“And I could watch,” Jack said, the smile returning to his face.
“Ew, pervert,” Lexie laughed quietly.
“You just had to go and ruin the moment.” I play-punched him on the arm, smiling at him. When he went flying, my heart went into my throat. I hadn't hit him that hard!
“On your knees, hands in the air.” A hushed, but hurried male voice with a faint British accent hissed. My heart soared out of my throat when I whipped my head around to see Liam!
He was approaching in the same type of aggressive crouch I'd seen SWAT teams use with his longsword raised. He stumbled slightly when he noticed me. For a moment, surprise widened his dark gray eyes before they narrowed again on Jack.
“Get behind me,” he barked.
Jack stalked out of the brush, sporting a cut on his forehead. He reached for his hip and pulled a sword free. It was the same sword I'd seen when he was naked. It was shorter and broader than a rapier with a hand guard of woven strands of metal ivy. He held it in his right hand, arm extended and presenting Liam his narrow side with his left hand held in front of his belly button.
“Stay out of the way, ladies,” Jack warned in a low voice. “This could get messy.”
Lexie did as he asked, backing away and taking me with her. I wanted to stop this before it started, but there was something dark and intense about the way Liam looked at him. There was no stopping this without bloodshed. We had to get out of their way.
They moved around each other, both trying to get close enough to strike without being struck. Jack was at a disadvantage there as Liam's sword had a longer reach. But Jack's had a better hand guard, enabling him to be bolder.
Both moved their swords in circular motions at the same chest level, presumably to keep the other one guessing.
Liam struck first with a downward thrust at Jack's legs.
Jack knocked the longsword away with his free hand and countered, stabbing Liam in the left thigh.
Now unable to bear weight on his gushing left leg, Liam struggled to keep up with Jack's movement around him.
Like a shot, Jack stabbed for Liam's weakened flank.
Liam reached out and caught the blade of Jack's sword with his right hand and with his left, stabbed Jack in the gut. Blow made, he pulled his sword out of Jack's abdomen and set it to his throat.
But by that time, Jack had pulled his blade from Liam's hand and set the tip to the artery in his thigh.
Liam squeezed his now bleeding hand at his side, not putting it back on the grip of his two-handed longsword.
The two were at a stalemate, each glaring at the other. Liam adjusted his left hand's grip to make a swing easier, but neither moved.
If Jack got Liam's artery, it wouldn't kill him for good, but it would knock him out. If Liam cut Jack's head off, I would bring him back, though I didn't know if Liam knew that. Both were in a position to really hurt the other, but neither could do fatal damage.
This had gone on long enough.
“Alright,” I said, striding forward to end it.
“Stay out of this, Constance,” Liam warned, not taking his eyes off Jack.
“No way.” I grabbed the sword away from Jack's neck and kicked Jack's right hand. It didn't hurt him under the guard, but he got my point and did as I asked.
Liam was simmering in silent anger as he slipped his sword back into his arm. He looked to Jack and reached into his back pocket for a pair of engraved, black iron cuffs. “By order of the Pax, you, Giacomo Campanella are under arrest.”
“On what charges?” Lexie asked, coming to stand between Jack and Liam.
“Officially, murder, treason, theft of a priceless artifact, and bribery.” Liam looked Lexie in the eyes as he pulled out a pair of handcuffs. “Unofficially, murder and associating with the Eight!”
I froze and looked down at Jack, where he was still kneeling and clutching a gaping stomach wound. There was no way that could be true. He may not have been telling us the whole truth these last nine months, but there was no way he was in league with Octavius. He was helping me to fight them. He was teaching me. And Tresia wanted to kill him.
Lexie turned to me with a scowling, but uncertain face.
Jack had been vague about his past from the get-go and was an expert at dodging our questions. He made it factually easy to distrust him, but I was going to go with my heart over my head on this one. Jack was one of the good guys.
I joined Lexie in front of Jack, praying I was making the right decision. “You're arresting him over my dead body.”
