Page 115 of Seduce Me in Shadow

My heart skips, but I push on. “Since he hasn’t seen fit to kiss me to ascertain pertinent facts or speak certain words…” Their jaws drop. “Yes, I know about your mating rituals. So if I have your blessing to assist, this decision is mine alone.”

The silence stretches, thick with tension.

“She makes excellent points,” Ice grudgingly admits.

“She’s got more gumption than half the men I know,” Tynan adds.

Marrok’s ancient eyes bore into me. “Aye, a warrior spirit in a small body. Know you that if you attempt this, you risk grave danger?”

“Of course. But just as you’re willing to risk your very lives to stop Mathias, so am I. I may not have your brawn or magicalability, but my wit has saved me from more than one scrape. I may be more helpful than you imagine.”

“This isn’t fodder for one of your stories,” Bram growls.

“At the moment, my only thought is to help. We can negotiate the rest later.”

“This isn’t your fight.”

“That bastard hurt my friend.”

Bram taps his toe against the expensive Persian rug, exchanging a loaded glance with Hurstgrove.

“We need a woman to carry the book. Unless one of you knows of a female warrior…”

The reluctant shake of Bram’s head is all I need.

I paste on my sweetest smile. “Well?”

“You are a minx.” Bram sighs. “Very well. But there are rules.”

“Indeed?”

“If you want to stay alive, you must behave as if you’re delivering the book to him because as you researched your articles, you agreed with his message of equality.”

“Easy enough.” And likely the only tactic that will allow me to escape in one piece.

“You don’t go alone.”

“I prefer not to. But who can I take without arousing his suspicion?”

All eyes drift to the warrior in leather with the very bad attitude.

Shock bristles. “I’m not here to fucking babysit.”

“Too bad.” Bram’s tone is unequivocal. “You tell Mathias that you met her through Zain and that you persuaded her to come with you to give him the book. Insist that you promised her protection in exchange for the diary and some positive press. This buys you credibility and Sydney’s freedom. And a way to ‘accidentally’ leave the protections around his base open.”

“You want me to escort her in, keep the trail to his compound cracked for you to enter, then leave?” Shock isn’t thrilled.

That makes two of us. “You want me to deliver the book into a madman’s hands and walk away?”

“Yes and yes.” Bram crosses his arms over his chest.

“Your plan has two flaws: first, it keeps the book in Mathias’s hands.”

“Not quite,” Bram counters, a glint in his eye. “If you force Mathias to snatch the book from you, rather than handing it over willingly, it’ll boomerang back to you the moment you’re out of there. We’re not certain what happens if you give it freely. So use that sharp wit of yours and make him steal it.”

I nod, processing this. “Clever. But there’s still another issue: I’m only in if I can record evidence of Mathias’s return, so I’ll need a small camera. After, I’ll transcast my proof. Magickind deserves the truth.”

“Do you know what you’re asking of me?” Bram demands.

---