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“I don’t know. But I have to go now. We can continue this piece when you are more…relaxed.”
He watched her go, unable to find the words to convince her to stay when his hands wouldn’t cooperate. When she was gone, he sat before the painting and perused every new stroke, pausing longer at the eyes that looked over the horizon. So pretty. So skilled. Some parts needed smoother lines, the roughness cementing her confession that she hadn’t done it in a while.
What a waste.
“Son, are you on top of the Palmer deal? We have to secure it before the month ends and before he runs for candidacy.”
Isaiah Wilder was seated at the head of their very big table, at odds with the fact that it had always been the three of them in the house. Adela Wilder sat to the right while Edmund sat to the left, scooping his hot soup infused with blood and returning it to the bowl. His mother ate with the same gentleness while his father ate with more gusto, as enthusiastic as he had been when he glided in and got right down to business.
“Yes. We have a dinner meeting this weekend, and I will secure it by then. Are there other clans interested?”
“No one’s vocal yet but you know how they are about these things—sharks latching on to blood the moment they find out how fresh it is. Zion Palmer is young and unproblematic. He’s going to get a lot of support the moment news of his plans hit the city.”
Zion Palmer was a ladies’ man who had a talent for keeping his name out of the tabloids, but all vying politicians had their skeletons. In general terms, this was shady but not against the law.
“All right.”
“Make sure it’s ironclad and he can’t change his mind. I don’t want the Hastings swooping in and taking all the glory. They already took enough from us.”
The Hastings was one of the most powerful vampire clans in the city, which meant that even attempting to take it was already a lost cause for the Wilders.
“They won’t take it. They have not declared themselves our rivals, and we are still on good terms.”
“How would you know they won’t?” Isaiah asked, ignoring the second part.
“Iz would tell me.”
At that, Isaiah’s hand fisted on the butter knife he was holding. “You mean that vile woman who humiliated us?”
“She didn’t humiliate us,” Edmund reminded lightly.
“You are right. It’s her bastard mate who did, that filthy creature whose business is on the rise.”
Now Edmund’s hand fisted, refusing to agree to the name-calling. It had never sat well with him that his father had always been so comfortable with derogatory remarks, especially with non-vampires.
“Isaiah.” Adela frowned before he could protest and touched the older man’s hand. “Enough. We are having a pleasant dinner here, and I won’t have it stained with talk of humiliation and such. We are a rising family with a good clan leader and other heads. We have a son who strives hard to connect a bridge that got cracked.”
“We are allied with them,” Edmund added, noting his father’s deepening scowl. “Not officially, but that’s what people think. You are still invited to Eduard Hastings’ parties and business events.”
“Not all of them,” Isaiah grumbled. “We are on a short leash and they are watching our every move is more like it.”
Edmund remained silent, not about to point out for the nth time that that was his father’s doing for ruining a Hastings event after the end of Edmund and Isabella’s engagement.
“Father—”
“To get away from it, we need a bigger influence. Get that Palmer deal. Then you need to schedule a date with Ivana as soon as you can.”
“Ivana Palmer?” An image formed. “Zion’s sister is a teenager.”
“She’s turning legal in a month. One year of dating is all you need.”
“I don’t want to date a teenager.”
“She won’t be a teenager for long, and you can wait. Befriend her before that. Make your moves—”
His spoon clanged on a bowl, sickened by the idea. He whirled, barely able to leash the temper that roared up as he looked at the older man’s eager face.
“I won’t date a teenager,” he repeated, making sure he sounded clear and concise. “Whether that age will change in a few months or a few years. I don’t care. You are talking about a seventeen-year-old girl like she’s a property to be sold.”
