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The next evening, there was one bit of work that needed to be resolved.
I went to the NAC building, was told Miranda was in the garage, and walked toward it, but then I stood outside the closed door for a moment and thought.
We protect each other.
That had become our creed, a kind of operating principle for our relationship. And now it was time for me to do my part, to protect what I could.
I opened the door, found her alone and working at one of the counters that lined the wall.
Now that I’d decided my course, I didn’t waste any time. “We need to talk.”
She looked up, dismissed me, looked away. “What do you want?”
“I want nothing from you. But you owe Connor a favor. I intend to see he collects.”
She snorted. “I give exactly what I’m obliged to give. Loyalty to the Pack. Period.”
“Do you?” I asked, cocking my head at her. “That’s not what I’ve heard.”
She stood up. “If you have something to say, then say it and get out.”
“You’re impatient, Miranda. That’s part of your problem. The other part? Levi remembered you.”
“Who the fuck is Levi?”
“He’s a vampire. He’s the member of the Compliance Bureau who took your call the night you ratted out your prince to a group of vampires.”
For the first time in our acquaintance, she actually looked concerned about something I’d said. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“You do. You told him I turned Carlie.”
She was quiet for a moment, probably rethinking her moves, her steps, then narrowed her eyes at me. “You have nothing. I hear he’s as crazy as they come.”
“He’s disturbed,” I agreed. “But his memory is intact. And I bet you used your own screen to call him, Miranda. The Ombudsman has Levi’s screen now, and they’re working on getting his records.”
Her mouth firmed into a hard line, and her eyes narrowed into fulminating slits. “So what if I told. You broke the rules. You deserve to get punished.”
“Maybe. But I wasn’t the only one involved. I saved Carlie from the Pack. I saved Carliebecauseof the Pack. You reported me—and therefore the Pack—to the AAM. You nearly cost the prince his life. That’s not very loyal.”
She snorted, all bravado now, and not very convincing. “What do you know about loyalty? You don’t even have a House.”
“I don’t need a House. I’m loyal to people who are worthy of my trust, which does not include you. Doesn’t Gabriel need to know you aren’t trustworthy? That you turned on the Pack? On his son?”
All the color drained from her face. She knew what I had now, and what I intended to do with it. Or what I wanted her to believe I intended...
She turned her arm, showed me the wound she still hadn’t shifted to heal.
“Oh, I know you were cut. But Levi didn’t do it.”
“Then it was some other vampire.”
“No, it wasn’t.” I tilted my head, made a point of looking at the laceration. “I’d bet, if we have a doctor examine it, they’ll be able to tell us the angle of the wound. Prove that you’re the one who used the knife on yourself.”
She fumed in silence for a full minute. “What do you want? Money?”
“No.” I thought of the salary I’d just agreed to.
“Then what?”
