Mary was gone and safe. The McCarthy alliance was nothing but paper now. A piece of paper he was furious about because we chose to marry in Vegas rather than giving his devout catholic family the large wedding expected from the arrangement.
I knew the argument wasn’t the end of it.
Probably the beginning of something worse. And we hadn’t told Maeve about the situation yet.
I looked at Artem. He was already looking at me. The Pakhan was back behind his eyes.
"Later," he said quietly.
"Later," I agreed.
But the prickle at the base of my neck didn't fade until the gates closed and the house sealed us back inside.
22
Gregor
I was at thegate house when the threat arrived in a cream envelope with a wax seal.
I turned it over twice. The paper was heavy, and smelled of peat smoke and expensive ink.
Fergus sniffed the corner and sneezed.
"Agreed," I told him.
The man who'd delivered it was already walking back toward the main road, his shoulders hunched against the October damp. Gray wool coat. Battered features. The look of Irish street muscle who'd been sent on an errand he didn't fully understand and didn't like.
I could have stopped him. I didn't. He was a courier, not a combatant, and I had a terrier in a camouflage sweater waiting for me to finish the morning patrol.
"Come," I said to Fergus. "We have a job to do."
Fergus looked at the man, then at me, then produced a single bark that was clearly a warning.
We walked the long curve of the driveway toward the house. The frost was still melting in the shaded patches, and the mist clung to the hedges. Behind us, the guards at the gatehouse were changing shifts. Ahead, the house glowed gold in the pale morning, every window lit against the gray.
"The letter is from Callum McCarthy," I told Fergus.
Fergus trotted faster. His sweater had a small tag on the back that saidSecurity,which Mary had ordered online before she left and which I had not removed because I liked it.
"He wants his daughters back."
Fergus's ears twitched.
"No doubt he wants the deal enacted."
We walked in silence for another twenty yards. The gravel crunched under my boots. Fergus stopped to investigate a patch of something that had probably been interesting to a rabbit several hours ago.
"I should tell Maeve immediately," I said.
Fergus lifted his head.
"But I will tell Artem first. That is protocol."
Fergus stared at me.
I exhaled. "Because Artem will know what to say to her. He always knows what to say. He reads books and leaves sticky notes and touches her face like he's been doing it for decades. I've known her for the same amount of time and I still hand her water bottles and hope she understands how much I want her."
Fergus sat down.
