Teleporting usually happened outside of camera range, but what the hell. There was nothing else they could do. Logan nodded. “Ronan and Faith, this is Mercy.”
Faith smiled, her eyes sparkling. “Hi.”
Ronan lifted an eyebrow. “So you’re a fairy.”
“Fae,” Mercy said quietly.
Logan took her hand. “Do we have a secure line she can use to reach her people? One that can’t be hacked?” The last thing he needed was Fae soldiers popping up out of nowhere.
Ronan nodded. “Yeah. Adare has a computer in the office that’s clean. She can use that with no risk.”
“Good.” Logan pulled her across the deck, through the great room, to Adare’s office in the back. The leather-filled room smelled of Scotch, fine cigars, and pine. Oil paintings of the Highlands adorned the wall, and the desk was large enough to hold several computers. He led Mercy around to sit in a high-backed chair about six sizes too big for her in front of a desktop computer. “Dial out. Now.”
She rolled her eyes but did so, going through passwords and encryptions, until finally a stunning blonde woman with two different colored eyes appeared on the screen.
Mercy looked up. “I require privacy.”
“No.” Logan moved to her side so the woman could see him as well. “If you give one hint of our location, I’ll shut this down.”
The woman looked at him. “Logan Kyllwood. Hello, Prince.”
Prince? Not his thing. “You must be the president of the Fae,” he replied.
She nodded, appearing calm and collected. Wisdom and experience showed in her eyes, but her skin was as smooth and young as a twenty-year-old’s. “Yes. Return Mercy, or I’ll go public with every record I have on the Seven.” Her voice was throaty, almost hoarse.
Mercy sucked in air.
Logan grinned. It was nice to finally deal with somebody who laid it on the line. “I’m not quite ready to let her go. However, if you return both Sam and Ivar to us, I’ll certainly think about it.”
The president paled. “I assure you that Sam is safe. Unfortunately, Niall lost his temper, and I can’t tell you where Ivar Kjeidsen ended up. I’m sure he’ll teleport home at some point.”
Well, that didn’t sound good. Logan leaned in and gritted his teeth. “My brother.”
The president looked to the side. “All right. But you’re not going to like it.” The sound of clacking keys came over the line, and another browser opened to reveal Sam bound to a chair, bruises across his face. Stone walls surrounded him, and blood pooled on the dirt floor.
Logan’s body temperature rose. He snarled. “Sam? You okay?”
Sam looked up, his green eyes darker than usual. “Hey, brother. How’s it going?”
Logan dropped his chin, fury lancing him. “You okay?”
“Fine. Keep telling these bastards to kiss off.”
Damn it to hell. The code phrase to do nothing? Sam wanted to stay there? Just what did he think he’d discover? “Sam—”
The screen disappeared.
Logan kept his face furious. His brother knew what he was doing. Now Logan had a part to play. “You have one hour to release my brother or you’ll face the demon nation, and it won’t be pretty. For now, give Mercy permission to explain your problem with the Seven to us directly.”
“That’s an empty threat. I know you won’t reveal the existence of the Seven to the demon nation.” The president sighed. “Mercy, you have permission to educate these animals. But it won’t change anything.” She clicked off.
What the hell did that mean?
Mercy looked up at him. “I require a whiteboard.”
The absolute cuteness of her very serious request warmed the chill always in his chest. The world, his world, had gone to shit, and yet…he wanted to smile. So he frowned instead. “I’ll see what I can do.”
It took two minutes to yell for everyone to gather around the hand-carved oak kitchen table, and another three to find a legal pad and black marker. Then he sat closest to where Mercy stood at the head of the table. Garrett, Adare, and Ronan sat next to him with Faith and Grace on the other side. Ronan held hands with his mate, while Adare ignored his. Grace looked at Mercy with curiosity glimmering in her eyes.
