After we’d finished breakfast, and Silas was rinsing off our plates and mugs so he could put them in the dishwasher, the phone rang. An actual landline phone, hanging from the wall in the kitchen. I supposed that made sense, since any phone Silas would have had with him when he was captured would be long gone, and I didn’t think he’d had time to replace it.
Frowning, he rubbed his hands on his jeans and went to lift the handset from the receiver. “Hello?” A pause, and he said, “Yes, I got her. She’s here with me.” Another long pause, during which his frown only deepened. “I realize that, Felix, but in this case I’d say the ends justify the means. Now we just have to plan our next step. Senator Quinn — ” Silas stopped there, as though Felix had cut him off. I could see how that formidable-looking gula — the one who wouldn’t have appeared out of place in a Viking horde, if his hair was a little longer — might have been annoyed by the way Silas had swooped in and snatched me up. Not that I was about to complain about his methods. He looked over at me, hand over the mouthpiece to the phone. “Serena, do you have your cell phone?”
I actually did, since Lucius had returned it to me once he thought I was securely on his team. It was shoved into the larger of my two suitcases, along with my purse. I nodded.
“Please text your brother and see if he really is on his way back to California. We need to meet with him as soon as possible.”
“Sure,” I responded, and left the kitchen to go back to the bedroom where my luggage had been deposited. When I’d gotten my clean clothes out of the suitcase, I’d set my purse on the dresser. I went straight over to it and dug my phone out of the bottom, then checked my messages. A birthday wish from Candace, along with a promise to get together once she had her current case out of her hair. I felt a little guilty that I hadn’t gotten back to her on the day itself, but since she was clearly swamped at work, I wouldn’t let myself stress about it. I typed out a quick reply, letting her know that I understood and that I had tons to tell her, so I hoped we could meet for lunch at some point.
A voicemail from my mother, with more birthday wishes, and a hope that I’d had a nice dinner. And an invitation for Lucius and me to come to the house for dinner this coming Sunday. Oops. I’d have to let my parents know about the change in my relationship status…and figure out a way to do so that didn’t involve telling them that Lucius actually happened to be a vampire and that I’d never really been in love with him.
These things could get so complicated.
That was it for messages, though, which was a relief. My hermit-like existence had shrunk my social circle down to almost nothing, but people did have a tendency to come out of the woodwork when it was your birthday.
I sent a text message to Jackson, telling him it was urgent and that I needed to hear from him ASAP. For a moment I’d wondered whether I should try calling instead, but figured a text message was a little less intrusive, especially if he happened to already be on his flight back to Los Angeles. After I was done with that, I headed back to the kitchen, taking the phone with me so I wouldn’t miss any texts or calls. Silas seemed to be done with his own phone call from Felix, since he was in the middle of rinsing out the carafe from the coffeemaker when I came into the room.
“I sent a text,” I said, and set the cell phone down on the counter at a safe distance from the sink.
“Good.”
“I hope Felix didn’t chew you out too much.”
That comment elicited a reluctant smile. “Felix actually isn’t my superior. The Watchers don’t have ranks, per se, although seniority does afford some privileges. But because he’s in charge of the current operation in Southern California, and therefore is the one who’ll have to answer to the Conclave when all this is over with, he would prefer to avoid any more unauthorized missions like the one I undertook this morning.”
“Ah.” I watched him as he fetched a dishtowel from one of the kitchen drawers and began drying out the carafe. “So why didn’t you ask for their help? I mean, clearly they weren’t averse to staging a raid on Lucius’ house, since they did that very thing when they came and got you.”
“I wasn’t sure they would have agreed. In their eyes, you weren’t in any immediate danger. Also, they would have wanted more time to plan, since extracting you would have required a slightly different methodology. I didn’t want to wait. Lucius was weak. Or rather, his ability to protect his house or the people in it was severely reduced because Felix’s team had already wiped out all the semivives. The timing was right. I couldn’t afford to get into a back-and-forth with Felix. Besides….” He let the words trail off, then shrugged as he returned the carafe to the coffeemaker.
“Better to ask forgiveness than permission?”
“Something like that.” He came over and bent slightly so he could press his lips against the side of my head. “There is that very short, precious moment when the world hasn’t quite woken up, before dawn has truly taken hold, when a vampire is forced into his daytime sleep. I knew that was the best time to come get you. If I’d waited another day, Lucius would have had time to make more semivives, and the chance would have been lost.”
“Well, it makes sense to me,” I said, glad of his closeness. Even when he wasn’t holding me, I was so very aware of him, of the strength of his body, the warmth that seemed to emanate from his very being. “Even if Felix doesn’t quite get it.”
“Oh, I think Felix does. He just doesn’t want to admit it. But now that he’s told me it was a stupid idea, and that I probably will still have to answer to the Conclave when this is all over with, he can let it go. He’s done his work. Anyway, he’s coming over so we can plan our next move.”
