Chapter 17

Ordell’s gravelly voice greeted me as I entered the kitchen. “Morning, sunshine, sleep well?”

My cheeks heated. “Why? I mean. Yes. Yes, I did.”

He gave me a wary look, the kind that said he thought I was being weird, and I was. He didn’t know I’d had a sexy dream about Ezekiel. My gaze flicked to Hemlock, the other occupant of the table.

He was wearing a black shirt that stretched across his shoulders, tight against his back. Wouldn’t that hurt after last night? He looked up and met my gaze with frosty blues, and my stomach dipped.

The corner of his mouth lifted, then he slow-blinked and looked away, dismissing me. Okay, so he wasn’t going to bring up last night. Pretend it never happened. Perfect. I could do that.

Haiden handed me a mug of tea. “So what’s the plan today?”

I sipped my tea and set it down. “I have to call Micah back.” I sat as a plate of bacon was placed on the table.

Ordell began to load up his plate, but Hemlock merely watched. He didn’t attempt to fill his plate; in fact, he had no plate.

“You not eating?” I grabbed some toast, my hand brushing Ordell’s.

He smiled and winked, and my chest warmed.

“Not hungry,” Hemlock said.

I loaded up on sausages. “Breakfast is the most important meal of the day.”

He gave me a hard look then, his jaw tight. “There are many important rituals we must observe, Miss Lighthart. Respecting someone’s privacy, for instance.”

“What?” Ordell asked, his gaze flicking between us.

My cheeks heated.

“Your eggs are getting cold,” Hemlock said to Ordell. “You hate cold eggs.”

Ordell looked torn between his plate and probing more on the conversation. The eggs won.

Hemlock gave me a wry smile, but it failed to light up his eyes. There was something missing with Hemlock. Something lost and broken, and the itch to fix it flickered inside me.

I tamped down on it. This was not my problem, not unless it interfered with my managing Ezekiel because the vampire king was my problem.

“I’ll drive you into town,” Ordell said.

“Thanks. Just across the border so I can get reception.”

Padma, Merry, and Edwin filed into the kitchen. Chairs scraped, plates were handed out, cutlery clinked.

Hemlock moved his chair over to make room for Merry, who beamed up at him. He smiled back, an actual warm smile, and my heart stopped for a moment because that smile lit up his face like a beacon. I must have made a sound because his gaze flicked my way, and his smile faded.

“Did you tell Ordell and Hemlock about our run-in with Matthew?” Merry asked.

The hunters turned their attention on me, expectant.

I washed down my mouthful. “He’s handing out invites to some Midnight Ball, and he said something about there being rules at the Exciatio where the nobles bring veins to share. I think he was intimating that Ezekiel might try to do the same with me.”

“You’re not a vein,” Ordell said.

“But she is his companion,” Hemlock pointed out. “Just like the veins will be to the nobles.” He chewed on his cheeks. “It’s something we need to consider.”

“The ordained cannot be fed on,” Padma said firmly. “It’s part of the agreement we have with Dracul territory.”

Hemlock snorted softly. “And how many of the terms in that agreement have already been manipulated or broken?”

“Good point.”

I sat back in my seat. “My mission is to protect the humans of this territory and keep Ezekiel safe. But if any sucker tries to sink his fangs into me, I’ll cut off his head. Period.”

“And start a war,” Ordell said. “If you go in as Ezekiel’s companion and harm a noble, there will be a civil war. Ezekiel may be the king of vampires, and at one time he was undoubtedly the most powerful, but this soon after awakening, he’s at his weakest.”

“The years he sleeps keep him weak,” Hemlock said. “The time he is awake is never enough for him to regain his full power.”

“So why sleep?”

Hemlock shrugged. “You’ll have to ask him that.”

“Or not,” Ordell said. “At least not yet. You need to get on his good side first.”

His good side…My dream came to mind, my body pressed to Ezekiel’s…Yep, not that good. I never wanted to be that ‘good’ with him.

“So what will you do if Ezekiel offers you to the nobles?” Edwin asked, his dark eyes filled with concern.

An idea bloomed in my mind based off things Ezekiel had said and the information in the archives. “I’ll do what I do best. Planned improvisation.”

The carriage rideto the border passed quickly in pleasant conversation. Ordell recounted a particularly amusing hunt from a few months back, and the half hour to the border was filled with laughter. He had a nice laugh, the kind of laugh I felt in my belly. The kind that left me feeling warm, as if I were being held.

What would it be like to be held by Ordell? Not when injured or when he was protecting me, but just…held. Hugged. The thought brought me up short, worrying because I hadn’t wanted this kind of intimacy for a long time, and never this quickly with any male before.

“What are you thinking?” Ordell asked. “Pondering my offer from the other day?”

I’d been doing my best to forget about that. “No, I was thinking about hugs and how they can make you feel.” Why had I said that?

“Oh?” He slid a glance my way. “Do you like hugs?”

“I mean, who doesn’t?” I kept it light and added a slight chuckle to hide my discomfort. The last thing I needed was for him to take it as an invitation. Nurturing the connection that was growing between us was the road to trouble.

