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I had to admit, it was wonderful seeing Von flustered and annoyed for once. His entire showman facade had slipped away. He was nothing more than a rat in a trap.
“Calm down, Von,” I said, standing directly in front of him. “You missed out on the show. Heline and Lucina hashed things out. Once all this fighting is over, there are going to be some big changes.”
It would take a few days for that to happen, of course. For word to spread, for Heline to make her rounds, using her magic and remaining influence to stop battles. Once everyone realized that the goddess they’d worshipped had caused ninety percent of their problems, things would settle down.
“Changes?” Von asked, a hopeful gleam in his eyes. “I would be…uh, happy to assist with these changes.” Now the showmanship was coming back. “Perhaps you and dear Kiraneed a public face for these changes? I would be happy to extol the virtues of these exciting developments.”
“Shut up, Von,” I barked. “Let’s be honest with one another, shall we?”
The vampire’s mouth closed, and he nodded hesitantly.
“I really don’t like you. Personally. Like, I fucking hate you.”
Von winced.
“I would actually love to pull that stake out of your shoulder and slam it into your heart. After all the shit you put Kira through, you deserve it. I would laugh while your body shriveled, and I would probably dance a fucking jig on the ashes that were left. But,” I said with a smile, “I am a man of conscience. And I was given a choice a few minutes ago. That means I’ll do the same for you.
“You can choose to go peacefully to the nearest Tranquility operative bureau, where I will personally find an upright, non-corrupt member of my organization to question you, or we have a helicopter outside the gates. My friend August, who I think you’ve become acquainted with, will drop you in the ocean, and you can attempt to swim back to Bloodstone Island since you love it so much.”
Von’s mouth worked like he was sucking on a piece of sour candy, and he didn’t even try to hide the anger behind his eyes. “I will speak with the TOs if—and only if—I retain my career. A game show, a talent show, some other dating type show—it doesn’t matter. My fans will follow in droves. I’ll be happy with any of those options.”
Kira snorted a laugh. “If we gave you another show, it would turn into anotherReject Projectin two seasons or less. I guarantee it.”
“I would never!” Von whined. “Most of the dangerous bits were, uh...they were Heline’s idea,” he added quickly. “Yes, it was her.”
Kira and I shared a glance and rolled our eyes. We knew exactly how much he’d enjoyed sending us out into hell. Heline may have gotten the ball rolling over thirty years ago, but Von had nudged things into ever more dangerous territory with every challenge and every season.
“Either way, Von,” Kira said, “I think you overestimate the number of fans you have.”
You’d have thought she’d just kicked him in the balls. His face crumpled, and he shook his head in disbelief, but thankfully kept his mouth shut for once.
I held up a finger in front of his nose. “You talk to the TOs, and only the ones I tell you to, and then you can deal with them. Maybe if you’re lucky, they’ll give you a plea bargain. If you play ball, who knows? You may end up with a great career, stocking grocery shelves. If you don’t like that, then there’s the option of throwing away that dumbass floating umbrella and your sunscreen and walking straight into the sun.”
Von’s head dropped, his chin resting on his chest. I couldn’t be sure, but I thought he might have been crying.
“August,” I said, “keep an eye on this one until I can figure out how to get him into custody. I think he’s got enough in his head to bury his corporate leaders and most of the pack alphas. I don’t want anything happening to him.”
“You got it, boss,” August said with a smile.
I needed to speak to Kira alone. Now that everything was wrapping up, I had to see how she was doing. Taking her hand, I led her back down the hallway to a private alcove. I kissed her, my lips lingering on hers for longer than necessary. All the stress of the last few days—hell, the last few weeks—finally felt like it was easing. Now we would have time to think and recover.
“How are you?” I asked. “After what Simon did to you in there?”
Watching her turn into a mindless animal had frightened me even more than when she’d attacked me. Seeing those soulless eyes glaring down at me while she snapped and growled had damn near broken my heart.
Kira took a steadying breath and nodded. “For a minute or two there, I really thought I might kill you. I had no control. The idea of killing my own fated mate was horrifying. I don’t think I’ve ever been that terrified in my life. But it’s over.” That beautiful smile returned to her face. “Whatever Lucina did broke that spell. I don’t think I’ll ever have to worry about Simon’s experiment again. I doubt Abel will, either, now that Lucina took care of that asshole.”
“That’s a relief. I was afraid for you.”
“The worst part is over, but now we’ve got even more to do. At least we can do it together.”
“Right.” I grinned. “You know, you really shouldn’t have worried that much. I totally would have saved you, even if Lucina hadn’t been there.”
“Oh? Is that right?”
“For sure,” I said. “I was literally seconds away from shifting and putting you in your place. I totally would have whipped your ass. Then, when we shifted back, I’d have bent you over my knee and spanked you.”
“Wow. Are you being serious right now?” She laughed and shoved me. “Maybe I would have liked that. Did you ever think about that?”
