Sleeper_Google, page 23
part #3 of Hunter Series
Donovan sighed and looked at Gray with what seemed to be sympathy. “Believe it or not, I do know where you are. You have leave to stay. I believe you’ll find Marcus has moved out of the apartment and there are two bedrooms in that unit. I wouldn’t mind someone watching over her. She makes poor choices.”
“Somehow I think we won’t need the second bedroom. At least I hope we don’t,” Gray said. “I hope she’ll let me stay with her. Trent has his own place, I assume.”
Donovan frowned. “I’m going to give you some advice, Sloane. Don’t shut him out. It would be a mistake. You have the girl right now. You’re the one she’s chosen, but you know she’ll need him, too. If you aren’t ready to share her, don’t rub it in his face. Honor him if there’s any chance of him being your partner one day.”
Whoa. What were they talking about? I’d gotten sidetracked. I had that burger halfway down my throat.
“Is that what you did, Your Highness?” Gray sounded a tad bit sarcastic, as though he couldn’t imagine Donovan being truly kind, giving up his rightful place with the queen so some other dude wouldn’t ache.
“No, it’s what Devinshea did for me once.” Donovan sounded almost wistful. “It was the first time I understood how serious he was, that our ménage could be about more than sex and possession. It was the first time I wondered if we could be a family.”
Gray stepped back, nodding to the king, and when he spoke, his voice was serious. “I will think about it, Your Highness. And thank you.”
I felt like I should have had something to say somewhere in there, but a girl’s got to eat. Gray stopped in front of me, his lips curling up as I swallowed and tried to not look like a raging carnivore deprived of meat.
“I’ll see if I can find us something for dinner.” He leaned over and kissed my forehead. “I’ll make sure to have enough for three. See that Trent shows up on time. I love you, Kelsey mine.”
He walked out and I was left with half a cheeseburger, the King of all Vampire, and more than a few questions.
“What just happened?” I settled in. The king and I had a couple of things to talk about.
The king sat back. “I believe you started your journey on the happy road to ménage. Though expect there to be some road bumps. Sloane reminds me of myself. He’ll struggle with it. Luckily, Trent won’t give you trouble. He’s been around us for far too long. Now tell me why you’re intent on fucking up my day.”
So arrogant. I took a long drag off my chocolate milk shake. Uncle Zack knew me well. “Why don’t you tell me how my dad is.”
The shake of his head told me I was a pain in his ass. The slight curling of his lips said he didn’t mind too much. “Lee is going to be all right. He’s struggling because he’s between two worlds right now, but I’ve been assured that he’ll be fine. We’ve had both a witch and Henri look him over. Physically, he’s perfectly fine. Mentally, he’s drifting in and out of the remnants of his old soul. The spell will wear off and he’ll be at peace. Well, as at peace as he can be now.”
I wanted to tell him. I wanted so much to shove this problem on Daniel Donovan’s lap. He was kind of the be-all, end-all authority figure in my world and he wasn’t a total asshole. He tried. I got Donovan. I understood him far better than I did the perpetually smooth Quinn or the always competent queen. But I believed Gray. He’d told me to beware the spawn, and that meant anyone who was under the wizard’s spell. “I’m not going to talk about my reasons for signing the contract, Your Highness.”
His brows came together. “Kelsey, I can help you. There’s no need for this. Whatever Nemcox told you, there’s another way out.”
But I couldn’t see it and if I tried to find it, I risked my father’s life. “I believe him in this case. I do want to talk to you about something else though.”
His brows rose. “Kelsey, I’m not going to allow you to sign a contract.”
“You can try.” I was sure he would. They all would. Now I had a bit of time and that meant there was some hope. Who knew? Maybe I would find some magical way to murder Nemcox. Of course, that would mean Donovan would likely have to have me executed, but I wouldn’t be in Hell and my dad would be safe, so it might be a win.
But that was the old me talking. I needed to find a way out because I was kind of, sort of starting to want to live.
I had begun to see that Quinn was right. This plane needed me.
“You need to bring the demons to the table, Your Highness.”
