Page 61 of Siege of Blood and Betrayal

Huntley

The return to the safe house is a tense and awkward trek. The five of us—Zane, Scotland, Tucker, Jack, and me—make our way up through the Bay Station and into the private passageway that takes us back to Francesco’s property. Scotland isn’t happy that I’ve been invited back to the inner sanctum, but tough titties. Life is not for her to command.

The sweet scent of blood clings to Zane—Benoit’s and Aksel’s blood, and the remnants of everything that’s been ripped apart in the last twenty-four hours. He was a beast as he shredded through that traitor—a feral, brutal, slaughtering beast.

I’ve never wanted him more.

I would’ve fucked right there in the subway tunnel if he didn’t race back when Tucker called out to warn Scotland.

Some things never change. The moment she needs him, he loses sight of everything and everyone else around him.

But some thingshavechanged. I’m more than his bodyguard now—I’m his best friend and lover. I replaced her and I have no intention of history repeating and becoming the third wheel again.

I cast a glance over to the blonde bombshell, my emotions warring between guilt, fury, betrayal, and the decades old yearning I thought I had long since buried.

Was her coming back here and taking my destiny payback for what I did that night? For stepping in when Zane rejected her? For showing her Zane wasn’t the only one who loved her? I thought… I truly believed that with him out of the way, I could finally have my chance to make her happy.

Why could she never see me?

With Zane, everything was always about him.

With me, everything was always about her.

“Do you care which guest room Jack and Tucker stay in?” Scottie asks as we exit the elevator into the entrance of Francesco’s escape house.

Zane shakes his head. “Any of the empty rooms is fine.”

Scottie strikes off with Tucker carrying Jack, leaving me to follow Zane into the living room. Despite death sheathing him like a stagnant bloom, he’s edgy, his face set in that broody, composed mask he wears.

I’ve been gauging his mood, but he’s too wired for even me to read. Not that I blame him. His father, Bran, Scottie, Benoit… The past twenty-four hours have been filled with horrific revelations. “Have you spoken with the other kings and queens?”

He steps over to the butler’s cabinet and pours us each a glass of blood-infused wine. “Last night. They’re on alert. Daeva’s attack rattled more than just us. First the Rainier clan goes down in Berlin, now turned vampires are taking a run at Toronto.”

I accept the glass and take a sip, letting the sweet vintage of the blood take hold. “It’s fucked up that Berlin fell. There’s no way that’s happening here.”

Zane swallows, walking over to the window to stare at the sun edging toward the horizon. “Tell me about the compound. What is the state of things there?”

I move to stand behind him and rest my chin on his shoulder as we look out at the sun growing low on the horizon. “We exterminated the enemy vampires and set out our dead with an honor guard in the grand hall. Dante, Link, and I locked things down tight.”

“Do you think the compound is secure?”

“For now, it is. I changed all the codes and secured the access points as per Bran’s protocols. We’re watching the security feeds closely, in case Daeva or her men try to come back. If it stays quiet, we’ll be good to go home.”

He lets out a long sigh and drops his head back to kiss my cheek. “I like the sound of that. The compound should never have been a vulnerability. Fucking Benoit.”

“Well, you took care of him. Too bad we didn’t question him a bit before you ripped him to shreds.”

Zane straightens and steps away, tension still simmering off him.

“Killing Benoit didn’t ease you nearly enough. Should I be worried?”

Zane pegs me with a glare. “Yes, you should be worried. We were attacked in our home. We’ve got someone coming after us in the markets, and Ginny told me we’ve got vampires embezzling money from us from property rentals. Nothing makes sense.”

I step in front of him as he’s pacing and palm the side of his neck. “And we’ll handle it. We’ll figure out who’s behind the offences and we’ll make examples of them.”

Zane frowns. “Part of me wants to do just that, but another part of me wonders if all these things cropping up at the same time are just distractions.”

“Distractions from what?”

---