Page 39 of Siege of Blood and Betrayal

CHAPTER NINE

Zane

After speaking to each of the Fondatori rulers, I check in with Huntley about the compound situation, and then wait until human nine a.m. to contact the local business owners and allies my father has in place. It stings to have the same conversation over and over again, but after the eighth, twelfth, and then twentieth time, the pain of telling people my father is dead dulls.

But only minutely.

It’s not that the loss is any less visceral, it’s simply beginning to sink in—my father and Bran are dead.

There is nothing to be done about it, yet there is so much to be done.

I push back from my desk and stand, gathering my suit jacket and sliding my arms into the sleeves. With a shrug of my shoulders, I stretch my arms and tug the cuffs of my shirt to sit against my wrists.

As much as I want to go to the compound to be part of the rescue of the children, Huntley is right. Having me there wouldjust put the seethe in a more difficult position. If things go sideways, their protection efforts would be divided between me and the children.

The children must be the priority.

Over the years, I watched my father pace the floor a dozen times when he couldn’t take part in events he wished he could a be part of. And when it happened, he always quoted Queen Elizabeth I,“To be a king and wear a crown is a thing more glorious to them that see it than it is pleasant to them that bear it.”

I understand it now better than ever before.

As I leave my office, I peek my head into Scottie’s room and confirm that she’s not there. I’ve been on the phone for hours, but even so, I would’ve noticed her coming up the stairs.

I’ve always had a sense of where she is and her general well-being. It’s part of my Fondatori familial gift. My father said he had the same awareness of my mother.

I find her in the sunken living room by the window. She’s moved one of the leather club chairs over to beside the wall and is sitting in the sun with her laptop open and her gaze locked on the upscale neighborhood outside.

Vampires move silently and I worry that if I simply speak, I’ll startle her out of her reverie—and so I lean against the wall of the entranceway and watch her.

It hasn’t sunken in yet—Scottie is back.

And not only is she back, but she’s bound to me.

She’s my Sacred Squire, and that’s the big win of my lifetime. Now I need to heal the rift I caused between us, earn her trust back, and remind her how good we are together. And whether that takes a decade, and my entire wardrobe ends up with worn knees from me groveling for her forgiveness, I’ll do it.

I’m not sure when she turned her attention on me, but when I come out of my musings, she’s watching me watch her. That’s not awkward at all.

“Sorry, Scots. You looked so lost in thought, I didn’t want to interrupt.”

She closes her laptop and sets it on the ottoman when she stands. “No problem. I’ve been trying to Humpty-Dumpty myself back together again.”

“Anything I can do to help?”

She meets my gaze and something hopeful flashes in her eyes. “Actually, yes. Last night, in the fight to escape, Jack held them off so I could get away. I’ve been worried sick about him and he’s not answering his phone. He might be okay. Tucker was going back to check on him.”

“Tucker was there?”

Her brow pinches as she meets my gaze. “Yeah. Do you know him?”

“Enough to say hello if I run into him in passing. He and Jack have been working on their relationship for several years now. Your dad had him thoroughly vetted, and he checked out. He’s a decent guy.”

She blinks. “Wow. My mind is buzzing. Their relationship? Are they lovers? Talk about an age gap romance.”

I bark a laugh, the look on her face much too cute. “No, not lovers. Tucker looked Jack up when his mother passed. She claimed Jack was his father, and told him at the end because she didn’t want him to be alone in the world. It all checked out and though it was rocky at first, from what I’ve heard, they’re getting there.”

“And that’s why Jack trusted him to escort me to safety. I wondered about that.”

“I’m thankful he was there to help. I’ve heard he’s a powerful fighter.”

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