Chapter Fifteen
MARIUS
I was going to kill Bene — if I could resist the burning urge to drag Mina back into the stairwell and kiss her senseless. It was more like her kissing me senseless, though. And in case I needed any proof of that…I wobbled along, following her on unsteady feet.
We found Bene at the stovetop in the kitchen, frying away. Onion peels and a messy carton of cracked eggshells sat on the counter beside him, and the smell of that with bacon was so good, I reconsidered my plan of killing him.
Breakfast won. Besides, I could always kill him later.
Not noticing us, he turned and reached for the bell. Mina flew into a leap worthy of a World Cup goalie and slapped her hand over it.
“About the bell…”
Bene grinned. “It’s very practical.”
Mina put on a stern, teacher look. “Practical and off-limits to anyone except Madame Picard and me.”
“But Roux said to call a meeting,” Bene protested.
Mina shooed him back to the stove, composed herself, and pulled the cord with an authoritative look that said, This is the right way to do it.
Like there’s a difference, Bene’s eye roll said. He gave the food another stir, then gestured. “So, what did he want?”
Mina’s eyes flew to me, then hit the floor.
“That cop, I mean,” Bene clarified.
Every tense muscle in her body relaxed, and I nearly chuckled. She thought Bene meant what I wanted?
My eyes burned, a sure indication that they were glowing with desire.
You, Mina. I want you. And you want me too, don’t you?
I didn’t voice those thoughts, but she must have gotten the gist, because her cheeks turned crimson. A look I loved, except, oops — Henrik did too. His head snapped around, and his pupils dilated.
I stepped between them, sending him a mental warning.
Don’t even think about it, asshole.
Henrik licked his lips. Think about what?
Fire burned my throat, and who knew what might have happened if Roux hadn’t sliced the air between us.
“Don’t even start, you two,” he warned.
Luckily, Mina hadn’t noticed, more focused on Bene.
“Did the cop buy the story about lightning?” he asked.
“I doubt it. He figured out what you are.”
Roux whipped around. “What do you mean?”
“He knows there’s at least one shifter and a vampire among my clients.”
“Do you know what he is?” Roux asked carefully.
Mina huffed. “Of course. A wolf shifter. I’ve known Clement since I was a kid.”
There was knowing, and there was knowing. Which applied to Mina and that policeman?
Either way, I wanted to kill him. Too bad civilized dragons didn’t do such things.
My beast side rumbled. Civilized? Since when?
Since Mina. At least, I was trying.
“And you are…what exactly?” Bene tried, oh-so casually.
Roux, Henrik, and I leaned in. That was the million-dollar question. What powers did my destined mate — er, Gordon’s goddaughter — have, if any?
“Your host,” she snipped, handing him a pepper shaker.
Which only made the mystery that much more irresistible, like the rest of her.
Bene grinned, letting it go. “Well, hopefully the cop doesn’t make any trouble for us.”
“Simple solution if he does.” Henrik let the points of his fangs extend.
And boy, did Mina jump all over that one. She whirled and stuck a finger in Henrik’s face.
“Don’t you dare,” she growled. “Don’t you dare touch him.”
And, fuck. That wasn’t just out of principle. She cared about the guy. What did that mean for me? For us?
There is no us, I tried telling myself.
No, but there will be, my dragon hummed confidently.
Mina went on fiercely. “If there’s trouble around here, Clement is not the one causing it. You guys are — whether or not you intend it.”
“You mean, like that punch Roux caught you with?” Henrik reminded the tiger shifter.
Roux bared his teeth.
“All right, everyone. Give the cook a little elbow room, please.” Bene brandished the spatula.
“You’re the one who rang the bell,” I grumbled.
“Yes. About that…” Mina started.
“Oh, look,” Bene cut in, dodging the subject. “Brunch is ready. Everyone grab a plate and meet me in the dining room.”
You had to give it to the lion shifter. He knew how to clear a room quickly.
Twenty minutes later, we were scraping our plates clean and leaning back in our chairs.
“You should fire Claudette and hire Bene,” I half joked.
Mina grimaced. “I might have to, now that she’s left town.”
Pity, Henrik’s frown said.
Mina sighed, then flapped a hand. “More importantly…the intruder.”
“Fucking Szabo…” I muttered.
“Are you sure it’s him?” she asked.
I looked at Roux. He liked to pretend he was in charge here, right? Let him handle the tricky stuff.
“No, but he’s our most likely suspect,” he admitted.
“Because…?” Mina rolled her hand impatiently.
“Because he hates us?” Bene offered, then held up the coffeepot. “Seconds, anyone?”
Mina, Roux, and I held out our mugs.
