“And I will still issue those orders,” Godfrey informed him as he turned on his heel, his long duster swishing at his feet. “But dark forces are threatening to rise up against us, and I will not let that happen. I want my army here. All of them. I want a second line of defense.”
Lenore waited for a pause before speaking. “Why not carry out your assassinations as planned? Why wait for the insurgents to come to you?”
“Because if Keystone is planning an attack, others may band with them or feel inspired by them. Especially within the first week, before we have everyone joining my side from the party. I will carry out the planned assassinations once I feel we are safe to do so.” He tapped his cane on the ground and addressed the blond. “Send a group of men to the hotel and wipe out Keystone. I don’t want anyone escaping this time,” he said pointedly. Godfrey took a deep breath and looked upward. “A new day is dawning. We will no longer live under oppressive leadership that seeks to control and modify our behavior. You arenotworking dogs. And one day in the not-so-distant future, you will reap those rewards for your faithful service. Those who provide information about anyone conspiring against me will be promoted. You will receive your own private room and a place at my side. I couldn’t be more pleased with our accomplishments thus far. We are on the precipice of great change, and a new world is dawning.”
Lenore was pleased to see him using her suggestions. Loyalty often stemmed out of fear. When soldiers couldn’t trust their own comrades, they were too afraid to conspire anything. Punishment wasn’t as effective as creating a reward system for informants. He didn’t need to specify that it also applied to those working for him as well as the outside world. It was implied. Too much emphasis on snitching would work against him, so how he delivered that speech was of the utmost importance.
Godfrey pounded his cane on the ground. “As you were.” While the men quickly dispersed, he approached the Vampire who seemed to lead the others. “I’m counting on you, Sebastian. Don’t fail me. In the meantime, I want you to strategize a plan to defend my castle should it come under attack. Present me your plan by nightfall. And send a guard upstairs to charm the woman for information. Afterward, place them outside her door.”
Sebastian bowed and hastily left the room.
“You can’t afford to lose more men,” Lenore pointed out. Most of Godfrey’s subjects weren’t trained warriors from what she could tell. “I told you about Keystone so you could prepare and you wouldn’t get caught off guard. But a group that size could never take you on. Let them try. Make an example out of them. We’ll kill them all and capture the Vampire. He’s useful.”
Godfrey hiked up the steps. “Your attachment to this Christian character concerns me. If you want to prove your loyalty, you’ll see him dead.”
“And I ask the same about Raven. Perhaps I, too, am concerned about your newfound attachment.”
He lifted her hood and spoke quietly. “As my queen, you will do as I say. You’re useful to me, and I think between my power and your influence, we will have a mighty reign.” Godfrey leaned in and placed his lips to her ear. “Butneverquestion me in front of my subjects again, or I will put your head on a spike.”
As Godfrey ascended the stairs, he turned his cane upside down and smashed the wolf grip against one of the steps. It broke into pieces, and he left the splintered wood behind.
Lenore had never felt more humiliated. If this was how he was going to treat her, she had a difficult road ahead winning the loyalty of his subjects so she could take his place. He’d promised she would be his equal, but now she was beginning to feel more like a concubine.
CHAPTER22
Shepherd went into Viktor’s room to get some shut-eye but couldn’t fall asleep with Claude’s snoring, so he gave up and went back to the first room. By then, everyone had taken off but Wyatt and Kira. Wyatt could talk a man’s ear off with his tall tales, most of which were stories about the dead. It creeped Shepherd the hell out. Attempting to sleep in the same room with him was futile, so Shepherd told him to beat it.
Finally Shepherd managed to doze off, and Viktor must have quietly come in during that time. But the nap didn’t last long. Wyatt came busting in the room, announcing that Raven was missing. Christian didn’t want Crush to find out, but fuck that. Every father deserved to know what was happening to his kid, so he barely felt his feet hit the ground when he went to break the news.
Remembering Crush couldn’t see him, he went next door and woke up Niko to translate.
Once they reached the sixth floor, Shepherd lightly tapped on the door instead of pounding his fist. No sense in scaring Hunter unnecessarily, especially after what he had just been through.
It was only after Niko knocked that Crush peered through the crack.
Niko whispered, “Can I use your bathroom?”
Crush was human but as smart as a whip. He switched on the light in the bathroom and waved them in. When Shepherd entered the room, Crush’s big dog stood up on the bed and gave an uncertainwoof.
Crush turned on the bathtub faucet while Niko shut the door. “What’s going on?”
“Shepherd’s here, and he wishes me to translate.”
Shepherd leaned against the door. “I ain’t gonna bullshit you. Raven’s gone. Wyatt and Christian found the groceries in the stairwell. Didn’t look like there was a struggle.”
Crush rubbed his tatted arm. “Sounds like Vamps.”
“If they followed her here, they have our location.”
“What’s Kazan saying?”
Shepherd sighed. “I don’t know what Viktor’s thinking about. I came right up to check on Hunter. We’ll probably leave.”
After Niko finished translating, he tilted his head to the side and asked Shepherd, “Did this just happen?”
“Yeah. Christian’s still checking it out. I needed to come up and make sure my kid was okay.”
Crush paced toward the toilet, his grey hair coming loose from the tie in the back. The handle of a dagger poked out from his back pocket, the blade protruding right through his jeans. “Switching our location is a bad idea. That’s what they’re hoping we’ll do. It brings us out in the open. It’s better to stay in a familiar place. No surprises.”
