Nico had his suspicions. He caught Ajax’s gaze, jerked his head to man. “He was with you?”
A look could communicate a lot. She knew he wanted to know if this man had been with her when she’d gone after the vultures who murdered her father. She nodded. Once. Slowly. Precisely. As if that time was too much for her to remember, and the pieces started to fall into place.
He stopped pacing, pulled the seat out beside hers and took her hand, lacing his fingers through hers. Some of the tension went out of her body.
“We’ll talk about it later,” he said. “For now…” He let the rest trail off. She knew what needed to be dealt with now. He watched the change come over her features and squeezed her hand.
“Don’t do that.”
Startled, she met his gaze. “What?”
“That change you do. That woman you become.”
Across from him Patrick arched an eyebrow and grinned. “That’s the queen.”
“I don’t like it,” Nico snapped back.
She laughed softly, turned her head into his shoulder and bit. Her free hand moved to his waist. Stroking. Petting. Her touch soothed the cat, soothed the still present anger. Lifting her head, she nipped at his lower lip before turning to face the room, but it was Ajax that did so, not the remote shell.
“Start with the crash,” she prompted. Steel in her voice, eyes clashing with Patrick’s. Nico felt a pride he acknowledged he probably hadn’t earned. He may not have the control over her he’d like, but no one was pushing his mate around. She would never allow it.
Patrick reached for the laptop at his elbow and spun it around. “Definitely sabotage.”
He and Ajax both leaned in to study the screen. One half was filled with schematics, the other with a photograph.
“What am I looking at, Patrick?” she asked.
Patrick stood and leaned over. “This line?”
“Yeah.”
“Here it is on the schematic. It’s part of the hydraulics.”
“And?”
“We combed that site. Picked up everything. That’s why it took so long and I can’t be sure, Ajax. Some of the pieces were too damaged to be of any use. You understand?”
“I do. Go on.”
“Okay.” He clicked one of the pictures, a long hose. “See this hole?” He waited until she nodded before continuing. “It’s too precise.”
“Tool made,” Nico said, and Patrick nodded.
“Yeah.”
“Okay,” she said, leaning back and absently rubbing his thigh like she felt his turmoil. “Then the questions are, who did it and who was the target?”
Nico scowled. “First question is the target. That’ll point us to the other questions. But there’s another question to be addressed even before that. Where is my father?”
“Told you he was smart, Patrick. That he’d figure it out.”
The voice came out of his dreams, and he turned slowly, drawing the anticipation out, to see the face that went with it.
“Dad.”
Chapter Five
“Well that answers that question.”
Ajax repressed a wince of sympathy at the cold fury in Nico’s voice even as her own rose to match it and turned, slowly rising to meet this man, this dead man, who was her mate’s father. He moved with the feline grace she’d come to expect from the Leonidas males, but that’s where the similarity began and ended.
Hector was shorter, bulkier, somehow harder than his sons. He let his hair flow to his shoulders, and his eyes were dark, bitter chocolate. She presumed the brothers’ green eyes were a legacy of their mother. And she suddenly wondered why she’d never heard anything about the woman. She concentrated on the scene unfolding before her. That was a mystery for another time.
Nico strode forward and embraced his father with a quick squeeze. When he turned to face her, she forced herself to stand still and tall even though the accusation in his eyes cut her to the bone. She wouldn’t defend herself or her lack of knowledge. This was her fault. If she’d been willing to step forward and take her place before, she would have been in this enclave often. Would have known Hector was there. She ground her teeth together. The hell with that. She wasn’t taking all the blame. Patrick should have informed her. She’d make him answer for that later. First she had to deal with Nico, which meant regaining some of the emotional reserve he hated so much.
“Don’t,” Nico growled in warning, holding his hand out to her. He was tense, radiating rage, and it scared her a little. Was he trying to assert his dominance or responding to something else, the tension in the room, the secrets that kept getting revealed one after the other? “Don’t push me right now, Ajax. Come. Here.”
Hector raised an eyebrow, and she knew what he was wondering. Was the werebird queen going to bow to the demands of a leopard? Of his son? In front of her most senior advisors no less. Biting her lower lip, a nervous gesture she couldn’t seem to break, she met Nico’s gaze, watched as his softened a little. He kept his arm extended. Waiting for her to move.
“Ajax.” A definite warning in his voice this time, one everyone in the room heard. She sensed her lieutenants tensing for a fight and knew she had to diffuse the situation fast.
She wasn’t sure who would be the victor in a battle of wills between she and Nico, and if she tried he would try to make her pay for it later. She shivered in anticipation, remembering the ground rules he’d started off with. Submitting to him in private bedroom games was exhilarating, freeing, but it wasn’t going to happen anywhere else. Looked like she needed to establish her own rules. How did you tame a cat? The thought of the fights to come sent a spike of adrenaline through her system.
She grinned. “I do like to live dangerously.”
“If you don’t move your ass, I’m going to give you dangerous.”
Laughing, she shook her head. “You shouldn’t assume that you’re the most dangerous predator in the room. I realize that west of the Mississippi everyone probably follows your lead. Here they follow mine.” She lowered her voice, “You’re going to have to find a way to accept that, Nico, or this isn’t going to work.”
