Chapter 23

Baojia hung up the phone. "It's done."

Carwyn looked up from the cup of coffee he'd been not-drinking because it wasn't the tea he really wanted. "She's in?"

"I'm assuming that Ivan—or someone—wants to meet her to make sure, but her cover identity checked out. She's supposed to be in Eureka at a bar called the Siren's Song this Friday. She'll get more information there."

It was Wednesday; that didn't leave much time. Still, the wardrobe and wigs Brigid had ordered from San Francisco had arrived the night before, and the whole house was in a holding pattern. Far better to get the tense vampires surrounding them some action before bickering began.

"Okay." Carwyn nodded. "Have you seen my wife, by the way? She was gone when I got out of the shower."

Baojia opened a newspaper and began scanning the headlines, his eyes moving at dizzying speed. "I think she was talking to Summer in the library."

"Right." Carwyn took another drink of the coffee before he decided it just wasn't worth it. "How's your wife, by the way?"

"She's headed back home right now. Left at nightfall." Baojia glanced up. "We try not to go more than three nights without one of us at home. It doesn't always happen, but we try."

"Excellent policy. And she's not that far if we need to interact with human law enforcement again."

Baojia looked up from the newspaper. "I can interact with humans, you know. I do it regularly for work."

"I know that." And likely most humans were terrified of him, just like they tended to be wary around his wife. "People are naturally disarmed by redheads; that's all I was thinking."

He arched an eyebrow. "Really? Is that why all those redheaded women in England were burned at the stake for witchcraft?"

"Don't be ridiculous. Redheads weren't burned at the stake in Britain, Baojia. They usually hung them." He tugged on his own dark red hair. "That's why I became a priest. Survival."

Baojia frowned. "I can't decide whether you're joking or not."

"God yes. I'd already been a vampire for four hundred years or so by the time that witch-hunting madness swept the country. Absolutely bizarre."

Baojia shrugged. "Life was cheap then."

"Life has never been cheap. Humanity simply thought some lives were more expendable than others." He stood and stretched his arms over his head. "We need to have a hunt of our own—the animal kind, obviously—or the aggression is going to start boiling over."

"That's a good idea." Baojia closed his paper. "The deer population in this area is some of the healthiest in the state. I'll arrange some groups. Waiting for an action is always the—"

"Carwyn ap Bryn!" Ross Mackenzie stormed into the kitchen, his usually stoic face a mask of fury. "You'll have Logan Mackenzie to answer for this betrayal."

Jamie was at his brother's side, both of them, human and vampire, reeking of challenge.

Baojia was at Carwyn's side in an instant. "What's going on?"

"My daughter has asked your boss to turn her." Jamie pointed a furious finger at Baojia. "And Carwyn's wife just gave the okay."

Baojia and Carwyn exchanged glances. "I don't know what you're talking about," Carwyn said. "Summer asked Katya to—?"

"Turn her into a bleeding vampire," Jamie said. "Some fucking nonsense about taking revenge for her boyfriend. The girl isn't thinking clearly!" He pointed at Baojia. "And your boss is taking advantage."

Baojia crossed his arms over his chest and narrowed his eyes. "Katya knows boundaries or I wouldn't work for her. That means the first thing she'd do is tell Summer to approach the clan who holds her under their aegis." He nodded at Ross. "She'd have told Summer to go to you."

Ross nearly spat the words. "We told her no! Like Katya should have." He bared his teeth. "If she wasn't lookin' to take advantage of a traumatized girl—"

Carwyn stepped toward them with his hands up. "I'm still not clear about what is going on, but let's be clear here. Summer isn't a girl. She's a grown woman, isn't she?"

"She's my daughter," Jamie growled. "And she's not thinking clearly. Katya should know that."

"I agree," Baojia said. "Which is likely why she asked Brigid to consult with her. Brigid is a levelheaded woman and a neutral party with nothing to gain. She's also passionate about protecting victims of violence. You should be happy Katya asked her to speak to your daughter."

"She fucking told Katya yes!" Ross and Jamie both looked ready to fight. "She's planning on changing her tonight unless you do something about it."

Ross glared at Carwyn. "You said we were kin."

"You're part of my clan by mating and blood, Ross Mackenzie. I don't take that lightly." Carwyn dropped his hands. "I know nothing about this. Let me talk to Brigid before I say anything more."

