several katanas mounted above it. Gem had bedazzled her armoire because it looked pretty, but Niko kept his plain. His concept of beauty had nothing to do with sight.

He walked into the bathroom opposite the door and then returned with a towel in hand. Though she didn’t speak, Niko knew she had taken a seat in the chair. He offered her the towel, one half wet and the other dry.

“You have the softest towels,” she said, petting it with her hand.

He knelt beside her. “I brought it for your cuts.”

“I’m not ruining your white towels.”

He took it from her. “Then I’ll ruin them. Where are you hurt?”

“It’s silly, Niko. Really. I can heal up in the morning when the sun comes up.”

“Unless the sun is hidden behind clouds.” He ran his hand across her leg until he found her left hand. “Please, little flower. Let me heal you. Let me take away your pain.”

Gem looked down at her bloodstained blouse. She offered him the injured hand, a jagged mark along the back. “A cut from when he fell on top of me.”

Niko’s expression tightened, and his lips thinned as he put his hand over hers and electricity snapped at her skin.

“That’s amazing,” she said, awestruck at how her skin sealed together from his touch. “I’ll never get over how amazing you are. I mean… your gift.”

“I’m surprised this works on you since you’re a Blocker.”

“Alas, it doesn’t block all Mage gifts. There are so many out there that I haven’t even begun to explore my limitations. Thankfully Charmers have no influence over me. Some of them are jerks, and I can’t imagine having no control over my feelings toward someone I despise. Sorry, I don’t mean to bore you.”

Niko never met her gaze, yet he smiled with his eyes all the same. “On the contrary, nothing you say bores me. You’re the most fascinating person I’ve ever met. Forgive me if this comes across the wrong way, but I admire how much innocence and wonder you have for a woman of fifty. I hope you never lose that quality.”

She studied his blue eyes. “You know all about my past. I was sheltered, and I lost so much, including myself. I think some people grow unnecessarily cold as they age. Even if an immortal is five thousand years old, how can he not marvel at new discoveries? New foods? New advances in science and medicine? Sometimes I find ancients unnecessarily apathetic.” Her cheeks heated, and she clutched his hand. “I don’t mean you.”

“It’s okay. Unfortunately, time shapes us in ways we cannot control. What humans value most weakens immortals. Either it makes us vulnerable or takes a toll on our spirit. If I’m cold, just think of me as a shield.”

Gem quite liked that description. A shield was protection, and she understood that caring for others opened you up to pain. You could lose them, and losing people you loved over thousands or tens of thousands of years was traumatizing. She could barely function after the death of her beloved Creator.

“Where else?”

She reached up and felt the knot on the back of her head. “I don’t know if you can heal everything.” Gem bent forward and let him trace his fingers over her scalp.

A flash of light pulsed, followed by a strange sensation in her head. It didn’t hurt, but the energy had a life to it that was oddly comforting. Perhaps it had more to do with it being an extension of Niko.

“Anything else?” he inquired.

“I think that’s all.”

His eyebrows gathered. “Your light has a mark on your back. I noticed it in the hall.”

“Does it?”

He shifted to the other side of her chair. “If you don’t mind, raise your blouse.”

Gem shyly pulled her white button-up from where it was tucked inside her black pencil skirt. She kept her chest covered even though Niko couldn’t see.

He gently traced his fingers up her back, and when she felt a sharp pain, she leaned forward.

“Ow!”

“It’s glass,” he said, rising to his feet. “I need to remove it.”

She twisted her mouth to the side. “So that’s what it was. I thought maybe I pinched a nerve in my back while lifting that heavy oaf out of the van.”

“Lie on the bed. I’ll get Shepherd.”

“Can’t you do it?”

“I could try. Would you trust me? Shepherd’s a Sensor. He can remove your pain.”

“If Claude can bear it, so can I.” Gem kicked off her shoes, took off her shirt, and crawled onto the incredibly soft blanket that covered his bed. It was dark grey and deceptively felt like mink. These days, they made artificial furs feel just as soft as the real thing. “If it’s deep, you’ll need tweezers. Just be careful not to pinch it too hard or you could break it into pieces.”

While Gem lay on her stomach, her head facing the fire, she felt like a thousand stones were holding her down. She yawned, her brain bouncing back and forth between the events of the evening and fears of the future. Almost every job was dangerous, and she cared about these people. Claude wasn’t just her partner; he was the family she’d never had.

All of them were.

When Niko returned, he stared in her direction. “Where is your head pointed?”

“Toward the fire,” she said. “My feet are on the other side, by the nightstand.”

The tweezers in his hand clicked together as he squeezed them. “Would I have your permission to sit astride you?”

“Can’t you do it standing up?”

Niko tugged the collar of his shirt. “I’m afraid that would place me in an inappropriate position.”

“Oh.” His crotch in her face would be wildly embarrassing. “That’s fine. Or you could sit next to me. Whichever works.”

He rounded the bed, and she felt it depress as he climbed on. “The glass is angled in such a way that I can’t comfortably grip it from the side,” he said. “If this bothers you, tell me immediately, and I’ll get Shepherd.”

Gem folded her hands and turned her head to the side. “I trust you more than anyone.”

His knees anchored on either side of her, but he didn’t sit. When he bent over, his long hair touched her back.

Gem giggled and twisted to look at him. “That tickles.”

“Lie still,” he said, his breath skating across her bare skin.

She squeezed her eyes shut when she felt the cold press of the tweezers invading the wound. Gem tried to focus on something else, like why she was warm all of a sudden. Was Niko using his Thermal gift, or was she just reacting to the sharp pain?

No, it was definitely Niko. Her back warmed all over, and she instantly relaxed. The moment the glass ripped out of the wound, hot energy intensified against her skin, followed by a crack of healing light.

After putting the glass and tweezers on the bedside table, Niko stroked the spot with his fingertips. “Is that better?”

“So much.”

He continued rubbing the spot, essentially massaging her back.

“You’re reading my light, aren’t you?” she asked.

“Do you wish me to stop?”

“Obviously not.” His touch might have elicited desire in most women, but Gem was wired differently. The wood snapped in the fireplace, followed by the roar of a growing flame. “Do you ever use the fireplace when you’re alone, or did you light it just for me?”

“Using my Thermal gift requires energy. Even small amounts will drain me over a long period of time, like a slow leak. Besides, I can’t regulate my body temperature when I’m sleeping. It’s a conscious decision.”

“I’m so glad I’m learning how to use my own gifts. I came to Viktor with the full expectation I’d be lending my skills as a Relic. I think I was just scared.”

“Of?”

When she turned on her side, Niko moved off and sat facing her. “My ineptitude. But this Relic—she’s taught me so much about my power. I never attend her group sessions since I don’t want anyone finding out what I do, so we meet privately. Her therapy is everything I needed. Mary doesn’t just guide me through controlling my energy—she’s helping me navigate through Magehood. I want to help Keystone in more ways than just one. Every single person we capture, every single criminal ring we take down, is a chance for someone else to have a better life. I want to be a part of that. Maybe if there were more people like us, I wouldn’t have had the rotten childhood that I did.”

“I’m glad you’ve found a mentor. You could have come to me, but I’m afraid I know little about your specific gift.”

“I’m just so happy you’re my best friend.” She touched his hand, and her heart warmed. Gem didn’t have to worry about the right words with Niko since he was skilled at reading emotional energy. It made their friendship uncomplicated and easy.

Niko always pushed her to try new things and challenge herself, whereas most people had always reminded her of her limitations or discouraged her from doing dangerous or impossible feats. Even her own partner shielded her far too much, as if she were incompetent and weak. Claude only did it because of his protective nature, so it wasn’t his fault. Yet Niko’s and Mary’s encouragement pushed her to new levels, empowering her to feel like she could be so much more than just a petite girl with language skills.

It made her feel a certain way toward Niko—a feeling she couldn’t articulate, nor had she ever felt before. He respected her, was incredibly patient, and was genuinely interested in listening to her long-winded discussions about historical facts or etymology.

Maybe this was what true friendship felt like.

“I wish I could see your thoughts,” he said softly.

“They would look like a kaleidoscope of butterflies.”

“You have a way with words.” Now it was Niko who smiled thoughtfully, his gaze drifting toward the fire. He must have been thinking about the butterfly she’d once made out of gemstones. While he had an understanding of the shape and delicate nature of the insect’s wings, he didn’t know their beauty. Not until she had shown him in the most creative way she knew how—using the energy from stones to create colors.

Gem withdrew her hand. “I was just thinking about how you understand me in a way no one else ever will.”

“Perhaps not ever. I find it impossible to believe there won’t be others who will see what I do. Have you a desire to bond with a Mage? Not now, but someday in the distant future?”

Bonding seemed like such a forever commitment. Poor Hooper had lost his life just being associated with her. “I could never be with anyone as long as I work for Keystone. It’s too dangerous. Besides that, I couldn’t tell them what I do. Even if I did, who would accept me? I went on a killing spree tonight. If I ever settle down doing innocuous work, maybe. I can’t imagine myself alone forever, but I also can’t picture what a normal relationship would look like. Alas, I’m doomed to be alone.”

Gem thought back to her isolated childhood and failed suicide attempt. These weren’t exactly desirable traits to reveal to someone. Only Niko knew all her secrets.

He stroked his chin. “My understanding of relationships is that you define your own rules.”

“I talked to Mary. It’s not her area of expertise, so she didn’t have much to say. If I commit to any one person, someone would have to make compromises. That’s just the way it is. That’s the way it’s always been.”

Gem wasn’t comfortable discussing her sex life at every turn, but Niko knew more about her than anyone else, and he didn’t seem bothered by it at all. Then again, being a virgin meant he didn’t understand the stakes.

Niko reached behind himself and dragged a smaller blanket over her legs. “Then perhaps all the things you truly crave in a partner aren’t found in a traditional relationship. There is intimacy in friendship. You can also find happiness in solitude.”

“That means I’ll always be alone. You chose to guard your purity, and I admire that so much. People seem to think abstaining from sex is difficult, as if sex is just thrown in your lap at every turn. If you commit to something, it’s doable. I just wish I didn’t have to choose one or the other. I want to be close with people—I want affection and companionship. Don’t you get lonely?”

“Am I alone now?”

“It’s different. You can always change your mind. Who I am isn’t a choice. I used to think there was something wrong with me, because I know how it’s supposed to be between a couple. I committed myself to overcoming my inadequacies, but after talking to you about it, I did some self-reflection.”

“How so?”

“I love intimacy. That’s where I get my buzz. Affection makes my energy spike. But… This is awkward to admit,” she said, staring at her hands and hoping he wouldn’t judge her. “I just don’t feel sexual attraction. I don’t possess the same desires and responses as others do. I adore physical affection. Just not the sexual kind.”

He nodded. “You mentioned that before.”

“I guess I’ve been thinking about it a lot more and trying to solve it. At first I thought the disconnect had to do with my childhood. Nobody ever hugged me. You don’t know what that does to a person. I crave affection, so why can’t I feel the same about sex? What if it means I can’t love like everyone else? I enjoy soft touches and sometimes a little heavy petting, but there isn’t a soul in the universe who wouldn’t want more from that. Physically. My energy switches on when I’m excited, but my body doesn’t. That’s the trouble, Niko. I don’t want more. How can I give only part of myself and expect it’s enough to keep someone happy? It’s an impossible expectation.”

His dark eyebrows knitted together, giving rise to a stern and mighty look. “Never compromise your beliefs for another, nor should you ask anyone to do the same. You’re not broken. I worry that you’re wasting too much time trying to fix yourself when there’s nothing wrong.”

She stared at the tips of her colorful hair. “Maybe I should try binding with a Mage instead. I’ve never done it because I was afraid I’d accidentally blow someone up, and now that I’ve been learning how to control my energy, binding might be an alternative.”

“You’re far too young to know what you truly desire.”

She curled up, her sleepy blinks becoming longer. “You’re almost two thousand. Have you figured out what you truly desire?” Gem yawned and closed her eyes. “Will I have to wait that long?”

Niko lay in front of her. She nestled close, the warmth from her blanket incomparable to the warmth she felt in his arms.

When he spoke, his voice was like an ancient spirit caught in the wind. “It’s taken me fifteen hundred years to figure out what I want, and I am continually amazed by it. Be patient, little flower. We go through life blinded to what we truly need, and when we finally see it, we can’t see anything else. There is more you can give someone than just your body. You can give them your light, your soul, your love, your hopes, and your dreams. You can give them years of companionship. Someday your eyes will open, and perhaps then you will see what I see. You needn’t worry about relationships now. There are many miles to go on our journey—many roads to travel. Allow yourself time to grow into the Mage and Relic you’re destined to be. Know yourself before you’re ready to give yourself.”

Her eyes still closed, she felt herself tangling in his words. “Will you scratch my back? It itches a little where it healed.”

His hand found the spot where the glass had cut her, and Gem sighed with blissful relief as he scratched lightly, eventually stroking the spot in soft circles. “You faced your mortal enemy tonight.”

“I wouldn’t call facing a Chitah brave. Claude’s a pussycat even though he’s my mortal enemy.”

“It’s far different when you face down a Chitah who can kill you with pinpoint precision. We could have lost you tonight. You’re braver than you give yourself credit for.”

“I love that I can talk to you about these things. You never judge me or try to change me. You see things in me that others don’t, and it makes me want to be a better Mage.” She yawned again. “I never want to leave here. This is my home now.”

If Gem could be happier with a friend than a partner, then she never wanted this friendship to end. It was enough. Niko gave her everything without all the strings. Would he always be there for her as he had promised? She couldn’t imagine parting ways, only to bump into each other at random parties and reminisce over their dissolved friendship. But asking him to always be at her side was unrealistic. Friends didn’t live together. They didn’t share beds and lavish physical affection on each other. Niko might one day feel temptation and question whether his life of celibacy was enough. He had chosen that life, but it was easier to do when you weren’t close to someone. Too much physical contact might make him question his life choices.

But for now, this was all Gem wanted. Their friendship would evolve over time, and she was curious to see if it would deepen or fracture. Niko was sincere and honorable, and if he promised to always be there for her, he meant it. No one else had ever given her that measure of commitment. Not even her Creator. And she was certain that Niko had never offered it to anyone else. That meant something. Especially given they were both immortal.

Gem had never truly understood all the facets of love until now.

“Don’t ever leave me, Niko,” she said, drifting off to sleep. “You’re my other half.”

He placed a gentle kiss on her head. “As you wish.”

From a distant realm, she heard a foreign wind swirling around in her dreams, whispering, “Aishiteru.”

CHAPTER 10

Christian watched me from across the table as I devoured the rest of my hamburger. Now I knew what animals in the zoo felt like.

Betty collected my empty pie plate. “Can I get you something else, honey?”

Christian swung his gaze up to the waitress, who was going on eighty and not giving up her red dye job. “She’ll be having what’s left of the cow. Just load it up on a wagon and roll it in.”

“I hope for your sake you’re treating this one right,” she remarked. “I’ve known Raven for a few years now, and she hasn’t been her usual self the past few times I’ve seen her.”

Christian looked offended as he twisted to face her directly. “And what makes you think I’m not treating her like gold?”

She wadded up a straw wrapper and tucked it in her dress pocket. “Women’s intuition. One of these days, I’m gonna remember where I know you from.” Betty patted my shoulder. “If you need anything, you let me know.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

After she left, Christian gave me a perturbed look and stroked his beard. “Women’s intuition,” he grumbled. “That woman is off her rocker.”

I licked ketchup off my hand before wiping it with a napkin. “Especially since you dated her a million years ago and probably broke her heart.”

“Jaysus wept. You can’t let it go, can ya?”

I pushed my plate away and rested my arms on the table. “It must be strange running into people you once knew and seeing how they’ve aged.”

“Half the time, I don’t remember them. They’ve changed, and I’ve seen too many faces in my life to put them all to memory. Usually they’re the ones who remember me, and when they do, I quell any confusing or unpleasant thoughts by convincing them that I’m a relation of the person they once knew. You won’t have that same luxury with your mismatched eyes. Not unless that sort of thing is hereditary. If you plan on building relationships with humans who aren’t trusted, you might consider sunglasses or contacts.”

I grinned when the cook in the back started singing “That’s Amore.” Ruby’s Diner came alive at night with its nostalgic 1950s décor. Chrome barstools, red vinyl seats, neon lights, and American food. While they were open twenty-four hours, they did most of their business in the daytime. The night attracted all sorts of odd birds, but only humans. It had been three days since we’d taken out Ivar, and Viktor decided it was fine for us to leave the house so long as we stayed with our partner and kept our phones charged.

“Feel like stirring up trouble at the club?” he asked with a smoldering wink.

“We can’t talk business at a Breed club.”

“Who said anything about talking?”

The ice in my glass shifted, causing the straw to float up. My thoughts drifted back to the jewelry store. “I hope the next two are as easy. Bet he didn’t expect glass swans would be his damnation. That’ll be a hell of a story in the afterlife. Hey, you’re Ivar the Great. How did you die? You’re a legend.” I switched my voice to a man’s. “I was shopping for crystals.”

Christian put his arm over the back of the bench and gazed at the falling snow. “Have I ever told you the one about the man who died in an outhouse?”

“Not while my food is still digesting.”

Christian tapped his finger against the window. “The easiest ones to kill are the eejits who make poor choices. His first mistake was surrounding himself with numpties who don’t carry a sword. They were relying on their Breed gifts, and that’s always a mistake.”

“Yeah. Ivar looked like a pinball bouncing around in a machine. Not much of a fighter.”

“Powerful men have others fight their battles.”

I put my hands in my lap. “I’m not holding a grudge against you if that’s what you’re worried about.”

Christian kept his eyes trained on the parking lot. “I don’t know how to make it right. I never planned for him to escape.”

I thought about those nights when Christian sped off on his motorcycle, how eager he must have been to torture my Creator. He never left on the nights when I needed him. Now, as I looked into his onyx eyes, I realized how alike he and Crush were. At the end of the day, maybe that was why I couldn’t hate him for keeping his secret. That fierce protectiveness was the reason I loved him. Not the only reason. Christian also had a great ass and made me laugh more than anyone.

He reached across the table and held my hand. We laced our fingers together and stared at the union.

“You should think about how you’re gonna win my father over.”

Christian heaved a sigh. “He wants me to clear out more trees in the back. I told him I can’t pull them out by the roots, but the old bag of bones won’t listen to reason. I can’t grind down the stumps with snow on the ground. It’ll have to wait until spring.”

I let go of his hand. “Why does he want you to tear down trees?”

“He’s got ideas about a fence around the yard.”

“A fence?” That seemed odd. My father liked his property being wide open. It allowed his buddies to shift and run around.

“I think he wants a place for his mutt to roam free without biting on the neighbors. One of them threatened to call animal control if he takes a shite in his yard one more time.”

“Never a dull moment in the Graves house. Maybe you should charm the neighbor instead of cutting down all the trees.”

“Don’t be daft. I can’t erase thirty years of animosity.”

“It’s gonna take more than chopping down a few trees to win over my dad. He’s stalling.”

“Aye. But it’s less ammunition for him if I agree.”

I grinned, sensing his ambition warring with his tolerance level for someone ordering him around. “How about a plate of onion rings to cheer you up?”

“With your feral appetite?” He tucked his chin against his fist. “I wouldn’t stand a chance of enjoying a single bite.”

“I’ll give you a bite of something else.”

Darkness twirled in his eyes. “Promises, promises.”

My blood ran cold. Lenore sauntered through the diner, a white scarf covering her blond hair. I glanced at the dirty stains on the feet of her knee-high white boots and wondered why she would go out in winter wearing a beige dress. The long white coat covered her, but it wasn’t a warm winter coat. She looked more like a woman of society on her way to a dinner party.

Christian noticed the direction of my gaze and twisted around. Before I knew it, he was on his feet. “You have some nerve showing up here.”

Lenore removed her white gloves and tucked them inside her pockets. “I forgot how dreary winter is. The snow and salt are an absolute nightmare on my good shoes.”

Lenore knew this diner from when we’d brought her here after fleeing her mansion during a winter ball gone awry.

“Are you following us?” he demanded to know.

Lenore slowly untied her scarf. “Darling, you should know by now that you’re easy to follow.”

“You’re not welcome here,” he ground out.

“Dear oh dear. I must have misread the sign outside that said this dump was open to the public.”

I hadn’t even realized my hand had moved on top of my steak knife until Lenore flicked a glance at the cutlery.

“Have a seat,” she said to Christian, her black eyes locking on his. “I think it’s time we all have a long overdue chat.”

Christian turned his attention to me, searching for my answer. When I made a slight arch of my eyebrows and folded my arms, he returned to his seat, leaving no room for Lenore to join us.

She placed a chair at the end of the table and gracefully sat. After crossing her legs and adjusting her tidy updo, she stared at her reflection in the window. “I see no need for us to play games.”

I bristled. “Bullshit.”

“If you mean Fletcher, then perhaps you should hold a mirror up to your lover, for he is the one playing games. What a nasty little secret to hide.”

Christian gave her a smug look. “If you’re trying to put a wedge between us, it won’t work. We’ve already talked about it.”

A smile played on her lips. “Have you? What a woman says and what she feels are two different things. Raven may despise me, but being a woman, I understand her more than you ever will.”

“Stop speaking on my behalf,” I snapped, staring at the steak knife. “Just because we both have a vagina doesn’t mean you know everything about me.”

“I know that your Creator was a dreadful man who violated the law when he made you. I don’t work for the Mageri, but I’m privy to their processes. Though they have an approval system set up, a Creator still has full authority to make another Mage. You can’t make a Breed gift illegal, and due to that, Creators have dominion over their progeny. That said, Fletcher was on duty, and you were in the morgue. Even if the making wasn’t your choice, he was on the clock, and therefore you should have been processed accordingly. I would hate to see how this played out in a trial.”

Just hearing how much Lenore knew about my past made my skin crawl. “Don’t pretend you have sympathy.”

“Pity,” she corrected, not mincing her words. “I’m certain they’re not aware of the situation, or else they might have taken action.”

Christian gripped the edge of the table. “If you’re here to threaten her, then you best be on your way before—”

“Before what?” Lenore gave him a loaded glance. “You gave me your word that you wouldn’t come after me. Go on, feel free to sully your reputation for all eternity. No one will ever trade favors with you again. You know as well as I do how damning a reputation like that is in our world—even among criminals. So don’t you dare threaten me.” Lenore drew in a deep breath and restored her pleasant demeanor. “I took that boorish man off your hands for a reason. Your reckless behavior will lead to your execution, and that will not do.”

“You don’t care about us,” I fired back. “Maybe Christian, but you sure as hell wouldn’t bat an eyelash if the Mageri cut off my head. You’re just protecting yourself.” When I saw a look of confusion on Christian’s face, I clarified. “She’s afraid if you had gotten caught, I would’ve ratted her out to buy your freedom. There’s a loophole in the favor you promised her, and I’m the loophole.” I reached for the saltshaker and turned it in my hand. “Christian and I are the only ones who know you betrayed your oath to join a rebel. I promised not to kill you in order to keep you from going after Christian, but I never promised to keep your secrets.”

Christian folded his arms on the table. “Then she’s not keeping Fletcher to protect us. She’s holding him over your head.”

Lenore looked between us. She wasn’t baiting me to kill her guard and get myself arrested; she wanted assurance that I wouldn’t spill her secrets or else she would spill mine. And that was why she was here. She wasn’t sure I’d gotten the message loud and clear.

Lenore canted her head to the side. “In my world, everyone is an adversary, an ally, or a pawn. Men like Fletcher are pawns, but you two have a choice. You don’t have to like a person to be an ally; you simply have to see what could benefit you. If I’m blunt, it’s because I’ve spent hundreds of years listening to men dancing around the truth. I’ve done my fair share of dancing, but not tonight. Regardless of how much you loathe me, Chrissy, I know how deep your loyalty runs. You’ve simply made mistakes in the past of letting your emotions get in the way of what’s best for you. And Raven, you’re still young and filled with resentment. I know what that feels like, and I recognize your raw ambition. Fletcher is a deplorable example of wasted immortality, but he’s the only assurance I have that you won’t betray me. And let’s be frank—torture? That’s beneath you,” she said, directing her words at Christian. “Don’t ruin your life on a foolish whim. Even if you had tried to bargain your way out of it by spilling my secrets, there’s no guarantee they would have lowered your sentence. And what if Raven had been arrested as an accomplice?”

“They would have no proof of that,” he bit out. “She had nothing to do with it.”

“See the bigger picture. They would have found out about her creation, and who knows what they might have decided? I’ve seen many a Mage put down. Even with the work she’s done for Viktor, no one can protect you against the Mageri’s final decision. Not even me. I don’t work for them, and they have the final ruling over all Mage matters. Not that Raven is entirely a Mage, and that complicates things. On top of that, Viktor would suffer the indignities of public scorn for the scandal.”

I closed my eyes and scratched my eyelid, irritated that I couldn’t stab her in the throat. Irritated even more that she was right. I would run away from Keystone before letting the Mageri get their hands on me.

“I have offered my assistance more than once,” she went on. “And yes, I always do things that will benefit myself. As should you. While you may despise me, consider how beneficial it is to have a higher authority member looking out for you. Few others can say the same. And you work in a job where it would truly serve you. As I said before, I don’t like looking over my shoulder. That’s why Fletcher is under my care, despite being a loquacious idiot. I abhor men who don’t know when to keep their mouths shut, and I’m not foolish enough to keep him around forever. He’s unstable.”

“You got that right,” I added with a smile. “Maybe you bit off more than you can chew. You’re afraid that we’ll damage your precious reputation. Are you blind? That honor will go to Fletcher. You have no idea what kind of man he is. Maybe you charmed some truth out of him, but you don’t know.”

She uncrossed her legs and appeared unnerved. Had I rattled her cage a little? Vampires were notoriously egotistical, thinking they were more powerful than any other Breed. On top of that, she probably felt even more protected working for the higher authority. But I could smell her fear. Lenore was profoundly insecure about being able to hold her position of power, and men like Fletcher were volatile, like a stick of dynamite.

“I want the three of us to come to an understanding,” she said, studying her slender fingers. “We can benefit from one another. You would be foolish to think otherwise. If I let my ego get in the way, I’d never be where I am. Do you really believe I left Viktor for Godfrey without fully understanding the ramifications? I didn’t do it for power or else I would have accepted his proposal during the party. I did it because I was out of options, and I needed to undo the spell. I could see how his plan would eventually unfold, and I couldn’t risk becoming his enemy. I never guessed you would defeat him, especially with the help of local packs. Shifters are notoriously selfish and rarely do anything for the greater good. Not to mention they can’t keep secrets, so you’re lucky that plan didn’t backfire.”

Christian reached for my drink and took a sip. “If I had known this would be a monologue, I would have ordered the onion rings.”

“Christian, you have many weaknesses, and one of them is holding a grudge.”

He stared at my knife, fire brimming in his eyes. “What you know about grudges could fill a thimble. You burned everyone before they could burn you.”

She flicked lint off her sleeve. “And I intend to keep it that way. Life is too short to spend bewailing every wrong ever done to you. I want us to have a truce. That way neither of us has to look over our shoulder and keep piling on more armor. Do you think I want an abhorrent man like Fletcher under my watch? No. But I intend to keep him until I get the assurance I need that us three can form an amicable relationship. Which of you would kill him just to satisfy your thirst for revenge? Because doing so would open up an investigation that won’t end well for Raven.” Lenore fished her gloves out of her pockets. “Your boss works for me.”

“With you,” Christian said. “Keystone receives jobs from the higher authority, to be sure. But don’t be misled into thinking you’re the only money filling our pockets. We don’t rely on the higher authority for jobs. Viktor simply prefers the ease of it.”

“Be that as it may, we have to uphold a working relationship. The only thing I’ve wanted from either of you is trust. Since you’re so fond of animals, let me put it this way: Lions are powerful enough to kill men, and by the same token, men can kill lions with weapons. The lion is an instinctual animal, whereas man relies on intellect. Let’s say there’s a rogue lion that everyone is hunting. One day a man takes this lion into his home and protects him. Builds a fence around the property. Feeds the lion. Doesn’t love him. Doesn’t pet him. Instead, he offers him a life of security. Is it in the lion’s best interest to kill the man?”

We waited while one of the workers passed us and went into the bathroom.

Lenore adjusted her diamond earring before continuing. “Not only might he eventually starve, he would still be in a cage. And when the hunters find him, they would have no trouble skinning him since he was trapped and therefore easy to catch. In other words, don’t bite the hand that feeds you. Emotions are dangerous, and you need clarity to make the best decisions for your future. Everyone sitting at this table is perfectly capable of killing the other. An intellectual won’t follow his impulses when there are consequences. I used to think impulsively,” she admitted, putting on her gloves. “I believed the only way to get rid of a threat was to bury it. I didn’t kill you all those years ago, Christian. I could have, but I wanted to see if it was possible for a man to change. It’s not. We are who we are at our very core. Yet it’s possible for us to learn and make different choices. I want you—the both of you—to align with me. Be an ally. When you need my help, I’ll do everything within my power. And should I need your help, I’ll ask the same. A symbiotic relationship doesn’t require friendship.”

“I’ve heard enough.” I slid out of the booth and stared daggers at Lenore. “You have a lot of nerve walking into my territory and asking for us to get along. Spare me the lion analogy. We’re not idiots. If those are the cards you wanna lay down on the table, then let me show you my hand. I despise you. And my not joining your evil alliance has nothing to do with anger or revenge. You buried me. Not to mention you buried Christian. You think you can bury all your problems? Maybe that’s why you rushed to Sparrow—so he’d lift the curse and you wouldn’t see any more ghosts. You were afraid of bumping into all those skeletons in your closet—the ones who died because you had someone else do the killing. Yes, I know everything. And now that we’re enemies, I don’t care about holding my tongue. Even if we worked out a mutual agreement, I wouldn’t trust you weren’t scheming. You have a track record for stabbing people in the back, and I don’t make alliances with backstabbers. Maybe my heart is black, but at least I care about people. And when you hurt the people I care about, you make an enemy. You’re a hollow shell. Power means nothing if you don’t have someone who truly gives a shit about you. And parading Fletcher in front of me?” I slammed my fist on the table. “I hope he ruins you, because that’s the one thing he excels at. Now take your bony ass back to your castle in the sky.”

“You will rue the day you didn’t accept my offer.”

Christian left money on the table and then flicked a dollar bill in Lenore’s lap. “For the entertainment.”

Once outside, I spotted Fletcher standing near the front of the diner. His hands were in his pockets, and though his facial hair concealed his mouth, I could tell he was smiling. From inside the truck, we sat in the parking lot and watched Lenore put on her scarf and eventually drive away.

“I know you didn’t want me to make an enemy of her, but I can’t play games anymore,” I admitted, my thumbnails pressing into the steering wheel. “That woman is a tornado.”

“What do you want to do about it?” His tone implied many things, one being that he was open to anything I might suggest.

“I don’t know yet. I could have lied and told her what she wanted to hear, but I think she’s used to that. Maybe she’ll leave town, or maybe she’ll do something insanely reckless. I’m more upset about… him.”

“Aye. You heard what she said about an investigation. That’s a veiled threat.”

“Do you really think she’s obligated to tell them if one of her guards is murdered? She’s just doling out threats to keep us from doing anything. If she wants to turn us in, she does it at her own peril. She knows it, and that’s why I think she reminded me that I’m not official with the Mageri.”

“Lenore is threatened by anyone she can’t control.” Christian cracked his window when the glass began fogging up. “Let’s worry about it later. The one thing Lenore knows how to do is distract a person, and we can’t afford distractions.”

I sighed. “We made promises we can’t go back on. No matter what we do, we’re always in a stalemate. It would be nice if the universe would throw me a bone. If neither of us can go after Lenore, I’d love nothing more than to have someone accidentally drop her off on my doorstep with a little note around her neck that says ‘She’s all yours.’ I just want them to get what they deserve, without consequences. Haven’t we suffered enough?”

Christian reached around my waist and pulled me across the bench seat of my truck so I was straddling him. He cupped my neck in his hands, and I barely noticed that his fingertips were like icicles.

I tumbled into his gaze like Alice down the rabbit hole. I didn’t mind that he didn’t shave his beard properly or that he never put food on his plate at the table. Christian didn’t have a filter on his mouth, but his lips were home.

Our kiss deepened briefly before I nipped his bottom lip. Something about the frigid temperatures turned me on the closer our bodies got. His neck was warm, and I nibbled his earlobe before tasting his skin.

When my phone vibrated, he cursed under his breath.

I climbed off and pulled out my phone. “It might be Viktor.” When I didn’t recognize the number, I answered with hesitation. “Hello?”

“Hi. Is this Raven Black?” a woman asked.

“Yes.” I gave Christian a puzzled look.

“My name is Amanda from Memorial Hospital of Cognito. I have you down as an emergency contact for Eugene Graves. Can you confirm your relation to him?”

My hands were shaking, and I almost dropped the phone when I switched ears. “He’s my father.” My heart raced like a hummingbird as the truck closed in all around me.

“How soon can you be here?”

“I’m on my way.”

CHAPTER 11

Driving to the hospital was a complete blur. My phone wound up on the floor, and Christian pleaded for me to let him take the wheel. I had mentally checked out, my worst fear realized.

Would I get there in time? The woman wouldn’t say over the phone what had happened, only that it was an accident. I’d known this day would come, and yet nothing could have prepared me for it. I wasn’t ready to let go, and yet I didn’t want to be late and not have one last moment with him. Tears blurred my vision as I struggled to keep the truck on the snowy roads. Only the bridges and overpasses were salted, and I took every shortcut I knew to get there.

As soon as I pulled up to the emergency room doors, I left the keys in the ignition, grabbed my phone, and flew out. I ran up to the check-in counter and frantically signaled the nurse. She was busy talking to a woman with a nasty cough. A baby in the waiting room wailed, the mother trying desperately to calm him with a toy. A male worker in blue scrubs wheeled a patient out of a hall and parked him in the waiting room with the others. The only other staff in sight was a young woman taking someone’s blood pressure in a small room just behind the counters.

“I need help,” I said.

“Take a number, lady. I’ve been here five hours,” a man grumbled from a seat by the automatic doors.

Ignoring him, I tapped the counter with my hand. “Is there an Amanda here? She called about my father. Hello?”

Christian appeared from outside and strode up to the counter. He snagged the attention of the older lady who was showing the cougher how to fill out a form. “Be a good lass and help out the woman to your right,” he said firmly, charming her with his Vampire gifts.

The woman robotically walked up to me. “How can I help you?”

“Someone named Amanda called. My father’s here. Crush Graves. I mean Eugene Graves. Can someone tell me what’s happening? Is he okay? Where is he? I need to see him.”

She tiredly scratched her forehead before typing something in on the computer. When a young man strode in from the automatic double doors, she crooked her finger and summoned him over. “Mike, she’s here for Eugene Graves.”

“Oh, that guy.” Mike casually rested his arms on the counter as if he were ordering a drink at a coffee shop.

“Is he still in the trauma bay?”

“They just wheeled him to radiology for a CT. Do they wanna talk to the doctor? It could be a while.”

I approached Mike. “I’m right here. Why don’t you ask me?”

From behind me, Christian’s hands rested on my shoulders. “Can you take us to the room he’s assigned to?”

Mike gave the woman a peevish glance before walking us across the room and through the automatic doors. “I’ll let the doctor know you’re in there, but I don’t know how long he’ll be. He might not come back.”

“What the hell does that mean?” I snapped.

“If they take him directly to surgery, he’ll be admitted upstairs.” Mike stopped by an open doorway and gestured for us to go inside. “Wait here, and I’ll look for the doctor.” He closed the door.

I looked around the sterile medical room and immediately noticed my father’s clothes in a plastic bag by the chair. The bed was disheveled with a white blanket hanging over the end. How long had he been in here by himself? A minute? Six hours?

“At least there’s no blood,” Christian remarked.

“Unless he bled out in the trauma room.”

“Aye, but if they moved him in here, that’s a good sign.”

I crossed my arm over my middle and cupped my other hand over my mouth. “Unless it was a heart attack. Or a stroke. What if he doesn’t know me? What if he can’t talk? What if he’s a vegetable?”

I waited for Christian to throw in a zinger about Crush lounging in his recliner and his unhealthy lifestyle. Instead of making jokes to lighten the mood, he kissed my forehead and put his arms around me.

“Level down,” he said. “If you don’t keep your energy under control, you’ll pass out and wind up being the one in this bed.”

We waited for twenty-six minutes. I kept staring up at the clock, tempted to spring to my feet and demand information. That fleeting thought was quickly erased whenever I heard another patient screaming in pain or the sound of footfalls rushing down the hall.

“How long does a CT scan take?” I asked, wondering if something had gone wrong.

Christian abruptly lowered his gaze to the floor and stepped into the corner. I jumped when the door abruptly opened and a man walked in.

“Hi. I’m Dr. McGuiness,” he said, barely making eye contact as he sat on his round stool and got on the computer. “Are you family?”

I shot up out of the chair. “His daughter. Where is he?”

“Because of his condition, we moved him upstairs. Let me just pull up the lab work,” he said, sounding more like a waiter going over the ingredients for salad dressing as he listed off things that made no sense to me.

“What happened?”

Though the doctor had a surgical mask covering his face, his eyes behind his glasses were young. Too young. When I didn’t see a seasoned man with decades of experience, my stomach knotted. After another click of his mouse, he rolled away from the monitor and faced me. “Your father sustained a work injury and came in by ambulance. The report says he slipped in oil and struck his head on concrete. Hard enough that he lost consciousness. Our primary concern with that type of injury is a hematoma—uh, bleeding in the brain that clots. An epidural or subdural can be a silent killer. He was belligerent when they brought him in. Sometimes head injuries can cause aggression.”

“No, that’s just how he is.”

The doctor arched his brow. “We always have to assume traumatic brain injury when presented with certain symptoms. Especially with someone his age.”

I sat in the chair, my arms hugging my middle. “Is he gonna be okay?”

“The scans are clear. No fractures, no signs of bleeding. He’s got a contusion, but that’s to be expected. He came in vomiting and somewhat unresponsive to our questions. Normally we’d keep him in the ER under observation and treat the nausea; however, according to the paramedics, he lost consciousness for an unknown length of time. It’s my recommendation that we keep him overnight. I went ahead and admitted him.” Dr. McGuiness patted his legs. “But he’s not very cooperative. The more I talked to him about his condition, the less he wanted to be here.”

“I’ll talk to him,” I said, ready to chain my father to the hospital bed if I had to.

The doctor stood up and rolled his stool back to the computer station. “I’ll have someone help you find his room. If he’s released tomorrow, is there someone who can watch him for a few days? There’s always a small risk of an intracranial hematoma forming, so they’ll give you an aftercare sheet. If he displays any change in behavior or develops new symptoms, you’ll need to bring him in immediately. Some hematomas require surgery, and if they’re not treated early, they can be serious. Even deadly. I recommend he doesn’t go to work. Someone should keep an eye on him or at least check in on him frequently.”

“I’ll take care of it. Ssso… he’s gonna be okay?”

The doctor nodded emphatically. “As long as he takes it easy and follows our instructions, he should be fine to leave in the morning. If he refuses treatment, someone will need to stay with him. Any other questions?” He lingered by the door, eagerly gripping the handle.

“No. I just want to see him.”

“I’ll get someone.”

When he left the room, I heaved a sigh and wearily rubbed my eyes.

Christian emerged from the corner. “Do you want me to call his friend while you go up and see him?”

“Ren?” I stood and collected my father’s clothes. “I’m taking care of him.”

“We can’t be babysitting your da while on the job. Let one of his friends take him in. He runs with wolves.”

“He’s my father. What kind of daughter would I be if I let someone else take care of him? He looked after me for my entire life.”

“Because he’s your da.”

“Yeah. And I’m his daughter. Look, I’m still on the job when Viktor needs us. But there’s no way I’m ditching my father. You know I’m the only one he’ll listen to. He won’t take orders from anyone else when it comes to staying in bed or following the doctor’s orders. I’ll figure this out. Can you move my truck?”

Christian peered through the narrow window in the door. “Aye. Do you want to stay here all night? He’s in good hands.”

“If they let me. You’ll probably have to find something to do since you’re not family.”

He put his back to the door and folded his arms. “I bet there’s a chapel in the hospital. Shall we rectify that?”

I walked into Christian and rested my forehead against his chest. “Not now.”

“I’ll call Viktor and let him know. If you want to watch your da, no one is stopping you. Come up with a plan by morning. If Viktor sends us out for the second job, we’ll have to leave your da alone. You’ll have no control if he decides to drive in the snow or go to work.”

“Then we’ll just have to take him with us.”

* * *

The pain medicine they gave my father was prescription strength but nothing that would cause addiction. I made them well aware that my father was a former alcoholic and didn’t want any type of narcotics in his system. Crush was more embarrassed than anything and insisted he was good to go home, which he probably was, but I convinced him that he should take advantage of all the insurance he pays for. He seemed more tempted by the idea of a free breakfast than treatment. The nurse came in every few hours to check his vitals. Crush would wake up, mutter a curse, and fall back asleep. I stayed in a chair by the window. The nurse showed me how it folded into a bed. Christian had slipped in once to let me know Viktor was aware of the situation. He couldn’t stay since the hospital had strict rules and only allowed one family member to stay overnight, but he promised to stay in the building and find something to do to kill time. Even though Christian could have charmed the nurse into letting him stay, my father needed rest and wouldn’t like the idea of someone else watching him sleep.

I had a view of the highway and watched flashing lights from various patrol cars and emergency vehicles. My Mage gift told me dawn wasn’t far off.

“You been here all night?”

I looked toward the bed and noticed Crush sitting up, examining the tube going into his hand.

“Leave those in,” I insisted, stretching my back as I got up and sat on his bed. “You sleep okay?”

“Hell no.”

Crush didn’t look like himself. He had a bandage around his head, his hair was disheveled, and his right hand was especially plump from the saline they were giving him intravenously.

He rubbed his eyes, his hands still discolored from working in the garage.

After I stacked a pillow behind him, I found the buttons that automatically brought up the back of the bed until he could sit properly. “How did it happen?”

“I slipped. Always thought I’d bite the dust from a car falling off a lift.”

“Was Red or any of your guys there?”

“No. I had something to finish up. A customer was bringing in his bike, so I was waiting around for him while cleaning the shop. I guess he’s the one who found me.”

I sighed. “You scared the hell out of me.”

He reached around and touched the back of his head. “They put a few stitches in. I don’t see what the fuss is about.”

“You were unconscious. And your belligerent attitude didn’t help matters. You should be more cooperative so people won’t assume you have a brain injury.”

“I ran out of fucks when they kept poking me with needles and asking me crazy shit like who’s the president and what year I was born. None of their damn business.”

“What’s your name?”

“Crush.”

“What’s my name?”

“Raven Imogen Graves. Black. Whatever. You’re dating that peckerhead with the Matrix coat and pissy attitude. I told him to clear out a few trees, and he starts whining about snow.”

I patted his knee. “Yep. You’re fine.”

He picked at the tape on his hand. “I need to get Harley.”

“Is he at the shop?” I gripped his hand to stop him from pulling any tubes out.

“He usually comes with me. I don’t think he wanted to get out in the snow. Can’t blame him. I went home at lunch to let him out, but he’s been in there all day and night without supper. He didn’t eat.”

“Don’t worry about him. He’ll be fine for a few more hours. You need to take it easy. No work.”

Crush flicked an irritated glance my way.

“Don’t argue. It’s snowing outside anyhow. Nobody expects your shop to be open. If you’ve got something important going on, your crew can take over.”

“They’ve been doing a lot of taking over lately. Makes me look like I can’t hold my own.”

“No, it makes you look like a successful mechanic who has a lot of other important things to do. I can’t make you retire. It’s your life. Just think about pulling back on all the hard labor. You hire competent, loyal workers, and they’re capable of handling everything on their own. You can pop in and supervise, but I don’t see why you have to be working on every single vehicle.”

“Because my name’s on the sign?”

I glanced up at the clock. “Breakfast should be anytime now. I want you to order something good and eat every bite. Keep the tubes in your arms.”

“I gotta take a piss.”

“Then drag the pole with you. Do you want to lean on me?”

He looked away. “I don’t need help.”

I held his arm and looked down at his tattoos. “We all need help. Look, I’m gonna keep an eye on you for a couple of days. No arguments. I could always leave you with Ren—”

“Hell no,” he barked.

“I know you don’t want your buddies seeing you in an open-back gown,” I said with a snicker. “Look, I don’t want you to wind up in here again because you didn’t follow orders and suddenly got a brain bleed.”

“A what?” He scratched his head around the bandage.

“We’re staying with you.”

“We?” He shifted in his bed. “Hell no, Raven.”

“Then I’ll have to ask Viktor permission for you to come home with me. After the help you gave us on our last mission, I don’t think he’d object.”

I wasn’t entirely certain if Viktor would agree, especially since we had a tricky assignment that required more secrecy than usual.

“I’m not asking for help,” he said, sitting all the way up and flipping the sheet off. “I want my bed.”

“Daddy, I’m on a job. Christian and I can’t be separated. Now that I think about it, if we get called away while staying at your house, you’ll be alone. Trade places with me for a second. What if I was the one needing someone to look out for me? I don’t want to fight my way through taking care of you. I started reading articles on my phone about head injuries, and they said—”

“It causes cancer and sudden death. That’s why I don’t read the internet—every diagnosis is terminal. I’ll be fine, but I get it if you want to watch your old man. To tell you the truth, my head feels like a truck ran over it, so I don’t think I want to work anyhow. You decide what’s best. I trust you.”

I reached out and felt his forehead. “Should I call the nurse?”

He rocked with laughter. “Stop giving me your sass. Now help me up, Cookie.”

I rounded the bed and helped him slide his legs over the edge. “Don’t stand if you feel woozy. Take your time. I’ll go find Christian. Call the nurse and order breakfast.”

When I left, I stopped by the nurse’s station and told them my father was starving. Then I sent Christian a text. When he didn’t reply back, I called.

After five rings, he answered. “Fangs for calling,” he said breathily, slowly. Something was off. “I’m a wee bit busy at the moment.”

“Christian?” I stopped by the elevators. “Where are you?”

“Indisposed.”

“Please tell me you’re in the building.”

“Aye. It’s a carnival of cocktails.”

Panic set in. “Are you… Are you drinking from someone?”

“Of course not. I would never.”

“Are you sure?”

“Cross my heart and hope to be human.”

“Where are you?”

“I don’t rightly know.”

I got in the elevator after two doctors walked out. “What floor are you on?”

Christian started singing in what I presumed was Gaelic.

“Christian,” I hissed, gritting my teeth. “Tell me where the hell you are.” I stepped off the elevator on floor three and stood in the elevator hall. “What floor?”

“I see you.”

“You’re in ICU?”

“I see you,” he sang.

I headed toward the dark windows and looked out. “Are you in the other building?”

When I walked around the corner to my left, automatic doors opened. I crossed over a skywalk that connected to an adjacent building. “This isn’t the time for games. I think Crush is supposed to see the doctor this morning for an assessment, but he seems all right. No serious brain damage.”

“I beg to differ.”

When I reached the other side, I veered down a hallway to the right. Someone paged a doctor over the intercom. I spied the nurse’s station ahead and dove into the first room on the right where the windows would be. “Christian?” I whispered into the darkness.

“I’m here,” he whispered back.

On the phone.

I stepped into the hall and tried the next room. Hopefully I didn’t walk in on a total stranger. A dim light on the wall revealed a neatly made bed. Before I turned away, something moved in the reflection on the window. When I walked around the bed, I lowered the phone away from my ear.

Disastrous.

Sitting against the wall was Christian, the love of my life, wearing blue scrubs covered in blood. He clutched a plastic bag, gnawing into it with his fangs while a tube bounced around, splattering more blood onto his pants and the floor. It covered his beard, his neck, and the whole top of his shirt. Beneath the bed were four empty bags.

I picked up his phone from the floor and took it off speaker. “Have you lost your fucking mind?”

There was a slurping sound like when a straw sucks up the last drops from the bottom of the cup. Christian turned the bag upside down, shaking it into his mouth.

I snatched it away and tossed it with the other bags. I squatted in front of him and turned them all over. The labels had AB with Rh Negative printed below it. It was the rarest blood with the most delectable flavor. “Are you drunk?”

He held his thumb and index finger in front of his eye and then shrank the gap.

Christian started licking his bloody fingers as if they were covered in sauce.

“This situation is fucked. You realize that. Where’s your coat? Why are you wearing scrubs?”

“Too many watchers. You can’t just waltz into the lab and grab a few bags of the good stuff. I can only charm so many people at once, and they have all those fecking little cameras,” he said, pointing to nonexistent cameras in the room.

I stood up and yanked the drapes shut. “This is karma biting me in the ass for every time I got drunk and you had to clean up my mess.”

After quietly closing the door, I went into the bathroom and soaked a white towel. This was a conundrum. If someone called the cops on us, I wasn’t sure what Christian might do in his current state. When I returned, he had opened another bag with his fangs. I ripped it away, gathered them up, and put them into a trash bag. Then I tossed the wet towel at Christian’s head. “Wipe your face and hands.”

The bathroom had a small trash can for biohazards, so I brought it out and dropped the trash bag inside. Screw mopping the floor. I needed to get him cleaned up and out of here as fast as possible.

“Stand up,” I ordered him. “If we get arrested, Viktor’s not gonna like it. Especially if it interferes with the job.”

“Jaysus, Mary, and Joseph,” he whined, climbing to his feet. “Can’t a man just enjoy a drink without everyone getting their knickers in a twist?”

“Raise your arms.” I stripped off his bloody shirt and tossed it into the trash. At least he was still wearing his own clothes.

When I returned to the bed, horror rinsed over me. Christian was stripping off his bottom scrubs, and he had nothing on underneath except his boxer briefs.

“Where are your pants?”

“I couldn’t get these trousers on over my own. Something had to go.” He licked the blood from his wrist.

I searched the room in vain for hospital gowns. When I noticed a wheelchair, I rolled it to the foot of the bed. “Sit down.”

Christian frowned, so I guided him to the chair and shoved him into the seat. After putting his feet in the footrests, I tossed a blanket over his lap.

He cupped his hand around my thigh. “Flatten me, Dr. Black. I’ve never done it in a wheelchair.”

“We’re not playing sex doctor. Can you help me a little bit?”

Christian played with the wheels and turned himself around. “Afraid not, lass. My soul is banjaxed. Ruined. Dark and wicked.”

I wiped his arm with the towel where blood had run all the way to the elbow. “I thought you had self-control.”

