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Talon stirred. “The best way to counteract the rumors would be to have your father appear in public. He hasn’t started to smell yet—we still have a little time before it’s obvious he’s going blood mad.”
“It’s too risky,” I said. “He’s too unpredictable—you never know how he’ll be from one night to the next. And sometimes when you talk to him, it’s like he’s not all there. He just stares at you without saying anything.”
A fixed, psychopathic stare.
Cain scrubbed a hand over his short white-blond hair. “What does Prosper say?”
“Nothing. You know him. He plays his cards close to the chest.”
“Yeah.” Cain’s mouth bent down, and I felt my own do the same.
The alliance between Prosper and my father dated to when my father had first arrived from France. Prosper, an indigenous Canadian who knew both the local terrain and the politics of the various groups jockeying for power—the English, French and assorted First Nations governments—had been key in helping Jules found the Maritime Syndicate.
Within a decade, Jules had turned Prosper and brought him into the syndicate as a soldier. Prosper had shot up the hierarchy, eventually becoming Jules’s lieutenant and righthand man, and there he remained, my father’s most loyal ally.
But not mine.
Talon sat up. “He’ll challenge you the minute the primus is in his final grave. He’ll never accept you as his dominant.”
“I know. But hell, if the situations were reversed, I’d probably do the same thing.” I gave a wolfish grin. “And I say, bring it on—because Iwillwin. I know all his tricks, and a few he won’t be expecting.”
Talon’s answering smile was as toothy as my own.
“You’re faster than him, too,” said Cain. “You’ll win, all right, which is why you have to watch your back. He might take you out the same way they got Prima Lenore. I’ve never been sure that he wasn’t behind her attack, anyway.”
I shook my head. “I don’t think so. To him, my mother was part of the team, someone he respected. And he may be an SOB, but he’s not a coward. If he had a problem with my mother, he would’ve confronted her to her face, not ambushed her.”
“Whatever goes down, you know we’re with you,” said Cain, and Talon grunted assent.
“I know.” I cast them both a grateful look. “And I’m grateful as hell that you two are on my side. But a challenge from Prosper could be a good thing—the tension between us is making the upper hierarchy edgy. Take him out, and the other high-ranking vampires will fall into line. Otherwise, I could find myself fighting multiple challenges.”
“True,” said Talon. “But that’s the future. First, we have to do something about Jules.”
I grimaced. “Yeah. But—”
A knock on the door interrupted us. “We’ll finish this tonight,” I said as my PA said, “It’s me, Avril.”
Cain opened the door. “The thralls are ready?”
“They are,” Avril said. “The jet is on standby and the cars are in the courtyard. I’ve given the order to load the luggage.”
Talon and I came to our feet. “Tell the thralls we’re leaving in ten minutes,” I told her. “Cain and Talon will meet them in the courtyard. But not the new thrall—I’ll escort her outside myself.”
“Very good, my lord.” Avril left.
Cain frowned. “You sure you want to bring Twilight to the island? You could give her some money and put her on a plane to the States.”
I didn’t have to look at Talon to know he was nodding agreement.
Fuck that. I was damned if I’d leave Twilight behind now that I’d finally found her.
“I’m sure.” I brushed past them into the hall.
7
TWILIGHT
By the time we got to Nova Scotia, the coming dawn had smudged the horizon a hazy pink. We broke through the clouds, flying low over the ocean. The jet banked to the right and Lilith Island came into view.
