by R. J. Blain
“And this is why you’ve been treating your residence as a dungeon?”
“In part. The other part involves your mother and my death if I let anything happen to you. When she signed with the Blade Clan, the thing she wanted most in life was a child. And it seems she’s developed some of your Siberian instincts, probably infected with them while you were still in the womb. The last time she came for a visit, she was muttering under her breath over how she planned to take over the entire Blade Clan so she could reclaim her male. Your father is hunted. I would feel pity for him, but I’ve been educated about how the Blade Clan operates, and I have a feeling your father is a lot like you.”
Todd chuckled, and he reached under his seat and pulled out a long box, which I recognized as the Cheyenne’s chosen container for their stiletto. “Be very careful with this, Jesse. It has been sharpened by the smith from the Blade Clan, and it has come into contact with Steel Heart. Steel Heart ran off, as it likes to do, but I’ve been told to tell you that this is yours, and it will take care of you until the end of your days.”
I took the box, set it on the table in front of me, and opened it. The stiletto gleamed in the overhead lights, and the fragment of the blue diamond in its hilt gleamed with a blue light before darkness crept into its heart and washed over the stone. The Hope Diamond warmed against my throat.
“Steel Heart woke its stone?” Careful to avoid the sharp edge, I lifted the stiletto out of the velvet-lined box and examined its edge. Blue and black sparked from the point. “Why does the Blade Clan smith deal with you so often, Todd? He reforged my katana, and he forged a blade for Anatoly, too. And then to do such work on the stiletto?”
“It’s a matter of trust. He also feels responsible your blade broke when you needed it the most, although he confessed the blade was better meant for a wall ornament than seeing the sort of heavy use you put weapons through. He hopes your new blade serves you well. As for your tiger, he says it makes up for some of his suffering, having to put up with a stubborn tigress such as yourself.”
Anatoly snickered. “You know you’re something else when even the Blade Clan’s premier smith pities me, Jesse. Pass word along the line that I’m the luckiest of men, Todd. And I am. I have her as mine in all ways now, and I am on a mission to put her in a white dress. You can help with the dress’s design.”
Todd looked me over. “She’d look like a scrawny goose if you put her in a pure white dress, Nate. Go with an untraditional color. She’ll be stunning, and you can be a black swan beside her. Don’t hide her colors through traditional nonsense.”
I twitched. “A scrawny goose? Couldn’t I be a scrawny swan instead? Why does he get to be the swan?”
“Nobody with half an iota of sense screws around with a goose or a swan. You’re a power couple. And, anyway, blood is near to impossible to get out of a white dress. A pastel tone works well with you, but a good crimson would suit you better.”
My tiger kept on snickering. “He’s saying blood is a good look on you, Jesse. He’s not wrong, but he’s questioning your purity.”
The paperwork must have broken his brain, and I stared at him. “What purity? I was literally bred to kill people. I don’t think there was anything ever pure about me.”
“You were actually conceived because my sister wanted a child, and she wanted a father who could donate superior genes to her cause. She is now obsessed with your father. I’m sure she’ll be after you as soon as she tames herself a Blade Clan warrior. He’s being a challenge, I believe. That, plus she hasn’t asked where you are, so I haven’t seen a need to tell her. I’m sure she’ll figure it out eventually. You should be thanking me for sparing you from that nonsense for so long. Getting them in the same room together might be problematic, however.”
“Why problematic?”
“My sister won’t let him leave, and then I’ll have to explain to the Blade Clan why it lost one of its best men to his own damned bride.” My aunt snickered. “It’ll be a wonder to behold, really. I’ll plan it so you can enjoy the entertainment, too.”
Somehow, I’d been born into the craziest family in the entire United States. “Should I be concerned?”
“Honestly? Only if you try to escape your mother when she comes for you.”
I turned to Gentry. “Should I be worried?”
“Only if you’re not successfully acclimated to positive attention before Jenny gets a hold of you. She will hug you into submission, and she’ll cry the entire time. Then she’ll beat anyone who embarrasses her because she cried. Your mother is a piece of work.”
