Page 101 of Red Rooster

Val noticed, too, small smile curving his mouth as he continued to walk around the table. “What’s happened to your wolf?”

Nikita growled.

Val chuckled. “I’ve struck a nerve.”

Trina opened her mouth to reprimand him–

And Lanny beat her to the punch. “Yeah, great detective skills there, big guy. Here’s a thought: how ‘bout you stop being a raging asshole and just help us out or something? Sasha seemed to think you were actually capable of that – you know, helping – but he’s kind of a dumb, sweet kid. Me? All I’m seeing?” He made an up-and-down hand gesture that managed to incorporate Valerian’s figure from silken hair to spotless boots. “One-hundred percent asshole.”

For a moment, just a moment, Val’s expression flickered. Trina wondered if his projection had faltered, or if Lanny had, in turn, also struck a nerve. But his smile returned a second later, wider than ever, balanced on the knife-edge of sanity. “You’re the newborn.”

“Wow,” Lanny deadpanned. “You’d put Sherlock Holmes outta business.”

A muffled sound across the table drew her attention, and she realized her grandfather was stifling a laugh.

Jamie bit his lip, but not hard enough to fight off the grin that threatened.

Val turned his gaze to Trina. “Your lover is quite charming, Ekaterina.”

“Dude,lover?” Lanny said. “Who says that? Why you gotta make it all weird?”

Nikita, she noticed, had eased back down in his chair; his growl had tapered off. Good job, Lanny.

Alexei cleared his throat, and oh, this ought to be good: prince against prince. “Sasha was captured,” he said, tone dismissive, “and taken to the facility in Virginia, where you claim to be kept. Trina thinks you will help us find it. But I.” He sniffed. “Think you just want to play games with us.”

Val stalked behind Trina’s chair – she felt no breeze of movement; couldn’t sense a presence behind her – and moved to stand behind Dottie, grin gone feral, predatory, fangs on full display. He put one hand on the table – Dottie jumped a little in her seat – and leaned forward, hair sliding off his shoulders, swinging toward the candlelight. “Andyou,” he said, voice almost a purr. “Rasputin’s little fledgling bleeder. You would actually seek to help the wolf who killed your sire?”

Alexei kicked his chin up, expression unchanging…save the two spots of color coming up in his cheeks.

“He clawed the heart right out of his chest,” Val continued, free hand curling into a claw to demonstrate. “And fed it to his beloved Chekist – a Bolshevik pawn.”

Alexei’s jaw worked, eyes overbright.

“Because you told him to,” Trina snapped. “That’s enough, Val.”

He pulled back from the table, hands clasped together at his back again, shooting her a cool, displeased look. “Spoilsport.”

“Yeah, tell me about it. Here’s the deal,” she said. “We’re coming to Virginia to get Sasha, but we need help finding the facility. If you help us, and can stop acting like a colossal douche for five minutes, we might even be able to bust you out.”

“Whoa!” three voices said at once.

“No, absolutely not,” Nikita said.

“So he can be an asshole in person?” Lanny said.

“A bad idea,” Alexei said.

Val shrugged, feigning boredom. “See? Your friends would never agree to that,” he told Trina.

She put her elbows on the table and leaned toward him. “I’m not talking about them right now. This is just you and me here.” She gestured between them.

Lanny tapped her shoulder and she ignored him.

“You helped Sasha once. Hell, twice,” she went on, and Val slowly came to a halt, cloak swinging behind him. “You helped him when he needed it most, and maybe you were just bored in your cage and looking for something to do, but I don’t think so. I think you know, better than anyone, how awful the Institute is, and you were doing what you could to keep them from hurting Sasha.”

His gaze fell to the table. His shoulders stiffened. “My bell.”

“It’s yours?” she asked, but wasn’t really surprised. She’d suspected as much.