“In my defense, I didn’t get to pick who they sent for her, and they technically started it. I just had to finish it.”
Rook drags a hand down his face. “Jesus Christ, Kane.”
“They were taking her to some piece of shit elite’s private hangar so she could fly to his penthouse in New York.” I hold both of their gazes. “I couldn’t let that happen. Especially when I could tell not a single one of those fucks had any intention of making plans for her to come back from New York. She was either getting used by Damien or taken to the auction, and neither one worked for me.”
Cal nods once. “Damien, as in Damien Snow?”
I shrug.
“Well, shit. Somehow it just keeps getting worse.”
“It was just two more gofers, you know?” I toss out, trying to add some levity to this very serious, they-want-us-dead situation. “We’ve still kept the death count to only one hand.”
Cal bursts into laughter. “Fucking hell, Kane. Now isn’t the time for jokes.”
“What?” I flash a smile at him. “I think we’ve all been really level-headed about the whole thing.”
“Level-headed?” Cal tosses back. “Between the three of us, we’ve killed five of the elites’ fuckstains and kidnapped two women. One of which isblood of the three.”
I grimace. “Technically, it’s two.”
Cal’s eyes go wide. “She’sblood of the threetoo?”
I nod.
Rook barks out a laugh. “Well, I’d say that pretty much does it.”
We were already enemies after he took Kylie, but now? We are quite literally enemy number one to any vampire elite from here to New York.
Kylie appears at the threshold of the living room, but she doesn’t look panicked or uncertain, even with the newly kidnapped woman in the bedroom upstairs. She walks straight across the room and into Rook’s lap like that’s where she belongs. Rook’s entire body shifts, and he slides his hand around her waist automatically while his chin rests against her shoulder.
She doesn’t ask what we’re talking about, but I don’t miss the way she and Rook are looking at each other. Something silent passes between them, and it’s clear their bond is solidified. And more than that, it’s really fucking strong.
They don’t need to say things out loud to gossip. They can do it in their fucking heads.
“You two are getting really creepy with that silent thing,” Cal teases.
Kylie giggles and presses a kiss to the corner of Rook’s jaw. He looks down at her like a man whose entire world resides inside her eyes.
Damn.I never thought I’d see the day when my grumpy-as-fuck big brother Rook looked at a woman the way he’s looking at her—even a month ago, he was barely tolerable. Now, he’s practically starring in commercials for VampireMatch.com.
Eventually, Rook looks back at me, his moony eyes shuttering noticeably. “Okay, so explain to me again how you even came into contact with Blair?”
“You know that event Holland was trying to get Kylie to go to?” I toss out. “Well, we followed the bastard there to scope it out. And it wasn’t some networking bullshit like he was selling. It was a preview for the upcoming auction.”
Kylie stiffens. “For an auction?”
“Yeah,” Cal says. “It’s called the Selection. The vampire elite get to buy the human woman of their choice. It’s been going on for way too damn long.”
Kylie’s hand tightens in Rook’s shirt, and shock turns the corners of her mouth down. I don’t blame her. She was supposed to be there. In fact, there were three men in her driveway that morning trying to make damn sure she attended, and if we hadn’tdispatchedthem, they would have.
“We just stayed in the shadows,” Cal adds. “Listened.”
“Selection’s coming up soon, by the way,” I chime in. “No official date yet, but it’ll be in New York. Apparently, it’s all planned, and they give forty-eight-hour notice to keep the secrecy intact.”
Rook sighs and runs a hand through his hair. But when Kylie pales, he wraps his arms around her body and holds her closer to his chest.
“They don’t know what it really is,” I say. “The women preparing for it. Every single one at that event was naïve to the reality.”
