Chapter 32
“This is getting us nowhere.” Jordan dropped the pile of papers to the table.
I’d made him bring me everything the security force had on the Slaugh, and we’d spent the afternoon making sure I understood all of it.
There were four different stacks, and while I had made it through three of them myself, he and Abbey were trying to give me bits of information from the last. “I’ve been through all this intel before.
” He strode across the room to the open door to look out again.
He had grumbled when I insisted I needed at least one of them open.
“They seem to run much like the military. I mean, they have a very strict hierarchy.” Jordan gave me a “duh” look. He was so arrogant and so handsome at the same time. “So this Trammel guy, who’s taken over, was way down on the list of flunkies. Maybe fifth or six in command.”
“And?”
“And…you were in the military, right?” I asked, standing to pace as I spoke. It seemed to help me think.
“A couple times. Army. Navy.”
“So…when you were a grunt, did you understand the politics?”
“Not really. The lower-ranking officers follow orders. The politics wouldn’t matter to them.”
“So Trammel would have to be a badass to take on the upper members of Bran’s command, but he probably isn’t the most politically attuned member of the ranks.”
“That should help some, but—” He looked pleased with me, but his face hardened, and he stopped speaking abruptly as Cliona came through the door. I had felt her presence as she came close but didn’t think to mention it.
“My lady.” She fell to one knee. Jordan turned his back to her.
“Cliona, good to see you. Quit with the formal crap, would ya?” I dropped the folder on the table and reached out a hand to her. “Back so soon?”
“Doran called. I’m to stand as your guardian for the little party this evening. You should have called me yourself when Manus was taken out of commission.” She turned toward Jordan’s back. “Or your head of security should have.”
Jordan turned to acknowledge her for the first time. “I’ll be her guardian until Manus is healed.” He was slow and deliberate with his words.
“You’re the new boy toy. You can’t be both.” It was intentionally teasing him.
Jordan growled. “I’m no one’s boy toy, Fang.
” They had started to head toward one another.
I felt power start to fill the room. Jordan’s power.
Like nothing I’d ever felt, it touched us all.
Abbey gasped. Cliona hissed at him, showing her fangs.
I’d never seen the Vamp so angry. Her skin faded to almost pure white, her eyes went dark with red rims.
“Hold on you two!” I stepped between them.
“I don’t know what the hell this is all about, but I don’t have time to deal with it.
” They stood several feet from each other and held eye contact over my head.
I felt Jordan’s power start to fade. It left my skin cold as it dissipated.
I had to take in a small breath. “You think we can play nice, kids?”
“I always play nice,” Cliona said, walking back to the table and flopping herself into a chair. Jordan huffed. Cliona made a tiny, smug smile and rolled her eyes. “If you think the half-Demon is up to the task of consort, who am I to argue?”
Jordan yanked his T-shirt off, exposing the scratches I had left on his shoulders and chest. “I think I’m up for it.”
Cliona laughed out loud.
He made that growling noise again. “I heard no complaints from the Priestess.”
“You.” I pointed to Jordan and then the door. “Go get dressed.” I turned to Cliona. “And you…back off.” Jordan left without another word, the door slamming behind him. Cliona laughed again.
“What the hell was all that about?” Abbey asked, her eyes wide. Cliona just shrugged, still looking very satisfied with herself.
I sat across from her. “Really, Cliona, I don’t need another problem right now. You two have an old relationship I need to know about?”
She laughed again. This time with gusto. “Don’t worry, My Lady, I’ve had no relationship with your warrior. He’s just an easy target with his enlarged ego. I push his buttons when I can. We’ve worked together before.” She straightened. “I’ll behave.”
“That sure looked like something close to lust and hate to me,” Abbey piped in. I had to agree.
Cliona huffed this time. “The sarge and I have long pushed each other’s buttons, and never once did that turn to anything sexual.
It’s more of a power struggle. He can’t stand the thought of a woman as his equal in a fight.
His human ego can’t process it. But we don’t let it interfere with a job.
We have a healthy respect for each other.
” She leaned toward me with a sly smile.
“That was more fun for him than you realize. Keena, know this about him—he’s more fun when he’s pissed.
It brings out the best in him. I would have loved to have played that power, but it would have ruined the fun of tormenting him.
