“Did she?”
“Elinor was in rare form. When I walked in, she was trying to interrogate your little bird.”
I gave Aiden a dark look that said I’d appreciate it if would keep his mouth shut about things that didn’t concern him. His look responded that it did concern him. Also that he just liked messing with me.
I don’t know what I’d done to draw his interest, but I wished I could undo it.
“Elinor was surprised at how resilient the birdy was. She wasn’t expecting her to resist the fear once, let alone twice,” Aiden continued.
“Did she use full force?”
“Felt like it, but only Elinor knows.”
They both looked at me with considering expressions.
“You’re just full of surprises,” Liam said. He sounded like he was mentally reevaluating my place in the order of things.
I didn’t know if that was good or bad.
“What did you call me here for?” I asked, tired of them staring at me like they were trying to figure out what made me tick.
“I wanted to go over your plans for the investigation.” He leaned back on the table and folded his arms across his chest.
He was an ass, but a good looking one. The woman in me took a minute to admire the way his shirt stretched nicely over his muscles.
I gave Aiden, who walked to the table and poured a glass of water, a quick glance. He didn’t look like he had any intention of leaving, and Liam hadn’t made any effort to usher him out.
“He knows,” Liam said, confirming what I was beginning to suspect.
That surprised me. Aiden didn’t strike me as the sort to take interest in these kinds of political maneuverings.
“It’s in his best interest that the wrong person isn’t put in power.”
Aiden toasted me with his water and took a sip.
Vampires. This was one thing the books got right. It seemed like they couldn’t get enough of the Machiavellian politics. Not me. I was too strait forward, with no patience for this type of thing. I wanted my part done so I could go back to my simple job and simple life.
“Has she found anything yet?” Aiden asked.
“Of course not. I’m not a miracle worker. I got this job tonight. I haven’t even had a chance to get in touch with my contacts, let alone find anything.” Not strictly true since I knew Thomas sired me. I kept that thought very quiet as Aiden was a mind reader. A powerful one.
Aiden glance at Liam. “I don’t have to tell you what’s at stake here if she fails.”
How about telling me what’s at stake? And not talking about me like I’m not even in the room.
“I am well aware,” Liam said.
“You’re all in agreement that I need to make progress,” I said. “Instead of calling me here for a pointless conversation, how about next time you let me do my job and stop getting in the way?”
Liam stared at me, his eyes intense, as if he was trying to see to the very core of my being.
“Why is it that I sense you’re hiding something?” he asked.
Aiden’s gaze fastened on me and suddenly it was like I was a bunny in front of two apex predators. It was not a comforting feeling.
How to play this? The crux of the matter was that I was hiding something. Something big. That something would solve all of their problems. It was also something I would prefer to keep under wraps until I knew the lay of the land a little better. Once that bell was rung it would be impossible to unring it.
From the statements both Liam and Thomas had made about my sorcerer’s mark, it seemed that it wasn’t the full protection I had thought. I had to make myself seem important enough to keep alive and happy but not so important that they would feel I was better off under the clan’s watchful eyes.
