by Dannika Dark
Fate was a moody bitch, indeed.
Adam walked around to the other side of the van, got in, and drove away.
Chapter 9
While I got the house ready for the dinner party, Logan drove back to his condo to pack a few things for his stay. Justus had mentioned Novis would be late, but it slipped his mind to tell me until the last minute that Adam was also invited.
Great. Thanks for the heads-up.
I spent the afternoon cleaning the house and brushing my cat so he wouldn’t shed his black hair all over our guests. Max didn’t like strangers, but he became quite affectionate when he noticed someone in a nice pair of slacks. Maybe that’s why he seemed to love Justus so much. Finn decided he wanted to stay in his room, so I took him a plate of reheated sausages. Page said it would be best if we didn’t overstimulate him for the next twenty-four hours. He was listless and agitated, which she said was a common side effect from the injection.
Panic ensued. There weren’t enough main ingredients and nothing was thawed out. I spat out a few curses and stared in the fridge.
I contemplated the pros and cons of making BLTs for our Councilman and finally opted against it. Instead, I thawed out chicken in a bowl of hot water and then put it in the microwave. Baked with picante sauce and served with Spanish rice on the side, we’d be rolling. It sounded good, and I was pretty sure it was a legitimate recipe.
The silent alarm flashed in the house and Justus went into the security room.
“Be right back,” he said, heading out the door.
After polishing the hammered surface of the dining table, I sat down in the dark room and held up my hands, transferring threads of blue light between my fingers. I had a firm grasp of my abilities as a Mage, with the exception of balling up my energy and using it in one shot like Justus could. Novis had said a long time ago that I was potential, not that I had it.
But he was right; my gift was an absolute. Whether or not I would learn to use that gift was my choice. Therefore, I truly was the potential.
The front door opened and Justus flew down the hall and toward the training room where he’d been working out. I held my breath when I heard the sound of heavy footsteps approaching.
Apprehensively, I stood up. “Logan?”
Levi shadowed the entranceway of the dining room and stood motionless. I could only make out his silhouette. He didn’t stand as tall as Logan, but Levi had a fuller frame and more of a tough-guy appearance. His short blond hair was about an inch long, and he had an irresistible chin dimple.
Butterflies flitted in my stomach at his uncharacteristic behavior.
“Is something wrong, Levi?”
He stalked forward and kicked over one of the chairs blocking his way. Without a word, Levi wrapped his thick arms around my waist and lifted me up into a bear hug.
“Hey, I’m fine,” I said against his temple. “It’s Finn who was hurt.”
He flashed his amber eyes at me. “You were attacked twice, and nobody comes after my sister.”
I melted a little at his words. Levi had bonded with me more than the rest of Logan’s family had. I didn’t know Lucian very well, and Leo had a serious personality and wasn’t the kind of guy you go around hugging. Levi, on the other hand, was.
Not wanting to blow off a special moment with a man I cared about, I wrapped my arms around Levi’s neck and gave him a generous hug.
“I’m fine. The Relic said Finn has to stay in the bedroom—”
“Shut up, Silver. Can I just enjoy my hug without the verbal intercourse?”
I snorted and leaned back, scratching at his stubbly chin. A smile wound up his tough face and it was criminal.
“Why are you here?”
He loosened his grip and my feet touched the floor.
“Logan called about the break-in, but something else is going on with HALO. Some major shit is going down and Justus invited me over. We’ll talk about it later. You sure you’re okay?” The pad of his thumb stroked my eyebrow and I touched his tatted arm.
“I don’t think I have enough chicken if you’re going to eat over.”
“Girl, I’m not into breasts and thighs. Got any sausages?”
I slapped his chest and walked around him. “Do you want something to drink?”
“I could use a beer, honey.”
I pulled a couple of cold ones out of the fridge and joined him in the living room. Justus had an awesome house and every room felt like home. Large monitors filled the left wall and gave us either a surveillance view of outside or a screensaver. They were currently watching the property and Christian was nowhere in sight. He somehow managed to stay out of view. The main wall had a faux fireplace, and the furniture ranged from leather and swivel chairs to a charcoal-colored rug and matching sofas. Justus had expensive taste when it came to his masculine furnishings. Levi made himself at home, lying on the rug with his fingers laced behind his head and ankles crossed.
I set his imported beer on the table behind him and collapsed on the sofa. “Are you living here with us too?”
He rubbed his nose and reached around for the beer. “Trust me when I say that you wouldn’t want to live with me. I snore, I don’t clean up after myself, and the TV stays on day and night.”
“Even when you’re not home?”
“It makes people think I’m home.”
I took a swig of my beer and tore at the label. “What exactly do you do for a living?” Something Levi was always evasive about answering.
“Thug patrol.” Levi sat up with a knee bent and his arm draped over it, holding the bottle. “I used to be one of the RSF, but I didn’t like the corruption. Without proof, I couldn’t get any of those traitor assholes out of there, so I split. Breed jail is all about taking down the sharks, but the streets are swimming with piranhas.”
“What’s RSF?”
“Regulators of the Security Force. They work for the higher authority.”
