Chapter 20
Uma frowned and crossed her arms over her chest as she glowered at the woman standing at the corner of the street. Although the woman’s back was to her, the warder was clearly spying on the female slowly filling her wagon with the help of her Ragoru mates. What was she up to?
“Fucking Ava,” she snarled quietly to herself.
She was going to need to talk to the guild foreman when she submitted her report on the warder and see if Renny could pull some strings to have bullies like Ava removed from their position. While Ava had what could be perceived as the “right look” given that she was as tall as most average men and possessed the bulk to not be easily pushed around by most citizens of the lower district, the woman lacked integrity, discipline, and responsibility that came with rightfully earned authority. She was a bully, and like all bullies, she was a coward at heart who used people to her advantage and easily abandoned those under her care when it benefited her to do so. The situation with the triad alone, if she were a good warder, she would have had the mystery Ragoru removed from Betani’s home, regardless of any threat made to her, until private verification could be provided from Betani. Only then would they have been released to her care, and with treatment to their lead.
But she wasn’t interested in Betani’s welfare. She only wanted to maintain power over her and keep whatever she was up to a secret.
Fortunately, like all bullies, she cracked quickly when it came to those who were bigger and stronger. And Uma, who towered over most average men in the citadel and possessed considerable martial skill from years of training within the guard, was just the one to crack her like a nut.
Kam craned his neck curious over her shoulder, and Uma shoved his muzzle back, earning a grunt of surprise from the male.
“What was that for?” he grumbled and rubbed his nose.
“I can’t see around your big block of a head,” she muttered as she squinted furiously when Ava leaned in to speak to someone before starting down the street.
“I thought we were supposed to be leaving. Not lurking on corners,” Vrin commented drily, bringing her annoyance level up another notch.
“We are. And we aren’t,” she replied absently.
From the corner of her eye, she saw Vrin blink, and his head turned toward her. “What?”
He sounded so disgruntled that she bit back a laugh despite her own annoyance. Blessed Mother, how could someone so grumpy be so adorable? It almost threatened to break her out of her bad mood if it weren’t for the fact that Ava was clearly doing something shady as fuck.
She glanced over her shoulder at him and arched an eyebrow though she worked to maintain an otherwise flat expression. The last thing he needed to know was that she actually enjoyed the barbs they traded back and forth—even if she wanted to find the nearest bucket to drown him in from time to time.
“We are leaving... we are not lurking on a corner,” she said slowly, emphasizing every syllable of each word until his lips peeled back into an adorably fangy snarl. She smirked back at him before waving to the street. “I just wanted to see what she is up to with her friend there.”
“You mean that male beside her?” Kam asked as he scratched his ruff lazily. Uma’s eyes shot to him in surprise, but he tapped his nose with a wry smile. “Many of your males have a distinct scent to them.”
Laro grunted in agreement as he peered in the couple’s direction. His ears pricked and he frowned. “They are intentionally speaking very quietly. Normally humans are so loud that we can hear most of what you say at this distance, but I cannot hear their words, only a hardness in their voices as they hiss back and forth to each other.”
She was right then... this wasn’t a casual meeting on the street. They were being sneaky about something, and whatever it was had something to do with the family a short distance down the street. Although they were not aware of Uma behind them, it was clear that they were whispering so not to be overheard by the Ragoru or attract their attention. Which meant they were up to something.
“Not on my watch,” she muttered as she abandoned the wall that she was hidden behind only to be stopped mid-step and practically jerked off her feet as Vrin hauled her back against the heavy muscle of his chest.
“What are you doing?” he growled.
She glared up at him over her shoulder. That was not sexy as hell. His chest and abs beneath his short fur didn’t feel like a woman’s dream playground. His obvious protectiveness wasn’t a siren’s song to her nether regions.
“I am going in closer to see if I can hear what they are saying,” she hissed and proceeded to wriggle out of his grasp, which was a little awkward when his lower arms closed around her as well. She finally scowled up at him and pinched his upper forearm. “Do you mind? Who is in charge here?”