He slumped in the wheelchair, his smile not showing a hint of remorse. “I never turn down a free drink. A bag is better than whiskers and perfume in my face, and I don’t especially like drinking from people. In fact, I only ever have the pleasure when we’re hunting outlaws. Even then Viktor frowns upon it. Can’t a man just be a Vampire?” He licked the back of his hand. “They could at least warm it up.”

“I thought you didn’t drink from the dead.” I tossed the towel into the trash.

“Never drink from a corpse or you’ll slowly go mad. Technically, bagged blood comes from the living. The only thing it’ll do is make you langered.”

“You’re a messy eater. Maybe next time exercise a little self-control and get a to-go bag.”

Christian laughed so loud that I slapped my hand over his mouth.

“How am I the sane person in this situation?” I pulled the thin blanket up to his shoulders. “Pretend you’re asleep.” I rushed to the door and pressed my ear against it.

Christian snickered. “I can hear everything. She’s rabbiting on about her favorite show. It’s the one about the devil. Don’t you find it odd that humans are so fascinated with Satan? They made him all… sexual. Jaysus. If there is a devil, I’d be willing to wager my life savings that he looks exactly like your da and dresses like Wyatt.”

I got behind him and pushed the wheelchair. “I’m gonna let that slide because you’re drunk. Now shut the hell up and play dead.”

After making sure the coast was clear, I hauled ass through the skywalk.

“You’re a terrible driver,” he muttered.

After the automatic doors opened, I coolly walked in and gave a worker a panicked smile when I saw the frown on his face. The elevator beeped the second I pushed the up button.

“Fuck,” I breathed when I saw we weren’t going to be alone.

I swallowed hard and pushed Christian inside, next to a man in a white coat.

Christian’s head bobbed up. “I can’t think with all that noise. Why won’t they invent silent elevators without all the mechanical parts? They could run on gravity using magnets.”

I tried to nudge his head down, but he reached up and slapped my hand.

The doctor flashed me a quick grin. When the doors opened, he reached for the handlebars on the wheelchair. “Let me get that.” He backed Christian up into the hall. “Do you need help finding something?”

I lifted Christian’s blanket up to his shoulder when it started to slip. “No. We just went down to the cafeteria to see if they were open. My brother fell down a flight of stairs. Uh, thanks.”

“Brother?” Christian scowled at me. “Is that the best you can do?”

I tapped my head with my index finger. “They’re keeping him for observation. Thanks, Doc.” I parked Christian’s wheelchair at the end of the elevator hall. “Look, I’m gonna get my dad. Can you sit here? I’m serious,” I said, wagging my finger in his face.

Christian licked the tip of my finger and winked.

I tucked the blanket around his neck like a bib to hide his shirt and underwear. As I hustled back to my father’s room, I glanced down at my hands and noticed bloodstains.

This wasn’t in the brochure.

Once the door shut, I sprinted to the chair and grabbed my father’s clothes. “Get up. We gotta go.”

“I just ordered eggs and sausages.”

“Really? That’s the healthiest you can do?”

He swung his legs over the side of the bed. “I’m in the right place if anything happens. What’s going on?”

“I can’t explain.” I peeled off the tape from his finger that held the pulse oximeter. While he put on his pants, I found bandages and helped him remove the central line from his hand. Hopefully nothing would trigger an alarm at the nurse’s station that would make them rush in right away, but what were they gonna do? Arrest him for declining medical care?

“You’re shittin’ me,” he grumbled, holding up his ripped shirt. “Where the hell are my coveralls?”

“We don’t have time for that. Don’t worry about your shirt. Just keep the gown on and sit down.”

After he took a seat in a small chair with metal arms, I played a game called How Fast Can I Put My Father’s Socks and Boots On?

He got up and put his wallet in his pants along with his phone. “Dammit. I think my keys are still at the shop. I bet the door’s wide open.”

“Call Red when we get in the truck. Tell him to lock up the garage and you’ll be on vacation.”

“I can’t get in my damn house.”

“How hard did you hit your head?” I helped him to his feet. “You do remember I have a spare set of keys?”

“I just don’t like leaving my shit behind. Are you sure that’s all they gave us?”

I walked him down the hall, past the nurse’s station.

“Ma’am. Where do you think you’re taking him? Ma’am!” A nurse rounded the desk and then jumped ahead of us.

“He wants to go for a walk,” I fired back. “Isn’t that his right?”

“The doctor hasn’t seen him. He’s still under observation.”

Irritated by all the red tape, I stepped in front of Crush. “Look, my father is refusing care. It’s his right. The doctor said he didn’t even have to stay overnight; it was optional and precautionary. I spent all night in the room with him and—”

“I’m aware of his condition, but I can’t let you walk him out of here. We have to discharge him.”

“He hasn’t had any symptoms. You can look at the notes left by the last nurse on duty. We’re going home, and I’ll look after him. If I don’t walk him out of here now, he’s going to leave by himself. And I don’t want my father wandering around the city in all that snow. So give me whatever papers you want us to sign. You have his insurance information.”

She looked like she’d heard this song and dance before. “We have a form, but it has to be signed by his doctor.”

“Then get any doctor. You’re not allowed to hold him against his will, and we’re not waiting any longer. I’m trying to get home before the roads get worse. He left his shop wide open for people to steal his customer’s cars. Do you have any idea how that would financially ruin him? My father is a combat veteran, and he deserves a little respect. Get me the papers right now, and if you have any issues with this whole process, you can contact me. You have my number.”

Rolling her eyes, the nurse shook her head and walked sluggishly back to the nurse’s station. I shifted from one foot to the other, my eyes locked on the elevator hall up ahead. After I’d signed the forms and collected his aftercare printout, a young woman rolled a wheelchair around. “You have to be wheeled out. Hospital policy.”

Crush looked at it as if it were a snake. “The only way I’m sitting in that is over my dead body.”

I glared. “Don’t tempt me. Sit down.”

Crush angrily ripped his gown off and flung it on the floor. There were round stickers on his chest from the heart monitors, and he was ripping them off, hair and all.

I took the handlebars. “I’ll wheel him out.”

“Ma’am, we have someone that’ll escort you out.”

“Either I take him out or he’s gonna walk out and probably fall. I know this man. He won’t let anyone push him but me. Don’t worry—I won’t let him get up.”

They were loudly arguing with each other as I rolled my father down the hall.

“Combat veteran?” he grumbled. “Don’t pull that shit again. I don’t throw that title around to get a free ride in life.”

“Yell at me later. I need to get us out of here.” When we reached the elevators, my stomach clenched. “Oh, fuck me.”

Christian was gone. And so was his wheelchair.

“Christian!” I whispered loudly. “If you can hear me, get over here. Now.”

The elevator doors opened, and a large man rolled a food cart out.

Crush clamped his hand down on the lid covering the plate. “Eggs and sausage? That’s me.”

“Sir, you can’t—”

Oh, but he could.

And he did.

My father grabbed a handful of meat and eggs before I rolled his ass into the elevator and the doors shut. He stuffed his face like a feral animal, egg tumbling down his bare chest and onto his lap. “Five-second rule.”

I smoothed his hair down in the back beneath the bandage. “We could have just gone to the Pancake House.”

After finishing his sausage, he wiped his hand on his pants. “Where’s peckerhead?”

“I have no idea, and I can’t leave here without him.”

“If he has your keys, call a cab.”

“That’s not it,” I said, watching the numbers slowly drift down to the first floor. “We can’t separate.”

The doors opened on the second floor, and I turned around to face front. An elderly man entered the elevator and stared at the buttons before reaching in his pocket for a tissue.

Just as the doors closed, I glimpsed someone pushing Christian across my line of vision.

When we reached the lobby, I wheeled my father out and parked him by a large column in the atrium. “Don’t go anywhere. I’ll be right back.”

He started picking at the bandage on his head before I darted to the elevators and took a short ride up.

When I reached the second floor, I nonchalantly walked down a hallway as if I knew where I was going.

“Hello? Can I help you?” a woman called out.

I slowly turned. “Yeah, I’m just here to see my brother.”

“Visiting hours aren’t for another three hours. What’s the patient’s name?”

I panicked and looked around. “Oh, sorry. Wrong floor. I get lost in these places. Where’s your bathroom?”

She gestured to a room three doors down. “The waiting room’s across the hall if you want to sit in there.”

On my way to the bathroom, I noticed a cardiology sign. The blue-and-white checkered floors stretched to a dead end and off to the right. I locked myself inside the bathroom and decided to wash the blood off my hands.

Without drying them, I took out my phone and sent a text to Christian.

Alarms sounded, and I poked my head out to see what the commotion was. Several medical personnel jogged in the opposite direction down a hall. I flashed past the waiting room in the direction Christian had gone. When I opened a door and saw an elderly man sleeping, I quickly shut it and kept moving.

“Fuck, fuckity fuck.”

One room after another yielded nothing aside from surprised and sleeping patients. Then I spotted Christian’s wheelchair by a wooden door. When I stepped inside, I found him hovering over a hospital worker on an examining table.

No, not hovering.

Drinking.

I rolled the wheelchair into the room before prying him off the human. “What’s gotten into you?”

“He kidnapped me and pilfered my phone,” Christian replied, as if that was reason enough. He was inebriated on blood and behaving like any drunk.

“I thought I told you to stay by the elevators.”

Christian wobbled as he turned toward me, his lips and teeth stained red. “Arseface asked me where my bracelet was. One of those medical tags. I told him I had a bad ticker, so the next thing I know, he’s rolling me upstairs.” Christian enfolded me in his arms. “Worry not. I charmed him. Why do you smell like sausage?”

I stepped back and snatched the blanket from beneath the man’s hips. The force caused him to roll off the table and hit the floor.

Christian grimaced. “That’s gonna leave a mark.”

“Put on his pants.”

“Fecking not.”

“You’re being a fanghole. Now put on the pants.”

Christian folded his arms. “I refuse.”

“I don’t know,” a woman said from the hallway, her voice growing distant. “He was transporting a patient the last I saw him.”

The time it would take to put pants on Christian wasn’t worth it. I wrapped the blanket around his waist and shoved him into the wheelchair. I nervously peered into the hall and waited until it was clear.

Had I any idea where a stairwell was, we would have gone that route. This place was a maze, and I jogged like the wind toward the elevators.

“Hold it!” a man shouted.

I beat my hand on the elevator buttons.

When the man briskly rounded the corner to confront us, Christian rose from his seat. “You’re a wee little poodle,” he said, rounding his eyes at the bearded man, “aren’t you?”

The worker got on all fours and barked at us.

Christian sat down, pulling the blanket onto his lap.

Once inside the elevator, another thought came to mind. “Do you have my keys?”

“Aye.”

“Where?”

“In my jacket.” He reached behind him and pushed buttons randomly. “Can’t remember where I left it, but my phone is in my underpants. Ran out of pockets.”

We couldn’t afford to lose our phones. I reached inside his underwear and retrieved his phone.

“Mmm, that feels nice,” he said.

The phone went inside my jacket pocket. “So help me, Poe, if I find one pubic hair in my coat, I’m rolling you into traffic.”

“Now that’s a tragedy. I had grander expectations for my demise.”

When we reached the lobby, I walked him out backward. “The airport’s nearby. How about I tie you to the landing gear of a transatlantic flight?”

“That’s my girl.”

While Celine Dion’s “My Heart Will Go On” played on the lobby speakers, I steered Christian’s wheelchair to where I’d left my father.

I found his empty chair by the pillar. “Crush!”

Christian chortled. “I can’t wait to see what happens next.”

I stepped in front of Christian’s chair and wiped his bloodstained face. Seeing people banged up and bloody in a hospital wasn’t out of the norm. “Stay here.”

“What do I get in return?”

“You get to keep both your eyeballs. How’s that?”

His fangs punched out, and he gave me a fervent gaze. Damn if it didn’t make me hot.

“You’re a wicked woman, Raven. You don’t deserve me. No, I don’t deserve you. How’s that go?”

“Stay. And put your fangs away.”

I walked swiftly toward the front area and scanned the spacious lobby. At this hour, it wasn’t busy. Just a few hospital workers coming and going. I approached the front counter. “Have you seen an older man without a shirt?”

The two men exchanged a bemused glance.

“If you see him, tell him his daughter’s looking for him.”

I hustled to the other side, knocking on bathroom doors. Crush had a head injury. What if he’d collapsed somewhere? I ran past a row of upholstered chairs. Inside the empty waiting room, a muted TV on the wall played an advertisement for a local car dealership.

Then to my left, I heard a phrase I’d heard many times during my childhood.

“Call security.”

“Crush?” I entered a private staff room with tables and a fridge.

Two women in scrubs were in a heated yelling match with my father, whose goatee had pink frosting on it. The yelling was one-sided on their part.

“Dad, what are you doing in here? Let’s go.”

One lady turned sharply toward me. “Do you know this man?”

“He’s my father. He has a head injury.” I neared them and noticed donuts on the floor. The lady talking to me had chocolate glaze smeared on her forearm, and a half-empty box lay by the opposite door.

“You can’t just walk in here and help yourself,” she chided. “This is for the workers. The vending machines are in the waiting room.”

Crush stood with his shoulders hunched and cheeks red. “They were just sitting there. You can’t put donuts out and expect people won’t eat ’em.”

She put her hands on her hips. “Did you read the sign on the door? Staff room. That’s what it says. Are you staff? Do you work here?”

I grabbed Crush’s arm and ushered him to the door. “We’re sorry about that.”

“Yeah, you better be sorry,” she snapped back. “I got work to do, and now I’ve got a mess to clean up on an empty stomach.”

As we left the room, I made a mental note to have an obscene amount of donuts ordered for the entire staff in this facility. Once in the hall, I brushed my hand through his candy-sprinkled beard. “They have vending machines, you know.”

He looked down and brushed the icing off his chest. “I don’t have any cash on me. I didn’t eat dinner last night, so my stomach is about to eat itself. They were just lying there, nobody around. I thought someone put them out because they didn’t want them.”

“I found him,” I said to the front desk clerks as we paraded before them. I patted Crush’s back, knowing he’d been through enough. “You’re coming home with me. You’ll stay in my room, and if I have to leave, Wyatt will check in on you.”

“What about Harley?”

“We’ll go pick him up now. And your truck. Shit. Never mind.”

“Why never mind?”

When I reached the wheelchairs, Christian was gone. “Because neither of you are fit to drive.” I strolled through the spacious room with its abstract art and glass staircase until we reached the other side. The sky outside was lightening through the colossal windows that framed the atrium.

Large balls hung from the second-floor ceiling at staggered heights, and Christian was swinging back and forth on one like a man riding to his demise on a wrecking ball.

“How the hell…?” I looked at the upstairs balcony and realized he must have jumped over from the upstairs railing and slid down the rope.

There was the love of my life, swinging on a giant metal ball in his underwear.

Crush tipped his head to the side. “And you want my approval to marry that peckerhead?”

I grinned and shook my head. “He’s drunk. And don’t act all high and mighty. You took off all your clothes on a rollercoaster once.”

“That was on a dare. And who the hell told you that?”

“It’s practically an urban legend. We all do stupid things. Christian, come down from there. We’re leaving.”

“I’m having a good time.”

I flicked a nervous glance at a man who’d walked in and turned his gaze up.

Christian slid off the ball and fell onto the sofa with a hard thud. “I never stick the landing,” he grunted before limping in our direction. Christian stripped off his black shirt and hung it around my father’s neck. “Wouldn’t want you to freeze to death, Papa. I’m a hospitable and thoughtful Vampire with a large cock and unfathomable intelligence. Do I win your affections?” In nothing but boxer briefs and lace-up boots, he strutted toward a statue of a saint. “Ah, there’s my coat!”

Christian lifted his trench coat from the statue’s shoulders. When he gave the saint a pat on the arm, it broke off. While getting down from the display, he slipped on the broken piece and struck the floor like a bug hitting the windshield of a car.

I walked over and stared at the broken saint. “You do realize you’re going to hell, right?”

Christian climbed to his feet and put his arm around my father. “I’m already there.”

CHAPTER 12

I sidled up to Shepherd’s chair at a bar in one of our many game rooms and cracked open a can of grape soda. Sunlight streamed through the windows. “Don’t tell Viktor about Christian getting drunk.”

Shepherd chuckled. “Funniest damn thing I’ve ever seen. And sickest. How many bags did he drink?”

I sipped my drink. “Too many.”

Shepherd studied his beer bottle. “Be glad you were at Memorial Hospital. That’s my old stomping grounds. Marvin’s head of security, and he’s Breed.”

“So he’ll erase all the footage?”

Shepherd chuckled. “I asked for a copy.”

“Swell.”

“How’s your old man?”

I burped and then rested my head against my fist. “He seems okay. I keep thinking how it could’ve been worse. His crew had gone home, so he was alone in the shop. If it wasn’t for that customer, he might have just lain there on the floor and gotten hypothermia. Or driven himself home and run off the road. He wouldn’t have gone to the doctor himself. He’s stubborn.”

Shepherd tipped the bottle to his lips. “Things like that seem to run in the family.”

“Hey, where is he?” Switch called out from the door.

I swiveled around in my seat, watching Switch cut around the pool table with a worried look. “He’s in my room. Just leave him. He doesn’t want visitors.”

“Is he okay?”

“As long as he takes it easy. I just have to keep an eye on him for a couple of days.”

Hunter shot in and leaned over the pool table, grabbing the cue ball and knocking it around the table.

“Viktor said he could come here,” I continued. “But he has to stay on the third floor so he doesn’t interfere with business, and we do most of our business in either Wyatt’s room or the dining room. If you happen to see him wandering, send him back up and let me know about it.”

Two balls clacked together, and Hunter grinned with delight.

Shepherd pushed his beer away and stood up. “Is my kid on a study break?”

Switch swept back his shaggy hair. “It’s lunchtime. After that, we have two hours of sign language and then he’s all yours. Show him what you learned, Hunter.”

Hunter cupped his hand and ran it down his chest.

Switch anchored his fists on his hips. “That means he’s hungry.”

Shepherd blinked down at the boy, who was aiming a striped ball at a corner pocket. “You learned that, little man? I’m proud of you. Just for that, I think we should get some ice cream.”

Hunter jumped up and down as if he had springs in his shoes. When he darted into the hallway, I glimpsed the blinking lights on his sneakers.

Switch stole Shepherd’s chair.

“That’s cool you’re teaching him that,” I said, admiring Switch’s ambitious approach.

“Teaching him. Teaching you. Teaching everyone.”

I gave him a puzzled look. “Why us? He’s not deaf.”

Switch chuckled. “How do you expect to understand him if you can’t speak his language? That’s the whole point. I’m starting with a few basic words to see how he takes to it. If we make more progress, I want everyone learning.”

“That’s not how the real world works. What happens when he goes out there and realizes nobody else understands him?”

“Doesn’t matter. He should at least be able to communicate with the people he loves.” Switch scratched the back of his neck. “How you holding up?”

“Oh, like I always do.” I looked down at my black nail polish. “Last night was a walk in the park… with a minor detour.”

“Is that why your Vampire is standing outside in his underwear?”

“He’s on poop patrol. Crush made him the official dog walker. I can’t have my dad going up and down the stairs at all hours. Viktor didn’t want him on the ground floor, so I’ll be taking his food up to the room.”

“Big job, I take it.”

“Yeah.”

“Watch out for yourself.”

I hopped off my stool. “Always do.”

Switch was getting a little too parental. I didn’t like anyone assuming I couldn’t take care of myself. Lately our conversations reminded me why I could never have a relationship with a Shifter. Their personality traits were so different from what I needed.

Then I thought about Christian standing half naked in the snow. A guy who screwed up but was still taking care of my father’s dog even though he didn’t like my father or dogs. Yeah, that’s what I needed.

Switch followed behind me. “Well, as long as your partner is on poop patrol…”

Confused, I turned around.

Switch’s brown wolf trotted out of his clothes, tail wagging and a mischievous look on his face.

While heading toward Wyatt’s office, I watched the brown wolf scamper to the end of the hallway and nearly collide with Gem, who skated into view.

She twirled in a circle, arms out. “Slow down, mister!” Gem glided toward me, wearing pink pajama bottoms with brown polka dots. The fuzzy white angora sweater seemed like an odd choice.

“What’s with the outfit?” I asked.

She skidded to a stop. “I know! It doesn’t match at all. These pajama bottoms are supremely cozy. It’s too bad the matching top is a short-sleeve. Since the halls are cold and I don’t use my fireplace, I needed something warm. Oh! Speaking of fashion faux pas, are you aware that Christian—”

“Is flashing the neighborhood? Yep.” I kept walking, Gem skating beside me. “I meant why aren’t you wearing work clothes? It’ll take too long for you to change.”

“Viktor said my job is here now, and I can wear whatever I want. I decided on pajamas all day long. Why bother dressing when I’m not going anywhere?”

“Did you guys find anything on Ivar’s phone?”

She jumped ahead of me and skated backward. “There was nothing noteworthy, but Wyatt found a site bookmarked on his phone. He spent days trying to figure out the password.” Gem grinned, her purple lipstick making her teeth look extra white. “I was the one who suggested Swarovski.”

“What was on the site?”

“It was one of those cloud storage places where people upload their files. I spent twelve hours translating documents.” Gem rolled into Wyatt’s office and spun around. “It looked like a bucket list.”

Wyatt stretched out his legs and crossed his ankles. “What are you two talking about?”

Gem hopped up on his desk and sat down. “Ivar’s wish list of things he wanted to accomplish.”

“You mean the manifesto?” Wyatt squeezed a stress ball. “That was a twist I didn’t see coming.”

I walked around him and sat in the other leather chair. “How so?”

Wyatt used the heels of his black cowboy boots to turn his chair toward me. “It was a detailed plan toward world domination.”

Gem swung her feet. “And it included getting rid of organizations like ours. There was also a list of what I believe are bounty hunters.”

“I recognized a few names,” Wyatt added, reaching in his drawer for a box of gumdrops. “Some of them were crossed out, and when I checked my sources, they were reported missing or dead. Seems like his plan was already in action.”

I tapped my fingers on the armrest. “Well, I guess if you want to rule the world, you have to get rid of any perceived threats.”

Wyatt pried open the box. “Sounds like they were starting at the bottom and working their way up. Smart thinking. Most of the higher authorities in different cities rely on third-party organizations. If someone targeted bounty hunters and groups like ours, the only protection lawmakers would have are a few Regulators and Enforcers. And let’s face it, if there was an uprising, most of them would either flip sides or go home to their families. There isn’t a Breed army, and even if there was, who would they fight for? That’s like having a world army.” He tilted the box and poured the colorful candy into his mouth.

Gem studied her silver nail polish. “If their plan is to rule North America, they obviously recognize how dangerous factions like ours are. I’m weary of all these egotistical immortals who think they can run things better. Why don’t they go live on their own island and fight each other first?”

Wyatt snorted. “We could charge money on a pay channel.”

“I’m serious.” Gem hopped off the desk and rolled toward the L-shaped black sectional. “Do they really think they can do it better? I mean, who cares if you’re the ruler of everything? What’s the point if you throw the world into chaos, wage war on humans, and ultimately cause the shutdown of civilization? Who do they think runs all the power plants, water treatment facilities, and designer clothing stores? Their plans always involve revealing our world to humans, thus waging war.” She plopped down on the square ottoman and adjusted her pajama bottoms, which were twisted around her skate at the ankle. “Their days of pizza delivery would be over.”

Wyatt set his candy on the desk. “Stop bumming me out.”

I rolled my chair to the vending machine and noticed the potato chips were fifteen dollars and the oatmeal bars only fifty cents. “Does that mean we also have to hunt down the men doing their dirty work?”

Wyatt stood and stretched his back. “Usually if you cut the head off the dragon, all the limbs just flail. I didn’t see a list of assassins, so we don’t know who’s working for him or where they are. Not our problem. Once they stop getting paid, they’ll go away.” Wyatt picked up the box of candy. “At least now we know they’re up to something.”

Harley skidded into sight and bounded into the room like a cannonball. Wyatt turned and stiffened. Harley immediately sniffed his crotch, causing Wyatt to fall back into his chair. But Wyatt missed the edge and fell on his butt when the chair rolled back. As soon as Harley realized candy had scattered all over the floor, he went to work. So did Wyatt, desperately raking the gumdrops away from the hungry dog.

When Christian appeared in the doorway, I noticed a crease in his trousers where Kira had ironed them. I admired the tight fit of his black Henley while Wyatt and Harley were engaged in a game of real-life Hungry Hungry Hippos.

Despite the sexy way he leaned against the doorjamb and folded his arms, the sheepish look on his face revealed he wasn’t feeling too great about his impulsive and reckless behavior the night before. Knowing how hard Christian could be on me, I knew he would be twice as hard on himself. It wasn’t worth reprimanding him in front of the room.

I gestured to Harley. “I’m glad to see you two are getting along.”

Christian pulled up his sleeve and revealed a healing bite mark. “I wouldn’t go that far, but at least he’s not chasing me across damnation.”

Gem squealed when Harley tackled her with kisses. She wrapped her arms around his hulking body. “He’s so lovable! I want a dog.”

“No, you don’t,” Wyatt interjected, scraping the last of his candy back into the box. “The barking, the pooping—chewing up all my electronic equipment. If you want a pet, get a horse. At least they’re useful.” He sat up and put the box in his drawer. “And by the way, who put the severed hand in the bag of onion rings?”

Gem gasped and jumped to her feet. “You didn’t throw it away, did you?”

He took off his hat and raked his fingers through his hair before putting his hat back on. “No, but you scared the ghost out of me. I’m gonna have flashbacks every time I eat onion rings.”

She hooked her fingers around Harley’s collar and rolled alongside him when he started trotting to the door. “It was the only place I could think to put it since Kira doesn’t cook all that junk food. She leaves your stuff alone, so I thought that would be the best hiding spot.”

Wyatt shivered as he sat down. “A little heads-up next time would be nice. You also might want to put it in a plastic bag. It has breadcrumbs all over it, and I almost emptied it into the deep fryer.”

“I wonder what’s for dinner tonight,” Christian said darkly. “Perhaps she already cooked it up at lunch. Imagine the mortifying shame of it.”

Gem rolled out of the room with Harley. “I’ll take him back to Crush, if you don’t mind.”

“The pleasure’s all mine,” Christian called out.

Blue appeared in the doorway, wearing a brown sweatshirt and pants. “I’m here to relieve you.” She snatched Wyatt’s hat and put it on her own head. “What do you need me to do?”

“Let me sleep for at least five hours without interruption; I’ve been up all night.” When he got up, she took his place. “Keep an eye on this message box. If you get message requests from anyone other than Mr. X, click this button. That’ll ghost ’em. I have to leave my screen name, so don’t change it. If he sends you a message, call me. Don’t bother me with other questions.”

She glared up at him. “And if you don’t answer?”

“That only happened once. And I was, um, in the bathroom.”

“Is that so?”

“Don’t be all judgy,” he said, making air quotes. “I can’t ignore my bodily functions.”

“According to Claude—”

“I’m going to sleep!” he announced, bustling out of the room.

Blue put her feet up on the desk. “If your version of sleep is a porno magazine and aloe vera lotion, then sleep well!”

“I have sensitive skin!” he yelled from the hall.

“Do you need help with anything?” I asked her.

She locked her hands behind her head. “Nah. I got it covered. Hopefully something pops up soon and Viktor doesn’t keep me at home.”

“Worry not, lass. He’s probably saving you for the dangerous work.” Christian jerked his head toward the hall, summoning me out.

Once in the hall, we strolled toward the front stairwell.

“I’m sorry about last night,” he said in earnest. “Old habits die hard.”

“You mean bloodlust?”

He chuckled. “It hardly counts as bloodlust. That’s when younglings can’t control themselves, or when feeders have too much and go into withdrawal.” Christian clasped his hands behind his back. “I used to have an arrangement with a phlebotomist for an occasional drink. It’s not uncommon among Vampires trying to keep on the straight and narrow. I used to take it home and drink it at my leisure, but since we couldn’t separate, that meant staying in the hospital. One drink led to three, and it was hard to control myself since I was right at the source. I honestly thought I could handle myself.”

“Nobody’s perfect,” I said, understanding that we all had our moments of weakness. “When you told me not to drink from the dead, I assumed that included bagged blood. Not that I would ever do that.”

“The blood is drawn from a live body and then frozen. It’s not the same as fresh blood, but you can store it in the fridge for a short time.”

“Why does it make you drunk?”

“It’s processed though some infernal machine where it’s all separated, so it can sometimes produce side effects.”

“Like swinging from giant balls?”

He lifted his chin. “It’s not as easy as it used to be to get your hands on free blood, let alone AB negative. Most people drink alcohol when they want to wind down or wish away their problems. Vampires desire a little hemoglobin. You’re not wired with the same cravings.”

“Weren’t you addicted to Lenore?”

“That was Vampire blood. Not the same. And I’m strictly talking AB negative. Less than one percent of people have that type; it’s not easy to come by. Especially in blood banks, which is why I used to know a guy. Then the higher authority ruined all the fun for everyone. I don’t expect you’ll understand, but hanging around a hospital brings back good memories. I haven’t been able to drink like I used to, and I was feeling a wee bit nostalgic. I knew where they kept it, and I knew how to get it. But it’s not as simple as it used to be.”

I put my hands in my sweatshirt pockets. “I hope you got it out of your system.”

“I had a lot on my mind. Let’s just leave it at that.”

I knew what he meant. After running into Lenore, I wouldn’t have minded knocking back a bottle of tequila myself.

When we reached the staircase, Christian gripped the railing of the descending stairs and sighed. “I lost points with your da. I can’t win that man’s approval. You gave me an impossible task.”

“Don’t worry, Poe. I have faith in you.”

I ascended the other stairs, wondering if I had faith in my father. I knew Christian would go above and beyond, but would Crush ever bend? He was an obstinate man, so it would take a lot from Christian to change his mind about him. I knew he had my best interest at heart, especially given my rocky childhood.

When I reached my bedroom, I opened the door and found Harley snuggled up on the white rug in front of a crackling fire. The wind outside whistled against my north-facing windows, and small pellets of ice tapped against the glass. A love seat in the alcove had a thick blanket draped over the back. Not my love seat and definitely not my blanket.

“Where did that come from?” I asked.

Crush looked up from the bowl of soup he was eating at my desk. “Peckerhead.”

“I really wish you’d stop calling him that.” I sat on the bed and noticed he had on brown slippers. “Did he give you those?”

“No. Blue left them at the door. Said they were Viktor’s. I guess we wear the same size. Warm as hell. Sheepskin lining or something.”

He also had on one of Viktor’s sweaters, and it made me smile. When we had gone back to the house for the dog, Crush was so fixated on Harley’s giant bags of food and chew toys that he didn’t pack anything for himself beyond a pair of boots and a toothbrush. Two metal bowls sat on the floor to the left of the desk, one filled with water and the other containing a few kibbles.

“Before you start harping on me, I took some painkillers,” he said, slurping more soup.

“Let me know if you start feeling any of the symptoms on that sheet. I mean it. Don’t blow it off.”

“Yeah, yeah. I know.” Crush lifted the bowl and drank the rest. Then he wiped soup off his goatee and turned his chair to face me. “Why don’t you have a TV in here?”

“In case you haven’t noticed, there’s no electricity. Wyatt has a huge TV in his office along with vending machines. That’s down on the second level, and you have to stay up here. I’m not a big TV watcher anyhow.”

He set the napkin on the tray. “I take it you got a new job?”

“I can’t talk about it, but yes. If you accidentally hear anything, it could compromise the mission. Viktor would make you live with us until the job is complete.”

“Oh hell no. I’ll stay up here. I got too much work to do. The boys are taking over the shop for now. I told them to stay home today because of the roads.”

“If you get bored or want to walk around, you can go in any of the open rooms up here. We have a game room and a library. Most of the locked rooms are for storage, so don’t go rummaging around in those. And stay off the covered balcony. It’s too cold out there, and you might accidentally lock yourself out.”

“I’m not a six-year-old.”

I thought for a minute, then continued. “We put chairs in our favorite alcoves. Some are just private places to talk, and others have windows with a great view of the property. Grab a blanket and thermos of hot coffee. People pay to vacation in places like this.” I glanced at the hearth. “I see Christian brought up more wood. Since you’re not used to burning firewood, keep the flue open. Only close it when the embers are burned out and cold. That’ll keep the warm air from escaping. Just remember to open it before starting up another fire or you’ll suffocate from all the smoke.”

“Does the Vamp have a room, or does he sleep in here?”

“Both. Don’t worry, Christian won’t bother you unless it’s to check on you or the dog. I’ll sleep in his room to give you privacy.”

“Or you can sleep in here to give me peace of mind.”

“I’m not sleeping in the same bed with my father. You snore. Besides that, this bed is way too small for the both of us.” I glanced over my shoulder toward the armoire and noticed a narrow table that wasn’t mine. The bottom shelf had nothing but drinks while the top had baskets filled with fruits and other snacks. Everything my father could possibly want to tide him over.

“Keep a candle burning in the bathroom at night,” I instructed him. “It gets dark after the sun goes down. There’s also a flashlight I never use in the bedside table. The batteries should still be good. Is there anything you need?” I looked at the bed and assessed if the blankets were warm enough. “The fire keeps it pretty toasty in here. Wear your socks to bed. If you have to get up in the middle of the night, these floors are like ice. I should probably hang drapes over the windows. They’re old and drafty.”

“Harley will keep me warm. Won’t ya, boy?”

“Ruff.” Harley’s tail thumped against the carpet a few times before he dozed off.

I got up and hugged my father tight. “I love you, Daddy.”

“I’m not going anywhere. Stop worrying.”

“No, but I might.”

He pulled back. “Say again?”

“I just don’t want anything to happen without letting you know how much I love you. That I forgive you for all the dumb shit you did in the past, and I’m sorry about the hell I gave you. I’m not sorry about the hell I still give you, because now I’m doing it to keep you alive.”

He gave a tight-lipped smile. “I’m proud of you. Never doubt it. But don’t even think about leaving me. I’m supposed to go first. You hear me? You’re immortal.”

“You know immortality isn’t a guarantee. Everyone can die. I just don’t want to leave things unsaid no matter who goes first. And I made arrangements with Viktor a while ago. If anything ever happens to me, what money I have goes to you. It’s not a lot; I have a habit of giving most of it away. Don’t refuse it. If you do, you’ll piss off my ghost. Nothing would make me happier than seeing you use it on yourself. I don’t care if you buy a new house, go on vacation, or buy another damn bike.”

Crush stood, his long grey hair hanging messily over his shoulders. “I don’t want another bike. I want my baby girl.”

When his eyes glistened with tears, I gripped his left arm where he had a dagger tattoo with my name going across a banner. “I guess neither of us can make promises we can’t keep. I’ll do my best to stay alive only if you do the same. Now get your ass in bed. Do you want something to read?”

“A few car magazines would be nice.”

“I’ll check around. Guess what we do have?” I collected his tray. “Sherlock Holmes. Probably the whole damn collection. I know how you like those books. If you want to walk around, just stay on the third floor. If Harley runs downstairs, don’t worry about it. Someone will find him. And don’t forget which room is mine. Put something outside the door. It’s easy to get lost around here.”

Crush took off his shoes and got into bed. “Got any toenail clippers?”

“Absolutely not. If I find toenail shrapnel in this room after you leave, I’m setting your brown chair on fire.”

CHAPTER 13

“What the Jaysus are we doing in here?” Christian eyed a display of raccoon heads. Not real ones, just toy merchandise sold in the seventy-five-thousand-square-foot convenience store.

“It’s the only place nearby I could find open. Plus I’ve never been here. Did you see all the pumps outside? I bet there’s enough gas underground to blow us to the moon.”

“That and the three hundred chili dogs warming under the heat lamps,” he added.

Rebel’s was a mega-sized convenience store that was mostly a tourist attraction. They had everything, including the biggest bathroom I’d ever seen at a gas station. Legend had it that Rebel’s used to be a small rest stop run by a bunch of bikers, but if that was true, the owner had sold his soul to a raccoon mascot named Rebel.

“Look for underwear,” I said, walking through a row of T-shirts.

“Perhaps it’s next to the mountain of beef jerky.” He strode past me, hands clasped behind his back. “How much animal carcass can fit in a single building? Let’s find out, shall we?”

“Lighten up, Poe. It’s not like you’re ruining your nonexistent reputation by being here. Not many stores are open right now. It’s Sunday, it’s late, and the roads are icy. My dad needs clothes, and I’m not driving across town to go back to his house. Now unless you want to lend him your underwear—”

“Then find a potato sack, and let’s go.”

“We’re not leaving until I look at the knife collection in the back.” I grabbed two sweatshirts off the rack and paused in front of a shelf filled with giant bags of flavored popcorn. “Remind me never to bring Wyatt in here.”

“And what’s this?” he asked, holding up a long fluffy thing.

A worker stopped. “That’s our famous Rebel Raccoon tail. You see this clip here?”

“Put a cork in it.”

Flummoxed, the elderly gentleman shuffled away.

I laughed at the black stripes and brown fur. It looked real, and I took it from him. “Put it on.”

Christian folded his arms. “Over my rotting corpse.”

I stood on my tiptoes, my laugh barely suppressed. “Care to make a bet? If you wear this for the rest of the day and night, I’ll do anything you want.”

His eyes slid down to the tail, which curved up at the end. “The stakes aren’t high enough if I’m the only one suffering humiliation.”

I wasn’t about to put one of those on, so I said, “On my word. Anything. Except marrying you, because we still have to play by the original rules.”

I encircled his waist with my arms and clipped the tail on the belt loop of his pants. Neither of us had brought our jackets since we were just making a quick run to the store, so all he had on was a black Henley and trousers.

“Why do these bets always involve you torturing me?” he asked softly, looking down at me like a hungry wolf.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“I suppose you’ve already forgotten about cutting holes in my shirt right over my nipples?”

I fluffed his tail. “Hey, I volunteered to do the same. You’re the one who said no.”

He matched my stride as we headed to the counter. “Perhaps the next time we swing by a church, you can show everyone your nipples.”

A middle-aged woman with an oversized puffy coat heard his remark and gave him an admonishing glance before dragging her child as far away from him as possible.

Indifferent to a human’s opinion of him, Christian distracted himself in the souvenir section.

After a quick look around, the only underwear I could find had raccoon heads all over them. I set my stuff on the counter while the clerk checked me out.

Christian eased up beside me. “Did you know raccoons are the primary carrier of rabies and worms? Now that I’ve had a look around, the mascot makes more sense.”

I glanced up at him. “Do I know you?”

He dipped his chin before walking off.

“We also bought one of those raccoon tails, so add that to the list,” I said.

While scanning a big sweatshirt, the clerk pointed at my face. “Are those your real eyes?”

“No. They used to belong to my ex.”

He stuffed the boxers into a plastic sack and gave me a punishing look. The same look Christian often got in public.

Is this what happens when you hang around immortals all day?

I always thought I’d be able to relate to humans. Maybe there was no avoiding the inevitable.

I took the sack and searched for Christian. When I reached the middle of the store, I found him lying in the bed of a classic pickup they’d put on display.

He lifted his head and furrowed his brow. “Why the long look?”

“I just realized I’m turning into you.”

He sat up, legs hanging over the edge of the tailgate. “You’re one of us now. Haven’t you realized that?”

“It’s not just that. I’m getting more and more uncomfortable around humans. Or vice versa. Not sure which.” I sat next to him and tied the handles on my bag. “I know you’re just trying to butter up the old man, but thanks for taking care of Harley.”

“Nothing warms the cockles of my heart like watching my lover’s father’s dog taking a shite. Say, do you think we can get someone to print that on one of those T-shirts?” He gestured to a row of white tees.

“How much do you love me?”

Christian cupped my cheek with his hand and turned my head to face him, ensnaring me with his fierce gaze. “I would climb into the pits of hell to retrieve your soul. I would become a scourge in the belly of civilization until I punished every last enemy of yours. I would build you an army if you wanted to rule. I would abandon my soul if it meant saving yours. I would give up immortality.”

“Will you look after my father if anything happens to me?”

“But I won’t do that.”

“You’re wearing a raccoon tail, but you won’t take care of my dad?”

Christian stood and put his hands in his pants pockets. “This is punishment for my behavior last night, isn’t it? Now it all makes sense. The tail, your da—Jaysus, Raven. I couldn’t help myself once I started.”

I touched my sweatshirt, feeling the heart-shaped ruby beneath. “I’ve always worried about my father dying. After Sparrow put that curse on us, it got me thinking about who would look after Crush. I mean really look after him. Ren doesn’t crowd my dad or make him do anything he doesn’t want. But what he needs is someone to buy healthy food and make sure he keeps doctors’ appointments. Someone to force their way inside and fix broken stuff even if he asks you not to. Maybe someone to check him into a nursing home when it’s time.”

Christian looked at his imaginary watch. “Do you wager they’re open tomorrow?”

I hopped off the truck. “Just think about it. I promise if anything ever happens to you, I’ll look after your spider collection.”

Christian put his arm around me, and we strolled down the aisle. “That cantankerous man who sired you wants nothing to do with me. You’re the only reason he tolerates my presence. In what universe of existence do you think he would permit me to do anything to help better his situation?”

“I’m not asking you to get his permission to help him. I’m asking you to help him whether he wants it or not. He’s almost sixty. That’s not old, but he’s lived a hard life—harder than most. He’s a blue-collar worker with a dark past and trauma from his military days. He’s a former alcoholic. He spent years thinking his only child was dead, and he lost his only love in a fire. That kind of thing accelerates your age, and his diet isn’t doing him any favors. I’m not asking you to help him live forever. I… I just don’t want him to die alone and nobody finds him for weeks.”

“Especially with a hungry dog in the house.”

“Will you promise me? Even if he pulls out the shotgun and tells you to leave him alone?”

Christian stopped in front of me and gripped my shoulders. “Aye, Precious. But I draw the line at changing his nappies.”

I leaned into him while a group of teenagers took videos of each other posing by the giant raccoon mascot. When one of them aimed her phone at Christian, I remembered he had on the tail. “Come on. We’ve got an audience.”

“Oh. My. God. I totally want one of those!” a green-haired girl said excitedly.

“What happens if I take this wretched thing off?” Christian asked, swiping a sucker from a candy carousel. “I can’t see the point of suffering this humiliation for a favor.”

“Then take it off.”

After removing the wrapper and licking the sucker, he asked, “Anything I want? No exceptions aside from the marrying part?”

“Yep. And I know I’m gonna win.”

“And how do you figure that?”

I grinned. “Because we’re not going straight home. I’m thirsty. Do you think Flavors is busy tonight? Or what about Red Door? They always have a line outside. Oh wait. Maybe we should go to a Shifter bar.”

“You’re insufferable.”

Both our phones simultaneously vibrated, and we stopped to look. It was a message from Wyatt. Mr. X had given us the location of the second oligarch, and we had to leave now.

“I don’t have weapons,” I said quietly. “Just a push dagger.” I shoved my phone back in my purse and put on my fingerless gloves. “I didn’t even bring a jacket.”

“We don’t have time.”

“Two seconds!” I ran to the back of the store and snapped my fingers at the worker to meet me at the knife counter. “I’m in a hurry!”

While he took his sweet time coming over, I quickly scanned the collection.

“What would you like to look at?” he asked.

“How much for these?” I pointed at a tall display.

“Which one?”

“All.”

He cocked his head to the side and looked at me as if I was wasting his time.

I pulled out a large bill from my wallet and slapped it on the counter. These were hunting and survival knives, so they weren’t pricey. “Look, I’m really late and don’t have the time. Give me the serrated one along with the sheath, the folding blade with the brown handle, and—” My eyes locked on a small black knife. “Is that a switchblade?”

He took it out. “Folding knife. It’s got a locking mechanism and deploys when you push this.”

I gripped that bad boy in my hand and then gave him my ID, which had my alias. Once he rang up the amount and took the money, I grabbed the sack and said, “Keep the change!”

“Wait!”

But I couldn’t wait. I had murder to commit.

CHAPTER 14

After we met up with Blue and Niko at a nearby park, we changed vehicles and left Christian’s car behind. The van had more room and privacy.

When Blue banged into the curb, I gripped the bench in the back of the dark van.

“Sorry,” she said. “I can’t see where the road ends and the sidewalk begins.”

Christian gestured to the duffel bag of weapons. “Did you really need to buy those knives? We have more than enough.”

“If the van broke down and we had to go separately, they would have come in handy. Besides, I like this little black one.” I slipped it inside my pocket and looked toward the front. “Did Mr. X say anything else?”

Niko shifted around in the passenger seat. “Blue was monitoring the chat room when he contacted her. We called Wyatt, and he came right away.”

“Half naked,” Blue added. “Wearing those ridiculous hamburger slippers.”

“Mr. X only gave us a location,” Niko continued, obviously troubled by it. “I don’t trust anonymous tipsters.”

“It worked out the last time.” I cringed when we hit the curb again.

Christian rested his arms on his knees. “Careful not to strike a hydrant, or we’ll never get there.”

“File a complaint,” she fired back. “They didn’t plow all the roads, so I can’t see the curb when I turn.”

“Are you sure our target’s the Mage?” I asked, strapping a stunner to the belt on my jeans.

Niko turned in his seat again. “According to what we know. Mr. X said it was the third man in the picture—the Asian. Viktor isn’t certain his name is Li Han, but he’s sure about his Breed. Would you like me to turn up the heat?”

Blue looked at him. “Please don’t. You’re already pumping out enough heat to start a fire. Maybe you could stand outside and melt the snow, amigo.”

Niko chuckled softly.

I pulled at the fabric on my fingerless glove before tucking it tighter between each finger.

“What’s the matter?” Christian asked.

I swung my gaze up. “Viktor doesn’t want witnesses, and if we can’t lock this guy in somewhere, his goons might escape. Do we go after them first or the target?”

Christian leaned back and stared off. “This is one where we’ll have to think on our feet.”

“At least he won’t be able to flash as quickly,” Blue remarked.

No doubt. The streets would make it difficult for any great escape. That said, the subway was still operating.

“What if he’s a Jumper?” I asked, hoping like hell he wasn’t. Jumpers could move vertically or horizontally for short distances.

“Then may the fates give us good aim.” She stopped the van and turned off the engine. “This is it.”

We all got out and gathered at the back of the van.

Blue strapped a blade to her calf. “Here’s what we know about this place: Wyatt did some fast research and found out it belongs to an antique dealer.”

I glanced around, uncertain which building she was talking about. I remembered a previous job I was on and how they’d hoarded the objects on several floors. “Which one?”

She tucked her ungloved hands beneath the armpits of her puffy coat. “Across the street. The one with all the lights on.”

We casually peered around the van at the three-story building.

“Any blueprints?” Christian stroked his beard, his frosty breath clouding the air in front of him.

“Didn’t have time,” Blue informed him. “Not sure it would matter since we don’t know where they are or how many there are—we just need to get in.”

I sighed. “He’s already there. See the black cars? It won’t be like last time. I bet they’ve got the door locked.”

“Then I’ll go first,” Christian volunteered.

I gripped his sleeve. “The last guy had guards hidden outside. If that’s the case, we have to take them out first.”

“She’s right.” Niko tapped the sheath on his hip. “Blue, can you take a look around?”

She shivered hard. “Of all days.” Blue morphed into a falcon, and her clothes fell away as she ascended to the black sky.

We remained hidden behind the van and looked around. There were a few people walking about, and once in a while, a car drove by.

I reached down and gathered her clothes, leaving the coat, dagger, and shoes in the snow.

A few minutes later, she swooped between Niko and me and shifted.

Christian had his head turned away, probably listening for any signs of trouble.

Blue grabbed her clothes from my hands and quickly put them on. Her feet were bright red as she slipped on her socks and shoes. “There’s one in the car.” Her teeth chattered as she stood and put on her coat.

Niko reached out and embraced her. I was initially puzzled until I remembered he was a Thermal.

Blue’s cheeks flushed, and she suddenly relaxed before stepping back. “Thanks. I needed that. Anyhow, only one guy in the car. Didn’t see anyone else outside or tracks in the snow to suggest they’re hiding. I scanned the nearby buildings, and it’s easy to see with all the snow.” She checked the axe on her hip and kicked snow off her boots. “They’re on the third floor.”

Christian snapped his attention around. “How many?”

“Seven. Plus two workers in suits. There were four Asians. Wyatt’s picture didn’t show Li Han’s face, so we can only identify him by the mark. The other floors looked empty, but I couldn’t see inside the rooms or stairwells. His men were positioned around the room by the entry points. I saw one person on the first floor but couldn’t tell if they work there or not.”

I scratched my cheek. “We need to be careful about that. I don’t want to kill any innocents.”

“I’ll take care of the man outside,” Christian announced before rounding the van.

When the engine started, we ducked into an alley and watched Christian pull out onto the road. He attempted a U-turn, and the van spun out and slammed into Li Han’s car. Then he slowly backed out before pulling ahead of him and getting out.

“Sorry about that,” I heard him say. “Jaysus. I didn’t know anyone was in there.”

Closing in on the guard, he said something about a patch of ice before sinking his teeth in the man’s neck. A brief struggle ensued until the guard hung in Christian’s embrace like a rag doll.

The rest of us plodded across the snowy road.

Christian opened the back of the van and pulled out a sword. While he finished taking the guard’s head, we kept moving without a plan. We just needed to get inside, and there was no way in hell the person downstairs would open the door now that their special guest had arrived.

With a bloody sword in hand, Christian approached the front door and kicked it in.

“Well, that takes care of that.” I filed in behind him and immediately slipped on the wet floor. “Damn these boots!”

I overheard Blue giving Niko a brief rundown of the layout.

Niko withdrew his katana and quickly went after the Mage, who flashed away when he saw his knife was no match for Niko’s blade.

I scrambled to my feet and flashed to the hall. We had him cornered. He wasn’t dressed like a worker, nor did he have on a badge or nametag. He was also Asian, so all signs pointed to him being one of our targets.

When Niko swiped his sword in a blurred movement, the Mage flashed around a pillar.

Before he could stop, I sped across the room and slammed into him. When I drove the stunner into his chest, he stilled. Footfalls grew distant behind me. I flipped the Mage’s arms up and searched for a tattoo. When I didn’t see one, I locked our palms together. “Lights out.”

I felt the delicious pull of energy as it entered my body, quickly spoiled by the ruinous rapture of dark light. Energy hummed between us like the amplifiers at a rock concert. It pulsed, buzzed, and finally released from his core light. When I drank every last drop of his immortality, I pulled out the dagger. Blood pooled out from the wound, and he clutched his chest, muttering his last words in Chinese. I sliced his jugular before standing. Now that he was mortal, it wouldn’t take long for him to bleed out.

With the room now secure, I dragged his body behind a counter and left him. A cold wind blew through the open door, reminding me that we needed to hurry.

Should I go upstairs or guard the door?

