Leonie and Gina sat with me at the small round table, and we continued eating breakfast as if picking up people at a hotel and bringing them to my home was no big deal. When I felt them approaching the blood circle, I tapped my awareness into my magic, so I could make sure they didn’t gain more than temporary access to the nest.
I shouldn’t have worried. Gina had coached Frank long ago about how important it was to limit access to my nest. With a casual hand on both human visitors’ shoulders, Frank said, “You are allowed to visit Ms. Isador’s home today only. Once dismissed by her, your access to the premises is revoked.”
“Wow, okay, dude.” A white man in his thirties, Alex wore jeans, cowboy boots, and a matching hat, though his accent didn’t sound Texan to me. Not like Ellie, one of the other cleaning staff at the motel where I’d worked just outside of town. She’d had a pronounced drawl that announced her upbringing as soon as she opened her mouth. “Message received loud and clear.”
Frank personally escorted them both to the house and knocked on the door. Gina took her time answering.
“Alex Manning and Regina Beal to see Ms. Isador,” Frank said. “Neither are currently armed.”
Currently.So that meant at least one of them did have a weapon—that Frank’s team had already taken care of. Great.
:No firearm or bullet is going to put one of us out of commission,:Rik assured me.
:I know. But I’d rather not test out anyone’s speed against a bullet or my ability to heal a gunshot wound.:
He snorted.:You reattached a limb and a tongue. I think a bullet hole will be no big deal.:
“Right this way.” Gina didn’t introduce herself and led them straight to the kitchen. “You have visitors, Your Majesty.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw both humans startle. Quick glances at me, each other, the very large man glowering at them behind my chair, and back to me. They didn’t spare a glance for Sekh casually standing near the back door, or Guillaume, who now blocked their retreat to the front door.
I calmly put down my fork and picked up my coffee cup before slowly turning in my chair to face them. “Did you find what you were looking for?”
The young woman still had traces of sunburn on her freckled cheeks, now blushing even redder at my question. “I’m sorry, Ms. Isador. Um, ma’am. This is all my fault. Alex helped me find your address but that’s all. He was going to go home today.”
I took a sip of my coffee, letting her babble. “Why did you want my address?”
Her eyes were wide and bright, her lips trembling with excitement and nerves. “I saw you on the beach. That was you. In Galveston.”
At my silence, she shot a pleading look at Gina. “Please. I’m right. Aren’t I? I just wanted…” Her shoulders fell at the stoic, cold look on Gina’s face. The last thing she’d ever do was let something slip to an outsider. “I had to find you. I don’t mean any trouble. I swear.”
“So you locate me in the remote mountains of Arkansas and stake out my home to track my coming and going?”
Regina made a desperate, soft sound. “Um, yeah. Sorry. I was hoping to see you again to make sure this was the right place.”
“And what did you see?”
“Nothing,” she said quickly. Too quickly. “We got scared when we saw so many security guards, and we left.”
“The girl didn’t mean any harm,” Alex said. “Your name’s everywhere. If you didn’t want someone to start snooping…”
I couldn’t see Rik’s face, but I could feel his intensity racketing up another notch. No doubt all his muscles were bulging and swelling with power.
Alex coughed lightly and changed the subject. “Honestly, it was a long shot this was even the right place given how many properties you own.”
“Indeed.” I tipped my head to the side, watching Regina. “How did you decide to come to Arkansas?”
Her blush darkened and she shrugged awkwardly. “I dunno exactly. It just felt… right. Alex had a printout of addresses. I pointed to this one and said let’s start there.”
“How did you find Alex to do your snooping?”
“My dad recommended him. He’s done some PI work for the family in the past.”
:I’m going to tap my blood to see if there’s anything we’re missing,:I warned in my bonds. Clasping my hands together loosely in my lap, I discreetly punctured a fingertip with my nail to draw a single drop of blood.
Rik’s hand tightened on my shoulder, kneading slightly. I heard Leonie’s deep inhale behind me. The humans’ heartbeats thundered like tympani drums, though for different reasons. Alex knew they were in deep shit, though he was trying to play it cool. He recognized the fact that their exits were both blocked, and from the size of my alpha standing at my back, he knew there’d be no escape. Not if I meant them harm.
Sweat glistened on his skin, dampening the pits of his shirt. The acrid burn of fear and rising adrenaline palatable on the air. But I didn’t sense anyone else’s influence. Nothing magical sparked in him. I couldn’t read his thoughts directly but from his fear, I didn’t think he’d care to come back anytime soon.
