Page 41 of Siege of Blood and Betrayal

She shakes her head. “I don’t think that’s a good idea. Da cut him out for a reason.”

“And you have no idea what that reason is. Maybe he didn’t want you alone in New York with no family and no one to love you or watch your back. Maybe he bound you to me because he knows that even after all this time, you still belong here. Maybe it had nothing to do with Huntley.”

The glare she pegs me with makes my balls want to crawl back up and into my body. “If Huntley can save the kids and get them to a safe place, great. I still don’t want him anywhere near us. He can stay in the subway safe house your father set up for the seethe. We’re better on our own.”

“No. We’re better surrounded by strength. Huntley’s not our enemy. He can be arrogant and annoying as hell, but he is also loyal and true to his word.”

“And pity the fool who believes that.”

The venom in her scoff catches me by surprise, and I pause. “If you know something about Huntley being involved in this, tell me. Why are you so against him? Before you left, the two of you were tight—we all were.”

With our gazes locked, I see the fury and haunting regret that flashes in her eyes for one moment before it’s gone. “Chalk that one up to the rose-colored glasses I wore back then. I see people more clearly now. And your boy Huntley is no different from other men. He touts the virtues of honor and speaking the truth, but when it comes down to the wire, he’s out the door despite his promises.”

“That is both harsh and disturbingly specific. I don’t suppose you care to elaborate?”

Her expression hardens. “That stroll down memory lane falls outside the boundaries of our duty bond and is solidly in ‘none of your damn business’ territory.”

I hold up my palms. “Fuck, Scottie. Where is this coming from? We used to share everything with no boundaries.”

“We also used to be friends.”

“We’restillfriends.”

She straightens. “No, we are most definitelynotfriends. If it wasn’t for Da tying my hands with his squire powers, and the grief of losing him and your father, I would be in Manhattan right now and you wouldn’t even be a blip in my rear-view mirror.”

I school my features the best I can and take the hit. It’s not only her words that strike me—the acrid burn of her anger and betrayal bleeds from her. It’s tainting the air between us and turning my stomach. Even after all these years, she still can’t stand to look at me.

She truly hates me.

I knew I ruined things, but I genuinely thought we could reclaim our closeness. Now I’m not so sure.

I swallow and gesture toward her laptop, sitting on the ottoman by the window. “You mentioned wanting to check on Jack? If you access your father’s cloud server, you’ll find the equivalent of a Rolodex of contact names and numbers. Tucker Barrons will be one of them.”

The smile that lights up her eyes tells me more than I want to know. She’s worried about Jack, sure, but she likes Tucker. Not that there’s any surprise in that. The guy is good looking and very likeable—in a gentle giant sort of way.

I let that ray of merry fucking sunshine pierce my cold, dark heart and remind myself that I have no right to an opinion. I did this. Now I have to live with the aftermath.

Scottie

With my laptop tucked under my arm, I get as far away from Zane as I can without leaving the house and my duty as his guard. That takes me outside onto the pool deck. No matter how good the witch from New Orleans was, without a daywalker empowered object—like a ring or pendant—Zane won’t be bothering me out here.

I pick a sun lounger with my back to the door and close my eyes, fighting not to see the wrecked anguish of rejection Zane just pierced me with. Is that how I looked to him seven years ago? Then, turnaround is fair play.

Still, it hurt me to hurt him.

Not that I regret telling Zane he’s nothing to me.

Things like that need to be stated firmly for my sanity to remain intact. No false impressions. We used to be close, but that’s over. Us being each other’s other halves was another lifetime ago and now we’re strangers with a joined future.

That’s it.

My father bound the two of us, but that doesn’t mean I have to like it—because I don’t. And despite Zane’s theory that Da wanted me home, where I’m loved and have people watching my back, I don’t buy it.

I still think it’s because he suspected a leak in the royal guards. It may not be Huntley, but Da had incredible instincts. If he suspected trouble, then we have bigger worries than Benoit.

There might be more traitors in our midst.

I drop my head back and draw a deep breath, calming myself down. This is not my problem. Zane’s reminder of my lack ofsuitability to guard him hurt, but he wasn’t wrong. I’m in over my head.

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