by Lisa Olsen
He pulled back to offer a half smile, amused by my efforts. “Whenever we leave the house.”
I let out a long breath, trying to tamp down the longing and frustration, but it didn’t help. Not one bit. “Goodnight, Rob,” I said finally, backing away before I did something we might end up regretting.
“Goodnight, miss.” His voice was calm again, but his hazel eyes watched me until I disappeared behind my door.
Chapter Sixteen
The phone ringing off the hook woke me up way before Maggie had a chance to come down. Apparently the cat was out of the bag about my return and everyone was abuzz, wondering if Jakob would show for the inauguration. Since I’d barely mentioned it to him at all, I doubted he’d cut his trip short early for it, and to be honest, I’d just as soon he stay in England for as long as possible.
Felix and Cordelia operated under the notion that he’d be there though, and the few details I overheard seemed wildly lavish for my tastes. I kept mum about it, letting them do what they would. I hated how stressed out Maggie was over the process though. It seemed like every time I tried to talk to her the phone would ring again, and I was grateful for her screening process or I wouldn’t have been able to get a lick of work done.
Marcus set the videoconference up with the council for eight p.m., which gave me plenty of time to meet with him first. I pulled him into my office to get the real scoop on what was going on in my absence. “Okay… lay it on me. How bad is it?” I asked as soon as he took a seat across from my desk.
Marcus wore his polished best again, a navy blue suit with a sparkle of diamonds at the cuffs. He made me feel schlumpy in my pink fuzzy sweater and leggings, but I was still enjoying wearing whatever I wanted to after my visit to stuffy central.
“It’s become very unpopular to be a member of the Order around here.”
“Yes, that much you’ve made clear before. What kind of stuff is going down? Has there been something else since the car bomb?”
Marcus fixed me with his most charming smile, and I prepared myself for the worst. “Actually, I lied. I wanted to get you alone for a talk before we get too much farther here.”
“Ahh…” That’s all I had. I couldn’t begin to imagine what he wanted bad enough to fake an emergency meeting.
“What I wanted to talk to you about is as scary as open violence in the streets though.”
Cool beans. “Okay, you’ve got my attention, let’s hear it.” I braced myself for the worst, especially since his face screwed up like he was waiting for someone to lop off a diseased limb or something.
“I want to ask your permission to formally court Maggie.” He said it fast, much quicker than it took my brain to process the words.
“Shénme?” I blinked. “That’s what this is about? You want to date Maggie?” Weren’t they already doing exactly that?
“No, I want to court her. There’s a difference,” he pointed out. “Also, I’m asking you to lift your restrictions on me, with regards to consensual sharing.”
He meant drinking her blood. “That’s for her to decide, not me. Look, it’s not that I object to the two of you being together, as long as that’s something she wants, but Maggie’s had a very difficult past when it comes to vampires. I’m not sure that’s the kind of an arrangement she wants to get back into, now or ever.”
“It would be nothing like her experience with Jasper, I give you my word on that.”
So she’d already told him about her past with Jasper. Then they were already closer than I’d thought for her to share such an intimate hurt. “You’re looking to court her… to what end? I mean, are you planning on marrying her and buying a house in the suburbs? Setting her up as your blood companion? Turning her?”
“I… maybe a bit of all three?” He shook his head as soon as the words left his mouth, his hands coming up. “No, that sounds wrong. I just… I want to be with her, but I want to do it the right way. The only way I know how to do that is by paying her the respect of a formal courtship. Where it ends up… it’s too early to say right now.”
“Alright, fair enough. I’ll tell you what I’m going to do. I give you permission to court her, but it’s entirely up to Maggie as to how far this goes and the pace is up to her, do you get me? If I get even a whiff of compulsion on your part…”
“I would never…”
“Because I’d be able to tell. Having an Ellri for a Sire gives me certain benefits that I’m willing to exploit to keep my family safe. And Maggie is my family now.” Okay, so maybe that was overselling it a little. There was no guarantee I’d be able to break any compulsion he put on her, especially if they shared a blood connection, but he didn’t have to know that.