Of all the things I could have said, I could plainly see that Donovan hadn’t expected me to say that. It was there in the length of his pause, in the way his brow furrowed with confusion and how his hands tightened into fists. I think that last part was because he had this fight regularly and he’d been sure he wouldn’t have it with me.
Marcus had probably given him a hundred and one historical reasons why. Hugo would have pointed out all the legal ramifications. Some members of the Council would argue and debate over the economics of the situation.
I was going to do none of that.
“Have you thought about what not having a contract in place could mean?”
He huffed, an impatient sound. “Are you joking? Of course I’ve thought about it. I think about it all the time.”
“Do you want to start a war, Daniel?” I meant to speak to the man and not the king, though I wasn’t foolish enough to think the man was soft. But his stubbornness in this instance came from the man’s emotions and had little to do with politics. I knew because I’d been in the same place.
“I don’t intend to start a war, but I also have no plans to welcome the fuckers into my home. You did that. You’re the one who’s forcing me to let down my wards, and you won’t even give me an explanation why. Is this your attempt to force my hand into some kind of negotiations with them?” Donovan seemed intent on playing the king.
I wasn’t going to let up or be intimidated. I had just started to realize that this, this moment, this was why I was here. I didn’t play politics. I wasn’t looking to move up in the world. I lived in it in a way Donovan and his family didn’t anymore. Couldn’t. And that made it mine to protect. Even from him. “I met a woman today. She was Lester’s good friend.”
His eyes turned wary. “Are you talking about the prostitute?”
I stared at him.
His hands came up. “I’m sorry. I was trying for clarity. I’m sure she’s a very nice prostitute.”
“She seemed to be. What she truly was was scared. She was a halfling, one who took after her better nature. She followed the rules and yet Nemcox murdered her because she was talking to me. Those lines are being drawn in the sand and she was completely left out.”
“If Nemcox is murdering on this plane, then we can bring him to justice.”
“How? How do we do that when halflings have no status here?” It was one of the legalities that had lapsed with the contracts. “I begged her to come with me, but she was afraid of the Council. Daniel, she was afraid of you.”
He sighed and I could see his weariness. “I’ve never willingly harmed a halfling. I know they’re not all bad. I’ve had a halfling helping to raise my children for years.”
“Yes, and Albert would be helpful in reaching the ones who are reluctant to seek us out. I’ve been thinking about this for days. I wanted revenge, but meeting my father made me want something more.”
“What’s that?” Daniel asked.
“A peaceful world for him to grow up in. I can’t fix the injustices of yesterday, but I can do my damnedest to ensure more don’t happen tomorrow. Have you thought about what happens if you do nothing?”
“I certainly have since that prophecy of Gray’s. You think I don’t want to avoid…how did he put it? Warfare unlike anything even the ancients have seen? Because I think we should probably avoid that.”
Some of Gray’s prophecy fell into place.
If you protect the man, you protect the child and the king.
By protecting my father, I was doing the same for Little Lee and Daniel. And that prophecy made it clear I shouldn’t tell Donovan what I knew.
If he ever knows how Heaven tricked him, his fury will be a thunderstorm, punishing and never ending.
Heaven had tricked Merlin by hiding my father’s soul in a new body. I had to protect that secret at all costs. But I also had to convince the king to meet with the demons and sign new contracts if I was going to save the world. Or at least our plane.
“Your Highness, the woman I met today wouldn’t even come in to talk to me when she feared for her life. She can’t go to the Hell plane because she’s not royal and only royal halflings are given any consideration there. They have nowhere to go and no one to look out for them. They have no home. So I get to speak for them. I know a bit about what it feels like to not belong. They fear that if the war comes, they’ll be the first to die for nothing more than the circumstances of their birth. Why did you take this job?”
“I took it because I could either rule or they would find a way to kill me.” Donovan’s head fell back and he groaned. When he looked back up at me, his shoulders fell. “But I also did it because I wanted to be better. I wanted to unite us.”