Well, I’d definitely inherited a few things from my unknown mother. “Who in this family isn’t?”
I earned the ire of two grizzlies, and my lecherous rabbit of an uncle howled his laughter. “She got you good with that one, babe. Let her have it without roaring her head off over it. It’s not like she’s wrong about it. I’m a prime example. I tried to give you an escape through offering you the Miller name, but all you did was corrupt me into being as bad as any Adams man.”
Gentry covered his mouth and cleared his throat. “You make a good point.”
Something behind me caught my attention, and my aunt rubbed her hands together. “The kitchen angels are waving to inform us they’re ready with their culinary offerings. We’ll talk after we’re all a little less hungry and prone to biting and roaring at each other.”
I wondered what sort of disaster loomed on the horizon for my aunt to be unwilling to discuss it until she’d had a chance to take the edge off her standard grizzly irritability through food. I’d find out soon enough, although I already regretted taking part in whatever waited for me.
It would be a long night, of that I was certain.
Chapter Six
Fried chicken, mashed potatoes, and gravy did an excellent job of taming my aunt, and five heaping plates fell prey to her appetite before she signaled she was ready to brief me on the various problems plaguing the government. Within an hour, the problems would plague me, too, but at least I’d be involved in Anatoly’s work rather than pacing around like a caged animal who hadn’t seen the light of day in years. Even my horses had adapted to life in the stables better than I’d anticipated, but only because someone had talked me into letting the Secret Service train with Dipshit and Devil Spawn.
Anyone who could ride those two demons could ride anything, and my horses demanded perfection. I even got to monitor the lessons, and when I thought an agent wasn’t doing their best in the saddle, all I had to do was speak a single word to give them the ride of their lives. Devil Spawn wouldn’t enjoy being removed from the training roster, but I wouldn’t risk her or her foal. Dipshit would amuse the Secret Service while Devil Spawn enjoyed being spoiled and doing halter work to train promising agents how to handle an intractable animal.
“Did you miss lunch?” I asked my aunt, staring at the pile of bones littering her plate. I’d barely managed a quarter of what she’d inhaled, and I already regretted my act of gluttony.
“Unfortunately. We got caught up in a meeting, and then I got pulled out of my meeting because my niece and her tiger were found on the floor, dead to the world.”
For some reason, I doubted I would ever live that down. “It’s your fault for restricting my beer intake.”
“Beer would not have been good for you, especially since you can’t seem to keep from catching every damned cold the country has to offer. But we can negotiate on your beer supply tomorrow.”
Anatoly chuckled. “If she won’t give it to you, I will, but I’ll only provide one, plus an empty bottle you can use as a weapon if anyone tries to interrupt your enjoyment of your drink.”
“Now we’re talking. Deal. I want it so cold it’s at risk of turning to ice—without actually turning to ice.”
“I think I can manage that.”
With the important problem of my beer solved, I focused on the real problem at hand: Ferdinand. “Gentry, what exactly is going on with Ferdinand?”
“Aft
er you were taken to Fort Lauderdale, he began acting strangely. Within a month of our return, he refused to show for duty and disappeared. That is when I took steps and had him stricken from the roster. He’s still missing, but I’m concerned because he showed interest in you—and in the Hope Diamond. Unfortunately, there are a few other details that are really bothering me.”
“It involves Marie,” Todd said with a slow shake of his head. “Before Ferdinand’s disappearance, the other mares spotted Marie having a long discussion with Ferdinand. She was attempting to do this on the sly; she went somewhere my mares usually don’t go, except Kari and some of the newer mares are more adventurous than the others, my daughters included. They ultimately spied on Marie, and they came to talk to me about it.”
Well, that changed things. “Marie seemed so nice, but that was years ago.”
