By the time she reached the tenth block, her initial numbness had begun to thaw, replaced by something much more dangerous. Rage, pure and simple, burned through her veins like liquid fire. Raziel had let her walk into that situation blind. He’d sent her to work for someone likely knowingexactlywhat he was up to. There was no way in the pits that he didn’t know who Braen was trafficking, who he could have exposed her to—or what could have happened if she got caught. And he’d said nothing.
She was so lost in her fury that she almost didn’t notice the sleek black car pulling up to the curb beside her. It was Ivan. He said nothing as she opened the door and climbed into the back seat and shut it behind her.
All through the silent ride back to Raziel’s house, her rage built in silence. Now, it wasn’t just pointed at Braen. Now, it was pointed at Raziel. And she could punchhimin the fuckingface.
When she got back to the house, she made a line straight for Raziel’s office. She didn’t bother to say a damn thing to him before walking in and slamming the door behind her hard enough that the paintings on the walls went crooked. “You motherfucker! Why didn’t you tell me?”
He looked up from his desk, his expression neutral. “You’ll need to be more specific.”
“Trafficking!” She spat the words like venom. “Not just drugs or weapons. Braen is selling—” Swallowing her words, she was shaking. She forced herself to speak quieter. She knew the house could hear if she shouted. “He is sellingfae.”
Something flickered across Raziel’s face—discomfort, perhaps even shame. “What did you see?”
“There’s a basement. A set of rooms that’s not on the blueprints.” Nadi’s jaw clenched as she paced before his desk. “He keeps them collared with iron. I saw at least twelve.” Her voice broke slightly. “They’re being sold as sex slaves, Raziel. I’m certain. And youknew.”
The coin in Raziel’s hand stilled. He set it down carefully on the desk. “I was aware he had…tastes. I had seen him with them. I didn’t know he was collecting and selling. But I won’t lie.” He wouldn’t meet her eyes. “It’s been a rumor for years.”
“A rumor?” She laughed bitterly. “That my people are being kidnapped, used, and sold? That was just arumorto you?”
“In the old days, it was hardly an uncommon practice.” His voice turned hard, cold. “The fae used to be gathered and then released and hunted for sport. Or kept as pets. Commodities.”
“By monsters like you.”
For once, he didn’t smile at the accusation. Instead, he stood and walked to the window, looking out at the night. “Yes. By monsters like me.”
The admission caught her off guard. She’d expected denial, deflection, his usual arrogant dismissal.
“Does it bother you now?” she pressed. “Now that you’re working with one of thosecommodities?”
“It bothered me before,” he said quietly, surprising her again. “Why do you think Braen and I had our…falling-out? I thought what he was doing was disgusting. Sleeping with fae.” He laughed once, as if he actually found it funny.
Nadi studied him, trying to read the truth in his posture, the set of his shoulders. “You expect me to believe you objected on moral grounds?”
“Yes. I did.” Raziel turning to face her. “The fae are unpredictable. Savage. Their magic even more so. And at the time, I believed their blood to be poison. Only the most debased of our kind would risk keeping them around. Wild animals can only be broken so far. They are always liable to tear you to pieces when you turn your back.”
His words were logical, cold, but something in his eyes told a different story. Discomfort? Regret? She couldn’t be sure.
“Why didn’t you stop him?”
Raziel moved closer, his gaze locked on hers. “I am hardly one to judge another for theirsexual perversions,am I? Especially now.” He huffed another laugh.
A silence stretched between them, tense with all the things neither was willing to say.
He shook his head. “It doesn’t matter anymore. We can use this. Evidence of his trafficking operation would destroy the Rosovs’ standing among the vampire clans. Even the most corrupt families have standards, appearances to maintain.”
“So that’s our new target?” Heading back to his desk, she looked down at the map thoughtfully. “The records of his trafficking operation?” It could serve her needs nicely. She wanted to destroy this at the roots.
“Precisely.” Raziel’s expression shifted to one of cold calculation. “With those records, we can force Braen to meet us on our terms, away from his guards and security. Somewhere we can finish this cleanly.”
Nadi crossed her arms. “And what about the fae he’s holding captive?”
Something flickered across Raziel’s face again—that strange, unfamiliar expression she couldn’t quite name. “We’ll deal with that once we have what we need.”
It wasn’t enough, not nearly, but it was more than she’d expected. “Fine. When do we move?”
Raziel smiled, and for once, it reached his eyes. Which filled her with far more dread than it should have. “We’re going to a party.”
Nadi was truly, honestly, starting toloatheparties.
