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“A cell?”
I nodded. “An enforcer from the Paris Syndicate had me kidnapped and kept me in a cell, cuffed to the wall. Silver cuffs.”
Xavier’s gaze went to the braided leather bands on my wrists. He pursed his lips. “The enforcer’s still alive?”
“Moreau? For now.” We exchanged grim smiles. “But enough about me. Tell me what’s been happening with my brothers.”
“Here’s what I know.” He sat back, wine glass in hand, and brought me up to date while I helped myself to a second cheeseburger.
Gabriel was fine despite having been almost staked—twice. In fact, he’d impressed some of our most vocal detractors in the syndicate with how he’d kept things together while my father had been out of touch.
And the thing between Gabriel and Camila Vittore was legit. She’d accepted his blood bond at the Ruby Speakeasy in front of a roomful of Kral Syndicate vampires.
“You didn’t hear this from me,” Xavier added with a sly smile—he prided himself on being the first to know anything—“but Gabriel took the Vittore chica as his mate.”
“No kidding.” So Gabriel’s Mila really had come back. I smiled. “That’s good news.”
“They haven’t been seen since last Thursday, though. Somebody told me he took her to his house out on Long Island, and she’s undergoing the transition to dhampir for him.”
“Wow. That’s some heavy shit.” As a human, Mila only had a 50 percent chance of surviving the transition. No wonder Gabriel had seemed distracted when we spoke on Monday.
“Yeah,” said Xavier.
“And Rafe?” I asked.
My younger brother was fine too, and had apparently mated with Zoe—in fact, the princess had intended to defect to the Kral Syndicate, which was why they’d been meeting with Victorine Tremblay.
“You can guess what the prima thought about that,” Xavier added dryly.
As a dhampir, he’d been treated like scum by the Mexico City primus. The only vampire he truly liked and respected was my father.
“So Victorine attacked first?”
“That’s what Feehan says, and he was inside the restaurant.”
I straightened. “He was? Tell me exactly what he said.”
“Exactly?”
“Yeah. This is important.”
Xavier stared into his glass for a few seconds. “Okay, here’s what he told me. Your father accused Prima Victorine of breaking the truce. He had proof, said Princess Zoe had shown him the evidence herself. He mentioned Philippe Moreau, said he’d been stripped of his rank as enforcer for detaining you and Rafe.”
His gaze flicked again to the leather wristbands.
“Excellent.” I showed my teeth in a smile that would’ve surprised those vampires in Moreau’s lair who’d believed I was soft. “It will make it easier when I stake the sonuvabitch. Go on.”
“There was more talk about the feud. Your father pushed Victorine to put the feud behind them for good. Rafe and Zoe had bonded, he’d said, and if Victorine staked Rafe, Victorine’s bloodline would end with Zoe.”
“So they really mated.”
Xavier nodded. “The prima gave in. You know how vampires are about their bloodlines. She took an oath that the three of you were safe from her, that she’d never try to harm you. That’s when things blew up.”
I leaned forward, literally on the edge of my seat. “What happened?”
“Only two guards were allowed in the room—Feehan and another man. But the other soldier was really Lieutenant Mraz using a glamour. He staked the man who was supposed to be there and took his place.”
“But my father must’ve known—”