“Yes. Years ago, she was quite nice and generous. Times changed. But she’s still my wife and lead mare, so I have to handle this delicately. I have no proof of treachery, but I question her choice of company. I love her as much as I love my children, so I want to think the best of her, but I cannot deny what my other mares witnessed. Something is going on. I suspect she wants to help Ferdinand acquire you, as acquiring you would make most of her grievances disappear. But that would be a betrayal of the herd, as I have never revoked your status as an honorary member of the herd. You’re not the only non-equine with the status, and I’ve welcomed men and women alike as honorary members, but you’re the only one she doesn’t approve of.”
Poor Todd. “I’m sorry. I’ve caused you trouble again.”
“I’d say Marie and Ferdinand have caused the trouble, and you’re just caught up in trouble others make for you, as usual. I’m right, you’re wrong, so simmer down and accept it.”
Damned stallion. “I can still be sorry.”
“No, you can’t. It’s not your fault, so you’re just going to have to accept being guilt-free for once in your life.”
I scowled, but before I could reply, Anatoly kissed my cheek. “Pay attention to me and not him. I’m much better than some randy old stallion.”
His breath on my skin gave me inappropriate ideas for the dinner table. My conquest of his person would begin the instant I managed to kick all of my agents out of my suite for the night, and we’d roar enough to keep the whole damned palace awake for the entire night before I was through with him. “But he is a pretty stallion, you have to admit.”
My tease earned me a scrape of teeth on my neck, and I sucked in a breath.
“She’s going to have you for dessert,” Todd warned.
“If you two could wait until after we’re done here and have a chance to head over to his house, that would be great,” my aunt added. “You don’t have to mark your territory, Nate. You’re technically married to her now. You don’t have to posture to keep Todd aware she’s yours.”
Todd chuckled at that. “Courting tigers are so much fun. You just have to look at one of them, and they get so damned jealous they can’t see straight. I’m not going to steal your woman, Nate. I have already endured a very thorough rejection from your tigress. I am in no hurry to suffer through another. Of course, you might want to impress upon her the proper usage of her tattoo needles.”
“She used her tattoo needles in a perfectly acceptable fashion,” Anatoly replied. “I’m just a thorough man who takes his time when challenged by a capable woman.”
“Nate, stop flirting. Todd, stop encouraging him to flirt. We have a lot of serious business ahead, and inflating her ego isn’t that business, however challenging and worthwhile that task might be.” My aunt smacked the table with her hand to make it clear she meant business. “First, there’s the issue of the rebellion threat, which I’m beginning to believe Ferdinand is a part of—and by nature of her behavior, possibly Marie.”
Todd sighed. “You know where my herd’s loyalties lie, and the instant there is evidence of this, she will be cut from the herd bonds without hesitation. That is one thing I do not allow or forgive in the herd. But she has been argumentative as of late, and if you want to question her, I suspect you’ll need a charge and a warrant. Which would make it clear she is no longer fit for my herd. I will continue to hope you are wrong.”
“You’ve been together for a very long time,” my aunt conceded. “For your sake, I hope I’m wrong as well. That leaves the issue of Ferdinand. Jesse, this is going to be the most trouble for you.”
“And me,” my tiger growled. “I’ll rip the bastard apart if he lays a finger on her.”
“Yes, yes, assuming she doesn’t rip him apart first. Considering how much you two have been fawning over each other for weeks, he has no chance in hell of securing a proper bite on her—and if he has taken as many women as we suspect, he won’t be able to tell if he’s successfully bitten someone, Jesse included. That gives us an opening.”
“If it comes to that, I can infiltrate his pack, gather data, and do my job without any issue.”
“There is the issue of a legal bounty. One needs to be established to keep you legal. You don’t have to claim it, of course, but the existence of the bounty would make it a sanctioned kill, and you would be able to handle the matter without a lengthy trial. If he bites you, it would fall under self-defense, anyway.”
I shrugged. “Do whatever you need. Which guild will handle it?”
“I will have an open bounty issued on a national level. Dawnfire will be the primary contact, but Lancers’ Alliance will be the secondary contact. I have a list of guilds in every major city in the United States that will also be sent notice of the bounty and can send the body to Dawnfire or Lancers’ for verification.”