"Fine." Ross's jaw was clenched so tightly his fangs nicked his lips and blood tinged his beard. "But you know this isn't right."

Carwyn's gut told him that this was a rash and impulsive decision made by a traumatized woman, but he wasn't idiot or disloyal enough to contradict Brigid in front of others. "Give me an hour."

He found Brigid in their room, her face pressed into a throw pillow from the plush sofa by the television. "Brigid?"

She pulled the pillow away from her face and feathers rained down. "Sorry. Tell Katya I'll buy her a new one. You heard?"

"You're biting pillows now?" He pulled up a chair and sat across from her. "I have concerns."

"So do I."

"So Summer Mackenzie wants to be a vampire?"

"Apparently."

"And Katya asked your opinion?"

"Yes, and I gave it to her honestly."

Carwyn took a deep breath. "Brigid, I'm trying to understand why you think this is a good idea when everything about this screams rash and impulsive revenge to me."

"Is it impulsive?" Brigid took a breath. "A vampire had her captive for nearly three weeks, fucking with her head and telling her he'd killed the man she loved. He mentally fucked with her and took pleasure in it. She's been thinking about this for longer than a few days."

Carwyn bit his lip. "And you don't think that's even more reason that she shouldn't do this?"

"I understand what it's like to feel like yer a… thing." Brigid swallowed hard and looked over his shoulder at the wall. "That you have no agency and nothing about your fate is in your own hands. I understand that, Carwyn."

"This is her way of taking back control?"

"After talking with her, I think she wanted her uncle to say no. I think she wanted this to be her own path entirely. She met Katya and saw a potential ally, a vampire who would take her seriously."

Carwyn's stomach still churned at the idea of a young woman with her life spread out in front of her deciding to become a vampire after the most traumatic experience of her life. "If she could just wait. A year, six months even—"

"And Ivan will be dead by then," Brigid said. "If we're successful, Ivan will be dead and she won't be able to keep her promise."

A ball of dread settled in his chest. "She promised herself she'd kill Ivan?"

"After Daniel died—after she thought he was dead—yes." Brigid shook her head. "She's her father's daughter. Do you think Jamie Mackenzie would make a promise and not try his damnedest to keep it?"

He put his head in his hands and let out a long breath. "I came to our room prepared to have a raging fight with you, wife. I was already planning the makeup sex."

Brigid gave him a rueful smile. "And I walked into the library prepared to talk a woman out of turning immortal." She shook her head. "I knew five minutes in I wasn't going to be able to change her mind. Then I started to suspect I shouldn't. She knows what she's doing. She understands the risks and the rewards of this life." Brigid lifted the pillow. "As Katya's pillow can attest, I still don't like it."

"But you told Katya yes."

"She wasn't waiting for my permission. She asked me two very specific questions: Did Summer understand vampire life, the good and the bad? And did she have good reasons for wanting to turn?"

"And yes to both." He sat back and rubbed his hands over his face. "Her family is going to be furious."

"Her grandfather might be more furious that Ross and Jamie didn't agree to it." Brigid pursed her lips. "The Mackenzies are losing a huge asset by not respecting Summer's decision. Katya's not wrong in wanting the woman in her clan. She's smart, and I suspect she's going to be a hell of a fighter."

"I thought she wanted to be an environmentalist."

Brigid's eyes reflected nothing but pain. "If a storm is big enough, it can change a river's path."

He stared at her. "I'll ask you one more question."

"Aye."

"Does this decision have anything to do with not being able to kill Richard Kelly yourself?" It pained him to even say her stepfather's name, but a young woman's fate was in the balance. He had to know how neutral Brigid really was. "I know you resented me for—"

"No." She reached forward and put a finger over his lips to stop the words from coming. "The child I was did need to see that monster dead, to know for certain that he couldn't hurt me again. I understand that now. This isn't the same."

"Okay." He took a deep breath and squeezed her hand. "Go catch up with Baojia and stop destroying pillows. From everything you just told me, you did the right thing."

"And you'll figure out how to clean up the mess with the Mackenzies?"

His eyes brightened. "Look at that! This time I'm the one cleaning up your mess."

She stood and raised an eyebrow at him as she headed for the door. "Now that's a bit of fair play, isn't it?"