Blue swallowed her bite and dusted off her fingers. “I doubt that.”
“Remember when I was sold to my Creator? That really messed with my head. I didn’t want to take any time off or show my emotions to anyone. I was afraid Viktor might think I wasn’t cut out for this job anymore.” I folded my arms and stared at the bright windows. “Viktor’s not trying to shield you from getting your feelings hurt. Put yourself in his shoes. He needs a Mage, and he also needs a second person who won’t stand out or distract customers—foranyreason.”
She hooked one arm over the back of her chair. “We’re trying to bait someone who runs cage fights. Wouldn’t a scarred woman be a sign of a warrior?”
“There’s a stigma, and you know it.”
“Thank the fates I don’t care about stigma. Don’t you find it infuriating? Scarred men are warriors. Scarred women are victims.”
“Smart people know the truth.”
“It doesn’t matter. It’s always going to hold me back.”
I lowered my head. Even though I wanted to make her feel better, there was no denying that her altered appearance would change everything. “I’m sorry.”
My external scars were miniscule in comparison. I had marks from an old Chitah bite on my hip, but my Keystone tattoo covered the ugliest part of it. While Blue expressed concern that her scars would ruin her career, it ran deeper than that. She was still a knockout, but her life hadn’t gone back to normal, even around the house. Wyatt didn’t ogle her body like he used to. At least, not for the same reasons. The world would treat her differently. Men would treat her differently. She’d never liked the attention, but now she had to deal with a different kind of attention.
Blue stood and crossed the room. Her button-up dropped to the floor, and she reached inside the armoire and chose a sleeveless black shirt with a high neck. It was formfitting and accentuated her full breasts, yet it cloaked her scars. Then she turned around and put her hands on her hips, making the point that she could have rocked a sexy look on this mission. The scar on her shoulder was visible, but she easily covered that with her long brown hair.
I heaved a sigh. “If what you’re wearing is considered too much for a club like this, what the hell amIgoing to be wearing?”
“Shy?”
I snuck a bite of her sandwich. “You’ve seen my wardrobe. A short black dress is about as sexy as I get. And how am I supposed to put up with lewd remarks and people leering at me without getting pissed off and showing my fangs?”
Blue returned to her seat and sipped her lemonade. “Christian didn’t have any advice? He always keeps his cool.”
I gave her a mirthless smile. “He spent all morning teaching me how to control my anger.”
“And?”
I pushed off the desk and headed toward the door. “If you find a stake in his chest tomorrow morning, it wasn’t me.”
* * *
Christian proppedhis elbows on the booth table and watched Niko eat his ham sandwich. On the heels of a new assignment, everyone else must have cut their lunch short to get back to their duties. When he, Raven, and Niko had emerged from the gym for their afternoon break, Wyatt was the only person left in the dining room. He’d briefly chatted with them before heading upstairs with an energy drink in his hand. Niko made himself a plate while Kira cleared the table. What a strange lass. Always consumed with work, her hair pinned up or tied with a kerchief. Servants were common in the world of mortals, but times weren’t as hard as they used to be. Christian had once been a servant, and he’d never choose that life again. It was a humbling position, one that required silence, loyalty, and obedience.
Raven whooshed out of the kitchen with a plate and glass in hand. “Be right back. I’m taking this up to Blue.”
Christian noticed a guilty look on her face. According to Wyatt, Blue hadn’t come down all day. She was vexed about the assignment, but Viktor’s options were limited. He couldn’t send Blue into the fire like that. It wouldn’t be fair to Keystone’s mission, and it might traumatize the poor lass if some wanker made crass remarks. Only customers wore latex suits to those clubs. Employees were scantily clad, and there was no way Blue could hide her scars.
Christian lifted his glass of whiskey and took another sip. This was their first break and chance to eat. Not that Christian ever ate at the table, but he enjoyed a glass of alcohol. Right now he needed it.
“You shouldn’t feel guilty,” Niko said as he finished his sandwich. “Taunting Raven had to be done. She isn’t like every other Mage, and shemustlearn to control her Vampire nature. You’re the only one who can mentor her. She didn’t receive that guidance from her maker, so you and I have a role to play.”
“Aye.” The whiskey slid down Christian’s throat and warmed his belly like fire. “We like to have a go at each other every now and then, but that was torturous.”
“But necessary.” Niko moved his hand across the table until he found his napkin. “She’s intelligent enough not to take it to heart. Raven isn’t impulsive, but she’s reactive. I’ve watched her light, and most things don’t bother her the way they would others. But everyone has a weak spot, and you need to root that out of her.”
Christian stared into his glass. He’d certainly learned Raven’s faults. While she brushed off insults left and right, she was fiercely protective of her father. She also didn’t like anyone treating her differently because of her gender, so Christian had used those weaknesses to push her buttons. He could have gone deeper by bringing up Fletcher and attacking her mother’s memory, which would have been unequivocal trigger points, but he couldn’t bring himself to stoop that low.
While a Vampire could keep their fangs from punching out, it sometimes happened involuntarily for a number of reasons. Sexual stimulation, anger, excitement—it was unique to each individual. Raven had a tendency to show her fangs whenever she felt like she was losing the upper hand in a fight. She’d spent the morning learning new moves and brushing up on old ones, but they also subjected her to a different level of training. Raven needed to fight like a Mage and ignore her Vampire nature, something Christian had always discouraged. But now that lack of control could—at the very least—put the mission in jeopardy. Worst-case scenario, it might cost Raven her life.
The timing couldn’t have been worse. Raven had not only endured Lenore’s recent visit, but the next morning she got berated by the man who loved her. It was a wonder she hadn’t gone on a killing spree by now.
“I can’t sense your energy,” Niko said, “but I can see it. Your emotions light up the darkness at times. Something has been troubling you this morning, even before the meeting.”
“Just old ghosts who need to stay in the fecking graveyard.”