“Which is dealing with Jackson.”
“Yes.” Silas paused then, keen dark eyes studying my face. “Are you going to be okay with that, even acknowledging the repercussions a change in plans might have for your niece?”
What could I say? I’d never been a confrontational person, especially when it came to my godlike — or so he’d seemed to my eyes when I was younger — big brother. But this was too important to let go. Anyway, once he understood that Lucius was not the sort of person he would wish to be associated with, he’d have to back off. If he wanted to continue the research on the healing benefits of vampire blood for humans, fine. However, he’d have to swear that the other aspect of the project would be forever abandoned, even if he’d agreed to do one in exchange for the other.
“I’m not sure if ‘okay’ is the right word,” I said slowly. “More like…I understand what needs to be done, and I’m not going to back away from that.”
His eyes warmed. “I love you.”
“I love you, too,” I replied. Those words seemed so inadequate to express how I really felt about him, though. I wanted him and needed him…and trusted him, and admired him. He wasn’t like anyone I’d ever known, and I desperately wanted to deserve him. I let out a breath and said, my tone quite different, “What time will Felix be here?”
“Soon. I don’t know where he’s staying, but from the way he talked, it sounded as if it wasn’t too far away from here.”
“How many safe houses do you guys have stashed around L.A.?” I asked. I’d halfway meant the question as a joke, but Silas appeared to take me seriously.
“Several. This one, and another over in Santa Monica somewhere. Maybe more that I don’t know about. It’s also possible that Felix isn’t staying in any of those places, but is using a false profile to stay at an Airbnb, or a local hotel. We do our best to change our methodologies so it’s difficult to track us.”
That made sense. I waved a hand at the kitchen. “And this house? How did you end up with such a prime spot?”
He smiled then, looking much more relaxed than he had a few minutes earlier. “I’d say it was luck, but really, it’s just the result of our agents keeping an eye on the local market and taking advantage of timing. This house belonged to an artist of some note. She didn’t have any children, so when she passed away, her younger sister, who lives on the East Coast, had to handle the sale. Apparently they weren’t very close, because the sister didn’t want to travel to Los Angeles to take care of the transaction. We offered to buy the house complete with furnishings, and she jumped at the chance, since that meant she wouldn’t have to deal with any of the physical details of settling her sister’s estate.”
“No wonder,” I commented, looking around. The house did have a lot of very personal touches, an artsy but welcoming vibe. Not really the sort of décor one would expect of an unoccupied safe house intended for an all-male secret society, but if the Watchers had bought it lock, stock, and barrel, that made a lot of sense. “Should we set out some water, or a pitcher of tea or something? It’s too late for breakfast and too early for lunch, so I don’t know about snacks, but….”
“Water will be fine,” Silas broke in, but gently, still with that smile on his face. I supposed my hostess instincts amused him. I couldn’t really help myself — no matter how much I wanted to deny it, I was still very much a product of my mother’s upbringing. “This is a business meeting, nothing else.”
“Got it.” I started going through the cupboards and found a pitcher of heavy, bubbled greenish glass, and some glasses to match. Since I didn’t really trust L.A. tap water, I filled the pitcher from the door in the refrigerator, since at least that had to go through a filter. No ice, though; the day was too gloomy and chilly for that. The rain didn’t show any sign of letting up, which wasn’t that unusual for March. Still, I wished I had a better idea as to whether the storm was going to clear out today. The little of the backyard I’d seen so far looked inviting, and it would have been nice to be able to sit out there and try to get my thoughts together.
After this visit, of course. I took the pitcher, and Silas picked up the glasses, and we both went out to the living room. Even on such a gray day, the view from the window there was nothing short of spectacular, taking in everything from Hollywood all the way out to Century City.
Silas must have noticed me looking out the window, because after he’d set down the glasses, he asked, “Like it?”
“Oh, yes. This place is amazing.”
He smiled slightly at the compliment, but didn’t say anything else. I thought I understood the reason for his reticence. The house might be awesome, and I might be currently occupying it with the man I loved, but this was only a way station, a temporary refuge. Sooner or later we’d have to decide where we wanted to end up, and I very much doubted that would be anywhere in Southern California.
The doorbell rang, and Silas went to answer it while I waited in the living room, wondering whether I should remain standing or go ahead and sit down on the oversized couch, covered in cheerful yellow linen. I decided to hover near the arm of the couch, figuring I could sit on it or lean against it, or simply remain standing, depending on what Felix and Silas did.
They entered the room, Felix ruffling some damp from his close-cut hair. He wasn’t wearing a jacket or coat, but I realized he’d probably taken off his outerwear in the entry and hung it in the closet there.
“Hi, Felix,” I said cheerily. Judging by his expression, he was still less than thrilled with Silas, but I figured it couldn’t hurt to forestall any recriminations by acting as if everything was normal.
