It might have seemed that Christian had “found” Siobhan, but the fact of the matter was, she let him find her. He had no idea where her coven was located and she always seemed to magically pop up in certain downtown clubs when he happened to be there. The one time she’d summoned him, that bastard Carrig had found him in a private, high-stakes poker game. Not exactly out in the public eye. If he didn’t know any better, he’d think she’d found him first and had been keeping an eye on him for a long damned time. He was sick and tired of having to visit every club in the city when he needed to see her. And at the same time, he admired her ability to keep herself—and her coven—protected.
He wanted to talk to her before he went to McAlister with the bits and pieces of information he’d managed to collect. He couldn’t explain it, but before he moved forward, he needed her counsel. And in the process, he hoped to arm her with a little information.
He tilted his head up at the black neon sign of Onyx. It was his last stop of the night. If she wasn’t here, he had no idea where else to look.
“See something interesting up there, werewolf?”
Christian pursed his lips. The soft, sensual purr of her voice sent a lick of heat down his spine. At the same time, his wolf gave a disapproving growl in the recess of his psyche. He was supposed to be the predator, and always with Siobhan he felt more like prey.
His wolf was not amused.
“Where’d you come from?” Annoyance bled into his tone.
She stepped up beside him, shoulder to shoulder. Well, shoulder to upper arm. She was a good eight inches shorter than he was but her personality and sheer bravery made up for what she lacked in height. Christian took a deep breath of jasmine and held it in his lungs. The lights of the surrounding businesses reflected off the nearly blue-black locks of her hair. He focused his gaze straight ahead once more as he resisted the urge to get a good, long eyeful.
“Does it matter where I came from?” Her voice was like a caress. “I’m here now.”
Yes she was. Christian’s wolf stirred once again, its agitation slowly transforming to possessive lust. The stubborn animal believed Siobhan belonged to them. Christian believed the animal was an idiot.
“You know, Siobhan, you have a habit of showing up at just the right moment.”
She glanced at him from the corner of her eye. “Is that a bad thing?”
Christian returned her glance. “I’m not sure yet.”
One corner of her mouth hitched in a sensual half smile. “So … are we going in or do you want to take this little tête-à-tête somewhere else?”
Christian swallowed down a groan. His mind raced with the many options presented by the implication of her words. He wanted to be alone with her, but if that were to happen, they sure as hell wouldn’t be talking. Christian glanced over his shoulder at the tiny dive bar across the street. There couldn’t be more than ten or fifteen people inside. It seemed like a good compromise.
He jerked his chin as he turned. “Let’s go over there.”
Siobhan’s eyebrow cocked. “Over there?”
He grinned. “What’s the matter? Too low-rent for you?”
Her ruby-red lips pursed and Christian’s eyes were drawn to the lush display. “Not at all.” She turned and fell into step beside him. “Should be fun.”
They waited for a break in traffic and crossed the street toward the bar. The sign read, Ray’s, and looked like the sort of place that catered to day-drinkers. Christian had found himself in places just like Ray’s more times than he could count. It was the perfect place to not feel so gods-damned bad about himself. Misery loved company after all. Christian didn’t have to feel guilty about not trying to be a better male if he hung out in places steeped in failure and despair.
So basically, he’d be right at home.
“Where’s your bodyguard?”
Siobhan smiled. “Carrig? He’s close.”
Of course he was. Bastard. “You always have a backup plan, don’t you?”
“Of course I do.” Christian opened the door for Siobhan and she flashed a dazzling smile as she walked past him. “Don’t you?”
He tried to. But he was beginning to believe that no one planned better than Siobhan. “Sometimes. I’m not hiding from anyone like you are, though.”
Siobhan bristled. She strode past the bar and found a secluded booth at the back of the building. Christian stayed a few steps behind her, too mesmerized by the sway of her hips to do anything other than stare. She slid into the booth, giving Christian plenty of room to join her.
“Maybe not, but you’re still looking over your shoulder.”
Wasn’t that the fucking truth? When you played both sides against the middle with the sort of heavy-hitters Christian was mixed up with, he had no choice but to look over his shoulder. Siobhan had never outright admitted she was the dhampir Gregor was looking for, but the more comfortable she became with Christian, the more she gave away. The tiniest of tells that left a trail of breadcrumbs for him to follow.
He needed her to trust him. To open up to him. But she was a wary, cornered animal. She wouldn’t roll over and show her belly. If she felt even a little threatened, she’d fight. Christian had no idea how to deal with her. She was an enigma.
“Gregor’s up to something.” Siobhan might have liked to play games, but Christian didn’t. He cut to the chase rather than engage in their usual banter.
“Can I get you two a drink?”
Christian turned his attention to the cocktail waitress. This place had speedier service than some of the dives he was used to. He was running low on cash after losing a few thousand on a Barcelona match last week. That’d teach him to ever bet against Messi again. Besides, it’s not like he’d find any top-shelf shit here. He’d just have to suck it up and drink shitty liquor.
