“Not half as proud as I am of you.” A fat tear rolled down her cheek. “You survived.”
“Some days I’m not so sure,” I admitted with a sad little laugh. “Mostly I try not to think about, well, anything, really. I live in the moment. But then I come home from work, and it’s quiet. There are no crushed herbs perfuming the air, the house doesn’t rattle on its foundation when Maud blows something up in the basement, there are no strange guests wandering through the house all hours of the day and night.”
“You’re lonely.”
The lights overhead dimmed in agreement.
“Yeah.” I patted the nearest wall. “I guess I am. We both are.”
“Pinky promise time.” She whipped hers out and waited for me to pony up mine. “We both need to get out more. Starting this Friday night, you and me are going to find trouble to get into at least once a week. Deal?”
“Deal.”
“Are y’all done jawing in here?” Boaz stomped around the corner, giving us fair warning. “Our ride is waiting.”
I twisted on my stool until I faced him. “Our ride?”
A grin twitched in his cheeks. “You didn’t think I was letting you go alone, did you?”
“Yes?” I had Mr. Hacohen as an escort after all. “Did the invite specify either way?”
“Don’t know,” he said, shrugging. “Don’t care.”
“I have to go. My first tour leaves in an hour.” Amelie groaned. “Meet you back here after work?”
“Pick up Mallow on the way, and you’ve got yourself a deal.” I launched myself at Amelie before she could wriggle off her stool, and clung to her like kudzu on a brick wall. “I love you, Ame.”
She clung right back. “Love you too, Grier.”
“Group hug.” The eight-hundred-pound gorilla in the room joined in and squished us until our eyes bulged. “Now that my girls have kissed and made up, let’s get this show on the road.”
“Eww.” Amelie elbowed him in the ribs. “Brother cooties. I’ll have to shower after this.”
“Too late.” He pressed a smacking kiss to her forehead. “You’ve been colonized, little sis.” He got me on the ear when I turned my head to escape, then licked his lips. “That was waxier than I imagined.”
“Whatever.” I shoved him, and he stumbled into the wall. I jumped up and ran to him, hooking my arms under his. “I’m—”
“—a sucker,” he crowed, wrapping me in his arms and rolling across the floor with me until I was laughing so hard I couldn’t breathe. “I can’t believe you fell for that. This leg is the best thing that’s ever happened to me. I get all the sympathy points from hot chicks.”
After shoving Boaz off me, I stood and straightened my top. Amelie hiked it back up my shoulder and smoothed down my hair so I would look halfway presentable. Though Boaz stuck out his hand for help up, we both ignored him. Jerk.
After walking Amelie out, I stood on the porch and touched on the wards. Holding steady, thank the goddess, but weak, too weak to be any real protection. I had to knuckle down and get them repaired for both our sakes. The next time Volkov… I exhaled a shuddering breath. No. There wouldn’t be a next time. I would see to that. Whatever it took, I was going to figure out a way to keep us both safe.
Since Mr. Hacohen was nowhere to be seen, I assumed he had retreated to the air-conditioned comfort of the car to await me. I was taking the steps down when warm fingers encircled my wrist from behind. Panic seeped in before my brain could throw on the brakes, and I snapped my arm up, breaking the hold.
Startled to find me standing a yard away from him, Boaz wrinkled his brow. “What?”
“I can’t deal with surprises.” I inched back to his side and looped my arm through his instead. “Not yet.”
“Let me know your limits.” His eyes softened. “For once, I won’t push them. I swear.”
“Thanks.” I leaned my head against his shoulder. “You’re not half bad half the time.”
He led me down the drive. “And the other half?”
“You’re a holy terror, exactly as Amelie described.”
The driver greeted me with a nod as he opened the door to reveal Mr. Hacohen on his phone. I wobbled back a step as my vision tunneled on the yawning blackness of the interior. The car was the same model as the service Volkov used. A Lincoln Continental. Not even the deep crimson paint job, which screamed High Society, could keep my heart from rabbiting.
“I can’t do this.” I broke from Boaz and stumbled back. “I’ll get Jolene and meet you there.”
“You can’t go out alone right now.” Boaz kept his hands to himself but inched closer. “Let me drive you.”
I focused on my breathing until normal sight and sounds returned. “Okay.”
“Wilhelmina is in your garage. Hope you don’t mind. I needed somewhere to stash her when I left, and I figured she could use the time to bond with her little sister, Jolene.”
Ignoring the fact that he seemed to believe my garage was our garage, I had to stop him right there. “You named your new bike Wilhelmina?”
Smiling so wide he displayed every tooth in his head, he wiggled his eyebrows.
“Oh, Boaz. No.” I groaned when I got the joke. “You did not name your bike that so you could ask girls to hop on your Willie.”
His rolling chuckle only confirmed my suspicion.
“Perv.”
He winked down at me. “Never claimed to be otherwise.”
Nineteen
Passing on the ride was one thing, but Mr. Hacohen meant to ensure I didn’t give the same treatment to the Grande Dame’s summons. The car tailed us straight to city hall, and we left the crimson sedan idling at the curb as we entered the darkened building and rode the elevator down to the Lyceum. Boaz trailed after me through the long, dark hallway leading to the Grande Dame’s office where my courage abandoned me.
I held my knuckles poised above the wood for so long that Boaz crowded me, his arms a cage I didn’t want to fight, and knocked for me.
“Say the word,” he promised, “and I’ll take you home.”
“The sooner I do this, the sooner she leaves me alone. I want to help find who did this to me.” Any vampire with the age and power to unite multiple clans was not going to let this go, let me go, not when the abduction had felt so personal. “This won’t be fun, but it’s necessary.”
The door opened, and the Grande Dame rushed forward. “Grier, I was so worried.” She shocked me by gathering me against her in a delicate hug. Her slight build left me feeling like I was holding a spun-sugar sculpture. Her air of fragility was camouflage, my head knew that, but my heart… Once again, the similarities between her and Maud formed a hard lump in my throat. I could almost pretend the arms enfolding me were hers. Almost. “I thought we’d lost you.”
We broke apart, and she shooed me toward the only open seat while she circled the burled monstrosity she called a desk and sank into her chair.
Following her example, I straightened my back and folded my hands in my lap. “I understand I have you and Boaz to thank for my rescue.”
A smile parted her ruby lips. “What is family for?”
Thankfully, she didn’t wait for an answer.
“I’m certain you’ve surmised the reason for my summons. Let’s begin, shall we?” Using a manicured nail, the Grande Dame flipped on a recording device and got down to business. “We interviewed your friend, Ms. Amelie Pritchard, when she reported you missing. She told us Heritor Danill Volkov arrived under the guise of friendship and tricked you into stepping outside the wards set on your home. He then used his lure to incapacitate you. His men subdued Ms. Pritchard while he forced you into his vehicle. Once the men released her, you were gone.”
Fury simmering in my veins, I fixed Boaz with a glare. “Did they hurt Amelie?”
“A few bruises, but she earned those fighting to escape. She wasn’t hurt otherwise.”
Relief left me slumped in my chair. “She didn’t tell me.”
“There was no reason to make you feel worse than you already do.”