Chapter 2 #2
“I apologize. Profusely even,” I grumbled as I glanced at my watch. “No, I don’t—Gavin said to drop by whenever and I had a weird idea that I wanted to run by him while it was fresh and I don’t have the details worked out.”
“Well, now we’re all going to be curious,” Gavin, the head of the vampire council, said with a dark chuckle. “And we were fighting about the same nonsense that never goes anywhere, so this is a nice reprieve.”
I felt about a third of the council’s desires to pound him, but way more were on his side. So was I in a way, so I went with it.
“This isn’t hashed out and I haven’t even talked to the other members of my council.
I’m trying to make a lot of pieces fit, so—you and I are on the same page of a lot.
” I waited until he nodded. “I need to spank some of our people.” I bounced that around.
“A gentle spanking. Fucking idiots forget their strength sometimes.”
I felt better when several people snorted.
“First, Sloan was never paid and I’m demanding it on her behalf, especially after what happened,” I told them, glad when Gavin was pissed.
I handed the file off to an aide who hurried over.
“I know more of you would like more from us. We are working on the image and bullshit that we’re under you or now other idiots saying we’ve clipped your fangs. ”
“Yes, we’re thrilled about that,” one seethed.
I met his gaze head-on. “It did not come from us. We don’t want war. All I’ve said is what I’ve said to your face. We didn’t even publicly share the shit one of yours pulled as a show of good faith and Gavin asked us not to. We want equal footing.”
“I can’t get a read on her. She’s too locked down,” someone else muttered.
“Well, I don’t trust any of you or—”
“You do me, Ms. Stewart,” a voice I knew said from one of the laptops in the corner.
A voice I knew intimately.
Aidan O’Malley’s face was on the laptop when someone turned it around. Even from the distance, his striking deep green eyes pierced through me and I felt more confident in my purpose.
“Nice to see you, Mr. O’Malley,” I greeted, giving him the same respect since we were in public and he was a junior councilman.
And to everyone there, we weren’t involved since they thought he was with one of my covers, Sloan Chen.
“I’m actually—it was something you said that made me put this together. Sort of.”
Something shifted in his gaze and he cleared his throat. “That this was the way the system was supposed to work.”
It was my turn to react, doing a double take. “Yes, exactly that. You were talking about ISLE and—but I came to you or we’ve looped in Gavin, and it has helped both demons and vampires. And this alliance is a powerhouse that protects both sides if people stop trying to fuck it up.”
I was thrilled when more people agreed than not. That was a huge shift.
“We still have people to spank,” Aidan muttered, always on the ball better than most. “You want to propose some sort of trade of spanking. Implement some sort of system. Especially when other groups are still railing against punishments and accusing you now of being money-grubbing whores.”
“I didn’t know that last part,” I growled, adjusting my neck. “Of course lust demons are always whores.”
“It’s the industry and a cheap shot weak people take while tripping over themselves to enjoy it and with jealousy,” someone from a different laptop comforted.
“But we hear too much of the same. We will forever be leeches when I’ve seen shifters in human form eat their meat so rare they might as well drink blood. ”
We all snorted at that.
I glanced back at Aidan. “We’re helping you with your systems because of Sloan. But if it wasn’t you and we could trust you, I could have my guys I need to spank clean your systems and check crap. Not to endure Best Buy jokes and that bullshit. No more of that.”
“No, but that’s insanely expensive work and hard to find people to trust with it,” Aidan said firmly. “And we’ve always got people we can send to your clubs who can clean floors with toothbrushes.”
I thought the idea had some merit when several people snorted. “That’s a waste of time and energy, but we can always use more help and yes, we can find ways they can’t fuck up. Hell, the paperwork alone getting papers for demons and transferring assets is—it’s ridiculous. Shredding it all is…”
“Not something you would trust us with,” Aidan chuckled. “No, but again, everyone can clean or lug things around. But I’ve been asked if there’s any chance of getting your help with papers since a few players have been taken out or I would guess you have swooped in to acquire their services.”
I adjusted my neck again, the people in the room going tense. “More like they were being threatened left and right to shut us down or it would be their heads. It was beyond ridiculous. And—that’s part of what I hope to have this help.”
“The faster more accept you, the faster the threats like that will stop,” Gavin surmised.
“In theory,” I drawled. “But also something Chun said about any pup can slap paint on a wall.”
Yeah, they had a lot of questions then, but I waved them off, not sure I was actually allowed to tell them that. Or at least yet.
I flinched when my phone rang, people there not hiding their annoyance. “I apologize, but my phone is programmed to override the silent mode in certain dire circumstances.”
“Can we get that?” two or three of the councilmen said at the same time.
No.
No, I wasn’t trusting anyone with my tech at the moment.
But I took the pause to answer. “Lewis, I’ll get right back with you.”
“Okay, boss, but it’s a murder. It’s the one you’ve been looking for. We’re pretty sure.”
“How sure?” I hedged.
“I would say over fifty percent. Fits the profile, and it was that same vibe from the demon who went in to check,” he told me quietly. “And it’s the first murder from what I can tell. We can maybe do it this time.”
“Don’t jinx it. I’ll be there soon. Good work.”
“Always.”
I blew out a harsh breath and focused on Gavin. “I might be out of contact now and again, but I’ll loop in the other council members. I just wanted to bounce this off of you and see if you had any thoughts.”
“And?” he pushed.
I gave a half shrug. “We said it all before. I won’t ever braid your hair or trust you in my study, but you want peace and vamps to thrive.
That makes our goals align right now. And if shit is going down that now we have your balls or whatever bullshit, then—the narrative needs to change that we’re the future.
Working together as we always should have is the future. ”
“The idea definitely has promise, and I believe we have some currency other than money that might get your help on our security,” one of the other vamps said, his desires full of hope and nothing bad.
That was nice.
For once.
Right as I went back to the portal, I received another call that had me swearing up a storm… And apparently louder than I’d realized because Gavin and three others were standing there with shocked expressions.
“It just never ends,” I defended, changing the portal. “The snakes won’t punish their people, and now they think they won’t be punished for anything. I don’t even blame them for thinking that.”
“Take us as witnesses. We are good pressure on the snakes,” that same councilman suggested. “Take it as credit.”
He was in trouble. With his government. Papers and more, and he was worried about the embarrassment it would cause.
And how many under him were in the same position.
I nodded and sent Elijah a voice memo as I activated the portal. I was through and my phone tucked away in my next breath.
On the bright side, I had a way to get out a lot of my aggression without destroying a house.
Always a plus.