Page 112 of You Only Love Twice
"I was low on options at the time," she replied.
"And I should like to point out," Byrnes said, "you have terrible taste in men."
"So do I, apparently," Ingrid growled, giving him a nudge.
Gemma slid down the front of Obsidian, glancing between the three of them. Nobody seemed to be on the defensive. "What's going on? What are you all doing here?"
"Together?" Byrnes teased.
"We had a common desire between us," Obsidian murmured, resting his hand on the small of her back.
"Probably going to return to trying to kill each other tomorrow," Byrnes said with a shrug. "Though I suspect Malloryn's got plans. He had that gleam in his eye."
"Plans?"
Obsidian's lips thinned. "It seems the Duke of Malloryn and I are overdue a chat."
* * *
Silas strodethrough the door to Ghost's personal quarters, and paused as the scent of blood hit him like a punch in the throat.
Puddles of blood soaked into the rugs. Two pale bodies lay slumped in various disarray. Ghost stood amongst the carnage, wiping the blood from his pale hands with a linen handkerchief. He fussed at the creases between his fingers, and cursed at the mess under his rings.
"Busy afternoon?" Silas surveyed the room.
"Apparently there was a failure at our warehouse in the East End. You know how I abhor failure among those who have been given our gift."
Silas picked his way among the damp patches. "I assume that was the explosion that took out our East End stockpile?"
Despite the blood, Ghost appeared far too mellow, considering how well he took setbacks. It made Silas tread a little carefully as he eased the file labeled Coldrush Project onto thedhampir'sdesk.
Ghost picked a pawn off his chessboard and began to clean the blood off it. "It seems Obsidian's obsession with Miss Townsend is warranted. She's a dangerously talented and beautiful young woman." Ghost tossed the bloodied handkerchief aside and carefully replaced the pawn on the board. "I was using her as bait for a trap for Malloryn, but she managed to escape and in the process blew up the entire building."
"You took Gemma Townsend captive?" Was Ghost out of his mind? "Did you not hear what Obsidian’s terms were?"
"I heard them."
Silas stared at him. This was going to ignite a war between two of the most dangerous people he knew. And worse, the one person he still gave a damn about was now on the opposite side of the divide. "He'll kill you."
"He'll try."
"What are you going to do about him?"
A faint flicker of a smile, there and then gone again. "Why... nothing."
"He knows everything," Silas stressed. "We'll have to abandon this place and most of our operations."
"He won't get a chance to use the knowledge."
"What do you mean?" What was Ghost planning? And why the hell did he not know about it?
"I have had enough of this Company of Rogues. It's time to initiate Phase Two."
"You mean to activate the Chameleon."
It wasn't a question.
It also explained precisely why Ghost wasn't worried about Obsidian. Silas's heart stopped dead in the center of his chest. He swore it did.