There were a number of ways out of the building, so staying down here was pointless. After jogging into the hall and locating the stairs, I flicked a glance between the elevator and stairs. Both were risky, but the stairs would wear me down.

After hitting the elevator button, I withdrew my only gun and nervously held it in my hand. Guns weren’t my weapon of choice. When the door opened, I jumped in and hit the third-floor button. It jerked when it rose, making my stomach dip. I backed up against the wall and aimed my firearm.

A ding preceded the doors opening.

I fired several times at a man flashing toward me. When I glimpsed a knife in his hand, I swiftly turned and kicked him as he entered the elevator. He struck the far wall, blood smearing on the wall from his bullet wound. In an instant, he pivoted around and moved on me in a flash.

I thought he punched me in the stomach, and it didn’t sink in that he had stabbed me until he sliced upward. Survival mode kicking in, I held the gun to his head and fired just as the doors closed. He collapsed to the floor, and I clutched my abdomen. Was a shot to the head enough to kill a Mage? If not, his brain might grow back and actually make him smarter.

I rolled him over, trying not to look at his head injury, and stole his light. Before popping his cork, I sifted through his energy to locate healing light. I had to make sure nothing was hanging out of my wound. When I felt the skin seal together, I looked down at the bloody rip in my sweatshirt and sighed with relief. Then I finished stealing his immortality. He died instantly from the gunshot wound.

This time when I pressed the elevator button, I stood off to the side and peered out. A hallway split in three directions, rooms to the left and right. The hallway ahead most likely led to the gallery. While I could hear the action up ahead, energy prickled my skin from the right. Maybe Li Han or one of his cohorts was hiding. With the gun in hand, I quietly went in search of the pulsing current.

I reached the last door and stared at a keypad on the right. Maybe they kept their valuables locked up in here, but the energy didn’t make sense. When I tried the handle, it didn’t move. Then I noticed a little knob in front of my face with two hinges. After a quick check behind me, I opened the panel and looked through a window into a dark room.

A woman huddled in the corner with her hands over her ears.

“What the hell?”

I reeled back when a young man appeared behind the glass.

“Let us out!” He slammed his hands on the door, a desperate look in his eyes. “Open the door!”

I placed one finger across my lips and closed the hatch. He kept shouting and beating his fists against the door. I flashed down the hall and turned right, slowing to a walk before I reached the end. Enormous paintings adorned the walls of the spacious room. Five modern sculptures by the front windows briefly caught my eye.

Steel clashed as Niko fought a woman also wielding a sword. They moved with lightning speed. Two bodies lay to my right, blood splashed across the floor. Clearly he had the situation under control, and I needed to locate the other men to make sure no one escaped.

I scanned the large room and saw no one else. None of the windows were open or broken.

“Stairs,” I whispered, circling back.

When I found the stairwell, something grabbed my attention. Drops of blood led to a door at the far end, opposite the one with the two people inside. This door didn’t have a keypad. I glanced over my shoulder before opening it.

“This wasn’t in the brochure,” I muttered, staring at a metal pole that dropped into a dark void. It must have been the emergency escape route, though it looked more like a portal to hell.

At least it’s not a slide, I thought, recalling a previous job where a slide had led me to an underground fighting ring.

I gripped the pole and locked my legs around it.

This was a stupid way to fucking die. Here lies Raven, who slid her way straight to hell down a fireman’s pole.

When the light above grew smaller, I panicked. Immortal or not, I still had irrational phobias about monsters in the dark or there never being a bottom. What if this was a trap and I was sliding to the Earth’s core? What if I wound up in a pit filled with spiders? As soon as my feet hit the bottom, I fell to the floor.

Cold wind whistled through a cracked doorway. I stepped outside and followed the footprints and blood. I scaled a chain-link fence, jogged down an alley, and then stopped at a dead end. Footprints flattened the crimson snow in every direction.

If Li Han’s men were protecting him, where had they gone?

Blue ran toward me at breakneck speed. When she skidded to a stop, she was out of breath and buzzing with energy. “Niko and I cleared the building. Three got out, and Christian went after them. I checked the men inside, and they don’t have the mark. That means the target escaped.”

“They fought here,” I said, pointing out the obvious. “They must have doubled back.”

She scratched her forehead and looked at the buildings that walled us in. Every door she tested was locked. “We have to find them and fast. Dammit, I have no choice. Once I shift, I won’t have weapons or clothes.”

“Do it.”

“Fine. But after this, I have to go back to Niko. If I keep shifting, I’ll pass out. This is the last time.” Blue set her favorite tomahawk against the wall and then shifted. Her falcon sailed upward over the buildings and out of sight.

I jogged back, looking for a fire escape or wall they might have scaled. When I heard a piercing cry, my gaze swung up. Blue’s falcon circled an area up ahead, and I ran toward it. She perched on the rooftop of a building right above a pile of crates. The crates teetered as I climbed them and scaled the wall. Blue took off down a corridor, and I followed her into a small courtyard. Christian was doing his best at sword fighting two men. He had blood on his neck and hands from wounds that I hoped were healing. If you bled a Vampire too much, they healed slower. After prying a sword from the hand of a decapitated body, I jumped into the fray.

“You’re in for it now, fellas,” Christian said with menace. “My partner is the finest swordsman in the land. She toys with her victims before removing their limbs.”

I clenched my teeth. Christian knew full well that I was terrible with a sword. I’d sparred on occasion with Niko while Christian watched on, making sarcastic remarks.

One thing I had mastered was some of the fancy twirling that made it look like I knew what I was doing. I used that time to survey the scene. Tall buildings boxed us in, and with only one exit in the courtyard, I had to make sure no one escaped. The two Asian men both had short hair and similar statures but looked nothing alike. That ruled out siblings, who sometimes worked in pairs. Both wore gloves, and I wondered if one of them might be our target. Or maybe Li Han was the dead guy on the ground.

In any case, no prisoners.

When the two men flashed around us, Christian and I stood back-to-back.

“What took you so long?” he asked.

I swiped my blade and lucked out, striking one of the men in the arm. “The pole from hell.”

“Poles are better than slides,” he said with a grunt, lunging at his adversary. “Remember the one that took us into the bowels of Cognito?”

The men had developed a nonverbal strategy where they would briefly flash in a circle around us before striking. Eventually they caught on that I couldn’t use a sword, and one of them lunged, the blade slicing my left arm before I pivoted away.

I flashed around him to strike. He dove to the ground, rolled, and then bounced to his feet. In the process, the sword had fallen out of his hand just a few feet from his grasp. I swiftly grabbed it and flung it far out of reach. Looking between everyone and then at my weapon, he fled down the corridor.

I rushed to help Christian and got behind the Mage. When I lunged to pierce my blade through his back, he spun out of my reach and kept fighting Christian.

“Don’t let him get away!” Christian bellowed. “He might be the one.”

Christian was a capable fighter but not the best swordsman. Though he had the strength of thirty men, this Mage was fast and eager to fight to the death.

“Don’t waste your energy here,” Christian demanded. “That’s what he’s trying to do—wear you down. Go after the other one.”

I threw the sword at Christian’s feet. “Don’t you die on me, or I’ll kill you.”

CHAPTER 15

After Blue and Niko headed out to hunt the second oligarch, the waiting game began. Shepherd prepared himself just in case they needed him to help dispose of the bodies or clean up a scene. With his phone in his back pocket, he walked with Gem to check on Raven’s father. The poor guy was holed up in her room, banned from moving around the mansion freely. While it was no way to treat a guest, there wasn’t much they could do about it.

When he knocked and no one answered, Shepherd pushed open the door and they entered. Crush was snoring like a chainsaw, blankets piled over him in the bed. While Shepherd set a bottle of mild painkillers on the bedside table, Gem tiptoed over to the dog, which was sprawled out on the rug in front of the fire.

“Do you think he needs to go out?” Gem whispered loudly, kneeling on the floor and rubbing Harley’s ears.

Shepherd walked over and checked the plastic tarp he had taped up over the windows to keep the heat in. “Why don’t you ask him?”

Gem furrowed her brow. “How do you ask a dog?” Then she bent forward and looked in Harley’s eyes. “Do you have to go wee-wee?”

Harley groaned before rolling over and putting his paw over his eyes.

“Christian let him out before they left,” Shepherd informed her. “Come on before we wake him.”

Gem giggled. “I don’t think a tornado siren could wake him with a snore like that. And I thought Claude was bad!” Gem placed a big kiss on Harley’s head. “Can we get a pet?”

Shepherd chuckled as they cruised into the hall. “I don’t think that would fly with Blue or Viktor. You know how Shifters feel about pets.”

Gem tied the belt on her blue kimono. “Maybe Hunter would like one.”

“Are you using my kid to get a pet?”

Gem lifted her chin, giving an unapologetic look. “Maybe I’d like to cuddle with something.”

“There’s always Claude.”

She flashed to the staircase and coolly leaned against the banister. “Besides that, it wouldn’t hurt to have a guard dog. Or maybe a cat!”

“We’re not getting a cat. I’ll be damned if I have to walk around every corner and have that thing jumping out at my ankles. Besides, Switch’s wolf might eat it.”

They marched down to the second floor.

Gem folded her arms, and it amused Shepherd to see how fixated she could get on something only to change her mind a week later. “Maybe I’ll just sneak one into my room and nobody has to know.” She walked backward, trying to keep up with him. “Don’t be a grump. It’s so depressing around here when everyone’s in one of their moods. Raven spends more time with Christian now, and I need someone to play with. Be an ally with me on this one thing.” She pressed her palms together in a prayerlike gesture. “Please? Please? Please?”

“You want me to risk my standing with Viktor so you can have something to cuddle?”

She pivoted and then walked alongside him. “It can be a therapy dog in case one of us dies.”

“Jesus, honey. You’ve got a morbid angle.”

“I can think of a lot of other angles. Like Viktor having a running partner and Hunter having a playmate. We can teach him how to fetch arrows when we shoot them outside in the summer.”

“Spooky won’t want it digging up his little drug garden. On second thought… I’m in.”

“Really?” Her eyes widened with excitement, and she flashed off to Wyatt’s office.

No way in hell would anyone on their team agree to a pet—for a number of reasons. First off, Shifters were offended by the very idea of keeping an animal as a source of amusement. Secondly, Keystone didn’t have the time. Pets required care, attention, and a somewhat stable household. They occasionally went away on long trips, and there was always a risk of the animal getting injured by accident. They didn’t know any vets, and Niko’s healing magic didn’t work on animals. Several of them often ran through the halls at superspeeds, and they might trip over it. And what if an enemy broke into the house? A dog or cat stood no chance against Breed—no matter how fierce, no matter how loyal. Shepherd couldn’t bear the idea of his son grieving over a lost pet. Besides that, Hunter didn’t need the distraction. He had a lot going on with his education and adjusting to his new home. If he got a dog, he might give it all his affection, leaving none left for his father.

Shepherd passed a hall and caught sight of Kira changing out a candle in a wall lantern. When she finished, she lifted a bag that clinked with the sound of metal pieces inside.

He jogged toward her. “Let me help you with that.”

They periodically had to remove the candleholders from inside the lanterns to clean them. It wasn’t necessary to light every single lantern at night—only the ones in the main hallways or where they slept. Any unused hallways were left dark, and places where they frequently gathered, such as a library or game room, had just enough light to see.

He lifted the bag and followed her into one of Viktor’s offices. The apron did little to protect her brown dress from the wax, and her thumb and forefinger were black from pinching out candles, which created less smoke than blowing them out. They had a snuffer, and he wondered why she wasn’t using it. After lighting a candle, she walked around the room and inspected the others.

Shepherd closed the door. The desk to his immediate right had two upholstered chairs facing it, slightly angled toward each other. Before taking a seat in the left one, he switched his phone from his back pocket to his front. Viktor sometimes came up here to do work or make calls, but the room was too formal for his taste.

When Kira finished, she wiped her hand on her apron and stood in front of him, leaning against the desk. Some of her red hair had fallen out of the blue kerchief, and despite the chill in the air, her cheeks were flushed and her skin dewy.

“You should ask Viktor for a day off from work,” he suggested.

She looked at her fingers, her knuckles red. “Work is good for hands. I work very hard on my father’s land.”

“You’re too pretty for a job like this. You could find a husband and settle.”

“To be wife? Ne. Viktor protects me.”

Shepherd stretched out his legs. “From what?” When she didn’t answer, he thought about her disappearance at the hotel. “Does it have something to do with your vanishing act at the hotel?”

She furrowed her brow. “I not understand.”

Forgetting her English might be rough, he broke it down to basic words. “Why did you leave Hunter alone at the hotel? Unprotected?”

Her eyes flashed with fire, and she held her fist against her breast. “I protect him. Vampire is dead.”

“How did you protect him?” Shepherd leaned forward, fingers laced together. “What Vampire? All we found were ashes.”

She averted her eyes.

“So if you burned up a Vampire, why do you need our protection?”

“It is complicated.”

How could he gain her trust? How could he tell her that her secrets mattered? “No one has seen you shift. Are you even a Shifter? Or are you a Mage, like Gem? She has the power to burn men. Is that what you can do?”

Her jaw tightened like a steel trap.

Shepherd stood and faced her. “You spend a lot of time with my son. Convince me that I shouldn’t be afraid you might hurt him.”

“I would never hurt boy.” When she lifted her eyes to meet his, he saw tenderness in them. Someone who was alone—living with secrets, living without friends. Switch had a life outside Keystone, but what kind of life was this for Kira?

“Do you know what friend means? Your English is good, so I think you do. You look after my son, and if you saved his life, I owe you at least my friendship if not a favor. Friends trust each other. They’re someone you can talk to. I’ve never been much of a friend to anyone, but I know how to keep a secret.”

Shepherd lowered his gaze. This woman hadn’t liked him since day one, so what made him think he could get her to open up to him? Ashamed for cornering her, he shook his head and headed for the door.

“Why do you have that mark on your arm?” she asked.

He half-turned, holding his hands in front of him, turning them over. “I got these scars protecting my family.”

“Ne, not scars. Um…” She pointed to her upper arm, looking at his.

Shepherd lifted his sleeve, revealing the phoenix tattoo. “It’s a tattoo.”

The soft glow of candlelight flickered from behind her, casting shadows on her face. “Why that animal?”

He shrugged. “I guess I wanted to be born again after my world ended. I wanted to rise from the ashes and do something meaningful after a tragedy. What about your tattoo?”

She reached behind her neck, seemingly shocked that he knew about it. “It is my mother’s tongue. She was from an ancient time. Viktor knows this language as my father taught him. We are old family. The mark is a…” She searched the room, her gaze settling on a painting of wolves. “Protection. Not like shield but…” She struggled with finishing her sentence.

“Like a charm or talisman. Something you wear to give you power or protect you. Only you wear it on your skin.” He stepped forward, his stomach twisting into a knot. “Is someone after you?”

She cupped her elbows. “The world. My father would not approve of this conversation. He was good man. But so afraid for me.”

Shepherd lost himself in counting random freckles on her face. Her features were so feminine, and yet when she looked at him, he sensed her power.

Kira lowered her arms and gripped the desk behind her. “Will you make promise to not harm me?”

He dipped his chin. “I would never hurt you.”

She averted her eyes. “I am not like Viktor. I am not like anyone.” Kira took a deep, shaky breath. “I am like your tattoo.”

He glanced at his own arm, certain her words were lost in translation. “What do you mean?”

She tilted her head to the side, staring at his ink. “I am phoenix.”

“There’s no such thing.”

She untied her kerchief and ran her fingers through her wavy hair, the ends fading to a light yellow-orange. “My kind was hunted. Feared. Shifters thought us an abomination. We make fire. Because the phoenix did not exist in nature, others said we were from the devil.” Kira turned away and sat down in one of the chairs. “That is how I save Hunter and Claude from bad man. And the day Vampires come here, I burn them.”

Shepherd remembered the charred grass out back that no one had an explanation for—all the ashes on the lawn. They had chalked it up to one of Gem’s energy balls. Blue mentioned seeing or hearing something out of the ordinary, though she couldn’t remember the details. “Are you telling me you’re a phoenix Shifter?”

She nodded.

“And you can burn the hell out of everything in your path?”

He covered his mouth, his hand trembling from the thought. “Can you control it? Do you remember when you’re in your animal form?”

She nodded again. “That is why I cannot hurt boy. I protect children. My phoenix is not evil. Immortals killed us, not humans. My mother say in ancient times, they drink our blood to live long life.” Kira mumbled a few words in Bulgarian or Russian before continuing. “They would eat us. Men believed wild animals who ate phoenix become immortal, and that is how Shifters were born. They would remove our beautiful feathers and use them.”

“Use them how?”

“I do not know. Writing in magic books. It does not matter. I do not know if I am the last one. I have never seen another. An old hunter killed my mother. Hunted her. Did not know about me. My father was afraid someone would find me. So we lived alone on big farm.”

Shepherd sat his ass down next to her and tried to process everything she’d just told him. He couldn’t wrap his head around it. Phoenix Shifters? He’d heard all kinds of crazy shit in his life about extinct or rare Breeds, but half the time people chalked it up to being an urban legend. Despite all the magic in their world, even Breed could be skeptical. Usually those with excessive powers were hunted to extinction, and any remaining would never feel safe in the open.

He stared down at his reflection in the phone. “Does Viktor know?”

“Ne. Viktor knows I am the daughter of Valko, his friend. He believes I am wolf. My father trusted no one with secret, not even his friend. Viktor did not know my mother’s animal. Men will hunt me. Why would Viktor bring me here knowing that danger? I tell him I have no family, I have no education, no job, no means to care for myself. He believes I am an unprotected wolf.”

“So that’s why you’re afraid of me. My tattoo. Did you think I was one of those hunters?”

“They drank our blood,” she said quietly.

Hunting and devouring Shifters was considered taboo. Among Shifters, they only did it in animal form, if at all. It was one reason many Breeds considered them uncivilized, so the thought of a non-Shifter eating them was incomprehensible. Phoenixes were considered as mythical as dragons, and Shepherd suspected there were older immortals out there who might still be hunting them. Viktor had taken her in because he felt a duty to his good friend and because Kira was left alone, without a pack, without any resources to care for herself. She had struck up an agreement to work for him so long as he provided her safety, but he had no idea what was living under his roof.

“Why do you trust me with this?” he asked, searching for the truth in her reaction.

Kira tipped her head to the side. “You love Hunter. If you betray me, you bring danger to him. Hunters will come. Even if I leave, they will want information and come for it. You have something to lose.”

That hadn’t occurred to him. “Can you live forever? I mean… can you be reborn like the legend goes?”

She gave a gentle smile. “If that were true, I would still have my mother. We can die. But we cannot die by our own fire. That is myth. The fire that destroys immortals will not touch us. A phoenix rises from the ashes because it cannot burn in them.”

“Is what they said true? Are you the origin story for Shifters? Were they born from the meat of a phoenix?”

She quickly rose to her feet. “Origin stories are nightmares to scare children. Only the gods know, and we are not gods. You understand my fear? We cannot live forever, and I will not let them destroy my body. Ne. Consume. It sickens me. I want to live free like you, but I cannot. I will never be safe. If I shift here at Keystone, we are far away from people. I was fearful when we were at hotel. I sent boy to bathroom when he interfered with fight—before I shifted and killed Vampire. I flew through window. Many watching eyes. What if people talk and hunters hear there was a phoenix in Cognito?”

“We were in the human district, so not likely.”

“Does not matter. I can never be like you, free to go where you desire.”

Without thinking, Shepherd reached out and held her hands. He felt a great amount of compassion in that moment for her struggles and sacrifices—for all she had lost. Even more, for helping Keystone during their battle against Godfrey Sparrow and taking no credit. He understood why she couldn’t trust people. Even if she could, the more people who knew, the greater the chances the wrong person might discover her secret. A Vampire could charm them and find out by accident, or one of them might mention it in public around prying ears. Sometimes secrets were necessary for survival, and in her case, the fewer people at Keystone who knew, the better. Shepherd had no desire to pressure her into doing anything she didn’t feel was in her best interest. That wasn’t his place. Especially if it led to her death.

“You are good father,” she said, looking at their hands. “One day you will be better father.”

He chuckled and sat back, breaking their connection. “I don’t know about that. It’s all new to me.”

“I can only watch with envy.”

“Don’t you want kids?”

She slowly shook her head. “Even if I am last phoenix, I would not want this for my children. My father lived in fear, as did my mother. There is no safe time to live in. People do not change. Look what happened here with the bad man and all his Vampires. For what? Power?”

Seemed like a damn shame for her to miss out on motherhood, though he understood her point. Shepherd was out of his mind worrying about Hunter’s future. He couldn’t imagine a scenario where his son would always be hunted by people with fucked-up beliefs about magic and cannibalism. There was no Shifter group who would willingly protect someone like her at the risk of bringing wrath upon their own families. She was truly like the rest of them—an outcast.

Kira rose and brushed her hand down her dress. “I have much work to do.”

Shepherd also stood and backed up so she could leave.

She approached him and gripped his arms, gazing up with those copper-colored eyes. It was the first time she’d ever really touched him back, and he allowed himself to explore her emotions. Was she letting him? Trust swept through him. Confidence and sincerity. Kira’s emotions were easy to read in that moment.

She picked up her bag and followed him into the hall. His step felt lighter, as if a weight had come off his shoulders—the weight of always thinking this woman feared and hated him. Now he understood it had nothing to do with him at all. Not his looks, not his scars, and not even his demeanor. She had her guard up, leery of a man who would ink himself with her animal. And though her power put a knot in his stomach, she hadn’t harmed Hunter that night at the hotel. Or any other time. She might have even saved Keystone from a legion of Vampires. She was a born protector, and suddenly that mark on his arm carried new meaning.

Switch crossed in front of them, heading left toward the stairs that went up to the third floor, Hunter in his arms.

When Shepherd snapped his fingers, Switch backed up a step and noticed them.

“I almost gave up looking for you,” he said, heading in their direction. “Gem told me you two went to check on Crush and split up after that. She thought you might have gone back for some reason.”

“What’s up?” Shepherd tucked his phone in his back pocket.

With her bag in hand, Kira walked past Switch to continue her work. When she briefly looked over her shoulder at Shepherd, he glimpsed a warm smile.

Switch shook his hair out of his face, revealing dark circles under his eyes. “He had another nightmare. This one was bad. I know you guys asked me to keep an eye on him since you’re on a job, but he wouldn’t stop crying. I think Kira’s better with him with this sort of thing. He went to look for you, and you weren’t in your room. I tried getting him back to bed, but… He wants his daddy.”

Shepherd reached out and collected the boy in his arms. Hunter was still sucking in the sharp gasps that came at the tail end of a hard cry. “I got him.”

“Are you sure? I’ll take him back to bed after you calm him down. I know you guys are busy.”

Shepherd shook his head.

“That means I love you in sign language,” Switch said, nodding at Hunter’s hand. “I’ll be in my room if you need me.” Switch headed off, barefoot in a pair of boxers.

Confused, Shepherd looked down at Hunter’s hand, which was flat against his chest. His ring and middle fingers were tucked in. Hunter spoke without using his voice, and Shepherd got teary. Moments like these always hit Shepherd especially hard. Whenever Hunter had nightmares, Shepherd wondered if it was about his time with Patrick. From the beginning, Hunter would only whisper short phrases in his ear, and only on occasion. Lately, he’d become more withdrawn, barely speaking at all. Shepherd thought the nightmares would eventually go away once he realized he was in a stable home, so maybe there was something deeper going on. Could he remember his traumatic birth somewhere in his subconscious? Had he, as a Sensor, somehow absorbed that memory imprint of his mother’s death? Or did he suffer from separation anxiety and fear that Shepherd might one day leave him? Maybe nightmares were completely normal for kids—Shepherd had no concept of what normal was anymore. He just knew that in that moment, he could feel genuine fear and sorrow radiating out of every pore in this kid.

So he pushed all kinds of protective feelings and love into that embrace to calm him. “Hey, little man. What’s all this about? I got you,” he said quietly, firmly. “I’m always gonna be here. I’m not going anywhere. You’re my son, you got that? Your home is always with me, no matter where we go in this world. Right now this is where we live. Both me and you. Lots of statues to climb, a big yard to play in, all that space out back to fly kites and kick balls. Switch says you’re a smart kid and like to learn. You’ll be smarter than me someday. And you even got friends over there with the lion pride. If something here makes you scared, you gotta let me know. Okay? We’ll fix it. I know this is still all new for you, but I’m not like that man we don’t speak about. I’m gonna love you no matter what. That means you don’t have to do a thing to earn it. You don’t have to talk. You don’t even have to use your Sensor gifts.”

Shepherd started walking toward Wyatt’s office, and he realized he needed to give Hunter more explanation. He was a Sensor, so he knew about Shepherd’s abilities.

“The only thing I can’t do is take away all those bad feelings from before we met. You’re too young, and I can’t make that choice for you. As much as I want to—” And hell, Shepherd really wanted to. What parent wouldn’t jump at the chance to take away their kid’s pain? But that wasn’t the Sensor way. They weren’t allowed to manipulate a child’s emotions because in the long run, it could do more harm than good to remember a trauma without any emotion. It was important for children to learn how to process their emotions, especially Sensor children. He gently stroked his back. “We’re a team, and I’m always gonna keep you safe. I’m sorry if I’m not there sometimes when you wake up. Do you forgive me?”

Hunter sniffed, his nose stuffy as he nodded against Shepherd’s neck.

Shepherd often asked himself what Maggie would have done. When kids were hurt, they ran to their mother. “It’s okay to cry,” he finally said. “Sometimes you gotta let it out so that pain doesn’t live inside you.”

Hunter felt small in his arms, and he thought about all those years that had gone by where Hunter was even smaller. Just a little toddler who needed someone to tell him it was okay, that he was loved.

“What if Harley sleeps with you tonight? Would you like that?”

Hunter lifted his head and nodded, his eyes puffy and nose red.

“I thought so.” Shepherd couldn’t make any promises to stay with him since he was still on the job. “Let’s check on Wyatt first. Then I’ll get Harley, and he can sleep in the bed with you. Maybe you can whisper a bedtime story in his ear.”

Hunter smiled and rested his sleepy head against Shepherd’s neck, his arms wrapped around his shoulders.

By the time he reached Wyatt’s office, Hunter was fast asleep. He placed him on the sofa and covered him with a thin blanket. “What’s going on?” he asked quietly, joining Wyatt at the desk.

The only lights illuminating the dark room were the blue accent ones behind Wyatt’s monitors.

“She’s stealing my donuts, that’s what’s going on.” Wyatt finished sending a text message while Gem shoved another powdered donut into her mouth from the chair next to him. “Niko called. They raided the location, and several are down. Everyone else left on a chase. I messaged Blue, but she’s not responding. No one is. Niko’s moving the bodies and looking for their phones. He needs help.”

“Is it secure?”

From his leather chair, Wyatt stretched his arms wide. When he tilted his head up in a full-body stretch, his beanie tumbled onto his lap. “Viktor just left.”

“The room or the house?”

Wyatt frowned and took the last mini donut from Gem’s package.

“Hey!” she complained, throwing the empty wrapper on his desk.

After chewing the donut, he replied, “Both. Claude went with him.”

“Shit.”

After chewing, Wyatt tossed the wrapper into the trash and dusted the white powder onto the floor. “He didn’t want you going anyhow. We need someone here with medical expertise in case one of them comes stumbling in on their own. Viktor and Claude plan to help Niko clear the scene fast since Niko might miss something being that he’s blind.”

Gem slapped his chair. “Don’t be callous.”

He tossed his hat on the desk. “I’m being realistic. Niko can move the bodies just fine, but he might overlook someone’s phone if it’s sitting on a windowsill or was kicked behind something. That’s why he called me, buttercup. They can’t afford to spend all night there.”

Gem pulled up her legs and hugged her knees, still wearing her pink pajama pants with the brown polka dots. “Do you think they’re okay? I’m glad Niko’s all right, but why aren’t the others answering?”

Shepherd watched Wyatt arc a Slinky between his hands. He could think of a few reasons why they weren’t answering, and he didn’t want to suggest the first thought that came to mind. “Maybe they’re too busy running or fighting.”

Wyatt walked his chair back with his feet and then spun in a circle. “I just hope they don’t bring home any freshies. It’s been blissfully quiet around here lately, and I don’t want them to spoil it.” He suddenly lost all color in his face, his gaze fixed on the hallway. “What are you doing here?”

Everyone looked at the empty doorway.

“Is there a freshy in here?” Gem shot up and hid behind Shepherd.

Wyatt stood, and the Slinky rolled to the floor. He canted his head. “Son of a ghost. It’s Christian.” He flicked his eyes downward. “What’s with the raccoon tail?”

CHAPTER 16

When I turned away from Christian in the courtyard, I flashed back to the wall and scaled it. Blue’s falcon led me down the street before landing on a fire hydrant. I slowed down, my boots crunching loudly on the snow. I kept a normal walking pace as I neared an alleyway on my left. A dark figure cowered in the shadows, his body pressed against the nearest wall. Though he tried to control his panting, he couldn’t hide his frosty breath or buzzing energy.

I slowly turned on my heel to face him. “Come out and fight like a woman,” I taunted, still armed with stunners. I didn’t want to take them out just yet. Stunners were rare, and if I missed and this guy bolted, I’d lose my weapon. Instead, I held a defensive stance, balling up my fists.

The man emerged from the shadows, and a chill went up my spine when I looked into his malevolent brown eyes. Blue light flickered in their depths—a trait only seen in the older ones, especially when summoning their light. When a powerful wave of energy thumped against me, I took a step back. Usually when a Mage flared, it made my hair stand on end and snapped against my skin. This was more like a bully shoving me and daring me to make the first move. I’d never experienced anything like it.

“You are Charmer,” he said, his Chinese accent thick as he canted his head to the side.

Did he say Charmer?

I reached inside, feeling my light and that of the Mage I’d killed earlier. His powers would hang around for about a day. Usually that wasn’t enough time for me to figure out what the rare gifts were. Swell. The one time I need a badass gift, I get the gift of seduction. While people would be sexually drawn to me, it wasn’t going to win me any battles. Especially with the way this guy was looking at me as if daydreaming of the million ways to rip me apart.

He squared his shoulders, hands clasped. “I have walked this earth since before your ancestors. You will never catch me.”

When he flashed away, he knocked me down in the process. I scrambled to my feet and went after him. While he couldn’t run across the snow easily, some parts were flattened from pedestrians and cars. I followed him into an alley, where he hurriedly jumped onto a dumpster and reached for a fire escape. I climbed up after him and barely grabbed his foot before it slipped out of my grasp.

While the rungs on the ladder were slick, my fingerless gloves made the climb up the rusty contraption easy. He disappeared onto the roof, and I slowed my ascent, gripping each rung tightly in case he leaned over to kick me off. I climbed onto the roof, and to my surprise, he was still on the run.

I shot after him, the surface slippery under my feet. When he stepped off the ledge and jumped to the next building, I followed him without thinking. It wasn’t until the moment I was sailing through the air that I noticed the chasm beneath me. Fear clenched my heart for only a moment before I hit the other side and rolled. I pulled out the small black knife I’d bought at the store. It wasn’t a stunner, but I threw it at him anyhow.

When it struck his shoulder blade, he briefly looked back before swinging off the edge of the roof. I reached the ladder and saw him using his hands to slide down the rungs. This fire escape was for apartments, so when he hit a landing, he opened a window and jumped inside.

I dove in after him, stumbling over a mountain of stuffed animals that were piled on a bed and floor.

“Mommy!” a little girl shouted from the corner where she was brushing her doll’s hair.

I heard his footfalls and the shrill scream of a woman as I barreled down the hallway, turned right, and skidded out the open door. He flashed to a stairwell, and before I knew it, we were on the street again. Somehow I caught up and twisted the knife still lodged in his back. He flashed out of reach, turning in to an open doorway.

I stumbled in, eyes wide as the smell in the pizzeria hit me. The Mage leaped over the counter, knocking down a worker in the process. I launched myself up on the counter, swung my feet over, and stopped to steal a soft drink out of a worker’s hand. He smiled at me, succumbing to my unnatural charm as I gulped down the cola from the open container. One of us was going to run out of steam soon, so a little extra caffeine and sugar couldn’t hurt.

I sighed loudly. “Thirsty.”

He took the cup from my hand when I winked at him.

“Thanks, Tony,” I said, patting his nametag before jetting through the back kitchen.

I followed the direction of everyone’s stare as they cursed and yelled at the back door. Once outside, I looked right and spotted the Mage up ahead. As long as he stayed in the alley, his tracks would be easy to follow.

When he abruptly stopped and threw his arm out, a blade spiraled in my direction, right at my chest. The handle thumped against my sternum and then fell to my feet. Regardless, it still hurt.

I rubbed my chest and glared at him. “You’re the saddest ninja I’ve ever met.” I reached beneath my sweatshirt and pulled out my push daggers, gripping the T-shaped handles in my palms with the blades protruding between my fingers.

His eyes briefly darted around.

I stalked toward him. “Fight me! Or you can keep running until you’re too tired to fight. Doesn’t matter to me. I’ve got another Mage’s light burning inside my core, so I can do this all night.” That wasn’t exactly true, but hopefully the bluff would work.

When he turned and ran, I roared in frustration. My heart pounded against my rib cage, my lungs on fire as I flashed every safe distance to keep up. Before we reached an intersection, he dashed into a grocery store.

“Fuck,” I growled, putting my daggers back in their sheaths. The automatic doors slowed me to a walk. I slipped on the wet floor and clutched a potato chip display to catch my balance. “Damn boots.”

These weren’t the ones with the treads, and in this weather, they had me sliding all over the place.

A worker by the registers briefly glanced my way before burying his nose in his book. I struggled to catch my breath as “Part-Time Lover” played loudly on the speakers. Another worker mopping the floor in the flower shop danced with his broom.

I stalked through the produce section of the empty store, struggling to catch my breath. I cautiously looked behind each fruit display I passed to see if he might be crouched on the floor.

“Think,” I whispered, blood still pumping too quickly through my body.

Unmelted chunks of snow on the floor created a wet trail that continued past the cracker display. Then I felt it—a small prickle of leaked energy he must have desperately been trying to conceal. It wasn’t easy to do when exhausted and pumped up with adrenaline.

The swinging doors in the far corner led to the back where stockers brought out food. I stopped by the avocados and grabbed a green one. He could have gone in the back, but that’s not what I would have done. I would be hiding in a spot where I could see the doors so when my enemy walked into the back, I could run out the front. I headed toward the wall of vegetables and froze when the misting sprinklers came on and startled me. That’s when I caught movement in the reflection of the metal trim along the bottom.

I flashed past the corn and quickly turned, pitching the avocado at him so fast that I could have set a world record. It struck him in the head where he was crouched on the floor. I flashed over and gripped his collar before hurling him into a display of rice crackers and dried fruit. The plastic containers went flying everywhere, the noise drowned out by the loud music.

“Is this how you saw your ending? In the produce section?”

He lifted his eyes to mine, blood dripping from his busted lip. “You won’t do anything here. Too many cameras watching. Too many humans.”

I kicked him in the face. “You don’t know me very well. I’m Raven Black, also known as the Shadow. I don’t give a fuck about rules.” I reached for his hand to remove his glove.

My eye exploded in pain when he punched me with his other hand. I cupped my face, the pain temporarily blinding.

He scrambled to his feet and jogged off, but I could tell he was starting to spiral. He staggered into one of those refrigerated display coolers in the middle of the aisle. After reaching inside, he wielded a ham. I marched toward him, dodging each piece of meat he threw at me. The Mage ran into the aisle on the left, dragging his hand along the shelf and spilling boxes of tampons and pads all over the floor. The music drowned out all the noise. Either that or the workers this late felt they didn’t get paid enough to interfere with rowdy customers.

I stepped over the boxes, following him as he turned right into the next aisle. Since he wasn’t flashing, it was clear his energy was all tapped out. When I rounded the corner, a jar of pickles struck me in the face, breaking my nose. I threw a right hook and then kicked in his kneecap. He bellowed in pain before falling against the condiments.

As I bent over him, he bared his teeth and sliced my face with broken glass. I staggered back and held my cheek, the blood dripping between my fingers and onto the floor.

Ignore the pain. Ignore the pain.

The Mage crawled to his feet and began limping away. My stomach churned from the dark Mage light mingling with my own, and seeing that much blood pour out of my face was nauseating. I pressed my sweater sleeve against my cheek and went after him, watching as he dragged his lame leg behind him. At this point, there was no need to hurry. The store was empty, and no doubt these guys saw strange things all the time in this city. I grabbed a wine bottle on a rack, tucked it close to my side, and headed through the automatic doors. If security hadn’t jumped out by this point, chances were that no one was monitoring the cameras. The guy at the register didn’t even look up from his book, purple earbuds plugging up his ears.

Once outside, I followed the sound of his ragged footsteps. “Why are you making this so hard?” Conserving my energy, I kept a normal pace as he struggled to keep going. When I caught up, I set the wine next to the wall and drove a stunner into his neck.

“You’re a pain in the ass,” I muttered while dragging him between the store and another building. “I was going to smash you over the head with that bottle, but why waste good wine? I might as well have something to celebrate taking out one of the Zmei Gorynich. I bet you’re wondering how I’m gonna do that with all these little knives.” I grinned, letting my fangs punch out. “I used to drain my victims to weaken them. Stunners make life so much easier.”

I pinched the fingertips on his glove and yanked it off. When I didn’t see a mark, I yanked off the other. Then sat back. “Son of a bitch.”

This guy had led me all around the city on a tour for a reason—he wasn’t Li Han. He didn’t have the Valknut tattoo on his hand. Having two of us in that courtyard made it more dangerous for them and difficult to escape, so he had lured me as far away as possible, knowing I was the only one who could keep up with a Mage on a brightly lit street.

I straddled him and gripped his hands in mine. “Lights out, you little goon.” As his energy flooded into my body, I felt instant relief from the exhaustion of having expended all my energy flashing. I siphoned out his healing light, and the blood stopped dripping from my cheek. His dark light snaked around mine like poison, but I didn’t have time to curl up somewhere and sleep it off. Energy pulsed, and his core light finally broke free. When it did, so did the magic of the stunner keeping him paralyzed. He moved his arm to strike me, so I kept a firm hold on his hands, muscling him down. Then I blasted him with enough energy to stop his heart.

He finally stilled, eyes wide open.

I quickly pulled out my phone and called Wyatt. “Hey. I’ve got a problem. I need you to get someone down to the Market Grocer on Avenue B. I have a cleanup issue.”

“Can’t. I’m a little busy, but I’ll pass along the message.”

I stood up and looked warily at the street. “Playing Grand Theft Auto doesn’t count as busy.”

“I’ll see if Viktor can send someone over, but I seriously doubt it. Do what you can in the meantime.”

“What’s going on?”

“We can’t find Christian’s body.”

My heart almost stopped, and I turned toward the street. “I just left him in a courtyard. Blue knows the location.”

“Blue went back to help Niko clean up. We sent her to the scene. She said they’re gone.”

My shoulders sagged. “Why the hell did you say you were looking for his body? Don’t say shit like that unless you mean it.”

“I mean it, buttercup. Sorry to break the news, but Christian’s in the between.”

CHAPTER 17

The instant Raven left the courtyard, Christian rushed at the Mage, not caring if the sword impaled him. He could take the pain if it meant getting close enough to crush that eejit’s skull.

The Mage flashed behind him. Christian immediately spun around with his sword out, hoping like hell the Mage didn’t pick up the blade Raven had left behind.

“Are we actually going to get to the fighting part?” he asked, irritated by all the prancing about.

Was the Mage stalling?

Christian backed up to block the corridor. Even if the Mage flashed through it, Christian could catch up in the darkness. Once he was out in the brightly lit street, it would be difficult to shadow walk.

Their steel clashed, and he sliced the man’s arm.

The Mage flashed a distance and then removed his jacket. While he did so, Christian picked up Raven’s sword and tossed it over a wall. When the man swaggered toward Christian, he was holding his sword entirely differently, and it unnerved him. The courtyard didn’t have enough shadows for him to shadow walk.

“You’re a little rusty,” Christian remarked, noticing the look of irritation in the man’s face. “I know a lad who’ll train you right. I wager whoever taught you only had the skills to butter bread.”

The Mage wielded that sword so fast and furiously that Christian struggled to keep up with all his twisting movements and fancy tricks. He almost lost grip of his own sword but held his ground, parrying each attack. Not without losing a little blood here and there.

Suddenly they were in a clinch, and the Mage spoke.

“Tell me, why should I fear a man with a tail?”

For feck’s sake. Christian had forgotten all about the raccoon tail until just then.

He punched out his fangs. “You should be shivering in your boots.” When Christian twisted the man’s sword away, he reached out to grab his collar. Once again, the Mage flashed out of reach.

The man slowly circled him like a predator, his eyes laser-focused. “I fear nothing.”

In that moment, Christian realized this was no guard. “So you’re the infamous Li Han, hiding behind an army of incompetent men.”

“That is one of my many names. I’m over three thousand years old.”

“Well, isn’t that astonishing? Save your grand speech for someone who actually trembles in fear. If the secret to your longevity is using the talents of other men, you’re all out of luck. Where are they now?”

The swords clanged as they fell into a dance of blades. A dog barked in the distance, a city truck plowed one of the nearby roads, and the wind whistled above while tiny snowflakes sprinkled into the courtyard like powdered sugar over a bloody cake.

Li Han thrust his arm forward, immediately letting go of his only weapon when it speared Christian in the gut. He was smart not to get too close. Instead of sticking around for more action, he flashed out of the courtyard.

Christian grimaced as he pulled out the blade and then shadow walked down the dark corridor. When he glided over the short wall, the streetlight struck him and sent him falling to the ground. Li Han flashed down the slippery sidewalk with difficulty, Christian hot on his trail. The Mage turned to look once before he kept going.

This bastard is going to stay in the light, he thought, deciding his best bet was to follow him at a distance through the dark alleyways. Christian moved skillfully through the shadows as if his feet weren’t touching the ground. He tapped into the sounds around him, locking in on the footsteps and following their direction. Even though he wasn’t on the same street, he kept up without difficulty. Li Han was a noisy bastard, panting like a dog on a hot summer day.

Christian fell back and stayed out of sight. The Mage wouldn’t step out of the light with a Vampire on his tail, so Christian needed to give him a false sense of security. He must have depleted a lot of his energy from all the fancy flashing he had done in the courtyard. Christian casually entered a short alley between two buildings and watched him from a safe distance.

“Get your own alley,” a man grumbled at him.

Christian looked over his shoulder at a homeless man poking his head out from a large box wrapped up in plastic.

The man cackled at Christian’s tail. “The rats are getting bigger these days.”

Li Han stopped on a corner and searched the area. With the Mage lacking the ability to sense a Vampire’s energy, Christian was as good as hidden.

When Li Han turned away, Christian jogged out in the open. He didn’t need a stunner to incapacitate a Mage; all he needed was something sharp enough to take off his head. Unfortunately, there weren’t any weapon shops within view, but he was good at improvising. Christian dipped into the shadows a second before the Mage turned around. The sound of crunching footsteps grew distant, so Christian followed at the same stride in case the sound traveled too far. Falling snow created a thin veil between them.

Li Han suddenly looked right in Christian’s direction and then bolted down an alley.

Christian gave chase. A city truck rumbled by at the speed of a snail, generating enough noise that he had to block it out. Once he reached the alley, he passed a dumpster and noticed small drops of blood in the snow. Footprints led to the connecting street, and the instant he turned right, something hard struck him on the back. Pieces of wood fell at his feet.

“You infernal little shitebag!”

The Mage must have set a trap, turning right before circling back from across the street so he could sneak up behind him.

Li Han held a sharp piece of wood from the furniture he’d smashed. There were stacks of trash on the curb that the city hadn’t collected, including dilapidated furniture.

“It may not be impalement wood,” Christian pointed out.

The Mage gave a confident grin. “Let’s find out.”

Christian smashed his hand through a large display window, breaking the glass into sharp pieces. He snapped off a large shard from the edge and held it in his hand. “I wager I can disembowel you faster than you can strike. Your battery’s drained, Mage. Tonight you’re going to meet your maker.”

“I am Li Han, descendant of the Han dynasty. I’ve seen many wars, fought many foes. I have no fear because the fates are on my side.”

“Well, color me impressed. I’m Christian Poe, the man who doesn’t give a shite about your dynasty. If I had a nickel for every man I’ve killed who wasted his last breath spouting about how the gods or fates were on his side, I’d be a rich man. Now get your arse over here and die.”

The Mage flashed around him and took a stab. Christian ducked out of the way. When a truck rolled by and honked its horn, it reminded him they needed to take this off the street.

Li Han got close enough that Christian grabbed his arm and hurled him through the open window. Stepping into the safety of a dark store, Christian looked around at the white dishes and silverware. The Mage had retreated to the center of the store, searching for a place to go.

Christian lifted a meat cleaver and gave a sinister smile. “It looks like the fates are on my side tonight.” He threw the blade with a quick, hard motion. The cleaver didn’t just strike the Mage in the chest—it buried itself so deep that only an inch of the handle was visible.

Li Han gasped and staggered backward before flashing out of sight.

Christian grabbed a knife, the glass shard still in his left hand. “I can hear your shallow breathing, you blundering eejit.” He stalked forward and knocked a shelf of glasses completely over so he could see better. The shop had too many tall shelves going all the way to the back, but it wasn’t hard to pinpoint the man’s location in the candle section.

Christian winced when a glass votive knocked him in the skull. The ancient Mage cowered behind a long table filled with them and kept pitching one after another in his direction. He hadn’t pulled the cleaver out of his chest—probably because he couldn’t.

“You’re not much without your guards, are you? People like you never are,” Christian said, drawing from experience. “Men with guards are incapable of protecting themselves from certain death. You may have been a great warrior once, but you suffer from combat atrophy.” He knocked away another candleholder, the glass breaking instantly when he struck it.

“How much am I worth?” Li Han asked, his right arm hanging against his side. He was only throwing with his left hand. Perhaps he had a severed muscle. “I can double that.”

Now that was a laugh.

With Vampire strength, Christian threw his knife. The Mage never saw it coming. The blade ripped through his abdomen and exited through the other side.

He groaned, leaning over the table and staggering to the right. “How much?”

Christian lifted a timer shaped like a green frog off the shelf. He twisted it, the ticking sound pleasing to his ears. “You can’t afford me.”

“Then who betrayed me? I must know. Let my spirit rest in peace with answers.”

Christian drew closer and watched the Mage struggling for breath, undoubtedly in agony. If he chose to remove the blade in his chest—even if he could—he would bleed out quickly. While it wouldn’t kill him, he certainly wasn’t going anywhere until morning. And with snow showers predicted, healing wasn’t in the forecast.

“I’m afraid you’ll never know.” Christian set the frog timer on the last shelf to his right. “It was an anonymous tip. Perhaps one of your cronies wasn’t getting paid enough.”

“They are loyal—all willing to die for me. Impossible.”

“Your friend Ivar is pushing up daisies. Just one more to go.”

He gave a bewildered look. “Ivar?”

“Aye. Tall Chitah, bad taste in knickknacks. Shouldn’t be hard to find your other friend since we have a photograph of his face.”

“Every man has a price. What is yours? Don’t pretend to be honorable.”

“You can’t buy your freedom.”

“I am buying my life. Turn me in.”

Christian gave a mirthless chuckle. “I wasn’t hired to slap you around and turn you over to the higher authority. I was hired to put you in the ground.”

Confusion swam on his face.

“Perhaps your little friend Borislav is to blame. He’s the only one we haven’t been given a location on yet. Real nice friends you have there,” Christian added, switching the large piece of glass to his right hand.

“Impossible.” Blood saturated Li Han’s shirt, and when he coughed, he made an agonizing sound. “Even I do not know where Ivar and Borislav stay. We communicate through phone, but we decided many years ago that we are safer apart.” The Mage lowered his gaze. “If it is not money you want, I can give you protection. I can give you power.”

“’Tis a mortal shame you won’t be able to give your farewells in person. Can we wrap this up? You’re not escaping, and that’s a fact. You’ll bleed out before crossing the street. And you’re no match for a Vampire.” Christian’s fangs punched out. “You can’t buy me because I’m not for sale. Do you understand? Mercy is one quality I don’t have.”

Li Han locked eyes with Christian and grimaced. “Only one man knew my location. If what you say is true, he is the one responsible. You are a fool.”

“And why’s that?” Christian asked, the timer still ticking.

“Because he will not want to be caught. He is using you to get what he wants.”

“From my understanding, there’s a long line of immortals who want you dead.”

“My death is not what he wants.” Li Han coughed up blood. “When you finish the job, he will finish you. And if you do not know who he is, you will never see it coming.”

Christian slid his jaw to the side, tapping the glass against his thigh. “You have a point. But it won’t be the first time someone’s come after us, and it won’t be the last.” Despite what he said, Christian was no fool. He knew the identity of Mr. X might be crucial if what the Mage implied was correct. “What does he want from you?”

“What do all men seek?”

“Power? Land? A warm fanny?”

“Money. Riches beyond your imaginable dreams. Our entire fortunes combined.” Li Han stared at the cleaver in his chest and the opening in his abdomen where blood was soaking his clothes. He looked like he was struggling through the pain to get his last words in. “He seduced us with lies. He convinced us we could no longer trust immortals in charge of our belongings—that because our wealth was spread out, it might be claimed by governments or stolen. He said this was the old way, and we could only retain our wealth with absolute certainty by working with currency and investments. I was a fool to believe I needed him.”

“It’s a tale as old as time.”

“You should not mock me, Vampire. This man is not born of courage, and he will shield himself behind our riches. He will eliminate anyone who can link him to our murders. So long as you live, you will always be a liability.”

Christian sighed. “Save your breath. If this is the part where you offer his name for your life, I won’t be bribed. As you already pointed out, if I turn you in, everyone will know our name. It’s in my best interest to make sure that doesn’t happen.”

Li Han lightly touched the cleaver in his chest, still hunched over with his arm hanging at his side. “If I cannot preserve my life, then I will not die with his name.”

Christian furrowed his brow. “You would give it to me for nothing?”

The Mage spat out blood. “How will I be revenged if I die with his name?”

Christian belted out a laugh. “I sure as shite won’t be revenging your death.”

Li Han straightened up. “As long as he is shrouded in secrecy, he will never receive his karma. This is my karma for the tens of thousands of lives I have taken. I regret nothing. Evildoers are necessary in this world. Who else would inspire heroic acts? Now do what you came here for, and know that your enemy goes by the name Ronald Frazier.”

The frog dinged, and the ticking stopped.

“Time’s up,” Christian said, his intention clear.

