by Dannika Dark
“If you couldn’t finish off Salvator, what makes you think I’m quaking in my boots?”
I poked him in the chest with the toothpick, and he flinched. “Did one of your guards go missing recently?”
He stared for a frozen moment, unblinking.
I tucked my dirty toothpick in his coat pocket and patted it with my hand. “Don’t make empty threats you don’t mean to carry out yourself.”
Darius slowly inclined his head, moving around me. Before he passed, he bent down and whispered in my ear. “Did one of your Vampires go missing lately?”
I blanched and quickly looked up.
His dark eyes sparkled with interest. “I wasn’t sure at first. Thanks for the confirmation. Shame,” he added, implying the Vampire was dead.
I turned on my heel as he went out the door.
A bluff. It had to be.
Wyatt all but flew out of his seat, his chair knocking over. “You’re Dirty Harry! The whole toothpick in the pocket… man.” He threw his head back. “That was classic.”
Darius and his men drifted out of sight, leaving behind Patrick’s guard and the little boy.
I approached the window and peered out. “Should we go after him?”
“Not in the daylight,” Shepherd cautioned. “Take a seat until the rest of the party leaves.”
I sat across from him, Wyatt and Blue joining us and facing the window.
Wyatt hooked his arms over the back of his chair. “Do you know who that guy is?”
“Darius,” I said, unimpressed.
“No,” he said, lazily lifting his hand to point at the restaurant. “That guy. His last name is Bane.”
“One of Darius’s Mage brothers. So?”
Wyatt shook his head. “I discovered a record this morning that lists the original owner of that land. It was Patrick Bane, Mr. Irish Wonderful over there. He’s Darius’s Creator and also happens to be a member of the higher authority.”
Blue touched one of her earlobes as if searching for the feather earring she wasn’t wearing. “Do you think he knows what Darius is up to?”
“Bet he doesn’t have a clue,” Shepherd said. “That poor bastard is in for a rude awakening if this thing blows up.”
Wyatt pulled his hat down so that it covered his ears. His brows angled. “Do you think Darius is a Creator?”
Shepherd scratched his jaw. “There’s always the chance. So what if he is?”
“Because the last thing we need is a legion of Learners coming after our ass for killing their father. Didn’t you see The Princess Bride?”
Blue smacked his arm with the back of her hand. “Don’t be ridiculous.”
Wyatt rubbed his nose. “Even still, now his Creator’s in the picture. Going after Darius is like going after Patrick, and you know how the Mageri protects its own.”
“Fuck me,” Shepherd grumbled, glaring at Wyatt. “Don’t you have anything positive to say?”
“I bought you a brownie.”
The boy outside slapped his hand against the glass, holding it there. He did it again, a pout on his face and blue eyes glittering behind the black Zorro mask.
“Poor kid,” Shepherd said. “Bet that bastard doesn’t give him the cupcake.”
Wyatt chortled. “Careful, Shepherd. People might actually think the Tin Man has a heart.”
Shepherd placed his palm on the window, eclipsing the tiny hand. The boy smiled wide, his cheeks ruddy.
“Look, he likes you,” Wyatt teased. “Little does he know you eat wishes and dreams for breakfast.”
Wyatt touched his thumb to his nose, wiggling all his fingers. The boy stuck out his tongue in response, making Wyatt laugh.
Shepherd lowered his hand and turned away, giving me a pensive look. “What did Darius whisper in your ear before he left?”
I swallowed thickly, my eyes skating between them. “Christian’s dead.”
Chapter 16
“What do you mean, he’s dead?” Viktor bellowed, his voice reverberating off the stone walls of the gathering room. The news was a grievous blow to the team, and most of them sat in quiet disbelief.
