“You can have much more than that if you keep tugging on me.”
I stood on my tiptoes and gave him a chaste kiss. “I’ll hold you to it.”
“I wouldn’t expect otherwise.”
“Switch is on his way up to help.”
Christian snorted. “And what does the Shifter think he can help with that I haven’t got under control?”
I poked him in the belly button before striding off. “How to pivot.”
When I reached a window that opened onto the roof, I climbed out and found a nice spot that overlooked the property. I couldn’t see anything except Matteo’s campfire, but the stars were courting me with their lustrous glow. Reclining on my back, I admired the view.
A white owl swooped over me, and I almost had a heart attack. When I sat up and twisted around, I saw Houdini was standing behind a chimney stack.
“You wouldn’t happen to have a pair of pants up here, would you?” he asked, folding his arms over the brick.
I stood and gave him a baleful look. “What are you doing here?”
“One of these days, Butterfly, you’ll be happy to see me.”
“Maybe I don’t care to see that much of you.”
He remained behind the chimney stack, clearly naked but hidden from the chest down. His white hair soaked in the starlight and the rising moon. Houdini didn’t have in his black ear studs since jewelry never transferred with a Shifter. Some Shifters could probably use liquid fire to make the holes permanent, but I didn’t see any large holes on his ears, and I also didn’t presume that Houdini spent much time in animal form. He seemed more in touch with his Vampire side than anything.
“It’s so hard to find you alone these days,” he said absently. “I came by to warn you.”
I widened my stance. “Is that a threat?”
“Poe has been skulking about my club, and I don’t like it. He’s tried to get in twice, and I have reason to believe he charmed two of my workers. If you’re conspiring against me, you won’t succeed. I’ll see to that.”
“Like you saw to my burial?”
His eyes narrowed slightly. “Do you really believe I’d do that?”
“I wouldn’t put anything past you, Chaos. The last thing I remember is leaving your club. Next thing I know, I’m clawing at the lid of a coffin. Have you ever been buried? It’s the worst nightmare you can imagine. Convince me you didn’t do it, because you once tried selling me on the black market.”
Houdini leaned away from the chimney stack. “Casting you into the unknown is one thing, but killing you is another. I have a special affection for you, Raven. You’re my youngling, and I desire to see what you’re capable of in this world. If you think I would waste my time burying such potential, then you don’t know me at all.”
I turned away and approached the edge of the roof. If it wasn’t him, then who? This mystery would forever plague my thoughts. It was likely one of the Vamps I’d attempted to kill in my past life, before Keystone. But it was the not knowing that I couldn’t live with.
“You don’t have to worry about Christian,” I said calmly, still feeling sick from the dark blood. “He won’t be coming around anymore.” I turned on my heel to face my maker. “But he wants to know who spiked my drink that night. If he finds out the truth, he’ll come after you, and I won’t be able to stop him.”
“Then the game is afoot.”
“This isn’t a game.”
Houdini flashed a smile. “Everything is a game. Why would you caution me if you didn’t feel something for me? Loyalty perhaps? It’s in your blood, Raven. As much as you want to hate me, I’m your maker. I gave you my blood, and your instinct will always be to protect me. The real question is: Who would you choose in a death match? Your lover or your maker? What a conundrum.” His expression relaxed. “Come on, Raven. Not everything has to be black or white. Live in the grey.”
“The world is your puppet—you’ve made that abundantly clear. You don’t care about anything or anyone, so why should anyone care about you?”
Houdini rounded the chimney stack and unabashedly strode toward me. Even in darkness, his hazel eyes were mesmerizing, and though not muscular, his body conformed to an ideal masculine shape. An inch away, he gazed down at me, his regal but ancient features sending a chill down my spine. “Your team is basking in the praise after exposing that fighting ring. I would imagine you were paid a hefty sum.”
“We deserved it.”
Houdini leaned in tight with an impassive look. “Who do you think gave you the blueprints to the auction house?”
My blood ran cold.
“If your team had bothered to look up my username, they might have noticed that the numbers spelled out chaos. If I didn’t care about anything or anyone, I would merely be a spectator in this world. I would offer nothing. Not my blood, not my company, and certainly not my blueprints. Be careful with those assumptions, Butterfly.”
Houdini spread his arms and melted away into a beautiful white owl. With a few flaps of his wings, he soared over my head and into the black night.
Chapter 20
I didn’t see Christian that evening. He stayed busy moving furniture downstairs, and I was busy lying in bed, mulling over what Houdini had said. Thankfully, Switch didn’t need any help guarding the kids. The blood I’d consumed hadn’t left my body, and I still felt sick. Why it didn’t bother Christian was beyond me, but I suspect he never took nearly as much as I did. Around noon, I headed down to the gym in my black shorts and a sleeveless shirt. Niko practiced swordplay while I hit the weights.
When my muscles couldn’t take anymore, I grabbed a leftover sausage biscuit from the kitchen and followed the sound of squeals and laughter to the courtyard. It was a beautiful day, nothing but blue skies and sunshine. The kids were playing games, sitting in the green grass, and climbing trees.
I found Wyatt lying on a chaise by the hot tub, his chair reclined horizontal, green sunglasses shading his eyes. I strolled down the shady veranda and sat in the chair beside him.
He rolled to his side to face me, his grey shirt twisting up. “Is that for me?”
I glanced down at my half-eaten biscuit and handed it over. “You feeling okay?”
He didn’t eat with his usual vigor. Crumbs showered the concrete as he chewed like a sloth. “My head hurts. Niko says everything’s healed, and it’s just my synapses misfiring or something.”
“I get that sometimes. It goes away. Need some aspirin?”
Wyatt finished his biscuit and slowly wiped his hand on his jeans. “Shep gave me a strong painkiller.”
“Ah. That explains it.” I drew up one leg and propped my foot on the edge of the chair.
“Believe me, I wanted my own herbs, but some caveman Chitah dug them all up. Now I have to replant everything.” He sighed dramatically. “Do you know how long the tiny tots are staying here?”
I swung my gaze to a little boy playing by a winged statue. “I guess until Viktor finds a place for them.”
“They better not let them out of their sight. I’ve got a lot of sensitive equipment upstairs that I don’t want nosy little fingers touching.”