A fever burned through him with the anticipation of a kill. His Vampire nature thirsted to spill blood.

Like an animal, he sprang toward the narrow table and sliced the Mage’s throat. Simultaneously, the Mage lifted his supposed lame arm, and pain shattered through Christian’s entire being. He fell across the table, his head knocking against a candle. A sickly sound came out of the Mage as the blood poured from his throat like a waterfall.

Christian winked out for just a moment. He felt himself grasping for something even though he couldn’t move. Grasping for what? The world around him grew distant like a dandelion floret floating on a breeze.

He stood up and stepped back, unable to process the scene. His body was draped sideways across the table, a stake driven through his heart, instantly stopping it. The Mage had collapsed beside him, blood pooling across the table and dripping onto the floor.

Christian stared at his own body in disbelief. When impalement wood pierces a Vampire’s heart, it paralyzes them. They appear dead since the heart stops beating. He’d never been staked directly through the heart, so why his spirit had jumped out of his body baffled him. A cold feeling of dread washed over him when he looked around the empty store.

“I shouldn’t be dead.”

It was so quiet. The wind outside whistled softly. He no longer possessed Vampire hearing. There was no bright light, no devils or angels—just silence.

Maybe neither side wanted him.

Christian instantly regretted a life unfinished. It wasn’t losing a future with Raven that consumed his thoughts; it was leaving her alone on this earth with Fletcher. He’d made vows about seeing her enemies suffer, and death had made a liar of him. When the higher authority eventually found their bodies, it would be public knowledge that Keystone had gone after the three most powerful men in history. If Li Han healed himself before capture and escaped, it would be far worse.

“I can’t have this happen,” he said. “I won’t.”

Without knowing who orchestrated the murders, angry loyalists would hunt Keystone until the brink of their destruction. He thought of the only person who could help—the only one who might see him.

Wyatt Blessing.

CHAPTER 18

After hiding the body as best I could, I pulled out my phone and searched for my location on the map to see how far I’d run.

Definitely too far to walk with a body in my arms.

Wyatt had called back and told me to sit tight at the grocery store—that someone would be there as soon as possible. When our black van finally backed into the alleyway, Shepherd stepped out.

“Help me put it in the back,” he said, opening the rear doors.

We both lifted the body beneath his arms and carried him between us as if he were a drunk friend. When we reached the back of the van, I saw numerous bodies piled on a thick sheet of plastic. Shepherd climbed in, dragged him onto one of the bench seats, and then stumbled over the corpses.

I slammed the back door and grabbed my bottle of wine before getting in the passenger seat. “What’s going on?”

He pulled out onto the street. “Sorry it took so long. I had to switch vehicles with Viktor. They’re using my Jeep so I can take care of the cargo in the back.”

“Who are they?”

“Viktor, Blue, and Niko are still checking the building for evidence that might have been left behind. Wyatt’s taking care of the witnesses who work there.”

I pulled out my phone and called Blue. “Hey. There’s a room on the third floor by the elevators. Two people are locked up in there.”

“Gotcha,” she replied.

“See if Viktor wants to set it up like a raid,” Shepherd said loudly.

I put the phone on speaker. “Did you hear that?”

“I’ll let Viktor know.”

I ended the call.

“Sounds sketchy.” Shepherd turned the corner. “But shit like that goes on in some of those places. Paintings aren’t the only things they sell.”

My head was pounding, and I had malaise from the dark light. “Is Christian dead?”

“I don’t know, honey. Wyatt said his ghost appeared at the house.”

When my lip quivered, I quickly opened the bottle of wine and gulped down a long drink. But it wasn’t enough to fight off the enormous wave of grief.

“Claude’s out trying to track them. It’s not easy since Christian doesn’t have a personal scent. He had to go to the courtyard first and start there.” Shepherd reached inside the glove compartment and handed me a rag. “Here. Put that on your face.”

I held the rag up to my cheek though I didn’t feel pain. When I pulled down the visor mirror, my face was a gory mess. As I wiped the blood off, I saw it had healed up from the Mage’s light.

“Why do I smell pickles?” he asked.

Explaining my grocery store showdown was the furthest thing from my mind. All I wanted to do was run down the street, screaming at the top of my lungs. “Can’t you drive any faster?”

“No. If a cop pulls me over and finds all these bodies, what the hell am I gonna tell them? We don’t have Christian around to wipe their memories. And sometimes you gotta deal with those guys who listen to the scanner and show up with their cameras.”

I choked back a sob and covered my face.

“Sorry.” He patted my back, attempting to console me.

“What did Wyatt say?”

“He doesn’t know what’s going on. And Christian must have been annoying the fuck out of him, because he put his fingers in his ears and started singing the entire ride over. Spooky pulled a favor from a Vampire friend to scrub the workers at the gallery. Since you found two captives, we can probably put a spin on it and make it look like we raided the place for illegal activity. It’s a good thing Viktor’s on the scene to make that decision.”

Both of our phones vibrated simultaneously, indicating a group message was coming in.

I pulled out my phone and read the message. “It’s Viktor. They found Christian. He needs you at the house right away to set up the medical room. That’s good, right?”

“Unless someone else is hurt.”

I wanted to call, but I didn’t know their situation and if it would put them in danger, so I stared at the screen, hoping he would send more news.

Shepherd rubbed my back again. “I’m sure it’s fine.”

I gently knocked his arm away. “I drank the light of a Charmer, just so you know.”

“Oh shit. No wonder. Fuck. I thought something was wrong with me.”

I steered my gaze out the window. “Can you at least hurry a little?”

“I’m doing the best I can, honey.”

Another message came in, and I looked down. “Now Viktor wants us to meet them at the outpost. What the hell is that?”

Shepherd put his blinker on and turned left. “It’s code. We came up with a spot a few years back to meet at whenever we need to move cargo.”

“Cargo?”

“Bodies. It’s secluded. No cameras, no buildings within view, nestled right in the middle of the city. Tell him we’re on the way.”

I sent the message but received no further word.

It was the longest ride of my life. Had there not been snow, I would have gotten out and flashed the rest of the way. But it was really coming down. Shepherd had the wipers going and the heater keeping things warm.

Bodies.

That word rattled in my head like a snake. If Shepherd had all the bodies in the back, why were we meeting up? Christian’s body? Someone else on the team? I rubbed my forehead, eyes closed as the energy inside me amplified from my anxiety. I leveled it down—the last thing I needed to do right now was pass out.

Five minutes elapsed.

Then fifteen.

Shepherd finally slowed down. “There they are.”

I cracked my eyelids open and then snapped fully awake. We approached the side of Shepherd’s metallic-grey Jeep, headlights shining on everyone. The back door was open with someone halfway in. Viktor stepped away from the front, lowering his folded arms. When we parked, Claude ducked out from the back seat and bumped his head.

I hopped out and hurried toward them. “Where is he? What’s going on?”

Claude gripped my shoulders. “Brace yourself, female.”

I shoved past him to the Jeep and leaned inside. A gasp escaped my lips when I saw Christian in the reclined seat on the far side. His lifeless eyes stared up at the ceiling, his black Henley ripped open and his chest smeared in blood.

Wyatt twisted around from the front passenger seat. “You should have seen him earlier with the stake in his chest. Holy Toledo. Was that a sight.”

I climbed in and put my fingers to his neck. His pulse was sluggish. “What’s wrong with him?”

Viktor got in and started up the engine. “Close the door, Raven. We must go.”

Shepherd opened up the back, and when I looked over the seat, I watched them drag out a body and load it into the van.

After Claude drove off with the bodies, Shepherd squeezed into the back and shut the door. “What happened?”

“We found his body,” Wyatt replied.

Shepherd cut him a sharp look while he checked Christian’s vitals.

Wyatt peered over his shoulder. “He was staked right in the candle section of Chelsea’s. They sell all that fancy stuff for weddings and—”

“Jesus fuck. Button it up and tell me what happened.” Shepherd found a flashlight in the back and shined it in Christian’s eyes.

Wyatt’s gaze lingered on me for an uncomfortable moment. “He retraced his steps and led us to his body.”

I shook my head. “What do you mean, he led you? Is he dead or not?”

“Sort of. Usually when people stake a Vampire, they don’t go for the heart. Nobody has the balls since there’s a lot of bone to get through. It’s easier to impale them elsewhere. Heart staking was a common practice in olden times. Humans and even other Breeds didn’t necessarily know all the ways to kill them, so they just assumed if the heart stopped, they couldn’t come back. In those days, they used heavy-duty stakes and pounded them in with mallets. You know, I once knew this guy—”

Shepherd shined the light in Wyatt’s eyes, temporarily blinding him.

“History is there to teach us,” Wyatt grumbled. “Fine. When a stake goes through a beating heart, it stops. Occasionally the spirit will jump out of the body since they’re in a deathlike state. Technically they’re alive. Just because the heart stops doesn’t mean you die. That’s one way Gravewalkers used to find Vampires in graveyards who were buried alive. Sometimes we sense them, and other times we see their lingering spirits who point the way. I guess because they’re not all the way dead, they don’t get the option of going to the next stop.”

“But you pulled out the wood.”

“True. His spirit jumped back in his body when his heart started up, and not a minute too soon. That man’s ghost is the thing of nightmares.”

Shepherd turned off the light. “Why isn’t he waking up? Did Niko try healing to see if that works?”

“What if I give him my blood?” I suggested.

Wyatt shuddered. “Don’t feed the animals. Won’t help. The wood was old and frayed apart. I had to pull splinters from his chest, and we think he’s got a splinter in his heart. That’s the only reason I can think of that he hasn’t snapped out of it.”

Shepherd draped his arm over the seat. “That would explain his irregular heartbeat. Now what?”

“You operate,” Viktor stated as fact.

Shepherd barked out a laugh. “You’re kidding, right? I can patch people up and put in a line, but I don’t know anything about surgery.”

“Don’t be dramatic,” Viktor said. “Whatever you do, he will heal from. You will need to crack him open and look at his heart and insides.”

Wyatt faced front in his seat. “That’s a therapy session I ain’t got time for.”

“Call a Relic!” Shepherd fired back. “This is out of my wheelhouse.”

“We do not have a trusted Relic, and you know this. No one with these skills can help on short notice.”

I held Christian’s hand, uncertain if he could hear us. Maybe he could feel my touch. “Then do it. He might be suffering if that thing is in his heart. Knock him out with as many drugs as you can.”

Shepherd rubbed his face. “I don’t have anesthesia. Besides that, we can’t knock him out.”

“Why not?”

“Because if he’s unconscious, we won’t know if I got all the splinters out. Not until he wakes up—or doesn’t wake up. Say we go through all that trauma, patch him up, but oops, we left behind a splinter. He doesn’t wake up, and we have to do it all over again. If you only want to do this once, he has to be awake so he can move and show us he’s not paralyzed anymore.”

I wanted to slam my fists against the seat and scream. Instead, I steadied my voice, knowing Christian was listening and needed to hear us making confident decisions. “Then give him enough drugs to dull the pain. You can at least do that, can’t you?”

“Yeah.”

“Maybe we’ll get lucky and see it as soon as you open him up. Wyatt, you need to be in there and show us the exact spot he was staked so Shepherd goes in the right way.”

“I’d rather not,” he muttered. “I already had to dig in his chest for splinters. If he croaks, who do you think he’ll torment until the end of time?”

“I’ve never had to do anything like this before,” Shepherd said. “Shit. I don’t even have a bone saw.”

I cringed internally while stroking Christian’s hand. “Can’t you buy one?”

“Everything’s closed except the grocery stores. Sure. We’ll just swing by for a carton of milk and a bone saw.”

I sighed. “We’ll get through this. Just look through other tools we have in the garage. We’re going to get it done and get it done fast. I’ll give him my blood, but it can’t be a transfusion since he can’t afford to lose his own. He’ll be knocked out right after from blood loss, so we’ll need to put a tube down his throat and pump it into his stomach. Can you do that?”

Shepherd rubbed his face, expressing what all of us felt to our core. “This is a clusterfuck.”

* * *

I stood by Christian’s side in the medical room while Shepherd organized the equipment. His trays were neatly lined with surgical instruments, rags, plastic syringes, medicine, and a container of my blood, I had already cut away Christian’s shirt and cleaned off his chest, reassuring him that everything would be fine. I wondered if he would rather just die than go through this, but begging for death wasn’t his style.

Gem peered through the open doorway, her eyes wide as Viktor entered with a few tools from the garage.

“What do we got?” Shepherd asked.

Viktor set everything on the counter. “Tin snips and this.”

Shepherd glanced over his shoulder. “Is that the rotary tool? Did you bring extra cut-off wheels?”

“I will get.” Viktor hurried out of the room.

Wyatt lifted up the tool and turned it on. It made a high-pitched whistling sound that made my blood curdle.

“Turn that off,” Shepherd boomed. “It’s cordless. You’ll run down the battery.”

Wyatt set it on the counter and then wandered next to me, putting his arm over my shoulders. “It’ll be okay, buttercup. You can lean on me for a little moral support.”

I elbowed him away. “I drank a Charmer’s light, so everyone needs to fuck off before you say or do something you’ll regret when the gift wears off.”

“No wonder.” Wyatt stepped back and blew out a breath. “That explains my boner the entire car ride home. I thought I was finally off my rocker. No offense.”

Shepherd rolled a metal cart with all the equipment next to the table. “Claude’s busy disposing of the bodies.” He glanced at Gem. “Did Blue and Niko make it back yet?”

She twirled her hair between her fingers. “They’re still wrapping things up. Wyatt’s Vampire friend charmed the workers into thinking a raid took place and made them forget their visitors tonight. Blue and Niko made sure they located all the phones, and now they’re waiting on the Regulators to collect the victims locked in the room. Boy, that really worked out in our favor. It’ll be easy to make it look like a raid since they were selling people as blood or light slaves.” She looked at Christian again, hands clasped beneath her chin. “I can’t help. I just can’t.”

Shepherd put on blue elastic shoe covers. “Go keep an eye on Hunter. Make sure he doesn’t come out of his room.”

Gem dashed off just as Viktor returned. He handed Shepherd the wheels and then passed out protective eyewear. I closed Christian’s eyes. Shepherd had already prepared several shots of pain medicine used in the ER to help with pain and anxiety.

“Show me,” he said to Wyatt, handing him a marker. “Draw a circle and tell me the depth and angle it went in.”

Wyatt took the black marker and hovered over Christian. “Don’t blame this on me. It’s not my fault he stabbed you with a busted-up chair leg.” Wyatt drew a circle while explaining how the stake went in.

Shepherd put on a white apron that said: Kiss the Cook.

“That’s my apron,” Wyatt pointed out.

Shepherd took back the marker and set it on the counter. “It was the only one in the kitchen that fit. I can’t mess up Kira’s.”

Wyatt rolled his eyes. “Oh, but mess up mine.”

I stepped close to Viktor and whispered, “I don’t want Christian hearing jokes or dramatic reactions while this is going on.”

Viktor snapped his fingers. “Wyatt, out. Stay at the end of the hall—do not come in or make noise. Keep everyone out.”

“My pleasure. By the way, what’s up with his bushy tail?”

Viktor shoved him out of the room and closed the door. Meanwhile, Shepherd snaked a small feeding tube up Christian’s nostril. Christian’s throat undulated.

I frowned. “Is that normal?”

“It’s reflexive,” he said.

“How do you know you’re not putting that into his lungs?”

“He’d be coughing or wheezing. If I did it wrong, we’ll fix it later. He can’t drown.”

“What do you want me to help with?”

He rolled a stool to the head of the table. “Sit your ass down. This isn’t something you should see. Hell, this isn’t something I should see up close. Viktor and I have got this. Just watch his face for any change and keep him calm. Let him hear your voice. Once I think I’ve gotten everything, force a response out of him to see if we got it all.”

I sat on the stool and cradled his head in my hands. Shepherd stood to the right and Viktor to the left. Shepherd pulled an extendable arm from the wall and switched on a bright light over Christian’s chest. We put on our eyewear, and then Shepherd injected Christian with the sedative.

“This’ll make him feel high and reduce the pain. I’m giving him twice the max amount a human would get since medicines aren’t as effective on Breed. I’ve never tested them on a Vampire, so I really don’t know.” He checked Christian’s pulse. “Set your Mage watch and tell me when five minutes is up. I’ll check his pulse and see if he needs another shot. It’s obviously working; I just don’t know how long it’ll last on a Vampire.”

Shepherd took a deep breath and blew it out slowly. At first I thought he was doing it to calm himself. Then I realized he was waiting for the opioid to take full effect.

Instead of one incision where a surgeon would use retractors, which we didn’t have, he cut a flap. My stomach turned at the sight of it. I pressed my cheek to Christian’s temple. The cutting tool whirred as Viktor held back the skin and worked alongside him.

A bone snapped.

Then another.

After what seemed like an eternity, I announced, “Five minutes is up.”

Shepherd administered another injection and returned to his work. “That’s it. See it?” He set down something a hell of a lot larger than a splinter on the tray. It was a good three inches long. “Viktor, hand me the tweezers. It’s a mess in here.”

I blocked out the gruesome display in my line of vision. I saw no flutter beneath Christian’s eyelids to indicate he was out of the woods yet. “It’s gonna be over soon. I’m here, and I’m not going anywhere. You can do this. I don’t know anyone else who could do this but you.” My palms were sweating, and I kept my fingers on his neck so I could feel his pulse. It skipped beats while they continued working.

I thought about humming a song but didn’t want to create future trauma if he heard that song playing. I wanted to tell one of our stories but didn’t want to associate them with pain. So I kept my lips against his temple, talking up how badass of a Vampire he was. Talking about how much I loved him.

“That’s three.” Shepherd placed another splinter on the metal tray.

Christian’s eyes fluttered. I shot up, the stool rolling back.

“Shepherd,” I said, uncertain if it was a reflex.

“What is it?”

I stared at Christian’s handsome face, the feeding tube taped to his cheek. When his lips moved, I reached out and gripped Shepherd’s arm. “Look.”

Christian’s eyes fluttered again as he moved his lips. “Fffuck,” he croaked.

“That’s it.” Shepherd threw down his tools and picked up pieces of bone from the tray. “Hold these in place,” he instructed Viktor. Shepherd swiftly grabbed a large plastic syringe, connected it to the feeding tube, and carefully poured my blood into the syringe from a container I’d filled up earlier. Then he attached the plunger to the syringe and slowly pushed. I watched my blood shoot through the tube and up Christian’s nose. “Is it sealing?” he asked Viktor.

“Da. It is working.”

“Make sure the bone is straight. His body will do the rest. Here”—he handed me another syringe of blood he’d attached—“give him another one. Nice and slow.”

I nervously took the large syringe and repeated the process while Shepherd closed up his chest. I watched as his skin sealed together, and that was when I noticed the blood on the table, on the floor, and on Shepherd’s apron. Surgeons probably gave patients something to clot blood during surgery, so I looked up at Shepherd in a panic.

He shook his head. There was little he could do to replenish what was lost since we didn’t keep bags of blood lying around.

Christian clutched his chest, his head swaying left and right.

Shepherd lifted his eyelids. “Hey, buddy. Take it easy for a minute. You’re on drugs.”

Christian reached out and gripped the rotary tool, crushing it in his hand.

“Move back,” Viktor warned us. “He is not himself. He will hurt someone.”

Shepherd backed up and dragged the cart that had all the other tools with him.

When Christian reached up for the tube coming from his nose, I clutched his hand. “Leave it. That’s my blood.”

His fangs punched out, and he looked around with glazed eyes.

“Leave us alone for a minute,” I said, watching them head to the door. “And Shepherd? Thank you. I owe you a favor. You too, Viktor.” I shoved the bright lamp arm away and walked to the side of the table so Christian could see me.

His eyes were hooded as he kept trying to look down. He finally pulled the long tube out of his nose.

“Does anything still hurt?” I asked.

He gripped his chest and made the most awful grunting sound.

Worried he might be healing too slowly internally, I bit into my wrist and placed it over his mouth. As soon as the drops flowed past his lips, he clutched my arm and fed. Christian growled like a hungry beast dining on his first meal after a long period of starvation. I glanced down at the tattoo of the raven on his upper arm, shoulder, and chest. The tips of the feathers were red, dipped in blood.

“I’m sorry I left you,” I said, racked with guilt. “The Mage pretended to be the target. I didn’t realize he was leading me away until it was too late.”

Christian jolted upright, a wild look in his eyes. His head swayed as he looked drunkenly at me. His gaze fixed on my neck, his Vampire nature at the helm. Teeth stained red, eyes black, and not a trace of the real Christian Poe within sight.

I pulled my hair back. “Take what you need.”

Christian swung his legs over the edge and pulled me between them. Without any of the usual tenderness, he sank his teeth into my neck, and I realized what it might feel like to be his prey.

Maybe I was. Maybe he was so out of his mind that he would drain me.

When his grip tightened, I groaned from the pressure where his arm snaked around my back.

Christian instantly let go and leaned back. Recognition flickered in his eyes before he looked down at his hands. After a moment, he attempted to stand. “Do I still have the tail?”

I caught him when he passed out. He was too heavy, and we both went crashing to the floor, knocking over a tray in the process.

Shepherd rushed in. “You okay?”

Stroking Christian’s cheek, I said, “We’re fine. But I never want to do that again.”

“You and me both, honey. You and me both.”

CHAPTER 19

Christian passed out from a mixture of exhaustion, drugs, and my blood. Due to the massive blood loss, we had to give his body time. Everyone except Claude finally returned home, and Blue handed me the bags from Christian’s car that we’d bought at the convenience store.

Even though it was late, I knocked loudly on my father’s door.

That door swung open so fast that I stepped back.

Crush looked over my blood-soaked sweatshirt, pants, and the rips on my clothes. Not to mention the dried blood on my face and hair.

I handed him the shopping bags. “I got you some clothes.”

“Jesus, girl. Get in here.” He pulled me into the room and tossed the bags on the bed. After lighting up all the lanterns, he set the matches by the fireplace. “What the hell happened? Are you hurt?”

“No.” I walked sluggishly to the desk chair and collapsed. “Where’s Harley?”

“I think he’s with the kid.” Crush sat in front of me on the bed and put his hands on my knees. “What do you need, Cookie? Anything.”

“A stiff drink.” I slumped in the chair, legs stretched out.

“I’ll get a wet towel.”

“No, don’t bother,” I quickly said. “I’m gonna shower in a minute. I just wanted to bring you your stuff.”

He looked at the blood on me and sighed. “Do you ever think about quitting?”

I smiled lazily. “You didn’t raise a quitter.”

He smoothed back his messy grey hair. “No, I guess I didn’t. What’s in the bags?” he asked, opening one up.

“How are you feeling? Is your head hurting? Have you felt nauseated?”

He lifted the sweatshirt with the raccoon head on it that said Rebel’s. “I am now. What the hell is this?” When he pulled out the boxers with the raccoon heads printed on them, he stirred with laughter. As soon as he laid eyes on the raccoon socks, his chuckle turned into a rolling belly laugh.

“Sorry it doesn’t have biker logos on it.”

He set the stuff down and wiped away his tears. “It’s not that. I’ve been wanting to check out that place for a while. The boys’ll be jealous.”

I got up and sat next to him, inspecting the small bandage still taped to his head. “Are you drinking enough water?”

He captured my wrist in his hand. “You need to stop worrying about your old man. You care too much about people. Anyone ever tell you that?”

“The people who bled on my shirt might disagree.”

“I meant about the people you love. Maybe you need to let someone take care of you for a little while. Where’s peckerhead?”

I leaned against Crush’s strong arm. “He almost died tonight. They had to rip open his chest while he was awake to pull wood out of his heart.”

Crush wrapped his arm around me tight and sighed. “I can’t say anything that’ll make it hurt less. Sometimes you see some bad shit in life and it sticks with you. He’s alive?”

I nodded, then pulled away when I remembered something. “Do you feel different around me?” I studied his weathered face, every line more noticeable in the shadows of the candlelit room.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean… Maybe I should leave. I drank the light of a Charmer, and it’s affecting some of the guys.”

His lip curled, and he jerked his head back. “You think I’m attracted to my own flesh and blood?”

“Well, I don’t know how it works. All I know is everyone’s coming on to me.”

“Jesus, girl. I don’t think it works like that.” He gently patted my back. “Why don’t you sleep in here tonight? I’ll take the floor.”

“You’re not sleeping on the floor. I just wanted to check on you.” I looked around, noticing someone had set up another table next to my desk filled with snacks, drinks, and a stack of magazines. “I see you have everything you need to survive for a year. There’s more food in the bag, so take home whatever you don’t eat. I’ll be in Christian’s room tonight. He needs someone to watch over him.” I stood up, the dark light still slithering through me. I’d almost lost the two most important people in my life in a span of twenty-four hours, and as much as I wanted to be alone, they needed me. “If you need anything, I’ll be down the hall to the right. Don’t go downstairs, and don’t ask anyone questions about tonight.”

“Same goes for you, baby girl. If you need anything, I’m right here. I know you can’t talk about it, and I won’t ask questions. We can just have a cup of coffee and play checkers.”

There wasn’t much Crush could do for me except offer support. I squeezed his shoulder before grabbing a few clothes and heading out. When I reached Christian’s room, he was still unconscious. Vampires didn’t sleep, but with all the blood loss, he wasn’t back to normal. I lit a candle in the bathroom and took a quick shower. I didn’t even wait for the water to heat up; I just wanted to scrub all the blood off. After towel-drying my hair, I put on some fresh sweatpants and a shirt and returned to his bedroom.

He was sitting up with his back against the headboard, eyes hooded. “What time is it?”

“Late. Just lie down and rest.”

“I feel… not myself.”

“Shepherd gave you a drug cocktail.” I walked left to the fireplace and sat on the hearth. After putting a log on the grate, I opened the flue and got the kindling going. I couldn’t bring myself to ask him if he had felt anything during surgery. If he heard the saw. If he felt his ribs breaking. If he felt the wood ripping out of his beating heart. Just the idea of it tore me to pieces.

Christian approached and stood beside me. “Did I drink blood, or was that a dream? It’s been so long since I dreamed…”

I sprang to my feet and threw my arms around him, holding him tight. Holding him like I never wanted to let go. My heart shattered, knowing how close I’d come to losing him. Had Shepherd not been able to remove all the wood or had there been pieces buried so deep we’d never find them, Viktor might have suggested ending his suffering. Then I remembered the moment Wyatt had told me Christian’s ghost appeared to him—the moment I thought I’d lost him forever.

“I thought you were dead,” I whispered. “Don’t you ever leave me.”

He held me in his protective embrace. “Did you hold my heart in your hand?”

“That was Shepherd. I would have dropped it.”

He sighed against my hair. “What then? Would you have dipped it in gold? Mounted it on the wall?”

“Don’t make jokes. Not now.”

When he tottered to the side, I held him up to keep him from falling. “Go lie down,” I ordered, offering support as I walked him to the bed. “Are you in any pain?”

“I can’t even feel my knees.” He sat down and then anchored his hands on my hips. “I’m hard, lass.”

“It’s my stupid gift. I killed a Charmer, and now everyone’s horny around me. Well, except for my father. Thank God. That would have been traumatic.” I tucked his legs under the sheets. “You’re still drugged and weak, so I’m not taking advantage of you. Shepherd gave you another dose before we carried you up here.”

“Give Wyatt my thanks.”

“Is that sarcasm?”

He draped his arm over his forehead. “I give him a hard time, to be sure, but he stepped up. No one wanted to pull out the stake. Claude was afraid it might rip out my heart, and Viktor wanted to wait.”

I sat on the edge of the bed. “Were you really outside your body?”

“Aye. But it was empty, and I didn’t care for it one bit. I’d rather feel the pain of life than feel nothing at all. Wyatt was the only one willing to free me. What if I died and I missed the boat? When he pulled it free, it was a strange thing to watch.” Christian rubbed his eyes. “Didn’t hurt until I jumped back in my body.”

I stared at my hands. “I wanted to knock you out all the way. Shepherd said we couldn’t. He said the only way to know if he got every last piece of wood was to see you move, and if you were sedated all the way, he might have to do it all over again. I really didn’t know what you would have wanted.”

Christian put his hand over mine. “Part of it was dreamlike. I suppose that was the drugs. I know there was pain, only now I don’t remember it the same.” He touched his chest. “I think my body remembers it more than my mind.”

“I made a decision, and I don’t know how you’re gonna feel about it. On the car ride home, I begged Shepherd to use his gift to take away your pain during surgery. He said no and explained later that he couldn’t do two things at once. If someone else had been qualified to operate, he might have attempted it but wasn’t sure it would’ve worked. Then I asked him if he could remove the memory of pain, and he did. That was after you passed out on the floor. He can’t remove your memory of the experience, but you won’t remember how it felt. You won’t have any lingering phantom pains. I just couldn’t stomach the thought of you living with that, and when Shepherd took your sensory experience, he said it was a nightmare.” I touched the onyx ring on his finger. “I know it was probably your choice to make…”

“But you were looking out for me.” He kissed my hand and then patted the empty spot to his left. “Sit beside me.”

I walked to the right side of the bed and sat next to him, my arms crossed and legs on top of the sheet.

Christian wearily rubbed his eyes and then stared at me so intensely that I couldn’t meet his gaze. “What vexes you?”

“Why did you stay behind?”

“I wasn’t given a choice. There were no heavenly angels or demons to collect my soul. No matter. I didn’t want to leave. If someone found our bodies, it would have traced back to Viktor. Not to mention I hadn’t finished killing the Mage, and he would’ve escaped. None of you would have been safe. Damnedest thing. I was thinking of Wyatt as clearly as I could, and the next thing I knew, I was standing in his doorway. Is he dead?”

“Li Han or Wyatt?” I gave a mirthless smile when my joke didn’t even amuse me. “He was still alive when they got there. After they finished the job, they stuffed him in the back of the Jeep. That must have been after you jumped back into your body.”

“And you’re certain it was him?”

“They said he had the tattoo.” I dared to look at my partner. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you. I tried apologizing in the medical room.”

He twisted toward me with a sobering look and cupped my cheek in his hand. “We were all fighting for our lives. There’s nothing you did wrong. I didn’t even know it was him at first.”

“That conniving little goon tricked me into thinking it was him. I didn’t realize until it was too late that he was just leading me away from you.”

“Neither of us knew. You couldn’t chance letting him go. I don’t regret what happened. Sometimes before a man dies, he feels the need to get things off his chest. It seems our dearly departed figured out who betrayed him.”

“What does that matter?”

“I wasn’t convinced it did at first.” Christian leaned against his pillow again. “It got me to thinking—if someone was doing this to steal their fortune, that makes us a liability.”

“How do we pose a threat to Mr. X if we don’t even know who he is?”

“Do you think he would chance it? Something could always lead back, or perhaps he fears one of the oligarchs will reveal his identity in hopes of us letting him live. Do you know how much those men are probably worth? Trillions. The Mage didn’t suggest the person is in it for the reward money—it’s their fortune he wants. That’s conspiracy to murder. It’s one thing to turn in a wanted outlaw for the reward or even justice. It’s another to arrange the murder of oligarchs to steal their fortune. That’s scandalous and I’m certain illegal.”

“Can we get in trouble for it?”

Christian scratched his arm. “I suspect not. We hunt outlaws, and we’ve always done it for the reward. Or justice. If the person who hired us conspired to steal their wealth, well, that’s an entirely different matter. That explains the anonymity of our Mr. X.”

I changed positions so I was facing him. “He gave you the name without asking for anything in return?”

“Some men wish to die with honor. I wager he hoped if I knew the person’s identity, I would do something about it.”

“Do you remember the name?”

“Aye, but it means nothing to me. A Ronald Frazier.”

My blood ran cold.

Christian eyed me like a hawk. “Do you know him?”

My mouth opened as I leaned on my memories, making sure I wasn’t mistaken. “I think… I think that’s the guy Lenore’s with.”

Christian’s expression went black. “You’re certain?”

“Yep. It was Ronald Jackson Frazier. Or maybe Jefferson. Something like that. He’s a human.”

“A human?” Christian looked away. “Lenore would never bed a human, not even a rich one. Not unless…”

“She’s using him. Do you think she’s behind this?”

“I’d bet my life on it.”

I fell into my thoughts. “We have to tell Viktor. He can decide if he wants to pursue it or let it go. We don’t have any proof since we killed our witness.” I scooted onto my right side and placed my head on the soft pillow. “Lie down. We’ll figure it out in the morning. I feel sick and just want to hold you.”

He lifted the sheet, allowing me to tuck my legs beneath it. I studied every angle of his body. The V-cut above his boxer briefs, the dusting of hair on his legs, the red streaks on his arm where he’d scratched with his fingers moments ago, his flawless skin, his dark tattoo, the weary look in his beautiful eyes, his whiskers that prickled my face when I nestled against him. I was about to place my hand over his heart but then moved it to my hip instead.

Christian moved my hand back to his heart and held it there so I could feel his pulse thumping against my palm.

“Does this bother you?” I asked.

“My heart has always been in your hands, Precious.”

“Promise you won’t ever die.”

He reached under the collar of my shirt and pulled out my ruby pendant. “I can’t make that promise any more than you can.”

Firelight danced in the shadowy room, the heat much too far away to be enjoyed from the bed. Christian kept me warm.

“I think I could sleep,” he said quietly. “Is that strange? I haven’t slept in two hundred years. I’ve forgotten what it’s like to really sleep—to dream for hours.”

“Then close your eyes.”

“What do you dream about?”

I stroked my thumb against his chest. “Fletcher. Losing my father. Losing you. Running. Chasing. The people I’ve killed. Sometimes I remember voices or a feeling more than images. Anything good is fleeting. I don’t think dreams are ever the same once your life is tangled in violence like ours. Be glad you don’t dream, Christian. That’s where our demons live, where we don’t have control. Waking dreams are the only ones worth having.”

He brushed back my damp hair. “And what do you dream while awake?”

Those were darker than my sleeping ones. They were all the things I wanted to do to the people who’d wronged me and the ones I loved. “Let’s just sleep for a while,” I said, closing my eyes.

So many emotions stirred within me that my insides were numb. All I wanted to do was feel the rise and fall of his chest, to hear his little grunts when he would stretch, to feel his presence. His life. There were no assurances in our world. What if the surgery hadn’t worked? What if disconnecting from his body had severed his connection with the living world?

Shut up, shut up, shut up, I told myself, trying to switch off my brain.

Christian wrapped me in a warm embrace. He had a way of turning down all that noise in my head. “I wore that infernal tail all the way to the netherworld.”

“I’ll give you anything, Poe. Just say the word.”

* * *

After Raven left the room, Crush couldn’t get back to sleep. His head was still hurting from the accident, but he would never let her know that. She had bigger problems on her hands. He wasn’t the father who could protect her anymore, and it bothered him. He hadn’t truly been able to protect her since the day she left home all those years ago. He was proud of the woman she had become, yet he was also afraid. Nobody lived forever, and the thought of losing her while he still walked this earth rattled him. Seeing her covered in all that blood—Jesus. He couldn’t get it out of his head.

“Sorry, Bonnie,” he said to the empty room. “You were right. Always were. I know this isn’t the life you wanted for our baby girl. I wasn’t the best father figure, and I guess sobering up wasn’t enough to put her on the path you wanted.”

Even though it had been many years since Bonnie’s death, he still talked to her in quiet moments. Raven wasn’t a planned pregnancy, but Bonnie had always wanted kids and was excited when she found out. Crush was scared as hell, just not scared enough to change his ways. He used to drink because he’d never learned how to deal with some of the emotional trauma from combat. Even when he learned to cope, it wasn’t easy getting used to living in the free world again. He felt like an outsider, like he belonged somewhere else. Bonnie was his anchor, and he loved her fiercely. And when Raven came into the picture, he felt that love all over again with a perfect little stranger. He tried to be there, but Bonnie was distancing herself from Crush’s Breed friends. She wanted a normal life for her daughter, and a normal life scared the hell out of him. He sometimes wondered if her last moments on earth were disappointment and fear that if Raven made it out alive, she’d have to live with an alcoholic.

Crush got up from the bed and ran his hand down the raccoon sweatshirt Raven had bought him. It made him feel a little warmer, and hell, he’d wear anything that girl bought for him. That was how she showed her love. Buying him food, fixing his trailer when she didn’t think he’d notice. And he sure as hell noticed things like dripping faucets that were magically repaired and the small hole in the laundry-room wall suddenly patched. They were cut from the same cloth, and maybe that was part of his worry. Now that she was immortal, she had to think about a long future and providing for herself. There was no amount of inheritance Crush could pass down to her that would make a lick of difference in her situation. Even still, he’d been saving his money after she had squared away his debts. All he wanted in the world was to do right by her and to make sure she was taken care of long after he was gone. That was why he worked long hours and took on extra repairs—to sock away whatever he could for her nest egg.

Restless and unable to sleep, he put on his raccoon socks and shuffled into the hallway. Hopefully Harley was minding his manners with the kid and not pissing all over the place. Crush needed to stretch his legs and walk off some of his anxiety. He honored Raven’s wishes for him to remain isolated upstairs, understanding the secrecy their job required.

Some of the lanterns in the hall were lit. Not many—just enough to keep his ass from tripping. As he passed each door, he wondered which one belonged to Christian.

He grimaced at the thought of Christian having surgery while awake. As much as he despised that Vampire’s attitude and Breed, Raven clung to him, and sometimes a person needed a life preserver when the seas got rough. That didn’t mean Crush was okay with it. Despite what Christian had done for her in the past, Crush barely knew the guy. He’d learned one valuable lesson when it came to love: you can be good to her, but it doesn’t mean you’re good for her. Vampires were known charmers, memory scrubbers, and could easily shatter bones by accident. Raven was Crush’s whole heart, and that left him torn. And yet she must love this man to have accepted his proposal.

Crush followed the sound of music coming from a room up ahead. The halls were a labyrinth. The arched ceilings and old windows made him feel like he was in a medieval castle. He missed his home and his stuff. A man got used to small spaces pretty easily, and he had everything he needed: a garage for his bike and tools, a big property, a nice porch he could stand on, and his TV.

And that was what made time drag around here: no television. He couldn’t even see out the bedroom window since Shepherd had taped plastic over the damn thing. While he appreciated them going out of their way, the blankets on the bed were more than enough to keep him warm. Hell, he was warmer in Raven’s bed than he was in his own. She had a fireplace, blankets, and thick walls.

When he reached the source of the music, he stared at the wooden door and knocked, curious who was playing “Send Her My Love” by Journey.

Wyatt answered, and Crush gave him a quick scan. His T-shirt was half tucked into his sweatpants and had video game images on it.

Crush noticed the joint pinched between his fingers. “You wouldn’t happen to have a cigar in here, would you?”

“You scared the ghost out of me.” Wyatt leaned forward and squinted. “You’re not supposed to be out.”

Crush folded his arms. “I’m all out of fucks to give. Besides, I’m allowed to walk anywhere as long as I stay up here. Is that the kind of music you like?”

Wyatt shrugged. “It takes me back.” He glanced down at Crush’s outfit and chuckled. “What’s going on, Mr. Rocky Raccoon?”

“Rebel.”

Wyatt’s eyes widened with glee. “Did you go to that place? I’ve been wanting to go ever since they opened. I heard the popcorn they sell is out of sight.” He took a short puff from his joint, but the tip had quickly burned out.

“You wouldn’t happen to have something I can watch TV on? I’m going out of my mind.”

Wyatt cocked his fingers like a gun and made a clicking sound with his tongue. “Gotcha. Hold your ponies while I get something.”

The door slammed, and Crush scratched underneath the bandage on his head. Maybe he needed to take his health seriously if he wanted to stick around long enough to make sure Raven was okay. Bonnie would raise hell if she knew he wasn’t at least trying to live longer. But what the hell did she expect him to do? Become a vegetarian?

The door swung open, and Wyatt appeared wearing a long black robe over his clothes. He had the lit marijuana in one hand and a lighter in the other. “Follow me. I used up all my good rolling paper. This one burns too fast and sometimes goes out.”

Crush followed the Gravewalker down the dark hall. Usually the guy had on one of those beanie hats, and now he could see why. His brown hair was wavy and stuck out all over the place like it didn’t know how to behave. Kind of like him. “Hell of a place you people have here. Creepy as shit.”

“Tell me about it. You should have seen it when there were specters in every hall. I couldn’t even turn a corner without one of them surprising me with their dangling eyeball or nasty threats.”

“I thought you dealt with dead people every day?”

“I bet you deal with assholes every day, but it doesn’t mean you want to spend your time around them.” Wyatt held in his breath after sucking in the smoke. “It’s not my job; just my gift. I’m the technical guru around here. Do you think I want to spend all day summoning the dead and dealing with their drama? I’m all booked up on crazy.”

“Never thought about it like that. Can you call any spirit?”

Wyatt howled with laughter and then patted Crush on the back. “You watch too many movies. I see them; sometimes they find me. But I can’t just throw down a Ouija board and dial a number. Once the spirit moves on, they’re gone for good. If they stay behind, sometimes they’ll hang out at the cemetery. Not usually. Only the creeps live there—the freshies who are still in denial. They think if someone digs up their body, they can jump back in it.” He turned in to an open entryway that didn’t have a door. “Here we are.”

Crush watched Wyatt light every candle in the room with the lighter. There were curtainless windows up ahead and two pool tables. Bookshelves lined the corner wall on the left where there were several reading chairs, a brown sectional, and a small table.

“We got several rooms we hang out in,” Wyatt said. “I usually keep an extra tablet around here. Check the cushions on the couch.”

While Wyatt continued lighting up the room, Crush ambled over to the sitting area on the left and stuck his fingers between the brown cushions. He lifted the pillows, and on the connecting couch, he found a black tablet. “Got it.”

Wyatt took out a cord and something else from his pocket and connected it to the tablet. Then he set it on the other pool table.

“What’s that?” Crush asked.

“My handy-dandy portable charger. I recently got these so people would quit charging up their phones in my office when I’m working. Needless to say, it hasn’t stopped them.” Wyatt puffed on his marijuana. “How about a friendly game?” Without waiting for an answer, he racked the balls. “Do you want a beer? There’s a cooler under the bar, and the hard stuff’s on the lower shelf.”

“I don’t drink.”

“That’s right. What about smoke?”

“A cigar, if you got one.”

Wyatt took another drag. “Shepherd might. All I’ve got is a little grass.”

Crush walked up to the table and looked up at the low-hanging candle chandelier. “You guys have something against electricity?”

“Ask the boss. He thinks it’s a distraction that separates us. He’s from the Old World,” Wyatt said, using air quotes. “You know how seniors are. Always talking about the good old days when people sat around watching yeast rise.” He took the quarter off the table. “Heads or tails?”

“Tails.”

The coin sailed in the air and landed in Wyatt’s palm. When he flipped it over on top of his other hand, he groaned. “Your break.”

Crush grabbed a stick off the rack and chalked it up. “I guess it makes sense. You’d have one hell of an electric bill if you had to light up this house.”

Wyatt grabbed a tall chair from the bar and dragged it over near the table. His eyes were glazed, and he had a real mellow personality. “We have a few rooms wired up, but they’re mostly on the second floor. Except for a few down below. You really can’t get bored around here. We play games, watch TV, throw knives—”

“Do drugs.”

Wyatt snorted. “That’s just me. I need something to take the edge off, and I’m a walking hexagon.”

Crush leaned over and lined up his shot. The white ball cracked against the others, sending them in every direction. He sank two. “Solids,” he said, walking around the table.

“We also have a gym and rock-climbing room. Rollergirl was asking about a bowling alley or skating rink. A bowling alley would be out of sight. I can only play so much pool, and it’s no fun playing darts with Niko.”

“Why’s that?”

Wyatt licked his finger and then pinched out his joint. “Clearly you’ve never played with the biggest hustler in the game of darts. Don’t ever make a bet against him. I’ve seen Niko land three darts in the same spot. I’ve figured out how he can see their locations on the board. He listens to the crowd reaction and looks at the energy left behind on the dart.”

“I thought he was blind?”

“He can see energy. Anyhow, he’s one crafty Mage.”

Crush missed the fourth shot and walked to Wyatt’s chair. He watched the Gravewalker study the ball positions before leaning in and lining up his shot. “Is that all the ink you’ve got?” he asked, noticing Lost Soul on Wyatt’s knuckles.

Wyatt sank a striped ball. “I’ve got one more, but I’m not telling you where,” he said with a wink.

“Wouldn’t happen to be the same one Raven’s got on her hip of a bird with a backward K on the head, would it?”

Wyatt gave him a peevish look.

“Raven doesn’t have any other tats, so that’s not something that goes unnoticed. She’s not the kind of girl who would get a butterfly or a heart. Tattoos mean something in our family. My guess is you all bonded with that tattoo. I get it. It’s a brotherhood thing.”

Wyatt aimed and then sank the cue ball in a scratch. “It’s a secret.”

“Say no more.” They traded places, and Crush got the cue ball out of the pocket. “Do you normally sit up in your room playing sad music?” he asked, chalking the end of his stick. “That’s the kind of shit a man does when he’s pining over a woman.”

Wyatt eased into his chair, his gaze fixed on the table. “My love destroys people. I bet Raven’s thinking the same about herself after watching her boyfriend get sliced open. Some of us aren’t meant to have all the regular things everyone else has. Maybe it has to do with our past life, and we’re supposed to learn something else here. All nine of my sisters are dead. They were older. Three went from natural causes, and two had grave injuries from accidents.”

“And the other four?”

Wyatt batted his stick between his hands. “Conducting Gravewalker business used to be a dangerous job. It still is. You deal with a lot of shady folks and pissed-off spirits. Once people get what they need, they don’t want witnesses. Sometimes they find out a spook is relaying sensitive information to a Gravewalker to blackmail them. There are a ton of different scenarios. Usually the easiest solution is to kill the middleman. No one lives forever. Not really. And all that falling-in-love business?” Wyatt rolled his eyes. “It’s just ten times worse when you lose them. Sometimes when I’m down, I go to my room, smooth out all the edges, listen to my tunes, and remember exactly what happened the last time I got the notion to live a normal life,” he said, using air quotes. “She suffered in life and in death, and all I could do was watch until I couldn’t watch anymore.”

Crush approached the table. “Let me tell you a little something about love. Maybe I haven’t been around as long as you, but I’ve lived a full life. We all want love. It’s in our nature to need someone who’s there for us. I get where you’re coming from, because I was destructive. I lost the only woman I’ll ever love, and that’s a fact. But I got Raven, and I got friends who I never thought would stick around this long. Love comes in different forms. Don’t get fixated on the one that everyone’s chasing, or you’ll never see what you’ve already got. Look around. You think the chuckleheads you work with are just temporary? You marked your skin to show unity, and you’re willing to lay down your life for the other. That’s love. It’s a different kind of love. You can’t pick and choose what fate deals you.” He leaned in and took the shot, sinking the ball. “Once you figure all that shit out, you won’t need the drugs anymore.”

“Maybe I just like the way they make me feel.”

Crush sank another ball. “I said the same thing. Then I almost lost my kid because of it. Some people can drink just fine without it becoming a problem. I convinced myself I wasn’t doing it to bury the pain, but that was a fucking lie.” He missed the next ball and stepped back as Wyatt circled the table. “You do whatever you want. I’m not your father. Just don’t ever put my daughter’s life in danger because of your habit, or I’ll hunt you down and feed you to my dog.”

“I’m not hurting anyone.”

“Keep that shit in your bedroom. Don’t go driving around stoned.” Crush glanced at the liquor table. “You ever see Raven drinking too much?”

Wyatt missed and sent three balls in different directions. “We hunt and kill people for a living, Columbo. If I’m a hexagon, your daughter is a dodecagon.” He grinned proudly. “I’ve been wanting to use that word for a while. Learned it in a crossword puzzle a few months ago.”

“Good for you.” Crush leaned against the table. “Just keep an eye on her. Hell, you got a kid living here now. Do you think he just belongs to Shepherd? He’s your responsibility too. Whether you like it or not, you’re gonna be a part of his memories—part of the man he becomes. Your life is more than a memory.” Crush knocked in the eight ball.

Wyatt reached in his robe pocket and tossed an unsmoked joint on the table. “Fine. I quit. For tonight. Tell me—if you’re so full of wisdom, how is it Raven turned out like that?” he asked, angling his stick toward the door.

Crush walked to the next table and lifted the tablet. “You mean strong? Capable? Independent? Fierce? Smart? Loyal? I don’t know. I guess I did something right.”

“Touché. One more game?”

Crush patted the tablet against his leg and gave it some thought. “If it’ll keep you from blasting sad AM radio, why not?”

CHAPTER 20

I gulped down a glass of orange juice and then set it on the end table by the sofa in the gathering room. Kira had made a delicious breakfast that included an egg casserole, a large bowl of fruit, and fresh bread. She seemed livelier this morning, and I caught her smiling when Shepherd told everyone a story about a camping trip he went on as a boy. Because Claude was out most of the night, disposing of the bodies and cleaning the van, he slept in.

After everyone finished eating, Christian asked Viktor for a moment alone. Viktor spoke quietly to Kira in that strange language they shared. After she made a large plate of food and carried it out, Viktor explained she was taking it up to my father. Niko and Gem headed down to the gym, and everyone else cleared out. Viktor and I waited in the gathering room for Christian, who was talking to Switch in the hall.

From my seat on the couch, I listened to the wind whistling outside. The gathering room had a mammoth fireplace, one the previous tenants must have also used for cooking. The windows along the same wall were all north facing, but the courtyard buffered some of that frigid wind. Viktor stood with his back to the fire. His double-breasted knit jacket must not have been warm enough. He rarely lit a fire this early in the day.

“The snow’s really coming down,” I said, watching it accumulate on the bottom of the windowpanes. “It’s too bad I’m not a Thermal. That would be nice right about now.”

Viktor chuckled and returned to his chair on my left. “Niko was fortunate. That would be a useful gift where I came from.”

Christian moved swiftly into the room and sat in the chair to Viktor’s left. “I’ll keep an ear out if anyone’s coming. I asked Raven to be here since I confided in her last night. But you need to hear this. The Mage, Li Han, he gave me a name of who he believes is behind this.”

“What name?” Viktor asked.

Christian stroked his beard. “He said only one man knew their whereabouts, and this fella is in it for their money. I don’t know how anyone would be able to steal their fortunes, only that this is likely the person who hired us. I suggested maybe Borislav was behind it, but he said they didn’t know each other’s whereabouts. Only our Mr. X did, and Li Han gave me the name Ronald Frazier.”

Viktor immediately stood and paced toward the floor-to-ceiling bookshelf on the right wall. He stared at the books for a long time, his arms folded.

“Do you think we should finish what we started?” I asked. “Knowing that the person behind it is using us to commit a crime for their benefit? Granted, it’s a crime against an outlaw, but where does that leave us if someone finds out? Are they gonna think we conspired with this person?”