He cocked an eyebrow, incredulity stamped across his features. “You expect me to submit? Not fucking likely, baby.”
Submit? Probably not. But he had to at least defer to her when there were others around, had to stop expecting her to submit to him in everything. Her stomach rolled and she took a steadying breath, knowing what had to be said, knowing it was going to hurt like hell to watch it happen.
“Then you should take your father and return to your lands.”
He growled. “That’s not happening either. Someone has to stick around to protect you from yourself.”
God, the man was infuriating. She stepped close enough to poke him in the chest with her finger. “I don’t need a protector, cat. I’ve been doing it myself for a long time. Why are we having this conversation again?”
“Because you aren’t any good at it?”
Outrage coursed through her. Of all the gall. Hands fisted, her talons thrust through her fingertips and bloodied her palms while she struggled against the instinct to attack. If anyone else had dared speak to her like that, dared make that suggestion, she wouldn’t have held back. She reminded herself, repeating it like a mantra, that he’d never seen her fight, this was the first time he was seeing her outside of her home.
Someone snickered behind her.
“Quick. Put him on the payroll. Anyone who can rein in the adrenaline junkie is worth any amount of money,” Patrick drawled. He knew her well enough to know she was fighting the urge to attack, knew her body was keyed up for the excitement of a good match.
She spun around and glared at him. “How would you like to have your eyes gouged out?”
He smiled, slow and just this side of taunting. “Try it.”
A hand closed around her wrist, and Nico yanked her back against his chest. “I don’t think so,” he said coolly, but he was speaking to Patrick not her.
Patrick shrugged, but he was smiling. “Another time, then. Better to get the business part finished first anyway.”
Nico’s arm was a tight band around her waist, and she stroked her hand slowly up and down its length. “Let’s get this over with,” she murmured before stepping forward. He let her go, and this time when she returned to the table, she sat at its head. He took the chair on one side of her and Patrick the other. Hector sat next to his son. She met his gaze levelly, forcing any sentiment she might feel towards her mate’s father to the back of her mind.
“Start at the beginning,” she ordered. He may be the leopard king, but she was queen here.
Nico reached for her hand absently as if he didn’t realize he’d sought comfort from someone else. He laced their fingers together, held their entwined digits against his thigh and lightly traced her knuckles while he focused on his father.
“How did you end up here? Why haven’t you contacted us?” Nico asked. She didn’t think anyone else heard the hurt in his voice, but Hector’s eyes flashed with understanding.
“It was too dangerous. I was very badly injured. I’m amazed Celeste survived. I almost didn’t. We agreed—” he jerked his head to include the other birds in the room, “—to keep my survival secret until I was stronger.”
She narrowed her eyes, furious over the deception, and looked him over. “That’s obviously been a while.” Then she turned to Patrick. “You should have told me.”
Nico’s fingers clenched around hers. A warning? Comfort? Patrick met her gaze steadily.
“You weren’t ready to take over, and I promised your father we wouldn’t force it on you. Under the circumstances it was safer for you.”
She forced her jaw to unclench. “I’ve never picked safer.”
He smiled and this time it was with warmth. Respect and remembrance. “No. You have your father’s strength.”
She ignored the implication that her mother didn’t have any. Her father’s death had broken her mother. Everyone knew that. It was no wonder to anyone that she’d spent the fifteen years since her father’s death avoiding personal relationships and the throne. She studied Patrick. But maybe they’d resented her refusal more than she realized.
“What do we know?”
“It had to be someone with access to the plane at Refuge,” Hector said. She shivered at the calculating rage in his voice. She’d hate to be the one responsible when the leopard tracked him down.
“We’d need a complete list of everyone who was at the resort at the time.”
Even as she stated the obvious she had a knowing, a foreboding. She knew who was behind this, behind everything the last few months, even if she couldn’t prove it. She didn’t have to as it turned out.
The door slammed open, and Mathew walked in with enough arrogance in his swagger to make her gums hurt from grinding her teeth. She watched him approach, watched his gaze sweep the room and take in the presence of the two leopards and realization of the older’s identity dawn. His eyes finally settled on her, and she rose to face him.
“Another survivor,” he drawled. “I obviously need to come up here more often. How many others are you hiding, Ajax?”
She smiled coldly. “Just the two.”
Leaning against the opposite end of the table, he seemed to consider her words, accept them before moving on to something else. “It’s true then,” he said.
She wondered what he meant. It was obvious she’d taken a mate and that meant Mathew’s position was in jeopardy. It was almost unheard of for a mated heir not to take the throne. If a Regent was necessary it was almost always a mate. Nico would have the right to demand her cousin hand over control of the clan if she didn’t take it for herself, if he were a bird. She struggled to remember their history—certain at some point in the distant past there had been a non-bird Regent. Only an eagle could sit on the throne, but there wasn’t actually anything in law barring other species from holding the Regent’s position. That was simply tradition. But maybe he was only reiterating Hector’s obviously very alive presence to himself. If her suspicions were true and her cousin had tried to kill the cat, then his life was forfeit.
