“Bastard,” she whispered, laughing. “You did that on purpose.”
He grinned. “You’re coming to the meeting.”
It wasn’t a question, but she answered anyway. “Yes. Brian and I are leaving now.” She hesitated, then added, “Not a word!”, warning him against making any comment about her second-in-command.
“I’m not worried about your Brian,” he said dismissively. “Did you eat?”
“Yes. Lots of grilled meat and vegetables. Brian’s ready, so we’re leaving now. See you soon!”
She hung up without waiting for a reply, which he’d noticed she did often. He and his vampires did the same, but of course they could communicate telepathically, so it hardly mattered. He considered that for a moment. He’d never tried telepathy with Layla and wondered if she had any natural ability. It would help if she did, but soon, they’d be linked so thoroughly by blood that it wouldn’t matter.
Opening the bedroom door, he strode out to his office to find Joaquim and Chuy settling at the table. Both stood when he entered, and he gripped each of their hands in turn—a warrior’s grip that ended in bumped shoulders and slapped backs. Because they were vampires, the bumps and slaps were strong enough to have staggered, and maybe even damaged, a human.
Going to the bar, he poured a glass a quarter full with golden port, then opened the small refrigerator, took out the flask of fresh blood that was always there and filled the glass to the halfway mark.
“Before the others get here, there’s a serious matter we must discuss. Sakal knew of our plan to ambush him. He knew sufficiently in advance that he substituted his brother, who looks very much like him, and who,” he added for Joaquim’s benefit, “was turned by a master vampire Sakal paid to do the job.”
“Is it possible, my lord, that the brother was the one visiting the farm all along? That Sakal was alerted to your intrusion and simply took advantage?” Chuy asked.
“Perhaps, but he had a very complex spell waiting to capture us. I’m no sorcerer, but I know enough of magic to say that a spell like that would have taken several days to cast. It was not only multilayered, but covered a wide area.”
“We have a traitor in our midst then,” Chuy said, shaking his head in disbelief. “Sire, no one knew, except . . . . ” He caught the wounded rage in Xavier’s eyes, followed the direction of his gaze, and stared in disbelief.
“Why?” Xavier asked simply.
Joaquim’s head was bowed, his eyes closed . . . in contrition? Or was it shame? “My grandson,” he whispered.
“You would add lies to your treachery?” Xavier demanded, power rising within him, demanding to be released. “You have been a vampire far too long, have been in my service too long, to have a surviving grandchild.”
Joaquim’s head came up, his face stricken, though he knew what he’d done. Or perhaps, he truly felt that much regret. “Not from my own child, no. But he is descended from my daughter’s line. I’ve told no one about my human family. I have no contact with them, either. None, my lord, I swear. From the first morning I woke as a vampire, I let them believe me dead. The sorcerer somehow discovered the boy—he is barely in his teens, Lord Xavier! I don’t know how Sakal found him.”
“Why didn’t you come to me when he first approached you? Do you have so little faith in my power?”
Joaquim was on his feet, and then his knees. “No, my lord. I swear. I was desperate to save the boy’s life and acted without thought. I . . . I called Layla at the last moment, hoping to save you. I didn’t want them to succeed!”
“What you swear, what actions you took in the final moments to undo your treachery . . . it no longer matters. You served me loyally for many years, but in the end . . . You will never betray me again.” His power lashed out, and in a moment, the vampire whom he’d considered a friend was gone, reduced to a pile of ash in an instant. There was no drama, no ripping his heart from his chest and burning it before his eyes. A traitor deserved none of that. Just the meaningless ending of a life and a pile of dust on the floor.
“Sire,” Chuy’s eyes were filled with tears, his face creased in sadness. “I don’t . . . ” He shook his head, unable to express the jumble of emotions inside him, which reflected Xavier’s own.
“We’ll move the meeting to the conference room down the hall. Take care of that, please, Chuy.”
He bowed his head. “Yes, my lord.”
LAYLA WAS LAUGHING at a comment from Brian when they walked into the vampire wing and started for Xavier’s office. She looked up when the office door opened and Chuy came into the hallway, closing the door behind him. She smiled and raised a hand to greet him, but caught the look on his face and stopped. “Chuy?”
“Ah, Layla. And Brian. The meeting is being moved. The conference room down the hall is bigger and Lord Xavier has invited some of his senior military staff.” He gestured to his right, presumably toward the new room.
It all seemed very normal, except for the wretched expression on his face, in his eyes. And . . . her head came up. Xavier was behind that door, and . . . Christ, his heart . . . there was so much pain.
“What the hell’s going on?” she demanded. “What’s happened?”
Brian was searching the area, looking for some threat. But Chuy only shook his head and said, “Please come with me.”
“Hell, no. I need to see Xavier. Right now.” She reached for the door. Chuy would have stopped her, but Brian stepped in.
“Don’t touch her. What’s going on, Layla?”
“I don’t know, but I’m going in there. I like you, Chuy. But get the fuck out of my way.”
The vampire, who was powerful enough to have killed them both on the spot, lowered his head in surrender. “Perhaps he needs you.” Then glared at Brian. “Not you,” he said in a hard voice.
“It’s all right, Brian.” She placed a hand on his arm. “I’ll sort this out, and join you in a minute.”
“You sure about this?”
“I’m sure. This is . . . ” She frowned, trying to describe something she didn’t fully understand yet. “Private. I think.”
“All right. But I’ll be close. If you need me, just holler.”
She nodded, touched his arm in reassurance, then opened the door and walked into Xavier’s office.