I knew a little about Regulators. They carried out orders given by the higher authority within each Breed but were not the governing law themselves. When someone needed to be brought in, a Regulator served a warrant and they went to Breed jail where the higher authority would determine their punishment. Not all Breeds had their own form of police. An arrest could only be made with a warrant or substantial evidence. Justus had explained that Regulators only worked hot cases and crimes against humans—unlike HALO, which spent years gathering evidence against high-profile criminals. The Mageri was more advanced when it came to social order and had been the first to establish a police force—the Enforcers. They were preferred in sensitive cases where the Mageri needed to review the case before the other Breeds became aware of the details.
“So you’re not a cop but you’re like what—one of those Guardian Angels that patrol the streets? Is that legal?”
His Adam’s apple bobbed up and down as he swallowed the rest of his beer before setting the bottle on the table. Levi belched and scratched his chin. “Most crimes that happen on the streets stay on the streets. The Breed decided we didn’t have enough room to build jails to hold everyone, so they turn a blind eye to a lot of shit. Most have little jurisdiction outside their own, but there are some basic fundamentals. Shifters have a right to protect their property and seek revenge on someone who hurts one of their own. For instance, if a female Shifter is uh… assaulted, her family has full rights to go after the attacker. So I work with an independent group that hunts down the riffraff.”
“And then what?”
His brow arched slowly. “Well, we’ve got our methods. Believe it or not, some of the Breeds fund our organization because we’re doing everyone a service, but they do it under the table. It’s also kind of like PI work; someone might hire us to investigate an unpunishable action committed against them.”
“Wow. All this time I thought you were a bouncer in a bar.”
Levi snorted. “I’ve done that on the side for extra cash, but now I’m legit with my job.”
&nb
sp; “Learner,” Justus barked from the hallway to the right. “Do you have enough food in there for tonight’s meal?”
I leaned around and glared at him. “I didn’t know you were inviting half the city. Anyone else coming I should know about? Sunny? The Council? The King?”
“It’s five thirty-two,” he said without looking at his overpriced watch. “I want the food on the table before they arrive at six.”
“Six!” I shouted. “You didn’t tell me that. I thought you said later tonight.”
He folded his arms. “That is later.”
I stared in panic as Levi circled around the couch and stood between us, almost obscuring my view. “Ghuardian or not, I don’t like the way you’re barking orders at Silver. A female shouldn’t have to serve a male, but as that’s your repugnant custom, I can’t do shit about it. But keep it up and we’ll go toe-to-toe in your training room.”
Justus dragged his eyes over to mine and I could feel the energy in the room spike.
“I’ll get it done, Ghuardian. Next time give me a heads-up. The chicken alone is going to take a half an hour to bake, and I haven’t even preheated the oven,” I grumbled, stomping into the kitchen.
As I cursed and flung pans on the counter, Levi came up behind me and I felt a vibration against my back from the thrumming in his chest. “Be calm, female.”
“He is fully capable of cooking for himself, but he chooses to live in the Stone Age where he thinks it’s a woman’s job. Why is ordering a pizza so damn difficult?”
“Female,” he whispered. “Be calm.”
I relaxed, succumbing to the inflection in his voice combined with his purr. It was in my genetic makeup to respond, and now I understood why I had behavioral characteristics that weren’t normal for a Mage. My surrogate mother was a Chitah human, and the egg was from a Chitah. That made me more than half, even though I didn’t have any physical characteristics.
Levi cleared his throat. “Throw the chicken in the oven if you want, but let me have a look at what you’ve got in here and I’ll help.”
“Novis is coming over, Levi. This calls for more than bologna sandwiches.”
He rocked with laughter and studied the contents of the fridge. “You do have sausages. I can work with this,” he said, pulling the package out and waving it in his hand.
“That I don’t doubt,” I said with a suggestive wink, patting his shoulder.
“Find me a serving spoon, will ya?”
I reached in the utensil drawer and snapped my arm back, hissing. “Dammit! I told Justus not to put the knives in there!” The gash on my index finger was deep and painful.
Levi grabbed my wrist and before I could argue, wrapped his lips around my finger. His tongue slid along the skin, mending the cut with the healing agent in his saliva. It tickled a little and became numb as the pain vanished.
“I could have gotten a Band-Aid, you know.”
He smirked fiendishly and my entire body stiffened when a voice spoke from behind.
“Any reason I should be concerned about my female’s finger in your mouth?” Logan said in a threatening voice.
I couldn’t deny I loved seeing the jealous fire in his eyes when we all knew Levi was no threat.
Levi’s mouth made a kissing sound as he pulled my finger out and winked at Logan. “She wanted to see if the rumors were true about what I can do with my tongue. It’s a good thing she didn’t cut her breast is all I’m sayin’.”
***
“It’s a shame Sunny was feeling over the weather. This is a splendid meal, Silver. You have outdone yourself.” Novis complimented me, wiping his mouth with a cloth napkin.
“Under the weather,” Levi corrected.
I flicked my contemptuous eyes toward Levi who smirked at his plate.