I have to say, you do have good taste in men.
” She winked. “But if you tell him I said any of that, I’ll bleed ya dry. ” She was smiling happily.
I couldn’t believe the change in her from the time I was with Tynan. The grumpy, all-business woman was lighthearted and fun. “I think I like this side of you better.”
“Than what?”
“Than the ice-queen Vampire I used to see when you came to talk to Tynan.”
She looked down. “I’m sorry, Keena. I was not happy about his being bound to you in that way. Not because of you. I was only concerned for him.”
“As you should have been. I understand, Cliona. I wouldn’t have ever allowed it if I understood everything I do now.” I watched her face lighten again. She was truly beautiful when she didn’t look so stern.
“I know that. So what are we up against now?” She picked up the paperwork. “Do you think Nessum will show at this little party?”
A rush of fear ran over me. “Can he take your soul if he does?”
“No, we’re safe as long as we don’t go to the island seeking him. Doran debriefed me as to why he just disappeared. I do wish you had passed the information about the blade of an innocent to me.”
I gave her a long look. “And you or Tynan would have taken off and tried to destroy him.” She didn’t try to argue.
“He hasn’t been killed with one yet. I still don’t know if what Karackos says is true.
Nessum may not know for sure either. I couldn’t risk either of you with something I didn’t know as fact. ”
She leaned back. “You’re smarter than you look. And you sure did scare the crap out of Nessum.”
“That I did.” I smiled slightly at the memory. “So no, I don’t think he’ll show up. If he does, keep your mouth shut and let me handle it. I don’t want you pushing his buttons like you did Jordan’s. I don’t want Nessum that mad.”
When it was time to get ready, Hogan waved his hands, and what was a pile of leather on the floor danced around me and landed perfectly in place.
The buttercream color highlighted the gold tints in my hair and the gold of my eyes.
The top wrapped around my torso, barely covering the tops of my breasts.
The sheaths for the blades on my hips were made from a golden fiber, twisted with black into intricate designs.
I was not dressed to look pretty, but confident and powerful instead.
The shoes were three-inch heels made from the same material as the sheaths.
I would have preferred a lower shoe, or even a boot, but the spike heels really completed the look of dominance.
Hogan left my hair loose and flowing around my face like a lion’s mane.
The look of a wild predator. It was effective.
Jordan came in. He was dressed in a head-to-toe black uniform.
It consisted of an exquisitely tight sleeveless T-shirt and even tighter leather pants.
His guns were tucked neatly under each arm in holsters, and he wore a blade on each thigh.
His power, not his magical power but the power of his confidence, radiated from him.
The scratches I had made on his neck showed as well.
If his face hadn’t melted to that of a smitten child when he saw me, I would have thought him made of stone. I enjoyed that soft look on him.
So did Cliona. “Put your tongue back in, Sarge. You can play slap and tickle later.”
He growled again but didn’t take his eyes off me to acknowledge her. His face returned to stony hardness. “Doran said they were ready, my lady. Are you?” He held out his arm to escort me.
“For you two? No. For the Slaugh? Yes.”
We walked in silence toward the meet room.
Doran was waiting at the door. It opened when we got there, and we entered in a very formal procession.
First Doran, then her guardian and her two consorts.
I followed a few steps behind with Cliona, with Jordan bringing up the rear. The rest of the court came behind us.
There were six of the Slaugh over to one side. They made the faintest bow as we passed and took our seats on the raised dais. Again, this was an all-out show of power and dominance.
Jordan seemed uncomfortable as he lowered himself to his place by my side. Cliona mumbled “boy toy” under her breath and he made that angry growling sound again. I had to cross my legs to combat the tingle. I was really starting to like that sound.
The Slaugh filed into the open area before the court.
Trammel looked angered by the fact that we towered over him.
His tiny red eyes were glowing brightly under the black hood.
His entourage moved in behind him but not too closely.
They spread out to his sides, looking more like bodyguards than officers.
I stood back up and walked down the steps to face him. He was a good five inches taller than me, so I didn’t get too close. I didn’t want to have to look up at him. I heard Doran and the others shift at my movement. I was breaking protocol, but Trammel wouldn’t know.