I snorted. "Uh yeah. That kinda makes sense now, considering you've been providing the drugs that’re killing all these shifters." I leaned forward and curled my lip up at the edge. “Do you not lose any fucking sleep over that? People are dying because of you, you son of a bitch. Don’t think I’ll ever forget that.”
Nix didn't even look the slightest bit rattled by this, instead just sipped his drink—Scotch, neat, please—and watched me like an animal in the zoo. He was fascinated by me, that much was obvious, but not in a simply sexual way. No, there was an interest that went far beyond the gleam in his eye, or the way his ringed finger tapped the edge of his glass in a steady, maddening sort of rhythm.
"The dust doesn't kill them," he corrected eventually. "You do. If anyone’s to blame for shifter deaths, Miss Hunt, it's you and the always charming Mr. Ravena."
My jaw fell open at the sheer fucking audacity of his statement. As if I were the psychotic murderer! All I, and RADOPA, were doing was cleaning up his mess!
"But I'm not here to lay blame at anyone's doorstep," Nix continued, smiling like the predator he was. "I came to propose a partnership. I've never had the pleasure of working with one of the Nine before, and I think you could be invaluable to my research."
"And what do I get out of this?" I asked sceptically. "What could you possibly offer to make me accept becoming your lab rat?"
He grinned, like he'd already won. "Firstly, I'm not asking for a lab rat. Just the opportunity to watch and observe. Take notes. Ask questions. Maybe run one or two simple tests? In return, I can promise I’ll stop creating and distributing the taint to the masses."
"What good will that do?" I challenged. "It's already spreading on its own through unprotected sex."
His grin spread across his face, like he was trying not to laugh. "Well, I can't help that, I'm afraid. I suggest shifters stop acting like such animals and invest in a few condoms until a cure can be found."
"You don't have a cure?" I was floored. "What kind of irresponsible egomaniac creates a disease with no cure?"
His blue eyes flashed with anger and annoyance, and I shifted a little uncomfortably in my seat. "No, Miss Hunt, I distinctly do not. That’s what I require your help for."
"Mine?" I growled back, stroking one of Ziff’s ears to help maintain my calm. "What the hell do I have to do with this?"
Nix sighed and took off his glasses to rub at his eyes. He was exhausted; I could see that now, but what I couldn't understand was why. Why he was sending this disease out into the shifter community and not giving two flying foxfires about the results?
"This problem, the inability to shift and the resulting madness … it started with a kitsune. A very old, very powerful kitsune. I’ve been employed by a much higher being than you to find out what’s caused it and create a cure. Unfortunately, as the saying goes, you can't make an omelet without breaking a few eggs." Nix’s gaze was clear and totally unapologetic, and I felt a shiver of prophecy roll through me, leaving that distinctive metallic taste on my tongue. Something told me things would get a lot worse before they got better.
"That's cold," I murmured, then paused as Shelbi came back to deliver my caprese salad and Nix's steak tartare. Of course the mass murderer ate raw meat. Not that I could really talk, given all shifters did the same in animal form … but it was noteworthy nonetheless.
"So do we have a deal, Thea?" he prompted, and I glared back at him while chewing a mouthful of tomatoes, basil, and buffalo mozzarella. Yum. That shit was fucking boss.
"I'll think about it," I replied eventually, and he huffed a laugh.
"You mean you'll ask Mikhail for his opinion first? This offer, and the situation surrounding it, have nothing to do with my history with Mr. Ravena. Our issues … come from a distinctly more personal nature," Nix said before pausing to eat a dainty, genteel bite of his food. The man ate like he was a courtier in medieval England or some shit.
"Oh? Why don't you tell me more about that?" Okay, I'll admit I was just curious as hell to know what the deal was with these two. They were definitely familiar, and the way they talked about one another hinted that they'd once been close.
Nix gave me a smug, little half-smile as he ate. "You just want gossip on your boss."
"So?" I shrugged. "If you weren’t interested in spilling a little tea”—drag queen slang for spreading gossip, thanks Chris—"then you wouldn’t have brought it up in the first place.”
"I'll tell you if you tell me how old you are," Nix replied, looking shrewd. "And I'll know if you lie." He gave me a long, slow wink after he said that, and I felt my body flush with heat.
I considered his proposal for a second, then shrugged. At some point, someone—Mikhail or me or even Bex—would be assigned to take Nix out, after RADOPA either got the information they wanted from or about him … or he pissed them off so much they no longer cared to find out. So what did it matter if he knew my age?
"Sure. You tell me first." I sat back in my seat and scratched Ziff's ears as he watched us banter. Nix shrugged, ruffling the dirty fur wrapped over his suited shoulders.
"So be it," he agreed, finishing off his plate and neatly placing his cutlery together. "First of all, Mikhail bit you the other night, did he not?"
I scowled. "How did you—"
"I was watching," Nix explained with a wave of his hand. "Did it hurt? Or did it feel fucking fantastic?" My cheeks heated and the asshole smirked. "I figured as much. Mr. Ravena lost control, that moron. Instead of simply feeding from you, he went a step further and gave you a little of his essence, let you feel what it felt like for him to feed from you. From a woman he cares for. It didn't look like it went too far, from where I was standing, but I can just bet you're having some lingering effects now."
"I don't even know what to say about that," I whispered, feeling like my eyes were the size of saucers. Whatever I thought Nix Locklear might tell me over lunch, that wasn't it. Not even remotely close. So this was about more than just vamp pheromones in my blood then. Great. Fantastic.
I cleared my throat. No way in hell was I going any further down this line of questioning with Nix Locklear. I’d take this niblet of information and go straight to the source, see what Mikhail had to say about it. "That doesn’t exactly explain your history with him."
"Changing the subject," Nix chuckled, this masculine sound that had my lady parts all confused. "Fair enough. I met him during the war. He used to shoot people back then, made money off murdering others, just like he does now."
"Wait." I frowned. "What war?"
"Does it matter?" Nix blinked back at me, like that information should have been obvious. "He was a killer, I worked in R&D like I do now, and we struck up a friendship. There isn’t much more to it than that."
"So what happened? You clearly fell out over something," I prompted him, trying not to look too eager to hear about my stone-cold boss's history.
"Or someone," Nix sighed. "A woman. Isn't it always? Anyway, I agreed to tell you how I knew him, not how we came to be the way we are now. So, tell me, Miss Hunt, how old are you really and when did you get those glorious tails?"
I sat back in my seat, taking another sip of my wine before replying with a smile, "How old do you think I am?"
Oh my foxfire. Did I honestly just say that? What am I, freaking thirteen?
Frantically, my mind searched for something that might cover up what was possibly one of the most clichéd teenager flirtation lines in history, but Nix spoke before I could dig any deeper into that hole.
"Well, I’d have pegged you to be in your early twenties, but you’re much too cheeky for that. Besides, one of the Nine only shows up once a century or so. In saying that ..." He tapped his lips with steepled fingers, like I was an entertaining word puzzle. "Two centuries? Three?" Is he playing with me right now? I might’ve liked that, had he not been a cold-hearted murderer and all. Fuck, maybe I did anyway?
Biting the inside of my lip to hold back a smile, I tilted my head. "Is that your final answer?"