Page 56 of The Rogue's Curse

He sighed. “And not help?”

“That’s not what I said, is it?” Orlando said sharply. “Investigating rogue vampires is a task that any vampire with three braincells can manage. You have a highly specialized skill set, and we will not risk losing you unnecessarily to investigate a prison break.”

The door swung open, and he glanced up to see Paris, frozen in place. Misha beckoned to him, then said, “Understood. Am I to continue in the investigation and elimination of Carrigan Shea?”

“Yes. Lady Demirci still holds the position that Shea is a threat and should be eliminated. You will continue in your pursuit,” Orlando said. “Report back when you have arrived in Atlanta.”

“Understood,” Misha said. The other man hung up, and he muttered, “Goodbye.”

“Any word?” Paris asked.

Misha shook his head. “Just the Crown ensuring that I’m alive. They don’t want to lose any tools from their toolbox.”

Paris chuckled. “That’s cynical.”

“Am I wrong?” Misha said.

Paris shrugged and perched on the edge of the bed. “Do you feel better?”

“Immensely so,” Misha said. “Is the girl all right?”

He nodded. “I bought her cheese fries to go and put her in a car to go home. I stole her phone and shared her location so I can see that she gets home.”

“You’re quite a gentleman,” Misha said.

“I have my moments. We normally only drink from veravin, and I don’t particularly like biting someone I don’t know. I try to do as little harm as possible to perfectly lovely humans who want to entertain a fantasy,” he said. “She’d had a few drinks and after getting bitten, I wanted to ensure that she arrived home safely.”

There was far too much distance between them. Now that the pain had eased, he was hungry for Paris.

The other man glanced at his watch. “We have ninety minutes until sunrise. It feels wrong to hide here, but unless we can get our hands on a rocket launcher in the next thirty minutes, there’s little to be done.”

“And if I can be so honest, I will be of no use,” Misha said.

Paris nodded. “How does it work? Your magic, I mean. Will you be recharged tomorrow?”

Misha shook his head. “It will take me several days,” he admitted. “When I’m doing focused work like creating wards or tracking, it takes much less raw energy.Think of the difference between lighting a candle and setting off fireworks. Tonight I set off a full fireworks show. It will take time to recuperate.”

“Well, I’m glad you did. I don’t think we would have gotten out of there if not for you,” Paris said.

His cheeks heated. “Nor you. You were…impressive.”

A faint smile tugged at his lips. “So were you,” he said. Paris’s eyes lit up. “I got Lilah’s blood, but not Kieran’s. We’ll have to hope for the best. For whatever it’s worth, she smells familiar, but in all the scuffle, I couldn’t pinpoint if it was because I’d dealt with her before or if she smelled like Shea. Will you be able to tell?”

“Probably,” Misha said. “And it seems that Lilah is gunning for you. Our job might get easier if she comes looking.”

Paris nodded, his expression grim. “Lucky me.”

Misha’s eyes drifted down. “Why didn’t you leave me there?” Paris’s brow furrowed in a silent question. “You could have stopped Lilah and Kieran.”

“Do you think I should have?”

“I’m curious why you didn’t.”

“Because I couldn’t leave you,” Paris said bluntly. “No offense, but you looked like shit, and I didn’t know how long you would last.”

“And you needed me to get the job done,” Misha said. Just like the Crown.

“Oh. I guess that’s true, but it didn’t cross my mind,” Paris said. “I just didn’t want to lose you.”

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