The gathering room was separated from the dining area by a stone wall with small archways down the center. The ceiling was high, and the stained glass window on the left side of the room was exquisite—images of people, flowers, and wolves tangled together. With the window behind me and the crackling fireplace to my left, I had a direct view of a grand bookcase on the opposite side of the room that was filled from top to bottom. Viktor had been pacing since learning about Christian’s fate. The lines on his forehead were pensive, his hair unkempt.
Blue kept talking, trying to placate him. “Can you give us any information on where we can start looking? What was the last thing Christian said to you?”
He stroked his beard repeatedly, speaking in words I didn’t understand.
“English,” Gem said gently.
Viktor took a detour to the other side of the room and stopped in front of a liquor cabinet below two stained glass windows alongside the fireplace wall. They overlooked the courtyard, colorful glass creating a mosaic masterpiece of light across the stone floor. He lifted a decanter and filled a short glass with a clear drink, then swallowed half. “I sent him to dispose of the body and vehicle.”
“But that was two nights ago,” Blue said cautiously. “If you had mentioned this to us, we would have searched for him.”
He refilled his glass and then ponderously crossed the room. His accusatory glare made me shift in my seat. The girls sat on the couch to my right, with most of the men standing, except for Niko, who sat on the armrest of the sofa.
Viktor raised his glass, using one of his fingers to point at Blue. “Do you know why I said nothing? It would take the full night to complete the job, so I did not expect his return so soon. In our last conversation, Christian agreed to do this one thing for me and then he was temporarily stepping away. He was conflicted about the recent changes in the house and expressed doubt that he could trust a crossbreed who has devoted her immortal life to killing the very Breeds she’s made from.”
A hush fell over the room.
“So that is why I have said nothing,” he continued. “I just assumed he was taking an immediate vacation. Christian was very upset. It is not the most convenient time, but I would rather he step away and gather his thoughts than make an impulsive decision. I am not negligent; I was simply misinformed.”
Blue put her head in her hands. “Now what?” she said to herself.
Viktor leveled me with his eyes. “How did Darius connect you to Christian? Even if he somehow captured him, Christian would have never talked. Why did he say this to you?”
I uncrossed my legs. “I asked him if he was missing a guard—to make him paranoid. Before he left, he asked if I was missing a Vampire. Darius said he wasn’t sure if I knew anything about it until he saw my reaction. He threatened my life, and I didn’t want him to think he was talking to an amateur.”
“You are an amateur,” Viktor ground out. “Now he’ll know us all.”
Blue spoke up. “Darius only noticed her with Shepherd. He’s not a very astute man, from what I could tell.”
Viktor waved his hand dismissively. “Raven is a baneful influence. I thought I could trust you.”
“You can!” she argued. “I did what you asked.”
Viktor approached the couch and cradled her head in his hands. “I do not know what I would have done had I lost you. The goal was to follow him for information; you were not prepared to fight against him in broad daylight, cornered in a shop with all his men and so many witnesses. I believe you when you say you had no part in confronting him, but maybe you should have called me or led the team away before Darius showed up. I care for each of you like family. You must never go against my wishes.”
She placed her brown hands over his. “I would never do anything to jeopardize Keystone.”
He stood upright and glared at Wyatt and Shepherd. “I tho
ught you were leaders and not followers. I’ve always been fair to each of you, and I care for you as one of my own. There are moments when you have to make quick decisions, and I try to support you where I can and teach you the right way. Raven killing the Mage was a decision forced upon her by circumstance, and for that reason, I had to accept it, just as I’ve accepted many of your actions. But this… this was premeditated,” he said, turning on his heel to face me. “It is not easy to have so many lives dependent on me, and now one is lost. If you deceived me once, you’ll do it again and again. I gave you a probationary period as a second opportunity to prove to me that you were willing to change, but you did not. For that reason, you must leave.”
I waited for the punch line that never came.
“But nothing happened. We just confronted him.”
“Nyet. You turned my men against me and devised a plan without my knowledge. How is that nothing?”
