Page 59 of The Prince's Curse

There were plenty of good reasons they hadn’t checked in yet, but after tangling with Shea, he wasn’t entertaining them until he’d ruled out the worst.

Kristina was next on his list, and she answered after one ring. “Arensberg,” she said curtly.

“Kristina, are you with Sasha?”

“No sir. I’m patrolling with Danielle. Haven’t heard from him since he went out with Nikko,” she said. There was a silence. “Do you think something happened?”

“I don’t know. If you hear from him, call me immediately,” Julian said.

“Yes, sir,” she said.

Safira stared evenly at him. “Should I go back downtown?”

He shook his head. “No. Stay here. Give it a few minutes.”

Tension hung thick in the air. What would Eduardo have done?

Much as he hated to admit it, Eduardo did not care so much about any one individual. The members of his court mattered to him in the abstract, and he had his favorites, of course. But he trusted his Shroud to do their jobs, and would likely have told Julian to deal with the situation and update him if he needed to know anything.

How had he done it for so long? How did not he not worry every moment of the night that danger had befallen his subjects? How could he not count the cost every damned day?

An engine rumbled in the driveway, and he hurried to the front window to see Paris and Misha ambling up the driveway.

“Feeling better?” Safira asked as they walked in.

But Paris looked somber. “I just heard from Sasha. He and Nikko were following Shea’s scent and someone shot at them downtown.”

“Are they all right?” Julian asked.

Paris shook his head. “No, but they’re alive. Sasha said he was injured, but nothing serious. Knowing Sasha, that could mean he either lost an eye or he scraped his knee. Nikko took a bullet to the head. Blew his face open, but he’s been in and out of consciousness, which is promising. Sasha used the term borscht, which was more than graphic enough. He’s afraid they’re being followed, so I told him to go to FLOW. I couldn’t get Rhys on the line, so I asked Dom to get Rachel and patch him up.”

“I’ll call Olivia,” Julian murmured. His heart sank at the thought of his assistant in a panic, weeping over Nikko.

“I already did. Danielle’s with her, and she’s making sure she stays put. It’s all under control,” Paris said.

He gaped at Paris. “Why didn’t they call me? I’ve been?—”

“Because that’s not your job. My job is to handle the details and tell you what you need to know,” Paris said. “Just like you did for Eduardo.”

“And you think I don’t need to know that one of my brothers could have died tonight?” Julian spat.

The other man recoiled, blue eyes going wide. “I don’t—that’s not…” He shook his head. “The Nightwatch has orders to report directly to me or Safira depending on assignments. They’re not to bother you.”

“It’s not a bother. They are under my protection,” Julian said. “Am I the Elder of this court or not?”

“Julian,” Misha said, firm but polite. He spared a stern look for his lover before nodding to Julian. “Perhaps when things are more settled, the two of you can discuss what you think leadership is. For now, can we focus on our pressing concerns? We spoke to Jonas Wynn earlier.”

With his lover’s gentle nudge, Paris shook himself and said, “Jonas is ready to help tomorrow. He’ll meet Scarlett at the MARTA station at noon, so they can have a Shieldsmen reunion if they like. Are we going with them?”

“We?” Julian said.

“Well, I know you’re going to insist on going because you have your own ideas about what Elders do. I’ll argue, you’ll compel me, and I’ll get angry and concede because that’s better than letting you go off half-cocked. Sound about right?” Paris said.

It felt as if the temperature in the room had dropped thirty degrees. Paris was still smiling, but there was a sharpness in his gaze that made Julian feel guilty. He may have been happy that they’d intercepted Scarlett, but he hadn’t forgotten the tension between them.

Julian set his jaw and nodded. “Yes, that sums it up. Is there a problem?”

“We have a plethora of problems, not least of which is Nikko’s unintended haircut,” Paris said.

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