“Hello, Serena,” he replied, voice smooth, not missing a beat. “You’re looking very well.”
Was that some kind of subtle dig, a hint that he knew exactly what Silas and I had been up to in the hours since he’d rescued me from Lucius Montfort’s mansion? Possibly; I didn’t know Felix well enough to guess whether he was the sort of person who’d comment on such a thing. I thought it was probably better to ignore any subtexts, and said, “Thank you, Felix. Would you like some water?”
A corner of his mouth lifted slightly. “Sure.”
I poured water into one of the glasses and handed it to him. He took it, murmuring a thank-you, and then settled himself into the armchair placed to the right of the couch. Good. That meant Silas and I could occupy the couch. I sat down, and a second or two later, Silas took a seat next to me. He seemed tense, even though only a few minutes earlier he’d been reassuring me that Felix wouldn’t waste time with any more scolding.
Well, whether or not Felix was still annoyed with Silas, he definitely didn’t intend to dawdle. Hands clasped on one jean-clad knee, he asked, “Have you heard anything from your brother?”
Even though the situation was deadly serious, I had a hard time keeping myself from smiling at his “get down to business” attitude. “Not yet. I only texted him about ten minutes ago, though. And he could be in a meeting or something.”
“He’s not,” Felix told me. “I checked his schedule — that’s public record, you know.”
Even as the gula spoke, I knew I should have thought of that. Most of the time, you could go to a senator’s or congressperson’s website and look at their schedule for the week. It seemed more helpful to stalkers than anything else, but if you were in Washington, D.C., and really wanted to know what your representative was up to, then I supposed it was valuable information. Anyway, as scattered as I’d been lately, the thought of looking up Jackson’s schedule had completely slipped my mind.
“Traveling?” Silas asked.
“Yes. He was present for a vote yesterday, as Serena said, but his schedule shows him as coming back to California for the weekend. Next week only says ‘TBD,’ so it seems that he’s not yet certain what he plans to do.”
That didn’t surprise me. After all, he’d want to check in with Shelby Gutierrez to see how the research was faring, and, depending on the news he received, he’d either feel confident returning to Washington…or would want to stay here and spend as much time as he could with his daughter.
That thought made my throat constrict slightly. I didn’t want to face the possibility of losing Addison. I’d been there at Huntington Memorial when she was born, had seen her christened, watched her smear rainbow cake all over her face at her first birthday party. She was family. She had her whole life ahead of her.
“If he’s on a flight out here, then eventually he’ll check his messages,” Silas said. “We just need to be patient.”
Felix shrugged slightly, as though he wasn’t overly thrilled by the prospect of having to practice patience. “I suppose so. In the meantime, we need to formulate our strategy.”
“Which is?” I asked, not sure I liked the sound of that.
“That we need to convince your brother the research needs to be stopped.”
I sent a wary glance at Silas, who was watching Felix, brows pulled together. “Stopped altogether? Because I don’t see why they can’t continue with the work of looking for a cure for Addie. There’s nothing harmful in that, is there?”
“Unfortunately, there is.” Felix shot a troubled glance at Silas. “Didn’t you explain it to her?”
“Explain what to me?” I really wasn’t liking this, especially since Silas remained silent, as though loath to tell me what Felix — and, by extension, the rest of the gula — had in mind.
“We haven’t had a lot of time,” Silas said at last. His gaze was fixed on Felix. “And besides, it sounds as if you and the Conclave have been discussing this without my input.”
“Yes, because clearly you were otherwise occupied.” Felix shifted in his chair, returning his focus to me. “It’s really very simple, Serena. I know by getting the blood samples from Lucius Montfort, you were doing your best to keep him happy, distracted, anything to prevent him from causing harm to Silas. Your motivations were completely understandable. However, that blood is dangerous. It could provide a cure for your niece — but it also could be used to create biological enhancements for human soldiers. It could be weaponized. I’m not saying your brother intends to do anything of the sort, but there’s no guarantee that someone working for him might not eventually see its potential and decide to sell it on the black market. That would be…unfortunate. For centuries, the vampires and the gula have maintained a very delicate balance. If the vampires’ blood and the components that can be synthesized from it are let loose in the world, then I fear the changes it might wreak would be catastrophic.”
I wanted to protest, to say that Felix was imagining worst-case scenarios and that everything would be fine. But even as I opened my mouth to speak, I stopped myself. After all, I didn’t know who Shelby Gutierrez had hired to work in her labs; I also didn’t know much of anything about Shelby herself. I wanted to think they were all stand-up people who could be absolutely trusted, but the truth was, I had no way of knowing that was the case. Corporate and scientific espionage were very real things. If someone leaked even a bit of information about what was going on that lab, then it might reach interested parties who were willing to pay a high price for that kind of research.
