Page 27 of Golden Eagle

Trina tried to imagine Sasha with a mohawk; it would have suited his black leather jacket and tight jeans look – in fact, both he and Nik didn’t seem to have outgrown the eighties when it came to fashion – but she thought the shoulder-length hair suited the narrow shape of his face.

“It was Christmastime,” he continued. “And we were shopping for a tree. Or, I was. Nik was still on the sidewalk.”

Trina snuck a glance toward her ancestor, easily imaging his sour face – much like the one he wore now – as he waited, hands in pockets, for Sasha to finish up whatever fun thing he was doing so they could go sit moodily in a bar somewhere. But then he surprised her, his gaze flicking toward Sasha, his expression softening a fraction. A minute change, but one that offered a glimpse of bottomless warmth and fondness.

“I caught their scent, Gustav and his Familiar, and went to see. He knew who we were,” Sasha continued, and Trina couldhearthe way memory sent a chill down his back, the catch in his voice.

“He knew what I’d been doing,” Nik said, and lowered his voice a fraction. “That I don’t like other vampires.”

“That you kill them,” Alexei said, voice flat, drawing all their gazes. Face still blank, pale; throat bobbing as he swallowed.

Nikita met his stare, his own expression shifting from his usual, vague irritation to a kind of cold detachment that left Trina’s fingertips drumming on the table. She’d seen this look enough times to know what it was; to know this was the face of a government-sanctioned killer.

“I kill the ones who need killing,” he said, flat-voiced.

Silence.

“Ahem,” Trina said, clearing her throat. “I don’t think we’re here to argue, are we?”

They glanced away from each other, guilty.

“Nik,” she said, “did Gustav kill that man?”

“No. But the wolves did.”

“His wolves?” Lanny asked. “How many does he have?”

“Two were the ferals from earlier this year,” Sasha said. “Could you smell them?”

“Yeah.” Lanny fidgeted in his seat a little. He was still new at this, and Trina had the sense he was self-conscious among their older immortal friends; that he didn’t trust his instincts just yet, but didn’t want the others to know. “But there was another one.”

“That’s his Familiar,” Sasha said. “Hannah.”

Nik growled, just one low pulse, and Sasha touched his arm to quiet him.

The sooner this breakfast was over, the better. “We need to get hold of Gustav, then,” Trina said.

“And kill him?” Alexei asked, mocking.

“And stop him from siccing his wolves on innocent civilians,” Trina said, firmly, before Nik could respond. “If he’s been in New York since the eighties, then he knows what he’s doing is illegal. Finding him’s the first priority. We’ll worry about what to do after when it’s time.”

She earned nods from everyone, Alexei’s reluctant, Nikita’s just a single dip of his head.

“I mean it,” she said, and sounded like her mother, God. “I don’t care how badass any of you are, I’m the one with the badge.”

Lanny cleared his throat.

“We’re the ones with the badges. And this guy he killed? Ended up on our ME’s table. So it needs to go through the right legal channels.”

“Going to tell your boss about vampires?” Nik asked, lifting his brows.

“Maybe,” she bluffed.

The corner of his mouth twitched, once, and he glanced back down at his toast.

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