Boaz texted a friend who traded keys with him on the steps of city hall, and we climbed into a borrowed sedan that smelled like stale fries. I still hadn’t seen his new ride, but I heard its throaty growl a few streets over as his friend took her for a spin. Our neighbors must love his new purchase.

I cocked an eyebrow at him. “You must think you’re pretty smooth.”

A smile glinted in his eyes. “Comparisons have been made between me and babies’ bottoms, yes.”

“Thanks for the ride.” I leaned my head against his shoulder. “Thanks for being here tonight.”

“Anything for you, Squirt,” he rumbled. “You’re my best girl.”

A quiver rippled through my lower stomach at his tone. Of all the times he’d called me his best girl, I had never once believed he meant it, but I was having trouble not taking him—and the wide palm he wrapped around my thigh—seriously.

“You aren’t making this any easier,” I murmured, thinking on his father’s warnings.

“Good,” he said without an ounce of remorse. “I’m tired of easy.”

Those words ranked up there in my top ten list of things I had always wished he would say. Now that he had, I had no idea what to make of them. So I breathed him in and didn’t make anything of them at all.

All too soon, we paused at the end of the driveway while the automated gates swung open, and I released a pained groan. “I’d hoped Volkov would take the hint when I didn’t ask him to wait for me.”

“I’ll handle him.” Eagerness sharpened Boaz’s expression as he rolled up to Woolly and parked. “You need to rest. I’ll make sure he understands that.”

“I appreciate the offer, but he’s not going to quit until I tell him no.” I lifted my wrist and shook it side to side. “Besides, I have to give this back to him.”

“How much does he know about you?” Boaz asked in a quiet voice.

“I don’t know,” I admitted. “He refused to share his intel. He let me get blindsided tonight.”

He mulled over that. “Is that why you’re refusing his offer of alliance?”

I jerked upright and met his stare. “How did you—?”

“I’m not a total idiot.” His gaze skimmed down my body, over the dress Volkov had given me. “He’s stamping proof of ownership all over you. The dress isn’t half as bad as the jewelry. There’s only one reason why he would give you a weapon against him, and that’s if he was trying to win you over with trust.”

“Can you do me a favor?” I slid the crimson bangle over my wrist, shuddering at the warmth it had leached from me. I wished I could chuck it at Volkov as a distraction while I bolted for the house, but running from predators only turned you into prey. “Don’t let me make a total fool of myself out there.”

“I’ve got your back.” He reached over me and palmed a stake from the glovebox. “Do what you need to do.”

We exited the car together, leaving Keet in the floorboard and the box on my seat, but I walked ahead of Boaz to greet my former escort. “I wasn’t expecting to see you again tonight.”

“I wasn’t sure how long the Grande Dame would keep you, so I came here to wait. I hope you don’t mind.” He gestured toward Boaz. “I assumed your friend would see you home. It appears I was correct.”

“Do you want me to get rid of him?” Boaz tossed the stake end over end in his hand. “Say the word, and he’s gone.”

Volkov scoffed in his direction, amused that Boaz would pit himself against a Last Seed and expect to come out on top. “I only came to make sure you were all right. It’s my duty as your escort to ensure you arrived home in the same condition as when you left.”

“I’m fine, thank you, but I’ve come into some information tonight that changes things.” I extended the bangle toward him. “I appreciate your offer, but I can’t accept it at this time. There’s too much uncertainty in my future for me to factor in one more unknown.”

“Tradition demands you keep it as a token of my esteem.” He spread his hands, palms out, and stepped back. “I am forbidden to pursue you should you return the gift.” He looked to Boaz for confirmation. “It is an absolute refusal. I will accept it, of course, if that’s your wish. But I hope you will keep me in mind for a while longer, until you’ve had time to adjust to your new circumstances.”

“He’s telling the truth.” Boaz shrugged when I checked in with him. “The courtship ends when the avowal is returned.” He held Volkov’s stare. “However, there’s no rule that says you have to wear it while you’re making your decision.”

