I gasped. That was a low blow. “It’s always going to come back to that night with Vander, isn’t it?” I shouted.
Hayden stood and squirmed between us, placing his palm on Talon’s chest. “Take it easy, T. You can’t pretend you wouldn’t have done the same thing for her.”
Talon snarled and tossed his head to the side. “I wouldn’t have been stupid enough to give him carte blanche.”
“You did, like the next day, when we met with him.” I pointed back and forth between us.
“Only because Vander had already started it, and you were so convinced Delacroix had never lied to you.”
“Guys, chill out.” Dallas ticked his head at Hayden. “Can’t you shoot them up with your angel power?”
“Believe me, I would if I thought it would help.”
I crossed my arms over my chest and stepped back, needing to put some distance between myself and the infuriating dragon.
“What’s happened is done,” Hayden continued. “Playing the blame game isn’t going to help the situation.”
“Exactly,” added Dallas.
“Let’s regroup and switch our attention to finding Thax and Delacroix. And the good news is since Balthier is a Darkblood inmate, we can involve the SIA and classify it as an official mission.”
“Unless Delacroix rats me out when he gets caught,” I muttered.
Hayden’s lips twisted into an adorable pout. “Your call, T. What do you think? Should we risk it? It would be nice to have SIA resources for the hunt.”
His jaw clenched as the crease between his brows deepened. “I don’t know. Give me a minute to think about it.”
“Logan’s going to have to report Delacroix’s escape soon so no dawdling, big guy.” Dallas smirked.
A quick knock jerked all our gazes to the adjacent training room door. With the four of us in here, it only left two other options. I really hoped it was Logan. I hadn’t seen Vander since I knocked him unconscious and broke out of here.
Nope, not Logan.
Vander strode in with a grinning blonde at his side. A swirl of unexplained animosity filled my chest, tightening my lungs. Who was that girl?
She released Vander and practically pirouetted into Talon’s open arms. “There you are, T. I’ve been looking everywhere for you.”
He hugged the girl to his chest, but his dark gaze trained over her shoulder at Vander. “You thought bringing your sister would help your cause?”
Sister? A carousel of images rushed across my mind. I knew this girl—Vessa. She was Talon’s stepsister and on and off girlfriend. A twinge of jealousy flared as I caught her stroking his arm from the corner of my eye.
“It wasn’t planned,” Vander growled, snapping me from my memories.
I glanced back and forth between the two males as tension thickened the air. Vessa twirled a lock of golden hair, leaning against her stepbrother, completely oblivious to the rising strain. I actually felt bad for Vander and also slightly guilty for knocking him out. I made a mental note to apologize later.
“Maybe you should take Vessa and head home for a beat until your position on the team is re-evaluated.” Talon ticked his head at the door, a scowl hardening his handsome features.
“You’re not serious?”
His face was like stone. “I’m dead serious.”
“Just because I made a move on Azara?”
The entire room went silent. Heat rushed up my neck and I stepped back, hoping to melt into the dark wall. Vessa’s scathing glare raked over me, but I kept my eyes to the floor. I did not need her crap.
“No!” Talon roared. “Because you failed to protect your mark on two different occasions.” He jabbed a finger in my direction as fury stained his cheeks. “You put her life at risk unnecessarily and your competence must be re-evaluated before you resume your duties.”
Dallas and Hayden shifted uncomfortably on the opposite side of the small room. I wished I could disappear. Vessa’s perfectly manicured brows were raised as her gaze bounced between the two arguing males.
Hayden finally cleared his throat and nudged Dallas forward. “Perhaps you should be having this discussion in private.”
“Yes!” I squeaked, darting after the pair as they crept toward the door.
“You too, Vessa.” Hayden grabbed the stupid girl as she continued to stare between her two brothers.
As soon as the door closed behind us, I released the breath I’d been holding. Damn lusty she-demon ruined everything. I hitched my thumb over my shoulder at the training room exit. “I’m going to grab some lunch.”
Vessa shot after me. “Oh, I’ll go with you so we can catch up.”
My brow arched incredulously. My memory might still have been spotty, but I was fairly certain we’d never been friends. Quite the contrary in fact.
“Come on, pumpkin, take her with you,” said Hayden as he tugged his shirt over his head. “Dallas and I need to catch up on some hand-to-hand combat.” The vampire peeled his tee off next, and I was useless to argue. My tongue stuck to my throat at their carved abs, one a milky white and the other a delicious dark chocolate.
“Fine,” I muttered, licking my lips. Holding the door open, I ushered Vessa out to the hallway.
Logan appeared from the stairwell, a grim expression tightening his jaw. “Hello, ladies.”
“What are you doing down here?” I asked. He’d left our debrief a few hours ago to deal with his warden duties.
“Talon just called me on the com. He said you needed an escort for the next hour.”
“Seriously?”
He nodded. “Just because Thax is on the run, doesn’t mean you’re in the clear. He still has men inside this prison, and they likely have their eye on you. Not to mention Delacroix’s crew.”
“Ugh.” And here I was thinking I’d finally get an ounce of freedom.
Vessa eyed me with a skeptical arch of her brow. “They do fuss over you a lot, don’t they?”
“You don’t know the half of it,” I muttered.
“Come on, you ladies can eat in my office.”
I followed behind the warden, grumbling. First, I had to deal with a macho standoff and now I had to babysit Vessa. And I’d thought losing Thax had been bad.
I took a big bite of the meatball sub and the zesty flavors exploded in my mouth. I had to restrain the moan of pleasure from escaping between bites. Okay so maybe I’d been too hasty to balk at Logan’s offer of lunch in his office. It was ten times better than the slop we got in the mess hall.
“This is ah-mazing,” I mumbled around another mouthful.
Logan looked up at me over the computer screen and smiled. “I’m glad you approve.”
Vessa picked at her salad, chattering away about some feud between two of the great wolf packs in Marlwoods. Every once in a while, I’d lift my head and nod or mumble an “Oh, no.” How the irritable Talon had dated her was beyond me.
Logan pressed the button on his com and rose with a sigh. “I have to take care of a brawl in block eight. Apparently, the demon in cell twenty-one thought it would be okay to wear his cellmate’s severed head as a hat.”
Vessa’s pink lips contorted into a grimace. “Oh, gross.” She dropped her fork and batted her thick lashes at Logan. “I don’t know how you deal with these monsters.”