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“Not here.”
“Thanks, for a second I thought he’d learned to become invisible.”
“In many ways he is.” Sig walked across the room and settled into his seat, stretching his long legs out in front of him. As was his usual fashion, he wore only brown leather pants. No shirt, no shoes. Yet he always got service. “Juan Carlos chose to greet an old friend of yours upon his arrival here yesterday.”
“An old friend?”
“Yes. Surely you haven’t forgotten about Arturo’s visit.”
I went cold, because since yesterday I had forgotten about Arturo’s visit. Sig had texted me to tell me the other vampire was coming, but in the wake of everything going on, it had slipped my mind in the chaos.
Arturo, in my opinion, was a traitor and the man responsible for having me kidnapped by The Doctor. From what I had pieced together, he had framed my father to bring me to Los Angeles. He’d then colluded with Alexandre Peyton to have me kidnapped and killed by a madman.
When their plan had failed, he’d provided Peyton with a drug that let him manipulate werewolf DNA. The same drug Desmond had been dosed with while we were in Paris.
It seemed Arturo had it in for me, but I didn’t know why, and I had no hard evidence to bring before the council. All I had to confirm my own suspicions was a letter sent with the drugs, signed with the letter A. It was flimsy at best, but I knew deep down he was the one behind it all. Too bad I’d killed Peyton, so I couldn’t force him to admit the truth now.
The word of one Tribunal leader against another would divide people’s loyalties. But what was worse, now that my bloodline had been revealed, there would be people who would doubt me simply because of what I was. I wouldn’t be able to convince the council Arturo was a traitor, not without evidence.
And where the hell was I going to find proof? I had other, vastly more important things to worry about. I couldn’t spend my time dwelling on why one vampire had it in for me.
“Fuck. Can’t I just kill him and be done with this whole thing?” I raked my hands through my hair and gave Holden a pitiful look.
“Who? Arturo or Juan Carlos?” Sig asked, and I couldn’t help but notice his slight smile when he asked.
“Why not both?” Holden offered.
Why not both indeed? So many of the difficulties in my life would be erased if I could do away with Arturo and Juan Carlos. Admittedly, my desire to kill Juan Carlos was more personal than professional. He’d had it in for me from the beginning, and now…
“Does Juan Carlos know about me?” My voice trembled. Though I knew the secret would come out sooner rather than later, I had hoped not to be around when the third Tribunal member figured out what I really was.
“He’s heard the rumors.” Sig twined his fingers together over his sculpted abs and watched me carefully. I wonder
ed what it was he was hoping or expecting to see in my expression. “Naturally, when he caught wind of it he was…well, he was rather furious.”
“And here I figured he’d be overjoyed.”
“Overjoyed to learn he’s been working alongside a werewolf for years?” Sig clucked his tongue. “I think you know our Spanish friend better than that.”
“I assumed it would fill him with a raging case of the I told you so’s when he found out what was wrong with me. He’s been obsessed with it as long as I’ve known him.” And on more than one occasion he’d physically threatened me over it. Sig was the only thing that had kept me alive all this time, and now that Juan Carlos knew the truth, I wasn’t sure Sig could still protect me.
“Regardless of what he felt, I’m sure you can understand why he and Arturo have bonded so quickly.”
At least Sig seemed to believe me about Arturo, even if no one else would.
Then lightning struck. There was someone else the elders would believe, no matter what they felt about me. I’d thought Monica might be a great character witness in my own case, but she could do me one better.
“Monica could test Arturo’s blood,” I blurted. “She would know right away if he was a traitor.”
Sig’s smile broadened, though he didn’t seem at all surprised by my ingenious plan. “My dear. For a smart girl, you are exceedingly slow on the uptake some days.”
“Calling her smart is generous,” Holden muttered, but I waved him off, ignoring the insult.
“You thought the same thing?”
“Of course. Why else would I invite that insufferable bore to come here? I find the West Coast Tribunal to be exhausting and snobbish at the best of times. They are all far too young to wield the power they do, and don’t get me started on having siblings seated next to each other.” He rolled his eyes and sighed. “What a mess.”
“Does Arturo know he’s meant to go before Monica?”