“Sometimes the king has to put aside what feels right to him for the best of his kingdom,” I said quietly because I knew I had him now. “For his family. Because Lee doesn’t fit either and one day, he’ll see himself in those halflings and wonder why his father didn’t protect them.”
“And he’ll wonder if he’s worthy, too.” Donovan cursed under his breath. “Damn it. Fine. I hate it but I’ll have Marcus open a dialogue. I’ve known I had to do this for a long time. My distaste has made me procrastinate. The halflings are creatures of the Earth plane. They should be welcome here.”
I let loose a long sigh of relief. That had gone better than I’d thought. “Awesome. Hey, if I do end up signing a contract, maybe I can still go to the party. I’ve heard there’s a big-ass party after the accords are signed.”
“You’re not signing a cont…” Donovan’s eyes narrowed. “This is about Lee. When you left earlier you had zero interest in finding a condo on the Hell plane. You went and met with the prostitute who was then killed by Nemcox. Lee was with you. What did Nemcox do to him?”
Well, there was a reason he was the king, and it sure wasn’t because the dude was dumb. “He didn’t do anything.”
Donovan sat up, far more animated than he’d been a few moments before. “No, I’m right. This is about Lee. Something happened there.”
I stood up because I wasn’t telling him a thing, but that meant getting out of here and fast. Donovan would keep poking and prodding, and I wasn’t sure he wouldn’t find the right answer. “I think I’ll go and see what kind of progress Liv is making with Neil. I want to get that spell done as soon as possible. He’s up in the penthouse. I’ll say hi to your wife for you.”
Donovan frowned. “Neil’s not up there.”
“Yes, he is. I sent him up there over an hour ago. He changed his mind about remembering his time on the Hell plane and Trent went up there with him.” Now that I thought about it, I was surprised that Trent hadn’t come back down to find me. Neil would be perfectly safe in the penthouse.
Or that wolf had snuck in a big lunch and not even invited me.
Donovan picked his phone. “Albert? Has Neil shown up? No. How about Trent? Okay. No, don’t worry them. Thanks.” He hung up. “Kelsey, Albert hasn’t seen either one of them.” He picked up the phone again. “Zack, I need you.”
My uncle must have been standing outside in the lobby because he strode through the door seconds later.
“Why would Trent take Neil somewhere else?” I had my cell in hand, trying to get Trent on the line. It went straight to voice mail.
My gut went straight to churning with anxiety.
Zack took a deep breath, his eyes gleaming with a wolf-like stare. “Trent wasn’t in here with you, but I catch his scent on this floor. He was here?”
“Yes. We were in the conference room down the hall,” I began, but my uncle was already walking out of Donovan’s office, turning toward the conference room.
Donovan and I followed.
Zack stopped right outside the room. “You were here with Sloane and his brother. I hate that smell. I’ve got Trent and Neil, too. They went this way.”
“I need to know the addresses of any highborn halflings left here in Dallas.” My mind was already on the worst-case scenario. Hopefully this was nothing more than two wolves who got a little hungry on their way and got distracted by the thought of burgers or steaks or something. With any luck we would find them in one of the shops and restaurants the building housed. They would be sitting there polishing off a snack, and I would feel like a moron for coming up with battle plans.
Donovan stopped and turned. “You two find Neil. I was supposed to have a meeting tonight with a halfling from Lester’s family. He’s a half brother. I agreed to meet with him to explain what happened to Lester. I’ll call him and warn him to be on watch.”
“Get me an address, just in case.” I ran to keep up with my uncle.
Zack passed the elevators Neil and Trent should have used if they were going to the condo. He walked straight to the stairwell.
I got a bad feeling.
When Zack opened the door, I knew why. Trent was at the bottom of the flight of stairs leading down, his entire body covered in blood.
Chapter Fifteen
I ran down the stairs, my heart in my throat. He wasn’t moving. Trent was a badass on the king’s blood. I’d seen him take crazy damage and get his ass up a couple of minutes later.
I’d never once seen the man so still. Even in his sleep, he moved, but now he was completely still and I realized if he was dead, a part of me would be, too.