“Bourbon, neat.”
The cocktail waitress turned to Siobhan. “And for you?”
She leveled her gaze, expression bored. “Same.”
Gods, she was an intimidating female. It totally turned him on. Siobhan’s lack of congeniality sent the waitress back to the bar without an ounce of small talk. She focused her emerald green eyes on Christian and her full lips parted to reveal the delicate points of her fangs. “Why do you think I care?”
Time to switch tactics. No games. Time for a healthy dose of honesty. “I don’t. I want your opinion before I go to Trenton McAlister with what I know.”
Her eyes narrowed and her countenance grew serious. “You want my opinion?”
Wow. If he’d known all it would take to stop her in her tracks was to value her input, he would have asked for her opinion a long damned time ago. “Yes. You know more about Gregor than I do. You know what makes him tick. What fuels him.” She opened her mouth to protest but he cut her off. “Don’t try to deny it. I tracked him to where he and his loyal troops have set up camp. He’s got a prisoner.” Siobhan leaned in, almost indiscernibly, and her brow furrowed. Yes! He’d hooked her. “A mage.”
She jerked back. Stunned. Christian had never seen the self-possessed dhampir so thrown off her game. This was big. She knew something and it was fucking ominous. Had to be.
“A mage?” She brought her voice down to a murmur. “You’re certain?”
A tremor of anxious energy skittered down Christian’s spine. His wolf gave a low warning growl in his psyche and willed the animal to still. There was no use getting bent out of shape until he knew exactly what was going on. And honestly, he didn’t have much faith that Siobhan would fill in many of the blanks.
“There’s something not right about him, too.” The waitress came back with their drinks and he slid his credit card across the table. “Start a tab.”
“No.” Siobhan slid his card back to him and replaced it with two twenties. “We’re one and done tonight.” She fixed her stern gaze on the waitress. “And we’d like some privacy.”
The waitress scooped up the twenties and straightened. “Can do.”
Shit was getting real. This was a side of Siobhan he’d never seen before. Serious. Down to business. Intense. Maybe he’d stumbled on something more important than he’d first thought. If so, McAlister was going to owe him a shitload more than some cash.
Christian was prepared to negotiate for his freedom.
* * *
Had Gregor actually found the mage who’d bound McAlister’s power? Siobhan was so stunned, a feather could’ve knocked her over right now. Christian was smarter than she gave him credit for, something she needed to keep in mind for the future. There couldn’t be many creatures privy to the secret. McAlister would’ve made sure to kill anyone who knew his weakness. She was sure Christian didn’t realize the precarious position he’d just put himself in.
“I broke into the apartment building. The mage was in the next room and I overheard their conversation.”
Berserkers could smell an enemy from miles away. “How did you manage that?”
“I bought a tincture from a witch that masked my scent.”
Clever wolf. Siobhan wondered what other surprises Christian had up his sleeve. “What did they say?”
“Nothing that made a lot of sense.”
Christian sipped from the edge of his glass and Siobhan’s attention was drawn to his mouth as she remembered the delicious sensation of his lips against hers. Now wasn’t the time for that sort of distraction, however. She needed to focus and find out everything he knew.
“They talked about a vampire named Saeed and his lover. But I got the impression she was something more. Maybe even his mate. Gregor was in Seattle and apparently some shit went down while he was up there. Saeed’s female has something to do with the mage. Rin is his name. Rin wants some hard-core retribution against Saeed’s supposed mate, and Gregor for something she did to him. From the way he made it sound, she’d destroyed his soul.”
Dear gods. Siobhan had been so busy laying low, she hadn’t paid much attention to Mikhail’s pathetic fledglings. If what Christian said was correct, Saeed had possibly been tethered by a soul thief. The rarest of fae creatures and feared almost as much as berserkers by the supernatural community. Siobhan didn’t know all of the details about how McAlister’s power had been bound, but the rumor was that an enaid dwyn had enlisted the help of a mage to bind McAlister. Was Saeed’s mate that soul thief? If so, the game Siobhan had been playing had just dramatically changed.
Gregor was no longer only a threat to vampire kind. He was a threat to supernatural kind.
“What else did you hear?”
Christian studied her for a quiet moment. A golden light flashed in his irises, giving her a glimpse of the animal that lived inside of him. It made him look feral and dangerous. Unpredictable. And so gods-damned sexy it heated her blood.
“They talked about a third party.”
Siobhan couldn’t help but wonder about Christian’s reasons for being so forthcoming with her. The suspicious, guarded part of her worried he was baiting her for someone. Either Gregor or McAlister. The part of her that couldn’t stop staring at his full lips and the square cut of his jaw hoped there was something more to it. Some measure of affection, perhaps.
Siobhan hadn’t allowed herself to feel anything for anyone in a long damned time. So long, she couldn’t remember exactly what it felt like. Tender emotions were a weakness. She couldn’t afford to have any chinks in her armor. Especially now that Gregor’s threat had grown. It was best to consider Christian as nothing more than a strategic tool for her to use. Anything else would only help to get her killed.
