Page 71 of Protection of the Pack

‘I hated that Mark was Dad’s number two,’ Archie went on. ‘I even raised it with Dad, but he said that his hands were tied for now. Council politics.’

‘Council politics?’ I queried.

‘Yeah. I didn’t get it then and I don’t get it now.’ He shrugged. ‘Sorry. I must have seen something I shouldn’t have, but I don’t remember what.’ He ran his hands through his blond hair in frustration.

‘Never mind. Noah, same question. You must have seen something.’

‘Maybe I did,’ Noah agreed, ‘but I don’t know what. The whole thing was wrong to me. You can’t unsee some of the stuff you see at the black tourneys. I seriously thought about paying a wizard to clear my mind but… My mum said that my memories inform who I am and what actions I take from here on out. That I shouldn’t regret my experiences but learn from them.’

‘She’s a wise lady.’

‘Yeah. I’m sorry.’

My phone beeped. I dug it out and smiled at the message. We were a-go. I took the boys to Manners’ car, which was parked on the drive, and told them to get in and have a chat about going to Maxwell’s, then to bitch and moan about the empty petrol tank and to decide to use one of their own cars instead. If anyonewasfoolish enough to be listening in, they might find themselves battling some fire elementals.

I texted Maxwell a heads-up that someone might have overheard me planning to send people to Rosie’s, so he needed to be on his guard. He replied that he was always on his guard. He seemed unconcerned; he knew what he was doing.

Questioning the boys again had been bit of a long shot, but whatever they knew was buried deep in their memories or lost in a haze of drugs. Maybe Amber could dig it out for me. I sent her a text querying her thoughts on scrying the wolf and asking if she could do some potions to recover lost memories. She replied almost instantly with an affirmative for both; she’d be around the next morning at 10am sharp.

I blew out a relieved breath. I was sure that would lead to some progress, but it still meant that tonight I was going blind into the black tourney.

Chapter 26

Ishoweredquicklyanddid my hair slowly. If I was going to be rubbing shoulders with the rich – albeit morally depraved – then I wanted to fit in. I dried my golden hair carefully so it fell in soft waves around my shoulders, then pulled on a form-fitting black fishtail dress. It was off-the-shoulder and it made me look rich and elegant. At least, I thought so. I did dramatic makeup, with contouring and red lipstick, and hauled on heels that looked like they should be impossible to walk in but had a secret platform sole.

I admired the results. I looked as glamorous as I could, which was to say pretty damn glam. I thought about taking some form of hidden weapon but, frankly, there was nowhere to hide it. And, as Esme had said,wewere a weapon. With an instantaneous shift from two legs to four I’d lose the dress, but we could protect ourselves.

I grabbed a too-small clutch bag and slid in my phone, lipstick and some cash; there was no room for anything else. I’d even had time to paint my nails. I didn’t bother with false eyelashes because they’d be a pain in the ass with a mask. I love taking the time to doll myself up nicely. I don’t get to do it often, but when I do I go all out.

You look ready to mate,Esme said approvingly.

Er, thanks.Some things just didn’t quite translate, but I guessed she meant I looked nice. That was what I took from it, anyway.

There was a knock on my door and I opened it cautiously. I could have done with a spyhole. Luckily, it was Manners. He was dressed in a black tuxedo, which he filled impressively. Muscles bulged and rippled and I wondered where his weapons were, because he was definitely carrying them.

I’d rarely seen him lost for words but his mouth dropped open slightly and he gawked at me. A note of interest flashed in his eyes that I hadn’t seen there before; it had just occurred to him that I was a woman, as well as his boss.

He thinks you look ready to mate, too,Esme said smugly.

Yes, thank you, Esme. I got that as well.

I gave Manners a smile. ‘Cat got your tongue?’ I asked cheekily.

Why would a cat have his tongue? It is clearly in his mouth. You can see it while he is ogling you.

I struggled not to laugh aloud.It’s a traditional saying. It means he can’t speak.

You humans are so odd.

Manners’ eyes ran down my body before he almost visibly shook himself. He cleared his throat. ‘You clean up well,’ he muttered. His usual suave charm was absent.

I grinned. ‘You do too. Let’s go mingle with some criminal elements.’ I sashayed down the hallway, leading the way and putting a little extra sway into my walk for his benefit. It’s nice to be appreciated now and again.

We approached a mirror and I noted with satisfaction that Manners’ eyes were glued to my ass. Heh, heh, heh. I felt triumphant, though I refused to examine exactly why that was.

We didn’t encounter anyone on our way to the front door. When I opened it, a black stretch limousine awaited us, together with a certain deadly assassin. Bastion was also dressed in a tuxedo, but he barely spared me a second glance. He opened the door. ‘Get in,’ he instructed laconically.

‘Why, thank you, Bastion. You look wonderful, too,’ I said, a tad sarcastically.

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