I blinked at the security woman who confronted me, all the men—kindly—letting the lady go first. The blood practically drained from my face when the woman motioned to a damn metal detector I was going to have to go through. And since I had a small arsenal on me it wasn’t a great time to have the Kings and Elders around.
Bitch asked gruffly, “Is there a problem, ma’am?” She glanced behind me, surveying who I was with—for the third time—before her hard gaze came back to me, her own protective nature coming to the fore. She gestured to a side door. “I can take you in there and search you myself, if you prefer?”
My lips thinned, feeling a little dizzy, but I shook my head quickly. “That won’t be necessary.” I licked my lips. “I do have a few weapons on me, though, for my own protection. I would hate to lose them.”
She grunted, crossing her muscular Shifter arms. “We have a section set aside for any weapons confiscated.” She grinned. “They’ll be taken to the police, and you’re more than welcome to try to retrieve them there.”
I shifted my boot the barest bit, barely grazing her toe, and opened the barest bit of my power, just a tiny sliver. I floated in the cosmos, connecting with her, grabbing her tether, and bringing to my lips swiftly. I whispered, “Agree with me.”
I cut the connection instantly, and then stated clearly, “I would prefer to have them back at the end of the night. I’m sure there’s a safe somewhere you can put them in, right?”
She smiled, and it was instantly friendly. “Actually, yes, we do. I would be happy to do that for you.”
“Thank you.” I moved to the table next to the metal detector, and unzipped my purse, still completely mortified as everyone watched silently. But I swiftly removed my gun, popping the clip out, asking the woman, “Do you have a bag I can put my stuff in?”
“Yes.” She nodded once, smiling at me and taking off her own bag crisscrossed over her shoulders. “Will this work?”
“Perfect,” I mumbled.
I counted the silver bullets I let drop into my open palm, barely flinching, wanting to make sure I got the right amount back, before putting them back into the clip and tossing the gun and clip in the bag. Next, I pulled out the beautiful, silver wicked blade I had inside at the bottom of my purse, dropping it inside as it gleamed under the horrendous yellow light. The next silver knife was at the bottom of my purse, a smaller blade, but no less deadly. I unzipped the hidden compartment, and pulled out the small diamond blade I had and the diamond bladed knuckles, dropping those into the bag. I reached behind me, pulling out a gun from the back of my jeans that I had stolen here in the first three months, not real interested in those bullets since they weren’t silver, but I pulled the clip on it, putting both of those in the bag. I patted my jacket, realizing I had both knives in the inside pocket, also not silver, but I took those out and dropped them in absently. I lifted my right boot onto the table, lifting my jeans a bit, pulling out the other gun I had stolen, taking off that holster. Up came my other leg next and I removed that knife. I zipped my purse up and slung it over my shoulder. I mumbled into the dead silence, “That should be it.” And I tried to walk through the metal detector.
It beeped. Loudly.
My chest heaved, and I instantly walked backward, and turned to face the guard, who was still smiling at me. I tapped my lips lightly with my finger, trying to remember what else I had on me. I ran a hand over my left arm, but I didn’t have a knife there. Even felt under my breasts, but there was no weapon I may have placed there. My brows puckered, staring at Smiling Bitch, and then I snapped my fingers. “I know.”
I kicked my right boot up on the table, clunked the back of it perfectly, and the silver knife tipped with a diamond sprung out from the toe of the boot. Gritting my teeth, I gripped the silver with one hand, and finagled the latch inside the boot to release the knife. I dropped that one in the bag, wiping the sweat that had beaded on my forehead off with the back of my hand, then kicked my left boot up on the table, hitting that latch right, and proceeded to pull it out. During that process, I remembered the bullet I had thrown in my purse that had stopped me here in the past. I held up a finger, then unzipped my purse, rifling through it until I found the little bugger, still blood stained and all. I kept my hand around it as I dumped it in the bag. At the last minute, I took out my keys, setting them on the table.
Blessedly, I walked through the metal detector without it beeping.
Grabbing my keys off the table, I plunked them in my purse. My attention honed on the guard. “I’m sure you’ll want to take all of that to the safe now, and make sure no one touches or looks at it, and then, you’ll find our box as soon as the match is done, and bring it all to me, right?”
She nodded once, zipping the bag. “Yes, ma’am. That sounds like a splendid idea.”
“Right,” I muttered, brushing my hair out of my face, watching her walk away with my goods, my items, until I couldn’t see her anymore. Then, I slowly turned to the group still standing mute. I smiled ever so sweetly at the Kings, looking at none others. I asked bluntly, “So…how hard is it going to be to convince the four of you I have no ill intentions toward your Prodigies now?”
And dammit, I heard Elder Jacobs start choking down a laugh on the left side of the group, where he would have had the best vantage point to witness my humiliation, and I saw him quickly walk away, muttering curtly, “I’ll be back in a moment.”
But, it was King Bridges’s lips which tilted as all four Kings stared at me with silent eyes, and he stated quietly, “Well, I believe it will be fun to see you try, Ms. Farrow.”
My own smile altered, mimicking him again. “I do believe we’re in the correct place for a match.”
He actually grinned with those quiet eyes. “Indeed.”
Chapter Five
It was like a fixed poker table where I sat in the box, but I had taken the best seat, the one closest to the exit, also giving me the best view of the fight around the enormous granite table. The Kings sat two on each side of me, the Prodigies directly across from me, and an Elder on each side, specifically, Elder Merrick on my right and Elder Jacobs on my left. The Prodigies wore scowls still for their King, only giving me looks of respect, while the Elders wore quietly blanked expressions, more years of training for that, and the Kings wore varying looks of barely banked hostility.
While I sat back in my seat, keeping my feet firmly planted in case I needed to push back, and stared at them with a lazy, bored expression. The sounds were loud around us before the fight began as others took their seats. “So,” I waved an absent hand, “fire away.”
Fergus interceded when King White opened his mouth, asking me, “So, Sadie…have you talked to Elder Farrar recently?”
And, dammit, that quickly, my fucking cool broke, freezing completely as I stared across the table at him, everyone except for the Prodigies damn near coming to attention with the mere mention of that name. But, Fergus only smiled, looking damn coy, asking King White, “Oh…you didn’t know she’s friends with Elder Farrar?” Fergus blinked. “I just talked to him not too long ago on the phone at her apartment.” He smiled. “He got a cell phone, and was calling to brag about it to Sadie.”
Oh, God.
As one, every single King or Elder turned to stare at me with completely blank expressions.
Elder Jacobs leaned forward, placing his forearms on the table, asking slowly, “You know Elder Farrar?”
I knew what they were thinking. That I had duped the Prodigies. That was how I had gotten the “in” with them. And therefore, I had bad intentions toward them. And with the weapon show earlier, those intentions would be very poor, definitely the opposite of honorable.