A Council of Betrayal (10 page)

“What is going on between you and Logan?” the
twelve-year-old asked me.

“Fuck, I don’t even know how to answer
that.”

“Are you going to be a permanent fixture
helping him?”

I looked at her, really searched her gaze
before asking myself the same thing. The sea of people watched me,
too damn closely for my liking.

I bit my bottom lip. “I will stand with Logan
until he finds a replacement. My position there is not
permanent.”

Logan didn’t need me. I had helped him smooth
over the destruction from the whirlwind known as Lorraine, but I
was a temporary fix during the transition. Eventually, he’d find a
stable, politically correct partner and I would be … done. I tried
to pretend that thought didn’t stab me in the gut.

“I’m done, Garrick, you are up.” I handed him
the mic and went to sit down.

It felt bad admitting that I was replaceable,
but I wasn’t dwelling on it. Nope, not at all.

Garrick, for the record, was far more
eloquent at answering questions.

Fucker.

I face
planted into Logan’s bed.

“It wasn’t that bad,” he assured me, hanging
up his jacket.

“Ha! Ha! Ha!” I rolled to my back, scooting
up to lean against the headboard.

“I didn’t even get to any of the vampires’ or
Hash’s questions. I was so busy fielding questions from the damn
shifters!”

Logan grimaced, moving my feet to rest on his
lap as he sat on the edge of the bed. He slipped off my shoe,
rubbing the arch of my foot.

I heaved a sigh of contentment closing my
eyes. “A twelve-year-old asked me if I planned to be a permanent
fixture next to you.”

His hands stilled.

“Don’t worry, I said no.”

His rubbing continued, far more aggressively.
I pulled my feet off his lap.

“You will find someone to fill my position,
Logan. Just give the breakup time to heal.” I rested my hand on his
knee, pushing comfort into him. I knew all about shitty
breakups.

He sighed.

“Do you want to stay on next to me?” he
asked, turning to face me.

That question caught me off guard. I narrowed
my eyes at him, tilting my head. “I don’t mind it, Logan. It has
strengthened the relationship between our clans. I like to think it
might have helped Darren and Kass. Not to mention getting out some
of my very serious anger issues.”

I gently hit his shoulder, adding, “Nothing
lasts forever.”

He nodded. “You ready for dinner?”

“Please tell me it’s a buffet.”

It was not a buffet, but at least there was
dancing entertainment.

…

I chucked my shoes over in the corner of my
room, glad this day was over. But while my public performances were
done, there were a few calls I needed to make.

Pulling out my smartphone, I dialed Tommy’s
number.

“Yo,” he grunted.

“You sleeping?” I asked, shocked.

“Power napping,” he grunted. “What’s up?”

“I need help,” I confessed.

“You need help? Olie, usually you are a
little more specific.”

I rubbed my forehead, not enjoying the
pressure building there.

“There’s a new drug hitting the market that
can force a shifter into beast.” I probably should have kept that
fucking Mae alive or at least asked a few more questions. “Hey, did
you find anything from Mae’s computer?”

“Um, I’m going to ignore the first part of
your scatterbrained sentence in favor of answering the second. I
broke down the firewalls but it leads nowhere. The company that
paid her was a shell corporation, run by a lady who has been
deceased for twenty years.”

I grunted. I should have kept her fucking
alive.

“So, where do you want me to start on the
beast maker serum?”

That was the problem, I didn’t even know
where to start and because of that I wasn’t dealing with it. But
they were coming after Logan now, and I needed to figure it out,
maybe even come up with an antidote.

I was getting ahead of myself.

“I need to get a sample,” I groaned.

“How do you plan on doing that?”

“I don’t know, Tommy, but I’ll figure it out.
When I do, you have the equipment or lab or whoever ready to
analyze it.”

“That I can do.”

“Hey Tommy?”

“Yep, boss.”

“Thanks for listening.”

“Anytime, boss.”

I ended the call, looking wistfully down at
my phone. I missed the kid.

I knew I should probably clue Logan in to my
idea, but first I was changing, chucking the beautiful garments for
yoga pants and a blue fitted t-shirt with flip-flops. Tossing my
leather duster over my ensemble, I checked my guns and knives
before adding my phone to the mix.

Flopping out of the room I spared a look at
Grams, working on her computer. “You going out?” she asked.

I approached her. “What is going on with
you?”

She turned her head back to the computer
screen. “I’m not going to dignify that with an answer.”

I pushed her laptop closed.

“I’m only going to say this once: whatever is
going on with you needs to stop or you need to step down. This is
my Council and whatever games you are playing will not
continue.”

“How dare you,” she hissed at me. “I have
worked just as hard, just as long to create OUR Council.”

“Remember who killed to get you there.” My
voice was deadly low. “Step down or step to my side, make a
decision.”

I was so livid I stormed out of the door
without checking the hall, letting it slam behind me.

Bad idea? Yep, sure was.

