Page 34 of Blades and Bone

If he were Brodie, he wouldn’t trust his new husband’s loyalty, and if he were Garrick, he wouldn’t trust himself either. He was in no-man’s-land between the two families, with the old no longer trusting him and the new waiting for him to prove himself. Last night had probably not helped his case, as he had, as Brodie had put it, been a stubborn brat.

Garrick and Brodie looked at each other as if weighing up how much to say. It was Garrick who spoke first.

“I think they are progressing productively.”

That was a nothing answer. The treaty guaranteed that the two families would work together but not the kind of action that would be taken against the Orlans.

“I agree, and I had doubts at first because why would the Orlans bother coming this far north? And maybe they won’t this year or next year, but they are a threat to all vampires, not just the major families. Not only that, I disagree with their recruiting tactics. No one should be forced to be blooded or to swear to a family.”

Hamish stared at him. Had Brodie forgotten the new ink on his finger? “And what do you think happened to me?”

Brodie gave him that look as if he was slightly disappointed. “You chose to be blooded and swore to the Reids…”

“That isn’t the same⁠—”

“It is.” Garrick cut him off.

Brodie stared at Hamish as if daring him to continue. His eyebrow lifted ever so slightly, and Hamish had to literally bite his tongue because the last thing he wanted was for Brodie to dole out some kind of punishment that he’d end up enjoying while Garrick was sipping his coffee, watching their interaction.

“He’s very opinionated and persistent,” Garrick said. “Which can get him into trouble.”

Brodie’s lips curved. “So I have discovered.”

“I’m sitting right here.”

“But he has a good heart.” The softness left Garrick’s words. “So don’t hurt him.”

The words were said casually, but the threat was clear.

“I’m fine, truly. You concentrate on the talks.” And he’d figure out how to investigate what was going on, even though he didn’t know where to start or who to trust, and he was followed everywhere he went. It had taken him about five minutes to realize that yesterday. Yesterday, he hadn’t let it bother him.

Today, it was going to be a problem.

Chapter Seventeen

Brodie rolled up his shirt sleeves as he waited for Hamish to tell him what message Garrick had passed. He already knew it wasn’t going to be easy to get it out of him.

“What makes you think there was a message?”

“I know enough about Garrick and you, and since you are my husband and therefore an Ashby, I would like to know.”

Hamish leaned back in the dining chair, arms crossed. “Or perhaps you just think you know and you’re suspicious by nature.”

“Perhaps. But he could’ve waited and handed the phone directly to me during the talks. Instead, he made the effort to come and speak to you and gave you a specific instruction.”

It was entirely possible that Garrick had simply wanted to see his nephew and make sure that he wasn’t being mistreated, and no doubt he’d report what he’d seen and been told. How would Garrick have reacted if Brodie had told him about last night and Hamish’s refusal to apologize, leading to unplanned consequences which he couldn’t bring himself to regret, even though it had added a layer of complexity to their already fragile and developing relationship?

“If you hadn’t looked so concerned while looking at your photos, I might have believed he was just touching base.”

Hamish pressed his lips together.

“I don’t have time to play around this morning, and I don’t particularly want to come up with a more creative and less fun punishment.” If there was something going on, he wanted to know. Not only that, but this revealed Hamish’s loyalty was not where it should be, which was a problem.

“You’re not going to like it.”

“It doesn’t matter whether I like it or not. I expect you to tell me the truth when I ask because if I can’t trust you, things are going to get a lot more uncomfortable.”

Hamish looked as if he was chewing broken glass and contemplating swallowing it to save himself from speaking. Were the Reids planning something?