“Careful, Rowan. You’re in real danger of losing me as an ally. If that happens, there will be no one standing between NAVAK and your beloved Nick.”
She consciously repressed any reaction to that, although her insides squirmed. Michael was a manipulative pig, but she needed to stick this out to protect Nick. “Let’s get this over with.” She pointed over the terrace railing. “I’ll meet you downstairs.”
“We could fly down together.” He held out his hand to her.
“Can’t. I need to lock up.” She turned back toward the door.
He didn’t move. “I can feel the magic. You’ve spelled the house against me.”
She turned back. “Against all supernaturals. I don’t feel safe now that you’ve invited vampires into Manhattan.”
He grunted. “We need to be on our way if we plan to make it to Malvern’s on time, but this conversation isn’t finished. I don’t like being locked out of your life. Makes me feel like you’re ungrateful.”
“I’m as grateful as I should be. I’ll meet you at the car.” She rushed inside, her composure giving way as soon as she had flattened her back against the wall out of his sight. She held back the tears, refusing to give him that power over her. He wasn’t worth spoiling her mascara. She was a dragon, for the Mountain’s sake. She grabbed a tissue from the box on the counter and dabbed at her eyes. One night. For Nick.
Fortifying herself with a deep breath, she locked the doors and grabbed her charging phone from the tray on the table near the door. She’d been so busy today she hadn’t checked it. She gasped when she saw a message from Nick. He’d sent it hours ago.
Need to see you. Tonight?
“Nick…” She took a deep breath and texted him back.Sorry, I’m just seeing this now.I can’t tonight. Tomorrow?
It’s important. Please.
Later?
Yes.
How long could a vampire dinner take?Sure. I’ll come by your apartment as soon as I can. It might be late.
Late’s okay
See you then
She hurried out of the building. There was no question which car was Verinetti’s. The black Escalade was armored with bulletproof glass. The thing looked like a tank. As she neared, the driver opened the car door for her. She slid in next to Michael and frowned as the doors closed and the windows blackened. A divider rose between them and the driver.
“What’s going on, Michael?”
“Malvern doesn’t like his whereabouts to be general knowledge. I’m afraid you’re going to have to be in the dark until our arrival.”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
That was it; Nick had officially lost his mind. He sat in an unmarked car across the street from the Dakota building and watched a white owl fly up to the rooftop terrace outside Rowan’s apartment. Damn it, he had a feeling when Rowan didn’t return his text immediately that there was something going on. Clearly, Verinetti had called in his favor and was forcing Rowan to attend the dinner with that damned vampire, and before he had a chance to tell her what he’d learned from Soren.
But Nick knew what was going on. He didn’t trust Verinetti any farther than he could throw his body after punching him unconscious, something he very much wanted to do. And that tank of an armored Escalade he rode in was about as inconspicuous as a five-alarm fire. It was funny—these shifters really underestimated humans. He’d found it all too easy to blend into the crowd and walk right past the monstrosity, pausing to casually press the square-shaped GPS tracker he owned to the inside of the wheel well without garnering a single glance from the driver or the people around him. Hell, the driver never even looked up from his phone. Perhaps he was engaged in a rousing game ofCandy Crush.
Surprise fluttered in his chest when his phone buzzed as soon as he was back in his vehicle. So she would meet him tonight, late. After her dinner with Verinetti and the vampire. Nick wasn’t okay with that. He planned to make certain that Rowan had backup if she needed it. Dragon or not, she deserved that.
The Escalade pulled into traffic. Nick waited a few moments and pulled out too, trailing behind it. He frowned as the Escalade exited Manhattan and drove across the Hudson, heading north. Where was he taking her? He made sure to keep his distance. The red dot on his GPS would tell him exactly where to go. No need to rush.
It was farther than he’d expected. Did Rowan know Verinetti was taking her to BFE? He pulled off the main road onto a winding drive that didn’t even register on his GPS. The heavily wooded area made him feel like he’d crossed some magical barrier between the city and rural America. Only a little over an hour from wall-to-wall skyscrapers and he was surrounded by a thick blanket of trees. He cut his headlights.
At the end of that drive, a gate loomed in the distance, lit up bright with security lights. As soon as he saw it, he slowed, then angled the car off the main drive and parked between the trees. Quickly he covered the unmarked car in brush and fallen branches. It wasn’t a flawless job, but at night, under the shadows of trees, someone would have to be on top of it to see it.
By the light of the moon he walked along the wall, avoiding the secured gate area. The reflections off security cameras winked at him every few yards. He stayed out of sight until he found a spot between cameras where the forest had overgrown the wall. This would have to do. He climbed one of the trees and shimmied out on a limb to see over the six-foot stone barricade.
The place was a castle. A fucking castle with a watchtower and parapets and guards with assault rifles pacing in front of the front doors and windows. The estate had to be at least twelve thousand square feet, and the wooded acreage around it went on and on, as far as the eye could see. If a vampire bit into you here, no one would hear you scream.
Who the hell was this Malvern guy? This was a fully operational military compound, for God’s sake. No wonder they didn’t have anyone on this part of the wall; no one in their right mind would go over it unless they had a death wish. Which meant he was stuck on the tree branch, watching helplessly as the Escalade pulled up to the building and Rowan exited it with that piece of shit Verinetti by her side.
