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Greg started back into the train but I grabbed his hand and pulled him back. ‘Leave them. It was the look we were going for,’ I pointed out.
‘Doesn’t make it right for them to speak to someone like that.’
‘No,’ I agreed, ‘but let’s go home. I’m too tired to deal with this now.’
Waiting at the top of the steps was a familiar stretch limousine. The passenger door opened and Bastion stepped out in human form. ‘Get in,’ he instructed. ‘We have a problem.’
I sighed. When did we not?
Chapter 29
Thewarmthofthelimo was a welcome relief, but I realised with some dismay that it meant I didn’t have any excuse to keep Greg draped over me like my own personal blanket. He seemed to reach the same conclusion and removed his arm from my shoulders. Damn.
‘What did you learn?’ he asked Bastion.
Bastion levelled a quelling glare at me. ‘Besides the fact that you two can’t be trusted not to wreak havoc?’
‘The Connection was coming for a raid anyway. Who knows where Ares would have ended up if we hadn’t released him?’
‘Perhaps in a unicorn sanctuary rather than roaming loose in London?’ When he said it like that, it didn’t sound so great. It had been the right decision at the time, and I stood by it. How was I to know that the Connection was coming and my rescue was largely otiose?
‘If we hadn’t been rescuing Ares, we’d have been stuck in the crowd like everyone else. We’d be in a Connection jail cell right now, like the rest of those rich tossers.’
Bastion shook his head. ‘Don’t be naïve, Lucy. Most of those tossers never saw a handcuff, let alone a cell. They never do.’ He sounded a mite weary.
‘They bribe their way out?’ I surmised.
‘Flash enough cash and you can get away with anything.’
I supposed that Bastion would know that better than anyone, because he got away with murder all the time. He read the thought on my face and his glare intensified.
‘What did you get from Ghost?’ I asked.
‘A lead. The vampyr that was bothering you at Rosie’s? He’s part of the vampyrs’ Red Guard.’ He said it with a flourish, like I should gasp in shock.
Greg leaned back in his seat. ‘Shit,’ he swore.
‘What?’ I said impatiently. ‘What’s the Red Guard? And why do we care?’
‘You’ve heard of the KGB and the SS?’ Greg asked.
I nodded.
‘The Red Guard are the vampyrs’ equivalent, knights supposedly tasked with bringing order to the vampyrs and their interests. Their authority exists outside of the clan structure, and they have the ultimate say in any clan business. If you’re a head of a clan and the Red Guard come visiting, you get nervous.’
‘Wokeshire didn’t seem nervous,’ I pointed out. To be fair, Wokeshire hadn’t seemed anything; he’d kept his emotions very much under wraps.
‘Wokeshire didn’t know the Red Guard were here until you showed him the photograph,’ Greg pointed out. ‘And the Red Guard vampyr was posing as a young vampyr, impetuous and unknowing in the ways of halls. The Red Guard are here and, for whatever reason, they’re undercover.’
‘The question is,’ Bastion leaned back in his seat, ‘what are they investigating?’
‘Did Ghost have anything else to say? About Mark?’
‘Mark was a regular, both as a fighter in fur and as a spectator. He earned decent cash from taking part and from laying down bets. That’s as far as we got before we were interrupted by some rude Connection officials.’
‘You made it back here in good time.’
‘As I said, I have escape routes.’
