Page 118 of The Rogue's Curse

“Both,” Paris huffed. “Come to the war room when you’re ready.”

Misha smirked, then held up one hand in a stop motion. He rifled through one of the sets of plastic drawers, then took out a large black bottle with a dropper. He handed it over and said, “To cover your scent. It’s the same thing we used when we tracked the wall. It’s for your people. Three drops on the tongue should last at least two hours.”

“Thank you,” he said warmly.

When he returned to the war room, he could still hear Misha’s voice echoing in his head. You’re a raw nerve. Then that smile. It’s not a bad thing.

Perhaps having a soul wasn’t so bad, but just once it would have been nice to act without having to think about all the consequences and scenarios for how it might all go wrong.

To his surprise, Julian was in the war room, listening as Nikko described the layout of Le Cirque to Sasha and Kristina.And he didn’t know whether to be horrified or pleased when he saw Danielle sitting at the end of the table with Olivia.

Nikko glanced back at him and nodded. “Danielle and I will enter through the front door. Then we—”

“Hold on. Danielle?” Paris asked.

Danielle nodded. “She said he had to bring a date, which is obviously Olivia. We’re identical, so I’ll pass well enough to get close.”

“I’m not letting you go,” Paris said.

“You told me to pick a team,” Nikko said.

“Not the woman who’s been a vampire for forty-eight minutes,” Paris protested. “Take Kristina instead.”

“I don’t mind,” Kristina said eagerly.

Julian cleared his throat and said, “Let her choose. Obviously, sending Olivia isn’t an option.”

“And did anyone ask Olivia what she thinks?” Paris asked.

The human woman’s lips pursed into a strange smile. “You didn’t think it was my business when Danielle wanted to turn, but now it is?”

He glared at her. “I’m fully aware of my hypocrisy, Miss Pierce,” he said.

“It doesn’t seem that we have a choice,” Olivia said. She glanced at her sister, fear in her eyes. “But if you’re asking, I don’t like it either. Kristina could go.”

In a blur, Dani was across the room in the chair next to Kristina, who yelped in surprise. The younger vampire gestured to their faces. “We look nothing alike.”

“A wig and some makeup could do wonders,” Paris said.

“I smell like Olivia,” Dani protested. “And I think it’s shitty for you to put Kristina in danger but not me.”

Kristina smirked, but kept silent.

“Kristina has been a vampire hunter for her entire life, Danielle. She can handle herself better than you can,” Paris said drily.

Sasha cleared his throat. “My Kristina can handle herself, but Danielle has a point. If they asked for Nikko and Olivia, they may not take kindly to being ignored. If she has human hostages, she could hurt someone to punish Nikko for disobedience.”

“See?” Dani said.

Ignoring the bickering, Nikko held up his hand and said, “I already asked Safira to scout the building. She’s on the building across the street watching with a scope. So far, there’s just a single car there. Three voices. She thinks one of them is Lilah, based on the voicemail I got. Two males, one Scottish. She could have a hostage, but it’s hard to be sure.”

They spent another twenty minutes arguing over plans before Nikko surged to his feet and told them it was time to shit or get off the pot. For once, Paris was in agreement with his blonde subordinate.

While Nikko went to get his car, Paris caught Danielle in the lobby of the main building. She wore a slinky black dress and a clever bun to hide her shorter hair. “Are you sure about this?” he asked her. He hated to admit it, but their best tactical play was to let her go in as a decoy. If Lilah expected Olivia, she’d realize the deception right away if they sent Kristina instead.

Dani nodded. “I’m tired of hiding away while they hurt people. I want to do this.” Her heated tone and tense posture told him she expected an argument.

Instead, he said, “If they grab you, put your thumbs through their eye sockets and don’t stop.” Her eyes went wide, and he gestured to his own face as if she needed the visual. “Vampire or not, it’ll stop them dead in their tracks. Don’t hold back. Be vicious if you must. Make me proud.”

---