“I understand completely.”
“You’ll continue to live here so I can chaperone the process.”
“Thank you, that’s very generous.”
I could see my invitation pleased him, and from my conversation with Maggie the night before, I hoped it turned out to be what she wanted. “I’m counting on you to be a stand up guy, Marcus. Your request to do the right thing by Maggie is a step in the right direction, and I appreciate you coming to me. But next time, don’t lie to me to finagle a meeting.”
His expression turned contrite. “I’m sorry about that, I needed to get this sorted out and I know how busy you are.”
“I always make time for my friends.” Not that I didn’t intend to have Rob run a thorough background check on the guy. “Now then, let’s talk about how things fell apart with Vetis. I’ll need your help on how to handle the council.”
We spent the better part of an hour going over my strategy for spinning the break as a good thing, being sure to trot out my other victories with Texas and Belonoc first. Marcus seemed to think I’d made the right decision, especially given Corley’s offer to purchase Canada. He thought there was something more than a simple land deal going on in Vetis interests.
Still, there were giant wriggly butterflies in my stomach by the time the conference started, and I gave my heartfelt apology for deceiving them about my ties to Carys and Jakob, feeling like I had to hurl the entire time. To my surprise, they were pretty supportive, far more impressed with the West’s ties to a real live Ellri to be bothered by my lies. So far his being my Sire was turning out to be more of a perk than I’d anticipated.
It turned out they completely supported my breaking ties with Vetis after they heard about the way Aubrey rose to power, and they were much more concerned with the state of affairs with the Order. Jakob’s decision to banish them from Vetis sparked a lively debate as to whether or not we should do the same.
In the end, I won out by arguing that we still needed a body to police the vampire population, and we weren’t anywhere near coming up with one of our own. It was only a matter of bringing the Order around to enforcing the laws our way. I was convinced we could make it work if we could get people to simmer down and listen to each other. I outlined some of the plans we’d made at the Gathering to revise the Order’s charter, and the council was excited by the prospect.
That left quelling the current unrest in the San Francisco area. Terry Byrne’s name kept cropping up as the lead instigator, and I had to wonder if he actually had anything against the Order or if it was all designed to sabotage my rule. After all, hadn’t he been preaching to ‘get along’ at Nightshade not all that long ago? Now, to hear him tell it, the Order was an abomination that needed to be stamped out by any means necessary. What bothered me more was my people’s embracing violence so easily. It was still hard to tell if it was only a few rabble rousers or if everyone hated the Order with equal passion.
There was only one way I knew to suss out how bad it was on the streets, and that was to get out there myself. That was the only way to tell if all I needed was a few minutes alone with Byrne to set him straight or if we had a much larger problem at hand.
I was still trying to figure out the best way to track Byrne down, when the conversation turned back to the topic of
the inauguration and whether or not Jakob would attend. Promising to ask him about it, I ended the conference, preferring to work on stamping out Byrne’s influence before Jakob got back and saw how out of control my city was.
A quick check of the time showed it was early morning in England, so I decided not to bug Jakob about coming to the inauguration yet, in case he’d already gone to bed. I had other fish to fry.
*
It was more of a hassle than I thought it would be to pop down to Nightshade for a drink and put some feelers out to track down Byrne. By the time my security entourage was ready to go, it was well past midnight, but barely the shank of the evening by vampire standards.
The moment Jarrod spotted us, he came over to greet me with an effusive smile that quickly dimmed when my security stopped him more than five feet away from me.
“Oh, come on, guys. Jarrod’s a friend,” I scowled, even as Gunnar stepped up to let him pass. “I’m sorry about this, Jarrod, security precautions.” I made a face.
“Surely there’s no need for all the muscle here where you’re among friends,” he said, straightening his tie.