The mist came into view. “Here we go.” I pulled my phone from my pocket and switched it on as we cantered through it. Once again, I held my breath until we were on the other side, letting it out in a long exhale that made Ordell chuckle.

I hopped out of my seat and hit speed dial for Micah. I had a feeling this would be the kind of conversation that required some pacing on my part.

“Orina,” Micah said. “I’ve been waiting for your call.”

“Please tell me you have good news.”

“It’s a mixed bag. Good news is I got you an official order to reclaim the offices. I’ll send it to your phone electronically, but I’ve already faxed over a copy to the Sangualex department on Longlier Street in New Town. If you have any problems with handover, give me a call back.”

The elastic band in my belly relaxed. “And the bad news? I assume that’s the mixed bag thing?”

“Not bad news per se, just…confusing. There is no record of Padma calling HQ. Nothing on file or in the phone records.”

Ice needles pricked my scalp. “You saying she lied?”

“I’m not saying anything, but there are only two possibilities.”

“And I know which I’d lean toward.” I grit my teeth. “I can’t believe she lied. It makes no sense. Why would she not want control? Not want more boots on the ground?”

“Maybe…maybe she was afraid of how it would look on her record to lose her team. Or maybe…maybe she was afraid that if more operatives were sent, they might meet the same fate.”

There was no doubt in my mind that Padma was devastated about the loss of her team and that she blamed herself, so yeah, everything Micah was saying made sense. And if his assessment was right, then it was impossible to be pissed at her.

“I’ll speak to her.”

“Don’t,” Micah said. “Don’t accuse her. Don’t rock the boat. You’ve got to stay there for the next year, and you don’t want to make an enemy of your second-in-command.”

“So what do I tell her? She’s going to ask what you said.”

“Tell her there was a problem with the database and a bunch of data was lost so I can’t locate who she spoke to. Tell her that we’re looking into sending more operatives, but it could be a few weeks. In the meantime, get your feet under the table at our Order offices and do what you do best.”

“There is something else. I could do with a little mystical help here. We have

some missing people, trail’s cold and?—”

“You know how expensive that is, Orina. I doubt the Order will approve it, and the red tape with the rules for Dracul territory…”

“Can you try?”

He sighed. “I’ll add it to my personnel request.”

“Thanks, Micah.”

“And Orina…be careful around Ezekiel.”

“I’ve got this. Thanks, Micah.”

We ended the call, and I turned to find Ordell standing a couple of feet away. “All good?”

“We got the Order building back.” I grinned up at him, and he stepped forward and enveloped me in a hug.

I bit back a squeak then relaxed against him, allowing myself a moment to enjoy being completely wrapped in hard, toned muscle and a crisp evergreen scent. The worn leather of his coat was soft against my fingers, the cotton of his shirt even softer against my cheek, and the heat from his skin was bliss, seeping into me and begging me to melt against him.

Ordell was hot summers and cool breezes, but he was also cozy winter nights with cocoa.

I wanted him.

But he couldn’t be mine. No one could.

My oath, my path, meant that this kind of companionship was forbidden to me. I released a sigh and gently pulled out of his embrace. “Thank you.”

He crooked a finger beneath my chin and nudged me to look at him. “You can hug me anytime you like, Orina. No strings.” His ocean blues were dark with sincerity, and my stomach fluttered. I resisted the urge to lick my lips, not sure that I’d be able to handle his attention going to them.

“I might take you up on that offer.”

But I knew I wouldn’t because this…this had felt a little too good.

Ordell tookme back to the mansion where I grabbed my team and our carriage, then headed back to New Town and the Sangualex offices on Longlier Street—a towering building of glittering sunproof glass and chrome.

The Singers were my backup for Ezekiel, not for Order business. This I could handle.

I strode into the building, my team at my back, our long jackets flapping around our calves. Blessed blades tucked into the holsters at our backs, in full Order gear looking damn dangerous, in my opinion. We’d have looked more impressive with some extra operatives, but this would have to do.

The receptionist, a human woman with a sleek blond bob and startling green eyes, looked up, her mouth parting in awe, and damn if that didn’t feel good.

The illusion of having the upper hand ended as a towering human male stepped into our path, blocking us from reaching the counter.

He looked down at us like we were smudges of turd on his shoes. “Here you are, the pathetic ragtag operatives who went crying to their mommy because the big boys took their playhouse.”

Who was this guy? “You know, I came here with the suspicion that this building was filled with assholes, and you’ve just confirmed it.”

He blinked sharply at me. “You can’t talk to me like that.”

“Why? Is there some rule in the covenant against it? If so, how about we just do the usual and fucking completely disregard it, shall we?”

His eyes narrowed, jaw clenching, and I had no doubt that the next words out of his mouth were going to be less than complimentary, but he wasn’t given the opportunity to air them before another man appeared behind him. Not as tall. Not as bulky but exuding the kind of authority that told me that he was the guy I needed to be speaking to.

He confirmed it a moment later. “Gunther, back off. They’re here to see me.”

Gunther kept his malicious eyes on me. “I can deal with ’em if you like, boss.”