A muscle ticked in his jaw. “This is not your call. He is a wanted fugitive. Move aside or I will move you.”
I looked to Lexie. She was in. “If he's a wanted fugitive, so are we.”
“You don't know what you're saying.”
“And you don't know what you're doing,” I retorted and jingled my bracelet in his face. “He's my bond-mate!”
His face flushed. “Then you would be better off if he were as far away from you as possible, rotting in a jail cell.”
“We need him.” Lexie pointed to Jack.
“Without his help, we'll never get to Tresia before she attacks us.” It was a struggle now to keep from yelling.
“Before she attacks you?” Liam asked, narrowing his eyes at me.
“She cast some kind of blood spell and now she knows where I am when I'm not with that jeep, so we have to get to her first or we're all screwed.” I threw my hands up and dropped them to my sides.
“I've known a lot of bad people in my life.” Lexie was pleading with both her eyes and voice. “Jack isn't like them. We saw Tresia try to kill him ourselves. And even if he's a bad guy like you say… enemy of my enemy and all that.”
“I'm not asking that you don't arrest him, just hold off until we're safe. Then give him a fair trial if you're still not convinced he's innocent.” I tried to match Lexie's tone.
“It isn't my opinion that matters,” Liam responded. “I am not a judge. I do not issue warrants. It is my job to act on them. If I don't do my job, if I willfully ignore an arrest warrant on a criminal of his stature, I will lose my job.”
“More than that,” Jack interrupted me before I could say anything. “If he refuses to take me in, he can be expelled from the Pax entirely, which would make him alone.”
To Liam, I asked, “What does he mean?”
“To join the Pax, you must forswear all allegiances to your own kind.” Liam seemed unsure if he wanted to answer, but that was better than angry. “If the Pax exiles you, you're alone in the world with nobody to give a damn if somebody hurts you or kills you. And there's a list longer than my leg of people who want to kill me.”
I couldn't ask Liam to risk that. I couldn't let Jack go to jail. I was between a rock and a very hard place.
“What if nobody knows?” Lexie asked, a desperate hitch to her voice. “We can keep a secret.”
I grabbed Liam's bleeding hand and healed it, looking into his softening eyes. “I hate having to ask you this, but please? We need him to take down Tresia. He knows how to get to her.”
Liam sighed and looked down into his healed hand and the handcuffs in them. “You know how he got that information? He slept with her.”
“Ew!” Lexie fake-gagged, slapping Jack on the shoulder. “You stuck your dick in that thing? I'm surprised it didn't sizzle off.”
“I did what I needed to get what I wanted,” Jack said in a weaker voice. “I could not have stolen her necklace if I was not so close.”
Liam's eyes widened a fraction. “You stole her ferrament?”
“I tried to barter my freedom with it.” Jack fell back onto his rear and coughed. It was a wet, heavy sound. Lexie went to the ground next to him. “I failed.”
“You still have it?” Liam asked.
Jack nodded. “Not here. It is hidden far away.”
“Are we in business?” I asked, getting impatient at the sounds of Jack's failing health. We couldn't afford to be a man down. �
��Can I heal him now?”
Liam sighed sharply. “Fine. But if I'm risking my arse on the likes of him, then I'm in charge of this operation.”
I flung my arms around his chest. “Thank you.”
“Dying,” Jack groaned theatrically.
“Coming.” I knelt beside him and healed the massive hole in his gut.
“Are you good?” Lexie asked him.
He gave a thumbs-up.
I turned to Liam next and set my hands over the massive hole in his leg. When it was healed, I stood up in front of him and looked him in the eye. “Thank you for not arresting him.”
He was quiet for a moment and I realized just how close we were. “I didn't do it for him.”
“Thank you still.” Blushing, I took a step back and cleared my throat. “I know now how much you're risking and can't thank you enough for it.”
“What do we do now?” Lexie asked Liam.
“Hey,” a male voice barked. “You have three seconds to tell me what you're doing here before I kill the lot of you.”