I tucked in the smile twitching on my lips and conceded the point. Fine. So maybe I wouldn’t shake off Volkov tonight. But Boaz had found me a loophole. I could keep the bangle as an escape hatch for the day the Grande Dame pressed me too far into a corner. Not an ideal solution, since it meant I had to keep tap-dancing around Volkov, but if I could find another means of nullifying his lure without depending on his gift, I could seize the upper hand in any future negotiations.

“All right. I’ll keep the bangle for now.” I didn’t put it back on, and Volkov let his mask slip a fraction in his irritation. “I don’t want to make any irreversible decisions until I’ve had time to weigh my options.”

Volkov inclined his head. “Perhaps I could persuade you to—”

Boaz placed a proprietary hand at the small of my back, and Volkov’s lip twitched in a snarl.

“Not tonight.” I stepped away from Boaz to show that while I wasn’t with Volkov, I wasn’t with him either. “Maybe some other time.”

Volkov took a step that mirrored mine. “Grier.”

“She said no.” Boaz didn’t raise his voice, didn’t shift his weight forward, gave no outward indication he was primed for battle. Except for his smile. There was something wicked and dangerous in the curve that set my pulse sprinting. “Back off, vamp.”

Volkov bared his fangs and hissed under his breath. His guards, who had been content to watch the show up to this point, pushed off the car and approached us.

“This is my line,” I warned Volkov, stepping between the vampires and Boaz. “Cross it, hurt someone I love, and there’s no going back.”

The threat had the desired effect, but I got the impression admitting I loved Boaz, no matter that it was mostly unrequited, had painted a target on his carotid.

The growl of a motorcycle approaching caught the guards’ attention and shattered our stalemate.

“I’ll be in touch.” Volkov shoved his hands into his pockets. “Soon.”

Boaz and I stood together in silence until their taillights flashed at the end of the street.

“He’s going to be a problem,” he predicted as he returned to the car to gather my things. “Vamps are hella territorial, and he thinks I hiked my leg on his hydrant tonight by bringing you home.”

Of course he would remember the hydrant comment.

“We’ll figure something out.” I frowned at the limp he had concealed from the vampires. “For now, you need to go home and take care of your leg.”

He grunted. “Don’t start mother-henning me, Squirt.”

“You’re lucky you didn’t break something jumping onto the dais.” I shoved him gently. “Count your blessings.”

Grumbling all the way, he bent down and dropped a kiss on top of my head as he passed off Keet and the box. “Don’t think this means you can start bossing me around every day.”

I batted my lashes at him. “I wouldn’t dream of it.”

A herd of wild buffalo would have made a quieter exit than Boaz’s stomping. I got the feeling he wasn’t thrilled leaving me alone for the night, but asking him to stay over wasn’t happening. I had too much to process tonight without adding the temptation of Boaz sleeping down the hall from me to the mix.

Ready for this night to end, I took the stairs and sang out, “I’m home.”

The porch light blazed in welcome, and I shuffled in with all my burdens as the door shut and the latches engaged until Woolly was locked up tight behind me. An air of expectation hung around me as she attempted to use silence to crack me, but I was a tough nut and onto her tricks. After all, I had taught her most of them.

“I’m sorry, girl.” I rested my forehead against the door. “So much happened tonight, and I don’t want to get into the gory details.”

A floorboard groaned in protest.

“I’ll give you the scoop tomorrow, I promise.” I rushed to assure her I wasn’t falling into old habits. “I just need to think for a bit. Is that okay?” The lights in the foyer brightened in assent, and I lifted the cage. “Look who’s back.”

The curtain near the window where Keet’s empty cage sat rippled in excitement, and I transferred the little guy back into his own home. The smaller one I would toss out tomorrow to be on the safe side. Keeping any gift from the Grande Dame, no matter how benign it appeared, struck me as asking for trouble.

After trudging upstairs, I changed into Boaz’s rumpled shirt and crawled under the covers in the cool darkness while my mind raced frantic circles around all I had learned tonight. At least I had confirmation of who I owed the favor. Now the question would be when did she plan to collect?