I sucked in a breath.
The feminine voice I’d come to associate with my friend Iris was hard and full of hatred. “I could lure her out with promises of her men.”
“Like you lured her to the club?” One of the other voices scoffed. “You see how that went.”
Iris hissed. “That was a miscalculation. I didn’t know that Kyren was still stalking her. I thought they had broken up.”
“Clearly not, since he came running in to save her,” Hamish explained. “No, this time, we take no chances. The Durand daughter is the only chance we have to get the council in line. They’re ruining my business. My buyers are starting to complain.”
Another voice scoffed. “Not everyone cares about your skin trade. Some of us have bigger problems.”
“What? You can’t find a meal on your own?” Hamish mocked the other voice. “Poor you, can’t charm or pay your way? So sad. Though, if I had your face, I could see why no one wants you to biting them.”
Then started a series of shouting and bickering back and forth. I exchanged a look with the guys, arching a brow. These were the people who were responsible for my attack? The ones who thought they were going to bring down the council? I could hardly believe it.
This was going to be easier than I thought.
Then Tate sneezed.
“What was that?” Hamish said above the rest, and the group quieted down.
The three of us glared at Tate, who gave a sheepish grin.
“Whoever you are, come out,” Hamish ordered. “Or we’ll drag you out and, believe me, you won’t like the alternative.”
We exchanged another look before I shrugged. Might as well. We’d heard all we needed to know. Staying hidden now was just delaying the inevitable.
Slowly with our hands at our weapons, we walked out from our hiding spot to face the group. While we’d only heard a few of them speak, there were far more than that littered around theVIP section. Even more than the ones that attacked me a few weeks ago.
Thankfully, if Tristen was telling the truth, we had more.
“Ah.” Hamish grinned from his seat in the middle of the group, lounging like he was the king of them all. “Looks like we won’t need to lure her out after all, Iris. Your friend brought herself to us. And what’s this?” He glanced around me. “You brought your boyfriends, too. How nice of you.”
Ignoring Hamish, my eyes found Iris sitting stiffly in a chair off to the side. “Are you really part of this?” I asked, hating how it sounded more like a plea than a question.
“Uh-oh,” that first voice we heard which belonged to the werewolf Kyren had been following, crooned. “Looks like someone’s feelings are hurt.”
The group laughed, except for Hamish and Iris. Her gaze bore into me, a hatred I’d never seen before pouring from her eyes.
“Your family has completely eradicated what it means to be a vampire. A predator of the night. They must be stopped. You were merely…” she drew out, tossing a hand toward me. “Collateral damage.”
I swallowed down the emotion in my throat. “And Xinyi? Does she know about this?”
Iris’ jaw ticked, not answering my question, which was an answer in itself.
“Come now,” Hamish interrupted us. “This doesn’t have to be uncivilized. We’ll even make you a deal.” His gaze slid over me and then my men. “You give us the girl, walk out of here, tell no one, and you get to live. How does that sound?”
I didn’t even look at the others to know that they wouldn’t take his deal. If there was one thing the three of them agreed on, it was keeping me safe. No way they’d give me up to this guy in his tacky suit.
“Fine.”
My head swung to find Kyren staring hardcore at Hamish. “Kyren? Wait, what?”
Hamish threw his head back and laughed. “Oh, this is too priceless. You saved her once from me and now you want to give her back? What game are you playing at?”
Kyren stepped forward, shrugging off Tate’s hands as they tried to grab for him. “No game. I thought I could forgive her for what her family did to my sire,” his dark gaze flicked to me, his jaw tightening, “but I was wrong.”
Hamish hummed, looking us over for a long moment. “Iris, what do you think?”
