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“It’s a trap. Don’t you get that?”
“Secret, you don’t understand.” He sounded tired and irritated. I had that effect on him.
“Then help me understand.”
“I have considered Callum is baiting me. I know it’s the most logical reason for him to use such an outdated excuse to lure us south. In spite of your opinion of my leadership skills, I’m not a fool.”
“I never—”
He cut me off with the wave of a hand. “He can’t openly attack me, and he certainly won’t do it in his kingdom. What he’s hoping is that we will slip up when we get there. He’s counting on us to be the ones to make the mistake.”
I sat back, the lace of the gown making my underarms itch. “You mean he’s counting on me to be the one to make a mistake.”
Again he and Desmond exchanged loaded glances before Lucas said, “Most likely, yes.”
“And you can’t go without me because he’s using our marriage as the bait.”
“Right.”
“So what you’re saying is, we’re going to Louisiana to meet the man who has made your life a living hell for months, the man who drove his own mother to flee the country for fear over my safety, and you want me to smile and nod and curtsy. Be the pretty little princess everyone expects me to be.”
He paused. “I don’t think anyone expects you to curtsy.”
I called Nolan from Desmond’s car. Due to the threat against me I wasn’t allowed to go anywhere unattended, and Desmond was being especially vigilant in that. No one, me more than anyone, blamed him for my recent brushes with death, but it was apparent he blamed himself.
Morgan, as per instruction from Lucas, had purchased me new clothes, but she had enjoyed the task a bit too much. The jeans she’d selected were so long I had to cuff them twice, and the powder-pink hoodie I wore over a blue My Little Pony T-shirt had cute fuzzy bear ears attached to it.
At least my black Converse sneakers were my own. But the whole ensemble made me look about as menacing as a twelve-year-old girl at a Justin Bieber concert.
Nolan picked up on the second ring. “’Allo?”
“Pack a bag,” I told him.
“For what?”
“You’re moving temporarily.” I explained the circumstances. Since I wasn’t sure who was after me, those close to me might be in danger as well. I couldn’t take Brigit with me on a werewolf field trip without giving Lucas a coronary, and since she wasn’t yet under the council’s protection I didn’t want her left vulnerable. Nolan might just be human, but Brigit meant something to him. Having the two of them together would ease my mind because I knew they’d look out for one another, and I wanted to be certain they were safe.
When I hung up, Desmond shook his head. “Only you would worry about the safety of a vampire at a time like this.”
I smiled innocently, not quite sure what to say to that. “Let’s go get my stuff, okay?”
“I’m taking you right to the airport. No stops. We can’t take the risk.”
I gaped at him, indicating my middle-school-themed ensemble. “I’m supposed to meet a king dressed like this?”
“I’ll make sure your stuff gets there. Brigit will know what you need. I’ll get her to put together a bag for you.”
“What do you mean? You’re coming with us.”
“No.” He frowned. “I have to stay behind and be responsible for the pack while Lucas is gone. That’s my duty. When Lucas is gone, I have to be here, it trumps all my other responsibilities. Even my job to protect you.” He reached over and gave my hand an apologetic squeeze. “Morgan, Dominick and Jackson will be with you.”
“Awesome.”
Minutes later we pulled into a parking lot behind JFK where a small Cessna with the Rain Industries emblem painted on the side was waiting for us. A pilot stood a safe distance away, smoking a cigarette, and Lucas—with Morgan at his side—was speaking animatedly into his cell phone. It sent a pang through my heart to see how much more right Morgan looked beside him with her chic bob and expensive, tailored blazer over her expensive, tailored jeans.
“Can I do this?” I asked, fingering one of the fuzzy ears on my hood.
Desmond took my hand, the one without the engagement ring, and kissed my knuckles.
