Chapter Four
John
Idon’t know which of the voices in my head is loudest; the one that doesn’t want Marcus to get involved with us, or the one that wants him underneath me wearing nothing at all, the sooner the better.
I’m never going to act on that second voice, but it can still make me damned uncomfortable.
We reach the house, which is very much what I expected. It’s large and established, and it sits on a hill overlooking downtown. While there are neighbors, the properties are generous and the landscape is mature, so no one is too close, and there are trees between us and them.
Young trees, barely able to whisper, let alone sing.
“And there’s a park just a couple blocks away,” Rob announces on our way up the front walk. I stifle a sigh. I know what I’m getting into.
Marcus does not, and I like him too much to want him entangled in our nonsense. Swearing an oath to the Virgin has not prevented us from getting our hands dirty.
And sometimes that dirt is the color of blood.
I’ll admit, though, that Marcus’s ability to stand up to the two of us and ask for what he wanted only made me more intrigued.
An alpha would have come at me harder from the start, and a true beta would have wilted at the first sign of conflict.
I want to get to know him, find out what makes him laugh, lift his sadness if I can.
And if I’m being honest, I’d like to discover other, earthier pleasures, too. That old tunic covers too little of his young body, which gives my imagination too much inspiration.
No. I won’t act on any of it. I know that, even if my libido does not.
We enter an elegant foyer with polished hardwood floors. The front room has a comfortable seating area with two couches and a matching pair of chairs, all upholstered in a deep red floral fabric. To the right is a dining room, polished to a high gloss, its long table easily seating ten.
Sonny is sitting at one end, a laptop computer set up in front of him. A good foot shorter than me, he’s hunched over the keyboard. His hair hangs straight to his shoulders, and even after centuries of lighter work, his hands and arms show the strength and wear that comes from being a miller’s son.
“Hey, boss,” he says, his gaze directed at the screen. He’s never come across a new subject or technology he didn’t want to master.
“Stand up,” Rob says, taking on that tone of faux command that makes me laugh. He might be my lord and liege, but he’s a terrible boss.
Sonny doesn’t seem to share my opinion. He jumps up, hands clasping the wooden curlicues at the top of the dining room chair. “Sorry, sir. I didn’t know you had . . . John?” He nods in my direction. “And a friend.”
A crease forms between his brows as he takes in Marcus’s appearance. “Who’s this?”
“Marcus Collins, meet Sonny Miller.” Rob bows with a flourish. “Marcus has a degree in computers.”
Sonny’s crystal blue eyes grow large. “Dude.” He drags the word out. “How much do you know about hacking into insanely secure systems?”
The color rises in Marcus’s cheeks, and again I regret his involvement. He stands his ground though.
“Depends.” Marcus gives the word enough attitude to make it a challenge.
Sonny grins wide, showing the tip of one fang. “Spoken like a young man who knows how to find a system’s vulnerabilities.”
“Or not.” Marcus’s laugh doesn’t hold much humor. “Maybe once you all tell me what you really want, I’ll be able to say whether I can help you.”
That sobers Sonny up. “We need to hack one of the wealthiest men on the planet and empty his bank account.”
Marcus blinks once. “Today?”
Sonny’s smile returns. “Nah, we’ve got time.”
“So that’s, um, different from what I heard before,” Marcus says, way too seriously for my taste.
Rob seems more pleased than annoyed. “I said we were going to bring down Leander de Lisle, and—”
Marcus interrupts him. “John said he was going to halt the downfall of civilization, but I didn’t completely believe him, either.”
Sonny and Rob laugh loud enough to drown out my growl. “You will believe,” Rob says. “And I’m happy you’re considering our project.”
Marcus nods, his gaze distant as if he’s already turning the problem around in his head. I try to console myself with the thought that if the young man is behind a computer, he’ll be in less danger.
Rob must think Sonny’s given enough away, because he interrupts them. “Where’s Will? He’s the shortest of all of us, and while that has long been my favorite of John’s tunics, Marcus needs something more appropriate to wear.”
“Might be asleep. He had a show last night.” Sonny gives Marcus another once-over. “Come on. I’ll take you up to his room.”
The tension ramps up as soon as Rob and I are alone. I’m waiting to hear their footsteps on the stairs—I assume a house this large has stairs to get from one level to another—before starting my harangue.
