Page 100 of After Darkness Falls

He wasn't going to say anything, was he?

"I don't get it. Just tell me this is important. It's not fun, Lev. I like killing and fucking and dancing. I can't do any of that here."

"It's important," Levi echoed before returning to his writing without another word.

Jeez. As ancient, all-powerful, noble vampires went, Levi wasn't that bad, normally, but the man obviously could be a dick.

"Tell me I don't need to enroll in the Institute."

"You need to do three things, and only three. I've already informed you of your duties; I will not repeat them."

He had. The day Levi had visited him in Moscow, he'd said he needed Mikar to watch a girl.

"Make sure she doesn't get decapitated, drowned, or burned. That's all I ask of you."

At the time, Mikar had translated that to "ensure no one kills her." Now he understood his mistake.

Mikar stilled, comprehension finally hitting him.

Levi didn't care at all about Chloe getting killed. What mattered washow.

"Oh."

Well, that certainly changed things.

"Yes,oh. Now, you better get back to work."

Mikar did as he was told, no further complaint crossing his lips.

* * *

"You've got to talk to the girl."

Levi lifted his eyes to his foreman, surprised and rather vexed. It wasn't like Mikar to question his orders at all, and he'd done it twice in as many weeks.

"You and I both know the walls, woods, and waters in Coscnoc have ears. I can't afford to."

Mikar's jaw was set. "I don't get it. What's the big deal if the conclave hears…"

"Don't. Don't speak. Don't bring attention to what you're doing."

His house was safe enough to discuss most of his business, but he wouldn't talk of Chloe out loud anywhere.

Levi was as frustrated as his second. Not being able to give him the information he needed was inconvenient, but he couldn't take the risk.

Those who were moving against Chloe were weak. They were also careful, disguising each step and hiring pawns, but they were failing because their effort was pathetic. But that would change once the world knew what Levi had gathered the moment he'd seen her.

"Listen to me, Levi. I won't be able to keep things to myself if she keeps pushing. She's a whisper."

Levi got up from his desk and faced the window, looking down the hill toward Adairford.

A whisper.

He hadn't spent enough time with her to know much about her, but it made sense from what he'd seen—from what he knew. She'd been nothing but a waitress to Charles and Michelle White, but the two power-hungry leaders had stopped their machinations for long enough to protect her. And there was also the way she'd gotten under his skin so easily, with a few well-placed words. She'd known exactly what to say to him.

Whispers were the sirens of vampires, magnetic and charming to a degree that was dangerous. They could get anything handed to them on a silver platter if they just batted their eyelids and asked. In mortal fledglings, that translated to highly popular individuals who rarely made enemies. They were often protected, cared for.

Chloe had always been precious; all born vampires were. He hadn't realized she was also a valuable asset.

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