Even without the mark, I knew he wanted to follow when I lowered my hand and turned from him, but he didn’t. I felt the weight of his gaze as I went, but I didn’t turn back. I didn’t relax until I’d reached the bathroom, stepped inside and closed the door.
When I emerged from the bathroom, Paine was gone. Jennifer waited for me in the living room. She rose from the couch as I entered. I didn’t ask where the master of the house had gone. At the present, I only had one thing on my mind.
“We’re going to have to make a trip into dangerous territory,” I told her as I slid the butterfly knife I’d kept into my front pocket. The gun was once again placed at my back, the additional clip I’d taken from the bag carefully tucked into my jeans. “And there’s something I need to ask you.”
“Okay.” She remained where she was, folding her arms over her chest.
“Do you know where the kennels are?” Referring to her home as such sucked, but it was the only term I knew that applied.
Jennifer eyed me warily. “At Victoria’s compound.”
“Can you give me a better idea of a location?”
“I’ve heard people say it was once a place called the SoHo Mews, but that could be a rumor.”
“Would you be able to find it if you had to?”
“Probably, we have strong noses and an even better sense of direction.” She studied me for a moment, shifting her feet, before she asked, “Why?”
“After I’ve finished collecting what I need, I’m going to let you go. The Lycae need to know everything. I’m sure they’ll want to find a way to return to the place you were kept and take back as many of you as they can.”
Awe and excitement crossed her features. “You’re talking about the pack.”
“Yes.”
“I was told they were a myth, something to keep hope alive. I didn’t know they were real.”
I laughed at that. Victoria would feed off her caged entertainment’s hope.
The sadistic bitch thrived on misery.
“They’re not a myth, but they want a piece of my ass. I can’t take you there or stick around after you go. I can only point you in the right direction.”
“I don’t understand.” Worry crossed her face. “Why would they want to hurt you?”
“I betrayed them.” When her eyes widened, I exhaled slowly, trying to find the proper words. “I was warned about how things were with vampires, but I didn’t believe it. I turned my back on the pack to come home. I wanted to return to the people I believed had the power to help me.”
“You’re different.” When I glanced at her, she clarified, “From the others, I mean.”
“Yeah, I am.” I didn’t offer more than that. In a few hours, it wouldn’t matter anyway. Considering what I was about to do, the shit was definitely going to hit the fan.
As I tried to formulate a plan, I started pacing.
I needed a ride to my neighborhood in Greenpoint, which was near werewolf territory. Asking Goose was out of the question, since he’d want to know more information than I could readily provide. Paine was off limits as well. If he found out I was dabbling in demon magic, he’d put an end to things before they’d even started.
“Tell me what I can do to help.”
I’d almost forgotten Jennifer, but I stopped pacing and faced her. “I need to go to my old apartment, but I can’t ask anyone here to take me. Walking is too dangerous. We need to get there without being detected and there’s a hell of a lot of miles between here and there.”
“Oh.” Her face became deflated, like a child who learned their best wasn’t good enough. “I can’t help you.”
After edging over to her, I placed a hand on her shoulder. “It’s okay, I’ll figure something out.”
A knock at the door broke us apart. I took a deep breath and walked to greet our unexpected guest. Bells waited on the other side with a tentative smile. I stepped aside and she walked in, carrying a couple of bags.