Rob beats me to it. “We need someone with his knowledge.”
“It doesn’t have to be him.”
He gives a simple shrug. “He made you smile. I loitered a bit before making myself known to you.” His expression grows firm. “Do you know how long it’s been since I’ve seen you look anything but grim?”
I snort, shaking my head in frustration. “Until a month ago, you hadn’t seen me at all for some fifty years.”
“Do you know why?”
I sigh, because there’s no way I’m winning this argument. We’ve had it too many times before. “You wanted to leave me in peace.”
An emotion flickers across his face, one I can’t pin down. “I’d say you’re my right hand, but I need you more than any limb, and I know full well I’m keeping you with me out of pure selfishness. Let me give you this young one.”
“He’s not a reward. He’s a man.”
“Yes, he is.” Rob gives me the grin he knows I cannot resist. “I put out a call for someone young, with his skills, and a sense of adventure. I did not specify that the nephew of the American Alpha should run forty miles through the wilderness to reach your side. He might have downplayed his family, but that young man is werewolf royalty.” He gives a slight shrug.
“Think about that, my friend, and for once, I hope you’ll get out of your own way. ”
I shake my head in frustration. I don’t care how Rob put out a call, I don’t know what led Marcus to me, and I’m not going to waste time explaining why I’ll never take advantage of the situation, werewolf royalty or not.
The floor creaks as they walk overhead, ending in a loud, familiar laugh. Will Scarlett, elf, thespian, and master of disguise. I can only imagine the extent of Will’s closet, and while I shouldn’t care, I cannot deny having at least some interest in what Marcus will choose.
“Come with me, and I’ll show you what Sonny’s been working on.” Rob gives my sleeve a gentle tug.
I stand my ground, channeling my frustrated desire into anger. “Not until you tell me what’s really going on. How could any of de Lisle’s men discover us on a freeway almost as soon as we left the wilderness area?”
He waves off my question. “Maybe it wasn’t him. Maybe somebody was messing with us.”
“You don’t believe that.” I glare at him harder. “Tell me the truth.”
A flash of exasperation crosses his face. “As far as I know, it was just dumb luck. Look, we’ve got three main tasks here. We’re going to steal a diamond, we’re going to hit de Lisle in his bank account, and we’re going to do it all while keeping this location safe.”
“All of that?”
“Yes.”
I take a deep inhale. Keeping our location safe and stealing his money makes sense, but—“Why the diamond?”
He nods once and a hush drops over us. He’s created a private space so no one can overhear. “It’s a powerful focus, granting whoever possesses it true immortality.”
That takes me back a step. “Seems like I’d have heard of something with that kind of power.”
“It’s been well hidden, and only someone with the right gifts can utilize it.”
“Does de Lisle know this?”
“He does, and if he gets ahold of it, we’ll never be able to completely destroy him.
” He snaps his fingers, dispersing the bubble around us.
I don’t really have an argument left. We’ve fought de Lisle for hundreds of years, always knowing that, one day, we’d rid the world of his evil forever.
The idea that we might not be able to is disturbing. Frightening, even.
Exhausting.
I follow Rob past a stairwell with a gracefully carved newel post and through a narrow hallway that opens into a large kitchen, where a short, stout woman is lifting a tray of unbaked cookies, balls of dough covered in cinnamon.
“Well, you’re a tall drink of water,” she says, eyeing me up and down. Rob pauses, so I do too.
“Cherie, this is John. He and his friend Marcus will be joining us for the foreseeable future.” He glances at me. “Cherie is the owner, and the one responsible for how well we’re eating.”
The color rises in Cherie’s round cheeks. “Thank you, Rob. You’re the reason I’m able to stay open, so I can’t do any less.”
The smile they share is one I’ve seen before; Rob has a talent for finding advantageous situations and convincing everyone involved that they’re the ones who benefit the most.
Cherie puts the cookies in the oven. “A tamale lady came through the neighborhood this morning, so I bought a bunch for dinner. These are for dessert.”
Rob elbows me. “See? We’ve been eating good.”
“I’ve never had tamales.”
“These are the best. You’ll see.” While Cherie’s enthusiasm is charming, it doesn’t distract me from the argument Rob and I are going to continue to have, whether he wants to or not. Marcus is free to make his own decisions, but I’d prefer it if Rob hadn’t given him a choice in the first place.