“You’re not welcome here,” he ground out.
“Dear oh dear. I must have misread the sign outside that said this dump was open to the public.”
I hadn’t even realized my hand had moved on top of my steak knife until Lenore flicked a glance at the cutlery.
“Have a seat,” she said to Christian, her black eyes locking on his. “I think it’s time we all have a long overdue chat.”
Christian turned his attention to me, searching for my answer. When I made a slight arch of my eyebrows and folded my arms, he returned to his seat, leaving no room for Lenore to join us.
She placed a chair at the end of the table and gracefully sat. After crossing her legs and adjusting her tidy updo, she stared at her reflection in the window. “I see no need for us to play games.”
I bristled. “Bullshit.”
“If you mean Fletcher, then perhaps you should hold a mirror up to your lover, for he is the one playing games. What a nasty little secret to hide.”
Christian gave her a smug look. “If you’re trying to put a wedge between us, it won’t work. We’ve already talked about it.”
A smile played on her lips. “Have you? What a woman says and what she feels are two different things. Raven may despise me, but being a woman, I understand her more than you ever will.”
“Stop speaking on my behalf,” I snapped, staring at the steak knife. “Just because we both have a vagina doesn’t mean you know everything about me.”
“I know that your Creator was a dreadful man who violated the law when he made you. I don’t work for the Mageri, but I’m privy to their processes. Though they have an approval system set up, a Creator still has full authority to make another Mage. You can’t make a Breed gift illegal, and due to that, Creators have dominion over their progeny. That said, Fletcher was on duty, and you were in the morgue. Even if the making wasn’t your choice, he was on the clock, and therefore you should have been processed accordingly. I would hate to see how this played out in a trial.”
Just hearing how much Lenore knew about my past made my skin crawl. “Don’t pretend you have sympathy.”
“Pity,” she corrected, not mincing her words. “I’m certain they’re not aware of the situation, or else they might have taken action.”
Christian gripped the edge of the table. “If you’re here to threaten her, then you best be on your way before—”
“Before what?” Lenore gave him a loaded glance. “You gave me your word that you wouldn’t come after me. Go on, feel free to sully your reputation for all eternity. No one will ever trade favors with you again. You know as well as I do how damning a reputation like that is in our world—even among criminals. So don’t youdarethreaten me.” Lenore drew in a deep breath and restored her pleasant demeanor. “I took that boorish man off your hands for a reason. Your reckless behavior will lead to your execution, and that will not do.”
“You don’t care about us,” I fired back. “Maybe Christian, but you sure as hell wouldn’t bat an eyelash if the Mageri cut off my head. You’re just protecting yourself.” When I saw a look of confusion on Christian’s face, I clarified. “She’s afraid if you had gotten caught, I would’ve ratted her out to buy your freedom. There’s a loophole in the favor you promised her, and I’m the loophole.” I reached for the saltshaker and turned it in my hand. “Christian and I are the only ones who know you betrayed your oath to join a rebel. I promised not to kill you in order to keep you from going after Christian, but I never promised to keep your secrets.”
Christian folded his arms on the table. “Then she’s not keeping Fletcher to protect us. She’s holding him over your head.”
Lenore looked between us. She wasn’t baiting me to kill her guard and get myself arrested; she wanted assurance that I wouldn’t spill her secrets or else she would spill mine. And that was why she was here. She wasn’t sure I’d gotten the message loud and clear.
Lenore canted her head to the side. “In my world, everyone is an adversary, an ally, or a pawn. Men like Fletcher are pawns, but you two have a choice. You don’t have to like a person to be an ally; you simply have to see what could benefit you. If I’m blunt, it’s because I’ve spent hundreds of years listening to men dancing around the truth. I’ve done my fair share of dancing, but not tonight. Regardless of how much you loathe me, Chrissy, I know how deep your loyalty runs. You’ve simply made mistakes in the past of letting your emotions get in the way of what’s best for you. And Raven, you’re still young and filled with resentment. I know what that feels like, and I recognize your raw ambition. Fletcher is a deplorable example of wasted immortality, but he’s the only assurance I have that you won’t betray me. And let’s be frank—torture? That’s beneath you,” she said, directing her words at Christian. “Don’t ruin your life on a foolish whim. Even if you had tried to bargain your way out of it by spilling my secrets, there’s no guarantee they would have lowered your sentence. And what if Raven had been arrested as an accomplice?”
“They would have no proof of that,” he bit out. “She had nothing to do with it.”
“See the bigger picture. They would have found out about her creation, and who knows what they might have decided? I’ve seen many a Mage put down. Even with the work she’s done for Viktor, no one can protect you against the Mageri’s final decision. Not even me. I don’t work for them, and they have the final ruling over all Mage matters. Not that Raven is entirely a Mage, and that complicates things. On top of that, Viktor would suffer the indignities of public scorn for the scandal.”
I closed my eyes and scratched my eyelid, irritated that I couldn’t stab her in the throat. Irritated even more that she was right. I would run away from Keystone before letting the Mageri get their hands on me.
“I have offered my assistance more than once,” she went on. “And yes, I always do things that will benefit myself. As should you. While you may despise me, consider how beneficial it is to have a higher authority member looking out for you. Few others can say the same. And you work in a job where it would truly serve you. As I said before, I don’t like looking over my shoulder. That’s why Fletcher is under my care, despite being a loquacious idiot. I abhor men who don’t know when to keep their mouths shut, and I’m not foolish enough to keep him around forever. He’s unstable.”
“You got that right,” I added with a smile. “Maybe you bit off more than you can chew. You’re afraid that we’ll damage your precious reputation. Are you blind? That honor will go to Fletcher. You have no idea what kind of man he is. Maybe you charmed some truth out of him, but you don’tknow.”
She uncrossed her legs and appeared unnerved. Had I rattled her cage a little? Vampires were notoriously egotistical, thinking they were more powerful than any other Breed. On top of that, she probably felt even more protected working for the higher authority. But I could smell her fear. Lenore was profoundly insecure about being able to hold her position of power, and men like Fletcher were volatile, like a stick of dynamite.
“I want the three of us to come to an understanding,” she said, studying her slender fingers. “We can benefit from one another. You would be foolish to think otherwise. If I let my ego get in the way, I’d never be where I am. Do you really believe I left Viktor for Godfrey without fully understanding the ramifications? I didn’t do it for power or else I would have accepted his proposal during the party. I did it because I was out of options, and I needed to undo the spell. I could see how his plan would eventually unfold, and I couldn’t risk becoming his enemy. I never guessed you would defeat him, especially with the help of local packs. Shifters are notoriously selfish and rarely do anything for the greater good. Not to mention they can’t keep secrets, so you’re lucky that plan didn’t backfire.”
Christian reached for my drink and took a sip. “If I had known this would be a monologue, I would have ordered the onion rings.”
“Christian, you have many weaknesses, and one of them is holding a grudge.”
He stared at my knife, fire brimming in his eyes. “What you know about grudges could fill a thimble. You burned everyone before they could burn you.”
