Page 75 of Hybrid Heroics

My vampire chuckled lightly. “It did sound ominous, Trouble.”

“How?” I inquired.

“What are we preparing for that we aren’t already…” Palmer paused, pursing his lips at his own question. “Prepared for?”

“Alric is coming over for dinner,” I reminded them.

York quirked a brow. “Why?”

“And how do you know?” Vaughn added.

“I saw it,” I told them slowly.

How many times did we have to go over this?

Palmer studied me, his stormy eyes intense. “I thought you weren’t supposed to trust your sight?”

“I’m not,” I admitted. “But I planted a little seed. I know he’ll show up. He won’t be able to resist it. He’s much too arrogant to wait.”

“Why do you look so satisfied with that answer, Kitten?” Stone asked me, amused.

“Because I am.”

Franklin sighed. “Let me show you the things. I’ve got other preparations to make before he gets here.”

“We have an entire day.” I waved him forward.

“A day?” He snorted, giving me his back. “That’s more time than I was expecting.”

Franklin nodded his head toward the dining room, and I followed him after shooting too much tequila in one swig. I hadn’t really drank in a couple weeks, but I reveled in the burn all the same. I contemplated turning back for the entire bottle, but Vaughn raised a brow as he put it back in the freezer.

He had already set the dining table up for two, but Alric and I would sit at the far ends, away from each other. I’d rather be closer, although being within stabbing distance would start the fight before I was ready.

And we still had so much to talk about before we could fight.

“There are two cameras in here,” Franklin pointed out. “One faces you, the other him. I also hid a wireless one at the gate, and there’s another at the front door.”

“And the wards?” I inquired, my bare feet silent on the chilly floor.

“Come on.”

He led me back through the kitchen and into the pantry, sliding the spice rack out of the way so we could descend the hidden stairs.

As we crossed through the ward, the usual bubble of watery electricity raised the hair along my arms. But there was an undercurrent of something stronger beneath it, lying in wait for intruders. It was sturdy, though I didn’t know if it was impenetrable.

If everything went the way I wanted, they wouldn’t need it...

But just in case, I had given Franklin instructions should I fail. That had been weeks ago, but he knew how serious I was.

“The monitors show individual camera angles,” he explained. “So places with two have two screens. We should be able to hear everything—scratch that. We can hear everything.”

And we could... The guys were jesting in the kitchen, grabbing beers as Briggs pulled food from the fridge.

“I just don’t see how she drinks it,” Palmer was arguing. “It’s vile.”

Vaughn shrugged. “It’s not so bad with the right chaser.”

“She drinks it straight,” York sang.