Page 64

“Shit, Liam.”

“I was working a job. Hunting a rogue. Was on its trail when I heard a woman scream. By the time I got there, it was too late. The rogue had cornered Alex’s mother, torn her up, drained her. After I took his head, I found a little girl crying behind a dumpster. Seemed unharmed except for the scrape on her knee. Imagine it was what caught the rogue’s attention. I coaxed her out, and she took my hand, looking up at me like I was some kind of hero. And, uh”—he coughed into his fist, muttering—“nobody had ever looked at me like that before.” Heat crept up his neck. Fucking near-death experience was turning him into a touchy-feely puss.

He finished in a rush. “I knew the law. Still, there was no way I was handing a six-year-old over to those vultures. Whether she passed their bullshit test or not, she’d have ended up a blood slave.” He rubbed the scars on his wrists. No child deserved that.

Jericho’s voice saved him from the memories trying to creep in. “If you’d told me, I could have helped you.”

“You can lie to yourself all you want. Even without your past clouding your judgment, you swore an oath to the vampire responsible for upholding Council law. Being a member of Victor’s guard gave you something that fighting with me couldn’t.” Liam met Jericho’s look of confusion. “It gave you purpose. I didn’t want you blowing it on a worthless bastard like me.”

Jericho opened his mouth like he wanted to argue but held himself in check. “So, you’ve been watching out for Alex for years?” He arched a brow.

Liam’s hackles rose. Was it really so hard to believe? “And doing a damn fine job until her derelict father got himself in trouble. She’d have been safer if I’d kept her away from the man, but Alex is more loyal than most. He might have only been her stepdad, but he was all she had left. I knew she’d fight me if I tried to come between them.”

Jericho stared at his clenched hands, rubbing his thumbs together. “The way Alex talks,you’rethe only family she has left.”

Hearing that softened something in Liam’s chest. He firmed his jaw and steeled himself against the emotion. Any more of this hearts and flowers bullshit, and he’d start lactating.

Tension rolled off Jericho in waves, his countenance darkening. “Alex has been working for Victor. He still hasn’t reported her to the Council, and no one knows she’s a sympath outside of us, Doc, Colin, and Slade. Since she isn’t on the Council’s radar, he’s using her for recon, searching for a trail that will lead us to Zion. Turns out Zion is the one behind the drug. He’s the leader of some sort of cult.”

“Shit. I figured Victor would try to get his claws into her. A gift like Alex’s could be useful to a vampire in his position. I’m surprised he didn’t turn her in, though. Not even Victor is above Council law.”

Jericho hesitated before answering. “He used it as leverage to gain our cooperation. He threatened to hand you over to them as well.”

A low growl rumbled in Liam’s chest. Alex was fiercely protective when it came to the people she loved, and Victor had used it against her. She’d probably been more worried about him than she was about her own skin.

“Scheming bastard,” Liam grated. “But if there is anyone who can protect her from Victor’s influence, it’s you. As much as I don’t like her involved in this Zion business, Alex is still better off this way.” His brows lowered. “Girl has some powerful mojo running in her veins. From the moment I found her, I knew. Council would have culled her in a heartbeat if they found out.”

Knuckles popped in Jericho’s clenched fist, and silver glinted in his eyes. “The Council will never get their hands on her.”

Liam dipped his head. “Damn right, they won’t.”

Despite his assurances, a sheen of sweat covered Jericho’s brow, and his heel drummed the floor. Liam knew his old friend too well. Beneath the controlled front, the male was rattled. “You’re worried about protecting her, but that’s not what has your panties in a bind, is it?” Jericho’s foot stilled, telling Liam he was on the right track. “I’d say the thought of keeping her scares the shit out of you.”

Jericho’s face turned white as a newborn’s ass. Good. It was about time someone shook him up a bit. He’d been hiding from his past for far too long. Alex seemed to have slayed some of her own demons. Perhaps she could help Jericho do the same.

Even though he was trespassing on forbidden ground, Liam pushed the boundaries. What the hell? He’d survived being shot five times. Surely, he’d survive this too. “She’s nothing like Sivanah. You know that.”

Jericho’s body went rigid, frozen by the mere mention of her name. Centuries later and the bitch still had this effect on his friend.

It was time Jericho listened to the cold, hard truth. “Sivanah was sick and manipulative. You were too young to see it. Too young to recognize what she was doing to you. When you wouldn’t give her what she wanted, she took it instead. In the end, that bitch got everything she deserved.”

“That’s enough,” Jericho snapped.

Silence hung thick between them.

Liam’s chest rose and fell in a great exhale. His wounds burned in protest. He’d given Jericho a push. It was up to Alex to handle the rest. Yet another battle he couldn’t fight for her.

It was time to back off—for now. “What can you tell me about Zion?”

Both their heads turned as Doc entered the room, brows tented with worry. “Sorry to interrupt, but I thought you’d want to know. Victor sent Alphonse to collect Alex. He was headed to Victor’s office with her.”

Jericho exchanged a dark look with Liam and rose from his chair.

* * *

“Tomorrow night?”Alex snapped, forgetting to check her tone. A reckless mistake since she’d come here alone, refusing to allow Alphonse to interrupt Jericho and Liam. She figured she could report on her failed meeting as easily as Jericho. Turns out there was little to tell since Victor already knew everything. Big surprise.

Victor’s frigid gray eyes narrowed in warning, and she sank deeper into the chair. He leaned against the front of his desk, too relaxed for a man who had just dropped a bomb in her lap.