Worse, I suspected if Thomas found out he could turn little ole me into a vampire, he might get it into his head that he wanted other ankle biters running around. What better way to test his new found ability to sire vampires than by using those who share genetic material with me? Like my sister. Or her daughter.
I needed to pacify them enough that Aiden didn’t try to take a little peek inside my mind. I could keep him out with my forest visualization defense for now, but I didn’t know if that’d hold up if he put in a concentrated effort.
“How would I have had the time to find anything to hide?” I asked. “I’d just begun visiting some of my contacts when you called me in.”
Lucky for me, I counted Dahlia as one of my contacts so I wasn’t lying. Entirely.
His eyes narrowed. I kept myself loose and relaxed and didn’t go overboard with keeping eye contact, but I didn’t avoid his gaze entirely either.
He seemed to buy it when he reached for a sheet of paper on the table.
“I’ve added a few names to the list of witches and other spooks that might have had a hand in the hex. We’ll visit the people on this list to see if any might be involved in this.”
I shook my head before he finished speaking. “Nope. Absolutely not. We are not working together.”
He got that pissed off look that said he found me very trying. “We are.”
“We aren’t.” I held up a hand to forestall the storm I could see brewing. “You came to me because you needed someone the witches and the rest of the community didn’t fear. Someone they could talk to without thinking they’re going to be drained of blood at the end of it. That someone is not you. How is it going to look if I show up with the big bad enforcer dogging my every step? You think they’re going to talk? Because I sure don’t.”
Aiden snorted. “I like her.”
“Gee. Guess I can die happy,” I said in a dry tone.
I looked back at Liam who appeared none too happy with the interruption.
“You came to me for a reason. Trying to back pedal now is only going to be more suspicious to these supposed enemies.”
His face was reserved as he studied me. I tried to project as capable a look as I could dressed in a pair of jeans and a t-shirt.
“Fine. You have two days. If you’ve shown no progress at the end of that time, I’m stepping in and you’ll just have to figure out a way to make this work with the big bad enforcer.” He gave me the smile of a tiger. The one that said he was on to me but was willing to play with his food for a little while before gulping it down.
His smile did nothing for my peace of mind.
Two days wasn’t a lot of time, but I’d take it. I just needed to figure something out. No way was I letting someone else fall into Thomas’s clutches if I could help it.
The hell of it was, I wasn’t seeing a lot of options.
Elinor struck me as one of those who didn’t need absolute power to be absolutely corrupted. If the rest of the applicants were anything like her, it would be like choosing your shade of evil.
“I’ll just be on my way.” My smile was more of a baring of teeth than an indication of happiness.
Liam’s voice was silky and smooth. “Aileen. I know you’re hiding something. I will get to the bottom of it before this is over.”
My gaze shot between the two of them as my lips quirked up. “You’re welcome to try.”
Yeah, it wasn’t smart bearding the dragon in his den, but sometimes you had to take a stand, if only to say you weren’t as tasty as you looked.
His laugh was husky when it came and his eyes half-lidded as he watched me turn and leave.
So soft that I might have imagined it, he said, “I look forward to the hunt.”
* * *
After the visit to the club, I needed a shower and some comfortable clothes to wash away the stench of fear and stress. I didn’t see much point in visiting any of the names on Liam’s list, not without doing some research first.
It would also give me a chance to see what I could dig up on Thomas’s descendants.
Showered, fed and in a loose pair of capri pajama pants and another oversized top, I settled onto the couch with my computer and the file Liam and Thomas had given me. I set a notepad next to it and logged on to my computer.
