My brother gave an unperturbed shrug, gliding forward to take up a position against the wall. His expression made it clear he was there only as a favor to me and to keep an eye on things should the wolves decide to act up again.
Knowing it was useless to pursue this topic with him, I raised my eyebrows at Caroline and the rest. “I’m going to assume you caught most of that.”
A restless energy emanated from Sondra, her desire to get up and pace visible in the way one leg wouldn’t sit still, jiggling up and down as she glared at Caroline from her place in the crook of the sectional. “It’s your choice how to handle things. You’ve already proven you’re stronger than me. You’re alpha until we can save Brax and the others.”
Caroline’s face was stony as she met Sondra’s gaze. Her scent and heartbeat unchanging.
I knew from experience the amount of training required to effectively conceal your physiological response to stressors. Liam had pounded that lesson into my body over the course of several months. Discipline was a necessary ingredient and a sign of how far she’d come in the short time since her transition.
Of course, unlike me, she hadn’t spent years trying to bury her head in the sand and pretend nothing had changed.
The stockier of the two male wolves raised his hand. “How sure are we that this tip is correct? He’s Fae, right? He could be part of this.”
“Even if Jerry and his courier service didn’t have a long-standing reputation for their neutrality, I’d vouch for him. I was there when Naimh enslaved most of the city’s Fae. There’s no love lost between him and the Summer Lands. He would not help them,” I said.
Sondra nodded. “The owner of Hermes deals in information as much as he does packages. If he says Vegas is their destination, that’s where we need to go.”
I wasn’t surprised by her endorsement. Jerry provided intel and couriers and the wolves paid him a very handsome retainer. It was a relationship that went back decades from what I’d heard.
The chances of him stabbing them in the back were—while never zero—very low.
Caroline leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees. “The problem is getting there.”
“If they’re aware that any of the pack escaped, they’ll have some of their human slaves watching the airports,” Sondra agreed, her earlier antagonism toward Caroline forgotten in favor of solving the problem at hand.
“We can’t drive either. It’ll take days to reach Vegas even with taking turns at the wheel and only making stops to refuel,” Caroline added.
“Wouldn’t they have the same restrictions?” The taller of the two males darted his gaze between Caroline and Sondra. “I’m assuming with their hatred of iron and other human alloys they won’t fly.”
“They won’t have to. They’ll take one of the fairy roads, using magic and sunbeams to slip between worlds until they reach the next barrow,” Connor interjected from his place against the wall, his voice slow and lilting as if reciting from a poem.
Sondra’s restlessness grew more pronounced as muttered curses came from the two males. Caroline didn’t react, remaining still and closed off.
I looked over at Connor. “There’s Thomas’s private jet.”
Hope shone in the faces of all the wolves except Caroline’s.
“It’ll get us there fast and we won’t have to worry about being discovered by the Fae,” I added.
I doubted they’d be watching the part of the airport where the private jets boarded. With it, I also wouldn’t have to worry about crossing over into day and getting a third-degree sunburn.
“You’re forgetting one thing, dear sister.”
“What’s that?”
“Thomas is not going to be pleased that you’re once again involving yourself in the wolves’ problems.”
“And I care about this why?”
“Because it’s his jet you’ll be asking for. Also, you’ll need his help gaining permission to enter Vegas.”
I’d forgotten about that. Vampires were a possessive lot who tended to get a touch grumpy when strangers—or any supe with power—trespassed upon their territory. Just look at how I’d reacted to the High King’s Lucies last night.
I didn’t have the connections to negotiate passage.
“I’ll try Liam first,” I offered.
He was the more reasonable of the two and much more likely to help without asking too many questions.
