“You are to be Aspen’s lady maid, understood?” the king told her, and she nodded rapidly, relief spreading across her features. Carmen used a key to uncuff the shackle around her neck, and I waved to the parking lot.
“Meet me in the parking lot at the end of the night. I have no use for you now,” I said in the snottiest voice I could muster.
She met my gaze with a grateful look and then scrambled away. Liv hooked arms with the king then, distracting him from the fact that I’d all but freed her to go help the women escape when the time came. “I hear you like shots? I’m feeling rather parched myself.”
The king grinned. “Then let’s get a drink!”
Okay, Liv was doing this undercover escort thing way too easily.
‘Carmen keeps the keys for collars,’I thought out loud to Luka through our bond.
‘Yep. Good to know.’
Following the king and Liv to the bar, we had a seat and the werewolf bartender handed out drinks.
I held up a hand and declined. “I don’t drink, but thank you.”
The king raised an eyebrow, appraising me. “A virtuous woman. I adore that.”
Luka growled but turned it into a cough.‘Okay, now he’s asking to get punched.’
I gave a nervous laugh and pointed to the stage, trying to bring the focus to my friend, who was his date. “Liv loves fighting. She does jujitsu.”
“Is that right?” The king feigned interest but his eyes stayed on me.
Crap. The driver was right, he wanted me, which meant we’d just walked into the lion’s den and we were way outnumbered if he sicced his men on Luka.
“I hope your friends from Idaho are enjoying themselves,” the king told me, looking over at Ruby and one of Luka’s vampires.
“I’m sure they are. They were very excited to come,” I said politely.
Luka sipped his drink, shooting eye daggers at the king as he kept striking up conversation with me and ignoring Liv and him.
Liv seemed to catch on, because she gave Luka awhat the heck?look.
A bell dinged before I could answer the king’s question about how long we were staying.
Carmen came over the loudspeaker: “The Freedom Fights are about to begin!” And the crowd roared.
“Come, let’s sit. I want you to meet a good friend of mine.” The king stood and Liv eagerly hung on his arm. Luka reached out, grasped my hand, and the crowd parted as we made our way to the front of the mat where the high-backed chairs were. There were five chairs and it looked like one was already occupied, but I couldn’t tell who was sitting in it. The figure was cloaked. Probably some powerful witch or fey.
As we reached the chairs, the king bent to the figure and pulled up their hand, kissing it. Must be a woman.
“I want you to meet my new friends from Idaho,” the king told her.
She reached up and pulled back her hood to reveal short-cropped gray hair.
My breath stuck in my throat.
Maz.
She looked as shocked as I was to see her. Her eyes ran over Liv with absolute disdain, and then to Luka and I. “Hello, I’m Maz, King Constantine’s business partner.” She reached her hand out.
This had to be a trap? The king knew what we were doing and called her here. Right?
‘Go with it. King is clueless,’Luka said.
I looked at the king to see that he was indeed looking at me and wondering why I wasn’t shaking her hand.
