Page 58 of Honour Bound
Lexie attempted an innocent expression. ‘What do you mean?’
‘When I walked over you all looked as if the world was ending. What gives?’
Brochan tapped his foot. ‘These Sidhe are too good.’
‘Toogood?’
‘Musically,’ Speck broke in. ‘You’ve got no chance. Some Kincaid performer dropped out and one of the Blairs didn’t show up either. Unless more of them decide they’re not good enough and back out, you’re screwed.’
‘The harp…’
‘Play one note and you’ll beat everyone? There’s no way, Tegs. There was a Darroch woman who made butterflies dance.’
‘And that woman with the stupid name who’s shagging the Wild Man with the even stupider name sang so beautifully that Brochan gave her a standing ovation.’
I shot him a look. ‘Really?’
His eyes dropped. ‘She was very proficient.’
‘The point is,’ Taylor said, ‘that you need to be prepared for coming last, harp or no harp.’
‘It’s just one event,’ I reminded him. ‘And I have faith in Bob.’
They exchanged looks. ‘It might not matter,’ Speck said.
I frowned. ‘What do you mean?’
He shuffled his feet. ‘We were right to wonder about the judges,’ he said. ‘I cloned one of their phones.’
‘And?’ I asked warily
‘And the Carnegies are under orders to place you last no matter what you do.’
My spine stiffened. ‘Orders from whom?’
‘Moncrieffe,’ Speck mumbled.
A dark hole opened in my chest. ‘Byron?’
‘Aifric.’
I balled my hands into tight fists. Shite. Despite my conversation with him about how I wanted to win so I could ask for permission to join the Bull’s Clan, Aifric wasn’t taking any chances. He obviously didn’t trust me any more than I trusted him. I gritted my teeth and tried to think. ‘This could be a good thing,’ I said finally.
‘I fail to see how,’ Brochan rumbled.
‘If he’s contacting the Carnegies without disguising his tracks, he’s being open about how he feels about me. We can use that.’
‘You have a plan?’ Lexie asked eagerly.
‘No.’ I chewed on the inside of my cheek. ‘Yes.’ I glanced at Speck. ‘How did he contact them? Was it a call?’
He shook his head. ‘Text.’
I snapped my fingers. ‘So you cloned his phone. Text the Carnegies back and say you – he has changed his mind.’
‘We can do that,’ he answered, ‘but then we’re showing our hand as much as Aifric is. Right now, he thinks that you believe him. When he discovers otherwise, things could change drastically.’ He paused. ‘As in more assassination attempts.’
‘Or,’ Lexie added darkly, ‘successes.’
