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“On my life, I did not,” Tres swore.
“You’re dead,” I pointed out.
“No!” Tres gave me that zealous smile. “Like Lazarus, I am risen. You have given me the gift of etern—”
“Right, then,” I cut him off before his increasingly loud voice drew unwanted attention. “Okay, well, see you around.”
I turned, fast-walking in hopes that I could simply walk away from this problem. I was a lot less than okay dealing with this particular dilemma. If I couldn’t behead it, I was less at ease.
“Geneviève!” Tres ran after me and grabbed for my arm.
Unfortunately, I kept thinking of him as a human, so I wasn’t out-of-reach as quickly as was necessary to evade adraugr.He had my wrist in his grasp, and he didn’t let go. A brief temptation to stab him flickered over me, but I’d promised Ally I wouldn’t stab, behead, or otherwise harm him without reason.
“Geneviève?” Eli’s voice was calm, but he very obviously was not.
“It’s fine, Eli. Tres was going to back up. Weren’t you, Tres?” I jerked out of his grasp before things got uglier. I met Tres’ gaze. “I have enough things on my plate that I can’t deal with you, too.”
“You have to!” Tres sounded desperate enough that I knew I was missing something.
“Why? Give me one good reason.”
“I need timewithyou, near you, or I’ll stop being me.” Tres sounded more like a petulant child than the strong businessman he’d been when alive. “I’m trying to obey your will, stay out of sight, but . . . if I don’t spend time in your presence, I’ll devolve. I can feel it. When I was traveling”—he shuddered—“I felt slower. Hungry. I don’t think I can leave the city again. Not safely.”
I closed my eyes. I wasn’t even sure I could keep a houseplant alive, and having a person need me was horrifying. It wasn’t need like dating or friendship. I mean, I wasn’t the best at those, but . . . this was different. Worse. I could look after him or kill him—because if he devolved, I would have to kill him. Youngdraugrwere biting, irrational things.
“Behead him and be done,” Eli whispered.
“I’ll pay you. Hire you.”
I felt guilt. Damn it. I hated guilt. “I raise the dead, Tres, or behead them.”
“Well, I’m dead.” Tres folded his arms. “Look. If I cannot be in your presence, behead me. I cannot go into a”—he looked around furtively before whispering—“T-Cell.”
We all knew that I couldn’t just behead him. It was one thing to behead those who were attacking people, or to eliminate those who attacked me, but I wasn’t a senseless killer.I couldn’t be.That was what separated me from thedraugrpart of my heritage. It was a line I drew and observed. I might be a sort-of-assassin, but not carelessly. I took on the task of killing only to protect.
And that was the line that kept me able to say I wasn’t a sociopath. If I was able to kill the innocent, Tres would’ve been decapitated before his eyes opened. This mess was as much my fault as it was Tres’.
“Come on,” I said. “Walk with me.”
It was only a block to the car, but Tres looked relieved. “Thank you.”
I glanced at him. “What was it like?”
Tres grimaced. “I started drooling. I almostbitsomeone in the elevator. Not a volunteer, like usual. Honestly, Geneviève, it was terrifying. I couldn’t recall where I was or why. I’m missing time.”
“Missing time?” Eli prompted.
“All I know for certain was that I had to get back here for this meeting.” Tres frowned.
“How did you know about the meeting?” I asked.
“I have absolutely no idea,” Tres mused. “It was in my schedule.”
“Who put it there? Why?”
“I’m not sure, but I will be.” Tres suddenly has purpose. It was if he had rebuilt himself into the businessman I’d met when I was hired regarding his father’s murder.
Someone wanted me on the street, and Tres was someone here. It was likely that I should suspect him. His father was a card-carrying SAFARI member. He’d been dosed with venom, and as far as anyone knew he was alive.
