“Here’s a secret, it’s not control. We both promised her we’d be happy with whatever she gives us as long as we got to be a part of her life. I wasn’t lying, even if it means she wants to be with someone like Cash or Jo or anyone else for that matter. It doesn’t change the way I feel about her or what we have together. Before you talk to her, I suggest you figure out if that’s the same for you. If it isn’t, mate, then let her go. She deserves people who take her as she is instead of trying to control what they don’t like.”
My throat bobbed, swallowing my anger. Because he was right. If I couldn’t love her the way I promised, I didn’t deserve to have her at all. And if I kept this up, I’d lose her anyway.
Fucking hell.
I peered up at him, but my ears caught a sound before the sensation in the house changed. That bastard Cash and the otherone had left without a word, that much I could immediately ascertain. Both Sloan and I went to the living room, only to find Rose and Kris gathering weapons.
“What’s—”
Rose strapped her preferred spiked bat to her back, razor-sharp eyes on me. “I don’t know what’s happened, but the alarms at Kate’s house were silenced and the video feed has been wiped. We haven’t heard back from the Hunters meant to be watching her, so I’m going over there to investigate.”
Sloan and I nodded at each other and gathered our things. The four of us headed to Kate’s house, but my instincts sensed trouble before we made it to the door.
The two Hunters who’d been assigned to keep an eye on V’s friend were not in the usual spot. Only a smattering of blood was found near the usual tree. The Organization was diligent about covering their tracks, so we wouldn’t find their bodies if they were dead.
“On me,” Rose instructed, taking lead toward the house. “Razor Scout protocol until we know what we’re dealing with.”
Rose suspected the Organization, too, if she was calling Razor Scout. She expected traps and possible supernatural enemies we didn’t usually encounter. We’d go in expecting anything to happen.
She had a dagger in one hand, a gun in the other, every step measured and her eyes on anything that could round the corner on us. Knowing Rose, she’d pull out her favorite bat at some point. The woman was diabolical with that fucking spiked stick.
I kept a magic-disabling ball in my hand, ready to throw the second we got inside. Magic users were the hardest to fight, but luckily not impossible. Not against my inventions. Weapons were useless until their magic was disabled.
Kris and Sloan naturally moved into action. Flanking from all sides, we entered with our weapons drawn, prepared for a fight,only to find the house ransacked and no one left on location. After a sweep, we confirmed no one had stayed to greet us. Which meant this wasn’t the final location.
Scheisse.
“Where’s V?” I asked Rose, who had gone over to the counter. She lifted the rings we’d given V, and my heart sank at the sight of them. “Why would she remove them?”
Rose peered down and lifted the phone left out. “Because of this. Seems she was lured elsewhere. The house was left like this for a reason. It’s a message as much as what’s written in this text.”
She tapped something into her phone, probably to log the coordinates.
“We’ll need to proceed with extreme caution. If it’s the Organization, they’ll know how to catch us out the minute we come within a mile of the location. My granddaughter knew what she was doing when she left these here. She didn’t want to take any risks by being followed. Bastards knew what they were doing when they took Kate.”
I cursed and came over to read the text. “Both Cash and Jo left before you noticed anything was wrong?”
Rose sighed and nodded, looking uncomfortably her age as she did a sweep of the room again. “He’s a Hand of Death, Phillip. It’s very likely he has some way to track her, given how quickly he found her last time.”
“You know what that is, then?”
Her eyes danced with amusement. “I know something that you don’t? Never thought I’d see the day,” she taunted. I could sense her concern through her projected bravado. “Let’s just say that you’re right to be wary of him, but he cares about her and he’ll be a fierce adversary to anyone in the Organization. Even this supposed Royal Siren.”
Uncomfortable with both her wariness and admiration, I crossed my arms. “V doesn’t need him.”
Patting my shoulder, Rose chuckled without amusement. “I’m afraid to say that you’re very wrong, old friend. I happen to think he’s exactly who she needs right now if…”
“If?” I asked, but Rose didn’t finish, just dialed a number and left the house.
Despite me having superior genetic makeup, Rose was a formidable Hunter who’d outwitted me on more than one occasion. Whatever she knew about the Dark Fae, it put her in his corner—something that bothered me as much as V’s fascination for him did.
Rose didn’t trust lightly, and knowing who he was and the hand he had in her son and daughter-in-law’s deaths, the attachment didn’t make sense. But I’d have to be an idiot to think I could get anything out of that woman. No doubt her secrets would be buried with her one day.
Sloan continued to check the house for anything that could give us clues before we went to the next location. Kris was on the phone with the other Hunters to ensure they hadn’t been attacked and organize a relocation. We’d need them on high alert if the Organization was keeping watch.
When Rose returned, her face was twisted in on itself. Not a great sign from a woman who rarely showed her emotions. “I had a friend in the area check the location. She can move around undetected, even from the best in the Organization. She said it’s abandoned but sensed recent Fae magic. Stronger than anything she’s ever felt before.”
To sense specific magic must’ve meant a Hunter or supernatural type with magical abilities. Rose had friends everywhere, so it could be either or. But it was likely this one came at a cost. A large one.
