Wade wrinkled his nose. “No offense, but Patrick is always gonna think anyone in his pack is alone without him there.”
Patrick was overprotective that way, with an attitude ofshoot first, ask questionslater whenever Lucien was in the picture. Not that Wade blamed him. No one in Wade’s pack liked Lucien. Given half a chance, Wadewouldeat the blood-sucking bastard.
But Lucien was a known threat; Wade knew what made the master vampire tick. Abhartach was a different problem all together, one Wade didn’t have any insight on. Of all the creatures, monsters and legends that existed in the world, his least favorite was an Aztec god, but vampires came in a close second. And vampires weren’t to be trusted, no matter what Spencer said.
“I won’t leave your side,mo chroí.”
Wade ducked his head at the endearment, heart beating a little faster. Falling asleep in Riordan’s arms yesterday, in his bed, had been something he’d never experienced before outside his pack. But true to his word, they’d only slept while Riordan’s body purged the poison from the iron wound. The kisses had been nice, if Wade was honest. They’d been a lot gentler than the ones he’d experienced when imprisoned by Tezcatlipoca, and Riordan had never pushed for what Wade didn’t want to give.
It made him want to offer up more, made heat pool in his middle he couldn’t blame on fire.
They took the elevator down to the ground floor, and Wade reluctantly pulled away from Riordan. At his questioning glance, Wade shrugged. “Better to not give anything away.”
Vampires weren’t great at distinguishing scent—the whole not needing to breathe thing working against them there—but they were very skilled at reading body language. Wade didn’t doubt for a second that Lucien would figure out there was something going on between himself and Riordan. The longerhe could keep Lucien ignorant of that knowledge, though, the better.
Donal, Saoirse, Ella, and two of her pack members showed up a few minutes later, having needed to find parking on a different level from theirs. Wade recognized her pack members as the pair who’d been at her home when Riordan had first arrived the other morning. John Kelly was the older man with the thick Boston accent, while Antonne Wright wouldn’t have been out of place in New York City with that Brooklyn accent of his. Wade knew Antonne hadn’t been part of the god pack before his took over, but he wondered if the other man had been run out at some point.
“Are you sure Lucien will keep his word?” Ella asked.
Wade would have answered, except he got a whiff of eau de undead and scowled over her shoulder. “Einar.”
The blond vampire that blurred to a stop on the sidewalk near the streetlight startled everyone and caused all three werecreatures to shift their fingers into claws. Einar curled his lip at their reaction, staring down his nose at Wade. Since the bitey asshole was tall, it was easy for him to do.
“Lucien half suspected you’d steer clear, even with the payment,” Einar said.
Wade crossed his arms over his chest and scowled. “Why would he think I’d waste half a million dollars?”
“You know why, fledgling.”
Bad, bitter memories of his time spent locked up in the tunnels of Tremaine’s Manhattan Night Court while Tezcatlipoca ran his usual fight rings for the rich flashed through Wade’s mind. But he knew better than to let his discomfort show and refused to flinch. “I hope he bet on it and lost. If you’re our escort, then start escorting.”
Ella shot him a warning look that wasn’t as good as Sage’s, so Wade opted to ignore it. Einar wouldn’t try anything. Wadeknew that for a fact because they couldn’t entertain Lucien if they weren’t in the damn Boston Night Court yet.
Einar curled his hand at them and flashed his jagged, piranha-like fangs in an unfriendly smile. “Follow me.”
Einar took off down the street, not so fast that they couldn’t keep up, but clearly speeding ahead just to mess with them. Wade sighed and trudged after the vampire, waving for the others to follow him. “Come on. The sooner we get to the absinthe bar, the sooner we get this meeting over with.”
They probably looked like they were a group out to have a good time to anyone passing by. At least they blended in with others in the area that night. Riordan walked beside Wade as they hit Cambridge Street and turned left. The redbrick sidewalk stretched the entire length of that busy street, including past the Green Fairy a few blocks over, which was where Einar deigned to wait for them after rushing on ahead at some point.
Wade squinted at the front of the building, taking in the black paint with gold accents and the neon green halogen lights lining the door. It had no windows, typical of a vampire’s establishment, and magic sunk into the wall made his skin prickle. He couldn’t tell what sort of spells or wards had been placed around the building. He was glad he’d asked to borrow the artifact from Gwen. Saoirse wore it right now, and he had a feeling she’d drag her brothers close when she needed to use it.
Because it was alwayswhenwith Lucien, notif.
The trio of siblings were close with each other and their clan. Riordan was a kind leader, put in a terrible situation that Wade was determined to get him out of. And that meant, right now, dealing with Lucien and Abhartach.
He squared his shoulders and followed Einar inside, wrinkling his nose at the coppery scent of stale blood and the tang of desire filling the air. The others gathered around him justpast the door, and Wade took a moment to study the space how Patrick had taught him.
Know your exit points.
The only way in and out was through the door they’d come through. The bar had knocked out the two floors above to create a high ceiling but didn’t offer any mezzanine or balcony. Just brick etched with wards that Wade would bet were meant for silence to ensure privacy. Hanging on the walls were numerous paintings depicting historical scenes Wade didn’t recognize.
The long bar to his left had two shelves of absinthe bottles and some other alcohol lining the length of the bar. No mirror sat above the bottles, only more paintings. Neither did he see any beer on tap, which was just weird. There were two doors in the back that led to a single restroom and maybe an office of some kind, who knew, but if there was a rear door, Wade couldn’t find it.
Find the nearest thing that can be a weapon that isn’t you.
All the tables and chairs in the place weren’t bolted down, but almost all of them were taken up by vampires. Hidden speakers pumped out what he thought might be classical Irish folk music, but he wasn’t sure. Electronics meant there was wiring somewhere that could maybe spark a fire in a pinch. If anything, he knew absinthe burned, so smashing some bottles and setting the liquid on fire was another option.
Call me and I’ll come.