The two men were watching me, clearly waiting for me to respond. Silas’ expression was grave but sympathetic, while Felix wore a formidable frown that made him appear even more like a Viking about to go on the rampage.
I cleared my throat and wished I’d paused to take a sip of water. “I guess I can understand some of those concerns,” I said at last. “But do you really expect me to go to my brother and tell him to put a stop to everything when he’s only gotten started? Leaving aside the very real worries about what that will do to Addison, he’s just hired a bunch of people. He’s supposed to lay them all off after less than a week?”
Felix shrugged. “Start-ups fail all the time, sometimes in that short an amount of time. It’s unfortunate, but wouldn’t it be better to pull the plug early on before they’ve all gotten used to those paychecks?”
Something in his logic seemed faulty, but right then I couldn’t get my racing brain to slow down enough to tell me what it might be. I sent a beseeching look at Silas, and he said, “In addition to those concerns, Jackson Quinn must have laid out a significant amount of capital to lease that building, procure the equipment, pay the staff. You expect him to walk away from all that?”
“I do,” Felix said imperturbably. “My best estimate is that his losses would be somewhere around a million dollars. To someone with his fortune, that amount is lunch money.”
I thought that was being a little dismissive. If we’d been talking about my father, sure. But while Jackson had his own wealth from investments and so on, in addition to his senatorial salary, it wasn’t as though he had access to the kind of money my father did. One day Jackson and I would have to split that enormous fortune — a day I prayed would be very far in the future — but in the meantime he could only be counted as very wealthy, not super-rich like our parents.
Silas must have noted the look of distress on my face, because he responded, “I’m not sure that’s exactly the case, but we’ll leave that aside for now. I think the important thing to do here is to impress on Senator Quinn the implications of this sort of research, and give him a better idea of the sort of person Lucius Montfort really is. Appealing to his better nature is probably the best way to approach this. What do you think, Serena?”
I’d been in the middle of taking a sip from my glass of water, so I had to wait a few seconds before I could reply. When I was ready, though, I said, “I agree. Jackson isn’t going to want to be in a business arrangement with Lucius once he realizes what a criminal he is. He was a little reluctant from the beginning, but I reassured him that it would be fine. He went along with the whole thing because he wants to save his daughter, and because he didn’t think I could possibly be with someone who wasn’t on the up and up.”
“You’re that close?” Felix asked. He didn’t sound very convinced.
“No,” I said frankly. “We’re not. But he knows me well enough to know that I’m very careful in my relationships. That’s what gave Lucius an in, more than anything else.”
“And now you’re going to reverse course. How will Jackson respond to that?”
“I don’t know.” I glanced over at Silas, who was watching me carefully. Something about the solemn regard in those dark, dark eyes made me feel far braver than I knew I was. Being back with him was a miracle, one I didn’t intend to take for granted. “I want him to meet Silas. And I’ll tell him the whole story. That should help to convince him that Lucius Montfort is bad news.”
“What if your brother doesn’t agree to stop the research?”
“Well, I — ” I floundered for a moment, because I honestly didn’t know what I would do if Jackson proved to be stubborn. But he wouldn’t. My brother — unlike a lot of politicians — really did strive to do the right thing. I couldn’t imagine him staying in a partnership with someone he knew to be a bad person.
Apparently Felix had been expecting that kind of non-reply, because he gave a grim nod and said, “Don’t worry, Serena. If your brother doesn’t shut this thing down, then we’ll do it for him.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I demanded, even as I shot a worried look at my gula partner. “Silas, what is he talking about?”
“When the Watchers make a plan, they very rarely stray from that course,” Silas said. Now his attention was fixed on his fellow gula, the set of his jaw telling me that he knew exactly what Felix had meant. “It seems word has come down that the research must be stopped, one way or another. If you can’t convince Jackson to end the research, close down the facility, then they’ll destroy it.”
“You can’t do that,” I protested. “I thought you were supposed to be observers. So now you’re domestic terrorists?”
Felix’s eyes narrowed at the word “terrorists,” and the glare he shot me was as bright and focused as a blue laser beam. “I’d be more likely to call your brother a terrorist if he tries to continue this research. Its consequences will be far more dire than a wrecked lab, I assure you.”
But…. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Or rather, I didn’t want to believe it. Surely he couldn’t really be serious about destroying the lab. He was just trying to scare me, to make sure I would be as persuasive as possible when I spoke to Jackson.
I sent a frantic look at Silas, and he responded with a barely perceptible lift of his shoulders. Clearly, he believed Felix, knew his fellow Watchers would do whatever was necessary to make sure the vampire blood and any of the components it contained never made it out to the general population.
And I also thought of my vision, of that warehouse in the middle of nowhere. The sketch that matched it, with its rows and rows of hospital beds. If I allowed any of this to go on, then who was the terrorist?