“No.” That was it. Just no.

No explanation, because heck, he was in charge and didn’t need to give one. If he wasn’t a Sangualex bootlicker, maybe he and I could be friends.

Gunther backed up, his lips curving in a smirk. “Enjoy your new offices.” He dove back into the hole he’d come out of, and I turned my attention to the other guy, who was watching me with a speculative expression.

“I received the fax a couple of hours ago,” he said. “I have the keys to the building. I’ll walk you over.”

No barbs, no funny looks. Pure professionalism, so it was impossible to tell what his actual feelings were.

“Just give me a moment to grab a jacket.” He ducked back into his office behind the counter.

“Thank fuck that Atlas is on duty today,” Padma said. “He’s the more…sympathetic official.”

Padma had lied to me about calling in to HQ, but I’d had time to ponder her reasons. I couldn’t begin to understand her trauma after losing her people, and even though I didn’t condone her lies, I could sympathize.

I wouldn’t allow it to taint our relationship, especially if I wanted to know where she snuck off to at night. Hopefully she’d confide in me as time went on; if not…well, then I’d just have to tail her.

Atlas returned wrapped in a jacket, a beanie hat pulled down over his mahogany locks.

“Follow me.” He led us back onto the street and took a right. “It’s not far. Three blocks.”

I fell into step beside him. “Why’d you claim it?”

“I didn’t.”

I waited for him to elaborate, and when he didn’t, I pushed. “So who did?”

“Higher up. Kaster Black. He’s the vampire in charge of this division, and your Order building falls within our territory, so he claimed it as an extra space of operations.”

“You’re using it?”

“Not exactly.” His mouth turned down.

“What does that mean?”

“You’ll see.”

He shoved his hands into his jacket pocket and picked up his pace. This part of town was new builds customized to keep out the sun. As far as I knew, sunlight didn’t kill suckers, but it weakened them, even made them sick. Every building in New Town was fitted with metal shutters and special UV blocking windows.

Car horns honked, and someone let out a stream of curses. We took a left onto a quieter street lined with eateries and a couple of chic-looking bars.

This was nice.

A classy area to put the Order building, but no, we exited this street in favor of an even quieter one. A café called Bran’s Delight sat across the street, and next to it was a laundromat and a dingy-looking bar called The Cockshead.

Nice.

Atlas slowed at a set of iron railings where a flight of stairs went down to basement level. He jerked his chin up at the main building, all boarded-up windows. “This is it. But you can’t get in through the main door, got to use the side entrance.”

“Why?”

He cleared his throat. “It’s been used for storage, so there must be stuff blocking the door.” He hurried down the steps to the basement door. “You can enter this way.” It took him a moment to get the key to turn, and his jaw feathered with annoyance, but it finally tore open, and we followed him into a grimy space that smelled like mildew. Boxes of junk were piled up all over the place—clothes, shoes, an old coffee machine. There was even a washer and dryer and a busted vacuum cleaner.

“What is all this?” Padma demanded.

Atlas ran a hand down his face. “Like I said, this place has been used as storage for some time.”

“Storage…This is Sangualex junk, isn’t it?” Edwin said.

He sighed. “You have your space. The main office upstairs.”

They’d taken our office, not because they needed it to work from, but to use as a fucking dumping ground. I breathed past a surge of indignant rage.

He dropped the keys on a nearby worn table. “Good luck.”

He made to leave, but I grabbed his elbow. “Wait. I have a message for your people. I need you to make sure you deliver it.”

He arched a brow. “Go on.”

“You tell them they have forty-eight hours to come get their shit or I’m sending everything to the dumpster.”

He gave me a curt nod, a slight smile playing on his lips. “I’ll make sure to do that.”

He left, and we stood silently for several minutes taking in the mess that was supposed to be our base of operations.

“This sucks,” Edwin said.

“We can make it work,” Merry replied. “Once we get all this stuff out, we can clean up the place, and it’ll be as good as new.”

She was right. Anger was a waste of energy in this situation.

I wove past a pile of boxes toward the stairs to the ground floor. “Let’s take a look at the damage above.”

The hall upstairswas cluttered with old printers and fax machines, but the reception area was clear. Two rooms led off it, large enough to house eight to ten personnel, so they could be used as offices. There was a tea room down a short corridor behind reception, along with three small interrogation rooms. There was also a filing room filled with boxes of files.

Edwin and Merry rifled through the nearest ones.

“Whoa.” Edwin pulled out a file. “Missing persons case from three years ago.”

“Five years here.” Merry pulled a file from another box.

I moved farther into the room and picked a box at random. “Unsolved cases from ten years ago.” What the fuck?

“They must have dumped them all here to make it look like they were closing cases,” Padma said. “These are probably not even on any database.”

This disregard for protocol, this lack of duty of care, this whole fucking thing made my teeth hurt. “First thing’s first, we call up haulage and get a pickup booked for two days’ time. I want this place clear of their shit. Then…then we start cataloging these cases. We’re going to have some busy nights ahead.”

With the Exciatio two nights away, I had a feeling that getting the Order offices up and running would be a most welcome distraction.