Page 43 of Terror

“I’ll wait.”

“The chef should return soon. He’ll make you whatever you want. Have you met the chef?”

She shakes her head.

It occurs to me my aunt has lost quite a bit of weight. Her cheeks look more sunken than before, her hair has lost its former shine, her eyes are pits of darkness. Nobody knows what happened to her during the time humans kept her frozen and captive but we all know she spends her days hunting the former vice president of this country. She can’t seem to close in on him. This bothers her more than it should. I’d like her to return to Regha and spend some time with Uncle Vemlox. He knows her best. I’m sure she misses him. But I also know an Alpha never gives up the hunt.

The phone rings. Tabby’s in the bath, so I search the foyer and pick up an ancient thing with a curly wire. “Yes?”

“Hordesman?” a male voice asks.

My armor snaps into place. Instinct tells me this is Travis.

“Yes, dear.” Dreikx better give me this asshole’s location.

“Arkin, is it?” the man asks, his voice infused with authority. Like a breeze, it brushes against my armor, and I want to kill him right through the line.

“Terror to you.”

He chuckles.

“What do you want?” I ask.

“Relax, young man. The Horde is so tight, one of these days, you’ll burst with tension.”

“I am neither Horde nor a man. And you’ll find Collectors have more patience than an average Regha male.”

“Maybe. Maybe not.”

I grind my teeth. “What do you want?”

“What all men want.”

“Pussy?”

Travis laughs. “Money.”

Dreikx barges through the front door and rushes to me. Immediately, I’m alert. Dreikx never appears in a hurry. It’s one of the things that irritates me about him. He puts a sticker on the phone and taps his com unit, motioning for me to continue the conversation.

“Is Tabby not paying you enough?” I ask.

The silence stretches. I hear his even breathing, then he says, “Since she was a little girl, even before her parents’ accident, I’ve done everything for her. When I realized her dad was going into debt to the wrong people, I hid money offshore for her. I’ve taken care of that little girl all her life. Everything she has is because of me.”

Dreikx shakes his head. No location yet.

“She’s not a little girl anymore,” I say.

“Tag them and forget them.” He repeats what humans believe is the Collectors’ mantra. It’s not too far from the truth. “Are you keeping this one, Terror?”

“Ask about her again, and I’ll snap your neck.”

“You do have a temper after all.”

Dreikx nods, and I roll my eyes. “And you ran out of your New York apartment like a coward. But not to worry. I’ll find you.”

“You don’t have to look for me. I’m calling to invite you for a cup of coffee.”

I don’t drink coffee. “When and where?”

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