He pulled into the driveway, then ran across the street and into Glenn’s house long enough to snag the keys hanging on a rack near the door.He had the Aston out of the garage and the engine running when Glenn slid into the passenger seat, for once not looking absolutely pristine.He looked bleary around the edges and upset about it, wearing jeans and a pullover sweater, his hair pulled back in a high ponytail.
Was there a term like hangry, but in conjunction with sleep?Ross would have to look this up.
As Ross put the car into reverse, Glenn leaned over and kissed him on the cheek.“Thank you for being smart enough to call me.”
“Hey, I agreed with the rules we set down.And I don’t want to deal with upset vampires who aren’t clan.That’s a really good way to have a bad day.”
“Who all is on scene?”
“Dunham that I know of.He didn’t tell me who else.”Which, in hindsight, was a miss on Ross’s part.
Glenn gave a grunt and pulled his phone out of a pocket, calling Dunham.“Dunham.I’m on my way.Report.”
Ross could hear the answer clearly enough even without it being on speaker.
“It’s no good tryin’ to speak to this lot, Glenn.They be stuck on the notion of gettin’ inside, and no’ a thing I say deters ’em.They willna tell us why, either.”
“Which two is it?”
“I do no’ know their names.Only that they be from the vampire clan.They willna answer that, either.”
“Who all is with you?”
“Willa, Keane, Chloe, and meself.”
Okay, that was marginally better than Ross feared.They had a group of logical people there, and Keane could magically shut people down if he had to.It was especially nice to have Willa there.As a kobold, she could throw some serious magical mojo around, and not even vampires could beat her in strength, despite her diminutive size.If Ross had to put together a short list of people to respond to clan territory shenanigans, these four would feature on it.
“How ready are they to start a fight?”
There was a leer in Dunham’s voice, a bit of a challenge mixed in.“Oh, no’ very.They’re in their car now, hoping we’ll go away.”
“Good.Try not to antagonize them.”Glenn hung up, blew out a gusty breath that sounded part growl, then searched through his contacts.“At least nothing’s blown up yet.”
“There’s that,” Ross agreed.
Glenn put the phone to his ear again.“Jarek.I don’t have time for pleasantries.Do you mind telling me why two of your clan members are currently onmyterritory and trying to break into a museum?”
Well now.There was a way to start a conversation.Glenn usually had more diplomacy than this.He really was not a happy camper when yanked out of a sound sleep.Grumpy didn’t begin to cover it.
Ross might need to sex him up later before tucking him back into bed.Just to, you know, get him in a better mood for sleep.
Jarek didn’t answer immediately.When he did, his voice sounded like it was being shoved through a cheese grater.“Why, indeed.They’re not there on my orders.”
“I had a feeling that was the case.But it’s broad daylight, and they’re trying to smash windows.On a building with multiple security cameras.”
Ouch.Oh yeah, the museum would have security on it.That would make it so much worse because of course they’d move at vampire speed.All caught on camera.No wonder Glenn was that hot under the collar about this.Territory dispute was one thing, but revealing supernats in the town?Whole other ballgame.
Jarek didn’t swear, but his tone made it clear he really, really wanted to.“What’s the address?I’ll meet you there.”
“The corner of 5thand Maple.”Glenn abruptly hung up, then groaned and slumped back in the seat.“It’s one of those days I hate people.”
“I totally understand.”Ross really did.He had multiple days like that in a week.“Sorry, babe.I think I called on Murphy.”
“Why do you say that?”Glenn’s head flopped on the seat rest to look at him.
“I was thinking on the way home about planning a little romantic getaway for us.Just a three-day weekend.”
“Ah.That would tempt fate.”Glenn’s voice turned wistful.“That does sound nice, though.”
