Lord Moreau nodded. “And you think she’s going to come after the child? A lone comarré.”

Tatiana leaned in. “You don’t understand what these creatures are capable of.” Her brows lifted as she looked out into the crowd. “You have a comarré. I saw her. You must be very careful of how close you allow them to get to you.”

“I will take that under advisement.” He hesitated. “What do you plan to do about this comarré?”

She smiled. “I’m so glad you asked.” With a conspiratorial glance around, she started. “I’m putting together a team of capable nobles to go after her. A team that, once successful, will be rewarded to the utmost of my power.”

“You don’t need a team.” He leaned against the enormous birdcage behind him, expanding the space between them. “I can handle it.”

“I don’t think you understand how devious this comarré is.”

“I don’t think you understand how capable I am.” His eyes narrowed. “But I work alone. If you want my help, you must promise not to speak to anyone else about this issue until I’ve had my shot. I don’t want a bunch of bumbling nobles getting in my way. Understand?”

His sudden control of the situation thrilled her. Even Octavian rarely did much more than agree with her these days. “I understand. You have my word.”

His mouth bent. “Is that any good?”

“Are you implying I don’t keep my word, Lord Moreau?”

He straightened and closed the distance between them until little more than a handbreadth separated them. “I’m implying you have a reputation. And not a good one.”

She pulled back. “No one speaks to me that way.”

“Maybe they should.” He tipped his head and came imperceptibly closer. “Maybe you need someone around you who isn’t afraid of putting you in your place once in a while. Someone who does more than ask how high when you say jump.”

His words sent a shiver down her spine and into her belly, igniting a fire that hadn’t burned in centuries. Not since… she forced the memories away. “My consort is the only one I need around me.”

“Then send him after the comarré.” He turned to go.

“Wait.” She grabbed his arm. Dense muscle tensed under her hand. “I will give you a chance.”

Moreau’s eyes narrowed with a look of satisfaction. “Then I’ll take care of the comarré as my gift to you. To prove my loyalty.”

She mentally shook herself. “That’s very… generous.”

He laughed softly, his gaze stroking the curves of her body with a familiarity that made her weak. “The only thing that’s going to be generous is how you reward me when I return.”

Creek drove faster than he should have, but a speeding ticket was the last thing on his mind. For the first time since he’d taken his position as the KM’s agent in Paradise City, he actually felt the desire to do the job for more reasons than providing for his family and keeping himself out of prison.

The mayor had lost her mind. And so had the vampire who’d turned her. If this was the way all humans thought, that the answers to their problems lay in the undead life everlasting, the world would crumble faster than the KM predicted.

He skidded to a stop in his grandmother’s driveway, spraying gravel as he killed the engine and hopped off the bike. Martin’s truck was gone.

Annika walked out onto the porch. “That was fast.”

He pulled his helmet off. First things first. “How is she?”

“Resting, but doing well. She’s very strong. Her friend will be back at dusk to stay with her.”

“Strong is an understatement.” He climbed the steps to stand beside her. “We need to talk.”

She motioned to the low bench under the front window. He sat at the far end, not waiting for her to join him before he began. “The mayor’s been turned. At her own request, apparently.”

Annika’s thin brows rose over her shades. “That’s rather inconvenient. The masters will not be happy with that news. Do you know who did it?”

“A noble.” He shook his head. “Maybe Dominic, but she wasn’t detectable as a vampire. I’ve never run across that, but that’s a Paole power, isn’t it?”

“Yes. And there aren’t any of them in town.”

He snorted. “That we know of, but then how could we?”

She nodded. “If this new vamp is going to start siring children on a regular basis, we’ll need to deal with him.”

“Understood. What are your thoughts on the mayor?”

She leaned against the house. “What would you do about her?”

“I don’t know.” Annika’s question was probably a test. Didn’t make answering it any easier. At least she wasn’t Argent, who would have taken a wrong answer as a personal assault. He leaned his forearms on his knees and listened to the insects drone. He flexed his hands, warping the words inked across his knuckles. “She’s going to drop the curfew, which will be good, but I can’t see the people who voted for her being happy about her sudden change of affairs.”

“Many will want to follow in her footsteps.” Annika leaned back. “She did it for the power, I assume?”

He nodded. “And because she thinks it will help her raise her grandchild.”

Annika snorted. “She’ll never lay hands on that child. I’d sooner give a snake egg to a chicken to hatch.”