“What happened? Was it Niall?”
“Most likely. We didn’t see who threw the bomb.”
“Were you hurt?” Wade had the sudden urge to strip Riordan so he could make sure the other man was okay, but that would probably result in both of them being arrested for attempted indecent exposure.
“We all got tossed around a bit, but we’re fine.”
“I came to talk about an alliance with the kin. We were interrupted before we could finish,” Lady Caith said as she approached. She looked a little worse for wear, with her fashionable clothes smoke-stained and torn in places, as if she’d been thrown through something that had broken before she did. The guards with her didn’t look much better, though they’d managed to keep ahold of their weapons. Wade figured their glamour hid all the sharp blades and the guns that he could see perfectly well. Otherwise, he thought the police would be taking more of an interest in all of them.
“Uh-huh. Funny how you come around, then a bomb goes off,” Wade said.
Lady Caith’s lips twitched into a slight, condescending smile. “You are not very trusting.”
“I have good reason not to be.”
“I speak the truth with my intent.”
Wade rolled his eyes at her. “Right. You better keep doing that, or I’m complaining to Gerard about you.”
“I do not know a Gerard.”
“Sure you do. He’s Gerard to us mortals. He’s Cú Chulainn to you fae.”
It was always funny to watch people’s faces when they realized Wade was friends with a god. Not like he went around boasting about it, but Sage always said hints were fine in certaincircumstances to protect their asses, and an outright statement should only be used like a sucker punch.
Lady Caith went so still she could’ve doubled as a statue in a museum. She blinked after a moment, letting her arms fall to her sides. Her guards edged a little closer, as if invoking Gerard’s formal name could summon him. “If you are an acquaintance of Cú Chulainn?—”
“Not if,” Donal interrupted with a hard little smile. “Wade was personally invited to Cú Chulainn’s wedding, along with his god pack, as special guests.”
“Yeah, I met Riordan at the dessert table,” Wade said.
Lady Caith pressed her lips together and stared at them all as if she was weighing their worth and getting it right for once. “Very well. An alliance, then, to keep Niall from all our borders. We should not discuss it here. If you are amenable, we can continue our conversation at my home, where your sister will be safe.”
“Amenable,” Wade muttered under his breath, knowing full well everyone could hear him. “Fae and lawyer speak.”
He didn’t answer her because it wasn’t his right. He looked at Riordan instead, who stared at Lady Caith with narrowed eyes. “You know Niall has her skin. He called last night and gave me until today to either hand Saoirse over or I go in her stead.”
Lady Caith nodded. “I can keep your sister from feeling the pull of it in his hands while we think up a plan. But she will need to stay with me.”
“If your intent is true for an equal alliance, we’ll come to the table. If you mean harm to my sister or any of my clan, I’ll hold that against you until I’m satisfied payment has been met for a broken bargain.”
“Which would be never,” Wade said.
Lady Caith made a delicate gesture with one hand. “My word is true. We will satisfy it between us. There is no need to call down others.”
She certainly smelled like truth, at least to Wade’s nose. Funny how the threat of a god could get intractable groups to work together.
“Then we’ll sit at your table,” Riordan said.
“Hopefully not the one I broke,” Wade said. At Riordan’s glance, Wade smiled at him. “Come on. If you want that talk, let’s get out of here before the police claim first dibs.”
It took some finagling to leave the scene anyway. The police did want some statements, Wade hid from the battalion chief on the scene, who wanted to read him the riot act for entering a burning building, and the EMS really wanted to send everyone to the hospital for possible smoke inhalation.
Lady Caith proved to have some pull with the people of Boston. The highest-ranked officer on the scene seemed to be aware of her station, and so they managed to leave before the hour was up.
“I parked around the corner. I can drive you all to Beacon Hill,” Wade said to the selkies. Lady Caith and her guards veered off from them, presumably heading to their own cars.
“Thanks. The easement is still blocked, so we can’t get to our cars, and I have a feeling some of them might be burned,” Saoirse said.
