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As the three of them drifted toward sleep, Cai had an alarming thought.
Fuck. He did love the guy.
Chapter Eighteen
Voltaire's betrayal had been communicated to the Council delegation still camped at Greenwald's. Directly after, Daegan had kindly informed Dovia that, "Your parents are eager to have you home. But they want you to stay here one more day to address additional security measures."
Gideon re-phrased Daegan's message a little less subtly to Cai and Rand when they were alone. "The housekeeping staff needs to mop Voltaire's blood off every-fucking-where. And they need to finish interrogating Chavez and Tyra, make sure no one else was involved."
"Just tell me Greenwald got to do the honors on Voltaire," Rand had said, with a set jaw and flashing eye.
"Even better." Gideon's lip curled with satisfaction. "After Greenwald messed him up so bad he couldn't walk--hard to do when someone's broken every bone with a tire iron--
Leona staked him. Lyssa said this was a no-brainer exception to the servant-killing-vampire death sentence provision."
Rand blinked. "I would hope so."
Dovia had seemed oddly relieved to have more time to recuperate. Or perhaps she was glad that, when she came home, she wouldn't have to see the male who'd been responsible for her kidnapping, and the killing of her second mark.
So that decision made, they all passed a companionable evening with Fane's pack. Rand played video games with the teens on the braided rug in front of the hearth. When the competition turned fierce, it became an excuse for roughhousing. Darcy and Chad tackled Rand like a litter of pups with a favorite uncle. He was saved from complete annihilation--according to Chad--when Lynn announced the homemade ice cream was ready. That brought Fane, Gideon and Stalker in from the porch, where they'd been discussing everything from football to car engines.
Cai sat on the periphery in a far-too-comfortable chair. With no lamp in that corner, it was thankfully flanked by shadows, which allowed him to do more blending and listening than having to engage in conversation. It was a lot of bodies in one space. A lot more noise than he liked.
But he couldn't leave while Rand was playing video games, laughing and teasing with the kids. Or now, when he was eating ice cream.
The night before the rescue, there'd been a lot of underlying tension, but it was gone tonight. This was a side of the shifter he hadn't yet seen. Cai wondered how long it had been since Rand had allowed himself to be this relaxed. He hadn't been among his own kind in over two years, but fitting in with a pack seemed as easy to him as doing magic was for Cai.
It was kind of a magic on its own, because despite the noise and more than a mild case of agoraphobia, Cai stuck. He wondered what it would be like to taste the butter-pecan and hot fudge sauce on Rand's lips. He'd politely declined a bowl for himself, but he took a tumbler of Jack from Fane and clinked glasses companionably with him. See? He could do social.
Now leave me the fuck alone, so I can watch my servant.
Dovia spent most of the evening in a protective circle of female offspring. Cilya engineered that, effectively drawing the young vampire into deliberately light fare conversation, and picking up on Dovia's specific interests that meshed with that of the other females. Soon, they were all chatting about everything from fashion to books, movies and travel experiences.
Not including the current abduction trip, obviously.
Dovia was handling the social interaction with grace and class, until someone let the screen door slam a little too loudly. In a blink, she'd bolted to her feet like a startled animal. She nearly tripped over Darcy as she escaped to a corner where she had a wall on two sides. Her fists clenched and she was breathing fast, her face two shades paler, except for spots of color high on her cheeks.
Before either Cai or Rand could move, Cilya had stepped forward. Not touching her, but close enough she drew Dovia's attention.
"Boys," Cilya said firmly. "They're like having a bunch of animals in the house."
Dovia steadied, a weak smile on her face. Cilya drew her back toward the other women with an easy palm on her lower back. As Dovia sank down on a cushion, Darcy was looking at her with sober brown eyes. However, at a subtle but meaningful gesture from her older sister, she recovered and picked up a bottle of nail polish and a container of what looked like tiny gemstones. "So, as I was saying, why don't you let me add a couple touches to your manicure? You should have seen the night we painted Chad's toenails while he was all furry. We took pictures. Sangra, where's your phone?"
As Sangra complied and showed Dovia the picture, Chad groused in the background.
"Do you have any brothers and sisters, Dovia?" Lynn asked. She was sitting in a nearby chair with a lapful of newspapers and a steadily growing stack of coupons next to her.
Coupon cutting, thought Cai. Crazy, unsettling stuff.
"Um, no." Dovia shook her head as she let Darcy take her hand. "Vampires, we don't... It's rare for vampires to have any children, and then only one."
Her gaze flicked to Cai, and suddenly there was something stark there. It was gone in a flash, but Cai knew Rand saw it. Felt how Cai reacted to it. The wolf was thinking of extricating himself from the couch to come to him. To do what? Reassure him?
Dovia was still looking at him, though thankfully her expression had changed. He found himself offering her a stiff version of a smile, which he hoped was reassuring. Whatever she saw in his face, he expected it wasn't his smile that helped, because her eyes grew even more serious. She offered him a cryptic, brief nod before she turned her attention to Darcy again.
Daegan was handling the perimeter watch. As uncertain as Lynn was around Cai, Daegan made her jumpy as a cat. Not a comparison a wolf would appreciate, Cai was sure. The older vampire had noted it and was being considerate. Cai decided it was time to join him.
Cai rose, taking his Jack with him. He took the time to alleviate Rand's concerns, though, stopping by him to touch his shoulder where he sat on the sofa. Rand dropped his head back, his temple brushing Cai's forearm.
All right, Cai?
Had he ever called him by his name? He wasn't sure. But Cai nodded. All good. I'll be back in at dawn. Just going to night owl it with Daegan. He might need backup. You know, in case more than a hundred bad guys show up. I can take a little one or two. Give him a chan
ce for a Gatorade break.
Rand's lips twisted, but his eyes had some of the same unfathomable look as Dovia's. They all knew what was happening with each of them, an aftermath kind of thing that straddled the thank-god-we'realive and the how-the-hell-are-we-alive lines. With a healthy dose of what-do-I-do-with-myself-now.
Because the bitch of it was, after something like that, the psyche expected some kind of life-altering, I'm going to go out and be a different kind of person transformation. Or some amazing meaning of the universe revelation.
The truth was, life just went on, as confusing as it always was. Horror and miracle were woven on the same loom, and in the end, each of them was one straight thread, with a beginning, middle and end.
Wow. He could become a life coach with bullshit like that. Or the cheering section for a pro-suicide hotline.
He spent the rest of the evening keeping an eye on the periphery, Daegan agreeably pretending like Cai's reinforcement was necessary. Cai did hang with him long enough to learn from the vampire that Tyra and Chavez had been cleared of any involvement.
"How can they be sure?" Cai asked. "Greenwald's judgment may not be the best."
"The Council handled the interrogation. They're not easily duped, and certainly not by vampires of such younger ages and obvious ambitions." Daegan's gaze held a dangerous gleam. "Ambitious they are, but in the way typical to vampires. They're not so disloyal to their lord they would cause harm to his daughter."
"Well, good. And bad. Would have kind of liked Chavez to be obliterated. Tyra, not so much. Have to appreciate a good-looking woman who can kick my ass. Though she did have the advantage of surprise."
Daegan responded to that with a chuckle that made the vampire surprisingly appealing, but Cai wandered off soon after, taking the opposite side of the house as his watch point. It gave him a good view of the porch and the living room, which was almost like watching TV, thanks to the wall of windows on that side.
After the teens went off to bed, the adults settled into some serious drinking and casual talk on the back porch. Cai had to admire their stamina. The wolves acted like they intended to stay up until the night waned to dawn, and Dovia had to go to bed.
