“Rien.”Nothing, I grunted, keeping my eyes down.
A huge lie, because I was rattled as hell by last night.
What’s wrong with getting a peaceful night’s sleep for the first time in years?my tiger grumbled.
Nothing, except for the fact that the vigilant part of my mind had totally shut off.
Nothing wrong with a couple of innocent kisses either,my tiger huffed.
No, except when they were driven by a burning, out-of-control need. If Bene hadn’t come along when he had…
My tiger snarled.Fucking Bene.
But really, I only had myself to blame. Overwhelmed by wild cravings and inexplicable emotions, I’d gone deaf and blind to the real world. An evil world that targeted innocents like Gen, as Claudette’s awful fate proved.
Even now, my mind was hazy, and it took everything I had to focus.
Gordon. Stolen painting. Potential setup,the calculating part of my mind supplied.
Potential setupblinked most prominently on my radar, because laying intricate traps was Gordon’s specialty.
“He called us in because he cares about Dad’s painting, and he knows we care too,” Gen reasoned.
“Gordon only cares about himself,” I muttered.
“I hate to say it, but I have the feeling this is another of thoseRoux was rightmoments we’ll look back on,” Bene warned. “You know,afterthe shit hits the fan.”
“Would you please keep an open mind?” Gen complained.
There wasopen, and there wasPlease use me as a doormat. We all knew Gordon preferred the latter. But Gen didn’t, and I wasn’t going to be the one to break the news.
Mina shook her head. “Gordon always has an ulterior motive. We have to be careful.”
Gen’s expression soured, but she didn’t say a word as Mina led us to Gordon’s building. Henrik approached from the opposite end of the road, and we converged at the door.
Fabian, the bear-shifter doorman, greeted us with a grim look and let us in.
Gen took the back corner of the tiny elevator, and I stood in front of her as everyone else piled in. When she touched my back lightly, my soul drifted into a world of fluffy clouds and rainbows.
I gritted my teeth. We were about to face Gordon. No fluffy clouds and definitely no rainbows. I had to be prepared.
I squeezed her hand, then released it before my mind numbed entirely.
Upstairs, Gordon opened the door and greeted us solemnly.
“Wilhelmina.” His tense voice relaxed when he turned to Gen. “Geneviève. So good to see you.”
He brushed kisses over both her cheeks, but his stiff grip on her forearms revealed how worked up he was.
Clearly, the warlock was furious. Not with us, for a change, and thank goodness. Even so, it was terrifying.
“Gentlemen,” he rumbled at us in an entirely different tone. Then he lightened up again to address his goddaughters. “Come in, come in.”
The man was a one-man Jekyll/Hyde, sweet to the women and thunderous to the rest of us.
Did we deserve it? Absolutely.
Was I still suspicious of the overly kind persona he used for Mina and Gen? Yes. That too.
