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That was good enough for me. I messaged Fagan Security to check it out. “Be careful,” I warned. “We suspect it’s a vampire nest.”
“Will check it out ASAP,” was the reply.
“Don’t go inside—I’ll handle the extraction. And I’m sending a couple of enforcers to take over security for the Vittores.” With Redbone’s back to the wall, he might go after Mila’s parents next. “I’ll contact you as soon as they’re in place.”
“Got it.”
“Use any means possible to get the truth,” I added. The Fagans would know they had my permission to compel one of the humans on site, either a thrall or someone on Andre’s staff.
I signed off and sat back. “They should have an answer for us in a few hours,” I told Mila.
Her face fell. “We can’t leave now?”
I shifted on the chair to look at her. This time, I couldn’t stifle the groan.
“Christ, I’m sorry.” She wrapped her arms carefully around me from behind and laid her cheek against mine. “You’re too hurt to go anywhere.”
“It’s not so bad,” I lied. “But it’s going to take a few hours for the silver to work its way out of my system. Meanwhile,” I added grimly, “I need to talk to Airi.” I wasn’t going anywhere until I’d reestablished control over my security and what remained of my staff.
Pushing to my feet, I made my way back to the living room for another glass of blood-wine.
“But even if I wasn’t hurt, I wouldn’t risk Joey by rushing in without a plan. My guess is the building’s a nest—smaller than a coven, but there could be as many as a dozen vampires based there. Plus, we don’t know for sure Joey’s still there. If he is, and we go in before we’re ready, they might move him somewhere else and it could take weeks to track him down.” I drained the wine and set down the glass. “So for now, there’s nothing we can do. You might as well shower, have something to eat.”
“Okay. Yeah.” She pushed her hair from her face, looked blankly at her blood-stained hands. “I guess I could use a shower.”
“Go.” I took her by the shoulders and turned her toward the bathroom. “I’ll get you some clean clothes.”
My phone had survived undamaged in my closet. I reinstated the house security system, then arranged to meet Airi in the dining room, which like my suite, was relatively untouched.
Mila’s rooms, though, had been trashed. A message, I suspected, from Redbone to her.
After leaving Mila’s clothes on a chair in the bathroom, I washed up and pulled on a fresh shirt and pants. By then my head felt clearer, and the pain from my abdominal wounds had subsided. Still, until the silver passed out of my system, I’d be achy and too damn weak, and craving blood any way I could get it.
Mila reappeared, clean-smelling from her shower, her damp hair in a braid. I took a few minutes to quiz her on what, exactly, Redbone had wanted her to do.
But she couldn’t tell me much more than what I already knew. Redbone had ordered her to get close to me any way she could. The mic in the earring allowed him to listen in on our private conversations, and the G.P.S. had allowed him to track her, and thus, me when we were together.
“I know he was just using me to distract you,” Mila said. “I feel so bad…” She trailed off, dark eyes troubled.
“Hey.” I slid my fingers under her braid to cup her nape. “You did the right thing. They had Joey—you had no choice.”
“I’m just glad I don’t have to lie to you anymore.” Her throat worked. “It was tearing me up inside.”
“Me, too. But there’s one thing I want to know. Why didn’t you tell me sooner? Write me a note or something?”
Why didn’t you trust me to help?my heart asked. Fuck, I was pitiful. But damn it, she should’ve trusted me.
“I couldn’t.” The look she gave me was stark. “Andre said that if I warned you, he’d know.”
What the hell?I stared back.
“We have a mole. Trust no one.”
I’d been so busy trying to convince myself that Mila wasn’t the mole that I hadn’t thought it through. And then all hell had broken loose.
But it made sense. Someone on the inside had to be feeding Andre intel. And not O’Brien. He hadn’t been part of the inner circle—not even close.
“I’m sorry.” Mila eyed me anxiously. “I wanted to tell you. So bad. But I couldn’t let them hurt Joey.”
