Chapter 15 #3
Kitty’s head jerked, realizing she had some of the most wanted and notorious individuals in Budapest standing in her foyer, where anyone could walk in and see them. She exhaled, her shoulders edging down, and with a slight nod of her head, she yielded.
“Upstairs, now,” she ordered. “The attic has a large room with mattresses and a private bath.”
“You’re giving us the orgy room?” Warwick snorted, making Kitty’s long lashes lower to the point of slits, threatening him if he spoke one more word.
“I will have someone bring everything you need,” she replied icily.
Ash tugged on Warwick’s arm, pulling him away before Kitty kicked the living daylights out of him. I would have paid money to watch that.
Ascending to the very top, Warwick pushed open a door at the end of the hallway. Another single door was at the other end, and I had a notion it one was Kitty’s private quarters, given the complex locks on the lavender painted door.
Warwick burst through our plain entrance, flicking on a fire bulb chandelier hanging in the middle.
“Oh, wow.” I came to a stop in the large room.
The slanted attic ceilings were draped with fabric, and there were several swings and hammocks like you’d see down in Carnal Row.
Mattresses, sofas, and lounges covered with pillows, faux fur, and fake silk filled the room.
On one wall was a closed door, which I assumed was the bathroom.
Next to it were shelves and racks of feathers, paddles, beads, whips, sex toys, and other paraphernalia, while on the other side of the room was a bar filled with alcohol and drugs.
An old-time record player sat on a table near the arched window.
Everything a sex party would need.
Being the only girl walking into an orgy room with four intensely sexual hot fae, there was no stopping the ideas from brushing at my mind, heating my cheeks.
But that quickly changed when the door slammed shut and Warwick whirled on Killian, ramming the fairy back into the wall, his hand gripping his shirt, digging into Killian’s throat.
“You fucking kidnapped her?” Warwick bared his teeth. “How the fuck are you alive?”
Sloane instantly reacted, grabbing the gun from me and pointing it at Warwick’s head. “Let him go!”
Ash, responding to Sloane, cocked his gun at the soldier’s head. “You drop your weapon first.”
“I need a drink.” I groaned, rubbing my temple. I made my way to the bar, setting the box with the nectar down on the end. “Before you go killing each other, how about we talk this out like rational adults?”
Ash chuckled.
“Yeah, never mind.” I waved them off, pouring myself a whiskey. “Go ahead, kill each other. Istvan and whoever is trying to take over Killian’s reign will highly appreciate all the work you’re saving them.”
The men shifted, no one willing to be the first to retreat.
“Fuck’s sake.” I hopped onto the bar, sipping the cheap whiskey, the intense aroma already spinning my head.
“I’m alive because Sloane saved me. Two of my elite guards were killed before the bomb even went off. He knew something was going to happen.” Killian looked at Warwick. “He saved me . . . and I saved your sister.”
“What?” Warwick jerked back, his nose flaring, rage streaking his features. “Don’t you fuckin’ lie to me.”
“I’m not.” Killian spat. “Your nephew and sister are alive.”
Warwick went still, clearly not ready to trust his enemy.
“He’s not lying, Warwick,” I stated. “They are alive and well. I’ve seen them. They’re fine.”
Warwick’s wild gaze went to me, his eyes taking me in. No matter what was going on with us, he knew I’d never lie about that.
With a deep breath, he stepped back, letting go of Killian, his body still tense, but if you knew Warwick, you could see something unfurling inside him.
The single blink, the release of his fisted hand, the small exhale.
A relief so concentrated and private, not many would notice.
But for those who did, it felt like a tsunami of emotion.
“Lower your weapon,” Killian ordered Sloane, and slowly his guard complied. Ash did the same.
Killian pushed off the wall, rubbing at his neck. “We’ve been at one of my safe houses in the mountains. I thought it was better if we all stayed dead for a little longer.”
“Why?” Warwick barked, his relief covered up and buried deep.
“Because.” Killian swallowed, exhaustion heavy on his shoulders. “Someone within my own house wants me dead and went to great lengths to make sure I was.”
“Something I understand.” Warwick folded his arms, his profile to me. I noticed he wouldn’t really look at me. Not for long.
Killian frowned but ignored him, strolling further into the room.
“They aren’t working alone in this coup.
Though it is someone close enough to move within my palace with ease.
Someone who knows my schedule and has connections to pull this off without anyone noticing.
And with enough bombing material to take down half a magic-spelled palace.
