Prologue
Darius Drummond sat with his arm slung over the back of his muierimei’s chair, sipping a cocktail. Today was an excellent day. Etienne Delacour, his best friend and the king of the vampires, had just married a fabulous woman. Willa was perfect for him and would be an incredible queen.
Carolyn Drummond leaned into him and smiled. “You look happy.” Carolyn was, and still is, a very powerful witch. She and Darius met over Halloween 2017 in Savannah. It was true love at first sight, followed quickly by three blood exchanges to convert Carolyn into a vampire.
“I am. The sun is shining, Etienne and Willa are no longer in danger, and I have you at my side. My world is perfect.”
“I have to admit, it’s nice to have a peaceful day for a change.”
No sooner had Carolyn said that, his cell phone rang.
Carolyn let her head fall back on her shoulders and sighed. “I spoke too soon.”
A minute later, Darius ended the call. “Work calls. I’ll be back in a minute.”
He bounded up the grand staircase of Etienne’s mansion, stopped beside his king standing on the covered porch, and leaned in to whisper in his ear. “We have a situation.”
“Tell me,” Etienne said in his all business tone as he lifted his hand in greeting to one of the wedding guests.
“I just received word from Evan Dupré of a singular witch on the run with a WITSEC agent. She witnessed Dante Comeaux commit a mob hit. She’s in trouble. Big trouble.”
“Send Xander, Nick, and Derick to retrieve her. Once we have her story, we’ll eliminate the threat so she can return home.”
“Consider it done.” Darius straightened the traditional Romanian dress tunic he had worn to escort Willa down the aisle, before turning to rejoin to the wedding feast. His crew was somewhere amongst the crowd. His luck held when he spotted all three vampires standing around the open bar.
“I need to have a word with the three of you. Let’s take this into the library.”
Without a word, all three followed him into the mansion.
Darius closed the library doors and turned to address his men. “I have an assignment for you. Sheena Savoy, a singular witch from New Orleans, is on the run from Dante Comeaux. She witnessed him commit a mob hit and is currently under WITSEC protection.”
“WITSEC?” Nick Trahan scoffed. “They might as well hand her over to Comeaux on a silver platter. That division is full of dirty agents.”
Darius gave Nick a pointed stare. “And that’s why we have a vampire working undercover in the department. Dupré is invaluable as a mole in that cesspool. Your job is to find Miss Savoy, protect her, and bring her home.”
“What about Comeaux?” Nick asked, still pushing Darius’s limits. “This isn’t the first time he’s crossed the line in the paranormal community.”
“Get the entire story out of Sheena. Once we have the information, Etienne will make the call.”
“And the WITSEC agent?” Derick Trahan, Nick’s younger brother, asked.
“If he’s a problem, stage Sheena’s death. He won’t pursue a dead woman. If he’s dirty, feed him to the gators.”
Alexander ‘Xander’ Beck rubbed his jaw. “What about Miss Savoy? Is she going to be a problem?”
“Unknown. I have no idea how much she knows about witches or vampires.”
“Just another day in the life of the League of Guardians,” Nick quipped.
Darius gave Nick an exasperated look. “She’s safe for the moment.”
Then he glanced at Xander and Derick to include them in his final instructions. “At present, Miss Savoy and the marshal are at the police station. Their confirmed destination is a safe house in the bayou. Retrieval will be much more efficient outside of the city. Only the marshals guarding our witch will bear witness to Miss Savoy’s removal from their caring embrace.”
Darius glanced at his wristwatch. “You have a few hours before Miss Savoy arrives at that location. I’ll email her file to each of you. Enjoy the wedding feast and then head out. The address is in the file.”