“There is bigger concern,” Viktor said, crossing the room and stopping in the middle. “Ronald will wonder if, in the end, one of these three men gave up his name. I am not afraid of a human, but he is consorting with Lenore Parrish, and she is a powerful woman.”

“Do you think she knows?” Christian asked, staring at the floor.

Viktor ran his hand through his silver hair. “I would be a fool to assume she does not. I did not understand their match at first. Lenore is a very particular woman who cares about her reputation and who is a good match. There is no human powerful enough that she would associate with them. Lenore does not care about money; she cares about reputation and power.”

I noticed Viktor was no longer calling her Miss Parrish anymore. Sometimes it was the little things that gave away a person’s stance. It was also nice to see that he recognized her motives. Caring about one’s reputation and holding power weren’t nefarious traits, though it explained a lot about this whole setup.

Viktor sighed. “I felt something was amiss at the hotel. I did nothing to be shunned by her.” He clenched his fists and paced. “Where was Lenore’s jewelry in our collection? How did she regain her life? She never returned to the mansion, and yet somehow her curse was broken.”

Christian and I remained silent. Telling him the truth would mean admitting we scrubbed his memories of a few small things, and that would be unforgivable in his eyes. With everything going on at the time, neither of us had considered that little detail about her necklace. Obviously nothing got past Viktor. That proved you could remove a man’s memories but not his intuition.

Viktor approached the roaring fire and put his hands on the mantel. “What is it she is conspiring?”

“Perhaps to steal Ronald’s fortune once he acquires it all,” Christian suggested. “If they were to legally marry under human laws, she would inherit that money upon his death, and humans die so quickly. She might also be charming him to do her bidding. It’s one thing to be rich; it’s something else to amass the lifetime fortune of three powerful ancients. Who better to steal from than criminals?”

“Money can buy power if you have enough of it,” I said. “She could pay off officials to pass certain laws or remove ones we have in place. Or maybe hire someone to take them out so she can fill those seats with people she trusts, people who are more loyal to her than the law. She’ll probably dabble in philanthropy and charities to give her more credibility. It would be harder for people to believe that someone who does charitable work could be involved in criminal activity. She might even make slander punishable by death so no one will speak out against her.”

“We have one problem.” Christian crossed his legs. “We can’t prove any of it.”

Viktor returned to his seat. “I will have Wyatt find everything he can on this Mr. Frazier. What he does, where he comes from, and what work he has done for Breed. He must be important man if the oligarchs trust him. Lenore said he was banker.”

“Most of us don’t use human banks,” Christian pointed out.

“Da. Perhaps he made a compelling offer. These oligarchs are of the Old World, and it is not easy to acclimate to change. Perhaps he persuaded them to invest. Or perhaps he suggested they combine their wealth. What he told them is of little consequence. I cannot imagine a human alone would know where and how to find these men. They are here for a reason, and we must recover it.”

“Uncover,” I said, instantly hating myself for pulling a Gem and correcting him. “What about the third oligarch? What if Mr. X—or Ronald—contacts us with his location? Do we finish the job?”

“Nyet.” He unfastened a button on his sweater jacket. “If there is a plan to eliminate us when we complete job, I do not want to hasten this. In order to catch big fish, you sometimes need another fish. As much as it troubles me to allow Borislav to keep swimming, we have obligation to protect the integrity of the laws. Not to speak of our own integrity. We did not know we were aiding in a crime. Now that we have more information, we cannot turn a blind eye. There is no crime in capturing or murdering Borislav as he is wanted man. But if that capture financially benefits another, and that money is not distributed the legal way, that is problem.”

Despite his calm demeanor, Viktor was clearly upset. Aside from his broken English, he was speaking about Lenore in a way I’d never heard before.

Christian stroked the whiskers on his upper neck. “I wager he never wanted a piece of the reward. That was a ruse.”

“He might take it to throw us off,” I said. “Otherwise it might look obvious that he’s up to something, and he wouldn’t want us feeling uneasy about the transaction right off the bat.”

“I can track him down and charm him,” Christian offered.

I tucked my cold fingers beneath my legs. “Can the higher authority even punish a human? Sparrow committed his crimes as a Mage, before I stole his immortality, so that was different. But Ronald’s protected by our laws, not subjected to them.”

“He is in a grey area,” Viktor agreed. “That is what makes this scheme so clever.”

I remained quiet, allowing Viktor to work it out in his head. Once again, Lenore had someone else doing her dirty work. And we couldn’t prove her involvement without charming Ronald. We weren’t supposed to use our gifts on humans. “Can we find out if he’s really a trusted human? I know Lenore said he was, but is there a book somewhere that has all their names? Maybe that would change things.”

“I do not know that it would matter,” Viktor replied. “They cannot lock away a human in a Breed jail even if he is trusted.”

“Aye. Perhaps they can erase his memories.” Christian rested his elbow on the chair and tucked his fist beneath his chin.

Viktor sighed. “If we expose them, we expose our team in the slaying of the powerful three. If we turn in Mr. Frazier, we will have to confess to the crimes. Even if we are not punished, this is not an acceptable plan.”

“Technically we’ve only killed two,” I pointed out, my thoughts all over the place. “Who is the bigger threat? A man who’s been living in hiding for hundreds of years, or a higher authority member who’s acting as a puppeteer, murdering for money? I can’t imagine that would make anyone feel safe at night knowing someone in power is picking off people to steal their fortune.”

“We still do not know the facts,” Viktor said. “There may be someone else involved, or perhaps Ronald is the mastermind.”

I got up and squeezed next to Christian in his chair. When joining Keystone, I never imagined the continual effort needed to protect our organization. The old me wanted to kick in Lenore’s door and toss her off the balcony, but we had to be careful. It still wasn’t clear if Viktor was ready to go after the woman he’d been recently involved with.

“I’ve known Lenore a long time,” Christian said, his gaze distant. “She’s a crafty woman, but she’s also paranoid. She doesn’t like loose ends, and that’s what we are and will always be in her eyes.”

Viktor drummed his fingers on the armrest of his chair. “Perhaps I will arrange to see her once more. She may be tempted to flaunt this man around me, and Christian can follow as my guard. You have my permission to charm him. Get as much information as you can but quickly. Then carefully erase his memory of your interaction. If Lenore is charming him to make sure he is loyal, I would not want anything suspicious left behind. I will speak to Wyatt. He is my computer genius, so I have to entrust him with information. Tell no one until I have decided. I still want to think more on this new information.”

“I don’t like that idea.” I shook my head, realizing how quickly our plan could unravel. “First of all, her condo isn’t soundproof. They’d have to leave the premises. To do what? Have a drink in the bar and leave you two alone? She wouldn’t go for that. She knows Christian would never voluntarily ask to hang out with Ronald. And if you’re left alone with her and there’s a confrontation, we won’t be there to jump in and help, and you won’t be able to escape since she has a guard who’s a Mage.”

Christian put his arm around me. “Raven’s right. Perhaps invite them to lunch. Somewhere public. I can discreetly follow and get a gander at what car he drives. Then later, I’ll find his car in the garage of the high-rise and wait for him to come out.”

“How many years might that take?” I asked. “You forget one thing: Lenore has a driver. They might take one of her cars to the restaurant, and then what? We’ve wasted time, and we can’t keep scheduling more dates with her. Do we need proof he’s involved? Li Han confessed, and I doubt a man facing his death would throw an innocent person under the bus. Ronald Frazier offered us a job to murder, not capture, three very rich men. What we don’t know is Lenore’s involvement. Let’s just confront them and see what happens. She won’t be expecting that.”

Viktor sat back. “If we are wrong, we have committed slander.”

I leaned forward. “It’s only slander if someone else knows about it. We’re not making the accusation public. Accusing someone privately without any witnesses doesn’t count. And Ronald especially doesn’t count. That little goon is neck-deep in this.”

Viktor nodded. “That is an interesting approach. If she is innocent, she will not want this scandal on her doorstep and will agree to any request we make, including keeping the matter private. Lying with a criminal would imply guilt, so despite if she is upset, she would not make this public.”

Christian stood up and gave me the rest of the chair. “And if she’s guilty? You know what it would mean to turn her in, Viktor. That will crack this scandal wide open, and we’ll have every crazed fanatic showing up on our doorstep because we killed someone they worshipped. You need to be ready for what must be done.” Christian folded his arms, staring down at our leader. “The only way to find out the truth is to charm her. I can do it, but it won’t be easy. Lenore won’t have someone poking around in her head. She’s stronger than I am, so we’ll have to restrain her with impalement wood first. Once I charm her to comply, we can remove the stake. She won’t take kindly to us after that, regardless of her guilt or innocence.”

Viktor tipped his head to the side. “If Lenore played a part, I will be left with little choice but to erase her memories. A full memory wipe is best.”

Christian jerked his head back. “And you wouldn’t see her dead? There’s always a chance the wipe will fade over time and she’ll regain fragments of her memories. She’ll go mad, to be sure, especially if one of her many friends finds her. We can fly her to a remote part of the world, but it’s only a matter of time before she meets someone she knows. She’s immortal, Viktor. I can’t erase the fact she’s a Vampire. If this were anyone else, what would you do?”

Viktor launched out of his chair. “And if one day someone charms me and discovers I plotted the murder of a higher authority member? How will I recover my reputation? The courts would execute me and the person who carried out the murder. Ronald will be long gone by then, and we will have no proof other than our word. That will not be enough. I cannot justify murdering someone who is not a declared outlaw, especially if the courts would never execute them for these crimes. There is no guarantee they would. What right do I have? It is a selfish choice to protect ourselves. That is not who we are.”

“Then let’s not plan her murder just yet,” I said. “Staking her seems pretty chancy if things go wrong. Maybe we should just focus on Ronald. A human is easier to subdue. We need to come up with a solid plan.” I cursed under my breath, hating that Lenore might skate out of this one. “If Ronald really is going after their money, what do we do about it? Maybe that’s why she got him involved in the first place since it would be difficult for Breed to get their hands on anything tied up in the human world.”

Viktor gazed up at the stained glass window of wolves on the far wall. “I like Raven’s idea of inviting them here. We will have more control. But I do not wish to startle her with a confrontation until after Christian has looked inside Ronald’s mind. We must plan a way to lure him away from Lenore without her growing suspicious. If he implicates her, we will stake her and decide how to handle. As for the money, we will cross that bridge when we get to it.”

* * *

Blue wanted nothing more than to let her falcon fly for a few hours. Because of the unpredictable nature of this job, she had to stay ready. The last remaining oligarch was a Vampire, so she likely wouldn’t be needed for this one unless Viktor wanted a scout. After an impromptu team meeting that afternoon, all plans changed.

Viktor had called everyone into a soundproof room. His worry lines seemed deeper as he disclosed shocking details to the team regarding the possibility that Ronald and Lenore were using them to commit a crime. He hadn’t planned on telling the whole team at first. After considerable thought, Viktor decided it would put them in grave danger if they weren’t made aware.

Truth be told, Blue wasn’t surprised to hear that Lenore might be conspiring to steal money. Something about that woman had always rubbed her the wrong way, but it could have easily been the fact that she was a Vampire. Or maybe it was Viktor wooing a Vampire. Where had Lenore gone when she left the hotel? Blue felt protective of Viktor, and seeing him rejected like that left her with hateful thoughts for that woman. Just thinking about it gave her a headache.

Blue had never trusted Vampires for the obvious reasons: they were notorious secret stealers, memory erasers, and manipulators. Though Christian and Raven had proved themselves valuable assets to the team, she still had reservations. That just seemed like too much power for any one Breed.

Viktor ordered them not to discuss the information with anyone outside the house and to be careful where Kira and Switch were concerned. Viktor was still contemplating how to handle Lenore if it proved true, especially considering they couldn’t turn her in like they normally would with criminals. Ronald could easily get a memory wipe, but Lenore? Blue wondered if Viktor might take extreme measures to bury their secret, and that bothered her. Viktor was a man of integrity, and a devious plan like that would change her opinion of him.

Blue entered the kitchen for a glass of milk. After gulping it down, she rinsed the glass and put it away. The dirty plate in the sink irritated her. Wyatt loved a late-night snack and would often come down for fries, onion rings, mozzarella sticks, nachos—basically any hot snack that wasn’t real food. The least he could do was rinse his plate.

When she turned out the light and entered the dining area, she noticed glowing embers in the gathering room. Usually they put out the fire when leaving a room to prevent an accident, so she grabbed a box of baking soda and went to smother it.

Blue approached the hearth and moved the screen aside.

“You can let it burn,” Viktor said.

Startled, she turned around. “Sorry. I thought you went to sleep.”

Viktor was sitting in his chair, his profile revealing a contemplative look. Though his head was reclined, his eyes weren’t closed. He must have so much on his mind and no one he could talk to.

After setting the baking soda off to the side, she stole the chair next to his that faced the multiple archways. Blue had many questions, yet only one seemed to matter. “You hardly ate anything at dinner tonight. Can I bring you something? A plate of cheese with fruit—maybe a glass of wine?”

He looked away and pinched the bridge of his nose. “You are too good to me.”

Blue leaned in. “Is there anything I can do for you? Are you okay?”

“Only you ask me this.”

“I’m not the only one who cares.”

“Spasibo.”

She let the silence stretch too long. “Can I ask why you loved a Vampire?”

Viktor sighed. “I did not love. I trusted. I confided in.”

“I just… I always thought you’d want a wolf as a mate. Someone you could start a family with someday.”

Viktor stroked his silver beard, his features so distinguished and handsome. “I love children, but I do not want them. Few women would understand this.”

He was right. Shifters had strong primal urges to procreate.

“There might be a woman out there who’s too old to have them or who doesn’t want them herself.”

“Perhaps. Common interest alone does not make a match.” He pinched his chin, still not looking at her. “My family is gone. All of them. I am the last of my line. There is selfish part of me that would only want a child to carry on the family name, but what kind of life is this for a child? They will have no pack. No brothers and sisters. No aunts and uncles. No Packmaster. That is the heart and soul of a wolf. Even if I left Keystone, I have made far too many enemies. Far too many.”

Blue didn’t see an empty glass by his chair. Normally Viktor only revealed details about his past after a few glasses of vodka or wine. Tonight he was sober.

“I understand,” she said, her only desire being to figure him out, not to change him. “Losing a child is unfathomable. You can live a fulfilled life, but there’s no greater loss. I watched both my sons die in front of me. I will never mate again.”

“And your tribe? Do you not feel a desire to return?”

Blue shook her head adamantly. “I once chose a life to please others and make peace, and all it brought was bloodshed. I hold too much contempt for my father. My tribe—they were good people. Both the one I was born in and the one I mated to. Loving people. Kind. Family oriented. But there was too much bad blood between leaders that drove a wedge between the tribes. Fate locked me between two headstrong men who couldn’t put aside their differences. Sometimes I wonder…”

Viktor sat forward and leaned in, his attention solely on her.

“Sometimes I wonder if it’s possible for a man to cherish life as much as a woman who’s given it. Losing a child to violence rips a hole in your being. You were the first person who came along and gave me a purpose—who showed me how I could live a life of servitude by helping the innocent.” Blue turned her head away, concealing a surge of unexpected emotions that she didn’t want Viktor to see. “You never make selfish choices, and you always put others first. I would follow you to the ends of the earth.”

Viktor got up, and for a moment she thought she had shared too much. When he knelt in front of her and took her hands in his, she felt kindness in his touch. Viktor understood her loss and her choices. Even Matteo—the Chitah who’d shown up to Keystone to court her—couldn’t relate. While he had lost family, he still wanted that life. For Blue, that was a door closed.

Viktor bowed his head, pressing his forehead to her hand. “A mother should never see such things.”

Tears streamed down her cheeks.

She sniffed and blinked away the tears caught in her lashes. “They suffered needlessly, but they have a greater destiny to fulfill. The fates would never take children unless they were called to something better. Regardless, I will never forgive the men who put their pride first. They shamed their ancestors and betrayed their family.”

Viktor looked up and brushed his thumb across her cheek, wiping away the tears. “That loss makes it easier to do this job. Family complicates matters. I often wonder how long Shepherd will stay with us. For now the boy is protected. But he has been in danger more than once.” Viktor sighed. “Would you ever leave Keystone to start over?”

“No.” Blue shook her head slowly, feeling the truth of it. “I have a different path to walk. I’m not the same woman anymore, and I never will be. Matteo offered me a second chance at family. I refused.”

Viktor’s eyebrows popped up in surprise.

Blue hadn’t revealed all the details about what had happened between her and Matteo. “I guess you thought he gave up on me or decided it wasn’t a good match. No, I was the one who sent him away. He wanted a mate and children. Interbreeding doesn’t always produce kids, so I’m sure he would have adopted some. He thought I could erase his pain and fill that hole in his life. He simply didn’t understand my choice.”

Viktor patted her hand. “Not many will. Perhaps now you understand why a Vampire was not such a strange choice. They cannot have children, and most do not cling to the frivolous notion of love. It was companionship and a strong match of equals.”

Blue tipped her head to the side. “She was never your equal.”

Confiding in Viktor meant the world. Blue respected him as a mentor and a shining example of what she might one day become. Seeing his pain didn’t make him weak; it validated her own.

“Some of us are meant for greater things,” he said. “There are people who will never understand the choices we make.”

“I don’t want to be a replacement for someone’s lost dreams. I’m severely scarred, so my options are limited. I know I could still find a mate, but let’s be real: the Keystone life expectancy is shorter than most. You’ve given me opportunities, Viktor. Even more, you inspire me. I was afraid that when Lenore came along, you might leave us to make a new life.” Blue put her hand over his. “I know you have big dreams, and I want to be a part of those dreams.”

In the firelight, Viktor kept his eyes trained on hers. They were steel grey, seasoned with centuries of hardship, loss, laughter, and courage. Those eyes could envisage a better world, and they saw the best in people—the best in her. Even in a time when she once thought she had nothing to give. Blue had so much admiration for him. Viktor had changed her mind, proving that not all leaders were selfish. That it was possible to lead with integrity, honor, and compassion.

“Do you ever wonder about what might have happened if you’d never formed Keystone?” she asked.

“Nyet. Without Keystone, I would not have my Blue.” His gaze fell to her hand. “Perhaps in another life, we would be more. I am just an old man.”

When he started to pull back, she held his hand tight. “You’re not old. It sounds like we both want the same things in life. I love what I have here. I love what I have with you.”

He smiled handsomely. “This gives me such happiness.” Viktor regarded her for a moment, looking as if he was toiling over something. “You understand I would never take advantage of my position.”

“That’s what I respect about you.”

Blue had finally come to terms with her feelings for Viktor. She loved him deeply, but not in a way that left her longing for him. Perhaps there were different kinds of love a person could feel for another that had nothing to do with being a mate. Nothing about their relationship was unfulfilling. In fact, it was the most fulfilling relationship she had ever experienced. They desired the same things, shared the same dreams, and respected each other’s boundaries. They had forged a bond from the remnants of a similar past, and they asked no more from the other than what that person was willing to give. Perhaps one day she could stand at his side as an equal, partnered in the same endeavor. He might want to retire and hand over the business, and she could see herself rising to the challenge. If he wanted to shutter Keystone’s doors, she would eagerly serve as his bodyguard.

There would be no greater honor.

Love is more than sharing a bed or a kiss; it’s giving someone your whole life. And maybe in the next life, the fates would look kindly on them.

Viktor cupped the back of her neck and pulled her forward. He pressed his cheek to hers, holding her that way for a lifetime. “I guard every memory of you. I have never met anyone with such courage, and I am honored you have chosen this life. I will endeavor to live up to your expectations.”

His words made her falcon soar. Blue had finally found a man she could always respect. An honest man. A good man. One who had collected a group of unwanted outcasts with no future and saw their potential to change this world. Viktor not only gave them hope but a clean slate. He brought out the best in them and made them invaluable.

“What would I do without my Blue?”

She closed her eyes and smiled against his warm cheek. “Starve. Now let me get you something to eat.”

He held her that way for just a moment longer. They were two ships on a dark sea who had found each other, no longer looking for the lighthouse. Just riding the storm together.

CHAPTER 21

I folded my arms over my knees while Christian and I sat on the stairs. The sun streamed through the high windows, adding warmth to the mansion. “What do you think of Viktor telling the whole team about Lenore’s possible involvement?”

He peered through the stone balustrades, down to the first floor before answering. “I don’t think he had a choice, but it proves one thing: he’s done with Lenore Parrish.”

“It also shows how much he trusts us.”

Christian leaned against the balustrades and stretched one leg out. “I think it’s his backup plan.”

“What do you mean?”

“Supposing he confronts her, Lenore might assume that Viktor would keep it to himself—that he wouldn’t even tell his own team. She knows how careful he is about sensitive information. We’re on a need-to-know basis, and it gets especially tricky with slander. He wouldn’t want to shape our opinion of an official without hard evidence. And that would make it easier for her to make a problem disappear. I think he’s preparing for the unknown. Should something happen to him or us, he wants others to know the truth so he won’t die in vain.”

“If he’s doing this because he thinks Lenore might charm us and then sink him in the river, he can think again. Since they’re coming over here, it’ll catch her off guard. She’ll be too busy flaunting her beau and sipping tea; I don’t think she’ll see it coming. It’s daytime, so we won’t have to worry about her shadow walking her way out of this.”

“Aye, but don’t get overly confident. Remember, she’s a Vampire. She can hear the tick of your heart. Best you calm yourself down before she arrives. And don’t go acting all hospitable. The woman knows you despise her, so treat her as you normally would if Viktor had invited them over and forced you to serve.”

I pulled my hair back and twisted it around to one side. “Once you get Ronald out of the room and confirm if Li Han was telling the truth, how do you plan on staking her?”

Christian scratched his beard. “Viktor should seat her with her back to the door. If Ronald implicates her in the crime, Viktor wants to confront her.”

“If Ronald says she’s not involved, does that mean she’s manipulating his mind?”

“That’s tricky to prove without charming her. Viktor wants to hear what she says about it since it’s unlikely she’ll do anything impulsive and violent. That’s not her style. It would open up an investigation she doesn’t want, so she’s more likely to either deny it or strike a bargain with him. If Ronald confirms her involvement, my plan is to stake her immediately and charm her into submission. After that, I don’t know what Viktor will decide. Providing she doesn’t escape.”

“She can’t outrun me in the daytime.”

“Let’s be smart about this and just do what Viktor asks. Right now he wants Ronald.” Christian nudged my arm. “What troubles you?”

“Fletcher. I don’t want him in the house. What if she brings him?”

“Then he stays outside. I’ll mention this to Viktor. He’ll agree since a bodyguard is the last thing we want following us around. This isn’t a place of residence—it’s an organization. We conduct business here twenty-four hours a day, and Lenore knows we can’t have anyone wandering around inside.”

“Yes, but what if she wants him to stand in the room with us?”

“If that be the case, don’t play into her hands. Just do what Viktor asks and nothing more. Besides, she’s here on a social call.” Christian squinted up at a bright window. “I can’t imagine she’ll insist on bringing that dunderhead inside if he might embarrass her. I also don’t think she’ll want to give Viktor the impression she doesn’t trust him. In her mind, she thinks she needs to have everyone in her pocket.”

I bit the inside of my cheek. Just the thought of Fletcher being anywhere on our property—inside or out—was distracting.

Christian patted my knee. “We can only plan one step ahead on this one. If Ronald doesn’t escort me down to the wine cellar, we’ll have to find another way to separate them that won’t raise suspicion. Let’s stick to the initial plan. Don’t get inside your head too much.”

“Who, me?”

Christian put his arm around me and gave me a playful squeeze. “Aye, lass. Don’t forget that Lenore’s a more powerful Vampire than I am. Even with my blood, it won’t be enough if she has a notion to crush your windpipe.”

I looked over my shoulder. “I just hope my father stays upstairs. If he hears any kind of commotion— Well, you know how he is.”

“A stubborn mule?”

“Protective. And then there’s Switch.”

“I don’t think they’ll hear anything from the third floor. Viktor’s speaking with him now. Kira shouldn’t be a problem; she does whatever Viktor commands. Gem and Claude will be keeping them distracted so everything seems copasetic. Speak of the devil,” he murmured.

Switch hiked up the stairs after Hunter, who giggled as he flew up the steps behind us.

“Slow down,” Switch called out. “Wait for me right there.” He finally chose a spot a few steps down and anchored one foot on a higher step. “Hey.”

I could tell by that one word that he knew something was up. “Hey, Switch. Do you mind keeping an eye on my dad for a little while? He’s probably bored out of his mind, and I want to make sure he doesn’t sneak down, looking for something to do. He’s supposed to be taking it easy.”

“Sure thing.” Switch scratched his chest over his T-shirt, which advertised a local Shifter brewery. For whatever reason, wolves had a noticeable presence when they entered a room. It was a different vibe, not unlike a large predator walking by. His long hair was tied back in a low ponytail, so I could really see the way he was eyeing us. “Could I have a minute with my girl?”

Christian rose to his feet. “You call her that one more time, and I’ll shave your skull.”

“Give it your best shot. But I can’t promise my wolf won’t piss on your tires.”

Christian jogged down the stairs. “Don’t try me, Shifter. I’ll have you sucking your thumb, thinking you’re just a babe in his mother’s womb.”

“Nice to see you two getting along,” I said.

“That’s how all men talk to each other.” Switch sat next to me. “The more I get to know him, the more I realize he’s just like your old man. No wonder Crush can’t stand him.”

“I’ll never understand men.”

Switch chuckled and straightened his legs to rest his feet on the lower steps. “Men, I understand. It’s the female species that confounds me. I just hope you know what you’re doing with a Vampire.”

“You’re forgetting I’m half. Besides, I don’t think anyone really knows what they’re doing in a relationship.”

“True. If he loves you half as much as your dad loves you, that’s good enough for me. Just be sure you always know your worth.”

“I do.” I patted his shoulder playfully. “Thanks, Switcharoo. Always looking out for others. Maybe you should have been a pack therapist.”

He brushed his fingers around his tightly groomed beard. The whiskers encircled his mouth but didn’t go up his jaw. “They usually have Relics who specialize in Shifter dynamics do that kind of work. Less of a conflict of interest.”

“You could do a lot of things. Some of us have limited options. So take your own advice and remember your worth.” I smiled, really enjoying having him around. When not teaching Shepherd’s kid, he sometimes kept me company. I didn’t have to worry about him dying on the job. And Switch was a really grounded individual who, despite his appearance, was an intellectual. “What did Viktor tell you?”

“To stay upstairs.”

“Do as he says,” I said, rising to my feet. “Now isn’t the time to let your wolf out. Don’t say anything to Crush. Just keep him busy until you’re given the all clear. He knows he’s not supposed to come down anyhow, but…”

“Don’t worry, Raven. I know you have important work to do. Just remember, you know where to find me.” He looked up at me with his soft brown eyes. “I’m not just a hot piece of ass. I know how to fight when it matters.”

I snorted. Claude and Gem appeared on the landing below. As soon as they noticed Switch, their pensive look vanished.

“I’m dying to play a game of pool!” Gem exclaimed, and that woman didn’t like playing games. Especially with the guys, who always took things too seriously and never let her win. “Switch is on my team!” She grabbed his hand and pulled him up. “Claude, run over to Wyatt’s World and get drinks and snacks. I’ll find Crush, and we’ll meet you in the game room. Kira doesn’t have to speak English to learn billiards. I think it’ll be fun to include her since Viktor gave her the day off and she’s always working so hard.” Gem’s dulcet tones always made it difficult to say no.

Claude chuckled and turned back. “Anything else, female? Perhaps some ice to chill your juice?”

Switch hiked up the steps and gestured for Hunter to follow. “You don’t want to pair up—men against women?”

Gem made it to the top of the stairs first and turned, hands on her hips. “Alas, my billiard skills are not spectacular, so this will make it a fair game. Just don’t let Claude beat us.”

* * *

Shortly before our guests arrived, I fed from Christian just to be on the safe side. It wasn’t enough blood to outmuscle Lenore, but it would give me a better chance of survival if things went south.

When Christian announced that they were at the gate, I took a shot of tequila to calm my nerves. Viktor didn’t want to make her suspicious by having too many racing heartbeats on the first floor, which was why he’d sent everyone else upstairs. My job was to serve cheese, fruit, and appetizers. That gave me a plausible reason for staying close by.

“It’s good of you to invite us,” Lenore said from the hall as they filed into the dining room. “I heard about what happened here. I thought this place would be in shambles.”

That woman was so full of shit. I entered the room and set a cheese platter on the table before returning to the kitchen.

“Apologies. My servant has the day off. Raven will serve us,” Viktor explained.

While plopping giant grape clusters into a crystal dish, I heard Lenore say, “Oh dear. I hope she wasn’t demoted.”

“Nonsense,” Viktor replied. “Long before Kira, my people rotated duties. Ronald, it is good to finally meet you. Our last introduction was rushed.”

“Quite a house you’ve got here,” Ronald boomed. “I didn’t know places like this existed anymore.”

The cantaloupe wasn’t in season, so it was hard to chop. I took my time, listening to the conversation while sounding busy.

“My apologies,” Viktor said. “I forget your last name.”

“Ronald Frazier.”

“Ah, yes. There was much going on that evening. Do forgive me, Mr. Frazier.”

“You can call me Ronald.”

“I was lucky I could talk him into coming,” Lenore said. “Ronald travels because of his job.”

“She’s quite a persuasive woman,” Ronald added, a smile in his voice.

“I appreciate your time,” Viktor said in earnest. “It means a great deal to have you in my home.”

I couldn’t help but notice Viktor was careful with his words, avoiding a lie so he wouldn’t raise any suspicion. I strutted into the room. Viktor had seated Lenore at the head of the table where Hunter usually sat, so her back was to the entrance. Viktor and Ronald faced each other with Viktor seated in my direction. Lenore’s beau seemed distracted by the architecture. His gaze wandered to the chandelier above the table, the open archways that divided the two rooms, and the stained glass windows that filtered in colored light.

I set the fruit on the table next to the cheese.

“Spasibo,” Viktor said, barely acknowledging my presence. “That is an elegant automobile you have, Ronald.”

“Well, thank you, Vik. You don’t mind if I call you Vik, do you? I don’t mean to sound braggadocian, but I’ve got better ones at home. She gets me where I need to go.”

Lenore had a smug look as if she loved seeing me serve. So I gave her an icy stare before heading back into the kitchen. After all, that was the exact reaction I would have given if we weren’t planning to ambush them. While they carried on with introductions, I sliced the baguette Kira had made earlier. Viktor wanted me to make bruschetta, of all things. I told him I wasn’t going to prepare anything that involved the oven or else I’d be more worried about burning food than standing guard.

“What is it you do?” Ronald asked. “Lenore told me you might not want to discuss the details, so I understand. Whatever line of work you’re in, this is quite an estate.”

“I run an organization that works to maintain law and order,” he said matter-of-factly.

Well, that was one way to put it.

Ronald coughed and then cleared his throat. “Pardon me. Got a seed stuck in my throat. Anyhow, if you ever want to talk finances, that’s my area of expertise. We should set up a meeting sometime. I, uh… I know all about Breed. I guess there’s no clearer way to put it except that I’m a trusted human. I do a lot of business with wealthy men such as yourself. Seeing as you’re a close friend of Lenore’s, I’d be willing to take you on as a private client. You’ll get a better rate than what your banker offers, and I’m available twenty-four hours a day.”

“That is very generous of you,” Viktor said. “I am not familiar with your name. Have you always done business here?”

I kept slicing the bread, trying to be quiet so I could hear every word.

“Not until recently,” Ronald replied. “I have real estate here, but I conduct most of my business in New York City. That’s where my biggest clients are. I’m spending more time here these days, so I’ve got a lot of people knocking on my door. I’ll be running out of spaces soon. No pressure,” he added with a chuckle.

“Don’t let Ronald’s enthusiasm intimidate you,” Lenore said. “He hearkens to his clients and understands their unique needs.”

“Sweetheart, you don’t need to sell me,” Ronald said, making me wish I could see the expression on Lenore’s face. “I don’t want to give Viktor the impression that I break confidentiality. My clients have absolute privacy. Lenore is patient and puts up with all my emergency calls and business trips. Until we get a soundproof room, we can’t have any—”

“Darling,” Lenore interrupted. “Let’s not bore the man with our personal affairs.”

I finished slicing the last piece and then arranged the bread in one of Kira’s breadbaskets.

“I would very much like to hear more about your job,” Viktor put out there.

We all would, I thought as I carried the bread into the room and set it down.

“Spasibo.”

Ronald twisted around to look at me. He was wearing a nice suit and smelled like cologne. It usually wasn’t until I was around a human that I realized how… other they were. I was used to the lower energy levels, but there was just something infinitely different about the look in their eyes and their mannerisms. And yet strangely, it wasn’t that long ago since I myself was human.

“Isn’t this your guard?” he asked.

Lenore’s lips twitched. She had some of her blond hair twisted around her head like a crown with the rest of it loose. A tendril hung alongside her face, and she played with it while watching me. She’d once mentioned Christian liked braided hair, and he denied having any preference. It made me wonder if she had worn it that way back when Christian was her loyal sidekick.

Perhaps to better aid him in suckling her bony neck.

She tugged on the tips of her elbow-length silk gloves, slowly pulling them off. “Raven is a jack-of-all-trades.”

Lenore had pulled out all the stops in looking her best to see Viktor. The white pearls around her neck were a nice touch. She also had on a dress, though I could barely focus since I was trying to avoid giving her the attention she craved.

“Viktor, I forgot to bring up the wine,” I said, glancing at the empty table to my left where we normally stocked alcohol. Light filtered through the window above it, but the sun was too high to cast beams through the west-facing window. “Do you want me to bring out some orange juice instead?”

Viktor shook his head. “Nyet. Christian?” he called out.

Christian appeared a moment later. “Aye.”

Viktor wiped his mouth with a napkin, a small plate of fruit in front of him. “This is Mr. Ronald Frazier, a very important guest of mine. Mr. Frazier, this is one of my trusted people. Christian, please escort Mr. Frazier down to my private cellar. Today is a special occasion. Give him unfettered access.”

Ronald looked highly flattered. His eyebrows popped up, and he grinned with delight. “How big is your collection?”

Christian cleared his throat and dipped his chin. “Are you certain about no restrictions? Perhaps not your most prized collection.”

Ronald stood and kicked back his chair. “Well, now I have to see this. What’s your oldest bottle?”

“Wine does not last indefinitely,” Viktor informed him. “I do have some spirits distilled by Breed five hundred years ago. Their technique was unparalleled, and perhaps there is a little magic in those bottles to explain why it only gets better with each century.”

I returned to the kitchen and sighed as if unimpressed, which I was. Nothing bored me quicker than hearing people ramble on about aged wine. Not all of it aged well. Viktor had cracked open some horrible bottles a time or two, all in the name of nostalgia. I hummed quietly, hoping Lenore might block me out entirely.

“Da. We will enjoy whatever he chooses. I do not have guests very often. If you don’t mind, I would like to also speak to Miss Parrish privately for a moment.”

“Sure thing,” Ronald said. “You two catch up.”

Lenore chuckled softly. “You men and your alcohol. I suppose you’ll be breaking out the cigars later? I should warn you that Ronald loves a good cigar. I’m not fond of the offensive smell and will never understand why breathing smoke is an enjoyable pastime. I do enjoy a little absinthe now and again though.”

I rolled my eyes and took the caviar out of the fridge. After opening a box of crackers, I dumped them into a basket.

“This is not easy for me,” Viktor admitted. “Apologies if I am not myself.”

I took a bag of crushed ice out of the freezer and poured it into a wide bowl. Then I spooned out the caviar into a smaller crystal bowl and set it on top of the ice.

“Don’t you dare apologize,” she said. “I was pleased to receive an invitation. That’s very big of you, all things considered. I think it’s better that we address this sooner than later so we don’t have any awkwardness between us. We’re both adults.”

I found wooden serving spoons, but we hadn’t rehearsed this, so I honestly didn’t know where to put them. On a tray? In the ice? On a napkin? In the fish eggs? Up her nose? I shoved them into the bowl of caviar just as Shepherd started up a chainsaw in the courtyard.

“My apologies about the noise. I will go tell him to stop.”

“Nonsense, it’s fine,” Lenore assured him.

“There is a branch in the courtyard that is close to falling. He should not take long.”

Which was true. Shepherd was using this opportunity to create a little random noise. Not only would it make things seem normal around here, but it would be difficult for her to focus on listening to other noises in the house since the sawing was sporadic and not continual.

“You were a great loss to me,” Viktor said.

I entered the room with the caviar and crackers.

Lenore tilted her head to the side and gave me a look of annoyance, which Viktor quickly picked up on. Clearly she wanted Viktor to finish his speech.

As I set the caviar and crackers down, he said, “Raven, will you step out for a few minutes?”

This wasn’t planned. Perhaps there was something he wanted to get off his chest about their breakup, and that was understandable. Viktor was entitled to closure. Now that he no longer trusted her, he wouldn’t fall prey to her charming abilities, and that was reassuring.

“No problem.” I dusted off my hands and exited the room.

“This is quite a spread,” I heard her say.

“What I wanted to say to you was…”

As I entered the foyer, their conversation fell out of earshot. I glanced at one of the halls that led to the middle of the house, wondering what was happening between Ronald and Christian. The wine cellar tactic was a good plan on Viktor’s part since there were plenty of bottles down there to choose from and Lenore wouldn’t grow suspicious over his absence.

I moseyed to the window and looked at our circular driveway. Fletcher was leaning against Ronald’s black Mercedes, black shades over his eyes. His sinister smile made me want to tie him to the bumper and drive around town. Despite his promotion from coroner, he still looked like a vagabond in a nice jacket. His wiry beard was long and sloppily trimmed, and the lines in his forehead deepened when he raised his eyebrows and blew me a kiss.

I turned away and pressed my back to the wall. When my energy spiraled as it often did when I got upset, I leveled it down.

Keep your cool.

I hustled back to the dining room since I didn’t want to leave Viktor alone with that woman for another second. Not wanting to barge in on Viktor if he was in the middle of a private exchange, I cleared my throat to signal my return.

Lenore was busy spooning caviar directly into her gullet.

I lingered in the kitchen entryway. “Is there anything you want me to bring out before I serve lunch?”

“Nyet. We will first have drinks and enjoy this generous spread before our meal.”

The only meal being served today was revenge on a platter.

Lenore swallowed her bite. “Ronald is the one who brought an appetite. This will be enough for me, thank you.” As I turned, she said, “Raven, darling, can you be a dear and fetch me a napkin?”

I walked into the kitchen and mumbled, “Only if I can tie it into a noose.”

“Did you say something?” she called out.

“Would you like some chocolate mousse?”

Lenore knew I hated her, so I couldn’t be too nice or she’d suspect something was afoot.

Just as I walked back into the room, Christian entered with a stake in his hand.

“Here’s your napkin,” I said, tossing it on the table.

Lenore gave a mirthless smile. A split second later, she shot to her feet and twisted around.

Viktor moved to the left side of the table, putting distance between himself and an unpredictable Vampire.

“What is this? Where’s Ronald?” Lenore looked between us all. She narrowed her eyes at Christian. “Did you really think I wouldn’t notice you returning alone? One set of footfalls, and they belonged to you. I also heard your heart racing, and that’s so unlike you.” She flicked her eyes down to the impalement wood in his hand. “I demand to know what this is about. You realize attacking a higher authority member is a treasonous act?”

Christian glanced at Viktor. “Ronald confessed.” He glared at Lenore with a look of self-righteousness that he had earned. “Or should I call him… Mr. X?”

Scarlet bled into Lenore’s cheeks.

Christian grinned. “Ah, there she is. The Lenore I remember—the one easily spooked at the thought of someone plotting against her. It seems your insipid beau wasn’t working alone. Did you know he actually believes he can steal money from wealthy oligarchs, have them murdered, and get away with it? Now where in the world do you think he got an idea like that?” Christian was truly enjoying himself with his animated and dramatic speech. “Ah! So it turns out he believes the idea was his even though he had never heard of these men before. I don’t think it’s a far stretch to suggest that you helped him arrange this master plan. I am curious about one thing—how do you know the oligarchs? You can’t exactly look them up in the phone book. Is it safe to say you shared a bed with one of them long ago in your quest for power, and now that you have it, concocted a scheme to reclaim your dignity?”

Lenore stole a glance at Viktor. “I don’t know what he’s talking about. You’d better get your underling in check before you face the courts for being an accessory. This is slander.”

I rested my hands on the back of a chair. “It’s only slander if other people hear about it, and right now it’s just us.”

Viktor kept his distance and avoided eye contact.

We all did.

Christian kept a firm hold on that stake. “At first I thought you were conspiring with Borislav and using the human to eliminate the two remaining oligarchs. But that would go against your principles. Lenore Parrish doesn’t want a man to lead her. Why get rid of two when she can do away with all three? Now have a seat, and we’ll ask a few more questions.”

“I’ll do no such thing.” Her eyes stayed fixed on the impalement wood.

“Do you have something to hide?” Christian stood like a statue to block the hall entrance. “If you’re innocent, wouldn’t you want to clear your name from a scandalous act such as this?”

“There is no need to play games,” Viktor informed her. “If Ronald has given up your name under a Vampire’s charm, then there is no disputing that. I only wish to understand your side of the story. We have evidence that will trace back to you.” He let the threat hang in the air. “More than you realize.”

Lenore looked like she was mentally scrambling to figure out what mistakes she’d made.

“There’s something else you should know, Viktor.” Christian’s sobering tone had me wondering if there actually was more or if he was just using his dramatics to scare her into confessing. “They planned to do away with us after we completed the job. Not just you. The whole team—including the wee one.”

Just the idea that she wanted to hurt Shepherd’s kid made me want to scoop out her heart with the caviar spoon.

“That would ensure no one could trace them to the oligarch’s money or disappearances,” he continued. “Hiring us was the only way they could keep the money. Ronald couldn’t steal it out from under them, not without risking his life. When he found out they were wanted, he suggested turning them in. Apparently the reward money wasn’t enough for Lenore.”

She barely moved, her sunny floral dress a stark contrast to her black mood. “Do you think anyone will believe the ramblings of a mortal? Viktor, you know me. You know this isn’t true. I can’t imagine what in the world led you to believe I am behind this, but the accusation is absurd. I would never risk my position. Now put down that stake, Christian. I’m warning you. I’ll make sure you’re the first they execute. This is unacceptable.” She had the nerve to turn a sharp gaze to Viktor. “And you of all people I expected more from. Here I thought you had become a bigger man by inviting us over after you failed me as a partner.”

“Enough!” Viktor roared, slamming his fists on the table. The sound was like a punch to the gut. “No one is above the law. You have crossed a line of integrity that is undeserving of the position you hold. You would use us in secret to murder the most wanted men in history to steal their fortunes? You know any recovered money would go toward their victims. That is the way. Would that money be enough to shield you?”

She tipped her head to the side and studied him. “You’re a man who built an organization that profits off the capture and murder of criminals. How much do you need to stop this nonsense?”

Viktor squared his shoulders. “You may be able to buy your allies, but you cannot buy me.”

Christian seized the moment and lunged. Lenore knocked him away so hard that she lost her balance and fell onto the table. I reached out and grabbed a fistful of her hair. She jerked her head back, leaving strands hanging between my fingers. When my fangs punched out, she flipped the table, and it knocked me against the wall. Ice and fruit went everywhere—caviar sticking to my shirt, the floor covered in hors d’oeuvres.

I hopped to my feet and saw Christian and Lenore in a clinch. She held his wrist, the impalement wood inches from her chest.

“You can’t win,” she hissed before shoving him through the air.

Christian slammed into one of the archways. The brick crumbled before he hit the floor. I jumped over the table and dove at the ground, seizing the stake.

Lenore kicked me, and it was the hardest I’d ever been kicked. Had Christian’s blood not been in me, I was certain she would have pulverized my organs.

I clutched my stomach, coughing on the floor next to the fallen table. When Viktor stalked toward her, panic set in.

“My wolf can tear you apart,” he growled. “Is this how you want to end it? If I shift, I will not be able to stop until you are dead. Submit.”

Christian crawled to his feet, a malevolent look marring his handsome face.

I recoiled at vicious barking and snarling.

Lenore shrieked in agony. Something had its jaws locked on her hand, and that something was Harley.

The bullmastiff violently shook his head, and Lenore shrieked in pain.

She raised her other arm to strike him, but before she could bring down the fatal blow, Christian dove at them and wrapped his arms around the dog, releasing his savage hold and rolling them out of reach.

Lenore, fangs out, made a feral sound as she pivoted into the hall.

Stunned at what I’d just witnessed, I jumped over Christian’s legs and flashed down the hall.

“Not one more step,” she warned, her good hand wrapped tightly around Hunter’s small neck. She had him pressed against her with her fingers gripping his throat.

Hunter’s blue eyes were saucer-wide.

I slowed my pace. “You’re not a killer. I should know because I am. But a Vampire hiding behind a defenseless child? Where the hell is your dignity? That’ll crush your reputation.”

She reached the door and opened it, her wound healing up. “Stay inside. If this door opens, I’ll crush his trachea and snap his neck. If you want to take that chance, you’ll have to live with it, and we’ll see how much of a killer you really are, Raven Black.”

Lenore stepped outside and shut the door.

Knowing she was listening, I ran to the window and watched.

Lenore shouted for Fletcher to drive when she reached the car. My heart raced—I was terrified she would kill Hunter anyway.

Viktor approached the other window.

“She said if we opened the door—”

“I heard,” he replied. “Let her go. We have the human, and there is much information we can get from him. Information that will lead to where the money is.”

“Do you think she’ll flee the country?”

“Doubtful. Not until she knows our intentions,” he said absently, yanking the door open and rushing out.

Seconds before Fletcher and Lenore sped away, Hunter kicked the car door and stalked back to the house. Viktor ran up to him and knelt. I lingered in the doorway while he consoled the boy, who wasn’t crying at all. Instead, his eyebrows slanted down over his blue eyes, and the scowl on his face reminded me a lot of Shepherd. Especially with the smear of Lenore’s blood across his cheek.

The Mercedes kicked up a cloud of dust when it turned at the gate.

“We were so close,” Christian said from behind me.

“Maybe you should have had someone else walk back to the kitchen with you.”

“’Twasn’t thinking that far ahead,” he admitted. “I was certain the chainsaw would be enough to distract her.”

“Maybe we should have used that instead of a stake.” I turned, and a laugh burst out of my mouth. Christian’s shirt was now nothing more than a shredded collar dangling from his neck. Blood smeared his arms and chest, and his entire left pantleg was ripped wide open, exposing his leg up to the thigh.

Behind him, Harley trotted into the room, tail wagging and Christian’s shirt in his mouth.

CHAPTER 22

“You sure you’re okay, little man?” Shepherd squatted in front of the black beanbag chair in Wyatt’s office, where Hunter was watching Toy Story.

Hunter had his knees drawn up, and his short pantlegs revealed dark-pink socks. He leaned to the side, trying to watch his movie. Shepherd finally sat down in the beanbag next to him. With his eyes still on the TV, Hunter reached out and touched Shepherd’s hand. I knew that was more than a comforting gesture—Sensors had a different way of communicating with each other.

After Lenore had made her great escape, Shepherd almost lost his mind when he found out what happened. Everyone upstairs was so preoccupied in the game room that they’d been oblivious to Hunter’s disappearance. He must have either heard something that piqued his interest or followed Harley downstairs. To be honest, I didn’t know that anyone was put in charge of watching the dog.

Viktor had everyone secure all entrances. We worked swiftly to check every window and door in the entire mansion. Ronald was still locked up, and Christian assured us he wasn’t going anywhere. We needed to regroup first before worrying about him.

Niko was sitting on my right, our sectional facing Wyatt’s computer station. We had full view of the room, with the TV and beanbags to the left and the door up ahead on the right. Everyone must have been giving off extra energy, because Niko had his eyes closed. He sometimes shut his eyes or wore sunglasses in busy clubs when it got to be too much.

Claude entered Wyatt’s office and wiped his brow. “Blue and I checked every window on the third floor,” he said, breathing heavily and approaching the vending machine. “Give me a dollar.”

Wyatt continued clicking his mouse while working at his desktop. “I’m not a piggy bank.”

“Then give me your key.”

Wyatt sighed dramatically before reaching in his pocket and tossing Claude the key that opened the vending machine. It didn’t look like a regular key at all.

“Anyone else want something?” Claude asked, reaching for the bottled water.

Gem raised her hand. “Can I have the fruit punch drink?”

“Give Hunter the Sprite,” Shepherd said, holding out his hand.

Blue strutted in. “I could use a plain soda.”

Wyatt spun around in his chair and drummed his fingers on the armrests. “You see what you started, Mr. Nice Guy? The whole reason behind getting that machine was so that you guys would quit stealing all my—”

Blue yanked his slouchy beanie down to his chin. After passing out the drinks, she knelt behind Hunter and mussed his hair. “I heard what you did earlier. That was a real brave thing, kiddo.”

Wyatt got up and closed his machine. “There wasn’t much else the little monkey could do but go with her.”

“I don’t mean that part,” Blue said, rising to her feet. “I meant when he kicked her car.”

Shepherd glared up at Blue. “Don’t encourage him.”

“Too late,” she said, unscrewing the cap on her bottle. “He was smart to know when to pick his battles. He should know that. Sometimes you have to go along with things, and sometimes you don’t. He waited until he was safe, and that’s the most important part. I hope he put a dent in that car.”

Hunter’s profile revealed a smile.

Niko suddenly laughed and then cleared his throat. “Apologies,” he said, looking in Hunter’s direction. He must have noticed Hunter gloating as well.

Shepherd shook his head and twisted open Hunter’s Sprite bottle. He was too big for that particular beanbag chair and looked like a bull squatting on a lily pad.

Claude collapsed next to me. He was too tall for the couch and couldn’t recline his head on the back cushion like the rest of us. Blue enjoyed a long gulp of her drink and then plopped down beside Gem on the adjoining sofa. It was quiet for a minute, only the sound of the animated characters on TV filling the room.

Niko stroked his chin. “Lenore won’t flee—not unless she believes we’ll quietly eliminate her. She stands to lose too much, and if she disappears without a trace, she’ll sully her good name. I think she’s counting on us not going public because if we expose her, she’ll expose us.”

“And if she does split town?” Blue asked.

Niko crossed his feet at the ankles. “Then we won’t have to worry about her corrupting our leaders. Perhaps one day she’ll return after Ronald dies since he’s the only witness who could testify against her. But she’ll never regain her seat here or anywhere else.”

I folded my arms. “How long will that hand stay good in the freezer?”

