The lift doors opened onto a private foyer done in black marble shot through with gold. The crystal chandelier smelled like magic, and not the nice sort. None of them walked beneath it on their way to the penthouse apartment’s closed front door.
Patrick knocked loudly on the door, and moments later it was opened by Naheed. She smiled at them, her large blue-green eyes ringed in kohl. A fresh bite mark was scabbed over on her throat, but Jono didn’t think being down a pint or two of blood would stop her from taking out a threat. Jono had learned over the past year of dealing with Lucien that the master vampire only brought highly skilled vampires and human servants into his Night Court—the sort who would rather kill first and worry about questions later.
“Hospitality first,” Naheed said in her quiet voice.
Jono looked at Patrick, who made a face. “Fine.”
They stepped inside the penthouse and went no farther than that until after they ate the bits of bread Naheed offered and sipped on the water she passed to each of them. A heavy weight that Jono hadn’t immediately noticed seemed to slide off his shoulders. Beside him, Patrick’s own shoulders twitched.
“Who’d you pay to put that much power into your threshold?” Patrick wanted to know, looking across the living area at where Lucien had suddenly appeared.
“A dead man,” Lucien said.
Jono eyed Lucien, the master vampire looking none the worse for wear after a cross-Atlantic flight to another country. “Who did you bring with you?”
Lucien flashed his fangs at Jono. “Unlike you, I know better than to uproot my entire Night Court when I need to hold territory.”
“Einar and a couple of others are resting here with a handful of our human servants,” Carmen said as she sauntered out of the hallway that led to the rest of the penthouse. She wore a silk robe that skimmed the top of her thighs and did nothing to hide the outline of her full breasts, the belt tied loosely around her waist. She’d dropped her glamour for them, appearing as the succubus she was.
“How did you even get them here while the sun was out?” Patrick asked.
“You don’t need to know how. It’s not part of our bargain.”
“Speaking of that bargain, did you activate the ownership spell on the invitation?”
“Yes,” Lucien said.
“I want to see it.”
“It’s not yours to do with as you want. It’s mine.”
“Only because the United States government struck a bargain with you. I go into the WSA tomorrow. I need some intelligence to give them about the auction location.”
“You can tell them not to get in my way.”
Jono followed Patrick over to the group of sofas situated in the middle of the living room. The large space was accessed by several doors but had no windows. Jono assumed the view of Hyde Park was found elsewhere in the penthouse and Lucien wasn’t willing to show it off.
“I’m not telling the British government I brought you into their country. It was difficult enough getting them to agree to allow the joint task force to operate on their soil. If they knew we were working with you, they’d question every open back channel they have with us,” Patrick retorted.
“That’s not my problem.”
“It’s all our problem,” Jono said.
Lucien’s black-eyed gaze slid his way. “The bargain was get you access to the staff in exchange for diplomatic immunity for me and my Night Court.”
“I thought the bargain was you bring us the staff?” Sage asked.
Carmen’s smile was more of a smirk as she came to stand beside Lucien. “Our attorney argued for more general language. Your government agreed to it.”
Patrick rolled his eyes. “Because you backed them into a corner.”
“This is your mess, not ours,” Lucien said.
“It’s all our mess. The SOA put me in charge as your handler. I know you find that idea distasteful, but we need to work together. There’s too much at stake not to.”
“We’ve kept our side of the bargain between us,” Jono said, staring Lucien down. “Altars for your mother in every pack home with prayers to feed them every night. You’re getting more than you deserve with payment from the government. Abiding by the rules they set won’t hurt you.”
“You talk as if I care about what you have to say,” Lucien said.
