chapter Sixteen
It took some convincing to let Lucas allow me to leave with Holden and no guards.
“Like hell,” the wolf king said.
“I need to talk to him,” I countered.
“Talk to him here.”
I huffed a sigh and turned to the vampire for a little help. He dropped the two suitcases he was carrying—one looked suspiciously as though it came from my apartment—then he smirked.
Helpful.
“He can’t stay here,” Lucas continued.
“He won’t.”
“Actually…” Sure, now Holden wanted to be helpful.
“Shh-ush,” I hissed.
He grinned. I almost wished he were being grim and surly. Then his mood would match Lucas’s. And mine for that matter.
“Out of the question,” Lucas insisted. “I don’t trust his…discretion for one. F*cking. Second.”
“My orders supersede your opinion of my indiscretions,” Holden said, and on the last word he gave me a lascivious wink.
Oh for God’s sake. He was enjoying this.
“Outside.” I pointed to the door.
“Not now—”
“Yes. Now. That’s an order.”
My command sobered him up right quick. He nudged the yellow Coach weekend bag he’d brought, the one I suspected was mine.
“I brought you something.” Then he stalked back out the door.
“Secret.” My name was all Lucas said.
“This wasn’t my idea.”
The look on his face told me he didn’t entirely believe me. “Be that as it may, I need it undone.”
I didn’t bother explaining how Sig’s orders trumped mine and I couldn’t get rid of Holden if I wanted to. Instead I gave Lucas a tight nod. “You need to let me talk to him. I’ll take care of this. I’ll be safe with him.”
Lucas grumbled something and threw his hands up in the air before stomping back to the table.
I took that as permission.
Before going to Holden, I stooped over my bag and unzipped it. Desmond had anticipated Brigit would be choosing my clothes for me, but it seemed a different vampire entirely had snuck into my closet and done the job. Desmond was out often enough it wouldn’t have been hard, I was just hoping he’d think Bri had taken the items, not Holden.
Inside the small suitcase was an array of sharp-looking outfits to make me appear both royal and dangerous. Leave it to Holden to think of my clothing needs above and beyond jeans and sweaters.
Underneath a leather skirt I found the real treasure, though. Extra clips for the SIG I’d brought in my purse and a wooden box containing the dagger Desmond had given me for Christmas. I couldn’t wear the dagger now, having no coat suitable to hide the leg strap, but I gratefully took the clips of silver bullets.
Unfortunately, in spite of all the new and lovely clothes I’d had delivered, I couldn’t take the time to change into any of them. I didn’t want to give Lucas a chance to change his mind and refuse to let me leave. And I didn’t want to get his hackles up by getting dressed nicely for a chat with Holden. Sadly, the hoodie would have to stick around for another hour or so.
Shouldering Holden’s bag, I turned to the wolves. “I’ll be back soon,” I promised.
“You look ridiculous.” This was Holden’s idea of an apology.
“I don’t need any more motivation to want to shoot you right now, but thanks.” I pushed a beignet around on my plate then licked the powdered sugar off my fingers before chasing it with a big swig of coffee.
“I’m not leaving.”
“I know.”
“Then why did you tell the wolf you would take care of it?”
“Are you really that thick?” I raised an eyebrow and bit off a corner of the pastry. Considering I typically only ate blood, this tasted ferociously sweet. I puckered my lips before I drank more coffee. “Lucas can’t know you’re here.”
I played with the pink hoodie strings, my anxiety making it impossible for me to sit still. I didn’t like the idea of lying to Lucas so early into this trip, especially not about something this big. But there was no way to make him understand I couldn’t undo Sig’s order to Holden.
Part of me didn’t want to. I liked having Holden around.
“If you put your hair into pigtails, I think you might appeal to a very kinky niche,” he teased.
I threw a hunk of pastry at him. “Do you think you can maintain a low profile? Keep your distance?”
“Yes.” Brushing white spots of sugar off his sport coat, he looked far from intimidating.
“I’d appreciate that.”