I grimaced. With a national bounty, Ferdinand wouldn’t last long even if he did manage to get through the Secret Service, my aunt, uncles, Todd, and Anatoly to somehow nab me. It would take more manpower than Dawnfire had used when my damned tiger had put a bounty on my living head. “Maybe we should discuss the type of force it would take to get to me if I happen to stay in the palace like I’m supposed to.”
“Enough to substantiate the rumors of a potential rebellion. I do think that their target is the Hope Diamond, which would give them potential power in a rebellion situation—if they can figure out how to use it. Unfortunately, while we have rumors of a potential rebellion to work with, we don’t have a timetable, we don’t have a specific target outside of the speculation they want the Hope Diamond, and we don’t have a motivation. It’s possible those from Fort Lauderdale wish to rebel, but so far, it’s been quiet on that front. My visit went well, and there’s been a lot of progress integrating the surviving residents into the modern world. I don’t think they’re organized enough to mount the kind of assault required to damage the palace. But, I am concerned it is linked to what woke Fort Lauderdale in the first place.”
One day, I’d be able to remember the pair I’d killed without grimacing over it. Of all the assassinations I’d handled, I regretted the necessity of their deaths the most.
I still feared my family would truly realize I had been the one to kill them, and turn on me like I’d turned on my traitor uncles at the ocean’s shore with the Hope Diamond as the only witness of my deeds.
Anatoly prodded me in the side with his elbow. “I don’t know what you’re thinking, but your expression promises it is something I won’t like. If you’re worried about the assholes, we’re only upset you weren’t able to stab them sooner, and that you were so badly hurt in the process of stabbing them. Your shoulder still isn’t fully healed, and you keep getting sick no matter what we do. Cleo and Henry can’t figure it out, either. And yes, that’s probably part of why our Presidential dictator is so against us going out for a beer. She’s worried you’ll sniff alcohol and get sick.”
“It’s true,” my aunt admitted. “As far as I’m concerned, it’s a miracle you’ve gone a week without having a case of something. Stop catching colds. That’s an order. I’ll even relent on you having beer as long as you’
re not ill.”
“So I can have beer as long as I’m not sick?”
“I can accept those terms, but try not to drink yourself under any tables. Keep it to one or two, and the instant you get sick again, you’re not getting beer again.”
“Is there any beer in this place?” I demanded.
My aunt laughed and raised her hand, which someone would interpret as an order to bring me a damned beer.
“So, if Ferdinand shows up, should I play along or just try to kill him at the first opportunity?”
“Convincingly protest,” my aunt ordered. “And cut off his family jewels should he try to do anything other than bite you. Obviously, I’d prefer you get information first, but if he does try something like that, I want you to use every weapon in your arsenal to castrate him.”
“What she said,” my tiger announced.
“Is there a specific method you’d like me to use to dispatch him?”
“Quickly. His death could ripple through his bites, and I’d rather not torture his victims unnecessarily,” my aunt replied.
Of everyone at the table, I worried my uncle would suffer the most, and I regarded Gentry with a frown. “And you?”
“He wants my job, and he probably wouldn’t mind killing me or my wife off to get it. Does that help with your guilt somewhat?”
In a way, it did, but in a way, it didn’t. I scowled, uncertain what to say.
“Don’t mind the little girl,” my aunt said, clucking her tongue at me. “It took her how long to accept we weren’t upset over her for what happened in Fort Lauderdale?”
“She just cares,” my tiger said, and he rewarded me with a kiss on the cheek. “Go ahead and worry, but we’re not going to turn on you for doing unpleasant but necessary things. Ferdinand has changed over the years, and not for the better. His threat to bite you was only the beginning of his downfall. Those mean, old grizzlies have had plenty of time to work through their feelings on the matter, and that mean old stallion over there was on board with finishing him off the instant he threatened to bite you against your will. Next time, Todd, just kill him.”