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“Maybe just against our enemies, and not against the entire world.”
He chuckled. “Agreed. Excellent point.”
He went to kiss me again, but I put a finger over his lips and shook my head. “I have work to do. Telephone and telepathy until the sun goes down, and then a driver and guard unit will pick me up and carry me to all the places I need to go.”
“I need to follow up with Martin. If he’s on your list, we can either go together, or you can trust me to deal with him.”
“Or you could trust me to deal with him?”
“Point taken, but it isn’t about trust. We both have to lay down the law to him. I suppose the question is whether we do it together, or one at a time?”
“I think together works, so long as you let me have my say, and I let you have yours.”
Chapter 31
Etta
I’d known, deep in my heart, it would come to this.
Days had passed since our return, and I sat in the second-floor office of the coterie house, mostly silent during our meeting of Marco’s top people. Ryan was there, of course, because Marco wanted him included when possible, so he could show the slayer we had nothing to hide.
We did have a few things to hide, but those items were mostly discussed underground in meetings that weren’t listed on our official schedules.
Today, however, the subject of the skinner murders came up once again, and I had information they needed. It was killing me — morally speaking — to keep silent, but it might very well kill me for real to tell them.
I’d read through all of the police reports and other notes from the time. Josef’s wife Ronnie had been in charge of the investigation, so we had a copy of everything she’d seen. I knew what they knew, and this meant I knew how much they didn’t know.
Marco had carefully kept from talking about it when I was present, and I had a feeling he was doing it to protect me, but I was also obligated to protect him and his people. Our people.
And what they didn’t know absolutely put my new coterie at risk, so I had to try to get the information to them, and I had to trust Marco could keep me alive, and that if he saw it was causing too much damage, he’d stop asking questions and forcing me to answer.
Because that was what he was going to have to do, to find out what I knew.
Cora had been invited into this meeting because the two were incorporating their lives more and more. Marco had run with the wolves a few hours during their last full moon run, and he’d attended a meeting Cora had with her top five people. They’d also started making out of town trips to check on their vast territories together, rather than separately.
And so, I looked around the room and debated asking to clear it of everyone except me and Marco, but I decided everyone in the room needed to see how Marco got this information out of me.
I’d enjoyed my time in Jayce’s home, and I considered him more than a coworker. Not quite all the way to friend just yet, but we were getting there. Venom had become a friend, as had Moira. Patience was in the same category as Jayce, but she was dear to Marco and thus dear to me. And then there was Ryan and Cora, and they both needed to understand as well. Marco might be pissed at me later for not asking that they be sent away, but I didn’t want to have to lie to Ryan about this, so I didn’t mention to Marco it might be a good idea to send everyone away who isn’t a vampire.
I walked around the desk and went to my knees at Marco’s feet.
“Etta?” Marco asked.
“I need you to command me to tell you what I know about this subject, Master.” I focused on his knees rather than looking at his face. A balance between supplicant and merely showing respect.
“I’ve avoided doing so for a reason.”
“I’m not sure that’s a luxury we have, Master.”
“No,” Ryan said. “It isn’t worth the danger to Etta. We’ll find out another way.”
“If she has information, she should tell us,” Cora said.
“It could kill her, if he forces it,” Ryan told Cora.
“It could,” Marco agreed, and he telepathed, Look at me.
When I met his gaze, he told me, “If I sense too much damage, I’ll stop. You’ve tried to circumvent it already, I assume?”
