Page 34 of Darling Wildfire
For the next few hours we celebrated Kaelin.
I let her lead me through the entire series, explaining her vision and then she was pulled away for a bit to socialize only to come back a short time later, flushed and vibrant.
“I made a sale,” she breathed, the green in her eyes a vivid burst of color. I’d never seen her so radiant. Graham congratulated her and Nyx and Atlas reappeared to toast her. She was all smiles after that and as the night wound down, it became apparent she was going to sell most of her paintings and come away with a few key contacts.
She was rambling on about one commission she’d been approached about when suddenly her words cut off abruptly and she was staring at someone over my shoulder; her face growing paler by the second.
I heard a voice that set my teeth on edge.
“Well, well, well—Kraven, you didn’t tell me you took your rabbit out of the Warren.”
“What are you doing here?” Kaelin snapped, her voice shaking slightly along with her hand that was choking the life out of her champagne glass.
I turned to see Greg Mahoney, looking crisp in a suit, his eyes lazilysweeping Kaelin from head to toe before settling on me. His hand was outstretched and forcing a smile onto my face I shook it.
“Greg,” I said, working hard to keep the irritation from my tone. “I didn’t know you were into art.”
“I’m not really, but one of the artists here is a friend of mine.” His attention returned to Kaelin. “You are full of surprises my dear—if I had known who you were in the Warren…” He reached out a hand to touch her and I casually stepped to intercept it as Kaelin stiffened next to me.
“You know I charge for that,” I said lightly, even though my blood was running hot and I wanted to rip his hand from his body for even daring to try and touch what’s mine. His face hardened as he looked back at me. We stared at each other for a long moment before Mahoney shook his head, a suggestive smirk pulling at his lips.
“And here I thought we were friends, Kraven,” he said casually.
“Friends?” Kaelin choked out, seeming to have found her voice again.
Mahoney ignored her, his attention still fixed on me as he studied me with renewed interest and a wariness I hadn’t seen on his face since the beginning.
Fuck. I couldn’t have him questioning our friendship now—after all the work I’d put in.
I huffed a laugh and slapped a hand on his shoulder, breaking the tension and stepping between him and Kaelin as I directed him away.
“Come on—friend,” I said. “I need a drink.”
I didn’t look back but walked with Mahoney to the bar, ordering a whiskey before turning to him.
“Kaelin doesn’t know I’m still involved with specific dealings,” I said. “I’d like to keep it that way.”
Mahoney studied me a moment longer and then I saw the questions fade away and he grinned knowingly.
“I get it. I do wonder though—I heard the Warren was destroyed. Specifically in an attack.”
He let the words hang in the air between us.
“Do you know by who?” I asked.
Mahoney shrugged. “Rumor is there’s a new savior in the game—haven’t gotten a name yet. But I will.”
He spoke with his usual calm assurance and I knew it was true. Greg Mahoney always got what he wanted sooner or later. I would have to warn Deathwing his cover was wearing thin.
“So how did you acquire her if you didn’t save her?”
He really wasn’t dropping the Kaelin thing, and I saw his eyes drift to her again. She was standing with Graham across the room, her posture tense and those green eyes alive with fury as she glanced over at us every few seconds. Graham wasspeaking to her, leaning down near her ear, but it wasn’t doing anything to calm her down.
“I just got lucky,” I said evasively.
He was quiet for a moment then turned to me and lifted his shoulders as though he was shrugging the whole thing off.
“Well, if you ever feel inclined to share her again—I’ll gladly pay.”
