Page 20 of Siege of Blood and Betrayal

It’s like winning the lottery on the worst day of my life. But then another thought strikes me and I glance toward the mountain of Viking vampire lying unconscious on the sofa.

Huntley has dedicated his life to his training and becoming my squire. He had nothing and being Bran’s successor became his everything. Why would Bran take that away from him? “He’s going to be crushed by this.”

She shrugs. “I had no say. It was Da’s choice who should succeed him. Maybe he wanted me back in this life. Maybe he thought we’d take care of each other. Or maybe he thought Huntley had something to do with the enemy seizing the compound and iced him out. I don’t know.”

“Huntley?” I can’t wrap my head around that. Every protective instinct within me balks at that. “No way. He can be an arrogant asshole, but he’s no traitor.”

“You can’t know that for sure.”

“I can and I do.”

“How can you be so sure?”

Because I know it soul deep. Huntley’s my bodyguard and we crossed a line when he became more than that. But he’s more than a fantastic fuck. He’s my best friend, my conscience, and my confidante. There’s no way he’d be part of the plot against me and my father.

But I can’t very well tell her that.

“If Huntley were the traitor,” I say, grasping for something to prove to her she’s wrong, “the turned fanger bitch and her seethe would already be here. The fact that you had time to find me and get here proves Huntley wasn’t involved.”

She scoffs. “No, it doesn’t, and until we know for sure, he’s not part of this—he can’t be.”

“Part of what?”

She gestures to the door. “Part of us dropping off the radar while we secure the dagger and figure out how to slaughter these assholes. I don’t care what it takes, Zane. Our revenge will be the stuff of legends. We will flay these fake-fanged fuckers for what they did to our fathers.”

Scotland stands strong before me, with her gaze hard, her cheek oozing, and her clothes stained with blood. Why did I think I needed to protect her from who and what I am? How could I have been such an idiot?

She’s utter perfection and the piece of my soul that’s been missing for over seven years.

I study Huntley lying on the sofa and my heart squeezes in my chest. I don’t want to leave him here like this, but Scottie’s back and she’s hurting and panicked.

I press a hand to my chest. Can a man’s heart physically cleave in two? It sure as fuck feels like it.

“Okay, we’ll go… but you’re wrong about Huntley and we’re both going to owe him one hell of an apology the next time we see him.”

Her gaze hardens. “I owe him nothing.”

CHAPTER FIVE

Scottie

My thoughts are a whirlwind of grief, anger, and old wounds as I press my thumb over the security screen to activate the entrance protocols on the safe house. Zane stands silently beside me, his presence both a comfort and a source of pain.

We’re at the one place I never thought I’d return to—the safehouse my father kept for only me, a sanctuary for if and when everything in my life fell apart.

I’ve only needed it once before—and never wanted to come back. Not that there’s anything wrong with it.

It’s a perfectly lovely, small, nondescript row house at the end of a quiet street. The narrow driveway leads to the backyard and the one-car garage. Inside the garage sits an unremarkable white Hyundai Sonata—that blends in with every other unremarkable white car in the city.

Everything about this place is carefully planned to be forgettable. If only my memories from the last time I was here were.

But for tonight, the important thing is that Zane and I hide in plain sight.

“Scotland McCullough.” I keep my voice even as I speak into the small voice recognition speaker beside the door.

When the door unlocks, we step inside.

The air is stale, the scent of dust and disuse filling my nostrils. I flick on the lights, illuminating the sparse but functional interior. It’s exactly as I remember it—a small living room, a kitchenette, and two back rooms—one set up as a bedroom and one kitted out as an office. Everything we need to stay out of sight and figure out our next move.

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