“And who is her master?” Estelle wanted to know.
“You’ll learn soon enough,” Carmen replied. “Until then, you deal with me, wolf.”
“You hold no territory here,” Youssef said.
“And that is where you are wrong.”
Carmen smiled, showing off sharp teeth. Behind her, Naheed pulled a wooden rod from beneath the back of her shirt and smacked it against her other hand. The bitter smell of aconite drifted through the air, causing Kennedy to whimper frantically. Jono’s eyes watered, but he blinked the moisture back.
Youssef’s nostrils flared at the scent. “Aconite.”
“Pulled fresh from the Old World and bound by a witch to a piece of earth. She was never fond of the four-legged monsters who murdered her children, but the magic she left us is still useful. Some things don’t fade with death.”
Patrick knelt beside Emma and carefully untucked the blankets from around Kennedy’s head. “You deserve to see what your actions have done. How long did Tremaine have her, Estelle?”
Estelle said nothing, and neither did Youssef. Their silence was, at best, a way to not self-incriminate themselves, and at worst, pure guilt.
Patrick stood, fury in his eyes that made Jono proud to know him. “You’ve failed the people who rely on you to protect them. I don’t know how many independent werecreatures have gone missing because of you, but even one is too many.”
“Don’t put words in my mouth,” Estelle told him. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Really? Because I know how they died, Estelle. Iknowthat Tremaine sucked the marrow from their bones. He and his people raped andateyours when they weren’t forcing them to fight for their lives. So don’t stand there and tell me I don’t know what the fuck I’m talking about when you’re the ones letting it happen because you bargained for the graves they lie in.”
Patrick’s voice echoed angrily in the warehouse, the accusations rooted in a truth Jono would never deny, unlike Estelle and Youssef.
“We have bargained for nothing,” Estelle finally said.
“Of course not,” Patrick sneered. “You only have treaties with the Night Courts you’re trying to use to force Jono out. Nothing like a preternatural DMZ on paper to make your conscience nice and clean. But I know a guy who’s real fond of saying a piece of paper doesn’t give you any rights. Doesn’t buy you peace of mind either.”
“We are not responsible for what happened to Kennedy,” Youssef said.
“Keep telling yourself that.”
“Go look at her, then get out,” Jono growled. “You aren’t welcome here.”
“You are here on our allowance. Know your place,” Estelle snapped.
Jono barked out a laugh. “Did you forget when I put your dire on his knees? Don’t make me put you there as well, Estelle. I won’t let you live if you push me.”
The brittle tension between them only broke when Estelle stiffly approached the others, doing her best to make it seem as if Jono meant nothing to her. Youssef joined her. Nicholas stayed where he was, glaring at Jono but making no move to attack. Jono had no use for the dire and made that known when he turned his back on the other man in a clear dismissal he knew would rankle.
Estelle and Youssef stopped near where Emma sat. They said nothing in the face of Kennedy’s obvious wounds before Patrick knelt to tuck the blanket back around her again.
“Now, since I know your type and you lie like you breathe, I’m going to say this only once,” Patrick said as he stood back up. “When I find the others you sold off, dead or otherwise, the SOA will be dealing with Jono, not you.”
“Weare the New York City god pack,” Youssef growled.
“You aren’t the only god pack in town now, remember? And I don’t trust you at fucking all.”
Estelle’s jaw worked, her gaze cutting over to Jono. “We have done nothing wrong.”
“Be careful with your words all you like. I know the truth, and so do they.” Jono flicked his fingers in the direction of Patrick and Quetzalcoatl. “I stand by what I said in the challenge ring, Estelle. I’ve made my pack, and you can’t run me out of town.”
“And does your pack include Emma’s?”
The threat in Estelle’s voice was enough for Jono to take a step forward. Emma spoke up before he could answeryesout of sheer spite.
“I adhere to god pack law, but Marek sent us here last night. It wasn’t within our legal rights to disobey a vision from a seer. The law is clear on that,” Emma said carefully.