Wyatt walked his chair toward us. “You need to get that thing out of there before I accidentally put it in the deep fryer.”

“I don’t think we need it anymore,” Shepherd said. “Maybe we should look up how to preserve skin, just in case. I don’t think the whole hand will keep indefinitely.”

Hunter giggled at the TV. Shepherd signaled us to tone down the conversation. We tried to shield Hunter to a degree, but keeping him in the dark was next to impossible. Not long ago, Shepherd decided we couldn’t treat him like the staff. We couldn’t banish him from the room each time work came up or make him eat in a different room.

Gem wrinkled her nose and scooted to the corner. She curled up and hugged a green pillow. “Where did Switch run off to? We were winning at pool.”

Claude chuckled and locked his fingers behind his head. “Is that what you call it?”

“I think he shifted.” Shepherd crawled out of his beanbag and stumbled to his feet. “He knew something was up when we locked all the windows, so be careful you don’t spook him.”

“And watch for wee on the floor,” Christian added from the doorway, now dressed in a T-shirt and jeans. “Have you seen Viktor?”

No one answered.

Christian leaned against the doorjamb. “I’m eager to get back in there and question the little shite.”

“Hey, you got a minute?” I heard my father say.

I got up and approached the door. It wasn’t until I peered into the hall that I realized he wasn’t talking to me.

Crush had his hands in his pockets and looked like a man who had wandered into the women’s lingerie section of the store by accident. “I heard what you did for my boy. I just wanted to let you know I appreciate it.”

Christian flashed me a sideways glance before folding his arms. “Maybe you should feed that fleabag and he wouldn’t go around chewing on people.”

“You saved his life.”

Christian rubbed the back of his neck. “I tripped over him. He got in the way of things.”

Only that wasn’t how it all went down. I had replayed that moment in my head a few times. Christian had used his entire body to shield that dog from a fatal blow when he could have chosen to attack Lenore and take his chances. That was a split-second decision, and usually those decisions came from the heart.

Crush gave him a stony look, the one I’d seen a million times when I told him a lie. “Yeah. Uh-huh. All the same,” he said, clapping Christian’s shoulder. “You get a point in the old man’s book.”

“Does that bring me out of the negative?” Christian quipped.

Crush ambled back to the stairwell. “Not yet.”

I stood next to Christian and said, “He’s not supposed to be down here.”

“You can’t control that man any more than he can control you.”

As soon as Crush reach the end of the hall and turned, we heard a sharp whistle. Harley bounded by, huffing and hacking out a cough before he disappeared out of sight. We listened to the sound of his toenails clicking against the stone floor and my father singing “Born to be Wild.”

“Jaysus wept,” Christian muttered.

I leaned into him. “That was a nice thing you did. I thought you were about to tackle Lenore. That might have been your one big chance of subduing her.”

Christian put his arm around me, and we strolled down the inner hall. Despite the hall’s lack of windows, light had a way of reflecting from distant halls and bouncing off the stone. “Your da would have never forgiven me for not saving his dog, and he’s the only way to your heart. If I have to choose between you and Lenore, I’ll always choose you.”

“I want to be there when you question Ronald.”

“So long as Viktor agrees. Poor Kira. The lass is downstairs mopping my blood off the dining room floor.”

“I guess Harley didn’t appreciate you saving his life?”

Christian grumbled while he reached in his pocket and pulled out a butterscotch. After popping the candy in his mouth, he tucked the wrapper back in his pocket. “I hear Viktor downstairs. Let’s catch him before he runs off.”

When we located Viktor, he was returning from the east wing.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, noticing the way he scratched the back of his head like a confused man.

He pulled up the sleeves of his cotton shirt. “Our secret passageway. You do not think it would be easy to find?”

Christian and I shared a look. We’d wiped Viktor’s memory of Lenore being here, and it dawned on us that Lenore knew all about that passageway because it was how she’d escaped.

“I think it’s worth sealing off for good,” Christian said, his hand on the stone newel. “Secret escapes are an archaic tradition, but if you wish to have one, we can always contract private workers. Perhaps something similar to what Lenore had with the hatch that lifts up. We could route it to a different room or even the courtyard. Connecting a tunnel to the garage seems unnecessary.”

Viktor nodded. “Perhaps another day.”

I took my phone out of my pocket and sent a text message. “I’ll tell Wyatt to make sure the alarm system is activated in the garage. He has something that’s triggered by movement. His cameras have night vision, and don’t ask me how I found that out.” After hitting Send, I put the phone back in my pocket. “So… where’s Ronald?”

As it turned out, Christian hadn’t taken Ronald to the wine cellar after all. Anticipating that Lenore might charm either Viktor or me into revealing Ronald’s location, he led the human to a basement at the back of Keystone that even I wasn’t aware of. I’d seen the door a dozen times, but we had a number of locked doors.

“How did you know this was here?” I asked as he turned the knob.

“I walk these halls at night. I can hear a hollow sound in there that’s the same as the entrance of the gym and climbing room. I’ve never been in here until today,” he added, leading us down the steps.

Viktor walked between us with a lantern in his hand.

Christian glanced back at Viktor. “Sorry I entered without permission. I was afraid if you knew we weren’t going to the wine cellar, Lenore might have noticed your anxiety. I had Blue pick the lock earlier when I started going over the plan in my head.”

“You did a smart thing,” Viktor commended. “Confrontations are unpredictable. I am glad she chose to leave without him.”

I waited on the steps while Christian lifted a metal latch on the door at the base of the stairs. “I think Lenore wanted to get out of Dodge. We took her by surprise, and she was probably afraid the rest of the team would come rushing in when they heard all the noise.”

Viktor raised the lantern when we reached the bottom of the steps, his voice filled with reverence. “I keep these rooms locked for a reason. Keystone is filled with many family heirlooms that are precious to me. So precious. When I took over this property, I kept everything. I simply moved them into storage rooms, and I do not want anyone going through them.” He nodded at Christian. “Open the door.”

When we walked into the underground room, I understood why Viktor had made a short speech. This basement wasn’t massive by any means. A path cut straight through the middle, and on either side were heartbreaking keepsakes. Rocking horses, crates filled with handmade toys and dollies, stacks of knitted blankets and beautiful quilts. Cobwebs covered standing mirrors similar to the ones in our bedrooms, and instead of paintings on the walls, there were wooden plaques. Each one had a name and paw print carved in it. Plaques that I easily imagined might have been hanging on each door, because some of them had multiple names connected by small chains.

Christian led us straight down the middle to the back where we found Ronald. His legs were bound with rope all the way up to his thighs, preventing him from bending his knees. He lay on his side, his swollen hands tied behind his back with cable cord.

“You didn’t knock him in the head, did you?” I asked.

“I gave him a temporary condition,” Christian explained while he untied Ronald’s hands. After propping him to a seated position, he knelt down and looked him in the eyes. “Banana.”

Ronald blinked a few times. Vampires could bury memories or get people to do something where it could only be undone by a key word. It had happened to me once.

But banana?

Ronald looked up at us in confusion before rubbing his discolored hands. “I don’t understand what’s going on.”

Christian stood and sighed. “They never do.” After dragging a chair over, he lifted Ronald as if he weighed nothing and sat him in the seat. Ronald’s legs stuck out comically, forcing Christian to untie them so he didn’t fall off the chair. “I guess it goes without saying that you can’t run from us. I’m a Vampire, that one’s a Mage, and Viktor will rip you to pieces.”

Once his legs were unbound, Ronald grimaced as he rubbed his thighs. His nice pants now had wrinkles all the way down.

Christian found another chair and placed it in front of him.

Viktor set the lantern on the ground before taking a seat across from Ronald. “We have evidence you are conspiring against the most powerful men in recent history, organizing their deaths in order to attain their wealth. Christian has extracted a confession from you, should you not remember, and you have also implicated Lenore Parrish.”

Ronald blanched when he looked at us and must have realized he was out of his depth.

Viktor kept his hands on his lap. “Confess every detail on your own. Should you do this, you’ll receive lenience. Should you resist and we have to charm you for withholding information or lying, you will receive no mercy. Breed laws protect humans. But if you are a trusted human, you are also bound by our laws and subject to the same punishment.”

I wasn’t sure if that was entirely true, but it was enough to put a fright in him.

“You’re not the higher authority, are you?”

Christian and I were facing each other as we flanked him. We both noticed a sinister smile creep up Viktor’s face. This was uncharted territory.

“Nyet. We are not the higher authority. They hire people like us to do the work that they cannot. Do you grasp my meaning?”

Ronald slowly nodded.

“Good. Start from beginning and leave nothing out. I want to know how you came to learn about the oligarchs—if this was before or after you met Lenore—and every detail of what you conspired to do. Christian, you will listen and tell me if he lies.”

Christian gripped Ronald’s wrist and held it, which made Ronald take a deep breath. We could have also called in Claude to sniff out his lies, but it was obvious this guy wasn’t going to play roulette with his life. Mortals had more to lose and cared less about their good name.

“I moved here a few months ago and recently met Lenore. She um… She wanted a financial advisor for an old acquaintance who was in town. She was building up his trust, and in the process of my giving her advice, the two of us got close. You know. Close.” He licked his bottom lip, which was split from whatever struggle he’d put up with Christian earlier. “I sold her one of my condos. Lenore likes her space, and I like my privacy, so I don’t live with her all the time. This friend of hers doesn’t trust anyone. The only way we could meet was by blindfolding me. I don’t remember much about it.”

Christian gave Viktor a look that suggested Lenore must have scrubbed his memory of the drive so he wouldn’t recall the location.

“Who drove?” Viktor asked.

“One of his men picked us up. We only had the one meeting. It was in a basement.” Ronald’s gaze drifted about the room. “There were two guards. Apparently this guy was an ancient with a lot of money. Lenore did all the translating. But I got the feeling he understood me just fine.”

Ronald combed back his hair with his free hand, and I could see why people trusted him. He was handsome, dapper, smelled good, drove an expensive car, and carried himself like a successful man who knew exactly what he was talking about. When he took off his gold watch with his teeth, I noticed it had left deep marks around his wrist from where Christian had bound him with the cord.

He slipped the watch into his pocket. “I don’t know exactly what she said to him, only what he said to me. I promised to bring his wealth into the new world. He couldn’t keep hoarding his possessions in different locations. Some of them actually bury the stuff in the ground. Human governments take over unclaimed land. I convinced him it wasn’t safe anymore to stash things, especially with multiple people who might swindle him or die. Breed financial advisors can only do so much. Since I know the ins and outs of the human world, I can easily manage his money to earn a substantial fortune while shielding his identity.”

I thought about the three men in the picture. “What was the real plan? Because I can’t imagine a bunch of war criminals coming out of hiding to give their money to a human banker.”

“I’m not a banker.” Ronald huffed, trying to get the wrinkles out of his pants.

“He’s hiding something,” Christian said.

Ronald tried in vain to jerk his arm away from Christian’s grasp. “I’m not hiding anything. I was getting to it.”

Christian looked perturbed and let go of Ronald’s wrist. He stepped behind the chair and placed his fingers on Ronald’s neck and his other hand flat over the human’s chest. Then he bent down close to his ear. “Don’t panic. Just breathe. I’ll know if you’re lying. I don’t have to see your pupils to know, human. I can hear every little skip of your heart, every breath you take.”

When Ronald swallowed, his Adam’s apple undulated. He was breathing more heavily as he stared at Viktor. “I explained that I could do for him what no one else could. This dude was scary. You know how some immortals have that dead look in their eyes? That was Borislav.”

“Answer Raven’s question,” Viktor demanded. “Why would these men come out of hiding to give a stranger their fortune?”

Ronald reached up and wiped his sweaty forehead. “We didn’t plan this from the beginning. At least, I didn’t. I got the feeling they were talking business on the side. It felt like she was using me to get him to trust her. Her position with the higher authority made him nervous. So then she tells him that the independent groups like you are a bigger threat than lawmakers because you can’t be bribed. But you can always bribe a politician.”

“During your meeting, she said this?” Viktor asked.

“No, this was later. That’s what she told me when I asked what they talked about on the phone.” He cleared his throat and looked down. “The next thing I know, she wants to take out notable bounty hunters. Borislav has a lot of underground loyalists, so it wouldn’t be hard to galvanize them with an order. Lenore said she’s spent months recommending officials to the higher authority—people she can manipulate and control. Honestly? I don’t care about all this political stuff. Lenore felt she had a firm grip on the higher authority, and it wouldn’t be hard to tip the scales in her favor. This really interested the Russian, and that’s when he agreed to hire me. I was busy acquiring assets, and Lenore was plotting against bounty hunters to keep him happy. I wasn’t kept in the loop. I’m still not sure if this was all part of her original plan or something that snowballed when he wasn’t eager to work with her at first.”

Viktor got up and paced away before standing with his back to Ronald.

“Targeting bounty hunters and people like you was not my idea,” Ronald insisted. “Lenore’s the one who put that thought in his head. She’s power hungry.”

Christian leaned around to look at him. “And you’re not?”

“No. I’m money hungry. There’s a difference.”

Viktor finally returned to his seat. “How did the three come together?”

“After Lenore introduced us and later discussed her agenda, he seemed more interested and agreed to hire me. I guess he wanted to make sure he could trust us, and that’s when he brought his two companions into the fold. He wanted me to do the same for them, so I told him the only way that was possible was to consolidate their assets. I can’t operate multiple accounts; it’s more complicated than you think. It’s kind of like laundering money. Lenore got nervous after that call. She didn’t want the other men in the picture. She was afraid Borislav had bigger plans to take over Cognito and might cut her out.”

Huh. And here I’d thought Lenore was just in it for the money. “What was her objective? Sure, kill some bounty hunters and all that, but what was her endgame?”

Ronald loosened the knot in his tie. “I think all she was hoping for was to infiltrate different leadership groups and have influence. Change laws and all that. Then she started rambling on about how men are always using women to get what they want before casting them aside. If you ask me, I think she was afraid they would stop talking business through her as the translator. She was getting paranoid and told me if Borislav tried to contact me to let her know. Can I have a drink of water?”

Christian bent down. “I can urinate in your mouth if you’d like.”

Ronald’s lips thinned as he cleared his throat again. “When the other two men flew in, all three came to our penthouse for a private meeting. Since it would be the only time we got together, Lenore had that new guard sneak a photo of them out on the street. I don’t like that guy,” he said, trailing off. “During the meeting, you could see a real camaraderie between the men. They had interpreters, and as far as I was concerned, all things were a go. They trusted Borislav, so in turn they trusted me. It took a couple of weeks before they could transport all their hidden assets here.” Ronald wiped his forehead again, Christian’s hands still on his neck and chest. “One night Lenore and I had a long talk about the situation. This was after I moved the physical assets into a safe location. I was still working on the monies, and there were a number of different accounts we had to remediate. Rich guys like them have others hold their money—people who aren’t bankers.”

“What was conversation with Lenore about?” Viktor pressed.

Ronald took a deep breath. “She kept going on about how they were going to cut her out of this. One of them had taken over the plan about going after the bounty hunters or something. She said Borislav was asking her for a separate list, and she was hesitant about giving it to him. Going forward, they were going to need me more than her. Honestly, I didn’t see what the big deal was, but you’ve never seen that woman upset.”

Christian rolled his eyes. “I’ve seen a wild hippo charging, and it’s roughly the same experience.”

Ronald wasn’t amused. “After she really explained who these guys were, I won’t lie—I wanted to back out. She said it was too late; we were in too deep. She kept asking me what we could do, and I kept giving suggestions. None of them were what she wanted to hear. Then I mentioned what would happen if we took them out of the picture now that I had access to their fortunes.” Ronald heaved a sigh. “This was worse than getting mixed up with the mafia. It didn’t seem like it would be hard to pick them off. Then we wouldn’t have to constantly worry about becoming expendable to them. That interested her. She said she knew some people who could do it, and she only trusted you,” he said to Viktor. “You knew these guys, so you wouldn’t be stupid enough to go public or else you’d put your lives and organization in jeopardy. She said you two had a thing and you’d never agree if she was the one who asked. I thought we could give you guys a cut of their money, but I guess that’s not how it works.”

“Nyet. That is not how it works.”

Ronald wiped his forehead again. “She said if you were given the offer anonymously, you’d come to her since you’re her contact with the higher authority. That would allow her to control the situation. She could manipulate the reward so you would only work for her. But guess what? Lenore didn’t have any intention on notifying the higher authority about the deaths. I guess you thought you could work with her, get the reward, and be shielded from anyone knowing the details behind their deaths. That’s the way sensitive cases like this work, right? Well, Lenore was going to bypass all that and pay you out of her own pocket. Otherwise the higher authority would be looking at her to figure out where all their assets are. After that…” Ronald shrugged.

“You were going to have someone take us out,” I finished.

“I guess once the wheels were in motion, Lenore didn’t see why we couldn’t go through with the original plan to take out groups like yours. She really wanted you guys gone. I guess it’s because you’d be the ones doing the work, if you know what I mean. We couldn’t afford to have anyone link us to those men or their money. I know the sites on the dark web where Breed hang out. Didn’t take long to find your tech guy.”

Viktor frowned. “And how did you do that?”

“Lenore knew the main handle your guy operates under, so I set up my account as Mr. X.”

Viktor looked agitated. He would have never told anyone information about Wyatt. Lenore must have charmed it from him. How many other things had she learned about us?

“And how did these men not grow suspicious?” Viktor asked.

Ronald shrugged. “Only Lenore kept in touch with them. Since none of them had ever been here before, I suggested talking up the city. We arranged private tours anywhere they wanted to go. Some of them they turned down, and others they accepted. It allowed us to manipulate their whereabouts without them realizing. Lenore wanted to be careful about where she arranged to have you guys ambush them. One guy just wanted to buy crystal elephants or some such nonsense.”

Viktor scratched the back of his head before smoothing down his silver hair.

“I don’t get it,” Ronald said. “How did you find out about our involvement? We were careful.”

Christian lightly smacked him on the side of the head. “You’re nothing but a gobshite with bad taste in cologne. Did you really think you could outsmart men more powerful than you could ever dream? One of them threw you under the bus before he died, and he didn’t do it to save his life. He did it for revenge. You were the only people they knew, the only ones who knew where they were and had all their money under your control.”

Ronald ground his teeth together. “I wish I had never met that woman.”

I snorted. “Join the club.”

“Are you gonna turn me in?”

“It is scandalous if not criminal to carry out hit orders with a hidden agenda to steal money.” Viktor’s chair creaked when he leaned back. “Turning you in would expose us. There are very bad people who believe in these men and who would seek justice for their slayings. Even we are not so foolish.”

Ronald swallowed hard, his eyes darting around. “So, uh… what’s gonna happen? I mean, I won’t say anything. I swear it. You’ll never see my face again.”

“Do you know what would have happened to their fortune if we had turned them in?” Viktor posed the question, giving Ronald a minute to think. “The higher authority would have charmed them to locate their assets. Though not all of it would be recovered, it is a significant fortune. They stole much from my people. The law would seek out anyone directly affected by their usurping the leaders of that time, and they would pay them punitive damages. They slaughtered many. I fought in that war, and I remember the bloodshed and horrors. All for power. You and Lenore assumed you could steal blood money and live like royalty when so many have suffered. I believe the fates will not allow such a thing, and that is why we are here today. That money can restore many broken lives across the world where the survivors have scattered. It can rebuild towns and help charities. But for you, it was just another home, another car, another expensive trip on a plane.” Viktor shot up and kicked his chair over.

The tension crackled. Even Christian let go of Ronald and backed up a step.

Ronald held up his hands defensively. “I wanted to turn them in and take the reward. I swear it! You can charm me. She’s the one who said it couldn’t be done without them unleashing all their men on us. Lenore was afraid Russia or another country would bid higher on the reward, and that night you came by, she was afraid everything might backfire on her. That’s why she made sure to give you the highest offer, doubling the amount. She didn’t care how much it took.” Ronald wiped his hand over his mouth and looked like a man facing his death. “I don’t even know how I can move it all. I made promises I couldn’t keep. It’s one thing to sell gemstones and convert foreign currency. That was all doable. I didn’t anticipate they’d have so many damn paintings and uncommon objects that’ll take years to move through auction. On top of that, people might question the authenticity or wonder where it came from.”

Viktor bent down and gave him a lethal stare, his hands gripping the chair arms. “And where is everything now?” he growled.

“It’s in-in a safe location,” he stammered. “I split the money into multiple accounts under the same name. Most of it’s offshore.”

“I want the exact location. I want everything. I will have Christian charm you when we are done, and if you lied or left anything out, I will show no mercy.”

Ronald fired off an address, and I got out my phone and typed it in to look at the map location.

“I want the account information too,” Viktor said before straightening. “Everything required to move the money back into Breed hands.”

Ronald furrowed his brow. “So you can steal it? Isn’t that hypocritical?”

Viktor backhanded him, and I jumped with surprise. “You will pay us the reward promised. Five million per head. We have already taken down two, so you owe us ten. I want this to be Lenore’s money. As you are her financial man, I assume that you have access to her account.”

Ronald nodded eagerly. “I can do that.”

I did the mental math and realized if we split it evenly, it would be over a million each.

Viktor picked up his fallen chair and set it aside. “You will give account access to my tech. All the passwords—whatever he requires. From there, I will have him secretly disperse where their money truly belongs.”

Ronald removed his tie and tossed it on the floor. “What about the third guy? I can help you find him. Whatever you need me to do.”

“Nyet. We can no longer trust you. I will not send my people into a trap. There will always be a big fish to catch. Or else we would not have a job.”

Christian picked up the cord he’d used to tie him up.

Ronald flew out of his chair. “I can help with whatever you want. Just don’t kill me. Turn me in.”

“We cannot turn you in,” Viktor informed him. “If you sing for us, you will sing for them. No one must know of our involvement, or it will put my people in danger.”

“What are you gonna do with me? Please, you can’t kill me. I’m not even the one who—”

“Jaysus wept.” Christian raised his arms in a fluster. “Will you put a cork in it? I’ve never heard so much weeping in all my days. If you think death is the worst thing that can happen, you haven’t met thunder and lightning,” he said, balling his hands into fists.

I tried not to laugh. Christian was dead serious, and I’d seen the damage he could do with those fists. But Ronald was harmless, and I could easily take him down with a toilet plunger.

“Tie him up,” Viktor commanded. “Take him to the climbing room. I do not want him in here with my things. Do not touch his mind until Wyatt has gained access to the accounts without any issue. I will give the command when there is no more work to be done. I will work with Wyatt on transferring the oligarchs’ money to the proper channels at a later time.”

Christian twirled the rope. “I think we should give him a few hours hanging upside down to ruminate over his life choices.”

“What about the address?” I held up my phone.

Viktor lifted the lantern and led me to the door while Ronald pleaded with Christian. “I will send Gem and Claude.”

“Make sure you ask Ronald if there’s a key or access code. I doubt they have security since Lenore wouldn’t trust them not to steal it out from beneath her nose. It’s worth asking.” We stopped at the stairwell. “What about Lenore?”

Viktor closed his eyes, and I could see the disappointment and anger bubbling beneath the surface. “I want you to go to her building. Ask the front desk if she is available, but do not go up. See if anything has changed—if there are more guards than usual or if they react a certain way when you request her by name. If she has made her home impenetrable, then I cannot circumvent this without exposing us. We cannot make a very public attack against her.”

“I dunno. I’d love to personally drag her down the elevator, kicking and screaming.”

“She cannot hide in there forever. Bring me what information you can on her situation, and I will send Blue out this evening to circle her apartment windows.”

“What do you plan to do with her?”

He shook his head. “I do not know.”

CHAPTER 23

One thing was clear to me: Viktor had reservations about killing Lenore. She wasn’t a declared outlaw, and technically her crime likely wouldn’t be punishable by death. That was a big grey area. On top of that, Lenore wasn’t some Joe off the street. Her murder would not only open an investigation but also a can of worms.

As I walked up to Lenore’s building, she wasn’t even on my mind. All I could think about was Fletcher. Would she keep him close for protection? Would she set him free?

I entered the sleek lobby, my eyes skimming up to the lofty ceilings as I approached the glossy black reception counter. “Hi. I’m here to see Lenore Parrish.” I rested my arms on the counter and stared at the guard. He had on sunglasses, and while it was bright from all the reflective outdoor light, I wondered if he was shielding his eyes from Vampires. I couldn’t remember if Lenore had mentioned if this was a Breed-owned building. I only knew it was for millionaires.

“Sorry, she’s not accepting visitors.”

“It’s a delivery,” I insisted.

“You can leave it with me.”

I laughed and backed up. “How good is your singing voice? I’m a singing telegram.”

He looked me over and adjusted his glasses. “I’m sorry. I can’t allow it.”

“My boss is gonna be pissed. Say, do you have a bathroom down here I can use real fast before I go? It’s a long ride back.”

He gestured to his right. “Past the elevators.”

“Gracias.”

I did the signature walk everyone does when they aren’t sure if they can make it to the bathroom. When I entered the elevator hall, I walked to the other end and saw the bathrooms to the left along the wall. I also noticed a beautiful open space with a piano and leather seating.

When I heard the elevator door chime, I ran toward it and entered behind a woman flashing a long mink coat. She looked like Audrey Hepburn with her dark sunglasses and red lips. She swiped a card on the reader before pushing a button, and the doors closed.

Audrey lifted her glasses over her head and glared. “Aren’t you going to swipe your card?”

I hadn’t paid much attention during my last visit when Viktor was talking with the front desk, so they must have given him special access as a guest, something security could probably enable with a click of a button at their computer station.

“I’m meeting a friend in the lounge,” I said, leaning against the far wall, hands in my leather coat pockets. “Do you mind?”

Surely the common areas didn’t have access codes.

Her eyelids fluttered as she turned away and pushed a button ten floors higher than hers. When we finally arrived on her floor, she sauntered out and muttered something to herself about talking to management. While I couldn’t go up to Lenore’s floor, maybe she was walking around somewhere. Doubtful, but in any case, it gave me an excuse to get a drink.

When I walked into the lounge, the first thing I noticed was a massive chandelier unlike any I’d ever seen before. It hung over the oval bar, which was in the center of the room. A tightly woven grey carpet blanketed the floor, giving it a cozy and quiet feel. Looking away from a long row of columns, I admired the winding black staircase on my left.

There weren’t many people. I did a slow walk around just in case she might be sipping a martini somewhere. Finally I approached the bar and ordered a double tequila. When the bartender asked for my card, I paid in cash.

I took my drink and went upstairs to have a look around. A bevy of people stood near a fireplace in the center of the room. The left and right sides had intimate tables and low lighting, but I was drawn to the long row of windows straight ahead. After selecting a table that overlooked the skyline, I took a seat.

Man, what a view. I swore I could feel the building move while I stared at the city below.

I looked up each time the blonde by the fireplace bubbled with laughter. I had a feeling it wasn’t her gift of storytelling that enchanted the four men around her as much as her generous cleavage stretching out her black halter top.

My nerves settled after I downed my drink. At least Lenore would no longer have access to all that money. Wyatt would probably change the passwords and make sure everything belonging to the oligarchs was untouchable. But Viktor asking Ronald to move payment from Lenore’s account into ours? That part was gold. I could only imagine the look on her face when she finally noticed her withered account balance. She always claimed she didn’t have much cash on her. Ronald had undoubtedly helped her sell property or move around her physical assets that she kept hidden. Older immortals believed in stashing their wealth since they didn’t have any trust in currency long-term. He must have been one smooth-talking guy to have made a living off immortals who were timid about the times we lived in. Was this his first endeavor in criminal activities? Not that it mattered anymore.

“Mind if I sit?”

When I glanced up, my mouth opened.

Houdini was still wearing the same gothic-style outfit he’d had on at Lenore’s winter ball. The outfit he was cursed to live in forever: a long burgundy jacket over black pants and a black shirt. His lapels and cuffs were also black, and though it looked ridiculously old-fashioned, immortals often dressed outlandishly in outfits of a bygone era. Because Cognito was considered a mecca for weird people, he wouldn’t have much trouble blending in.

When he sat across from me, he admired the view. “It always looks better from above, doesn’t it?” He put his elbows on the table and tugged on his earlobe. “The one unfortunate thing about my predicament is I can’t change my hair.”

Houdini had dark roots, his bleached-white hair shaped in attractive chunks that spiked out in different directions like an anime character. He was the only one still affected by Godfrey Sparrow’s curse, which banished him to the world between the living and the dead.

“Still enjoying your situation?” I asked, staring at my empty glass. “I remember how much you were gushing about all the perks of being dead.”

“Everything comes with pros and cons. Shifting back to human form fully clothed—that’s a game changer.”

“I bet. Is that how you followed me here?”

He lifted my empty glass and attempted to smell it. “I do miss the little things. Tequila? That seems to be your brand. Strange drink choice, if you don’t mind my saying. Even when we first met, you went for the hard, cheap stuff.”

“This wasn’t cheap.”

“Nothing here is,” he remarked. “Except maybe the dame over there who’s been shaking her tits at those men for the past hour.”

I furrowed my brow. “Do you live here?”

“This place isn’t my style.”

“Then you’re following me. But I haven’t been here for an hour.”

Houdini flagged down a server who must have been Breed since the woman could see him. Humans couldn’t—that much I remembered about my former situation. He ordered another tequila and potato-cut fries with some kind of fancy sauce.

“I’m assuming you don’t have to be anywhere,” he said. “We haven’t had a chance to catch up.”

“Can I ask you something without getting the runaround?”

Houdini settled his hazel eyes on mine and rested his chin in the palm of his hand. “You can try.”

“We didn’t find any jewelry that would belong to you. Sparrow’s power is gone, which means you’re gonna stay this way forever. Doesn’t that bother you?”

“I slipped out of the room during the party, so they never collected anything of mine. Even if you hadn’t taken his power, I don’t think it would have been possible to undo the spell.”

“Why didn’t you escape?”

“The wall.”

“I know that,” I said. “What I mean is, you could have flown out of there.”

“Did you not see that the wall domed over the house?” Houdini shook his head and then sat back with his hands in his lap. “I initially remained in the house to listen in. When I heard him lay down the curse, I slipped out back to escape. A man ran through it and survived, so I saw no threat. When the hourglass appeared on my palm, I knew something must have changed in us.” Houdini held up his hand, which no longer had the light tattoo. “It went away after the ten days expired. You were in the fight of your life, but you see, I never had a chance to return.”

“And that’s why you tried talking me into staying—so you wouldn’t be alone.”

“We’re all alone. Born alone, die alone, dream alone. The thing about chaos is it’s unpredictable. You think my situation is permanent. Never assume something can’t be undone. And who says I want it to be? What if I can transfer this power into a youngling? I could start a new Breed. Humans can’t detect me, Vampires can’t hear me. Figuring out the rules has kept me busy. You should see me doing jumping jacks behind a Vampire.”

I chuckled. “I remember why I liked you when we first met. It’s too bad you turned out to be a lunatic. Are you going to spy on me forever?”

“Spy is a peculiar word choice. You’re my youngling, and I have every right to check in on you. Perhaps one day I’ll travel to Ecuador—I’ve always wanted to visit there. Then I’ll return in a few decades and see what you’ve been up to. But right now things seem too exciting.”

I was afraid to ask how much he knew, and that thought was interrupted when our server set a square plate of beautifully cut fries on the table with gourmet dipping sauce. The fries were seasoned with sea salt and spices.

Houdini leaned in and smelled them. “Go on and tell me how they are.”

I took one of the hot fries and dipped it in the sauce. After a bite, I gobbled up the rest of the fry. “Crispy skin, airy, fresh, and the sauce tastes like bird shit.”

Houdini threw back his head and laughed. “I love your honesty.”

The tequila burned as I washed down the tart sauce. “I’ll never understand why rich people think disgusting food is a better way of life. They slap a heavy price tag on stuff most people wouldn’t eat on a dare. The fries are good though.” I ate more, keeping an eye on anyone new that entered the room.

I thought about Christian’s suggestion regarding the key Houdini was after. “Why do you need that key? Can’t you open whatever it is it leads to?”

Houdini lowered his eyes to my food and leaned in for another whiff. “That’s the problem; I don’t know what it opens. I only know the previous owner had incriminating information about me. I didn’t realize he’d been watching me for decades and documenting my activities. When he passed away suddenly…”

I laughed into my glass.

Houdini flicked a glance my way. We both knew he was behind that death. “As I was saying, when he passed away suddenly, I couldn’t find the key. I only knew it was in his possession. I should have charmed him for the location before… before his passing. Then someone showed up, forcing me to leave. By the time I came back, the cleaners had collected his belongings and sent them over to Pawn of the Dead for resale. He was an old Chitah—an experienced tracker. I don’t know why he was fixated on me. And now it seems I can’t change my clothes let alone my looks, so I have to be extra cautious about staying out of trouble.”

“Poor baby,” I said without emotion, swirling my drink. “What makes you think I won’t figure out what it goes to and turn you in myself?”

“Because, Butterfly, you’re my youngling. Besides the fact people might discover how you were made, I think deep down, whether you want to admit it or not, you can’t go against me. Just like I think you still struggle with your Mage Creator. It’s come to my attention that Lenore has a new guard, and it didn’t take me long to realize what has you so rattled these days. I know how much you loathe him, Raven. Do you think you have what it takes to turn against the one whose light flows throughout your body? The laws on patricide never expire. That kind of treachery will follow you all of your days.”

I continued shoving fries into my mouth, the alcohol finally kicking in and making me less agitated than I would normally be around Houdini. I felt conflicted, yet I wanted Fletcher to suffer. I wanted him dead. I wanted him out of my life. Even though Houdini had once unknowingly handed me back to Fletcher, he’d never harmed me directly. One minute he was helping me, and the next he was doing something destructive. He wanted me to be like him.

“What purpose does your life have?” I asked, genuinely curious. “You don’t have a regular job, and you don’t do anything that contributes to anyone’s happiness.”

“When I first gained these new abilities, I would sit with humans and listen to their conversations. Sometimes I would follow them home and see how they lived since they have no awareness of my presence. Humanity is boring. Existing for the sake of existing is boring. What thrills me is change. I don’t mean the laws that get established—that’s not the kind of change that matters. It’s going to a soccer game and watching a cat get loose on the field. You can have all the rules and all the order you like, and it only takes one cat to make everything stop.”

I sighed into my glass before taking a sip. “I know what you like, Houdini. But what’s your purpose? Do you know why I stay with Keystone? Because I found a purpose. When you discover what that is, it breathes life into you. I’m excited to get up because I never know where the day might take me. And after a job, I feel a sense of accomplishment. I made a difference in someone’s life, or I prevented more people from getting hurt. Or I delivered karma. Either way, that’s my calling. I have other small things that make life bearable. But what you just told me? It sounds like you don’t have a purpose other than to throw a wrench in the cog. I know chaos makes you happy the way a mischievous kid gets happy when they throw a rock at a moving car. That’s why you were making Vampires. You were hoping to create someone else like you, and that became your obsession. And now, I’m your obsession. I think what you’re really looking for, deep down, is a reason for being here. That’s why you’re lonely. I can see it in your eyes. I have people I love, and I don’t feel that loneliness. Yes, we’re born alone and die alone. We also live for a long time. Maybe you should start living for someone… or something. The world might look a little bit different once you get down from that high horse of yours.”

His eyebrow arched comically, and he lifted a fry and bit into it. “I can no longer be with a woman, Raven. Or have you forgotten about this curse? I can’t even taste this,” he said, dropping the rest of the uneaten fry on the plate.

“You have a lot of new powers,” I pointed out. “Maybe you should do something good with them. Make someone’s life better instead of worse. You might be surprised how good it feels to know your existence means something to someone. I think you’ve spent your entire life serving yourself—amusing yourself. Maybe that’s how you’re able to pass the time without going mad, but you’re going about it the wrong way.”

He gave me a thin-lipped grin. “Should I kill without compunction like you?”

I downed the rest of my drink. “I’m not going to apologize for what I am. The Breed world is a cruel place, and it needs people like me. What can you offer? It’s never too late to flip your life around. I’m sure you’ve done shady stuff I’ll never know about, but so have I, and here I am. Find a nice girl who isn’t into sex and settle down.”

“Now you’re just toying with me,” he said, folding his arms and turning his gaze out the window. “You expressed that same sentiment about purpose when we first met. It’s a very human concept. Do you know why? Because their lives are fleeting, and it makes it bearable to think they exist for a reason.”

“Don’t act like we’re better than them. Immortals need to adopt some of those beliefs. Have you ever seen those crazy ancients who walk around like they’ll rip your eyes from your sockets if you say one wrong word? They don’t have a purpose anymore. If life has no meaning, then neither does death. They gave up, and they might as well be the walking dead. Look, I’m not your spiritual guide, and I couldn’t care less if you decide to do anything productive with your life. Just be careful, or you’ll wind up being just another lowlife on our list.”

His face took on a youthful appearance when he smiled. “You can’t kill me.”

“My guess is walls can still hold you. To be honest,” I said, wiping my hands on a napkin, “I wouldn’t mind having just one sane maker. Someone I’m not ashamed of or want to bury. I also wouldn’t mind if you found a hobby that would get you out of my life.”

“Is that really what you want? I do enjoy our conversations.”

I pushed my empty glass away. “I don’t trust you. I never will. Not just because of how you made me and dumped me but everything in between. You’ve lied to me, deceived me, kidnapped me, sold me, tried to sow doubt in my relationship with Christian, and I don’t ever feel safe with you around. Because sooner or later, you’ll get bored with your life and want to spice it up by fucking with mine. You don’t care who you hurt. Look at who you’re friends with! Lenore fucking Parrish. You mentored her. Is that something you’re proud of?”

He flicked a crumb off the table. “When you see a talented ancient flailing, your first instinct is to take advantage. Your second is to see the long-term benefit of helping them get on their feet again. You win their trust, and people trust me. Allies will get you a lot further in life than enemies. Tell me, Butterfly, how many enemies have you made? You can’t kill them all.”

“It doesn’t matter. I have people in my life who matter. I have a job that matters. I don’t play games.”

Houdini stared at me so intensely that I blinked. “So you’re a woman of character and morals, is that what you’re saying? You’re better than me because you’ve found love.” He slowly clapped. “Hoorah. You think you have life figured out, little one? Until you’re faced with a decision that truly tests the core of who you are, you don’t know anything. I’ll be curious in another two hundred years how this conversation goes. You’re still green, like freshly cut grass. I can still smell the new on you, and regardless of what life has thrown at you already, you can’t even begin to know who you really are, let alone what you might become. You still possess the naive optimism of a human. You still smell human,” he said, leaning in. “And given how much time you spend with your father, it’ll be some time yet before you shake free from that world.”

I gripped his wrist even though he was stronger than me. “Don’t you ever talk about my father.” I squeezed tighter, but he was unaffected.

“I do tire of your insinuations about my character.” He took my hand and loosened my fingers. “I have no desire now nor ever to harm your father or interfere in his life. In fact, I have great admiration for a man who raised someone as interesting as you.”

I sat back and took a calming breath. “If you ever go near my father, I’ll kill you seven times over. And that’s not an empty threat. I’ll hunt you down for as long as it takes. I’ll make six thousand copies of that damn key and pass them out with a reward for whoever finds the source.”

He looked out the window absently. “Threats bore me. It’s also asinine to assume that I require a threat to prove how devoted you are to your family. That goes without saying.”

“Not always,” I said, eating another fry. “You’re my blood maker, but that doesn’t mean you have me in your pocket.”

As I sat there eating my food, I realized Houdini might never truly be done with me and move on. Had I been anyone else living a regular life, he would have been bored by now. As long as I worked with Keystone and lived a life that he envied in some small way, he would always be invested. I felt certain of it, especially with the way we could easily fall into conversation as if there were no animosity between us. Would we gather every few hundred years to play catch-up? To compare notes on who was living their best life? Houdini might always feel a connection—a hope that he could somehow make me see his side of things. Perhaps even join him. I wondered how different my life might have been had he not left me for dead, if he had actually driven me back to his place that night and I’d become a full-blooded Vampire. Would we still disagree on everything? Would I have wanted to leave his care? Maybe in keeping me, he would have quickly gotten bored. This was more exciting to him, being able to see his progeny out in the wild. Not having to take on that responsibility.

“I don’t know everything,” I finally said. “I just know what’s keeping me sane. I hope we do have this talk in another few hundred years because I’m dying to see if you figure your shit out or if you’re still playing the same old games. You have new abilities living in the shadow realm as the undead. People talk about the fates or gods or God, but what if there is a higher power that leads us in different directions? Maybe not a good or an evil force, just one that gives us opportunities or even what we deserve. I think it’s pretty interesting that you were the only one at the party they didn’t recover jewelry from, so maybe that’s fate. You were also a bit of a man whore most of your early life, and now you can’t be intimate with anyone. It sounds like the universe is catching up with you. It’s not just me, Houdini. You’ve caused a lot of pain to a lot of people. You don’t even know how many younglings you made who are out there somewhere, suffering. Maybe they can’t kill you, but it doesn’t mean they can’t haunt you. Unless something’s changed, I know you can see ghosts. When they die, they might decide to pay you an eternal visit.”

Houdini curled his lips in as if he didn’t like the sound of that.

I wondered how much thought he’d given to the prospect of the dead haunting him. Even now, if he killed someone, their spirit might remain behind to confront him, and it would be especially easy to do since he could see and hear them.

He touched the edge of the plate and stared at the fries. “Never did I imagine I would miss food. I still eat and drink to remind my senses and use my memory. It’s not the same.”

“You should have put candy in your pocket,” I said, finishing up the snacks. “It turns out that any food you had in your possession when it happened you can still taste.”

His gaze drifted upward, and it looked like an idea was twirling in his eyes. “I met a ghost who died choking on popcorn. She was carrying it around. I wonder…”

I scooted back my chair. “Well, as usual, this has been highly entertaining.”

“Before you leave, answer me one question.”

“Shoot.”

Houdini scratched his nose before lacing his fingers together. “If a genie granted you three wishes, and only three, what would you ask for? Nothing like world peace or no famine. It has to be something that would impact or benefit you personally. Be honest.”

He could have easily charmed the answer out of me, but I had no reason to lie. I gave it some thought. “World peace is a good one. Then again, I’d be out of a job.”

He grinned. “That’s a pragmatic way to approach it. Then you wouldn’t have purpose.”

“Right. Anyhow… three wishes. The first: my father to be a young man again.”

Houdini made an audible sound as if someone had poked him in the ribs. “That’s peculiar. Do you not mean immortal?”

“No. I don’t want him to be immortal, and he doesn’t want to be immortal. That wouldn’t be fair to make him exist forever at the age he’s at. I’d like a little more time with him, so that’s my first wish.”

“And the second?”

My gaze roamed around the room, settling on the woman dancing with one of the men she’d bewitched. “For the people who have wronged me to get what they deserve, whether that’s by my hand or fate’s.”

“Hmm. What if someone that you wronged wishes the same?”

“You really know how to suck the fun out of a game.”

Houdini played with the black stud on his ear. “Merely an observation. I swear. And the third?”

Any wish. The strange part was I couldn’t think of anything I didn’t already have, or anything I couldn’t achieve myself. It wasn’t until that moment that I realized how damn lucky I was. I touched the ruby heart pendant and felt Houdini watching me with interest.

“Not to go after Lenore?”

I gave him a sharp look.

“I know you despise her. After all, she betrayed her oath by swearing fealty to an anarchist. And yet… no one seems to know about it. How strange.”

Houdini obviously knew that Lenore had joined forces with Sparrow not long ago since he was flying around the mansion, but he wasn’t the sort who would turn her in. Any hopes that he would were dashed, now that I knew how tight they were.

“I can’t go after her.”

He tipped his head to the side. “Can’t… or won’t?”

Christian had given Lenore his word that he wouldn’t go after her in exchange for the necklace that restored my life, and part of that bargain included me not going after her. Houdini didn’t need to know everything.

I stood up and pushed in my chair. “You know what? Keep the last wish. My life is good.”

“Is it truly?”

“Yeah. It really is. I’ll let you get the tab since you can’t pay with ghost money,” I said with a grin.

Houdini shook his head and flashed a smile. “See you when I see you, Butterfly.”

I turned on my heel before walking off. “Actually, here’s my last wish: I would wish for you to take a long trip to Ecuador. Maybe we can catch up in a couple hundred years, and I won’t have to be constantly looking over my shoulder, wondering what misery you plan to unleash on my life. See you around, Chaos.”

I wasn’t sure how Houdini would take my suggestion, but I realized in that moment that I didn’t have to feel anything for him. Not hate, not love, not fear or pity. I owed him nothing. He owed me something I would never get back, and that was a normal life. But as long as he lurked around every corner, I would never have one.

CHAPTER 24

Claude pulled into the empty parking lot of a print shop located in a rural area outside the Breed district. The engine on his red Porsche growled as he rolled into a parking space in front of the one-story building. Not much to look at with the brown brick and black windows.

“Stay alert,” he said to Gem.

After exiting the vehicle, he scanned their surroundings. The field across the street had a few political signs, and in the distance he saw—and smelled—a waste treatment facility. Ronald said he’d purchased this place because it would guarantee privacy. The previous tenants had vacated the building shortly after the city put in the smelly factory across the street.

“Let’s look around back,” Gem said, already turning the corner.

He admired her hair from behind. Gem was the only one in the house who let him do whatever he wanted so long as it was the color she desired. While Gem had let him experiment with other colors in the past, she was always partial to a pale lavender. He liked adding dimension by broadening the color palette. Sometimes he made it gradually darker from the outer layer to the inner, and other times he’d add an ombré effect. It brought him incredible joy to be able to make someone feel beautiful and confident with something as simple as hair. It reminded him of the bond he had with his little sister, and he knew she would have liked seeing him as a hairdresser. While it wasn’t his primary job, it was his passion.

Gem had a spring in her step as she rounded the building in her white platform sneakers, camouflage leggings, and black sweater. She claimed she needed to dress the part, which seemed unnecessary since this wasn’t a covert operation. Their sole purpose was to confirm if Ronald Frazier had given a truthful confession and to document what they found.

“Look! Just like he said.” Gem rapped her knuckles on a large loading dock.

The printing company must have shipped and received lots of items. Claude wondered if that was a ruse.

“Let’s try the door.” He walked up the stairs toward a side door and used a key from Ronald’s set to unlock it. “I don’t see how anything can fit in this small building.”

Gem rubbed her red nose and then warmed her fingers with a breath. “Remember, he said it was downstairs.”

“What printing office has a downstairs?”

“This one?” She hugged his arm. “Isn’t this exciting? I’ve always dreamed of being Indiana Jones.”

He chuckled and gave one last look around before going in. After separating himself from Gem’s excitement, he was hit by the stale air first. No lingering emotional scents left behind from anyone who might be hiding—that was a good sign. He detected a mixture of paper, cardboard, plastic, and mold. “Hmm. Not impressed.” Claude located a switch and turned on the overhead lights.

“Don’t be such a grump.” Gem skipped through the empty space, which resembled an oversized garage. There were two ramps that led to the loading dock doors, and lots of crates were stacked up against the far wall. “It’s here!”

She pointed at the freight elevator on the opposite wall. As he crossed the room, her enthusiasm filled his nose like the fragrance of peppermints and freshly cut grass.

Gem looked up at him and clutched his brown leather jacket. Not even her stacked shoes could bring her close to his height. “Claude Valentine, will you hurry up and open that door? There’s no one else here, or you’d smell it. I’m about to pee my pants if I don’t get to see what’s down there.”

“What if it’s bodies?”

Gem shivered. “Good point. Maybe you should go first.”

After he punched in the code, the elevator door opened. Ronald had given him instructions to wait until the door closed before using the key. Claude inserted the key in the slot, turned it, and then pushed the basement button. The elevator shook hard and finally moved down.

Gem checked her phone. “I hope we don’t get stuck down here. At least there’s still reception.”

Claude enjoyed Gem’s company. She had a way of making any mundane task into an adventure. “Stand against the wall.”

“Do you really think someone’s down there? I don’t feel any energy.”

“All the same, let’s not take chances.”

When the door opened, the light from inside the elevator scarcely lit up the floor in front of them. Claude’s Chitah vision allowed him to see a vast underground storage that stretched ahead of them.

Gem walked out and stared into the dark shadows.

Following Ronald’s instructions, Claude located the light switch on the side of the elevator doors. When he flipped it, the overhead lights blinked on section by section until they reached the far back.

“Jiminy Christmas!” Gem faced a massive room filled with treasures.

Rows of columns offered structural support. A stand-alone storage building on the right seemed oddly placed but must have had a specific purpose for the previous tenants. Maybe a computer room where they logged inventory.

Gem found a crowbar by the elevator and raced up to a crate.

After he helped her crack it open, she pulled away the packing and gasped. “Claude, look!” Gem sorted through a stack of paintings that were each wrapped in plastic. “These are all from the fifteenth century.”

“And probably worth nothing,” he muttered.

“Says you.” She flounced over to a giant tarp. “Do you know how much those go for at auction if they’ve got history or if the people in those pictures are famous Breed?” When she pulled the tarp away, she gasped. “Gold! I think I’m going to faint.”

Claude gawked at the gold bars stacked on top of a platform. He had never seen that many in one place, and there was a row of tarps behind it, each revealing the same thing as Gem ripped the covers away. She started taking pictures as Viktor had instructed, not only of the facility but each section.

Claude walked past more open crates. The building above must have been built and owned by Breed. Humans would never build an underground storage this big in the middle of nowhere. It was possible they might have used it for commercial printing and just removed all the equipment, though placing it underground was unlikely. He found a crate with no lid and glanced inside at a ton of sheathed swords. “These must have belonged to Li Han.”

Gem skipped toward him with a giant jade dragon in her arms. “Do you think Viktor will let me have it?”

He chortled. “I’ll put in a good word for you.”

Her violet eyes lit up when she looked behind him. “Books!”

Claude turned and looked at a bunch of crates. “How do you know?”

She set the dragon down and pointed to a sign on the side, repeating what it said. “Books.” Gem struggled to push open the lid. “Claude, help me. I can’t.”

He lifted the crowbar and worked on it until he got it open.

After sliding away the lid, Gem dove inside headfirst. “They’re all different languages. This one is alchemy, and this one is Chitah history during the Byzantine Empire. Do you realize how incredible this is? Books about Breed history were never allowed, and the elders destroyed so many of them to keep their secrets. The only surviving ones are from personal collections.” She grunted. “Now we’re allowed to archive them. When immortals die, some of their books wind up in pawnshops, but most are tossed away as trash. So much history is lost. Oh! This one starts with notes from a family of Relics…”

Claude gripped the back of her sweater and pulled her back up to her feet. “Don’t fall in, female. We have much work to do. I wager it’ll take hours for us to open it all and get photographs—let’s be quick about it.”

