King's Gambit (27 page)

“Didn’t you ask Khalil to steal a copy of the speech for you?”

“Aw, look at you, saying Khalil’s name without looking like you’re going to throw up. And yes, he gave me a copy, but it’s all in the delivery. Marcus could sell water to a drowning man.”

“If you say so.” He kissed the top of my head as we watched Death Eaters attack the Quidditch World Cup. “What did it say?”

“A lot. Like,
a lot.
” I pulled the blankets higher. “There was a bunch of stuff about how sad everything that’s happened is coupled with some underhanded comments about Flavius’ administration and the way it collapsed on itself. Think two parts political preening and one part self-promoting smugness.”

“That sounds like the same thing.”

“You sound like the same thing.”

“Genius.”

“Jerk.”

“Who knew you were such a sore loser?” he snickered. “All’s well that ends well, I guess. Flavius and his people are dead. We’re alive. Khalil got paid – pretty handsomely, if he’s to be believed. Marcus is king again, and Elise got her–”

“Groove–”

“–
job
back. Things could be worse.”

“Could be better.” I shrugged. “Noah could’ve given me some winning lottery numbers.”

Alex smiled. “Is your glass always half-empty?”

“Saying ‘half-full’ is weird.”

“Our lives are weird.”

“Technically, our lives are normal, and everyone else’s lives are weird.”

“Technically,” he agreed, probably more for my benefit than anything. “Has Noah gotten back to you?”

I groaned and buried my face in his shoulder. No. No, he had not. When I woke up the night after Flavius and the – Alex made me promise I wouldn’t say “chocolate” – factory, Noah had disappeared. He’d packed up and left town as soon as the sun had set. When I used the mirror, he didn’t reply. Something told me he was waiting until he was either far enough away or until I cooled down over his vanishing act before answering. Something also told me it’d be awhile before I was over it.

He dropped off a letter for me before leaving, though, which did nothing to make me feel better. It
did
reveal he was the one who had broken into my apartment the night Robert was killed, which also didn’t make me feel better. Especially since he spent an entire page – double-sided – critiquing my wards and providing suggestions on how to improve them. The latter was the only reason I wasn’t going to kick him in the ‘nads the next time we met.

I frowned when I saw some of the wards he’d included were in Inferni – demon tongue – but he’d made a note saying these weren’t actually demonic spells and were completely optional. His letter had been very complimentary, among other things. It was kind of creepy how Noah could write such a heartfelt message to a person he’d just met. I suppose Lucas could have had him watching me for a while, but the thought gave me goosebumps and I chased it away with a shot of Jack. It wasn’t like he wrote me a love letter. It was just…warm.

The biggest gift he gave me, however, was an old silver locket. My heart skipped a beat when I slid it out of the envelope, a tugging in the back of my mind telling me I’d seen it before. When I opened it, there were pictures of me inside. One was just of me; I was still a baby, all bundled up in blankets with a pacifier in my mouth. My eyes had been big for my face, the wide grey orbs peering innocently up at me. The other picture was an exact copy of the one I had upstairs – my favorite, the one where my mother was holding me and my dad was smiling. She was wearing a locket in that photo, the same locket I was now holding. Noah’s letter said it had belonged to my mother. How did he get his hands on it?

Once again, I ended a case with even more questions than before. When would it end? A heavy feeling came over me that said this was only the beginning, that even more mysteries were going to pile up into a giant mountain, and the only way I’d ever figure anything out was by hitting rock bottom.

“Morgan?”

“Sorry,” I said. “What did you say?”

“I asked if you really thought it was a good idea to keep Noah’s mirror. Is it safe to have something from an infernalist around?”

“Should be.” I thumbed the locket. It still gave me chills knowing I was wearing something that had once been around my mother’s neck. “If not, we’ll go out and kick his ass.”

“Sounds good to me. No fire, though. And no getting stabbed in the chest, either.”

“Yes!” I said emphatically. “Please, please do not get stabbed in the chest again. Ever. In fact, just don’t get hurt at all. Not even a paper cut. Take up knitting and open up a sweater shop or something.”