Back out on the street, the night was bursting to life in the French Quarter. Streetlights glowed a warm amber, throwing puddles of illumination onto the sidewalks. Holden and I moved through the golden circles without speaking.
Jazz and blues filtered out from various clubs and street musicians. A woman whose voice sounded like Billie Holiday’s crooned mournfully from a bar a block away from the hotel. A faint chill in the spring air reminded me of home, but the scent of jambalaya and fried fish was in stark opposition to New York’s street fragrances. No pretzels and hot dogs here. The air smelled different. It was exotic, tinged with a note of magic—spicy and wicked.
I liked it.
“I’m glad you’re here,” I whispered, feeling unusually confessional in these strange surroundings.
“I’ll always be here. As long as you need me.” The seriousness of his tone surprised me. I’d expected something cheeky or bawdy and instead got frank and raw. I looked at him, hoping to get a read from his face, but it was just a mask. A lovely, chiseled-jaw, bow-lipped mask, but empty of clues all the same.
We arrived at the hotel in time to see a bellhop throw my suitcase into the trunk of a waiting limousine.
“What the—”
Holden had vanished, gone so quickly the night must have opened invisible jaws and swallowed him whole.
Lucas trotted down the steps with Dominick at his heels and came to a stop when he spotted me. “Your timing is impeccable.” He stooped and kissed me on the cheek. “Did you get everything…taken care of?” His gaze raked the sidewalk behind me.
“Yes, it’s been handled.”
“Good.” He nodded, smiling more to himself than to me, and waved Dominick onwards to the waiting car. “There’s been a slight change of plan.”
I eyed the car with wary apprehension. “Oh?”
“Your uncle has requested that rather than stay in the city and have us commute to and from his estate, he would prefer if we come to stay with him.”
“He…” I looked at our idling ride and an unease crept under my skin that felt, for all the world, like a thousand cicadas had begun buzzing inside me. “And you agreed?”
“Keep your friends close…”
“Lucas,” I said as his words drifted off. “This isn’t really that kind of situation, is it? There’s a very real possibility Callum is working with Mercy and together they are responsible for the attempts on my life. And you honestly thought it was a good idea for us to stay where he can see us at all times? How does us going to Callum’s estate help us keep our friends close?”
“Maybe your friends were a little too close.”
The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. “This is about Holden? I told you that was taken care of.”
“This is about more than your vampire friend, Secret.” He didn’t look at me when he opened the back door of the car and stepped aside so I could get in. “I can’t refuse an invitation from the king when we are in his territory.”
I didn’t have anything sassy to say in reply. “Well…”
“Don’t mistake me. I’m not thrilled the vampire was here. And I will admit I’m glad this relocation puts us outside the influence of your…sect.” Here his voice lowered, like he was trying to handle his words as delicately as china.
“My council,” I corrected.
“Whatever.”
I grabbed his arm and dragged him into the car, slamming the door behind us. When I was certain the only person with us was Dominick, I fixed Lucas with a cold stare and made sure he knew I wasn’t putting it on for show.
“I don’t pretend to know everything about pack law, Lucas, and I never would, but don’t you dare talk down to me because you don’t have the slightest clue what goes on with the council. I make every effort to respect pack law, yet you dismiss something important to me like it’s meaningless.”
There was a cool, regal silence while he considered my words, and the temperature inside the car dropped several degrees as I waited for him to speak. In the front seat, Dominick drummed his fingers nervously on the steering wheel.
We were all silent.
“You’re right,” Lucas said finally. “I haven’t been fair to you.”
I’d been expecting more of a fight, so I was taken aback by his easy acceptance.
“But…”
Ah, there it was.
“But what?” I never liked “but” statements—they were just another way for a conversation to turn around and kick you in the butt.
“There is a difference between you respecting the werewolves, and my respect or lack thereof for the vampire council you so willingly serve.”
I jerked my chin up to signal him to continue.
“You are part werewolf and have the right and need to know what goes on in our society,” he said. “Whereas I have no desire to be any part of the vampire world.”