His ears flattened as if he were considering arguing, but Laro sighed and bumped him with his arm. “Let her go.”
She guessed that told her exactly who they thought was in charge because Vrin reluctantly released her without complaint. She straightened her armor and the tunic under it with a frown. She should logically be angry given she had worked hard for her status, but she couldn’t be. She wasn’t going to be with the triad much longer, and she wasn’t exactly clueless regarding their social structure. Although the rest of the triad had a say, the lead was the alpha and called the shots. She could respect that. That didn’t mean that she wasn’t going to call the shots when it came to her duties, however. After visually verifying that Ava and her companion still hadn’t moved, she pointed at the triad and then at the ground forcibly. She met Laro’s eyes, knowing the other two would follow suit if she gained his cooperation.
“Stay here,” she reiterated with a hiss, and at Laro’s nod of confirmation, she slipped out into the open.
Uma stalked purposely forward, keeping her steps light as she walked at a brisk clip, shortening the distance between herself and the warder. Her skin prickled as Ava leaned in to whisper something to her companion and then suddenly he moved. Uma froze in place for a heartbeat before ducking behind a wagon. Her eyes followed him as he raced down an alley. She instinctively started after him but drew up short, her eyes darting over to Ava as the warder began to suddenly advance on the family. She hadn’t been spotted yet, but it would be no time at all before Ava started an ugly confrontation with the Ragoru in the street.
She couldn’t let her interfere!
But the man—what if he was associated with the gentlemen’s club? He could have valuable information about not only what the club was up to, but also in regard to the incident with the triad being poisoned. She bit her lip uncertainly as the distance rapidly increased between her and both targets. Her gaze skipped over to Betani and her heart clenched. She couldn’t allow Ava to cause any trouble for the woman. All her research recently had told her exactly what sort of life she had lived before the restructuring. She didn’t deserve to have someone fuck that up for no reason.
Resolved, she cast one last reluctant look toward the alley and blinked in surprise as three large, stealthy shadows broke away from the side of the nearest building and slipped down the narrow street. Although they had clearly ignored her orders, she felt a rush of relief and smiled privately to herself. That took care of one problem. Her hands curling into fists, Uma rapidly closed to the distance between herself and the warder. With a rush of forward momentum, she suddenly jogged forward and snatched the other woman by the material of her tunic just below the nape of her neck before ducking between two buildings, dragging the warder in after her.
A shrill cry of surprise escaped Ava, but Uma spun her around and slapped her hand over her mouth, pinning her to the wall with one hand, her eyes narrowing threateningly on the other woman. Thankfully, Ava was not as big of a fool as she looked. The woman’s eyes widened fearfully, but she immediately ceased struggling. Uma’s hand, however, was hot and damp from Ava’s rapid breathing as the woman failed to entirely conceal her panic.
“Hello, Ava,” she purred as she leaned in close until their noses were barely an inch apart.
The sound that escaped Ava was something between a miserable squeak of fear and a groan of dismay, bringing a cold smile to Uma’s lips. The woman trembled as her gaze shot to the scars carved into her face. She knew that they made her look like a brutal killer as newer scars were added over the years in the course of her duty to those that were far older born from her own tragedy. She normally hated the instinctive fear those scars triggered in people, except for people like Ava. Bringing up her opposite hand that had previously been gripping the other woman’s tunic, she lightly patted Ava’s cheek.
“You are everywhere lately, aren’t you, Ava? And always with something interesting to say to someone it seems, and this time no more than a short distance from a triad of Ragoru who would happily kill you for threatening their mate.” She pursed her lips in a faint pout. “We wouldn’t want that right?”
Ava’s head jiggled in a yes but when Uma’s eyebrows rose, she seemed to rethink her reply and she blinked quickly as she shook her head no, a muffled sound drifting up between them.
“No, of course not,” Uma purred in agreement. “Then, do you want to tell me what you were telling your little friend back there?”