“A sweater shop?”

“It’s a thing…It could be a thing. You could make it a thing.”

“I like the thing I have now.”

“Our thing or the killing thing?”

He frowned. “Don’t call it the killing thing.”

“Sorry.” I pulled myself up to kiss him. “You know we aren’t murderers, right? The things we hunt make it clear they’re out to hurt people.”

“I know.” He sighed and kissed me again before opening my locket. “Look at little baby Morgan.”

“Little,
adorable
baby Morgan,” I said, nuzzling against his shoulder. “Get it right.”

“I’m so sorry.” His smile was the epitome of unapologetic. “I see what you mean, though, about them being connected. Lucas and Noah look like your mother’s copies. Could they be siblings?”

“My mother wasn’t –
isn’t
– a vampire. Pretty sure they can’t reproduce.”

“Vampires are made, not born.”

“She’s not a vampire,” I said firmly. “Not that there’s anything wrong with being a vampire. But she wasn’t. Isn’t.”

“Daughter’s intuition?”

“Totally. Can we talk about something else? Something that isn’t related to the clusterfuck that is my family. How about you? What are the Campbells like – besides not as cool as the Maxwells?”

“Are we at least above the Wallaces?”

“Maybe.” I grinned against his collarbone. “My dad’s growing on me.”

He pet my butt. Nerd. “What do you want to know?”

“Do you have any embarrassing baby pictures?”

“If you’re good, I may let you see them as a Christmas present.”

“I’m never good. Don’t make me call Liam and ask for them.”

“Oh, please–”

“I’m serious. I will official business this shit up and call him.”

He rolled his eyes. “Don’t bother. Just ask my sister for them; she never misses a chance to embarrass me.”

“I like her already. Is she older than you?”

“She turned nineteen a little while ago, but she still acts like she’s ten.”

“Aw, like Lily.” A dreamy smile overtook my face as I thought of the red-haired girl. I’ll call her tomorrow – her and Rowan; I really missed them.

“I’m telling her you said that.”

“Tell her and you’re sleeping on the couch.”

“With you?” He grinned, squeezing my butt.

“No.” I gave him an exaggerated pout. “Maybe – depends on what you make me for dinner.”

Alex stroked his chin. “Hmm…how about falafel?”

Talk about left field. “Falafel?”

“No, I don’t feel awful.” His grin widened. “I feel great.”

I tried to give him a deadpan look, but it was ruined by my puffed out cheeks as I struggled to hold back my laughter. “Oh my fucking God, you just made a pun.”

“Never. I’m a stick-in-the-mud grump, remember?”

“Grumpy Cat,” I corrected before kissing him. Our lips moved together in a practiced dance. It wasn’t the wild sensation that came with a drunken night in the arms of some random hook-up, but it was comfortable in its sensuality. “Puns, though. There may be hope for you yet.”

He twisted a few strands of my hair between his long fingers. “I aim to please.”

I nodded, eager to get back to business. My lips had barely brushed against his when my phone started having a seizure on the coffee table. Letting out a frustrated growl, I got off of Alex and yanked the phone to my ear, making sure to check the caller ID. “Hi, Elise. Or is this Dorian?”

A throaty, masculine chuckle came through from the other side. “Still holding on to the hope our young friend will speak, I see.”

“Why, Dorian, what a sexy voice you have.”

“How kind. Thank you, my dear.”

“I think we’re just about done with the foreplay, don’t you?” I swung my feet innocently back and forth as Alex gave me a faux glare. The fact that it was fake really spoke volumes on how far we’d come. “What’s up, Khalil?”

“Just checking in. The king will want to meet with you to discuss a few things once all the hubbub has died down.” There was a pause. “Dorian says hello. Don’t get your hopes up – he pointed at the phone and waved.”

“What are you doing at Elise’s, anyway?”

“I escorted her home after the gala. It was lovely, by the way.”

“Is that so?” I asked dryly.

