Page 6 of Blades and Bone

“We will assess the house ourselves. Have your people bring the luggage to the door.” Ann turned away.

Garrick studied Brodie for a few seconds, and Brodie was sure that he knew. But of course he would. He answered only to Ann and was just as dangerous, even though it was tempting to write him off because he was the shortest.

The other vampires he couldn’t identify immediately, in part because they had the Reid look, dark hair and dark eyes, and Brodie had only studied the men closest to Ann and her daughter.

Perhaps the others were also nephews. Were they Hamish’s brothers?

That might make things interesting.

Chapter Four

It didn’t take long for the others to check the house and make sure it was secure. Hamish had been put in charge of hauling the suitcases to the rooms. It wasn’t a hard job, and it gave him something to do besides wondering what he was actually doing there, apart from doing the heavy lifting.

The men who’d driven the cars from the airport had left as soon as the luggage had been left on the steps. Brodie had also left. Hamish didn’t like the way Brodie had been staring at him. Had he done something wrong?

It wasn’t as though Hamish had been on any important diplomatic missions before, and Garrick had warned him to just do as he was told. So that’s what he’d done before retreating to his room to unpack, not that he’d been told to unpack. He wanted to get out of the suit, but that was a definite no until after the very important meeting.

He settled for taking a few things out of his bag and then flipping through the amenities on offer at the resort, none of which had a price. Money wasn’t tight, especially for Ann and her immediate family. Everyone worked, and there were financial benefits to being blooded.

The Ashbys he wasn’t too sure about…Garrick would know, but he was busy with Ann and Elizabeth. Interrupting them was not a good idea. They were the ones negotiating; he was just a body to make up numbers.

He opened drawers and poked around the room; glad that he wasn’t sharing. He pulled the hair elastic out of his hair and flopped onto the bed, phone in hand to waste some more time. No one had warned him how boring this would be. It had been more fun staking out the house near Albany. At least then he’d had something to do…this was just a whole lot of nothing.

A soft tap on his door dragged his attention away from his social media. Hamish rolled off the bed to his feet to open the door, remembering to check the peephole at the last second. Garrick.

“Hey. Is it time?” He stepped aside to let his uncle in.

“Almost,” Garrick said as he stepped in and closed the door. He leaned against it for several heartbeats. “Whatever happens in there⁠—”

“I know, I’m background. I don’t speak.”

Garrick nodded, his gaze steady. “Even if you don’t agree, it is not your decision.”

“Yeah, yeah, for the good of the family.” But something about the way Garrick was looking at him set his fangs on edge. “Are you expecting trouble?”

“No…I hope not.” He glanced away. “Sometimes I don’t agree with what is being done⁠—”

“You saved Trent.” Refusing the direct order from Ann had caused problems, but even Hamish saw that her order had been the wrong call. Just because she was in charge didn’t mean she didn’t get things wrong.

“And while I do not regret it, and would make the same decision again, I would do it differently.”

Hamish swallowed. “Something is wrong.”

“Maybe…it’s not my place to say.”

“She’s still pissed at you?”

Garrick nodded. “That’s why I’m here.”

Hamish frowned. “Is that why I’m here?”

“Yes.”

The word filled his stomach with dread. He lowered his voice. “Is she going to have us killed?”

Garrick smiled, but it was cool and fragile. “We are far more useful alive. Remember that.”

He made being alive sound like a bad thing. “Any other tips for surviving the negotiations?”