The warder shook her head rapidly again as her hand came up to tug uselessly at the corner of Uma’s hand. Uma looked down at the hand and raised an eyebrow before slowing, looking up to meet her eyes.
“No?” Her smile widened. “Are you quite certain of that? Because it looks to me like you’ve been up to no good.”
Ava gave another desperate shake of her head, and Uma gradually shifted her hand lower so that she held her pinned lightly by the throat. Not hard enough to bruise or interfere with her breathing, but enough to keep her from going anywhere without Uma’s express consent.
“I swear,” Ava gasped. “My... my cousin was just talking to me, nothing more. I promise you. It meant nothing. I admit that I have been a bit annoyed lately with the triad for throwing their weight around on my block, but I wouldn’t do anything to them. I am just happy to see them go.”
Uma ran a finger along Ava’s cheek as she considered her words. “So you didn’t hear that this triad was poisoned?”
Ava licked her lips and shook her head as the color drained out of her face. What a little liar. Uma fought to keep her lips from twitching. She knew. She may not have been directly involved, but she knew.
“I... I wouldn’t say that I’d be sorry,” Ava stammered. “They have been a pain in the ass since they showed up and obviously didn’t know their place enough to show proper respect to my authority as a warder. But as to their poisoning, I had nothing to do with it. Besides, they told me they were leaving as soon as their lead was recovered enough to travel. Why would make a scene now?”
Why indeed but to cause attention? Uma narrowed her eyes on the woman, her expression turning chilly. If Ava were involved, even afterward, she wouldn’t have called any attention to a conflict between herself and the Ragoru while one of their males was obviously very sick. No official reports had been filed, not even from Ava after clearly being aware of the situation. This meant that she didn’t want word to reach the guild or higher ups regarding what was going on. She was covering for someone. Perhaps even biding her time, waiting to see if the male would die before she moved in for the kill. And wouldn’t this be the perfect moment to bring the full weight of the citadel’s authority down on the Ragoru if she drew the males out into an ugly confrontation with dozens of witnesses?
Uma gave her a hard smile and patted her cheek harder, making certain that it stung as she watched Ava’s every flinch.
“If that is the case, then mind your manners and go say farewell properly,” Uma instructed as she yanked the warder away from the wall and shoved her out into the street. “And remember that I will be right here watching.”
Ava stumbled back as she rubbed her throat, her eyes dark with anger, but she nodded quickly before whirling around to head toward the wagon where Betani was finally getting settled with her children and mates. Uma crossed her arms over her chest as she watched with a smile, wonderfully entertained as Ava was forced to stop a short distance away to keep her face from being chewed off. The woman’s body language and expression spoke volumes of her anger as she was forced to stand impotently by and watch as the wagon finally pulled away.
Uma dragged in a deep, satisfied breath and nodded. It was a pity that she hadn’t caught the culprit of the poisoning before Betani left with her mates, but it was just as well. They were getting a clean start somewhere else. They didn’t need any shadows of a new potential threat from the citadel following them.
Shoving her hands lazily into her pockets, Uma turned and a smile broke over her face as three large Ragoru stood at the ready in front of her while one small human man was held up off the ground, the tips of his shoes not even grazing the street as he dangled in Vrin’s grasp.
The man’s face turned red, and now that she was getting a better look, she would put good odds that he was indeed the server from the tavern. He matched the description perfectly.
“You can’t do this to me,” he sputtered. “This is against the law. I haven’t done anything wrong. I will file charges. I will take the complaint straight to the Council if I cannot get satisfaction from the guild. I will—”
“Shut up,” Vrin growled, and Kam laughed at his side before turning to her with a broad smile.
“He talks far too much, and all of it threats he has no hope of accomplishing, but I am assuming that you wanted him, yes?” Kam inquired cheerfully, and Uma nodded, her own smile widening further in response.
“Oh yes,” she agreed with a dark chuckle. “Let’s escort him back to the station for a moment before we leave, shall we?”
She didn’t have time to get her answers now, but she would see to it that he was held indefinitely if needed to make sure that she got her answers from him when she returned.