Chapter Six
Ajax
I awakened much later than I intended, and panicked. I’d set my alarm, why hadn’t it gone off?
I found a note on my table, folded so it was propped up and easily noticed. I’d seen enough of these to recognize Kieran’s beautiful handwriting.
I turned your alarm off and gave the morning guards orders to let you sleep in. When you awaken, please take the sealed envelope to the Rolling Thunder Restaurant and Bar. Find a bartender wearing a leather vest full of patches with his name on the front. Give it to him, and he’ll make sure Brain gets it. I’m told they have excellent burgers, so you may as well stay and eat while you’re there. Spencer might be able to meet you for a meal, depending on his schedule, but it can’t hurt to ask. Please try to be home when I rise, or shortly thereafter.
The envelope had Kieran and Gwen’s contact information in the top left corner, and Kieran had writtenBrainwhere you’dnormally write the recipient’s address. I was used to vampires having letters hand delivered, rather than sending a text or email, so this didn’t seem terribly odd.
Spencer had told me quite a bit about Kieran and Gwen. They’d been married longer than just about any vampires, ever. Somewhere around three hundred and fifty years. Only a few couples in remembered history had lasted longer, and vampires remember a lot of history.
He’d said Abbott thought they worked so well together because they functioned as a unit. He used Aaron Drake and Nathan Pierce as an example — they aren’t a romantic item, but they’ve been in business together for something like five or six hundred years.
“It’s like, the computer geeks who were on the internet in the early nineties,” he explained. “They learned about the technology when it was simple, and they’ve kept up as it’s grown. They know it inside and out because they watched it develop. The Doyles are like that in the finance world. The stock markets, modern economic theories, the formation of currencies that aren’t backed by assets. They learned about small town economies and lived in enough, they saw what worked and what didn’t. Same with larger cities, eventually. They were in on the start of the first stock market, in Amsterdam, back in the sixteen hundreds. They helped form the beginnings of the bond market.”
I’d been taught to drive, to fight, to shoot, to be aware of my surroundings, to be a bodyguard, and to sexually service both men and women. I never had any math or science classes. I can read, but it’s a chore. No way could I hold a conversation about any of this with Kieran or Gwen. Was that why Kieran wasn’t allowing me to talk to Mistress Gwen? He and I talked about cars, engines, and guns. Would I haveanythingin common with the Mistress?
Spence couldn’t meet me for lunch, but we had a fifteen-minute phone conversation, and I felt better when I disconnected.I could do this. It was as simple as doing my job when I was bodyguarding, and when not working, I merely had to listen to Kieran and follow orders. If for any reason I wasn’t happy with the situation, I only needed to tell Spence, and we’d figure out whether to fix the situation or move me somewhere else.
But I didn’t want to go anywhere else. I respected Kieran. I knew what to expect from him. I had every reason to believe things would be fine with his wife home, too.
I handed the envelope to someone behind the bar in an RTMC vest, noted his name, and asked to be seated. Two men in RTMC vests sat with me after I’d placed my order. They introduced themselves as Gonzo and Dawg, though I already knew Dawg’s name since he was the bartender I’d handed the envelope to.
“Spence asked us to keep you company, make you feel welcome,” Dawg explained when they sat down.
Gonzo was nearly as big as me, but Dawg was a good bit smaller. Not small. Just not as big as us.
“Thank you. That was nice of him, but I don’t want to interrupt your day or take up your time.”
“Not a problem,” Gonzo said. “We gotta eat. May as well do it with you.”
“I know you have a mutual aid pact with Abbott, but I’m just here for lunch, since I had to drop the message off.”
“It’s more than the pact,” Dawg said. “Matty and Spence are close. Spence has an ask, we do it. But yeah, you’re ever in trouble, you come here and we’ll have your back.”
“Can’t imagine you run into many situations you need help with,” said Gonzo. “We have a martial arts studio. You want towork out with us, have people to spar with, let Abbott or Spence know and we’ll bring you in.”
I nodded. “I’d like that. Kieran spars with me, but...” I shrugged. “Be nice to spar with other wolves.”
* * * *
I arrived home in time to shower before Kieran awakened. A quick check-in with the security team, and then, while I waited for Kieran to rise, I sat and looked through the feeds of people driving by the property.
I felt his presence before he made it to the doorway, and I turned and went to my knees.
“You don’t have to do that. I appreciate the sentiment, but I’d prefer you didn’t. Have a seat in your chair, please.”
“Yes, Sir. I delivered the envelope to a wolf named Dawg.” I stood and retook my seat, turning it so I faced Kieran.
“Good. Aaron has a tech expert I’m certain he’s talked to, but I’d like to speak with ours. Unfortunately, he’s out of the country at the moment. Plus, Brain might be able to give us information from a slightly different angle. In the past, he’s been open to consulting fees for this kind of information.”
I nodded, though I had no idea what he was talking about.
“I’m sorry.” He crossed his arms, rubbed his bicep with one hand, and then uncrossed them. “Gwen picked up some tech information on her trip, and I want a geek to break it down for me. I forgot that was discussed after you went to sleep.”
“You don’t have to apologize, Sir.”