“I know, but it’s out of my hands. Jakob’s orders.” The name Jakob spread through the club like wildfire. If I’d been famous before, it was nothing compared to now – it felt like they all hung on my every word, waiting to hear some inside scoop on the elusive Ellri.
“Come and have a sit and tell me all about it,” Jarrod’s eyes practically glowed, ushering me to my usual table.
“Listen, about that… I’m sorry some of the tales I told when we first met were less than accurate.”
“No worries, it’s all part of the mystique, isn’t it? Leander’s going to be green with envy when he learns he missed out seeing you first. Hullo, Rob, didn’t see you there for a moment. Crikey, you sure brought them out in force, didn’t ya?”
“Anything to keep the boss safe.”
“You won’t have to worry on that account. No one here would dare so much as say a word against you,” Jarrod insisted.
“Only takes one,” Rob muttered, taking a seat beside me, his eyes sweeping the crowd. “Oi, you lot, spread out. Can’t see past my elbow with you hulking about,” he growled, and the security team filtered into the room.
“Listen, I’m glad to hear you say that,” I said to Jarrod, trying to steer the conversation back my way. “I’m here to try and track down Terry Byrne. Has he been in here lately?”
“Byrne?” Jarrod’s brows inched higher. “We wouldn’t let that wanker in here, not since you gave him his walking papers.”
“Do you know where he’s hanging out?”
“Nah, ‘fraid not. Could ask around for you if you like.”
“Thanks, I’d appreciate the favor.” I should’ve known it wouldn’t be that easy to fix.
“Anything for you,” Jarrod beamed and I decided to take advantage of his enthusiasm.
“Great, how about one more? I have a friend in town who could use a job as a bartender.” I hoped Laveda wouldn’t mind me asking on her behalf but Jarrod seemed open to the idea.
“Sure, send him over, I’d love to meet him.”
“It’s a her actually, and I’ll see if I can arrange it,” I said. Rob gave no sign as to whether he approved of my request or not, his eyes scanning the crowd that seemed to be inching closer with every word. “Oh, also, since I’ve got you…”
“You can have me for as long as you want,” Jarrod winked.
“I wanted to have a chat with you about the situation with the Order.”
Jarrod’s hands came up in a gesture of supplication. “We haven’t got anything to do with that mess. We’re strictly neutral territory here.”
“I’m glad to hear that. But what’s your sense for the average vamp on the street?”
He took a few moments to mull it over before he responded. “To be honest, I expect most of us is just waiting for it all to blow over and go back to normal.”
“That’s good too. That’s the smart position to take.” I let my voice rise a notch, knowing there weren’t many in the club that couldn’t hone in our conversation anyway. “I’m going to do everything in my power to put an end to the violence on both sides. I hope you’ll all give me that chance.”
“Right-o, whatever you think is best,” Jarrod nodded, and nobody else said anything differently. That was good to hear. It meant my chances of ending the so called revolt lay heavily in shutting Terry Byrne up.
“Can I have a picture taken with you, your grace?” The request came from a curly haired club waitress, I couldn’t remember her name.
“Ah, yes, I guess so.” I waved her through, all smiles as she handed her phone to Gunnar to do the honors.
“Me too?” another waitress chimed in, I think her name was Amber.
“What for? You see me here all the time.”
“That was before, now you’re famous,” Amber giggled as the dam broke and the rest of the club eased closer. Now I was actually glad for my red shirts who kept them from swarming, cameras in hand.
“Sure, but… I’m the same person I was when you elected me Jarl. I just have a higher title now.”
“Oh, it’s not that,” the curly haired waitress said after the picture was taken. “You’re the Ellri’s consort, aren’t you?”
“He’s my Sire, I don’t know about consort. That term’s sort of out dated, don’t you think?”
“I wouldn’t mind being his consort, or anything else he asked me to be,” she giggled. “Is it true he’s alive, like actually living and breathing and everything, but still like a vampire?”
