Page 21 of House of Pawns
The look of horror on Ian’s face at the realization of what he’s done is enough to crush me.
Luke snatches the file off of the coffee table and stalks out of the library. From the foyer, I hear him mutter to Rath. “I’ll send you copies of the report.” Rath lets him out and door shuts once more.
“You have to admit,” Lillian says as she settles into a chair and crosses her legs elegantly. “It makes sense. You don’t just become a Born by chance.”
Ian swallows hard once. Twice. A third time as he sinks into an overstuffed chair.
“I know it isn’t easy to hear it,” I say softly as I sit on the coffee table in front of him. I take his hands in mine. “But, Ian, it all adds up. You said so yourself that your parents were never happy together. Maybe…maybe your mom found some temporary happiness with someone else.”
“But with a damn vampire?” he breathes. It’s a strangled thing. “Why did it have to be with a vampire?”
I don’t have words of comfort for him. There isn’t anything that I can really do or say to make him feel better about this revelation.
“At least now you know,” Lillian offers quietly.
The moment whiplashes when both Ian and Lillian look toward the window and are instantly on their feet.
“What is it?” I ask as I join them at the window. Suddenly, Ifeel like a minority, the only one in the house who isn’t a full on badass with enhanced abilities.
“There’s someone at the gate,” Ian says in a low voice.
Lillian peers through the window. I wonder if she can actually see the gate. It’s so far down the property that my human eyes don’t have a chance at seeing it. “It’s Samuel.”
“Samuel Kask?” I ask in disbelief. “As in the Kask brothers from the House?”
“Yeah,” she says. “What…?”
“He just asked if he can come in.” Ian interrupts Lillian.
I shouldn’t marvel at the fact that Ian can hear Samuel clear down there, but I do.
“Of course,” I say. My brain is suddenly racing, trying to decide what his presence here means. Not two seconds later, there’s a knock on the front door.
Rath opens it just as the three of us step into the foyer.
“Hey, Alivia,” Samuel says, standing on the porch in the dark. “Can…can I come in?”
I know that something must be terribly wrong. Because this is Samuel, the vampire who will hit on anything with breasts and always has a lopsided smile on his face. But right now, he looks nervous. Maybe even scared.
“Please,” I say, standing aside to give him room.
“What’s going on?” Lillian demands. “What happened?”
Samuel sniffs hard and wipes the back of his hand across his face, leaving a small smear of blood as he does. I notice his hands are covered in it. “There was another attack at the House,” he starts. There’s fear in his voice, but also a heavy dose of annoyance. “They came right at twilight, busted right through the front door.”
“Did they have the snakes on the backs of their hands?” I ask as my brows furrow together.
Samuel nods. “There was eight of them this time. I’ve only seen her once, but I know that the mayor’s wife was one of them.”
Ian swears and shakes his head as he folds his arms across his chest.
“They had that toxin, took Cameron down ‘cause he was trying to protect Trinity. Took a few shots at Jasmine. She seemed to be their main target, but I don’t think they had more than a few doses left ‘cause then they just started attacking.”
“Was anyone killed?” I hear the concern in Lillian’s voice. She may have defected to my House, but those vampires were still her family at one point.
Samuel shakes his head. “Cameron is pretty messed up, Trinity not much better.”
The air is heavy with implications right now, like a wet, dark blanket. But while they are thinking about who it is that’s ordering these attacks, I’m focused on the man right in front of me.