“What?” she asked.
“It doesn’t matter.” A slight shake of his head. “Challenge.”
Her jaw dropped. A challenge could be issued by anyone in the clan. With just cause. It rarely happened if leaders were strong, and she was strong. She also had the right to have a representative fight in her stead. She’d never exercised that right before, always had chosen to fight her own battles. As queen, they probably wouldn’t let her. In the past it would have gone to Patrick, but now Nico would have first choice. She wasn’t about to put him in that position. She moved away from the table, out in the open of the room where she could maneuver if necessary. Nico shadowed her.
“Grounds?”
She didn’t ask what she really wanted to know, didn’t want him to realize how suspicious she’d been of him and his actions for months. Not until she was ready, until she had more information. But she wondered, why now? Why wait till this moment to challenge her? There was a slim possibility it might remove his only obstacle to total rule over the birds—her—but what did that have to do with all his machinations with the leopards and wolves?
“Supremacy. Purity,” he said with a glare at Nico.
“Ah. That old argument.” She hadn’t realized Mathew was part of the small minority that believed there shouldn’t be any interspecies mating. It didn’t ring true as the reason for his challenge though.
She shook her head. “I don’t think so. What are you really up to?”
His grin made her skin crawl. “You’ll see soon enough, cousin.”
Damn it, she should take him out now. Forcing herself to stand still, she pressed her lips together. A challenge had been issued. She couldn’t make a move against him before morning. Honor and the rules demanded that much.
“How does this challenge thing work?” Nico asked Patrick who’d moved between them at Mathew’s entry.
“He issues his challenge. She has until morning to meet him. Or her representative has until morning to meet him.” The smile he turned on her cousin was feral. “You know we aren’t going to let you fight her. You aren’t worthy of that battle. You haven’t earned it.”
The protest died on her lips, hearing his words and seeing the reflection of his feelings in the other eagles’ faces around the room. It was a part of their command structure she’d never liked. She could fight her own battles, was encouraged to, until she accepted the title. Then she was expected to give her defense over to someone else. She hated that. Chafed under those cultural rules. And Mathew knew it. His gaze was mocking when he met hers. He expected her to overrule her advisors, and it made her even more suspicious. Contrary. She nodded at Patrick.
“Make the arrangements.”
She pivoted on her heel, but Nico caught her wrist before she could leave. “Wait.”
She faced him and raised an eyebrow. She was shaking and struggling to conceal it, a combination of adrenaline and excitement and fear threatening to overrun her system.
“This representative. Who has first choice at that?”
Her heart pounded. She didn’t want to drag him into this, but she’d already spent too much time not telling him important things, things he needed to know. She tried for nonchalance. Shrugged. “Mates have first dibs. Then senior advisors. Patrick most likely.”
Looking over, she met his gaze and he bowed deeply. “Of course, Ajax. I’m at your service.”
Nico moved to her side, the movement breaking her concentration on Patrick. They stared at each other for several long seconds.
“So it’s my right, correct?” Nico asked Patrick not her. She held her breath. She didn’t want this. Did she?
“It is.”
“Fine.” He glanced at Mathew standing near the door then back to Patrick. “Make it happen.”
“No problem,” Patrick murmured while usher
ing Mathew out the door. The other three werebirds followed them. She was left alone with two leopards, one of them really pissed off. Hector chuckled, but there was an undercurrent, a glee to it that made her suspicious.
“Think I’ll leave you two alone. Ajax, dear, your rooms are always kept ready, you know.”
What the hell was Hector up to? Charm seemed so out of character. Then again, she wasn’t likely to be catching him at his best.
“Thanks.” She nodded and chanced a look at Nico. His expression was inscrutable.
“Lead the way,” was all he said.
The enclave was carved into the side of the mountain. Meeting spaces were on the bottom level where they were now and living spaces higher up. All of the enclaves had guest rooms, but this one had quarters specifically for the royal family, for her. She went through the door Hector had come in that was tucked into the back of the room and walked down a short corridor. They followed a set of wide steps up a level where it branched into a long balcony before breaking up into two new staircases. She took the one on the left, hugging the inside of the mountain. Huge window seats were carved out but she didn’t take time to enjoy the view with the cat prowling at her back.
Finally they came to the end of the long climb and turned left into a corridor leading through the mountain. Every few yards they passed closed doors until stopping at the end of the hall before the last door. Twisting the knob, she paused and sucked in a deep breath. The last time she’d been here was the morning her father died.
Entering was like stepping into a time warp. She forgot Nico was with her as she wandered around the living area. She swore she could still scent her father—hear her mother’s soft teasing laughter.
The place was laid out like a human apartment with a small kitchen and living area in the center flanked by two master bedrooms. She walked to the French doors and threw them open. Stepped onto the stone ledge and spread her arms to feel the wind ruffling her feathers. At this height there was always wind.
She was brought back to the present when Nico wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her back inside, firmly shutting the doors behind them. Ready to face the music, she turned to face him. He was scowling out the glass panes.
Renegade Passions: Forbidden Passions, Book 4 Page 5