They all crowded closer, barely restrained by my team. “Very much so.” I realized most of them probably hardly knew what an Ellri was, let alone ever meeting one. Not out west in the hinterlands, as most of the old school vamps considered us. “The Ellri are their own thing, children of the Gods and humans. Jakob can walk around in the sun, eat whatever he wants, just like a human, but he’s stronger than all of us put together and he can compel anyone to do anything.”
“He could compel me anytime.”
“The Gods? Which ones? Have you met any?”
“I’ve heard his blood is an aphrodisiac.”
The questions came faster than I could answer them. “I don’t know about that…” I stumbled over the last one, as it started to get too personal.
“Boys…” Rob’s quiet word was enough for security to push everyone back a foot to give me a bit more breathing room. “I think maybe it’s time to go,” he said in a low voice.
“I think maybe you’re right,” I agreed. Rob signaled to Gunnar, who stepped them back another few feet, enough for me to make my getaway.
“You can all see Miss Gudrun at the inauguration,” Gunnar said, before turning back to me. “Is it Gudrun, or Evans now?”
“Evans, but either’s fine for now,” I waved it away. “I’ll see you at the party, Jarrod.” I’m pretty sure he heard me. It was hard to tell with all the chatter about the upcoming ceremony and whether or not Jakob would let people touch him. Sheesh. No wonder he had such a big ego!
“There’s no getting around it, I need to invite him to this shindig,” I sighed as we reached the car.
“Seems that way,” Rob agreed, scooting in beside me.
“I was kind of hoping to check out a few other places to look for Byrne tonight. At least the Bleeding Hart. I feel like it’s been ages since I’ve been there.”
“I can check around for you, boss,” Gunnar volunteered. “I can put the word out you’re looking for him.”
“No, don’t do that, I don’t want to spook him. Just pop in and take a discreet look around. If you find him, call me and we’ll come down lickety split.”
Gunnar nodded, grinning from ear to ear. “I can do that.” I think he envisioned himself as a super spy, because he was way too gung ho about the chance to go hang out in a couple of bars.
It was decided that he’d take me home first to ensure m
y safe return before going back out again, no matter how many times I tried to convince them that Rob was more than capable of seeing me home safely. Rob didn’t even try to argue for privacy, weighing in on the side of more security.
“I sure hope this all dies down soon and I can go back to moving around with some anonymity soon,” I sulked, heading straight for my office to start working on the pile of messages Maggie had screened for me.
Rob followed me in. “That’s not likely anytime soon, especially if Jakob’s planning to set up permanent shop here. I’m afraid your anonymity’s a thing of the past.”
Cool beans. At least it was limited to the vampire community (which was probably still too afraid of me to do anything too overt). I didn’t have to worry about TMZ camping out on my front lawn.
“You going to call Jakob up then?” he asked, when my brain was busy conjuring up images of Jakob and me, dodging paparazzi.
“I probably should. It seems like everyone’s counting on him to show for this thing.”
“You going to invite him in?”
“Into the house?” I hadn’t given it much thought so far. “Does that spell even work on Ellri, or can he come in any old time he wants to?”
“It’ll work on him right enough, if you want it to.”
Of course I wanted it to. More than anything I craved a quiet sanctuary from my increasingly public life, and that included my unpredictable Sire. The memory of Jakob standing beside my bed in Vetis creeped me out every time it flashed through my mind. But did I have that as a real option?
“I don’t know. He’d probably get mad if I didn’t, right? I am supposed to be his consort, at least in the public eye. It’d look pretty bad if I barred him from entering my house. The house he paid for, no less.”
“It’s your home though, not his. Something to think on at least.” And with that, Rob left me to mull it over on my own.
I decided to put the decision off for now, focusing on trying to find out if he was even coming any time soon. Taking a chance on reaching his voicemail, I dialed his cell, hoping the number was still the same.