My wolf was howling inside as I dropped to my knees. “Please get Donovan.”
Zack stared down as though he wasn’t sure what to say. “Kelsey…”
I shook my head and put my hands on Trent. He was still warm. He wasn’t icy cold yet and that meant someone could bring him back. “Get Donovan now.”
Zack turned and ran back up the stairs.
What the hell had happened? Neil wasn’t anywhere near as strong as Trent. God, I could barely recognize his face. I smoothed back his hair. It was matted with blood. I tried not to think about the hole in his chest.
“Don’t cry.”
I breathed a long sigh of relief at the sound of his tortured voice and let my head drop down to his. “Don’t fucking die.”
His body shuddered under my hand. “Bossy woman.”
I sniffled, trying not to give over to the need to wail. “Well, I was told to have you at dinner at the proper time or Gray will get his panties in a wad and he’ll probably serve us both salads or something.”
“He’ll probably serve me poison, baby. Fuck, that hurt.”
“What happened? Stop trying to move.”
He groaned and lay back. “It was Neil, but it wasn’t. There was a flash of light and then Neil wasn’t himself. He was the creature I remembered from all those years ago. I tried to stop him. He tried to pull out my heart. And now we’re here. Kelsey, something touched me. Not Neil, something else. It burned me from the inside out. I have no idea how I’m still alive.”
I was sure it was the king’s blood. I reached for his hand. His whole body was limp in my arms. “Hold on. Donovan will be here soon. It’s going to be okay.”
I knew I should be trying to find Neil, trying to identify this new threat, but all I cared about in that moment was making sure my almost lover lived. I lay down beside him, gently running my hands where I could. I didn’t care that I was getting covered in blood. All that mattered was my instinct in the moment. It told me to put hands on him, to give him the comfort of knowing he wasn’t alone.
I needed the comfort of knowing he was still breathing.
“Kelsey?”
“Hush, it’s okay. You’re going to be okay.”
“Loved you the moment I saw you. Knew it was you. Had almost given up.”
Tears made my vision go hazy. He wouldn’t be saying these things if he didn’t think he was dying. “You hold on.”
“No matter how pissed Gray is, I won’t leave. You need me.”
“Damn straight. So don’t die.”
“Hated that damn vampire.”
It was good to know that male jealousy was alive and well, even as I was fairly certain I could see his heart from that hole in his chest. “Please rest, Trent.”
The door above came open and Donovan raced down.
“What the fuck happened?” He rolled up his sleeve and I watched as his fangs grew large.
It was an easy thing to put together in the end. Why else would Nemcox kill Larissa for her “loose lips”? She didn’t work for him. From what I could tell, she didn’t know the demon. Yet he’d shown up just as she was going to start talking.
I was dealing with a “stolen” weapon that came from the Heaven plane and a light that felt endless.
“I think an angel attacked Trent,” I said quietly. I sat up and maneuvered so his head was in my lap. “I think an angel is controlling Neil, and I definitely think one of the angels is working with Nemcox, though I’m not sure he understands what’s really going on. He seemed extremely upset that someone was using the connection to control Neil.”
Donovan got to one knee and bit into his own wrist. “Come on, buddy. No time to do this in a proper, manly way. You’re taking it straight from the tap today.”
Trent frowned.
I looked down at him. “You will drink that blood and you will do it right fucking now, mister.”
Trent growled, but when Donovan put his wrist down, he took the blood. Donovan winced as Trent’s fangs came out and sank in, digging deeper.
Donovan’s eyes tightened as he seemed intent to focus on something else. “Why would an angel care about whether or not I renew our contracts with the demons?”
It was getting a little hot in there. I know this sounds weird because I was watching my half-dead almost-boyfriend being saved by drinking another guy’s blood, but you kind of have to be there to get it. There’s something about the act of sharing blood that’s physical, even sexual. I was sure if they’d had a choice, Donovan would have drained some of that blood into a thermos and passed it over, but we needed to move fast. Trent’s hand came out, his fingers winding around mine, and I could feel him getting stronger.
