Page 52

“Tiff and Topher,” I finally muttered.

Phillip’s eyes blazed, and his jaw clenched before he sunk a tattooed hand into his dark hair, the muscles shaping his torso doing a seductive dance my eyes couldn’t help but watch. “Then the information about them was good. Both Sloan and I were aware and watching. It’s why you were never left alone with the pair of them. It seems they had connections to Lux, and they were likely feeding your location to him. Which would explain how Eros found us.”

Guess that proves Phil suspected Lux like I theorized. And also, that I was sort of bait to confirm their suspicions.

Ah, the life of a Hunter.

Stealing a look at him, I kept my voice even. “And Nigel?”

Phillip harrumphed. “He’s likely unaware they were traitors, so you can rest easy, maus.”

Maus? Yet another thing I’d have to Google when I found time after unpacking the shit from this entire series of unfortunate events.

“For now, he’s only a thorn in my side, the way the bastard has always been, but not in a way you have to worry about,” Phillip added, as if the very words left a bitter taste in his mouth.

What a grown-ass child, but I’d expect nothing less at this point.

I breathed a small sigh of relief, glad that Nigel hadn’t been aware they’d betrayed us, but the Austrian was quick to add, “But now he and the others are compromised. Not that it matters anymore.”

I watched the other Hunter head the direction of the helicopter. Before we reached it, its blades started to spin, preparing for flight. Confused, I followed, not sure what Phillip meant by his last statement.

I noticed Grams was now in the cockpit, already deducing she’d be the one taking us to wherever they planned to go. She was an experienced pilot and could operate a long list of transportation vehicles. It would be easier to say there were very few things she didn’t know how to operate.

It was a relief to have her back. Grams was my rock, but everything had gotten so complicated, I didn’t really know how I felt when it came to the deadly huntress who raised me under the guise of simply killing vampires.

Simply killing vampires, the good ol’ days.

What I did know was that my powers were beyond imagination and far too dangerous for any one person to wield. Yet, for some reason I sensed I was learning to control them. It wasn’t really clear how or why I thought so, but the same way I always knew what occurred when I did use them—those little theories—I knew I’d gotten better at summoning the chaotic power within.

Still, the more support I had from people I trusted, the easier it was to navigate this shitty minefield of realities and uncertainties.

I was curious to find out what Phillip discovered from what we stole from the archives, assuming he’d managed to keep it. Which, if they’d gotten away, I suspected they probably had.

To my befuddlement, the helicopter started to lift off the ground and ascend into the sky without us. I hurried after it, coming to a slow stopwhen it was clear we wouldn’t be joining the rest of them wherever they planned to go.

“Wait, why are they leaving without us?!”

Phillip’s sneaky smile met my next glance. “From here, it’s just you and me, mein Schatz.” Then, kneeling, he offered his back to me like I should automatically figure out what absolute bullshit he was on about. “Come on, V.”

“Come on, what? What the fuck are you doing right now?”

“Giving you a piggyback ride, obviously. You don’t know where we’re going, and you might hide it well, but you’re weak. I can tell. So this just makes things easier.”

Unfortunately, Iwasweak. My legs shook, my head was woozy, and I was seconds away from collapsing. All signs pointed to too much power use, and I’d be lucky if I lasted any longer on my own two legs. But that didn’t mean I wasn’t going to fight him about it.

“The fuck it does!” I folded my arms across my chest, and Phillip heaved a great sigh.

“So you’d rather just hang out here until Lux deigns a reason to return?”

Suddenly uncomfortable, I swallowed my pride and climbed onto the Austrian’s back. “You’re a fucking asshole to do this to me when I haven’t any way to argue.”

Phillip’s happy laughter reached my ears—a sound I’d missed so much it made me smile against my will. “Hold on tight, maus. Wrap those strong, skull-crushing thighs around my waist and press that erotically soft body into my back like you missed me.”

When I went to smack him, the Austrian captured my wrist and kissed my open palm. It paralyzed me when those sinfully soft lips caressed mysensitive skin, dredging up feelings that hadn’t any business surfacing after I’d been held hostage and forced to kill people I considered friends, then unceremoniously reunited with the grandmother I’d been so sure was killed at some stage.

“You jerk—”

“Hold on tight, pet,” Phillip whispered, his voice thick with sinful insinuation. I’d know that bedroom inflection anywhere. Bouncing me into place, he wrapped his large hands intimately around my thighs, grasping. “And try not to rub up against me too much, yeah? Even I don’t have that much willpower.”