“If I hadn’t done it, you would have never known what happened to Christian. You would have just assumed he took off and left Keystone. Darius should know I’m watching his every move; sometimes that’s enough to make a man play by the rules. He’ll be too afraid of getting caught.”
Viktor folded his arms, never removing his eyes from mine. “Without a Vampire on site, I cannot scrub your memories of what little you know. I’m certain you won’t be waiting voluntarily for that to happen, and I do not wish to hold you by force and hurt you. I will reach out to an associate, and he will complete the task by nightfall.”
“Aren’t you afraid I’ll tell someone your secrets before then?”
“To whom? You do not have friends.”
Niko rose to his feet. “You can’t do this, Viktor. He’ll kill her. She doesn’t have protection, and without her memory, she’ll be a target.”
“She’s no longer my responsibility. I have opened my home to her and given her more opportunities than I gave to any one of you. I took a chance because of her uniqueness, but I am not willing to sacrifice this organization or any of your lives for an impetuous rogue. You are all gifted, but when it comes to choosing people for Keystone, I only want those who are willing to die for their brethren, not be the cause of their death.”
“Give it time,” Niko pleaded.
Viktor shook his head. “We have lost a good man. I’m out of time.”
I stood up, the welcome mat having been ripped out from beneath me. “No hard feelings, Viktor. Obviously I wasn’t cut out for this kind of work, but just so you know, if you send a Vampire to scrub my memories, don’t be surprised if he turns up missing. I don’t voluntarily give up anything that’s mine.”
No one tried to stop me, and while I packed my bag with the things I came with, my only regret was having let Darius walk out of that shop. Killing him could have led to my arrest, but how bad could Breed jail be? At least I’d have a warm bed.
Damn if I didn’t cry while Blue was driving me back to the city. I turned my head so she couldn’t see the doleful look in my eyes as I watched my future drifting farther away. Life had taught me to be cynical, and even though I’d been skeptical about Keystone from the start, I couldn’t deny that I’d become attached to the idea. Gem and Niko had grown on me—a reminder of how much I missed having friends. Even something as simple as sitting at a table filled with laughter and conversation had given me a glimpse of a life I’d never had. Some of them might have thought I had set my sights on living in a big mansion, but I was happy just to have had a bath. Most of all, I was going to miss the view from the rooftop.
Once again, destiny screwed me over.
“Do you have a place to go?” Blue asked.
“There’s a diner up the road called Ruby’s. That would be great.”
After a few more turns, she pulled up to the diner and parked in a fire lane. We watched a young boy standing outside, washing one of the windows with a squeegee.
“Viktor’s not a bad guy,” she said. “I can’t imagine the kind of decisions he has to make and the pressure he feels having our lives in his hands, so I trust his judgment. I’m a Shifter like he is, so maybe I understand his ways a little better. Loyalty is everything to our kind, so we have to respect him as a leader. I haven’t gotten to know you very well, but you seem like a strong woman. Maybe too strong an influence.”
I gripped the door handle. “Yeah, but what did Viktor say earlier to Wyatt and Shepherd? That he wanted leaders, not followers. Take care, Blue. Maybe we’ll run into each other again someday.”
“Yes, but you won’t remember me. So long, Raven.”
A light drizzle fell, but it wasn’t the rain that made me cover my head with the hood of my black sweatshirt. I entered the diner and walked to the back, taking a seat in my usual booth. Betty wasn’t on duty, so no one asked if I needed anything.
No one fussed.
No one cared.
It made me miss my dad. My real one, not the immortals who’d made me into the monster I’d become. We’d never had the most conventional relationship, but he’d looked out for me. Maybe it was time to pay him a visit. Not to see him; he thought I was dead, so knocking on his door would give him a heart attack. Just to be near him and feel a fleeting sense of comfort. My dad was the umbilical cord that connected me to my past, to the girl I once was.
