AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Emotions flitted across de Froulay’s handsome face. Nostalgia, and a hint of tenderness. “You have the look of her. Charlotte.”
A beat passed before I realized he meant my mom. By the time I was old enough to know her name, she’d been using an alias.
I dug my fingers into the soft leather cushions on either side of my thighs. “Leave my mom out of this.”
I was proud of my even tone, when I wanted to carve the words into his skin with a hot knife.
His dark brows lowered. “It’s a compliment. She was a beautiful woman.”
I set my teeth. “I said, leave my mom out of this.”
“You understand that I didn’t know about you. She left before she was showing. If I’d known, I would’ve made arrangements—settled money on the two of you. I didn’t hear about you until years later, and then it was only rumors.”
I shook my head. I hadn’t known and I wasn’t sure if I believed him.
Still, it didn’t matter. What mattered was that he’d seduced my mom into becoming his thrall in the first place.
“She loved you. She didn’t want your goddamn money.”
His beautiful mouth tightened. “I didn’t take advantage of her, if that’s what you believe. She signed a contract like all of my thralls.”
A black heat filled my head. The hell with what Crow wanted. I wasn’t going to sit here and listen to this vampire—this monster who’d gotten my mom pregnant, then thrown her to the wolves—talk about her like she was just another thrall.
I jumped up—and wobbled on the freaking high heels. I moved my feet further apart and planted the heels on the parquet floor.
“Sit down,” de Froulay said in bored tones.
“No.” I balled my hands into fists. God, I wished I had my switchblade.
“Sit.” His voice sliced at me.
I wavered. The prick had that much raw strength. Then I lifted my chin, spun on my heel—without, by some miracle, losing my balance—and stalked toward the exit.
“Ridley.” He sighed. “Calm yourself. I have a proposition for you.”
I stopped but didn’t turn around. “What?”
“First, sit down. I promise not to speak of Charlotte.”
I heaved a breath and reminded myself I was a pro. This connection to the Paris primus could be valuable. And Crow would be waiting for my report.
Think like a slayer. Fight like a slayer. Live like a slayer.
I returned to the couch. “Fine. What’s this proposition?”
De Froulay rested a long arm along the couch back. “I’d like to hire you.”
“To do what?”
“Spy on Philippe Moreau.”
I blinked. Moreau was de Froulay’s top enforcer. The two men went way back.
“Why?” I asked baldly.
“Something’s up.” De Froulay tapped a finger on the couch back. “He’s…different. People are coming and going all the time in that Saint-Germain lair of his. I think his parties are a cover for something more. But I can’t look too deeply into it without alarming him.”
“A cover for what?”