The chicken had never made it to the oven. Instead, Levi had prepared macaroni mixed with slices of sausage. I’d had faith that Levi could somehow pull gourmet out of his ass with pasta shells, but once he mixed the cheese in, there was no turning back. I realized it was an epic fail when I set the bowl in front of Justus and felt the heat rise in the room ten degrees. Justus dragged his eyes up to mine and obliterated me with his gaze.
It didn’t seem to be a catastrophe with Levi and Logan, who each devoured every bite on their plates and went for a second helping. Apparently, the Cross brothers hadn’t raised the bar on their culinary skills.
I sat in my usual spot with Justus to my right at the head of the table and Novis sitting opposite him. Levi and Adam sat across from me, while Logan cozily scooted closer on the bench to my left.
We avoided weighty conversations until Novis finished eating—he didn’t care for serious chatter while enjoying a meal.
Adam had been uncharacteristically quiet throughout dinner and didn’t engage in the usual banter. He seemed restless and anxious. I’d caught Logan staring at him a few times during dinner and I’d nudged his shoulder so he’d quit. The way Logan glared at him unsettled me.
“I am here tonight with some unfortunate news,” Novis began. As he pinched his lower lip, his clear blue eyes focused on the center of the table as if he were lost in a distant fog. If it’s one quality Novis had, it was riveting blue eyes that stood out against his black hair. A person could easily get distracted by his gaze. “Months ago, an assassin attempted a hit on a Councilman in one of the neighboring territories. The attack was thwarted by a stealthy guard who had a gut instinct. Unfortunately, the attacker was someone who worked closely with a Councilman, and you all knew him as Ray.”
The man I saved from Nero’s compound.
“Two nights ago, I received a call from Levi.”
I glanced up at Levi, who licked some cheese from his thumb as if he already knew the whole story.
“As you may already know, Levi once worked within law enforcement and still has inside connections. Ray was discovered dead in his cell.”
“Inside job,” Levi confirmed. “Nobody gets in and out of those floors; they’re heavily monitored. Someone was covering their shit.”
After a short sip of wine, Novis placed his palms on the table. “What you are not aware of is that this morning, a coordinated attack was executed against key Mageri Councilmen across all territories.”
Everyone gasped and Justus tossed down his fork.
“HALO uncovered the plot a week ago, but we didn’t have enough information to go on as to when the strike would occur.”
I turned my head slowly toward my Ghuardian and saw color bleed into his neck and the vein pulse in his forehead. He kept his eyes low as he laced his fingers in front of his face.
“This was no fault of your men,” Novis said as if reiterating something he’d already discussed privately with Justus. “We heeded your warning and took what precautionary measures we could.”
“And your guards are here?” Logan asked, pushing his plate away.
“Yes. My trusted guards are outside the entrance.”
Adam wiped his hand over his mouth. “Was anyone hurt?”
After a short pause, Novis lifted his sharp eyes and took his time looking at each of us. “Twelve died. Each Council is comprised of no less than three and no more than six. A total of thirty-five attacks took place, all occurring at precisely the same second.”
“Including you?” I anxiously held my breath.
His voice softened. “Yes.”
“Does Simon know? Maybe he has an idea of what Nero is trying to accomplish.”
Novis lightly touched his lip. “Simon is the one who saved my life. I am in his debt.”
“I was not aware of this,” Justus cut in.
Novis sharpened his gaze at my Ghuardian. “You are not aware of all matters of the Council, and nor are you entitled.”
“Apologies.” Justus lowered his head respectfully.
“Accepted,” Novis said, leaning back in his chair. “I was meeting with Simon on another matter when I was rushed by two men. They incapacitated two of my guards with weapons mad
e from that metal. Simon had only one stunner on him, but he needs very little to get the job done. He took out both attackers while my remaining guards escorted me to safety.”
“Did you question them?” I asked.
“Let me reiterate that Simon took them out. An attack on a Councilman does not earn a man any rights except death.”
Once again, laws I didn’t agree with. “You don’t think you might have learned something by detaining them?”
“Learner,” Justus said, warning me in a quiet voice.
Novis hid a private smile. “Perhaps we can continue this conversation another time as it strays from the matter at hand.”
“What does this have to do with Ray?” I couldn’t make the connection, but it looked as if he knew.
Novis refilled his wineglass and the sound of tiny gurgles and splashes filled the quiet room. Candles flickered on the table and brought out the sparkling beauty of the crystal glasses. Several bottles of wine were open and each sat beside bowls of chocolate mints wrapped in delicate foil.
Justus eased back in his chair, causing the wood to creak beneath his weight. “HALO kept an eye on Ray when the Mageri granted him independence. While there was no reason to suspect anything, we hired an investigator to watch over him and report suspicious activity. We have no concrete evidence, but we’re certain Nero got to him. Ray’s attack against the Councilman was sloppy. We think Nero might have tried calling off the attack and Ray went ahead with it anyway.”
“What made you think Nero was behind it all?” I asked.
Justus slanted his cobalt eyes to mine and his jaw tightened. “The attack earned Ray a cot in Breed jail, but for reasons unexplained, the Regulators weren’t allowed to question him at the time. We believe Nero paid someone on the inside to help keep his hands clean. It wasn’t until last week that we were finally granted permission to have a Vampire question Ray.”