Page 77 of Demons and Debts
But then he looks thoughtful. ‘I don't know about you,’ he looks at Vic, ‘but I didn't get a vibe off them like they're planning something against us.’
Vic shakes his head. ‘I've known Maddox a long time. He's a slippery motherfucker, but I can usually tell when he’s about to pull a play out of his back pocket.’
He glances down at the woman beside them. ‘She played her part to perfection even if she doesn’t know it,’ he comments casually, but I notice his fist tightening.
‘Whatwasthat about?’ Korban asks. ‘I've never seen him take such an overt interest in one of our girls before, not even when he’s at the Clubhouse.’
Even Kor sounds a little jealous, and my jaw clenches.
‘Neither do you,’ I retort and then wish I'd kept my mouth closed when he looks at me with his eyes narrowed.
I shut up and look at Vic, hoping he'll fill the silence. He does, still watching the girl asleep beside him.
‘Perhaps you were right about her, Kor. Maybe she does have something to do with him. They seemed friendly.’
This is news to me, but Korban shakes his head. ‘If she’s a spy, it’s not for Maddox. She didn't want to sit at their table. She just didn't know how to say ‘no’. Plus,’ he looks out the window, ‘that spilled drink was no accident. She threw it in his face. He said something or, more likely, did something she didn’t like.’
The growl from Vic is audible. ‘Why didn't you say something while we were there?’
Korban turns his head very slowly to stare at him, not backing down although I know he can feel Vic’s power directed at him because I can see the cords in his neck straining. Even I shiver at their exchange, wondering if Kor is about to launch himself across the limo at our President.
‘Because we don't have the manpower to deal with a full-blown war right now,’ he growls back. ‘Not over somehumanspy.’
Vic leans back in his seat and stares out the window, quietly seething just as Korban is.
I have a feeling that I won’t be sleeping in Kor’s bed tonight and see I’m right when we pull up to the house a few minutes later and he practically leaps out of the car and stalks off into the woods.
My own cold bed it is.
The rest of us begin to go our separate ways too, but when Theo goes to grab the girl, Vic beats him to it, picking her up easily, and cradling her as he stalks into the house.
Theo follows. ‘She's too tired. You know she's not like the other—’
Vic whirls around, jaw clenched, but then he makes an effort to relax when Theo stops short, looking wary.
‘I'm not going to feed tonight,’ he promises, ‘but she's coming with me.’
Theo backs off at his warning tone. Vic clearly isn’t in the mood for anymore arguments.
But then Vic beckons me by flicking his head up towards the stairs. I follow him, wondering what the hell's going on as he leads me to his bedroom.
He goes inside and dim lights come on automatically. He stops at the bed and looks back at me. What am I doing here? I pull the black comforter down and Vic lays her in the middle of the mattress, covering her with the blanket.
She doesn't stir.
‘Keep this on the DL, but I want you to ask Korban if he felt Maddox or any of the others calling on their power,’ he says low.
I look down at the sleeping girl in front of me. ‘You mean with her?’
Vic nods.
‘Why?’
‘Because there's no way that Maddox didn't try to lull her. I might consider him a friend, but we've always had a rivalry like that. We brought her out with us, signifying she’s more important than the other girls. He would have tried to steal her from us, contract or no, just to fuck with me, and then paid us for her later. I had a plan in case he tried, but it’s not normal for him not to make an effort.’
‘Okay,’ I say slowly, not really getting where Vic’s going with this.
He rolls his eyes. ‘If she was lulled, how could she throw a drink in his face?’