* * *

Three hours later, Claude and Gem had opened every box and crate and pulled away every tarp wrapped up in rope. At one point, he had to go upstairs and search for a knife to cut the ropes. They didn’t photograph every object. Instead, they grouped items while making a general note of what each crate or pile contained. They found several chests filled with gemstones, and it took everything to pry his partner away. Gem didn’t care about the value of such things. She loved gemology and geology and any ology relating to rocks and minerals. On more than one occasion, she had given him a dissertation on how certain rocks were created.

When he finished up the last box, he found Gem sitting on a platform, covered in jewels. She had an emerald tiara on, several ruby necklaces, rings on every finger, and was holding a gold scepter with a sapphire stone.

Claude bowed playfully. “Your Highness, would you like me to escort you to your chariot? It awaits.”

Gem giggled. “This has been the best day of my life. I can’t imagine how Viktor plans to move everything. He’ll have to rent multiple trucks. I’m giddy about the books. Maybe he’ll let me keep some of them.”

“And the jewels?”

“They’re fun to try on. Most of them are polished and cut—not my style. One chest had a few uncut stones. Mostly diamonds and emeralds. I’d rather have citrine or carnelian. Even raw tanzanite would be dreamy. Alas, nothing but the usual sparklies.” She began removing her jewels and placing them back in the chest. “What about those old cars?” she said, pointing to the back. “They look like something you’d drive.”

Unless those vehicles had been modified or kept up, they probably didn’t run. Someone must have pushed those small cars in here using the massive freight elevator, because it would be foolish to store a vehicle with gasoline around such precious valuables. These cars were from the nineteen twenties. Beautiful to look at, but Claude liked his Porsche. “I wonder how many of these collectibles were stolen from people they murdered.”

Gem took off the tiara and then ran her fingers through her wavy hair. “That’s why I would only want the books.” After shutting the lid on the chest, she sat on top of it.

“May I ask you something personal?”

She tipped her head to the side.

Something had been weighing on Claude’s mind for a short while now. “Have you ever considered leaving Keystone?”

“Gosh no! I mean, someday. But this is my home. Why?”

Claude had recently noticed an unusual scent developing between Niko and Gem. He didn’t want to ask about it since he couldn’t be sure if Gem was even aware of her changing feelings for Niko. Her words and behavior belied the underlying scent, which wasn’t overwhelming or even the dominant scent. It wasn’t the same passion he detected between Raven and Christian—not one he even associated with lovers. In fact, he’d never scented anything quite like it. “I’ve often wondered if maybe you think about a different life,” he suggested, deciding not to call her out. “You have talents beyond compare. You deserve a happy life.”

“I am happy right where I am. You don’t think this is enough? I have everyone who matters to me right here. I’ve got a nice job, and now I’m finally learning to use my Mage gifts. On top of that, I get to discover all these exciting pieces of history. Why would I leave?” Gem reached out and held his hand. “I’m not going anywhere. Is that what you think? That I’m going to leave you? I bet you’d like a different partner, someone who isn’t so—”

“Wonderful?” He kissed her forehead. Claude didn’t want to imagine Keystone without her in it, but if she desired to be somewhere else, then he wanted that for her. She was a sweet soul, a trusting partner, and brought life into the house. In many ways, she filled the void of the sister he had lost. He felt protective of her as he would a sibling, and that might have been the reason he also wanted to see to her happiness.

Gem hopped to her feet. On the platform, she was exactly his height. She braced her hands on his shoulders. “What’s with the morose look? Are you thinking about leaving?”

“No. Why would you ask?”

She tapped his nose. “Because, Claude Valentine, you’re the kindest, most wonderful Chitah I’ve ever met. And maybe your true love is out there somewhere.”

“She died.”

The light in Gem’s eyes dimmed, and she threw her arms around his neck. “Oh, Claude. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to say anything to hurt you.”

He patted her back. “It’s fine.”

When she pulled away, she had tears in the shores of her eyes. Gem wiped them, her mascara smearing across her hand.

Joining Keystone was one of the best decisions he’d ever made. It gave him a chance to start over, and they’d all agreed not to talk or ask questions about their past. It just made it easier. He’d told some of the others about his sister, Yvette, but only Raven knew about his Kindred Spirit. He feared that Gem would always look at him with sympathetic eyes, as she did now, so he’d kept the dark parts of his past locked away. Even now he felt no desire to go into detail. She had her own demons.

They all did.

“Do you have other dreams?” she asked.

“Dreams are a life unrealized. I honestly can’t imagine wanting for anything more than I already have.” He put his hands around her small waist and lifted her off the platform. “I used to think of this as a job, but it’s more than that. You’re family. What we do gives my life meaning.”

She gave him an elfin smile. “I thought cutting hair gave your life meaning.”

Claude chuckled. “That too. Viktor realized my passion could help this team the same way yours does with language and books. We do good work here. And I don’t want a family if that’s what you’re wondering. It’s not something I secretly desire. The fates chose a different life for me, and it’s wrong to turn my back on important work. But if you ever feel a different calling, Gem, you should follow it. I’ll always support whatever decision you make.”

Her eyes slanted away as if maybe she understood what he was getting at, yet her emotional scent eluded him. Gem hooked her arm in his. “Good, because I really want that jade dragon.”

They walked toward the stand-alone building, and as they neared the door, he stopped and looked at her in earnest. “If you ever want to talk about things—personal things—I’m always here.”

She frowned up at him. “Have you been dipping into Wyatt’s wild herbs? I don’t want to leave Keystone. I love it here. I love my job. Where else can I have adventures like these? I’m surrounded by friends and my closest partner.” Gem’s doe eyes twinkled as she studied his face. “Claude?”

“Yes?”

“Just so you know, you’re my good friend. But Niko? He’s my best friend.”

Claude smiled at the clean scent of honesty and devotion. What Gem and Niko had between them went deeper than trivial affection and even deeper than any friendship bond. Whatever relationship they had decided on was true to themselves—one that would stand the test of time. That knowledge filled Claude with so much contentment that he began to purr.

Now Gem was giving him a funny look.

Claude cracked the door to the room and felt along the wall for a light switch. When he turned it on and swung the door open, they both gasped.

A Vampire stood in the empty room, just a few feet from the door. His grey hair and widow’s peak were familiar to Claude. It wasn’t until he noticed the mark on his hand that he realized they were face-to-face with Borislav, the last remaining oligarch.

CHAPTER 25

After leaving Lenore’s building, I sat in my truck for a long time. Not only did I want the alcohol to wear off, I kept hoping that either she or Fletcher might drive or walk out. I wasn’t sure what the plan would be if that happened; I only knew that I couldn’t bring myself to leave.

Someone knocked on my window, startling me. When I looked up and saw Christian, I rolled down my window. “What are you doing here?”

“Unlock the door.” He walked around to the passenger side. After I reached over and pulled the lock, he got in. Christian’s breath clouded in front of his face. “Something wrong with the heater?”

“Nope.” I had on a nice pair of leather gloves, and after a while, I’d gotten used to the cold. “Did you walk all the way here?”

“Claude and Gem went to the storage facility, so Viktor won’t need me for a while. I can’t scrub the human until they finish. Viktor’s afraid the little shitebag might be holding out on us. Worry not, I’ll scoop it all out before I work my magic.” He watched a car turn in Lenore’s parking garage, which was adjacent to the building.

“How did you find me?”

“This is where you were supposed to go. When you didn’t come back, I figured you might be watching her. That’s what I’d be doing. Watching and thinking.” He reached over and rubbed the back of my neck. “Why don’t you turn the engine over and get some heat in here. You’ll feel better.”

I turned the key, and the truck rumbled. Icy air blew through the vents, and after a few minutes, it warmed up.

“You wanna head home?” he asked.

“Not really.” My eyes were locked on the garage exit.

“She might not even be in there.”

“What else have I got to do? Wyatt’s managing all the money, and Gem and Claude are checking out the assets.”

“Wyatt already moved the payment out of her account and into ours. If only I could be a fly on the wall when she finds out.” Christian gave a sinister laugh while he folded his arms. “I suppose she tied up a lot of her money in that confounded castle in the sky. That might be all she has left. That and the broken statue.”

“If Viktor gives us the command to take her out, what do we do? You favor traded with her, and you’re bound to that promise.”

“I don’t think Viktor will kill an official. He’d never want that stain on his reputation, whether she was involved in nefarious activities or not. This isn’t like our past cases. He’ll want to be careful about his decision. But it should give you a glimmer of satisfaction that you’re getting your wish. You wanted to tear down her world and ruin every dream she had, and now you’re seeing that come to fruition. She’ll never get her hands on the oligarchs’ fortune, and she promised us a ridiculously high payout, which drained her account. Ronald is now out of her life, and even though she knows we can’t turn her in for her crimes, she’ll never feel safe. She might even flee, dreading what Viktor might do. She burned him, and that adds a whole new layer of frosting to the cake.” Christian cupped his hand around his ear. “I can almost hear her pacing the floor as we speak.”

“And yet… it just doesn’t seem like enough.”

Christian lowered his hand. “Aye.”

I leaned forward and glanced up when I heard a helicopter. “Is that thing going to land on the building?”

Christian looked. “Must be a helipad up there. It was more common years ago before they started having accidents. I suppose the rich can have whatever they want.”

I popped open the door. “Let’s go check it out.”

“Raven?” Christian jogged after me and caught up when I reached the front entrance.

“Charm your way inside,” I said to him.

“She doesn’t even like elevators,” he pointed out. “I can’t see her hopping aboard a teacup with spinning propellers.”

“She has to know we’re watching the building, so she can’t escape by car. What better way to make a grand exit? Unless they can land a jet or hot-air balloon up there, I don’t see any other way out.”

Once we got inside, the man at the desk recognized me.

Christian went up to the desk and did his best aristocrat impression before leaning in, ripping off the man’s glasses, grabbing him by the lapels, and charming him.

I was already at the elevator by then.

Christian waltzed up, flashing a plastic card between two fingers. “Resident access,” he boasted, swiping the card across the reader. “They have spare ones under the desk. Fecking eejit.”

Christian groaned when I tapped button 61. “Imagine a wee one pushing all those buttons.”

We made a fast ascent.

“She owns the entire floor,” I quickly said, filling him in. “It opens into a short hallway, and her door’s on the left. I think there was another one on the right, probably a stairwell. I’m not sure if the doors are Vampire proof.”

Christian tapped the card against my nose, implying that it was her spare card, not just one that operated the elevator.

“The bedrooms and extra rooms are to the right when you walk in. To the left, a huge living space with tons of windows,” I added. “No carpet and no soundproof rooms.” I lifted my shirt to make sure my push daggers were attached to my belt. “I don’t have any impalement wood.”

“Let’s not plan her murder just yet. I’ll handle Lenore while you look for the other one.”

When the door opened, we stepped into the blue light.

Christian swiped the card and unlocked Lenore’s front door. There was no sense in sneaking in since she would have already heard the elevator.

“Honey, I’m home,” Christian called out.

There was a suitcase by the door.

I sharpened my light and went left into the open living space while Christian went right toward the bedrooms.

As soon as I entered the all-white living room, the first thing I noticed was one of her statues broken into pieces.

Someone had a tantrum.

Fletcher blurred toward me from around the corner and knocked me over.

His nose touched mine, and his piercing blue eyes bored a hole right through me. “Another time, my pet.” He slammed his forehead against mine.

Blinded by pain, I forced myself to roll over. When I glanced up, Fletcher was flashing into the hall.

I scrambled to my feet and went after him. He made it through the stairwell door, which locked when I reached it. “Hurry!” I shouted.

“She’s gone,” Christian boomed as he caught up with me and swiped his card.

When a red light flashed and the door didn’t open, he backed up several feet. “Step aside.”

With my back to the wall, I watched Christian charge into the door like a bull. It swung inward and flew off the hinges.

I ran past him, up the stairs, and out the roof door. Unexpected sunshine blinded me for a moment. The helicopter lifted off the ground and, as if by magic, Fletcher suddenly went from standing on the helipad to sitting in the helicopter. He was a Jumper—of course he could do that.

I flashed toward the helicopter as it slowly ascended. Fletcher looked down at me through the half-open door. I knew he wanted to have his moment with me, and I wanted it too. So without thinking, I grabbed onto the landing skid.

“Are you stark raving mad!” Christian ran across the roof and jumped for my ankles, but we were out of reach.

“Follow us!” I shouted over the noise.

Christian bolted to the doors while I continued to shake the helicopter by swinging my legs, hoping that would do something to ground them. Unfortunately, it wasn’t one of those rinky-dink aircraft.

When I looked down at the building moving away and the city far below, I realized there would be no surviving that drop. My body parts would be all over the city. Panicked, I hooked my leg around the lower skid and reached for the bar above it, which I presumed was a step. I clung to it for life, my leather gloves making it easier to grip.

The whirring blades were deafening, and the icy wind took a bite out of me.

I clutched the upper bar while straddling the skid. Because the wind created a drag, I hooked my left foot on the skid behind me as I faced the rear of the helicopter. We made a sudden descent through the city, and my hair tangled in front of my face, forcing me to look over my shoulder. When I did, I realized we were rapidly approaching the river.

The door slid open like a van door. Fletcher poked his head out and saw me. He flashed an irritated look as he stretched one leg out to the rail, but he must have had a seat belt on.

“You incompetent fool!” Lenore shouted from what seemed like a distance. The effects of Christian’s blood had mostly worn off, but I could still hear her over the helicopter noise.

The water below drew closer and closer, reminding me that I couldn’t swim. Terror sank in.

Fletcher appeared again, this time holding on to something inside and stepping on the first platform. He kicked his foot in my direction.

My stomach dipped as we descended even faster, the helicopter sailing over the river and following its path.

Fletcher stepped down to the lower skid and then stomped on my knee, trying to break my hold.

I smiled at him.

That pissed him off. Good. He gripped part of the door and tried stepping closer, but the wind threw him off-balance and his foot slipped.

When Fletcher kicked me twice more, I lost my grip. Swinging from beneath the skid, I held on with both my arms and legs like a sloth. With my right arm hooked tightly around the skid, I quickly reached for my dagger with the other hand.

Fletcher stomped my leg until I was swinging with one arm painfully bearing all my weight. Before I slipped, I reached up with my left arm to secure my hold, the dagger in my grip.

“Do it!” Lenore shouted.

Fletcher inched closer, and when he did, I stabbed him in the shin.

He stood like that for a frozen moment before free-falling like a skydiver.

The helicopter had nearly reached the water. When my feet skated against the surface, I flipped back and let go. The chopper tumbled out of reach as I skidded across the water. An explosion of pain struck my head, my neck, my hips, and my back.

Somehow I had the wherewithal to reach out my hand and pull in healing light before I sank into the murky depths.

The waves undulated around me, and I felt like a boulder trying to swim. Water lapped against my face. I did everything I’d seen in the movies—moving my arms and trying to straighten out my body and kick behind me. Maybe I could trick myself into swimming… And it worked.

For a while.

Each time I turned my head up for air, I choked on water. I was close enough to the riverbank that I could taste it. The frigid water numbed my extremities until I could no longer feel my body.

Darkness swelled around me as I sank. Though my mouth opened for air, I held my breath until my lungs wanted to explode. Frantically moving my arms to find the surface, my body fought against death. It also fought for air until I couldn’t resist the urge to breathe any longer.

I opened my eyes, frantically looking around. No one was there to save me. I drew in a deep breath, and icy water filled my lungs. I tried to cough it up before succumbing to the horror that the air would never come.

Suspended in water for a peaceful moment, I saw flashes of sunlight glimmering above. Had I died in that moment, it would have been a peaceful transition.

But I wasn’t dead. My heart refused to stop. Because of my immortal light, it didn’t have any other instinct than to keep beating even with the lack of oxygen. I remembered my time in the coffin and the moment I had run out of air. All I could do was lie there in the horror of it all, and my mind went someplace else.

I refused to go to that place again.

I swam toward shore, fighting against the pain in my chest. I couldn’t die by drowning, and I’d be damned if I was going to float around until some fisherman found me in the spring. I knew from past experience that my body didn’t react the same way a human’s did when oxygen deprived. It didn’t affect my consciousness or cause brain damage.

I hurt everywhere from the cold, especially in my chest. I still craved oxygen, and I had to fight every second against having a complete panic attack that I was dying.

My foot eventually dragged against something, and after a few more strokes, I reached the shore.

When my head lifted out of the water and the wind slapped my face, I crawled to shore and vomited. River water gushed out as I expelled it from my lungs with every subsequent cough. Each gasp of air was worse than the last, as if I were choking again. I coughed so hard that blood sprayed the wet pebbles. I couldn’t tell if it had come from my throat or if maybe I’d bitten my tongue. Before the sun dipped behind a cloud again, I pulled healing sunlight in through my fingertips. While it healed any injuries, it didn’t relieve me from the burning sensation, the numbness, the feeling of being encased in a block of ice.

I stripped off my wet jacket and then removed my shirt. The snowy bank led up to a road, but I didn’t see any cars or anyone else in the area. No one could see me except maybe an idiot with binoculars at the apartment buildings across the river. I squeezed as much water as I could from my shirt before putting it back on.

When I sat back on my legs, I looked in the direction that Lenore had fled. Still coughing, I recalled those last moments before falling and vividly remembered something the moment my legs had touched the water.

The pilot had turned around to look at me through the window. And as I let go, I recognized him as the man I’d been dining with just hours ago. The man who asked me questions about wishes and seemed genuinely interested in my thoughts. The crossbreed who was now damned to walk the earth forever but took it in stride. And there he was, aiding the two people in the world I most wanted dead.

Houdini was an escape artist after all. A trickster who cared for no one, not even me as I tumbled into the dark waters.

CHAPTER 26

When the light switched on in the small room and Gem came face-to-face with Borislav, she froze like a statue. They had been working in that basement for hours! Not a single peep. Vampires didn’t have detectible energy, so she’d had no idea he was in there. They also didn’t have a personal scent that Chitahs could detect, so Claude wouldn’t have noticed him unless he put out intense emotions. And by the blank stare on this guy’s face, she gathered he was a master at controlling his anger.

Borislav stared at them with soulless black eyes. Like all Vampires, his skin was blemish free—no wrinkles caused by the sun and nary a freckle. It was especially jarring to see on a man his age. He almost looked dead as he stood motionless in the center of the room… staring at them.

“If you close that door, I will be angry,” he said in a thick and distinctly Russian accent that made Gem think of big bubbles in a tar pit. It was a strange mental image, and she found her thoughts fuzzy as he looked into her eyes.

Claude suddenly put his hand over her face, shielding her eyes. “We didn’t come here to steal your belongings,” he assured him. “We’re only here to document.”

“You are not with Frazier. I heard everything.”

Gem wriggled away from Claude’s big hand. She didn’t want to be blind to what was happening. “Why didn’t you come out earlier? We have nothing to hide.”

Borislav canted his head. He was a well-dressed man with grey hair slicked back. In fact, he reminded her of Anthony Hopkins in that serial killer movie that gave her the heebie-jeebies. “Everyone has something to hide.”

“Clearly you do,” Claude muttered.

Gem nudged him. While the both of them could outrun the Vampire to the elevator, it would take too long for the door to close. You had to outwit your enemy. “What do you want from us?” Gem asked in Russian.

Claude looked down at her, but she kept her eyes on Borislav.

Borislav slid his eyes back to her, and she lowered her gaze. “No need to show off. I speak English very well. You are more impressed by the books. It is rare to find someone with such appreciation for history.” He drew in a deep breath and sighed. “Am I to understand from listening to your conversations that this was all schemed by Frazier and Parrish? And what of my two colleagues?”

Gem rocked on her heels. “Alas, they weren’t as fortunate. Why are you hiding in here? Ronald didn’t mention you were here, and we charmed him.”

“Because, little one, he did not know. I do not trust easily. I hypnotized him to give me code and spare key and forget I am here. I am not concerned with the human. I have known Lenore Parrish from years ago, and I did not trust her then.”

“Then why did you strike a deal with her?” Gem asked.

He shook his head at her, the way ancients often did when they felt they had all the answers figured out. “A man in my position worries little about trustworthy people. If you betray me, you die. Simple as that. She has good business sense and power. It has grown increasingly difficult to access my wealth or understand how to use it. She understands the modern world, and I am an old Vampire who tires of hiding.”

“And yet here you are,” Claude said observantly. “Hiding.”

“Had you worked for Lenore, I would have snapped your necks hours ago. I want you to contact your boss and tell them you are done and going out for drinks. I will call my people to collect my things. The rest is yours. If you cooperate, I might let you live. But I will steal your memories of me.”

Claude growled.

The Vampire clasped his hands in front of him as if he were growing bored. “If you have the notion to run away and search for impalement wood, I will walk over to that wall and I will break the switch that operates the lights. Then we will see how fast you are, Chitah. How confident are you that there is impalement wood in this basement? The crates most certainly are not. Do you think I would have stayed down here without considering that?”

Gem gripped Claude’s arm when she noticed his fangs elongating. “Don’t,” she whispered. “Do as he says.”

This guy wasn’t bluffing. If he shut off the lights, that would be the end. He could shadow walk anywhere, and Gem wouldn’t see him coming.

She looked up worriedly at the Vampire. “I left my phone by the treasure chest.”

“Put your phone in my hand,” the Vampire instructed Claude while reaching out.

Claude reluctantly retrieved his phone and unlocked it. When he handed it to Borislav, the Vampire asked, “Who is your boss? Do not lie, or the little one will suffer.”

“Viktor,” Claude growled. “He’s in my contacts.”

“I know where it is.” Borislav scrolled a few times, reading their messages before he was satisfied. He was probably observing Claude’s manner of speech so he could send a believable message. When he finished writing a text, he crushed the phone in his hand.

“I can give you mine,” Gem said. “I swear, no funny stuff.” She crossed her fingers over her heart.

“Step out,” Borislav ordered. “Just remember who is in control.”

Gem casually walked toward the platform with a spring in her step. She didn’t want to make any sudden movements since Borislav was right. Gem knew exactly who was in charge.

After locating her phone, she unlocked it and opened up the contact list. Before he got suspicious, she offered it to him.

Borislav took a step back and held the phone up so he could look at them and the messages at the same time. “I see you are chatting to someone named Wyatt. Is he one of you?”

“He’s on our team.” She rolled her eyes. “He’s always asking us to bring him food.”

“Fries,” he muttered, reading the messages. Then he read his message aloud as he typed. “We will be out late. Don’t wait up, Spooky. No fries for you.”

This guy is good, she thought. He had taken notice of Wyatt’s nickname through the messages in addition to the way Gem spoke. But Gem would have never told Wyatt they weren’t bringing him food. That would be an invitation for an argument.

And on cue, the phone began vibrating and playing a Spice Girls ringtone.

Borislav frowned when he looked at the incoming call.

“You better answer,” she said in a bright voice. “Spooky likes his fries, and he’ll send in reinforcements if he doesn’t get any.”

When Borislav ended the call, it rang again.

While he was distracted, Gem widened her eyes at Claude and jerked her head, signaling him to run.

His nostrils flared, and when his gaze drifted down to her hands, she winked.

Gem put her hands behind her back, secretly creating a perfect energy ball that would intensify once thrown. She had learned a number of ways to create them, thanks to the Relic. Some split apart after throwing, and others worked like a bomb on impact. Given the space in the room and all the valuables, she certainly didn’t want to blow up all these beautiful artifacts.

Borislav cursed and then crushed the ringing phone in his hand. The pieces clacked against the floor.

The ball in her hand grew hot. She focused on holding that energy and concentrating the heat to make it powerful enough to incinerate him on contact.

“Run!” she shouted at Claude.

The second he ran off, Gem pitched the ball at Borislav. The blue energy shot at him like a bullet.

Borislav moved away, but not fast enough. The energy ball ripped through his arm and obliterated the small room behind them. The Vampire’s arm was gone—nothing remained but a charred stump. He bellowed in agony, and his black eyes burned hot with rage.

Gem grimaced at the sight and then flashed back twenty feet, firing up another one before he attacked.

When Borislav saw her doing that, he ran toward the freight elevator.

“Hurry!” Claude shouted, standing at a safe distance.

As the elevator doors began to close, Gem had to change her energy at the last minute and turn it into a grenade that would blast apart. That would make it less hot but more destructive. Just before the doors closed, she pitched the deadly ball, and it ripped through the gap.

The explosion knocked her off her feet. The metal doors dented outward, and smoke billowed through the crack. When she sat up and listened, she couldn’t tell if there was movement. “Is he dead?”

Claude covered his nose. “If not, he’ll wish he was.” He knelt by her side. “Are you okay, female?”

“Are you okay, male?”

He chuckled softly. “You slay me. Here, let me help you up.”

Gem dusted off her leggings, still rattled by how close they had come to certain death. Had she hesitated for one moment and let Borislav get too close, that might have been the end of her. And how long would it have taken for him to shatter the breaker box and kill Claude?

She looked at the broken phone and realized they couldn’t contact anyone. “I don’t have a good feeling about this.”

The lights flickered, buzzed, and then went out.

“Me either,” Claude said.

* * *

Once I coughed up all the river water and was able to breathe again, I put on my wet leather jacket, which was undoubtedly ruined, and climbed up the slippery embankment to the road. I headed north, my feet squishing inside my water-filled lace-up boots. The sun had disappeared behind the clouds, and I couldn’t stop shivering as I hugged my body. A mixture of salt and sand covered the road, and the cars had made a dirty mess of it. I briefly thought back to when I was a kid and built a snowman on the seat of my father’s bike, which was parked inside the garage. I wasn’t sure why that memory came back other than my brain was misfiring after drowning.

In the distance, a blue truck headed in my direction. Instead of flagging it, I kept walking.

The vehicle slowed down, and Christian leaned out the window. “Hey there, sexy. Need a lift?”

I wiped my frozen hair away from my face and crossed in front of the truck. Once inside, I quickly threw my gloves onto the floorboard and put my numb fingers in front of the vent. The hot air burned my skin, the color quickly changing from pale white to red. My hair wasn’t even dripping anymore since the water had frozen.

“Did you have a good time?” he asked, his jovial tune making me wonder why he was in such good spirits. “I can’t say it was easy catching up. By the time I got down to the truck, the chopper was gone. Had to drive in the direction it flew with the windows rolled down and my head hanging out like your da’s fleabag. Finally spotted it in the distance, a lot lower than I expected.” He waggled his eyebrows.

“What?”

“I got a surprise for you. Look in the back.”

I twisted around and glared through the back windshield. Fletcher was lying on his back, my dagger still wedged in his leg.

“Good thing you struck bone,” he said, staring down at Fletcher. “It didn’t come loose when he hit the water. I thought it was you that fell off the helicopter, so when I got there, I pulled over and dove in.”

I glanced over at him. “Why aren’t you wet?”

He gave me a crooked smile. “Biology.”

A car honked as it drove around us since we were still parked on the road.

“There was no sense in jumping right in,” Christian explained. “I figured you’d been in there a while. An extra minute wouldn’t make any difference. Once I stripped down, I noticed a body bobbing in the water downriver. Good thing he didn’t drown, or he might have gone under. A little air in the lungs helps. After I gathered my clothes, I jogged down to the spot and waded in. Not before giving an old biddy walking her dog the thrill of her life. Right up until she saw me hauling a body out.”

“I almost had Lenore,” I said, peeling off my jacket. “After Fletcher fell, there was a moment when I could have climbed in the chopper.”

“And then what?” Christian turned the air to blow on the highest setting. “You take a scenic ride with a Vampire?”

“I know a thing or two about a thing or two. Maybe I would have kicked her out the door.”

“Not if she was strapped in.” Christian shook his head. “The pilot must be a complete feckwit. Had you been flying over the city, I’d be scraping pieces of you off every corner. The water saved your life. How close were you when you fell?”

I squeezed the ends of my hair. “My feet touched the water and knocked me off.”

“Jaysus, Mary, and Joseph. Good thing it didn’t flip you into one of the blades.”

I reclined my head. “Perish the thought.”

Christian got me to thinking: why had the chopper lowered so quickly to the river? It seemed unlikely that either Lenore or Houdini would think dragging me across the water was the best way to get rid of me, especially if it put the chopper at risk. Was that Houdini’s way of giving me an opportunity to live? If I had climbed into the helicopter, Lenore would have killed me. And who exactly had Lenore been shouting at, Fletcher or Houdini?

Another car zoomed past us.

“Aren’t you worried about a body in the back of the truck?” I asked.

“It’s not like I can’t charm anyone who asks about it.”

“Good point. What do we do with him?” My chills were finally subsiding, thanks to the heater.

Christian reached over and pulled me to him. I scooted across the bench seat and leaned into him. I loved bench seats, something modern cars didn’t have anymore. Christian’s body heat felt delicious, and I wrapped my arms around his middle and felt like icing sliding off a hot cake.

I slipped my hand into his shirt and placed it against his stomach. “We can’t take him back to the house in the woods. Lenore knows about it now, and she might do a flyover.”

He rubbed my back several times. “Did you finally learn how to swim?”

“No.”

“Hmm. Then I’m curious—did you get used to it underwater?”

I looked up and speared him with a glance. “What do you think? It was a nightmare. I felt like I was dying or dead. I couldn’t think, I could barely swim, and my entire chest felt like it was going to explode.”

“It’s a wonder you ever survived the womb.”

“The East River is not a womb. It’s the opposite. Cold, dirty, and confusing.”

Christian kissed my head. “Like my first sexual experience.”

His phone vibrated, and he reached inside his coat to answer. Instead of holding it to his ear, he put it on speaker. “I’m not bringing you snacks.”

“Have you heard from Claude or Gem?” Wyatt asked.

“No.”

“Huh. I got a weird message, and when I tried calling, it went right to voice mail.”

“Maybe they’re ignoring you,” I suggested.

“Uh-uh. Not on the job. We set up geolocation on their phones since Viktor didn’t trust Ronald. They’re off the map. Gone. Poof.”

“Then you’ll have to go see,” Christian said. “I have my hands full at the moment after fishing Raven out of the East River.”

“Well, Captain Ahab, thanks so much for your complete lack of teamwork.”

We had a body in the back of the truck we needed to figure out what to do with.

“Wyatt,” I said, steeling my voice from all the teeth chattering. “Get a team out there. I bet they’re out of range with no cell towers. Ronald said the storage was underground, and that could be interfering with reception. See what Viktor wants you to do, but we can’t go. We’re nowhere near the location, and the roads are a mess.”

He sighed dramatically. “Looks like you get your wish, Niko. They haven’t heard from them, and they’re too busy swimming.”

After Christian wrapped up the call, I scooted back to the passenger side. “Let’s go to my father’s place. He’s got a truck bed cover in the garage we can use until we figure out what to do with Fletcher. That’ll give me a chance to put on some dry clothes and make sure his place hasn’t burned down.”

Christian leaned to the side and tugged his coat out from beneath him before taking it off and handing it to me. “He wouldn’t happen to still have that machete, now would he?”

CHAPTER 27

While Christian put the cover on the back of the truck, I went inside the trailer and took a hot shower. I stayed in there until I finally got my core temperature back to normal. Crush kept some of my old clothes in the bottom drawer on the rare occasion I’d stay the night. After drying my hair, I put on a pair of grey jogging pants with white stripes down the side and a long-sleeved Harley-Davidson shirt. At least now my hair smelled like dandruff shampoo instead of the East River.

Christian stepped inside and shut the door. “Are you sure you don’t want to handle things here?” he asked, eager to do away with Fletcher.

“I don’t want those memories here.” I dumped the stale dog food in Harley’s bowl into the trash. “I’d feel better if he had another stunner in him. If he rolls around back there, that push dagger might come out.”

“Your da wouldn’t happen to have one lying around, would he?”

I set the empty bowl on the floor and then thought about his weapons in the closet. “Let me go check.”

After rummaging through his closet, I found a few blades. Though stunners didn’t affect me, I could pierce my skin and tell if a weapon was in that category. To my delight, I found a nice big one.

“Here,” I said, giving it to Christian. “Don’t lose it. I need to put it back when we’re done.”

He twirled the knife and grinned. “I’ll just be a moment.”

Christian shut the door behind him and marched down the steps. My nerves were still shot after the helicopter ride, and I didn’t want to deal with Fletcher tonight, regardless of how eager Christian was to dismember him.

When his phone vibrated across the table, I saw Wyatt’s name and answered. “Hello?”

“Who’s this?”

“Raven.”

“Oh. I thought Christian was with someone.”

“He’s with me. Stop trying to be funny. What do you want?”

“Niko and Shepherd drove out to the site. It turns out the freight elevator’s broken. Something went down, but we don’t know what. They said it smelled like something or someone caught fire. And the lights aren’t working. We can’t exactly call someone to fix it because of what’s down there. He thought maybe Christian could pound his way through the floor or something.”

I snorted at the idea. “I don’t think he can Shawshank anyone out of there. You didn’t find another entrance?”

“Nope. We think it was booby-trapped.”

I sat down in the chair, the light in the trailer growing dim from the setting sun. I hated to even throw this suggestion out there, but it was the only solution I could come up with. “Have Viktor talk to my dad. He fixes things.”

“Yeah, cars.”

“He’s a mechanic. He used to repair all kinds of things in his early life—anything mechanical he understands. Ren used to work as an electrician in the military. He doesn’t do that anymore, obviously, but he knows all about electrical systems. Maybe he can help out with that part of it. Viktor doesn’t have to tell them what’s going on. They just need to see what’s broken.”

I listened while Wyatt relayed the message to Viktor, who must have been in the room with him.

“He likes that idea,” Wyatt finally said. “Just left to go talk to your dad. He might have Christian scrub their memory if they happen to see anything they’re not supposed to. Are you okay with that?”

“Ask my dad. It’s up to him. And make sure he doesn’t do anything stupid while he’s there. He’s still recovering, and I don’t want him back at the hospital. In fact, have Viktor talk to Ren about it. I need someone looking after him so he doesn’t go crawling down a shaft if someone else can do the work.”

Wyatt made a raspberry sound. “Boy, all kinds of excitement around here. Ambush attack in the kitchen, hostage situation, secret treasures, allocating money, helicopters, disappearing phones, your dad in charge of something…”

“Wait, helicopters?”

Crunching sounded on the other end. “Yup. We don’t have a flight path out here, but a helicopter flew really close. It headed in the direction of the vacant property next door. Maybe someone’s moving in.”

“Keep the house locked up. Lenore’s out there, and I can’t guarantee she isn’t coming for us. Call Christian’s phone if you have any problems with my dad.”

“Where’s your phone?”

“I’m going to need a replacement.”

“Again?”

I ended the call as Christian walked in. “We need to leave right now.”

* * *

I drove my truck like a bat out of hell to get to Keystone as fast as I could.

“Lenore wouldn’t have the balls to sneak in, would she?” I asked, turning onto our private road.

“That wouldn’t be her style, but best we check it out.”

During the car ride, we had gone over a number of scenarios. Lenore wasn’t the mercenary type, so her trying to ambush our team was absurd. If she was the one who landed nearby, I considered that she might have thought the safest place to hide would be right under our noses. I wanted to get there before dark—before she would have the advantage of nightfall. Unfortunately, I couldn’t drive fast enough on these roads.

“Maybe the helicopter’s just a coincidence,” I said.

Christian barked out a laugh.

After passing our gate and continuing on, I pulled up the neighboring driveway and parked. I had been to this property once before when plotting our attack against Godfrey Sparrow after he infiltrated our mansion. Nothing had changed. Still just a slab of concrete where a house had once stood, now covered with a fresh dusting of snow.

We got out to search for signs of a helicopter landing.

“She was here,” he said, pointing at something on the foundation.

“How can you tell?”

“You can’t see what I see.” Christian walked away and stood beneath an evergreen tree. “There’s a thin layer of dirt on top of the snow just here. It must have been blown off the foundation. And look at the slab—there should be at least an inch of snow. Wind from the helicopter blades cleared out some of the powdery stuff.” Christian headed farther back and into the darkness.

Was she hiding in the woods, planning a sneak attack? Maybe she wanted to eliminate Viktor. I remembered Wyatt’s comment during our meeting about cutting off the head of a dragon and how the limbs would flail. Without Viktor, we had no clout with any officials. He wasn’t just the glue that kept us together; he was the dragon. Yet I couldn’t imagine her sneaking into our home when she knew we’d be on high alert and we outnumbered her.

“We should head home.” When I turned on my heel and took a step, my boot caught, and I tripped. I sat up and looked at a handle sticking out of the concrete. Once I brushed away a thin dusting of snow, I uncovered a hatch door. “Hey, check this out!”

Christian stepped up to the edge and tapped his boot against the handle. “What have we here?”

My arm muscles strained when I attempted to open it. “I think it’s locked.”

“Stand aside.” Christian pulled at the heavy lid, which must have been eight inches thick. The hatch was the exact size and shape of a door. Once open, he used the inside handle to gently lower it. “It’s a Vampire door. No locks required. If she’s down there, she’ll have heard us by now.”

I jogged back to the truck and grabbed the flashlight from the glove compartment. When I returned, Christian was already walking down the steps.

“Careful,” I whispered, following behind him.

When we reached a small room at the bottom, I shined my light on a metal door. Christian ripped a sticky note from it and showed it to me.

It was a series of numbers: 24267.

“What’s that?” I asked, pointing the light at a box.

Christian flipped open the cover, revealing a keypad. “Someone’s giving us an open invitation. Does she own this property?”

“I don’t know.”

Christian punched in the code, and it triggered the door to unlock.

“I keep forgetting to bring wood,” I said with annoyance.

Christian pressed his ear to the door and listened. “Can’t hear anyone. Shall we?”

“Danger is my middle name.”

When he opened the door, I aimed the flashlight into an empty hall. Christian flipped a switch on the wall, and recessed lighting in the ceiling revealed a furnished room up ahead. There were no doors, but I noticed vents on the ceiling. I couldn’t tell if an actual ventilation system was set up or if it was remnants from when the house once stood. It was possible there were air ducts somewhere on the property.

Christian moved slowly and then stopped, listening. When he shook his head, he kept going.

I turned off the flashlight and followed him into a quaint living room no bigger than what you might see in an apartment. The couch on the left wall looked broken in, and it faced a curtained wall instead of a television. This wasn’t a basement or storage room—someone lived down here. Gem would have liked the coffee table, which was a giant black rock with a smooth top.

When I approached the kitchen sink, I had a moment of déjà vu. After rounding the counter, I opened the fridge and stared at a fresh carton of milk inside. I shut the door. Then I noticed a plate of fresh beignets on the counter. Houdini liked beignets. I had a faint recollection of him mentioning how he’d made them from scratch when he held me in a place just like this.

Christian faced me. “This doesn’t look like her style. She’d never put her arse on a sofa that hideous.”

Ignoring him, I walked over to a tall curtain on the left wall and slowly pulled it back, revealing a giant glass wall. This wasn’t the same place Houdini had once kept me, but the layout was identical. Only instead of there being a door on the far side of the enclosed room, it was right in front.

We both looked into the brightly lit room where Lenore sat in a green chair, her head tipped to the side. While her braids were still intact, the rest of her hair looked like it had been sucked through a wind tunnel. Her orange dress had bloodstains where a stake was poking out from her chest. Dangling from it was what looked like a postcard—a hole punched neatly in the corner to loop the string through.

“Do you think her ghost is walking around?” I asked.

“It didn’t go through her heart.” He knocked on the window. “Looks like a few layers of plexiglass. No wonder I couldn’t hear them breathing.”

Noticing the keypad, I entered the same code we’d used to get inside, and the door unlocked.

Christian walked in, as bemused as I was. “Am I dreaming? This has to be a trap.” He touched the stake in her chest and gave it a good shake, one that would make even the toughest Vampire scream who might have been pretending with fake impalement wood.

I ripped the note off the stick and read it aloud: “She’s all yours.”

“Is that all it says?” Christian took it from my hand.

The note was written on a postcard with a picture of a hideous bird on the other side.

I returned to the living area and noticed a yellow envelope on the coffee table. When I opened it, I found a deed inside with my name on it, signed and dated yesterday. I peeked in the envelope and fished out a handwritten letter.

Butterfly,

I have no use for this place anymore, so what’s mine is now yours. I’ve left you a gift, and I will be very interested to speak to you one day about what you decided to do with it.

Affectionately yours,

Chaos

“This bird is a condor,” Christian said, walking into the living room. “They’re the national animal of Columbia, Peru, and I think Ecuador. Do you think it’s a clue? They’re vultures. That fits Lenore to a tee. But who the feck could have done this? And why would they bring her here?”

I shut the door to Lenore’s room, giving us privacy. “It’s Houdini.”

Christian flicked an alarmed glance toward the hallway.

“Don’t worry, he’s not coming back. This isn’t a trap; it’s an offering.”

“And how can you be certain?”

“Because I think in his own way, he’s trying to make up for the wrongs.” I sat down on the coffee table. “He mentored Lenore through a difficult time. They have a friendship that goes way back.”

“Is that so?”

“When she buried me, I think it insulted him.”

“You don’t say?” Christian cursed under his breath. “He staked an official and placed her near our doorstep. That’s entrapment. When the Regulators show up and here we are, how’s that gonna look?”

“I don’t think that’s what this is about. Houdini would never set a trap. He would think it’s simpleminded and lacking creativity.”

What got me was yesterday’s date. Did he falsify the document to throw me off and make it seem like this wasn’t an impulsive decision? If he had planned it all along, why wouldn’t he have warned me back at Lenore’s high-rise? It sure as hell would have saved me from nearly falling to my death.

Christian eyed Lenore. “Why would he hand her over this way for nothing? Did you promise him something?”

“No, but I’m his youngling. When she tried to kill me, that made it personal. Or maybe he was upset that he had no say and might have spent the rest of his life wondering where I’d gone. That would bother him more than if he’d planned it himself. Houdini likes control without being involved. In his own twisted way, he feels entitled to me without actually caring about me. Lenore walked in and tried to break one of his toys. He lashed out.” I handed Christian the letter. “He’s leaving it up to me to decide, and that’s so him.”

Christian wadded up the paper and pitched it at the sofa. “We have to take her head. We can’t set her free. She’ll ruin us. She’s seen our faces, so she’ll think we’re involved no matter what we say. That’s a spiteful woman in there, and she won’t bargain.”

“Fine. Just not here.”

Christian put his arm around me. “I’ll find a good place, and we’ll take that sorry excuse for a Creator with us. He’s yours to do with as you wish.”

CHAPTER 28

Christian dragged Fletcher downstairs with Lenore. We needed to temporarily hide them until we worked out a plan. Hopefully I wouldn’t see Houdini again for a long while, but just in case, I left a note on the plexiglass saying that we’d be right back and not to touch anything.

It was just before midnight when everyone returned home from rescuing Gem and Claude.

“Hey, Cookie. You awake?”

I opened my eyes and stretched across the leather sofa. The fire in the gathering room had burned down, only a few candles flickering in their lanterns. “What time is it?” I murmured.

“Late.”

Sitting up, I rubbed my eyes and yawned. “Is everything okay?”

He sat next to me and growled like a bear as he sighed. “Long story short, Ren and I had to do some electrical work to get the elevator functioning. We pried open the doors up top and climbed into the shaft. I had to use my welding tools to get everyone out.”

“You what?”

He scratched his nose. “Don’t worry. We had safety gear on. Damn shame whatever happened to the poor bastard in the elevator. The doors were blown outward just enough that it jammed up the elevator, so we had to do a lot of work to get everyone out. I don’t remember anything after that since peckerhead had to wipe that part out. Gives me a headache just thinking about it. Do me a favor and never let a Vampire inside my head again. That was a onetime deal.” He patted my knee. “Your friends are okay.”

“Gem and Claude?”

As if on cue, they filed in with the rest of the team.

Crush kissed my forehead. “I’m going to bed. Gonna take my pain pill and medicine, and I might even eat an apple. How’s that sound?”

It sounded like Christian might have put that idea in his head.

“Good night, Daddy,” I whispered.

I wasn’t certain what Viktor had told him, so I waited for him to leave before asking about their excursion. In the meantime, Viktor stoked the fire by adding more wood. They must have been home for a while since they had on sleep clothes. How had I not heard them? I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes.

Claude hitched up his grey sweatpants and sat on the hearth, his bare back to the fire. When a few embers sparked out, he helped Viktor drag the oversized screen in front of it. Gem’s brown boot slippers shuffled across the floor as she hurried over to the sofa. She grabbed the blanket and cocooned herself in it before sitting to my left.

“Don’t you have warmer pajamas?” I asked, pointing out that her purple sleep shorts and matching shirt weren’t winter appropriate.

She loosened the blanket before tucking her legs beneath her. “By the time I ran upstairs, I was too hot to put on flannel. Now I’m having second thoughts. This is so much fun! It’s like we’re camping out inside. Everyone’s been so busy lately. I miss when we used to come in here late at night and sit together.”

“When did we ever do that?” Shepherd asked, crossing the room.

“When some of you weren’t drinking yourselves into a coma,” she retorted.

I got up to help Shepherd when I noticed him shaking dust off the bearskin rug that we kept in the corner near the bookshelf.

“She’s right,” I said, shaking out my half. “We should do this more often when we’re not all loaded.”

“Think you can do that?” he asked quietly, giving me a look of uncertainty.

“I can if you can.”

I used to just be a social drinker, but lately that had changed. I found myself indulging at home and not during dinner. Even now, just thinking about Fletcher made me want a drink. That’s why I needed to get it under control—get me under control. My life was not about to get any easier, and if I didn’t learn how to deal with my emotions, I stood to lose everything that mattered.

I branched away from Shepherd, who dragged the rug over to the fire and spread it out. It was too late for Hunter to be up, but when he walked into the room in his light-up shoes, I realized he must have been sitting up all night, waiting for Shepherd to come home.

“It’s late, little man,” Shepherd said, waving him over to the rug. “Next time I’m not here, just let Kira tuck you in. I’ll check on you when I get home. Always do, even when you’re asleep.”

But Hunter just wanted his daddy. He sleepily crawled over the rug and tucked his hands beneath his head. Shepherd sat next to him and removed Hunter’s sneakers. Viktor must have called everyone to meet in here, and Hunter decided he didn’t want to wait to see his dad.

Once Viktor looked satisfied with the fire he’d built, he sat in one of the two armchairs that were catty-corner from the couch. A moment later Blue walked in, wearing her dark-red cotton gown with the wide sleeves and hood.

“Do you want the chair, amigo?” she asked, noticing Niko standing behind the empty chair.

“Do sit,” he insisted. “I’m comfortable standing.”

Blue took a seat in the chair, which was closest to the fireplace. Niko probably liked feeling the warmth from the fire. Being a Thermal had its perks, but it was impractical to drain the battery for hours at a time when there was a perfectly warm fire nearby.

When Christian walked in, I figured it was safe to start asking questions.

“Who was the dead person in the elevator?” I asked, snuggling against Christian when he sat down to my right.

Gem’s head poked out of her blanket fortress. “Borislav.”

“Holy shit. He was there?”

She brushed a tendril of hair away from her eyes. “Ugh! What a complete nightmare. Claude and I spent hours photographing every crate, box, trunk, and bag. We documented the contents. Not every specific item, but you get the gist. All we had left to check was this stand-alone building in the garage. More like a shed. We open the door, and behold! There’s a Vampire waiting for us in the dark.”

My eyebrows rose. “He was in there the whole time? Did Ronald lie to us?” I looked at Christian, who seemed equally perplexed.

“Ronald didn’t know he was in there,” Claude answered, leaning back on his hands. “Borislav didn’t trust Lenore wasn’t up to something, so he charmed Ronald for the key. He had full access to come and go without anyone’s knowledge. I presume that’s where he decided to stay until he felt comfortable about their arrangement.”

I gave Gem a sideways glance. “I think I can guess what happened with the elevator blowing up.”

Gem smiled blithely.

“We didn’t have time to hunt for impalement wood,” Claude continued. “The scoundrel was close to the lever that shut off the lights. We had to comply.”

“He thought he was in charge.” Gem let sparks dance on her fingertips before stuffing her hands beneath the blanket again. “He sent fake messages out on our phones. He planned on calling in his men and moving his things out, but I just knew he wasn’t going to set us free. I did what I had to.”

Claude leaned forward and dusted off his palms. “He destroyed our phones so we couldn’t call for help. Good thing he sent those messages, or we might still be down there.”

“All those photos,” Gem said glumly, resting her head on my shoulder. “We wasted hours of work.” Then she snapped her head up, her eyes bright with excitement. “But I tried on the jewels, and you should have seen all the books! Oh, Viktor. Do you think we could at least keep the books to look at? There was so much history.”

He nodded. “I will let you parse through them, and you can document the contents for each one. I will decide if any should be turned over to the authorities.”

“I take it you found the mother lode,” Wyatt said, waltzing in with a pint of ice cream and a spoon. Some of the ice cream had dripped onto his lucky Pac-Man shirt. He sat on the left armrest of the sofa. “What was down there?”

“What wasn’t down there?” Claude asked rhetorically. “Jewels, paintings, vases, tons of books, swords, gold bars, coins, silver, antique cars, carvings made from jade or ivory—”

“There’s also this beautiful jade dragon,” Gem said glumly, shielding half her face behind the blanket. “It’s so pretty.”

“Of course,” Viktor said. “And it will go with everything else. We received our reward. These items are not ours to keep.”

“What do you plan to do with it all?” Shepherd asked.

“Probably donate it to an auction house,” Wyatt said, rolling his eyes before shoveling vanilla ice cream into his mouth.

“Nyet.”

I thought of the property next door. I hadn’t checked to see if Houdini had other secret rooms, but it was large enough for several trunks and anything of particular value. “I know a place we can securely store a few things.”

Wyatt licked a giant spoonful of vanilla. “And where’s that, Miss Moneybags?”

“I own some property nearby. Unless Viktor has other plans, I’m guessing he might not want to leave everything down there with a hole in the elevator. Anyhow, sorry to interrupt.”

Viktor lifted his glass of vodka. “Your father did good work. We will go tomorrow to clear out body parts and document everything again before sealing it up. It is an isolated location and will work for now. Wyatt will set up security alarms to alert us if anyone is on the premises. When we are ready to move everything to trucks, we will take off the elevator doors. They are damaged and will not operate. Your father assured us the elevator would still work if the doors are removed.” Viktor sipped his drink. “An old friend who was there many years ago when we assassinated most of the oligarchs now works for the higher authority in New York. I will anonymously give him the location.”

“How will he know what it’s in relation to?” Niko asked.

Viktor swirled the remaining drink in his glass. “I will put hand from freezer in box and hire a messenger to anonymously deliver. He will see the tattoo and know. Even though he will not know of my involvement, I trust him. If he suspects, he will still say nothing.”

