Page 9 of Fighting for Her Heart

“I humbly apologize.” He nods. “I misjudged you.”

My spine straightens. “Thanks.” His apology is the last thing I expected. I still don’t get this guy. “There was a murder—”

“Youkilledsomeone?”

I lean forward. “Fuck you!”

He grins.

He’s the one fucking withme,now. I roll my eyes. “Very funny.”

“Please.” He taps the back of the sofa. “I genuinely wish to know what happened.”

He’s pissing me off, but I can’t think of any reason not to tell him. “I needed to cash in a gold bar, so I went by the club. You know the place?” The thought of Zuben partying or dancing in the club—not to mention fucking or feeding—makes me chuckle.

“Of course I have been to the club,” he says flatly. “DEFTA has underground access to that establishment, and as such, it is often frequented by DEFTA employees.” He frowns. “Why didyougo there? Such a move was highly risky and by exposing yourself in the vampire community, you have put Ember in further danger.”

“How the fuck else was I supposed to get cash?” This guy…

He holds up his hand. “I concede your point. Going there to exchange one of your stolen gold bars was an innovative idea. I only hope that no one saw you who might report your presence to Octavia.”

I take a long breath, ignoring his “stolen” jab. We have way bigger fish to fry. “No one needs to report it to Octavia. She was there.”

“What?” Zuben leaps to his feet. “Then we must leave here—immediately.” He turns toward the door. “I will find the others.”

“Ember and Axe.”

“And Evanora.”

I leap up too. “Who the fuck is that?”

“Ember’s mother.”

“I thought she was dead.”

“Apparently not. Evanora arrived yesterday afternoon, a few hours before sunset.”

“You’re shitting me.” My head is spinning as I try to process this new information. It was strange enough we ended up on this property, but now Ember’s supposedly dead mom appears? “You trust this woman?”

Zuben’s shoulders rise and fall. “I am surprised to find that I do trust her on some level. We can discuss this at a later time. We must leave here immediately. Octavia will send a DEFTA security team. Or worse, come herself. Were you followed?”

“No.” I shake my head. “And I don’t think she’s coming. Or sending anyone. At least not right away.” I drop back onto the sofa and Zuben stands stiffly in front of me.

“Your statement requires more explanation, but please make haste. We do not have much time.”

“Octavia…” I shrug. “She’s lost her power to command others—andshe lost her mates.”

Zuben frowns. “How did she lose her mates? They were very devoted to her. Were they staked by human police?”

I shake my head. “Sounds like they dumped her the second her magic was gone.” Can’t say I blame them.

“That ismostinteresting.” Zuben sits again, and then leans forward toward me. “Did she explain why the keepers of magic withdrew her powers?”

“Not exactly, but reading between the lines…”

Zuben shifts, clearly uncomfortable with the whole reading between the lines thing.

“My bestguess…” I emphasize the word “guess” to see him squirm. “The witches are pissed off that Octavia collapsed the cave.”