“He’s a Kurjan,” Jasper protested, mentally popping three of his ribs back into place. They’d come upon a squad of six Kurjans, and the fight had been brutal. They’d killed five of them and left the youngest one alive to talk.
“Aren’t we at peace with the Kurjans now?” Klyde asked.
Very unlikely. “We’re only at peace with the ones who stayed with the coalition. They’re going to have an internal war for years.” Jasper spit out more blood before the thick liquid could choke him.
“It was a good fight, though,” Klyde said cheerfully.
Jasper tilted his head and let his neck pop back into place. “How’s everybody feeling?”
“Fine,” his brothers said.
He studied them, one at a time. While Dax was only a year younger than Jasper, Klyde was fifty years younger. He’d hit three hundred and fifty years old just last summer. “Why don’t you two go after Vester? I’ll take Leah home and then hunt Wallace.” Now that the Kurjans had declared peace with all other species, the treaty between Jasper’s family and Baston’s, their grandfather’s enemy, was over.
Baston had three nephews, and Jasper now knew the approximate locations for two of them. It was kill or be killed as far as he was concerned.
Klyde twisted his leg out in front of him and popped his ankle back into place. “I’ll go after Vester, Dax will kill Wallace, and you can take Leah home. Baston has yet another nephew out there, and we don’t know where he is.”
“I expect one of you to find him after interrogating Vester and Wallace.” Jasper forced himself to his feet. “Then I’ll deal with him.” As soon as they could isolate Baston, they could take him out—before the bastard tried to kill their grandfather, Cathal. Their feud had lasted for more than three thousand years. It was time to end it.
Jasper’s phone buzzed, and he pulled it out of his pocket. “What the hell?” He didn’t recognize the number, but picture after picture of Leah with a date stamp of that afternoon showed across his screen. She’d gotten out of the zip ties.
“What is it?” Klyde asked, not moving.
“It’s Leah. She escaped the penthouse,” Jasper said slowly.
Dax threw his head back and laughed. “I told you that you couldn’t zip tie and rope her in place. She’s too smart, and she’s older than you think. You keep forgetting that.”
Jasper frowned. “She’s still human and hasn’t developed additional strength. How’d she get out of the zip ties?”
“I don’t know.” Klyde shoved himself to stand and looked over Jasper’s shoulder, letting blood drop onto the screen.
“Hey.” Jasper tried to wipe it off.
“Whoa, that’s a nice dress,” Klyde said. A picture showed Leah running into the convention center dressed in a sequined blue ball gown. “Who sent those to you?”
Jasper shook his head. “I don’t know, but it looks like I’m going to the convention center.”
Dax stood and wavered on his feet. “You know it’s a trap, right? It has to be.”
Jasper straightened his shoulders. “Of course, it’s a trap. All right, you two execute your missions, and I’ll go on mine.”
“You want backup?” Dax asked.
“No,” Jasper growled. “If anybody needs backup, it’s Leah after I handle whatever threat this is.”
He was done playing around.
Chapter Five
Leah found the coatroom and walked inside, noting the high-end wooden hangars—all unused for now. She turned and waited patiently for several long moments until footsteps echoed on the heavy tiles outside the room. Placing her clutch on the shelf of the partial door, she shut it. Some barrier was better than none. At least her bottom half was secure.
George Contingent approached slowly, handing over a lightweight rain jacket. “I heard it was supposed to rain today,” he said, giving her the line perfectly.
“That’s not for two more days,” she said evenly, remembering her part.
“The weatherman’s usually wrong,” he countered.
She forced a smile. “Not if you’re married to him.”