We all know it isn’t the rebel alliance they are trying to pin it on. ”
“Do we?” Warwick sneered. “How sure are you? Of the men around you?”
“You mean Zander?” Killian raised a brow, peering quickly at me. Breath held in my lungs, my body going still. “I knew this whole time he has been working for Sarkis.”
“What?” I gaped. “But . . .”
“You cannot be where I am without being ten steps ahead of everyone else. And I learned at an early age, you can trust no one, even those who swear loyalty. Zander was way too easy to read.” Killian unbuttoned his jacket, throwing it on the chair casually, like a traitor among him was no big deal.
“You saved him. You have him in your hideout.”
“Zander is alive too?” Warwick’s eyes darted to me, then quickly back to Killian.
“Oh, yes.” Killian’s violet eyes darted to mine with a smugness. “Very much. He was of great assistance in getting your family out and safe. He has been most attentive to Eliza and Simon. Dutiful in making sure they are comfortable.”
My lips rolled together, trying not to respond to his insinuation.
Warwick’s eyes tapered, as if he sensed more meaning behind the statement.
“But if you want to know why I kept a spy alive and close,” Killian tilted his head, the answer already in his statement.
“A spy can become a great tool to have when they don’t realize you have caught on.
You can get information from them as well.
Sarkis, as I learned, was never a genuine threat or enemy.
If anything, I saw more of an ally in him.
” Killian turned to me. “Tell Andris he must get better spies next time. Horse-shifters are not cut out for deceit and duplicities. They are too honest and righteous for seedy work.”
“I still don’t understand. You are okay with him being with you in the cabin?”
“Zander is not even close to a threat. He only heard and shared what I wanted him to.” Killian leaned on the back of a sofa. “He is aware I know now. We have come to an . . . understanding. And it’s not me he needs to worry about.”
Both Killian and I glanced over at Warwick.
“What the hell does that mean?” Warwick grew defensive.
I smirked into my glass.
Ash groaned under his breath, and I wonder if he caught on. He came to the bar, stealing my glass and taking a sip.
“Get your own.” I glared, swiping it back.
“What’s the fun in that?” He grinned up at me, licking his lips. “Plus, I like sharing with you.”
A vibration sounded from across the room, pulling my attention to the Wolf. His scowl was focused on his friend.
Ash smiled more, leaning into me, egging on his volatile brother.
“Why the hell did you take her?” Ash took my glass again, downing more, then turning to Killian. “Could have helped us out, and both of us would have gone with you.”
“One, I don’t trust you. Two, I don’t trust you, nor do I want you to know where my safe house is. Three, I don’t have to help you with anything. And four, she made a promise to me,” Killian retorted. “I came to collect.”
“So, you fuckin’ pluck her off the street and drug her?” Ash slammed the glass down, standing up straighter. “I could smell the hint of chloroform. I thought HDF or some other group captured her again.”
Killian adjusted on the back of the sofa, not mentioning that Sloane was supposed to just retrieve me, not drug me and tie me up. I guess Killian left it open for interpretation.
“How did you guys know where to find us tonight?” I changed the subject, turning back to Ash and Warwick. How I was taken wasn’t important anymore, and it only seemed to piss everyone off.
Ash’s stance tightened. He gave a quick glance to Warwick, who stared at nothing, muscles in his jaw and neck straining.
“Since the moment you were taken, we’ve been scouring every inch of this city.
” Ash glanced at Warwick again, something I didn’t get hung between them.
“We saw HDF soldiers move into the square and figured something was going down.” Ash shook off whatever heaviness was between them, snorting sardonically.
“Not surprised to see you in the center of danger as usual.”
“The one thing that hasn’t disappeared from my life.” I poured more alcohol into my cup.
Warwick’s head whipped to mine, his eyes burrowing into me with no exposed emotion, but intensity cut through me.
I swear I could feel a flutter of something against my soul, but I heard and felt nothing from the actual man.
Just an impression making me believe I could still feel the mark he left on my bones.
“How did they know where to wait for you?” Warwick rumbled, jerking away from me, taking off the weapon strapped to his back.
“Ummm . . .” I knocked my heels into the bar. “Seems Kalaraja is still really good at what he does.”
“He is not fully human,” Killian said with conviction.
“Yeah, I felt the same thing,” Warwick agreed. “But I can’t figure out what he is. He seems to adapt and able to hide even from me.”
“Like a chameleon,” Killian replied.