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Overmaster Descallia nods. “Yes, however, Lucianna and I believe it’s a trap. Isala wanted them to find her, or she wouldn’t have been found that easy, even with their skills. I want you to tread carefully, Calabrea. You may know the community here, but remember, this woman has managed to live under my roof and maintain a credible façade of being devoted to the vampire community for a very long time. All while quietly convincing many of the young wolves and witches in the underworld to join her fight against us.”
Isala has become a formidable opponent indeed. “I planned to check in with the lords in the area, have their vampires cast a wide net over the entire region. She can’t hide from all of the Calabrea region,” I tell him.
Descallia nods, his dark black eyes turning red around the rims. “Perhaps not, but Silver, who will also join you, has powers of sight that were previously untapped until he started working with us. He’s been mentoring with Lucianna and was able to help find the missing woman the rogues took to make it look likethe vampires were snatching women off the streets awhile back. He will be of great assistance to you and your teams.”
“Are we getting blowback from the humans from the missing woman?” I ask.
“So far, we’ve been able to alleviate any concerns by getting in front of it and leading the charge to rescue them. They’ve all been returned home, and the rogues seem to be focused on other things now. I want you to take Silver, and a couple others with you on this assignment, though. His special powers will help you and us all.”
Overmaster Descallia may think everything in his life is secret, but I’ve heard a few whispered rumors about the special powers of not only this Silver, but also of Descallia’s mate who does much but talks little. We masters converse among ourselves before and after the consulate meetings, whether he knows it or not.
“Who are the others?” I ask, talking to him but shifting my eyes on a vampiress in a slinky red dress who is eye fucking me from where she hovers near the next table. The scent of her arousal wafts heavy in the air, her heart beats fast, and her fangs descend over the top of her bottom lip before the tip of her tongue touches them.
Only if there were time, sweetheart. But tonight, there are far too many things to do besides feasting on the lovely vampiress who isn’t in the least bit trying to play coy. She, just like the others, knows exactly who I am, and the power that being my mate would hold.
I make take them to bed, but I’m not about to step into a trap like that twice in a lifetime. There’s no time for even a passing hook-up right now. The next couple days will be filled with laying down plans to find and capture the elusive Isala before a war the likes that no one has ever seen breaks out between the factions of the underworld.
Overmaster Descallia notices the female hovering and scowls. She doesn’t need anything other than that to take the hint and flee back to the bar area where she immediately sparks up an intimate looking conversation with her next target.
He returns us both to the work at hand. “Clay and Terrence will come with you too. Silver will help you in ways you wouldn’t imagine, but you can depend on Clay and Terrence to fight by your side. We brought them into the special forces because of their formidable combat skills. They will help fill the void of the warriors we can’t engage at this time.”
I clear my throat. What I have to say needs to be said. "It seems to me that if the warriors were the only ones you were worried about, the two of us wouldn't be having this conversation in a bar, but at our headquarters in Rome with ten more of our brothers around us.”
Overmaster Descallia doesn’t say a word, just observes me closely. I can hear the speed of his chest pumping just slightly harder and the blood thrumming through his veins.
“You think there is a traitor among us too?” I ask. After centuries, he should know that I mean him no disrespect, but still, he’s not used to being questioned nor am I used to being used as a pawn.
His jaw tightens, and the red around his eyes tinge. "I certainly hope not, but given the situation it's not out of the realm of possibility. I'm just not willing to take that bet with everything at stake. Until I know for certain, I'll keep things close to the vest and ask you to share with no one but me.”
I nod, recalling how centuries ago one of his own most trusted employees turned traitor and caused the death of Overmaster Descallia’s mate. A brother vampire who died a savage and unrelentless death by Descallia’s own brutal hands.
He turns the crystal glass on the top of the table, and the last of the red wine blend swirls in the bottom before focusinghis eyes on me. “You’ll have full authority on this mission, but the goal is to get to Isala and take her alive. Roman is going to be with us, but his focus is going to be finding out which of the syndicate elders is in on the cue to overthrow the vampires. He believes they were at least in part responsible for the death of his brothers and nearly the death of his sister.”
“And we don’t?”
“On the contrary, I want that information too, but not at the cost of letting Isala slip through our fingers again. The priority is Isala, whether Roman likes it or not. Use his determination to discern any information we need, but let him deal with his kind. Is that clear?”
“Crystal. It actually makes me feel much more reassured about the mission at hand.”
Overmaster Descallia nods. “Good.” Then he leans in closer. “I don't want Lucianna to know I’ve asked you to bring Isala to me alive. She will think that I'm doing it out of a favor to her. She would not want the vampire community to think I'm sparing her sister’s life because of her.”
My brows knit because that’s exactly how it looks sitting from my chair. "Then why? If I might ask."
Descallia nods and sits back, adjusting a silver and diamond cuff link beneath his dark suit. “Get in, get her out and into our hands alive. If we find those at the top, all the better, but don’t focus on it. Focus on Isala,” he says, which doesn’t answer my question at all.
Lucianna walks through the door of the club. “And do it without Lucianna knowing?”
His eyebrows knit, almost with indecision. “If that’s possible, then yes. If not, I’ll need to deal with it myself. He turns toward the door as his mate, the one with glowing crystalline green eyes, walks toward us as if she already knows our secret and has one of her very own.
Chapter
Two
The mover drops the last of the cardboard boxes unceremoniously into the back of the long ass crate. I bite my tongue, grateful in the knowledge that I hand wrapped every piece left from my grandmother in bubble wrap, at least twice if not three times. Whatever is in that box will be okay until it makes it to the other side of the globe, and to a life far different than this.
He drops another box, and this time I’ve had enough. I rush over to him, unable to stand idly by. “Hey, that box you just tossed around contains pieces of my heart. If you can’t be careful with my belongs, I’ll find someone who gives a shit."
He has the good conscience to look as guilty as he should. "Sorry about that, doll."
