“The one who came here yesterday reporting her brother’s death?”
“Yes. She too seems to be suffering from schizophrenia and is causing trouble beyond what I can discuss with you. I sent your brother on a mission, the type he has completed successfully many times.”
Her brother was a killer. She knew that, but he never talked about his work as a Vega, and she never asked. “I saw him leaving.”
“Not only has he been vague about why he hasn’t completed the assignment, apparently he has taken up with his target. Before I send someone out to remedy the situation, I am giving you a chance to get hold of him and find out what is going on. He’ll be more frank with you, I hope. And you will be frank with me.”
This time denial did rush out. “No, Kade would never take up with a Castanega. He hates them, all of them.” But she remembered the way he’d held Violet’s shoulders and leaned close, real close, and the way the fog in his eyes swirled like she’d never seen before. “Being a Vega means everything to him.”
“I thought so. He worked very hard to regain his status.” He flipped the pen again. “He didn’t tell you that either, I suppose, how I had to demote him because of allegations that he had been promoted due to nepotism. Kade was a different man then. Reckless, thinking he didn’t have to abide by the rules. A good Vega, yes, but a wild card. He worked hard, under a cloud of humility, to become Vega again, and his behavior has been exemplary. Until now.”
She was sad, shocked, and furious all at once. She surged to her feet, unable to sit for another second. “I’ll find out what’s going on. And if he did, uh, take up with this woman, I’ll dissuade him of the notion immediately.”
If Ferro sent someone else, would Kade be killed like her father was? She willed the panic from her face. “Don’t send someone else.” Realizing she was giving a commander orders, she added, “Please.”
As pissed as she was at Kade, she didn’t want him dead.
12
Kade ignored the stabbing burn in his chest as he tried to find a position in the passenger seat that wasn’t as painful. He said nothing as Violet spewed word after word, pouring out her adrenaline and her questions.
“Whoever she is, she hates me. Did you see the way she looked at me, the way she said, ‘You,’ as though I was vermin. Or is that a vermin? Anyway, she wanted me dead. But then she looked at that girl, and you could see she wanted to kill her for no good reason at all. And she was going to enjoy it. What kind of Crescent does that? Would she be considered a Red?”
The car swerved a little with her hand movements, the headlights washing over the yellow line in the center.
“Red Lust makes you crazy,” he managed to say. “I don’t think she was crazy. In fact, it would be better if she were. It’s a lot easier to take out someone in the throes of mindless bloodlust than those who just like to kill people.”
He sank into his thoughts. The Carnelian knew about the taser, and not many did. It was a fairly new weapon, conjured by one of the powerful old Deuces on staff after much experimentation. More disturbing, Ferro’s map had a yellow pin where Paul Slade was killed. The yellow pin in the August territory had changed from yellow to red. Target to completion.
Nothing about this situation felt right to him. Ferro had not been willing to explain a damn thing to Kade. If he’d had evidence or a valid theory, a few words would have cleared it up.
Not only was Kade’s career in ruins, everything that he was, everything he believed in, was sliding through his fingers like sand on a Miami beach. He glanced at the clock on the dash; it was nearly five in the morning. Soon Ferro was going to grow impatient, pull Kade, and send someone else to finish the assignment. He had to figure this out before that happened. He glanced over at Violet, who was clearly working it all through in her mind.
“Ferro had a yellow pin in Slade territory,” she said, echoing what he’d just thought. “Do you have a Seer on staff?”
“There are very few true Seers and, as far as I know, the Guard doesn’t employee one. Be a lot easier if they did.”
She turned to him. “So how does he—You’re hurt!”
He was way beyond physically hurt. “I’m fine.”
“No, you’re not. You’re wincing like this.” She made a face that almost made him laugh, which would really hurt. She pulled over and turned on the car’s interior light. “Let me see.”
He shifted to reveal a gash on his stomach. “It’s not deep.”
She winced again in sympathetic pain. “Can you heal yourself? I know so little about Deuce magick.”
The Guard knew everything he could do. Few others did.
“My magick can heal me, but it takes time.”
“I can heal you faster, but I don’t know if I can heal a non-Dragon. We—” She had also been trained not to share too much information, no doubt. Crescents, regardless of class, didn’t go advertising their abilities.
“It’s not mortal. I’ll be fine, Violet.”
The pain wracking his soul was much worse. He had deceived her, had at one time intended to kill her. He didn’t deserve her healing. Or her trust. Or…well, anything else. He wasn’t ready to divulge his suspicions yet. If she suspected Ferro was corrupt, she’d lose trust in the Guard, and in him. Right now, he couldn’t leave her to deal with this by herself. He didn’t want to delve too deeply into his reasons.
They drove down the long road to her house, a nice change from hoofing it on the sly. They got out, but Violet paused and stared into the darkness of the property to the west…Garza land.