“How can you be certain?” Niko asked.

“Our group forged an unbreakable alliance and vowed one day to find these men. Since Ronald owns the property, Wyatt is working to erase all history of ownership. Once Christian wipes the human’s memories, he will no longer be a threat. I want everything erased,” he said to Christian. “All memories of his adult life removed. Replace with whatever you think will stick, but I do not want to take any chances. He is a trusted human who has worked with Breed, so it is important that he does not recognize anyone.”

“Aye. He’ll think he’s the best ice-cream man in Tucson, Arizona. I’ll just need a couple of plane tickets.”

Wyatt licked his spoon. “What happens to all the riches after your buddy collects them?”

Viktor stroked his beard. “My friend will know how to disperse these items. I trust him. He understands the importance of secrecy and would not reveal this to his peers. But he will ensure the valuables are either returned to their rightful owners or sold for charity.”

“And the money?” Blue played with the wide sleeves of her dress, one she often wore late at night. “Wyatt moved a ton of cash.”

Wyatt finished his ice cream. “A mind-boggling amount. No one would know if I moved some of that over to our accounts.”

“I would know,” Viktor snapped. “I will not accept blood money. These men ruined my country, killed many, and drove my family out. That is not who we are.” Viktor finished his drink and set down his glass.

Wyatt got up from the armrest of the sofa. “It’s your call. Definitely no skin off my back. After looking at my pay cut, that’ll be enough to buy me a few arcade machines.”

“Spooky, where in the world are you going to put an arcade machine?” Gem asked.

“In the new game room,” he said matter-of-factly, strolling into the kitchen with his spoon and empty carton.

Viktor chuckled to himself. “I have agreed to run electricity in an additional room so Wyatt may install game machines. Wyatt needs his privacy and space in his office, and I thought Hunter would have fun with this since he is too young for pool.”

“No complaints here,” Shepherd chimed in. “I’d rather him play outside, but he can’t on days like these. It would be nice for him to do something fun inside where I can keep an eye on him.” He stroked Hunter’s messy black hair while he slept. “My little man’s getting bigger. Soon he’ll be growing out of all his toys.”

“Says who?” Wyatt returned to the room with a bag of Doritos. “I never grew out of my toys.”

Shepherd chortled. “Yeah, you’re driving one.”

Wyatt sat on the armrest. “And you sharpen yours at night. Every man has his own version of toys. Claude has his Porsche, Niko has his swords, and Christian has Raven.”

“While we’re on the subject of money,” Shepherd said, casting a curious look at Viktor. “Sorry if I’m outta line, but it’s gotta be said. You should start paying Kira for her services. Switch earns money, and while I get you’re taking care of her and giving her a secure place to stay, it ain’t right. Her doing all this work for no pay—it ain’t right.”

Niko stared intently at Shepherd and squinted as if reading his light. “I think you should hear Shepherd out. Kira may not wish to live here forever, and she won’t have a penny to her name.”

“Give her hope,” Shepherd continued. “Give her a future. It doesn’t have to be much—just pay her what she’s worth.”

Viktor quietly stroked his beard. “I have asked her once before, and she refused money.”

Shepherd scoffed. “Maybe she was afraid if she asked for too much, you wouldn’t have taken her in. Even if she doesn’t want it, set up an account in her name. What if something happens to us and she’s forced to start over on her own? She busts her ass day and night, and I know everyone here sees it. I sure as hell remember what a pain in the ass it was to clean out all the candles, do laundry, wash the floors, clear out the garden, put chemicals in the pool, oil all the squeaky doors, cook—”

“We get the point.” Wyatt wiped at a stain of ice cream on his shirt. “I could arrange all that. I would just need to know how much. Does that mean she gets a cut from all our jobs? Or do you want her pay coming directly from your account like Switch’s does?”

Viktor raised his hand to silence him. “We had a unique arrangement when she first arrived, but you make a valid point. She has proven herself loyal. But Kira has no desire to leave. She is adamant about staying.”

Shepherd touched the scars on his hand. “She might want to use that money for furniture, new clothes, or even a vacation. People change. Maybe she’ll want to buy a small house somewhere she can retreat to on her days off.” He glanced down at Hunter. “She looks after Hunter a lot when I’m on a job and Switch isn’t around. She cooks for him and makes sure he gets his bath every night. If you don’t pay her, I will.”

“Agreed, agreed,” Viktor said. “It is settled. It is time for change, but all this talk of people leaving has me unsettled. Is this what you want?” he asked Shepherd. “You have boy now.”

Shepherd shook his head. “I like where I am. It’s not the home I ever imagined for my kid, but it’s the best life I can give him. Maybe someday in the future I’ll leave or settle with a good woman who can accept all this. But it’s about timing, and now isn’t the right time. I need to figure my shit out, and Hunter just needs a stable life with people he can count on. And that’s you, knuckleheads. You’re the aunts and uncles he’ll remember when he’s older. This is the house that’ll fill his memories, and I don’t think I could give him a better life on my own. I sure as hell couldn’t afford Switch and the level of education he provides.”

Viktor looked at the sleeping boy with a tender gaze. Most of Switch’s pay came right out of Viktor’s pocket even though it was for Shepherd’s child. He did a lot for us beyond what any boss would do. Maybe in some small way, we were the pack he didn’t have.

Harley trotted into the room and stopped in the center. A dog his size commanded attention. His tail flapped back and forth as he sniffed the air. “Woof” was all he said before licking Hunter’s arm and then lying next to him.

I smiled, knowing my father must have let him come down here. He loved that dog, but he also loved kids and knew how much Hunter enjoyed Harley’s company. I also suspected he wanted Christian to take him out since he was going to bed and couldn’t leave the third floor.

Christian pulled a thread on his dark sweater. “Are you satisfied with everything we’ve done? What I mean to say is, are you ready for me to erase the eejit’s memories?”

I hadn’t given much thought about Ronald since coming back home. “Where is he?”

“Needn’t worry about him,” Niko said, stretching his back and arms. “I locked him in an empty room void of windows.”

Blue crossed her legs. “I hope you tied him up. Otherwise I’ll be the one doing a flyover, looking for him when he escapes.”

“The restraints Christian had on him were unnecessary.” Niko rubbed his neck and shoulder while yawning. “He’s not a man of any exceptional talents when it comes to picking locks. He has a private bathroom and plenty of time to ruminate over all he’s losing.”

Gem peered at him from her blanket cocoon. “But what if he drowns himself in the tub?”

“Then problem solved,” Christian replied. “Wouldn’t that make everyone’s life easier if he decided his own fate? I have better things to be doing than poking around in his head and flying across the map to drop him off in some isolated town.”

“Uh, no.” Wyatt tossed his chips on the coffee table. “Because guess who would get to live with the freshy if he decides not to go into the light? That’s right. Yours truly,” he said, using air quotes.

Gem tossed a pillow at him.

Christian leaned forward and met eyes with Viktor. “Just let me know when you have plane tickets. I think it’s best if we send him to a city where he hasn’t had any dealings. I’ll be sure to give him a job befitting his character.”

“Cleaning toilets?” Shepherd quipped.

“That’s a respectable job.” Christian stood and stretched his back. “Perhaps he’ll work independently, scraping up roadkill. The sooner the better. The longer he stays, the greater the risk of him escaping.”

Viktor laced his fingers together and sighed. “Wyatt, how soon can you create an alias for this man? We will also need a form of ID and job experience.”

Wyatt grabbed his chips again. “I can get everything by morning. We keep a database of identities ready to go. All I need to do is activate a few social media sites and notify our fake contractors who will provide any required work references. If you guys want to give him a medical history of amnesia or head trauma, I’ll need to know so I can hack those databases and create records.”

“Spasibo. I do not want him here. Give Christian two plane tickets to wherever you two decide. Christian, I will have Shepherd or Blue drive you to the airport tomorrow. How long do you require to erase his memories?”

Christian put his hands in his pockets. “Erasing his entire life is detailed, but I can do it on the way to the airport. It’s implanting new memories that takes longer. I can’t do it here, or he might have memories of this place.”

“Why not scrub him again?” Wyatt asked.

Christian tilted his head. “To put this in a way you might understand, it’s never good to double-dip.” He pursed his lips, still thinking. “He’ll need a small bag of luggage, cash, and a meager bank account.”

“Very meager,” Claude emphasized, standing up from the hearth and stepping away. “I can put his luggage together. I’ve got plenty of razors and toiletries, and there’s still a box of old clothes we haven’t gotten around to donating.”

“I’ll drive you to the airport,” Shepherd volunteered, raising two fingers. “We’ll take the van so you can do your Vampy stuff in the back.”

Christian walked by the dog and looked down. “Give me the earliest round trip you can find. I want to be back no later than the afternoon.” He snapped his fingers. “Up you go, fleabag. Time for you to take a shite.”

Harley flipped over and showed Christian his belly.

Blue reached back and twisted her long brown hair to one shoulder. “Now we just have to figure out what to do about Lenore. It’s not right what she did. What do you plan on doing, Viktor?”

“Nothing,” I answered flatly, drawing everyone’s attention. “Lenore won’t be a problem anymore. Not for a long time.”

Viktor cast an uncertain gaze my way. “What do you mean by this?”

I stood up and straightened my black Harley shirt. “When I went to her condo earlier, she fled. For good. I’m pretty sure she left the country, but she’s not coming back.”

“And I wager no one will ever find her,” Christian added, giving me a loaded glance. “She wouldn’t want a scandal brought upon her, and we know too much. Without her fortune and status, Lenore is powerless to do anything. Abandoning her post without explanation will sully her good name, and she’ll never get a position working for the higher authority again with that record.”

Niko stole my spot next to Gem and shifted his attention to her. “Tell us more about your standoff with the Vampire, braveheart. And leave nothing out.”

Christian and I walked past Viktor. He never took his eyes off us, and an explanation transpired in our gaze—one that assured him there was more to the story, but it was better for him not to ask. That way nothing would ever come back to bite him. He discreetly inclined his head before Christian and I left the room, Harley trotting alongside us.

After putting on my shoes and trench coat, I followed Christian out the side door on the east wing. While Harley sniffed around, looking for the best spot, I stood next to the house, hands in my pockets. The air was crisp and clean, and something felt wholly different. A shift had taken place in my life, one that gave me the same feeling as standing on the ledge of a tall building. A feeling of power, excitement, and a little bit of terror. The snow crunched beneath my shoes as I branched away from the house and looked toward my new property, which was about a mile away. Lenore and Fletcher were down there, sitting in awkward poses with their eyes open like marionette dolls.

“When I come back tomorrow, we’ll take care of them,” Christian said darkly. Moonlight cast shadows, and the world around us was black and white. Christian gazed down at me, his eyes as black as the woods. “We’ll do it together and then bury the bodies. I already arranged for a coffin.”

This was feeling all too real, and my stomach knotted with what I could only guess was anticipation. Every fantasy I’d ever had about killing Fletcher and Lenore would come true.

“Do you want to go over there now? He’s all yours to do with as you wish.” Christian leaned close. “Make him suffer.”

“Maybe tomorrow I’ll pay him a visit.”

He stroked my arms. “Nothing would please me more. But if I come back and they’re missing…”

I glanced up at a leafless tree. “You won’t have to worry about that.”

“So you keep saying.” Christian cocked his head and looked around. “Jaysus, where the feck is that dog?” He stalked toward the back, whistling and calling after Harley, whose mission was to mark his territory all over the property.

The air was still, and the moonlight illuminated every bare branch on the tree. I walked over, hands in my pockets, and glanced up at where I’d seen Houdini’s owl land once or twice. All this time, I’d thought he was just showing up randomly—never realizing that he was living next door, checking in on me whenever he liked. It explained my seeing him once roaming the private roads near our home.

I reached up and tugged the red ribbon off the branch where I’d hung his key. The puzzle box was still in my room, but Houdini wanted the key that allegedly revealed secrets about him no one knew. It was my connection to him, one he never thought I’d give back. A key that tethered me to him unnecessarily. I’d had a feeling he wouldn’t leave town without one last visit—a final opportunity to check in and watch me from afar. By morning, Houdini would be long gone, wreaking chaos in the world. Perhaps he would change.

Probably not.

I ran my finger down the silky ribbon, feeling the deep wrinkle where he had untied the knot and removed the key. Christian either didn’t notice it in the branch or didn’t think anything about it. I had taken the key out of the puzzle box and left it hanging as a gesture of goodwill, just in case Houdini wanted to pop in one last time. Now all I had was a lonely ribbon to remind me of a maker that never was—a Vampire who could have been so much more to me but never wanted that responsibility.

Christian and Houdini had each given me a gift with the same expectation to kill someone who had hurt me, and the Vampire within me wanted nothing more than to live up to that.

CHAPTER 29

Christian left at dawn to finish the job with Ronald and fly him to his new home, far off the grid. I found a checkerboard and took it to my father’s room that morning with his breakfast. Instead of eating with the team, who were lively as usual after we finished a job, I played checkers with my dad before taking his dog downstairs. After Hunter put on his puffy blue coat and striped mittens, he skipped outside with me and rolled down a hill, trying to make himself into a human snowball. Switch joined us and gave Hunter his knit hat while we talked.

Switch had ideas about all the places he wanted to travel with the specific goal of touring famous libraries. He had a keen interest in creating a Breed library since most books about us were archived or in personal collections. He said because not all of them contained incriminating information needed for hunting outlaws, they could be kept in an accessible building for educational purposes. Every Mage and Vampire had to teach history to their progeny the same way every child born of Breed had to learn. And sometimes their education was only as good as the person teaching them. Books could fill that gap.

Switch was a remarkable man. I knew once he rebuilt his reputation by working for Keystone and making Hunter into an educated man, he would go off and do something amazing. Most of all, I hoped he would one day find his own family.

Because I had finally found mine.

Though we had a good chat, I felt melancholy the rest of the day. For reasons I couldn’t explain, capturing Fletcher upended repressed feelings I wasn’t ready to face—feelings I’d buried so I could focus on my new life. He was a monster, and in some ways, so was my maker. The only reason Houdini had given us Lenore was to test me. Otherwise he would have finished her himself. Since the moment I became Breed, I’d struggled with figuring out where I stood on the spectrum of good and evil. And now Houdini’s gift was leaving me uncertain of which side of that line I truly belonged. I had spent most of the day fantasizing about walking over there and torturing Fletcher. Yet I couldn’t be alone with him again. Not ever. And not out of fear, but out of self-preservation. Knowing Christian had already done it gave me a measure of comfort, and yet I was unexpectedly conflicted all day. The more I thought about it, the sicker I got. Though this had to come to an end, I wasn’t sure if I could bring myself to kill my own Creator. Not just because I could one day be executed for it, but would that act turn me into him? I didn’t know if I could kill the man who’d given me life, despite the suffering he put me through. Christian had spent decades coming to terms with his feelings about Lenore, and I’d had less than twelve hours.

Christian returned home after dark. He had some things to take care of and gave me time to bring the truck next door. I drove to my new property dressed in all black because it seemed befitting of a funeral. After loading the bodies in the back and covering them, he drove us to our destination.

“Are we doing this at your place?” I asked when he turned up the dirt road that led to his home in the woods.

“Not exactly.”

Before we reached the small house, he veered right, and the journey got bumpier. It wasn’t a dirt road so much as a cleared path.

“Don’t mess up my truck,” I warned him when we hit a hard bump.

“Get a flashlight out if you have one.”

I reached in the glove compartment and tucked one inside my trench coat. The headlights lit up the trees ahead, but the woods were dark and deep. We drove for what felt like miles, and the path cleared out as the trees spaced apart. I wondered if I would ever sleep well again after this. Would I no longer have nightmares? Would they be worse? Was I now the monster that lurked in the dark woods?

When we reached a hill, Christian finally parked the truck and turned off the lights. I got out, realizing there was no going back now.

After pulling away the truck cover, he hauled the bodies out of the back, each wrapped up in plastic and tied with rope. Christian dragged them toward the steep hill, and the patchy snow flattened beneath the weight of the bodies. I shined the light in a tree when an owl hooted. But it was brown, not white. It flapped away as if it knew evil was passing through on a snowy night.

Starlight and a rising moon illuminated the fallen snow, making it easy to see. When he let go of the bodies near a steep incline, Christian approached a large boulder and rolled it to the side. I expected bats to come flying out of the opening. Instead, the darkness stared back at me like a familiar friend. He dragged both bodies in, and I shined the light as I followed behind him. We descended down a path, the walls on either side so narrow that I could stretch out my arms and touch them. I stared down at the end of the two plastic bags, wondering what must be going through their minds. Anger? Regret? Fear? We walked for a long time before the path veered right and then leveled out. How deep underground were we?

When we entered a cavern, Christian let go of the bodies and strode behind a large rock.

The cavern walls above us were about twenty feet high, water dripping down the stalactites. Instead of rock, the ground beneath us was dirt. I angled my flashlight to the right and spotted a grave with a mound of dirt piled next to it. A large wooden cover shaped like a coffin leaned against a rock. Then I shined my light into the hole and stared at the coffin.

“I got one that’s extra deep,” he said from behind me. “Some like to be buried with their possessions or even their partners, so Breed coffins come in all sizes.”

Christian cut away the ropes with a machete and sliced open the plastic tarps. I set down the flashlight on a tall rock, angling it until it illuminated everything.

Lenore lay with her arms at her sides, looking fabulous in a burnt-orange dress with matching lipstick and nail polish. The only thing out of place was the stake embedded in her chest. Her catatonic gaze and smeared lipstick gave me the creeps. Christian dragged her toward the pit and left her at the edge before handing me the machete.

I clutched it in my hand while staring down at Fletcher. His wiry beard had mud in it, as did his clothes from when Christian dragged him out of the river. His black T-shirt and the suit jacket over it were still damp and covered in river mud.

After Christian checked the push dagger in his shin to make sure it was in tight, he pulled out my father’s dagger from Fletcher’s chest. Once he wiped the blade clean on Fletcher’s suit, he offered it to me. “Feel free to cut anything off you don’t think he needs anymore.” When I didn’t take it, he drew close and lowered his voice. “You’ll never have a moment like this again. Conquer your demons, Raven. Slay them.”

But I was busy having what I could only describe as an existential crisis.

After a moment, he took the machete from my hand and replaced it with the dagger. I walked robotically over to Fletcher and stared down at the man who had stolen my light for pleasure and essentially shaped me into a killer.

I trembled with rage when the memories flooded back. The violation, the depravity, the feeling of worthlessness. “I had nightmares for years because of what you did to me. Now I get drunk to cope.”

Although Fletcher couldn’t move, he smiled with his eyes. Incensed, I kicked him in the face, bloodying his lip. Then I knelt down and turned his head to face me again. “Were you always a piece of shit? Have you ever had a kind bone in your body or done someone a good turn that didn’t benefit you? Have you ever loved anyone? Or did hell just spit you out because they didn’t want you? I’ll never get an apology. I’m sure you’d do your best if it meant saving your ass, but if I let you go, you’ll just ruin someone else’s life.” I pressed my father’s dagger against his neck, ready to take his life in the most gruesome and painful manner.

Infuriated that a quick death would be too generous, I stabbed the blade into the ground and then turned his arms upward. When I clasped my hands over his, I pulled his light into me. I drank Fletcher’s life source, feeling every wicked part of his soul as it flooded into my body. I also felt his fear, and when I saw it in his eyes, I held that connection for a stretch before breaking it.

I reached behind me and pulled the stunner from his leg.

Fletcher made a gurgling sound, and his lips peeled back. He was too weak to resist since I had drained most of his light, and blood continued oozing from his wounds.

I held the push dagger to his throat. “Why did you hurt and degrade me like that? Just to get your light fix? You went so far beyond the pale. Why!”

He looked at me defiantly. “Because I could. Because you’re a cunt.” He spat in my face.

“Fuck!” I shoved the three-inch blade through his sternum. Then I shot up and angrily wiped my face using the bottom of my shirt.

“You have to do it,” Christian urged me.

“I can’t. Look, I know I’m not a saint. But killing my Creator in cold blood will make me just as evil as he is. Why can’t I be better than that? Killing him is the easy way.”

Christian glowered. “You’ll never be a true Vampire until you shed your human skin.”

“Don’t you get it? He can’t hurt me anymore.”

Christian threw down the machete. “If you don’t kill him, I’ll have done this for nothing. I’ll have kidnapped and tortured him for months on end… all for nothing. You will have made me into the monster you always believed I was.”

“How is this any different than what he did to me? Or would have done if he had caught up with me again?”

“The world needs justice, not pity.”

I paced the room. This wasn’t just a moral dilemma but an ethical one. No matter which way I cut it, Fletcher was my Creator. If I killed him in cold blood, I would become him. I would betray my oath to Keystone and become, once again, one of the criminals we hunted. This went beyond justice.

“This isn’t right,” I said.

He stalked toward me. “Then make it right.”

“I can’t! I won’t!” Tears stung my eyes as I gripped Christian’s coat. “He has to suffer, but I won’t kill him. Remember when you said that I reminded you of the human you once were? Don’t you see? If you make me do this, you’ll take that away. You asked me to marry you not just because you love me but because you also want something in your life that feels normal—that feels good. If I do this, I’ll have crossed a line. And if you cut off her head, I don’t know what that’ll mean. She hurt you, and I know the pain you carry. I know the rage. But we’re not here plotting out justice; we’re carrying out revenge. If I murder my Creator, and you kill a higher authority member, that could one day split us apart. If someone found out, we would be led to a trial and executed on the spot. How much of our lives do you want them to ruin?”

“Then what do you suggest? Setting them free?” he asked in disbelief. “Because I can’t, Raven. I won’t.”

My fangs punched out. “Murdering my Creator is punishable by death, but nobody ever said anything about burials. Lenore is mentally begging for you to either kill her or turn her in so she can sit in a comfy jail cell. Make her experience what you endured. Show her the same mercy she gave you.”

Christian’s fangs elongated, and dark desire glittered in his Vampire eyes.

“She’ll be awake through every moment of her body wasting away. She did this to both of us, and I think it’s time we repay her in kind.” I flattened my hands on his chest and looked up at him, whispering, “Death is mercy, and they deserve none.” I caressed his neck and then cupped his face in my hands. “We can be Vampires without being monsters, can’t we? Burying them isn’t murder because there’s always a chance someone could find them. There’s always a chance they could escape.”

“And if they do?”

“Then I’ll be ready. More than ever. What does she have to come back to? We’ve ruined her. Let’s leave it up to fate to decide. How many years do you really think Fletcher will last in there? No one’s ever explored that. I don’t think a Mage can regenerate his bones.”

“Why didn’t you pull his core light?”

“I thought about it,” I said, lowering my hands. “I almost did. It would be fun to toss him in there alive and kicking. The only problem is he might free Lenore in order to free himself. As much as he wouldn’t want to be a meal or crushed by her anger, running out of oxygen makes you desperate.”

Christian cradled my neck with his warm hands. “Are you certain about this? You won’t be having regrets?”

“If so, we know where they are. I gave it a lot of thought today. I knew as long as I was angry, I’d never make a rational decision. When I felt his fear moving inside me, I had a moment of clarity.” I glanced at the open grave. “Is this a safe place to bury them?”

“Gravewalkers don’t do this type of work anymore. Not really. The odds of one of them wandering into this cave on my property are slim to none.” He gave me a crooked grin. “Perhaps we can pop in every few years and give our regards. Now come help me with the bodies. We’re doing this together.”

I grabbed Fletcher’s feet while Christian took his arms. We dropped him into the hole carefully, and he landed straight on his back with his limbs inside the coffin.

I stared down at Fletcher Black. This would be the last time we would see each other. He would finally suffer the way I wanted him to, and how he died was truly up to destiny. After all, nothing was written in stone. Both Christian and I had been buried by the same woman, and yet we were both found. I almost died in a fire as a child, and the man who saved me was Christian Poe. Sometimes fate had a funny way of popping in and reminding me that anything could happen. In a cemetery, it was possible they might be discovered by a Gravewalker. But in this location? Probably not.

If so, I was certain that it would be decades, if not centuries, later. Christian and I would be a powerful force by then. Revenge might be a dish best served cold, but justice was a dish well planned. And justice was served.

Christian squatted above Lenore and used his finger to move a tendril of hair away from her face. “Thank the heavenly angels I can finally talk without hearing your fecking voice. Let’s make one thing clear: I never loved you, but I could have. I was obsessed with pleasing you, and you were feeding me your blood to manipulate my emotions and keep me loyal. You are a venomous snake with no sense of humor and insipid stories that bore the feck out of me. You’re not the most beautiful woman in the room; you’re only the most affluent. Without your money and power, you’re nothing. That’s why Raven outshines you. She’s everything you’re not, and that makes her far superior. I know why you buried me, and just so you know, you acted in haste. Even if you had cut ties with me, I would have never told anyone your secrets. That’s how devoted I was—how loyal. You used me and then you threw me out like yesterday’s trash. And yet you somehow expected me to come crawling back to you, as if suffering in the ground hadn’t changed me to my core.” Christian planted his fists on either side of her head and stared down at her. “I was ready to take your head today, but that’s not the ending you deserve. You played victim your whole life to men holding power over you, but you were the one doing the victimizing. Aye, women deserve equal opportunities. In fact, if more women ran this world, it might be a sight better than the mess we’ve made of it. Not women like you. Raven will one day become the leader you always dreamed of being, only she’ll rule with fairness and firmness. And should you ever walk out of this grave I’ve dug for you, then come for us. I dare you.”

Christian grabbed the dagger and cut her hair as he had once done with Sparrow. When he finished, he lifted her into his arms, the impalement wood still deep in her chest. As he hummed an old Fred Astaire song “Cheek to Cheek,” he rocked her in his arms as if they were dancing. He did a twirl and then strolled to the grave, still humming with relish. I wondered if that song had any meaning between them.

“I’ve wanted you dead for so long,” he finally said. “But Raven’s a smart lass. You’ve tried too hard to gain my loyalty, and you have no idea what you put me through. You think a man can rise from a coffin after ten long years and put aside any fantasies about your death? It’s not that easy. I’ll be interested to hear your perspective if you manage to find your way out of here. Maybe in ten years, maybe five hundred. Let’s have a cup of coffee and discuss how eager you are to be friends again, shall we? Sweet dreams.” He bent forward and let go.

I heard her body slam into Fletcher’s, and I walked to the edge and looked in. “Is that gonna be deep enough?”

“Aye. They’re not going anywhere in that condition. Perhaps I should have tossed her in facedown,” he said, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

I leaned over and glared at her glassy eyes. While I couldn’t remember the incident of when she buried me, I could only imagine her glee when she closed the lid, thinking she’d never have to deal with me again. “Just so we’re clear, we didn’t come after you. Christian never broke his word. He promised he wouldn’t come after you and kill you, and we’ve stayed true to that. But we never made any promises about not burying you. We didn’t conspire with the person who put you here. And one more thing—we’re not honoring that favor for the rest of eternity. The one about us not coming for you. We’ll put an expiration date on it of one hundred years. Sound reasonable?”

Christian grabbed a shovel from the dirt pile and got on his knees. He lowered the tool into the casket and flipped her left arm back in the coffin. Because he’d cut her hair, I could see Fletcher’s blank stare below her, just to the left. Christian tossed the shovel aside.

Before going any farther, I got down on my knees and glared into the grave. “This is what you get for meddling in my life. I bet you got a real laugh out of dressing up Fletcher to get under my skin. Do you know what he did to me? Do you have any idea who you’re lying on top of? I bet you do, and that makes it worse. You’re a despicable woman. I bet you thought I was going to call you a fucking bitch.” I stood up and brushed the dirt off my hands. “Yeah, that too.”

Christian picked up the coffin lid and lowered it into the grave at an angle before letting go. The lid slammed into place. He took his time pouring nails into his pockets from a box of supplies he’d placed in the room. Then he grabbed a hammer and jumped onto the coffin lid. I watched him hammer every single nail through the wood, and he took his time doing it. Lenore could have waltzed back into Christian’s life and left us alone, but she hadn’t.

Time for them to fully appreciate their impending fate.

“Maybe you should have gotten a stone coffin,” I suggested.

“The pine box is a different experience,” he said, still hammering. “You get all sorts of things creeping in, slithering into your ears and your nose.”

Christian tossed the hammer out. I offered him my arm while he found his footing and climbed up. He must have dug the grave last night before his trip and then picked up the coffin this afternoon.

With two shovels on hand, we both took our time filling dirt in the hole. I wanted Fletcher to hear every single drop of dirt on the lid. I remembered what it was like to run out of air and then do nothing except exist in the darkness. I hoped the fates would look kindly on us and give them what they deserved. How long would Fletcher last down there before he officially died? How long could a Vampire stay buried before not even Vampire blood could regenerate their bones? Even if they somehow freed themselves in five hundred years, I’d get satisfaction looking into their faces. And I’d be a different person. I wasn’t certain what kind of person I would one day become, but I knew with certainty that I was finally burying the demons that kept me up at night.

We patted the dirt down. Because of the coffin, we had a pile of excess.

“Spread it around,” Christian said. “It’ll settle with time.”

We took our shovels and spread the dirt across the hollow room. Afterward, I sat down on a rock, and Christian sat beside me.

“I should have thought to bring water,” he said.

“I’m not thirsty.”

“I meant for me. I’d take a wee on their grave, but my bladder is empty.”

“As usual. Maybe we can have sex on top of them. Can they hear us?”

“Jaysus wept.” Christian chuckled and put his arm around me. “You’re a peculiar woman.”

“Yep. And that’s why you love me.”

“Aye, that it is, Precious. That it is.”

CHAPTER 30

Two days after burying Lenore and Fletcher, my father decided he had overstayed his welcome. I offered to drive him home, and he agreed under the condition that I would let him drive.

“For old times’ sake,” he said to me.

Since my truck was an older model and didn’t have a back seat, Harley rode up front by the passenger door, sandwiching me in the middle. It hadn’t snowed in days, and most of the streets were clear because of the intense afternoon sun.

“Maybe we should’ve left before dark.” I glanced at a sign as we passed it. “This isn’t the right way.”

“Sure it is.”

I looked at my father, who had on a leather coat zipped up to his neck. Wyatt had given him one of his black beanies, which knocked fifteen years off his looks. Maybe because it covered most of his grey hair and forehead lines, but he also had a twinkle in his eye.

I turned down the radio. “Dust in the Wind” was a little depressing for the drive home since I always got sad leaving him behind in that old trailer. “Okay, what gives? Is there a restaurant out here you want to eat at? You should have told me, and I would have brought my wallet.”

He turned off the highway and took a road that looped to the other side. “You can come over and pick up your truck tomorrow.”

“From where? What’s going on? You know I hate secrets.”

When he stopped, I noticed the green sign ahead with an arrow pointing left. It said: Cognito Zoo.

“You have got to be shitting me,” I said. “Are we going to the zoo?”

Crush reached the booths in the road that had the gates down. One of the arms rose, granting us entry. A man stepped out and waved. I leaned over and looked closely, noticing his Chitah eyes.

Harley sensed something was up and stuck his nose to the crack in the window. His drool smeared all over the glass.

“You’re washing this car, right?”

Crush gave a rolling belly laugh. “Girl, by the time you’re ready to pick her up, I’ll have her spit shined like you haven’t seen since the day she left my loving arms.”

“I’m just going to guess Christian is behind this.”

Crush drove through the empty parking lot since it was late at night. “Where the hell…?”

A tall man directed us farther down the road. We passed the large building on the right, which I guessed was the main entrance.

“How come you never took me here?” I asked.

“Because I ran with Shifters. We had a zoo at home for free.”

I scratched Harley’s back as we approached a dome-shaped building. There were trees all around, but it wasn’t well lit at night. When Crush pulled the truck into a parking spot, the headlights pointing inside, I spotted Christian standing on the other side of the entrance doors.

I looked at Crush, searching his face for answers.

“I’m just the delivery driver,” he said. “Your Vampire wanted to show you out on a date.”

“Is that so?” I smiled at Christian, wondering if he could hear us. “I’m guessing we get the private tour. Wanna come?”

“I got things to do. Probably dishes I left in the sink and food to throw out. Harley wants dinner, don’t ya, boy?”

“Woof,” he replied.

I shifted toward my father with a smile on my face. “Does this mean you’re warming up to the Vampire?”

Crush played with his goatee. “In a nutshell, you have my blessing.”

My jaw slackened. “Are you— Are you joking me?”

He cleared his throat. “Last night we had a man-to-man. Or… a man-to-Vamp. He told me that I’d never have to worry about your Creator again. He didn’t elaborate, and I’m guessing by the look on your face you already know about that. Yeah. That’s all I needed to hear.”

My heart skipped a beat. “That’s it? I thought you would drag this out for years.”

He looked me dead in the eye. “That was enough. Now I know that my baby girl will always be taken care of even when I’m not here. I know he’s saved your life in the past, but that’s not enough. I would have run through fire to save your mama ten times over if given the choice, but that wouldn’t have been enough. It’s about the quality of life he’s willing to give—the sacrifices he’s willing to make for your happiness. Now it’s up to you to decide if you want to see it through. I’ll be by your side whether you want me to walk you down the aisle or tie his ass to a flagpole.”

I threw my arms around him. “You old bulldog.”

Crush managed to get one arm around me and patted my back. “Stop making me cry in front of the peckerhead.”

I leaned back and wiped a tear from his face. “He makes me happy. More than that—we get each other. We make each other better people, and I guess that’s what I need more than a fairy tale. I’m not asking you to be different around him. Be yourself. Just know that the guy standing over there next to the gorilla statue would do anything for me. And I’d do the same for him. I’m not replacing you, Daddy.”

He sniffed. “I know. Just don’t get all distant on me. I finally got you back, and I don’t want us to drift apart. You got that?”

“Are you kidding?” I snorted and sat back. “Good luck getting rid of me.”

He patted my leg. “Get out of here.”

I gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and then climbed around Harley to step out of the truck. When I shut the door, I held up my hand while he backed out.

Christian waited by the entrance, holding the door open.

“I don’t know if I’m about to go on a date or be fed to velociraptors,” I said, walking inside a spacious room with monstrously huge plants and animal displays. There were walls with animals painted on them, a winding staircase on the left, and an elevator up ahead.

“Do you want the full tour? Up the stairs, it takes you on a walking path through a rain forest. Starts up in the trees.”

I flicked a glance at his outfit. Christian only dressed up when he was going to a party. Otherwise, he liked his dirty black shoes, Henley shirts, and chewed-up sweaters. While his tan trousers gave off a casual vibe, his brown leather shoes and black turtleneck made him appear stylish.

“You smell good,” I said, catching the scent of his cologne as I walked past him. “If the tour wasn’t in the plan, let’s skip it. I’m dying to see what you’re up to.”

He inclined his head. “Then follow me.”

Beyond the windows, I heard wild animals and the rush of water in the enclosure.

We walked through a dark, winding hallway with glass walls. An otter came bouncing up to one of the windows.

I laughed and touched the glass. “Are we allowed in here? Aren’t they supposed to be sleeping or something?”

“Most of the lads who run the zoo are Breed. I know a few fellas who let me in at night whenever I want.”

I stood. “This explains… so much. Are you sure we won’t get in trouble?”

“The cameras don’t record when there are special guests. Besides, I paid them a little extra for privacy.” He gave me a wolfish grin. “Do you want to see the bats?”

“Oooh.” I clutched his arm as we walked. “You mean the creepy little things we’re supposed to turn into? Where did they come up with that?”

“Because not long ago, sunglasses didn’t exist to make walking around in the sunlight tolerable. Some Vampires had homes, but people grew suspicious if they shaded the windows and never came out in the day. We lived in covens for protection. It wasn’t uncommon for us to dwell in caves where it’s nice and dark and humans weren’t brave enough to venture. But those who did would find us in there along with the bats. Vampire lore is a curious thing. Humans run off with their imaginations, and we’ve done little to correct them. What purpose would it serve? Vampires created the myth about not casting a reflection.”

“Why?”

“I’ll give you three guesses.”

I looked at a snake room as we passed it. “Well, I guess to prove they weren’t a Vampire.”

“Clever bunch. I don’t think I’d mind turning into a bat. Did you know you can make gunpowder out of their shite?”

“There you go again, making my heart go pitter-patter.”

When we reached the end of the hall, a wide staircase with stone walls led down to a lower level. Christian held my arm, and I gripped the rail since the lights were dim in all the rooms. The sound of burbling, rushing water grew louder, and an earthy smell filled the air. As we reached the bottom, blue lights rippled across the cement floor and stone walls. Dim track lights in the rocky ceiling provided just enough light to see, but the real show was the massive glass wall in front of us. This was like being at the bottom of a river or ocean, only the best part was I didn’t have to get wet. Sapphire-blue lights illuminated the aquarium where fish swam around a large animal.

“What is that?” I asked.

“A manatee. They’re sea cows.”

I approached the glass and spotted a sea turtle at the bottom beneath some twisted roots.

“This is really amazing. I’ve never been here before.”

“Wouldn’t matter if you had. They just finished the aquarium last fall. Ehm… don’t tap on the glass.”

I chuckled and looked over my shoulder. “Are you going to arrest me, Poe?”

He put his hands around my waist and stood behind me. “Come on. Let’s go this way.”

Christian led me down a hall and into a less Jurassic Park–looking room where there were numerous fish tanks, each lit up. We passed by jellyfish, starfish, seahorses, and several types of exotic creatures that he dished out all the facts on.

This wasn’t a date; it was a field trip.

There was a nice café down there, and I decided that I might have to come back in the summer. It might be a fun activity to get everyone out of the house, and Hunter would have a blast. We could even bring Switch, who could use the trip as a teaching opportunity.

There were small tanks and a massive tank in the center with round windows. We walked everywhere, and I pressed my face to the glass like a kid. It was the most fun I’d had in a long time and a different type of experience to be having with Christian. One that didn’t involve daggers, criminals, undercover jobs, or helicopter chases. A date that wasn’t in a noisy club, packed bar, or run-down diner.

After briefly going outside and visiting the penguins, we returned through a long, domed tunnel with glass all around. Sharks glided above and beside us. Another set of steps led down into an aquarium with massive floor-to-ceiling windows like the first one.

I stopped when I noticed the table and chairs. Christian walked up to the table and pulled out a chair, gesturing with his head for me to sit.

“Why didn’t you tell me this was a date?” I shucked off my trench coat and hooked it over the back of the chair. “I would have dressed up. Maybe run a comb through my hair and put on lipstick.”

After seating me, he stood by the table. “I wouldn’t want you any other way. You don’t have to doll yourself up for me to appreciate how ravishing you are.” He lifted a silver dome from my plate, revealing a hamburger and onion rings.

I laughed. “This reminds me of the first time we met.”

When he moved out of the way to sit, I noticed a bed farther back in the room by the rock wall. Not just a mattress on the floor or an inflatable, but an entire bed with the comforter and everything.

He lifted the silver lid off his plate, and the only thing there was a wedge of watermelon.

“No wonder my dad made me skip dinner to help him pack,” I said before biting into my burger. “He was starving me for this date.”

Christian cut into his watermelon with a fork and knife. We had fish swimming all around, watching us eat.

“Maybe to them, we’re the zoo,” I suggested.

“To be sure.”

We dined on burgers and watermelon, talking about animals and plans for the summer. We didn’t mention Fletcher or Lenore. We didn’t even mention the case we just finished or the substantial paycheck in our accounts.

After dinner, Christian lifted a pie box off the seat of the extra chair and presented a pecan pie. He didn’t care for eating, but he didn’t dislike it. I enjoyed watching him eat, and it was strange how a simple activity made us feel like a normal couple.

Once we reached our limit on pie and washed it down with lemonade, he escorted me to the bed. Christian undressed me slowly, kissing my shoulders, elbows, hips, and every part of my body that wasn’t sexual. Deciding I liked where this was heading, I did the same for him. After removing his shirt, I placed feather-soft kisses on his pecs. Then I removed his trousers, caressing his strong thighs before pulling off his boxer briefs.

Completely naked, I rested my hands on his shoulders and we fell into a passionate kiss. The way he moved his tongue while his fingers curled against my skin made me tremble. He gripped my ass, pulling me to him like a promise of what was to come.

I glanced up at a security camera. “How do you know someone isn’t watching?”

“I don’t.” He gave me a crooked grin. “They’re not allowed to record.”

“On that note,” I said, crawling across the sheets to the opposite side.

Christian chuckled and got in next to me, pulling the white sheet up to our hips. “The park’s closed tomorrow for holiday, but the day workers will be here. We need to leave by dawn so my friends can remove the bed.”

I snuggled against his left side and watched the fish. “It’s cold in here.”

“I plan to keep you warm enough. In fact, when I get through, you’ll want to swim with the fishes.”

I smothered a laugh. “Maybe you should rephrase that to something less threatening.” I nipped his chest before kissing it. “When you were charming Ronald, did you really use the word banana as your code word?”

“What of it?”

“Remind me never to let you pick our safe word.”

“Mmm.” He rubbed his hand sensually down my side, over my hip, and behind my thigh. “Does that mean you want to get dangerous, Miss Black?”

“I don’t know of anything more dangerous than lying naked in a habitat filled with animals that would eat me for dinner. I’ve seen stories on the news about how lions and gorillas get out.”

“A silverback won’t eat you, but he might crush your chest with a few blows before moving on.”

“How reassuring.”

“’Twould be a shame if the polar bears got loose. Or crocodiles.”

I glanced around and then slapped his chest. “Cut that out.”

Christian stared up at the ceiling. “Worry not, Precious. I’d wrestle a reptile for you.”

I circled my finger around the feathers of his tattoo, which stretched across his upper chest. “I’m surprised you didn’t make our date on the roof of the tallest building.”

“After your aerial tour of the city on a helicopter?” He chuckled softly. “This is something we can both enjoy.”

I hooked my leg over his and drew in a deep breath, enjoying the masculine scent of his cologne. When my knee grazed against his delicate parts, he sucked in a sharp breath and gripped my thigh.

Christian stroked my hip. “Remember when I said I had a secret I was keeping?”

“Yeah.”

“This was it. I promised it was a good secret, so I hope you’re not vexed.”

My gaze drifted to the fishes circling in front of the glass that spanned the length of our view. “In some twisted alternate reality, I can see you as a sexy college professor. The dark, brooding kind who romances his students.”

He jerked his head back. “A professor of what?”

“I don’t know. Biology, zoology, sexology… One of those ologies.”

His fingers delicately traced over the knuckles on my hand, which rested over his heart. “There’s only one student I’d want to seduce, and she’s a complete fecking lunatic who dangles from helicopters and rides atop fast-moving cars. I think she’d rather be a stuntwoman. We’re an odd match, me being the romantic.”

I snorted. “This is your idea of romance? Being watched by a hundred fish eyes, not to mention the crew in the security room?”

“Would you rather me spice things up by feeding one of your enemies to the lions?”

I nuzzled closer to him. “Now you’re talking.”

We locked together like two puzzle pieces.

He stroked my shoulder. “Did you talk to your da?”

“Yep.”

“And?”

“I guess you better plan a wedding. And as fun as this is, it better not be in the zoo.”

He chuckled darkly.

I turned over, half resting on his chest. I put my chin on top of my hand and stroked his beard with my other hand. “Tell me something about your mother.”

His eyebrows drew together.

“Your old life matters. You’ve talked about your sister, brothers, and father, but I don’t remember you talking about your mother.”

“She passed away when my sister was just a wee one. Memories fade, replaced by others. I don’t have pictures or videos to reminisce over—only what’s left in thoughts. Just scattered images and moments that don’t seem especially important.” He caressed my cheek with his thumb. “Mother had a sweet voice and would sing to us. She also had a wicked sense of humor. That woman could shatter glass when she laughed.” Christian disappeared for a moment, lost in his memories. “She used to play jokes on my da and drive him mad. He always said she’d be the death of him.”

I watched the way he searched the ceiling above as if he were replaying his life, trying to catch memories that had long escaped him like fireflies in the dark. “I would have liked to meet them. I bet you’re a lot like them in some ways.”

He twirled a lock of my black hair between his fingers. “You’re the only one who’s ever asked me about my family. I’ve mentioned them a time or two with others. No one cares about my human life. I don’t always like talking about it, but remembering the good parts makes me glad you asked.”

“I never want to forget all this. I never want these great moments to be fragments of my past that I can only recall bits and pieces of. I wish I could remember every day I spend with my father, with you—all of this. Even the bad stuff. I want to always remember where I came from.”

“Worry not, lass. I have plenty of tales about your da from our time together that you haven’t heard yet.”

“I shudder to think.” I traced my finger across his lip, and he playfully nipped it. “Do you know why I challenged you to get my father’s permission?”

“I presumed it was a soft rejection since you knew hell would freeze over first.”

I propped myself up. “It wasn’t just about him. Yeah, I wanted my father to feel included and know that the man I’ve chosen will look after me. But it was also about you.”

“Me?”

“You lost your family a long time ago, and you haven’t had one since. People you trusted betrayed you,” I said, thinking of Lenore. “Maybe all that made you a stronger man, but I wanted you to have a family again. I wanted to share mine, because it’s a package deal. And the two most important people in my life shouldn’t be adversaries. My dad is tough love. If he said yes, then you earned his respect and trust. I thought if you had to work for his blessing, you might actually warm up to him—that you two could bury the hatchet. Just not in each other. It doesn’t mean he’ll always be nice; that’s just his way. Maybe that’s why I get you, because you two are cynical and hard to love.” I scooted up and kissed his soft mouth, which I hungered to taste more of before the night’s end. “You won’t just have a partner in this; you’ll have a father. And you also have a lot of extended family even though they’re a bunch of crazy Shifters. We’ll never be human again, but we don’t have to give up our humanity. I did for a long time…”

Christian gazed at me ardently before his lips touched mine. His fingers tunneled through my hair as his kiss deepened and became more demanding. He quickly rolled on top of me. “Is that why you didn’t kill Fletcher? Not because you were afraid of violating a law but because you wanted to show mercy as a human might?”

I wasn’t sure how to articulate it. My heart simply told me that I’d made the right choice. That we’d made the right choice. “I didn’t need to kill Fletcher. I needed to confront him. I’ve spent years trying to figure out if I’m good or evil. Does committing an evil act with good intentions make me as bad as him? I don't know that I’ll ever reconcile my conflicting opinions. I wanted more than justice—I wanted my power back. What we do for Keystone—that’s justice. That feeling got muddy back in the cave. I don’t know how it’s different from the oligarchs we hunted. It just felt like if I had killed him, he would have won. That probably makes no sense—I just didn’t want to be pressured into doing something that felt wrong.”

He rested on his elbow and then played with my ruby heart pendant. “I know all too well what that’s like. Lenore had me doing her bidding, and like Ronald, she had me convinced it was all my idea. Perhaps some of those people were in her way or stood to ruin her, but I killed them to please her. I’d never ask you the same.”

“I wondered if you’d call on that favor I owe you from our bet with the raccoon tail.”

He shook his head. “That decision was yours to make.”

“Then what do you want with your favor? What can I give you?”

“Your patience. I won’t always get things right. I’m trying real hard to be the man you need. Just give me your patience.”

I took his hand and kissed the onyx ring I’d given him that he always wore on his middle finger. “That’s why I love you.”

His fangs punched out, and I felt him stir like a predator ready to pounce. “Say that again.”

I’d shown my love to Christian a million ways, and when I mentioned love, it was usually indirectly. The first time I had told him was at a Burger King, and I could only recall saying it once more. In my family, we showed our love, but maybe a man who thought himself a monster needed to hear it.

I cupped his scruffy face in my hands and gazed into his sinful eyes. “I love you, Christian Poe. More than I thought I’d ever love anyone.”

Christian sat up and pulled me onto his lap. I draped my arms around his shoulders and faced the man who would fight by my side, mentor me, learn from me, and be my equal in every way.

His rapt gaze reeled me in, and when our eyes locked, I felt our souls intersecting. I could see our past and our future, our goodness and our wickedness, our decency and our shamelessness. The universe wasn’t a random set of events but a collective blueprint that we designed through every choice made. Christian had once saved a little girl in a moment of decency, and because of it, I got the chance to save him right back. Our hearts beat in sync as if they had always known the truth, long before we did.

He clutched my heart pendant in his hand and tightened his fingers around it. “My heart will always be yours, Precious. Forevermore.”

* * *

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THE MAGERI SERIES are exciting urban fantasy romances about a young woman's claim to immortality. Passionate, humorous, dark, and full of unpredictable twists, the Mageri series will take you on an unforgettable journey of love, friendship, and the hidden power within us all. Cliffhanger-free.

THE SEVEN SERIES are paranormal romances that portray Shifters living in secret in the modern world. A blend of humor, heartwarming romance, drama, and real-life issues. This series is for those who believe in family, second chances, and finding that person who completes you. Cliffhanger-free. HEA.

THE CROSSBREED SERIES are urban fantasy romances following a rogue who is half-Vampire, half-Mage. Caught between two worlds, she joins forces with a secret organization that takes down criminals. Will desire become her biggest distraction when she is paired up with a Vampire?

THE BLACK ARROWHEAD SERIES are exciting new paranormal romances. Brave women, fiercely loyal men, romance, magic, and humor all wrapped up in this action-packed series destined to become a top shelf favorite.

Note: While all of Dannika’s books are written in the same universe, each series can be read independently from the rest. Dannika Dark owns the intellectual property rights to some of the original Breeds depicted within these books. Use of these creations is strictly prohibited.

If you would like to experience each twist and crossover as it was intended, suggested reading order can be found HERE.

Immortals live among us.

Dannika Dark Newsletter

BOOKS BY DANNIKA DARK:

THE MAGERI SERIES

Sterling

Twist

Impulse

Gravity

Shine

The Gift

MAGERI WORLD

Risk

NOVELLAS

Closer

THE SEVEN SERIES

Seven Years

Six Months

Five Weeks

Four Days

Three Hours

Two Minutes

One Second

Winter Moon

Seven Series Companion: An Insider’s Guide

SEVEN WORLD

Charming

THE CROSSBREED SERIES

Keystone

Ravenheart

Deathtrap

Gaslight

Blackout

Nevermore

Moonstruck

Spellbound

Heartless

Afterlife

Quicksilver

Evildoer

THE BLACK ARROWHEAD SERIES

The Vow

The Alpha

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Dannika Dark is a nine-time USA TODAY bestselling author, APA Audie Awards finalist, and Earphones Award winner. Her pulse-pounding urban fantasies and paranormal romances have sold millions worldwide.

In her spare time, she likes… Hey, wait. What spare time? Dannika devotes every waking moment to writing more stories in her Mageriverse. But she does love binge-watching TV shows, reading, and gardening, as well as nachos, jeans with deep pockets, red wine, people who snort when they laugh too hard, toe beans, board games, indie music, and her readers.

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