Page 111 of Tin God

His amnis stilled, joining his mate’s, as the room fell silent.

He smelled a faint whiff of smoke that had to be Brigid, and the ground vibrated slightly beneath his feet.

Carwyn’s voice was a warning. “Careful, everyone.”

Despite the smell of smoke, Brigid took a deep breath and spoke in a calm voice. “Oleg, I toldyouthat Katya wasn’t behind this, and you’ve heard everythin’ we said here.”

“And Katya” —Carwyn’s voice remained a low growl— “you know us. We have lived peacefully in your territory and recognized your authority for years. You’ve listened to Brigid. You’ve seen the files Gavin sent you, I’m assuming?”

That day, while the vampires were resting, Gavin’s people had sent through a treasure trove of information, and Ben had forwarded everything about the ships, the gold transfers, and a list of known associates who were working on Paulson’s new fleet to Katya’s and Oleg’s email addresses as Brigid and Carwyn had requested.

“I read the files,” Oleg said in a low voice. “Ekaterina Grigorieva, I swear on my honor that I had nothing to do with these attacks. When I attack you, I will not use humans as my shields or sneak behind your back like a fox.”

Ben looked at Katya’s face, visible on Carwyn’s tablet.

Brigid prompted her. “Katya?”

The small woman was sitting in the dark, and a faint red glow illuminated her pale skin. Her chin was propped on two delicate fingers, and her lips were slightly pursed. “What do you want from us, Brigid Connor?”

“We need to cooperate,” Brigid said. “We needbothyour resources and both of your permissions to share information. Zasha is workin’ with Paulson, and if you’ve seen Gavin’s files, you probably both have come to the same conclusions.”

Oleg grunted. “Brigid Connor, you have my permission to share the information I gave you with whomever you deem necessary to rid this territory of this menace.”

Brigid looked at Katya.

The small vampire didn’t look pleased, but she didn’t look angry either.

“Jennie, you can work with them,” Katya said. “Give them what they need. Paulson isn’t our friend and he never has been. Whatever he’s been paying me isn’t enough to make up for unleashing this on our people and whatever fucked-up plans he has to take over.” She looked from Jennie to Brigid. “And make no mistake—the people lost in Kenaiare my people.” With that statement, the screen went blank.

“What a pleasant evening.” Oleg sounded amused. “If you need reinforcements?—”

“We don’t need anything from you.” Jennie cut him off. “And Brigid, I want to see what you have on Paulson. I’m sick and tired of being in the dark.”

Tenzin laughed, and everyone looked at her.

“It’s amusing because the nights here are long,” she said. “We’re all in the dark.”

Buck and Carwynspread a large map of Alaska on the center of the table and another one beside it that was a larger detail of the Inside Passage.

Tenzin floated over the table, trying to picture the geography in her mind. “Tell me the dates.”

“Paulson’s boat wasn’t the first,” Buck said. “A fishing boat went missing two weeks before Zasha met with Paulson.”

Tenzin saw Buck put a pin on the map. It was just north of Vancouver.

She made a mental picture of Zasha’s movements. They’d moved from Las Vegas up through Katya’s territory, possibly skirting into the sparse interior of Western Canada to avoid the prying eyes of the Athabaskan Confederation.

“The first attack was outside Vancouver.” She closed her eyes and pictured the two vampires she was tracking. “Where did Zasha meet with Paulson?”

“Not far.” Buck placed another yellow flag. “Within the Hecate Strait.”

“The Hecate Strait is north of Vancouver.” Tenzin blinked her eyes open. “They met about their plan. The crew gossiped that Paulson didn’t look pleased to see Zasha. Perhaps they were more than Paulson bargained for. Perhaps Paulson didn’t like Zasha drawing attention to themself in Las Vegas.”

“Either way,” Carwyn said, “at that point, Paulson was committed. A few weeks later, he and the entire crew of theDolphindrop off the map just outside Sitka.”

Buck placed another two flags. “And after that, another fishing boat goes missing.”

Brigid stood, looking down at the maps, her arms crossed over her chest. “Now Zasha’s movin’. There’s a gap between the incidents. Nearly a month that nothin’ happens after Katya’s second fishing boat disappears.”

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