20. Finley #3
“I never would have left the Organization, but he told me they thought I was a mole and the Senate was going to protect me, so I had to go dark. When I came to find you that night with Vicky and Blakely, my orders were given to me from another source inside the Senate. We were still listening to your coms when Blakely attacked you, so we both heard his threat about the Senate and the Dark Ring. We knew you would go to ground and needed to figure out what the hell was going on. The first person I went to was Senator Morwyn, because word was she wanted out. That was the kind of person I needed, so now we help each other so we can both get out of this alive,” Tabitha finished.
Elias leaned his head back and groaned. “We are so fucked, aren’t we? Everything is so intertwined there’s no way we can unravel it all at once. It’s going to take years to clean all this mess up, isn’t it?”
Leaning into him, I rested my head on his shoulder. “Then we cut off the head of the snake to stop the thing from growing. It makes it easier to chop up the rest of it when you’re not worried about getting bitten.”
“Why does that make perfect sense?” he asked, pressing a kiss to my head. “It’s like you just know how to handle this already and we’re still playing catch up.”
Tabitha let out a huff of laughter. “Welcome to what the rest of us had to live up to. She held the gold standard of what each assassin should be like. Growing up, we hated her, but she was so good, all we wanted to was to be close to her. Not that they ever encouraged making friends.”
“Interestingly enough, I never saw it that way myself,” I mused.
“Each time someone tried to get close, I assumed it was a test and refused to engage. That being said, I did count you as a friend Tabitha. We functioned the same, and when we worked together, it was like we could read each other’s minds. ”
“Then taking down the Dark Ring and the Senate should be a piece of cake,” she said with a grin. “I’ll be on the senator’s security team at the gala.”
“Doesn’t that work out well.” I laughed under my breath. “Anyone have the best idea for me to announce to the world that elves are still alive and I’m their queen? Seems to be the fastest way for me to get a ticket to the party.”
Peter slammed on the brakes, nearly sending me through the windshield of the car, but Derven had a hold on me, yanking me to his lap. “Didn’t anyone tell you when you ride in the death seat, you really should wear your seatbelt?”
The driver’s side door shoved open, and Peter got out of the car and yanked open Derven’s, trying to grab for me.
Before he could even get close enough, Derven was out of the car with me on his hip like you would carry a child and his other hand around Peter’s throat.
“I would seriously advise against touching my mate if you wish to live. Now, if you’re willing to explain yourself, I’ll set you down, but if not, I’ll just let your own body weight choke you out. ”
“Ven,” I said, trying to calm the situation, seeing the flash of red in his eyes. “How do you expect him to answer if he can’t speak?”
“He can tap my hand three times if he promises to be a good doggie,” Derven said in a dramatic baby talk voice.
Peter wisely did as instructed and was dropped to the ground in a heap. He grasped his throat as he coughed, trying to get his breath back. “Fucking crazy blood-sucking monster. You’re cut from the same cloth as your father, aren’t you?”
“Oh, I’m sorry, have you had the pleasure of meeting my father? I thought you didn’t know who I was?” Derven questioned, setting me down as he loomed over the werewolf.
“When I heard her say your name, I did some research, figured out who you were. It was easy since you’ve been in the Dark Ring system for so long,” Peter snarked.
Derven made a move to attack Peter, but I stopped him, grabbing hold of his arm. “Would you like to share why we are on the side of the road with you having a meltdown?”
“Are you really an elf?” Peter demanded.
I looked at him, perplexed. “Morwyn didn’t tell you? It’s the whole reason I have so many mates. I assumed she told you everything.”
“Not that she didn’t, probably because I’d ask if you can fix her,” Peter said, getting to his feet.
“When that bastard who calls himself her mate had her miscarry, he also ensured it couldn’t happen again.
If you’re really an elf, you could heal her, make her whole, so she can someday have our baby once this is all over. ”
There was nothing more that I wanted than to say I could, but I wasn’t sure. I didn’t want to promise him something I wasn’t sure I could do. “I’d have to see. It depends on what they did to her. If she’ll let me look her over, I’ll do what I can. Now can we please get out of the road?”
“Right, time to get you home so we can settle things here and get back to Washington DC,” Peter agreed and trudged back to the car.
Derven and I exchanged a look of confusion and climbed into our seats. This time, I made sure to put on my seatbelt.