“I knew Thomas was still trying for a way around the curse two years ago. He was in the area where you were turned. It was simple to put it together from there.”
I should have known he wasn’t going to let the question of my maker go. I hadn’t expected him to track the man down quite so easily.
“So this was all a setup.”
He watched me, his eyes intense.
“Why didn’t you just bring me to his attention at the beginning? Why go through all this? Put me on the trail of the descendants and the witch?”
His subterfuge made me feel like a trained monkey, compelled to dance at his whim.
“We both know if I’d forced you into revealing yourself you would have gone to ridiculous lengths to try to escape us. The simplest solution was for you to choose this path.”
And because I’d chosen it, there wouldn’t be any easy exit ramps. There would be no one to blame but myself. I’d have to accept things.
“I didn’t expect you to negotiate for as much freedom as you did.”
No, he probably hadn’t.
“You manipulated me into the course you wanted.”
He shrugged. “So I did.”
“And you think that I’m going to dance to your tune now.”
“Not at all.” He gave me a smile full of sin and dark things. “I’m looking forward to our next battle.”
Somehow, I thought he saw these little battles of the wit in a different light than I did. Where I saw it as a vital piece of my survival, he saw it as a game to be a won. A challenge to be overcome.
“Game on.” I stalked off, anger providing fuel. At least for the first couple of miles. By the fourth mile my emotions had settled, leaving one thing clear. I’d have to steer clear of Liam in the future. That sleek and dangerous packaging hid a lethal wit inside. He was too sneaky and manipulative to play with.
* * *
Brax didn’t answer any of my calls that night. Or the next. By the third night, I decided I wasn’t waiting around for news any longer. I grabbed my bike and headed for Lou’s Bar.
Unfortunately, he wasn’t there. Sondra and Clay weren’t there either and none of the other wolves would tell me any news of Caroline.
I stopped at the bar, figuring the bartender might be able to get a message to Brax. It was a different man than the last time. He was big and rough, looking like a biker after a five day ride. Tired and grumpy.
“He doesn’t want to speak to you.” The man set hands the size of dinner plates on the bar, the threat clear. “You’re to forget about your friend and mind your own business.”
I felt several wolves close in at my back. Their presence a looming danger.
I sighed. I’d been afraid of this, which is why I’d come prepared.
I looked down, seeing the smirk he shot at those over my head out of the corner of my eye. Yeah, the big bad wolf just made the vampire back down.
I whipped out a hand, grabbed him behind the neck and slammed his face into the bar, drawing a gun and pressing it against his forehead. As a human, I would have never had the strength. Even a week ago, I would have struggled. Liam’s blood had supercharged a few things.
He chuckled, the wolves behind me cackling. “Stupid bitch. Guns won’t do shit to us.”
I smiled. It must have conveyed the depth of my rage because he flinched, ever so slightly.
“They do when they’re filled with silver nitrate. My own special recipe.” It had to be because you couldn’t buy bullets containing silver nitrate anywhere. I’d checked. “I’ve already seen what it can do to a vampire. It worked beautifully, by the way. But I haven’t had the chance to test it on a werewolf.”
The laughter disappeared and the air shifted to a wary hostility. They’d been playing games before, thinking I wasn’t a threat. Now they weren’t sure how much danger I presented.
I tightened my grip on the bartender. “Shall we test it on you?”
