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We’re on the cliff, talking. I don’t believe I need assistance, but I’ll let you know if that changes.
Please come see me when you finish. I’d like to talk to you about Evan, and it appears we should check in with each other about Ryan.
He let me sense him in the downstairs great room, so I’d know where to find him. Any rush, or whenever I finish with the slayer?
No rush, but before you take on another task.
I closed the conduit and looked up to the slayer. “Sorry. Someone needed to ask a quick question.”
“Quite alright. I’d just asked if you need adventure in your life?”
“Right this minute? No. The answer will likely be the same in the coming months, but it might change once I’m settled in.” I wouldn’t have considered asking the question in my head ten minutes earlier, but he’d answered questions that surprised me, so I figured I’d give it a try. He’d avoided the question before, would he answer now? “How much does it cost to hire an assassin these days?”
“There are all kinds of assassins, but if you want a top-level vampire or shapeshifter taken out, the bare minimum is usually two hundred and fifty thousand. I take on two to five jobs a year that pay from a half million to three million.”
“What do you spend your money on?”
“There are a lot of expenses involved in killing someone at that level. Hackers, transportation, weapons, backup personnel.”
“You didn’t answer the question.”
“I have safehouses all over the world, and expensive weapons, many of which aren’t available to civilians. I pay top dollar to the people who provide services to me. Carrot and the stick — they’re paid well for their loyalty, they know they’ll die a painful death if they betray me, and they’ll be fired if they fail me. What do you do with your money?”
“I grow it. I don’t think I’ll ever choose to be master of a city, much less a state, but if I do, I’ll be able to purchase whatever’s necessary to set myself up properly. I suppose I’ll need to purchase a car once I learn to drive. Marco wants me in the coterie house, so there’s no need to purchase a home.” I stood. “Please pick me up at the coterie house for our visit to Homewood. I’ll assume nine fifteen?”
He stood, took a step towards me, and kissed my forehead. “Yes.”
As before, he jumped to the top in two leaps. I flew up and met him on the lawn and told him, “I could have taken you up.”
“Up is easier than down, but thank you for offering.”
Chapter 11
Etta
“He kissed you?” Marco didn’t bother with his poker face. He was shocked and wanted me to know.
“Not just a kiss. He pressed me against the cliff, and...” My pussy clenched and my clit throbbed. I took a breath and tried to get control of myself. Marco would scent my body’s reaction to Ryan’s memory, and it was too late to change that.
“You’re attracted to him.”
“Yes.”
I told him what Ryan had told me of Blade and Augustus, and he crossed his arms. “I’ve seen them together. It’s bizarre. The Concilio forbade it, at first, but then were forced into a corner when both Augustus and Blade ignored the decree. It’s rumored the slayer leaders ordered Blade home, and she told them to go fuck themselves.” He uncrossed his arms. “The Concilio has given a provisional okay, but they might still step in. The two of them have grown stronger. Or, Augustus has, anyway. People who knew Blade before say she’s stronger, too, but I can’t verify that personally. The assumption is that they’ve somehow strengthened each other.”
“So I can expect a visit from the Concilio if the Slayer and I become an item?”
“Possibly. Since I’ve so recently negotiated for your release, it’s possible they’ll come to me, instead.”
Fuck. I’d hoped moving across the Atlantic would give me some space from them.
“I invited the slayer as my guest to Homewood.”
He looked to the side of his desk at his chess set. It was a focus for him when he considered strategy.
“He’s on friendly terms with everyone who’ll be there. It could’ve been disastrous if it were just about anyone else, but this group...” He met my gaze. “Did you know?”
“Yes.” I told him the story of Kirsten and Cora working for Ryan in Africa for a week, helping him guard the Gazelles’ Jubilee gathering, and how my old Master, Griffin, had tried several times to abduct Kirsten while she was there. He’d finally succeeded, and she’d nearly killed him.
