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“We didn’t get this from the Grid.”
He pulled the glasses off again, suspicion now sharpening his gaze. “Where did we get it from then?”
“A one hundred percent reliable source.”
“Oh. I see. This is some story that Chandler girl fed you?”
“Not exactly.”
“Not at all, Jack. You know everything coming out of her mouth is suspect.”
Crossing his arms, Dominique leaned against a bookshelf and watched every nuance of the exchange. He could smell the frustration seeping from the hunter.
New tension hardened Jackson’s eyes and jaw. “Dominique’s sire showed up, and we’ve got a real chance of taking him out.”
“I just bet he did.”
“Listen—”
“No, you listen.” Garrett’s fingertip grew huge on the monitor. “The only thing that youngling ghoul is interested in is drawing us out—drawing me out—so he can get his revenge in the nastiest possible way. He’s had months to come up with a scheme because you couldn’t do your goddamn job and put him down when you had the chance. And now you wake me up in the middle of the goddamn night—”
“Get over yourself. He doesn’t want you anymore,” Jackson broke in.
“—because you’re too dim to know when you’re being played.”
“Will you shut up and listen? There’s a human life at stake here. I believe Cassidy is in real danger from this target.”
“In more danger than she has been? Hard to believe.”
“She’s been abducted.”
Garrett blinked and sat back. “Oh, now I see. The baby vamp has been feeding you this himself, has he? Has he been feeding from you, too? I’m betting he’s compelled the crap out of you. Go sleep it off.”
Jackson threw up both hands, but his jaw clamped down on whatever colorful epithet was about to hurtle from his mouth.
“Are you two done?” Dominique said. “The night is getting old.”
Garrett sat up abruptly. “Who the—”
The look Jackson shot Dominique threatened to draw blood. He turned back to his uncle. “Yes, I got this intel from Nick. No, he didn’t compel me. And, no, he does not want your sorry ass. He wants to get Cassidy away from his son-of-a-bitch sire, and he can’t get her without us. And I believe all that because I practically had to twist his fucking arm to convince him I wasn’t about to go up against an ancient by myself. He would just as soon not see your ugly face again, and right now, I honestly can’t blame him.”
“Jack—” Garrett said, the single word alive with warning.
“And now he’s going to spill his guts and tell us everything we need to know.” Jackson got up. “Nick. Get your ass in this chair and start talking.”
Dominique raised a dubious brow. This was not the sort of tone to which he responded well. But Jackson and Garrett would know this, too—and if compelled, Jackson would never speak to him like this. This young hunter was even more cunning than he had given him credit for. He correctly reasoned that if Dominique really was after Garrett and concocted Cassidy’s abduction as a ruse, he would have been eager to involve Jackson’s uncle, luring him out of hiding and exacting well-deserved vengeance.
Not that Dominique didn’t want to exact vengeance. But for now, this was a secondary pursuit.
Twisting up a corner of his mouth in grudging respect, he sauntered to the desk and slid into the still-warm chair. He took a moment to relish the flash of horrified recognition on Garrett’s blanching face. The impulse to crawl through the screen and tear this man limb from limb vibrated in his bones. Instead, he spoke mildly. “What would you like to know?”
“Jackson,” Garrett yelled, leaning away from the webcam as though reading Dominique’s mind.
His nephew, who sat with one hip hiked up on the edge of the desk, ducked into the frame. “Yes?”
“Are you going to do something about this?”
Jackson glanced at the door stuck open thanks to the strategically placed shoes. His lips pushed out. He shook his head. “Nope.”
