“Here, here,” Ahrun declared, appearing next to Thomas. “A sentiment I heartily support. Though, technically, she was part of this family long before her marriage. Whether she wants to acknowledge that fact or not.” Ahrun stopped a few feet away, clasping his hands behind his back, a paternal look in his eyes as he looked me over. “I know Nathan already said it, but you look very nice tonight, my dear.”
So did he.
His suit matched Liam and Thomas’s, making the trio look like a set. A pride of lions preparing to devour their enemies.
There was a small sound from the doorway as Sienna made her presence known. “They’re ready for you.”
Thomas nodded at her. “We’ll be out in a moment.”
Sienna dipped her chin in acceptance, the movement reminiscent of a bow.
As she strode out the front door, Thomas faced his sire. “I want to be clear so there are no misunderstandings later. I will not accept you using my children as chess pieces in one of your schemes. I won’t lose either of them, Father. Not again.”
Ahrun’s expression was enigmatic. “You’ve never expressed a problem with my methods before.”
“And I paid for that with the loss of my son.”
Ahrun shifted his gaze to Liam. “And you? Do you feel the same way?”
Liam wrapped an arm around my back, bringing my side flush with his. “I’ve already warned you of the consequences should Aileen come to harm as a result of your schemes.”
There was unmistakable look of pride on Ahrun’s face as his lips curled. “My boys. All grown up.”
Huh. Not the reaction I had been expecting.
“What? Did you think I would punish you?” Ahrun tutted at them. “I’m not unreasonable. One cannot only exist in the shadow of their father. You must eventually forge your own way.”
That last part felt aimed at me. When I looked up, it was to find his gaze resting on me. An enigmatic curve to his lips.
Ahrun clapped his hands. “Shall we then?”
Not waiting for a response, he headed for the door. Thomas, Liam and I following.
The enforcers fell in around us. A phalanx of well-trained guards in expensive Armani.
Deborah released a shaky breath as she came up beside me. “I’ve said it before, but I think it bears repeating. Your grandsire is terrifying. I have no idea how you hold your ground with him. I couldn’t do it.”
“It’s because she doesn’t bend that he respects her,” Eric explained quietly.
Deborah shivered. “Sounds dangerous.”
Eric’s eyes found mine. “It is.”
Not ready to face that thought, I looked away from the enforcer to Deborah. “It’s not too late. You can stay home.”
“Like that’s going to be any safer.”
I wished she didn’t have a point, but the fact that Nyx had already managed to infiltrate the mansion made it hard to deny.
Stepping outside, we found a fleet of black SUVs staged in the circular drive, awaiting our arrival. Sienna and a team of humans, all armed to the teeth, stood around them. Their gazes hard and assessing as they watched the perimeter.
“Who are they?” Deborah asked in a whisper as a tall black man carrying a semi-automatic rifle greeted Liam with a jerk of his chin.
“Daylight,” I answered.
Operating mostly during the day—hence their name—Daylight was a squad comprised of well-trained humans, most often from a military background, whose primary directive was the protection of Thomas and his interests.
While no substitute for an enforcer, their heavy firepower meant they couldn’t be discounted during an attack. They acted as a supplementary force to compensate for those hours when vampires were at their weakest.