“And…?” She really needed Christian to get to the damn point.
“Gregor called her Fiona. I think she’s related to Saeed’s mate. Sisters, maybe. From the way Gregor made it sound, Fiona and this Rin were old friends. And he seems to think McAlister is scared shitless of her.”
Christian had gathered a cache of information but much of it was incomplete and difficult to fill in the blanks. With a little research, Siobhan was confident she could piece all of it together to see a clearer picture.
“But Rin thinks Gregor is overconfident.”
Siobhan let out a derisive snort. Didn’t surprise her at all. His overconfidence—his utter inability to consider failure—was what made him such a formidable foe. His faith bordered on fanatic. “I’m not surprised. Doubt won’t figure into his plans at all.”
Christian gave a nod of agreement. “Rin says Fiona is wild and unpredictable. Without allegiance.”
Under other circumstances, Fiona might be the sort of female Siobhan would admire. Maybe even … like. But considering her current predicament and need to stay one step ahead of Gregor, Fiona was an unknown variable that could easily turn into a threat.
Christian downed the rest of his bourbon and set the glass down with a forlorn stare. Too damn bad. He wasn’t getting another drink. Siobhan sensed that he regularly guzzled gallons of alcohol in an effort to get himself good and drunk. Too bad his supernatural metabolism wouldn’t allow that to happen. He was damaged, self-destructive, and self-serving. Trouble. And yet, she found herself wanting to give him what he wanted. Another drink. Whatever. Anything to make him feel better no matter how temporary the fix.
“Something went down in Seattle between Saeed and Gregor,” Christian said after a moment. “I don’t know what, but it involved his mate. Rin said he was going to kill both of them. Of course, Gregor said he didn’t care what the mage did to Saeed, but that not a hair on his mate’s head was to be touched.”
Interesting. Of course, Gregor wouldn’t care if Rin killed the vampire, but the fact that he was willing to protect a vampire’s mate spoke volumes as to the importance of her role in Gregor’s plans. “Anything else?”
Christian shook his head. “Gregor’s senses are keen as fuck. He got spooked and ordered a perimeter check so I got the hell out of there.”
Damn it. It would have been nice if Christian would’ve been able to get more out of his time in Gregor’s stronghold. “So…” Siobhan hadn’t even touched her own drink. Christian’s gaze dipped briefly to the amber liquor and she let out a long-suffering sigh as she slid the glass toward him. He flashed a charming grin that turned her body traitor as heat flooded her. Sexy bastard. “What exactly do you need my opinion about?”
Christian blew out a breath before downing the bourbon in a single swallow. “I want to know how much you think I should tell McAlister.”
His eyes widened in response to Siobhan’s spluttering laughter. “Are you serious?” He couldn’t possibly be considering going to the director of the Sortiari with this. “None of it!”
Disappointment settled on his expression and his brow furrowed. Obviously she hadn’t given him the answer he’d been looking for. “None of it?”
“Are you so blindly loyal to the Sortiari that you’d turn this over to McAlister?” For some reason, Siobhan had assumed Christian was a rogue in every sense of the word. Like this Fiona, like her, without allegiance.
“Loyalty has nothing to do with it,” Christian replied. “Information is valuable. I tend to sell mine.”
Fool. Siobhan fought the urge to slap him across his handsome face, if anything, to knock a little sense into him. “You’re a slave to money, werewolf.” She had eyes on him all the time. Siobhan knew about his proclivity for gambling and the trouble it had gotten him into. “You need to free yourself of those shackles.”
His answering scowl told her the subject wasn’t up for discussion. “I didn’t ask your opinion on that.”
“I offered it free of charge.” Siobhan made sure to keep her expression serene, her tone light. Whatever emptiness Christian sought to fill, gambling and alcohol weren’t going to get it done.
Christian reached for the empty glass and then pushed it away, disgusted. “Yeah, well, don’t do me any favors.”
His mood had changed and it was a side of him Siobhan had never seen. Brooding. Angry. Disappointed. So unlike the charming, carefree male who loved to bait and tease her. Siobhan didn’t like this side of him one bit. It ruined her fun and made her resistant to play. “You want my opinion on the matter? Fine. I’ll give it to you. If you tell McAlister any of this, he’ll kill you before you have the chance to push yourself from your chair.”
Siobhan had had enough of Christian and his foolhardy ways. She scooted out of the booth and stalked toward the exit, prepared to put him and this miserable night behind her. The early-winter air filled her lungs and she let out a disgusted chuff of breath. Gods, how she hated the city. Hated its pollution and heavy air and the fact that the streetlights made it impossible to see the stars …
Strong arms spun her around. Christian put his mouth to hers in a crushing kiss that weakened her knees and quickened the blood in her veins. Forget Gregor and McAlister. Christian Whalen was bound to destroy her before any of her other enemies ever got the chance.