After my mom died, it was just my dad and me. He taught me how to think for myself. He couldn’t afford to buy me things, so instead he gave me advice. I had a good head on my shoulders until high school ended. Then I grew wild, stubborn, and a little resentful when I realized that affluent kids had more advantages in life than I ever would. Unfortunately, I turned that resentment on my father and began distancing myself from him. I didn’t let him know it, but I suppose it was one of those awful phases that kids go through, only mine happened a little later than most.
But before all that, I was just a little girl with big dreams. I had a white music box, and when you lifted the lid, a beautiful princess turned in a circle to a whimsical melody. I used to curl up in bed with it and imagine myself becoming her someday. There weren’t a lot of kids my age living in the trailer park, so I spent a lot of time alone. It wasn’t a deprived childhood by any means. I had a huge imagination, pretending that the trailer was really a secret castle and all the ladybugs were fairies in disguise. My father was the king and protected me from the evils of the world. But once his princess grew up, there was one evil he couldn’t save her from. He raised a strong daughter, and maybe that was what got me through living on the streets for the past few years. I imagined myself as a dark queen, vanquishing all the evils from the city.
Sitting in that diner and smelling the food around me wouldn’t have been a big deal had Viktor never come along and given me a glimpse of an alternate life. It wasn’t the absence of a plate that bothered me anymore, but I missed the companionship of having someone sitting across from me to fill the silence. The Keystone mansion not only offered me solitude, but moments of sanity where just a brief conversation in the courtyard made me feel like a real person—not some low-life rogue who was searching for my next meal and killing immortals so I could feel better about myself. Perhaps the fates were trying to tap me on the shoulder, and I needed to start thinking about doing something else with my life.
Get a job.
Save money.
Buy a house.
Kill the bastard who’d just entered my line of vision.
My breath caught when a man strode in—the jerkface I’d wrestled in the club bathroom. The one Darius referred to as Salvator, his right-hand man. I stared for a frozen moment, wondering if it was a hallucination. Cognito could feel like a small city sometimes, but his timing was impeccable.
He glanced up at the menu. “I’ll have the burger and onion rings to go.”
While he rattled off how he wanted his burger, I discreetly tucked my hair back and pulled my hood farther down. There weren’t many customers, so it was easy to spot his car out the window since it hadn’t been there when Blue had
circled around the side parking lot to drop me off out front. I’d be willing to bet anything he hadn’t locked his doors. Most Breeds didn’t.
When he started fiddling with a napkin dispenser on the counter, I quietly got up with my bag and went out the side entrance. I stood by a red car, pretending to search for my keys, but I kept my focus inside the diner. As soon as he sat down on one of the stools, I sprinted across the parking lot to his car. The windows were nice and tinted, so I tested the back door, and like magic, it opened.
I needed to act fast, so I got in and wedged myself behind the driver’s seat, flattening my bag against the floorboard on the opposite side so it wouldn’t be noticeable. I was a chameleon against the black leather interior. The headrest was pulled up and would allow me access to the back of his neck. I withdrew a push dagger and gripped it in my left hand while holding a longer blade in my right.
It was a good thing I wasn’t wearing perfume, because after I’d spent ten minutes in the back of his car, he would have smelled me the moment he opened the door.
Heavy footsteps approached the car, and a sack rustled.
“Don’t see me, don’t see me,” I whispered, gripping my weapons, ready to spring into action.
The car rocked as Salvator sat down and slammed the door. He was munching on something and growling like some kind of starved raccoon.
Knees, don’t fail me now, I thought to myself. If he was starting up the car, that meant he might be bending forward. I needed to wait until he was reclined all the way back in case my reflexes weren’t fast enough.
The engine purred, and Frank Sinatra crooned about having some woman under his skin.
“You never can win,” Salvator sang out of key.
I rose up and circled the dagger around his neck. He made a strangled sound, and the singing died in his throat when I pricked his nape with the smaller push dagger.
“Peekaboo.” I exerted pressure on both blades. “I have a little question for you,” I said. “Go ahead and swallow those onion rings first before you choke.”