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Chapter 9
Antoine
The doorbell rang throughoutthe house, making me tense.
This was it. We would find out if Angelica’s glamour worked or not in the next few minutes.
“I thought you were taking care of Vincent,” I addressed Wynn with an impatient scowl. “Having him come here to see Piper is not what I would call taking care of it.”
Wynn lounged on the couch with one arm thrown over the shoulder and the other over the back. “I am doing as you asked,mon ami. I told him that Piper was indisposed but he could only take so much distraction. We cannot very well keep Piper sick forever. They know she is your servant. The fact that they believed me about her sickness is a miracle in itself.”
“Why is he coming here now then?” Rayne growled, his arms over his chest. Every few moments he would glare at Angelica, making the witch shift uncomfortably.
“Rayne,” I blinked at him, not bothering to push my power at him. “Stop making Piper uncomfortable.”
Rayne’s lip curled up and his nostrils flared. “Then maybePipershould keep her hands to herself. MaybePipershould do her job and not make other people uncomfortable.”
Wynn brows rose. “Is there something I missed?”
“There is no time to discuss it right now.” I waved him off, crossing my leg over the other while shifting toward Rayne. “I understand your feelings but you must think about Piper, the real Piper,” I cut him off before he could make a snarky remark. “We need this to work or we risk putting all of us in danger. Do you want that?”
Rayne's face tightened until it resembled an old potato and then he blew out a long breath and sank down into his chair. “Fine. I will put the incident behind me...for now.” He gave Angelica a pointed look and then nodded at me. “For Piper’s sake.”
“Good.” Lifting a hand up, I gestured toward Darren, who stood waiting in a corner of the room. “You may answer the door now.”
Thankfully, only Wynn and Rayne would be available for this meeting.
The twins were downstairs sleeping. The twins were fighting and exhausted themselves to the point that they were in a coma-like state until dark. I would be concerned for them except in this case it was to a benefit for us. I didn’t need to worry about them trying to tear each other’s heads off when we should be focusing on keeping Piper safe.
Marcus had been up the last few days, doing what he did best. Finding information. While Rayne searched for Piper through the internet, Marcus was hunting down any possible leads to the council’s whereabouts through their flunkies. There had to be someone out there that would know where the council was dwelling with Piper. They couldn’t have just disappeared.
“What are we going to tell him?” Rayne murmured low enough that I could hear him but not the hunter’s guild president coming our way.
“Do not worry. We are prepared for this.” I stood from my chair and greeted Vincent with open arms and a twitch of my lips. “Welcome to our home. We weren’t expecting to see you so soon, Vincent.”
“Well, you know me. I’m a busy man. I have to check in on my investments.” Vincent didn’t try to shake my hand, his hands firmly tucked into his pockets. He grinned widely, not a care in the world making him worry about being in a house full of vampires.
Then the two hunters walked in behind him. A tall man with enough muscle to put Marcus to shame and an Asian woman of almost the same height. Their eyes scanned the sitting room no doubt taking in every aspect of it to report back to the guild before landing on Piper.
“Tristan, Mizuki. You remember Piper, don’t you?” Vincent gestured to the two hunters behind him and then to Angelica.
“Yes,” Tristan said, his eyes narrowing on the fake Piper. “It’s been a while. Some of us thought maybe you weren’t coming back.”
Mizuki said nothing. Her eyes laser points on the fake Piper.
Angelica must have found her backbone because she sat there with an air of confidence that wasn’t there before. Perhaps it was only vampires that made her antsy. A lopsided grin appeared on her face. One that I’d seen on Piper’s face many times before. Just seeing it made my heart clench tight.
“I didn’t know you needed me badly. What did you do without me?” The snarky tone of her voice made Rayne and Wynn’s heads jerk her way. Her portrayal was almost too good. I hesitated to see the reaction from Vincent.
Vincent threw his head back and laughed. “That’s a good one, Ms. Billings.”
“It’s Durand.” Fake Piper quipped back with a tight smile.
“Of course. Of course.” He slicked his hand over his dark hair and tugged on one of the large diamond earrings glinting in his ears. “I could see how one would think that we are incapable of doing our job without you.” He strode forward and stopped before her, not taking the available seat nearby. To my surprise, Angelica didn’t react to his close threatening presence. “But I do want to assure you that we indeed do know how to do our job. Quite well as you do remember.” His eyes skipped over to Rayne before slowly dragging his gaze back to Piper. “I would hate to have to provide you with a reminder of our capabilities.”
Fake Piper lifted her chin and stared down at Vincent. “The only reminder I need is when you will be coming by again. Because frankly I need a full twenty-four hours’ notice to prepare myself for the onslaught of your cologne.” She wrinkled her nose and sneered.
Shit. Angelica. Too far. You are pushing him too far.