“Now, as hard as it is to imagine anyone hating any of you…” Mina let her gaze sink into Henrik. “What if that’s the case? Who could possibly hate you? And why?”
Bene chuckled into his coffee. “Very diplomatic.”
“I try,” she mumbled.
“Szabo is a vampire,” Roux started. “He was slated to…er, work for Gordon, like the rest of us.”
Mina pursed her lips and looked at Bene. “Translation, please.”
“We all fucked up. Gordon offered a way to clear our records.”
“Records that say…?” Mina asked, alarmed.
“Um… Embezzlement, unauthorized conversion, attempted murder…” Roux’s eyes jumped from Bene to Henrik and me as he spoke.
I glared. “The guy owed me money.”
Not the whole truth, but part of me wanted to test Mina. To see if she could really accept me in spite of my past.
Her jaw dropped.
“Don’t forget insubordination,” Henrik growled at Roux.
“Random examples,” Bene said with a winning smile.
“I bet,” Mina said dryly.
“Being accused of a crime doesn’t mean you committed it,” Roux muttered.
“True — or the ‘victim’ might be the real criminal,” Bene added. “Like Marius’s guy.”
“Not my guy,” I growled.
Bene chuckled. “I mean the guy Marius nearly killed. He ran an illegal fight ring and shanghaied people off the streets whenever he needed ‘extras.’ Picture the Roman Colosseum at its bloodiest, if not as big. Am I right, Marius?”
I clenched my jaw and gave a curt nod. So much for testing Mina.
“He also ran a sex trafficking ring. Our man here put an end to that too.” Bene patted me on the back.
I showed him my teeth. Too much information, asshole.
You want her to think you’re a lowlife? Bene spoke into my mind.
No, I wanted to keep her expectations realistic. I was no saint, and she needed to be clear about that.
“Too bad the guy’s cronies stepped in before Marius killed him,” Bene finished.
Truly too bad, because I’d made a dangerous enemy. Gordon had promised to deal with him, but I wasn’t holding my breath on that.
“As for Roux’s court-martial…” Bene went on.
“For asking questions when no one else would,” Roux snarled, revealing a raw wound.
“Questions like…?” Mina ventured quietly.
“Like, why describe civilian casualties as collateral damage?” he rumbled. “Questions like, how much is acceptable, and who is qualified to make that call?”
Ah, Roux. A man too principled for his own good.
“Then there’s Henrik and his unauthorized conversion…” Bene went on.
Mina paled. “You mean, changing someone into a vampire?”
Henrik shrugged. “She begged me to.”
“Too bad the coven didn’t see it that way,” Bene observed.
“Says the convicted embezzler,” Henrik snarled, like that crime was on par with his.
Bene scowled. “Yeah, if embezzling means sleeping with a mob boss’s daughter.” He looked at Mina and quickly added, “Not like she was underage or anything. It was just that Daddy didn’t approve.”
“Better than getting your balls cut off,” Henrik observed dryly.
Bene winced. “The plea bargain was definitely worth it. My balls are worth an embezzlement charge.”
Mina looked like she wanted to slap her hands over her ears. “How does any of this involve Gordon? And how does working for him help you?”
Roux ran a hand through his hair. “Gordon has clout and connections. He can pull strings. Get records changed. Make problems go away.”
“Isn’t there a group that’s supposed to preside over supernatural crimes?” Mina snapped her fingers, thinking. “What are they called? The Guardians of Europe?”
We all exchanged surprised looks. Mina knew a lot more than we’d assumed.
“They try,” Roux said. “But some crimes slip through. And in some cases, it’s not in the parties’ interests to go to the Guardians.”
“You mean, like Marius’s guy,” Mina murmured, thinking aloud.
“Not my guy,” I huffed.
She tapped her lips, clearly digesting — and sickened by — the news. “What about Szabo? Who is he? What does he want?”
Roux drew invisible lines on the table, and I watched, afraid his fingernails would extend to claws.
“Szabo was supposed to join us, but we went to Gordon with some…er…concerns.”
I grimaced, but Roux had been right. We had to do it.
“Concerns?” Mina’s voice went up.
“Concerns.” Roux nodded firmly. “The rest of us were committed to…well, getting things cleared up. Moving on.”
I worked my jaw back and forth, wishing things were different.
“But not Szabo,” Roux said. “We didn’t think he’d be able to toe the line — any line — and we told Gordon as much. So, he cut Szabo.”
Roux finished there, though his throat bob revealed there was more to the story.
To Mina’s credit, she didn’t ask. She just said, “So, Szabo lost his chance to clear his record, and he resents you for that.”
“Resents is one word,” Bene sighed.
“Hates,” I grunted.
“Despises,” Roux added.