Ella stalked her way across the street, her pack following her. Wade and the selkies straggled after them. They signed in at the front security desk, though Wade only put down his initials. Then they took the elevator up to the twelfth floor, stepping off it into a hallway that held quite a few suites.
“We want Sanguine Associates,” Ella said, already turning left.
Wade shrugged and followed her, content to let her take the lead on this little trip—right up until he got a whiff of a scent that was all too annoyingly familiar.
“Oh, you havegotto be kidding me,” he growled.
Riordan glanced over at him. “What’s wrong?”
“A blast from the past.”
“Good or bad?” Donal asked.
Wade didn’t answer and pushed his way to the front of their little group without using his elbows, but just barely. Ella made a surprised sound, which he ignored, lengthening his stride to reach the office they were heading to first. He gripped the knob and pushed the door open, stepping inside, practically vibrating with indignation.
“What areyoudoing here?” Wade demanded, pointing his finger at the visitor who’d reached the business first and who apparently wasn’t alone.
Carmen turned away from the pair of fae she was facing off against in front of a reception desk manned by a pale-faced human servant. She looked at them, and her lips curved in asultry smile. Naheed, one of Lucien’s favored human servants, stood at her side in bodyguard mode. “I could ask the same of you.”
The succubus was gorgeous in a way that always creeped Wade out. Carmen’s glamour never worked on him, but he’d been told it was too perfect, every curve of her body meant to play off her sexual nature. Her true self was still beautiful, black horns curving back over her skull and the riot of black curls that fell to her waist. One horn was broken in half, the damage attained during the Battle of Samhain. She’d covered it with a silver cap inlaid with rubies. The dark red pupils in her brown eyes would always mark her as other, the same way as Wade’s reptilian pupils would if he showed them. The sexual desire Carmen almost always exuded to some degree to entice men and women and anyone else into her bed always made his nose itch.
“We thought you’d left the country.”
“My Night Court’s business is no longer yours.”
“Yeah? It’s gonna be if you’re trying to take over the Boston Night Court. Where’s your uglier half?”
“Watch your mouth, or I will take offense.” Carmen tilted her head, placing one hand on her hip as she eyed him, her gaze tracking to the others who joined him in the reception area like a party none of them were invited to. “These aren’t members of your pack.”
“Nope, and they’re not yours to mess around with. Try, and I will eat you.”
“I do so like being eaten,” Carmen purred.
Wade rolled his eyes because of course she’d make anything sexual. “Take the threat for what it is.”
“My, how you’ve grown. Your threats are meaningless, and there is nothing tying your pack to my Night Court any longer.”
“I didn’t come here for you. I came to speak with Abby Boy about a problem.”
Carmen reached up and playfully tapped her index finger against her chin. “Is it the same one these oh-so-generous fae have come to discuss and swear they mean no harm about?”
Her smile remained, but her gaze grew cold as she turned to focus on the fae, dismissing Wade and his little group. He wasn’t offended, only because he knew Carmen believed everyone was beneath her and Lucien.
Wade crossed his arms over his chest, scowling at her before directing his ire at the two fae who were staring down their noses at everyone. “Are you with Lady Caith?”
“As the Lady Carmen said, it’s not your business,” the fae with rose-pink hair said.
“Carmen?” Riordan exclaimed, echoed by Donal and Saoirse.
Wade glanced at the selkies, wincing at their horrified expressions, which told him they probably knew who Carmen was and who she worked for. “She’s no lady.”
Carmen placed one hand on her ample chest, smirking at him. “I’m wounded.”
“Clearly not enough.” Wade jerked his thumb at the fae he didn’t like. “They’re causing problems in Boston.”
“That is no concern of mine.”
“It is if you’re friendly with Abby Boy. Niall’s gunning for his territory.” The fae glared at him, and Wade smiled back, showing off his teeth. It was too late now to hide his presence in Boston from Niall or that he was working with Riordan’s clan and Ella’s god pack now that these two fae had seen him. “Tell me I’m wrong?”