It was Byron.
12
It's alright, Byron,” Liam said, turning around to face Byron. “They're with me.”
Byron clearly recognized Liam, but didn't seem happy to see him. His brows drew together over his dark sunglasses as his hand went to a weapon in a holster on his upper thigh. “This wasn't part of the agreement we made.”
Liam put his hands up in a friendly, non-threatening gesture. “I know and I apologize for the change in plans.”
“Fuck your apologies. They won't keep my ass from getting chapped in the shit-storm you'll be bringing onto me and mine.” Byron popped the holster open with his thumb and wrapped his hand around a knife hilt. “I made the deal on the condition of confidentiality and security. This—” He pulled out a serrated Bowie knife and waved the tip of it at us with a flick of his wrist. “— looks anything but confidential and secure. You were my point of contact. Not them.”
“I know, Byron, and I apologize.” Liam stepped in front of us, making a show of putting his sword away. “I had no idea they would be here.”
“Then kill them,” Byron growled in his deep baritone.
“I won't be doing that and neither will you,” Liam warned.
“Oh, won't I?” Byron's brows lifted in mock surprise. “I could put you all in the ground before you could blink.”
“You won't be doing that because if you hurt them, our deal is off. This is my team of venators and without them, there will be no op. Your ass will be on its own.”
“You wouldn't dare.” Byron strode forward.
“Oh, but I would.” Liam stepped in front of him.
The two said nothing as they stood there, nearly nose-to-nose, staring daggers at the other. Liam wasn't a small man, but he was dwarfed by Byron, who stood almost a whole head taller than him and was broader all the way around.
Finally, Byron broke the silent staring contest by looking over to us and saying, “That's your crew? They're a sorry-looking bunch.”
Jack scowled and pushed Lexie behind him. “Do not judge a book by its cover.”
I hadn't noticed them get to their feet.
“I disagree,” Byron said, stepping to the side away from Liam and walking to Jack. “It is easy to judge a man by what you can see of him. And you, I saw bleeding on the ground, being tended by women.”
Jack smiled tightly. “What man does not want to be attended by many beautiful women? And who says I wanted to win in the first place?”
Byron was quiet, studying Jack. Liam crept closer to Byron's back while he was distracted. Byron then turned his gaze to Lexie and me.
“And what is it you two do?” he asked. The weight of his gaze was palpable, even with his eyes hidden. “You are clearly not fighters.”
Lexie looked to me from behind Jack, panicked.
“I fight and she—” I nodded to Lexie. “— does backup work.”
Byron scoffed and looked at Liam. “If this is all you have to offer, then I can just kill you all and take my information elsewhere. I will not risk failure.”
Liam's face was stoic, but he was in a corner.
“I killed Unus,” I said.
That got his attention.
“And Duo.”
“You lie, woman.” A flicker of shock passed across his face before it turned into anger. His hand went to rest on the end of his knife again.
I held up my wrist and tried to mirror his dark, murderous expression. “Unus, I fed to a pack of Octavius' own skulls. And by the time I was done with Duo, he was begging me to cut his head off.”
Byron was weighing the truth of my statements.
“Next on my list is Tresia.” I stepped into his personal space like Liam had and stared up at him. “She pissed me off.”
He was still measuring me up. He needed a little more convincing.
“Lexie,” I said, waving her over. “Come here.”
She did as I asked and Byron looked her over. Her gaze met mine and I nodded ever so slightly to her necklace. She knew what I wanted and took her woven leather choker off so Byron could see the raw, red line where her head had been cut off.
Slowly, Byron reached his hand out to touch it. He wiped at it, I presumed to ensure it wasn't makeup or glamour.
When he took his hand back, Lexie put her necklace back on and stroked her thumb over the delicate silver rose that hung from it.
“Like Jack said, never judge a book by her cover.” I watched his expression waver for a split second between disbelief and awe before settling on respect.
