“So it’s true?”
Gillian turned to the familiar-sounding female voice. Delilah, one of her coven mates, made a grand entrance in a short aquamarine cocktail dress that matched her eyes. She wore her blonde hair piled on top of her head. “You’ve completely ghosted us, Gillian. Do you expect us to believe this thing between you and Mulroney is real?”
Moving on shaking legs, Gillian took a step closer, her lips twisted into a smile. She told her friends everything, especially when it came to men, which made the whole Garrett thing totally out of character for her. But she had to sound convincing, not just for the sake of the investigation and Brooke, but for their safety as well.
“Good evening to you too.” Gillian squared her shoulders, put a hand on her hip, and pretended to be offended.
The overhead chandelier shook as sparks of magick lingered in the air, vibrating with the power of witches. The rest of her coven mates, Nadia, Arabella, and Belinda strode into the party like they owned the place. Dressed from head to toe in tight, black dresses, their eyes darted in her direction as they crossed the room.
She stole a glance over at Garrett, whose eyes warmed when they locked on hers. She only wished he could be at her side, helping her face them, but she understood the need to work on his cover for the Brotherhood. “I’m sorry for not telling all of you myself, but let’s face it; you guys are a lot to take in. This relationship is still very new. I didn’t want you scaring him off. And, what can I say? The line between love and hate is but a pendulum swing.”
Delilah smirked. “I think the real question is how does Mulroney’s pendulum swing?”
All the girls laughed.
“How’s the sex?” asked Arabella with a wicked smile.
“What’s it like to play house with a vampire?” Nadia chimed in. “Are his fangs sharp?”
Belinda crossed her arms over her chest. “You could’ve trusted us to have your back and not judge your decision.”
Gillian supposed it was time to give up the goods, but she hated to lie. “We wanted to see where things went before we announced it to everyone.”
Saje walked into the dining room looking dressed to kill in a black tuxedo jacket and matching pants. Her expression brimmed with confidence, draining some of the tension away. Backup had arrived.
“I can sense the conflict in the air,” Saje said, gesturing around the room. “What gives? This is supposed to be a party.”
Belinda held up a hand and her bracelets jingled together. “Hold on, we just wanted to hear about Gillian’s new man.”
A giggle came from Arabella. “And the sex! We’re there’s conflict, there’s passion. ”
Groaning, Gillian gave Saje a pleading look. “Can I talk to you for a second, like now?” She angled her head toward the exit.
Saje linked an arm through hers, and they walked out of the dining room and into an empty banquet room. Gillian shut the door and let out an exaggerated breath.
“It looked like the Colosseum in there and you were about to be devoured by a pack of lionesses.” Saje sat down in a chair. “Nick refuses to tell me anything, but I sense something big is about to go down. He’s glued to his computer, and he’s always on the phone. I noticed a bag packed at the top of his closet in case he needs to go out of town in a hurry. It’s either the case, or there’s another woman.”
Gillian shook her head. “Not a chance. Nick’s crazy about you.”
“Hopefully you’re right,” Saje said with a shrug of her shoulders. “I’m sorry I didn’t mean to go off on a tangent. Any news on Brooke?”
“Funny you should ask.” Gillian began to pace. “The vampire who attacked me talked, and now, Garrett’s convinced he’ll be able to find her. What I need to know from you is if you found anything in one of the Grimoires to break a blood bond.”
“I think I may have found something. There’s a potion that cleanses the blood. But it requires the water from Sybil’s Cave.”
“Sybil’s Cave?” Gillian repeated. “I’ve heard those caves are seriously creepy. I thought that water only worked to cleanse a vampire’s blood. Do you think it could work on a human?”
Saje placed a hand on her arm. “I think there’s a good chance, but we’d need to ask a vampire first. I think that’s a question for your fake boyfriend.”
Chapter 19
Garrett stepped into a deserted corner of the bar with Teague on one side of him and Smith on the other. A glance over his shoulder ensured they were alone as much as they could be at a crowded restaurant.
“What did you come up with for my new identity?” he asked, relieved Kurt Lawrence had never gotten the chance to see his face in all the commotion at the penthouse. A part of him felt guilty for talking shop at his best friend’s engagement party, and the other part of him feared time was running out for Brooke Corey.
Smith handed him an envelope. “You’ll be going undercover as Sebastian Beam, a joint venture capitalist who travels all over the world and has lots of coin, but zero time for dating. You’ve been highly recommended by David Jackson, aid to Congressman Stevens, which gets your foot in the door. Once you make the formal inquiry about seeking a blood bond, using the intel we obtained from Greystone, we wire twenty-five thousand big ones to a Swiss bank. And if all goes according to plan, you should gain entrance into the Du Sang Brotherhood.”
“What do we have here?” Garrett patted the envelope before tucking it into the empty pocket of his suit jacket.
