Page 120
:Sounds like you might have more fun than us in the tower.:
Goddess, I hoped so. I hoped there were no issues whatsoever in the basement, though we all feared the worst given what had transpired in that darkness.
“I will absolutely take your proposal to Her Majesty,” Kevin said smoothly. “We’re arriving now. Please ask the other queens to join us in the executive suite.”
A security guard opened the door. I waited a moment for Gina and Julie to exit the car, then I started to slip out ahead of Kevin and Regina. Though as I passed her, she shivered and rubbed her arms briskly.
As if she could sense me.
She looked straight at me, though her eyes were unfocused. “Death walks among us.”
“What?” Kevin asked.
She shook her head, her eyes refocusing. “I felt strange for a moment. Just a little woozy.”
“You don’t have to come up with us. You can return to the Park Avenue house and wait—”
“I’m fine,” she broke in with a smile, though it seemed forced. “It’s not going to be as bad as Paris.” Pause. “Right?”
No promises, human.
I slipped into the elevator with them since I wasn’t sure which floor Kevin asked them to meet. I could have certainly sniffed them out, but it might have taken a few minutes, and I wanted as much time as possible to catalogue every queen’s scent. I also made sure to mark every person’s scent, human or otherwise, as we walked through the tower. Just to be sure we didn’t have another unidentifiable person inside my queen’s blood circle.
Frank tried to get the guard I noticed that night in Paris to return to duty—under careful supervision, of course—so we could learn more about him. But the man was gone. The agency Frank had gone through couldn’t produce the man, even though they claimed to only hire exemplary, trustworthy employees for the most sensitive clients. Even Sekh hadn’t Seen anything unusual in the man’s history—though once he left the nest that night, he simply disappeared.
Maybe someone else killed him, though Sekh should have been able to See his fate.
Or, more likely, the man simply wasn’t who he professed to be. The same as Janelle.
I bared my teeth in a silent growl at the thought of how close the unknown threat had been to my queen. Inside her nest. Nearly under her roof.
:It certainly makes me rethink allowing Frank’s team inside the blood circle,: Rik said.
I hadn’t meant to send my concern to him, but our bonds were so deep, it was difficult to keep a thought to myself. Not that I had anything I wanted to hide. I simply hadn’t meant to trouble the alpha while he was planning an even more dangerous endeavor with our queen. :I’ve been checking any human inside the nest, and so far, I haven’t found anyone else without a scent.:
:Though it’s possible they have a way of eliminating their scent only when the need arises,: Sekh said. :Just like they have a way of eluding my Sight, while also appearing to be completely normal, regular people up until they aren’t.:
:I don’t like the uncertainty.: Rik’s bond sounded like gravel crunching under the hell horse’s giant hooves. :If you find any queen even the least bit suspicious, kill her, Xin. Don’t stop to ask permission.:
:Understood, alpha.:
Six queens waited in the large conference room along with their Blood and several sibs not queens. Even a few humans. Two exits at opposite ends of the room, which wasn’t ideal. Past the long business-like table and office chairs, the queens sat in padded armchairs positioned in a loose arc in front of a wide expanse of glass showcasing the tower’s view of the Manhattan skyline.
I made a quick, silent pass around the room, marking each person’s scent in case someone slipped away later. Everyone appeared to be normal.
:Your primary targets are the queens,: Rik said. :We can pick off anyone else who might try to escape. I’m sending Khalid up to guard the second exit to the hallway.:
Standing with his back to the windows, Kevin faced the queens. The rest of our team sat at the conference table, working on laptops and files to sell the idea they were making contractual updates.
Six queens. Six alphas near their chairs. A handful of Blood guarding around the room and at the doors. The same as we would do, certainly, but with my queen’s entire consiliari team inside this room, they could certainly do some significant damage to House Isador’s interests if they decided to slaughter the humans.
I tuned out Kevin’s words, all my senses locked on the queens. I crouched before him, close enough to easily lunge toward any of them. Studying them. Watching their subtle responses. An alpha leaned down to his queen, his ear close to her lips as she whispered too low for Kevin’s ears.
Though not too low for my enhanced hearing.
“As in Rome.”
The alpha straightened. I watched for any flicker on his face, a change in his eyes, anything that might signal his next move.