“Certainly…if you enjoy endless prattling and backroom politics interspersed with random blood lettings.”

“Vampires and politics: two things that never die.”

His sharp laugh startled my ears. “Indeed. Anyway, I just wanted to make sure you knew to make an appointment with Marcus since I won’t be around to drag you to him.”

“Where are you going?”

“Italy, of a sorts.”

“I shouldn’t ask, should I?”

“I’d advise against it. I’ll let you get back to your night. Take care, Morgan.”

“You, too.” I bid him farewell, then turned to Alex with a grave expression on my face. “About your sister…Name and number now. It’s a matter of life and death.”

“No, it isn’t,” he scoffed and shook his head before pulling me back to lie over him. “Wait, who is that?”

I rolled my eyes as I glanced at the screen. “That’s Professor Moody. If you paid attention, you’d know that.”

“You’re distracting me.”

“I’m distracting you? Pretty sure it’s the other way around, dude.”

In a flash, I was on my back with Alex looming over me. There was a sexy smirk on his face and a smoldering heat in his eyes that had me tingling from head to toe.

Maybe the movie could wait. And unlike the first time I’d said goodbye to Khalil, I didn’t feel like I was missing a thing.

21

“We’ve run out of eyes,” muttered Lucas. He peered at the vial of dark purple liquid in front of him, bringing a hand up to wrench the safety goggles off his face. “Wretched things.”

“Anger ages a man,” said Noah as he leaned against the doorway. Noah hated being here – in this lab, in this situation. But he couldn’t abandon Lucas. Who could you depend on if not family?

That didn’t make him any more at ease inside these sterile white walls. When Noah had been a doctor, a human, all those years ago, there hadn’t been anything even close to the medical breakthroughs currently being made in labs like these. So, while he marveled at how far humanity had come, he was still unable to shake off the last vestiges of bitterness that clung to him as he thought of what could have been. The knowledge of what Lucas was up to in here did nothing to improve his feelings.

“The dead don’t age, dear brother.” Lucas stared petulantly at the thirty vials lined up neatly on the table in front of him. “I don’t suppose you brought some werewolf eyes?”

“Don’t you think you have enough of that…concoction already?”

Lucas sighed as if he were a long-suffering parent. Ironic, considering Noah was the one who had raised his younger brother. Though he hadn’t done it alone. “There’s no such thing as ‘enough’ when it comes to testing this mixture. I’ve named it ‘Orpheus,’ by the way.”

He’d made enough progress to give it an official name. Noah clenched his jaw. “Fitting.”

Lucas hummed absentmindedly; Noah knew his opinion on this didn’t really matter. “It’s already gaining traction as a street name. They used to call it ‘Jam’ or something. Ridiculous. I still wish I had the eyes to make more. The fat man’s death killed my supply line.”

“Next time, might I recommend not poaching near an Order capital?”
There can’t be a next time
.

“Where’s the fun in that?” The younger vampire wrinkled his nose. “Besides, if I have to deal with those self-righteous maggots, I may as well find a way to enjoy myself.”

“You wouldn’t have to find a way to do anything if you didn’t deal with them.”

Lucas snorted, crossing his arms as he looked down his nose at the vials.
He looks like Morgan when he does that
, Noah noted.
Or she looks like him. I doubt either of them would be happy to hear such a thing.

“Please, you know they’d stick their noses in the second they heard about Protean and Garou being wholesale slaughtered. At least this way they get a lesson on how fragile their members’ psyches really are.”

“Again.”

“Haven was business.” Lucas’ lips quirked up. Of course, just because it was business didn’t mean he hadn’t enjoyed it. He was good at finding pleasure in all his exploits. Then again, that might have more to do with his depraved inclinations matching up well with the Master’s plans rather than any joie de vivre he may have had.

Noah pushed himself away from the door and moved to stand next to Lucas. “And Dovesport was…?”

“Enlightening,” he said after a pause, turning to face his older brother head on. “That man. He had a child with another woman. Did you know that? A werewolf half-breed. Barely four years after sweet Cori left.”