Byron wordlessly walked back to Liam. “I'm in.”
The two shook hands and I let out a breath in relief. The tension melted out of Lexie's body, too, but Jack remained at attention. He didn't take his eyes off Byron for a moment.
Byron led Liam to the edge of the forest and pointed out each of the guards. “My men and I are only in charge of perimeter security. I'm posted at the gate. There are two more men at the entrance, four hidden in glamours patrolling the grounds, and another four are deep in the forest behind the casino securing the hunts. Inside the building, it's a different crew of mostly fae guys from the Summer Court.
There's two on the human floor: one standing by the entrance to the second zone checking species to make sure no humans get through and one disguised as the pit boss. He is the bigger problem. One alert from him and the whole crew reacts. There are four more in the first Paxian section and one who screens entrants to the floor where all the real action goes down— pit fights, roulettes, on-site hunting arrangements, and the like. Once you've made it to that floor, there's only one guard who stands watch over Tresia's apartments. That's normally where she is and you can only get there through the final floor.
We can let you through the front door, but from there, you're on your own. Once you're inside, my men and I will make ourselves scarce.”
Liam nodded.
“And your end of the bargain?” Byron prodded.
“We'll get your brother out and leave him on the stairs of the state capitol building in Oklahoma City,” Liam promised with the same sincerity he had when he promised me that we would get out of the pits. He would keep that promise.
Byron clapped Liam on the shoulder and offered me his hand. “Godspeed.”
“Thank you.” I smiled at him, though I wasn't sure if that was what hardened mercenaries did. “I have one question.”
He waited for me to ask.
“What's your brother's name?”
“Percy.” He grinned, flashing pearly white teeth with pointy, but not long canines. It was a real smile, born of love. “Our mother had a thing for poetry. I guess she thought that by naming us after poets, that's what we would become.” A rumble of fond laughter vibrated through his chest. “It worked for one of us, at least.”
I felt a pang in my chest. Mom had always loved Lord Byron.
Byron noticed me flinch. “Something wrong?”
“I just
lost my mom. Lord Byron was her favorite.” My voice came out strangled. I coughed to clear my throat.
“I'm sorry for your loss, Stone Mage.” He gave my hand a gentle squeeze.
“Thanks.” I tried to smile again, but it didn't work.
Byron shook hands with Lexie and Jack, as well, wishing them luck and returning to his post at the sign.
“Looks like we have a smooth way in now.” I went to stand by Liam, who was still at the forest's edge.
Liam scoffed and gave me a face like I was huffing the wrong glue. “The bollocks on you. I have a way in.”
“Come on!” I tried not to shout. “You promised!”
“I promised I wouldn't arrest that sack of shit.” He pointed to Jack, who didn't seem offended. “I never said anything about taking you on a thought-out, planned, extremely important, and even more classified Pax operation.”
“Clearly it isn't all that classified if you just roped us into your cover story,” Lexie noted, putting a hand contemplatively under her lips. “There's no way a bad-ass mercenary like that is cooperating with the supernatural Feds.”
“And we did help to sell your story, thus saving your life.” Jack nodded, agreeing with Lexie.
Liam was not happy.
“And what do you think Mr. Badass is going to do now if you show up without us?” Lexie crossed her arms and smiled victoriously.
I sighed. “She's right, you know. Now that Byron has met us, your 'team', he'll be expecting to see us and you together.”
“He was really touchy about our unplanned presence, so something tells me he'll just kill everybody— including you— if you try to do it alone or take somebody else,” Lexie said.
“About that….” Liam glared as he walked toward Lexie and Jack, but looked at me when he asked, “Your timing on this is suspiciously coincidental.”
“But coincidental, nonetheless.” I tried to shrug nonchalantly. “We had no idea we'd run into you here. We came out here because she attacked us two days ago.”
“We figured it'd be better to get the jump on her than just wait around for her to blitz us again,” Lexie explained, backing me up.
Tresia (Stone Mage Saga Book 3) Page 10