Page 102 of Almost Midnight

“It’s a good question,” Morley said cynically, also in Nick’s ear. “Maybe she figured her favorite vampire wouldn’t actuallymurderher?”

“Ididn’tmurder her,” Nick grumbled back.

“Who says I meant you?” Morley retorted.

“Shewasarmed, though,” Wynter pointed out. “Brick was shot, wasn’t he?”

It hit Nick that they’d probably seen some or all of the bloody skirmish on the surveillance footage already. Wynter had likely been screaming in his ear for the whole fight; he hadn’t heard her because he’d had his comms switched off.

“Anyway,” Wynter said, her voice colder than the other two. “She was about to murder you, from what I saw. Brick likely saved your life.”

Nick couldn’t help but feel a flicker of relief that Wynter seemed less angry at him around Lara’s death than angry at Lara herself.

Truthfully, Brick’s actions bewildered Nick as much as St. Maarten’s.

He almost didn’t blame Lara for being caught off-guard.

She’d clearly expected her presence there to end the attempt to extract Jordan.

She’d at least thought she’d get some chance to explain.

Explainwhat,Nick had no idea, but clearly she’d come there, thinking she would have all or most of the cards in what she likely thought of as cease-fire negotiations. She’d probably camped herself in the building so she could face Nick personally, persuade or coerce him into “seeing reason,” and returning custody of Tai and Malek to her and Archangel in exchange for her personal guarantee of protection.

She’d probably come loaded down with promises of getting charges dropped on Nick in return for his continued cooperation.

That, or she just planned to threaten all of their lives.

So why hadn’t that happened?

Why hadn’t Brickwantedthat to happen?

Nick wasn’t exactly upset that things had worked out the way they did, but he was confused as to why Brick would take such an insane risk. Had the older vampire leapt at her to keep her from saying whatever she’d come there to say?

Or had he decided to kill her and escalate the war between vampires and humans before he even got here? Had he known St. Maarten would be lying in wait? Had he planned for it? Counted on it, to advance his broader goals?

Or had Brick decided all of that in the split-second it took him to attack?

Nick had his doubts.

Brick was generally known for maintaining one core belief, one that trumped everything else he valued in his life: Self-Preservation.

That finely-honed sense ofme, before all,had been the guiding principle of Brick’s existence for as long as Nick had known him. He’dneverknown Brick to be anything but coldly practical on that front. Brickneverput himself in direct risk, not unless he was certain of his own survival, or if he had absolutely no choice.

Brick hadn’t obviously or deliberately done so even in wartime that Nick could recall, yet he’d just blatantly risked his own life when it wasn’t even obviously necessary.

More baffling still, he’d done it in a way trulydidseem unplanned.

What could Larapossiblyhave to tell them that would threaten Brick so much?

Nick was still staring down the stairwell, trying to make sense of it, when he saw Brick come to a dead stop where he’d been walking towards the bottom stairs. The vampire king reached out with a corpse-white hand, fingers grasping at air.

Nick blinked, sure he was missing something.

Brick’s fingers finally clamped around the white, metal banister, gripped it tightly, but then, inexplicably, slid off. They grasped weakly at air a second time, right before his arm fell to his side. Brick’s fingers twitched, almost as if he couldn’t manage to close them.

Brick stumbled.

Then he staggered.

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