The gnawing in his stomach wasn’t going to abate until he found protein.
Wait a minute. The fight came back to him. He had been shot. Arms and legs, and then nothing. Had he passed out? More memories, flashes really, hit him hard. The explosives. They’d been duds.
He turned into one of the guest offices he remembered from his last visit and shut the door, reaching for a secured phone. He didn’t give a shit if the Realm knew he was calling Jacki. Anger ripped into him, and he took several deep breaths to keep control.
She answered on the first ring. “Hello.”
“What the fuck was wrong with the explosives?” he growled, leaning against the wall to ease the odd ache in his leg.
She sputtered. “What do you mean?”
“Don’t lie to me. You always were a rotten liar,” he said, his temples pinging again. What was up with this headache? More importantly, how could someone he trusted send him to battle with defective explosives? “Why, Jacki?”
She swallowed. “Come on, Adare. Don’t ask stupid questions.”
It was like a blow to the balls. He’d trusted her. “Say it. Tell me why you set us up.”
She sighed. “Fine. It was for the money. The Kurjans offered us a lot more, so we did what we had to do. Don’t be angry. You know how business works.”
Yeah, and he was suddenly realizing why he’d been okay when she’d mated somebody else. “The Kurjans? If they offered you money to give us duds, then they had to have had an idea of where we were striking. In other words, they didn’t go to you, did they?” The sense of betrayal burned.
She was quiet.
Oh, he couldn’t believe this. She’d actively set out to betray him. The money-hungry bitch. “You went to the Kurjans for a better deal after we used those first explosives.” It was a damn good thing she was in Colorado somewhere right now. “How could you? We barely got there in time to save those women.”
“You saved them. I saw it on the news.” Her voice turned coy. “I really am sorry. Maybe we could get together and you could show me your displeasure.”
His stomach rolled over. No matter how long he lived, he’d never forget this betrayal. There were so few people he trusted. “I’d rather be shot in the eyeball.”
“Whatever. That human will never make you happy.” Now she just sounded whiny.
“We’re done, Jacki. No more business.” He’d make his own explosives before he bought from the Ladonis ever again. “I’m also sending out the word that you’re working with the Kurjans. By the time I’m done with you, they’ll be your only client.” She should have known him well enough not to want him for an enemy.
Her hiss sounded very catlike. “Oh, I think you’re going to have more important things to worry about. You should’ve said yes to me when I asked so nicely the other day. We could’ve been something together.” She disconnected the call.
He stood there for a moment, mourning the loss of a long friendship. Maybe they’d never really been friends. Good riddance. His stomach growled again, so he left the office to find the kitchen. Last time he’d been there, fresh muffins had been available all through the day.
The voices he’d heard earlier rose again, and he turned down the other hallway, headed to the conference room. He made out Benny’s voice and walked faster, turning into the third room, which was the biggest, if he remembered right. The king of the Realm, Dage Kayrs, and the king of the demon nation, Zane Kyllwood, sat on one side of the table. Benny and Ronan sat on the other. A live feed appeared on a screen covering an entire wall, and Jordan Pride, the king of the shifter nations, was center stage.
He didn’t want to deal with three kings.
Benny looked over his shoulder, and his eyes sizzled with what looked suspiciously like panic.
Adare stepped inside, the concrete floor chilly on his feet. “What’s going on?”
Jordan Pride looked at him through the screen. “Another member of this mysterious Seven. Is it or is it not true that you twisted the laws of physics, thereby threatening this world? That you screwed up teleportation and maybe other elements of our natural laws that we haven’t even figured out?”
Adare went expressionless. Oh, God. Their secret was out? Or at least a good portion of it.
How in the hell had the lion leader figured that out? Jacki. Jacki had apparently pieced together more than Adare had ever realized, and she’d been right earlier. He was now facing a whole new set of problems. It was a smart play on her part, because nobody would care what he had to say about the Ladoni shifters and their faulty product. He’d have to take his revenge on that front later.
Dage straightened. “Jordan? The Realm isn’t involved in any of this.”
Jordan sighed, his topaz eyes going dark. “Three members of the Seven are standing in your conference room, Dage.”
“He didn’t know,” Benny said instantly. “The King has no clue about the Seven.”
Adare barely bit back a wince. If Jordan ever discovered that Garrett Kayrs and Logan Kyllwood were members of the Seven, he’d never believe Dage and Zane were in the dark. War would be declared. Without question.