I landed hard on the wine carpet, my hands
braced under my shoulders from the tackle.

“Perfect, this is just what I needed.” I
slammed my head back, feeling the satisfying crack of a broken
nose. Turning my body to the side, I landed an impressive kick to
something soft. The yelp of pain brought a smile to my face.

Rolling away to the other side, I took a
quick view of the hallway, seeing three additional goons awaiting
disposal.

I pulled a dagger from my duster. Alright, I
admit I liked it. There was no way I’d be able to pack all this
into my regular jacket. Balancing on my palms, I tucked my legs
underneath my body. Shifting my weight onto the balls of my feet, I
wrapped my fingers around the ebony dagger handle before I turned.
I was still crouched when I slammed my blade into the next
attacker’s thigh, hard enough to lodge it into her bone.

She went down with a satisfying scream.

Leaving the dagger in the whimpering woman, I
inhaled deeply, wondering what the hell they were. I didn’t scent
shifter and they were going down and staying down.

The next one came at me with blurring speed
and I fell back, my hand still in my duster as I attempted to pull
another blade.

“You must die, demon whore!” His blue gaze
had the same piercing color as Blake’s. I took great pleasure
slamming my head against his nose before I slammed my knee home
between his legs. I smiled as his eyes lost focus with pain.

I’ll admit to enjoying that too much.
Throwing his light weight off my body, I stood, searching the
corridor for the last attacker.

“You cannot lead us!” screamed the woman,
standing, leaning heavily against the wall. She wrenched the blade
from her leg before throwing herself at me with the dagger.

I ducked, taking the brunt of her attack on
my back before rolling her over and down on my other side. She
landed on her back and I heard the air rush from her lungs. Pinning
her with a knee, I slipped a shorter blade out, slamming it home in
her heart. Her eyes widened before her head fell to the side. I
looked down at the lack of blood.

“What the fuck?”

This wasn’t adding up to—

“Oh, fucking hell.” I turned on the two
males, still writhing on the floor. The dagger the woman had lodged
weakly into my black fell away.

I pulled up the closest one, slamming him
against the wall. “Who sent you?” He writhed at my touch. “Siren,
why are you fighting me?”

“Demon spawn,” he choked. I released my hold
slightly. “You will be the death of all of us. War is coming."

I sighed, “I will not be the death of
everyone. I will, however, be the death of you.”

I had pulled my gun during my short speech,
and now put two bullets at close range into his heart. This didn’t
feel good. I turned to the other siren, who was standing with his
hands up before I shot him as well.

My fingers tightened on the gun, hating this.
Sirens were not powerful. Seawater ran through their veins, not
blood. Why were they coming after me? What was this war?

“Dammit, why didn’t I keep one of them
alive?” I groaned to myself. I was so concerned with eliminating
the present threat. Fucking hell, I really needed to work on my
long-term game.

Gathering my weapons, I cleaned them on the
dead bodies before turning to walk the short distance to knock on
Logan’s door.

Mark answered, stepping back when he saw the
look on my face.

“Problems?”

“You didn’t hear?” I asked, shocked.

Logan exited one of the rooms as I flopped
onto their indigo couch. He rolled up his shirtsleeves. I grunted,
pulling off the leather duster, fingering the hole in the back with
a sigh.

“Sirens attacked me.”

“Sirens?” Mark asked, turning me to take a
look at my back.

“They said war was coming.”

Logan sat on the chair across from me, giving
me a knowing look.

“No Logan, I didn’t leave anyone alive, and
yeah I know that wasn’t my best decision.” I rubbed the back of my
neck, looking at the gold and blue rug.

“This doesn’t feel right,” I told him,
meeting his gaze.

“I know, Olie, we will figure it out.” I
ignored the comforting look there. Logan was not mine. I was only
temporary. It was about fucking time I realized that.

Shaking my head, I let Mark look at my
back.

“I’m going to need to cover this so you don’t
bleed on everything.”

I grunted at him.

He took that as a yes and went to gather
supplies.

“What brings you to our room?” Logan asked,
sitting on a couch

“Oh, right, Tommy hit a dead end on the mage.
The payment came from a shell corporation.”

Logan steepled his index fingers, pressing
them against lips. “I know, I know,” I groaned. “I should have kept
her alive as well.”

He grumbled, shifting his position before
opening his big mouth. “Your love of killing is starting to become
a problem.”

I narrowed my eyes at him.

Mark broke the tension of our staring
contest, coming to sit next to me. I shifted, resting my chin
against the high armrest, my thoughts pulled back to my fight with
Grams.

“Is that all that’s bothering you?” Mark
asked me quietly.

“That’s all I’m willing to talk about
tonight.”

I turned to see his face. He smiled, nodding
understanding before patting my knee.

“If I’m not needed…” Mark looked to Logan,
who nodded, dismissing him.

Logan stayed sitting, watching me closely. I
pulled on my duster, ignoring him.

Placing my hand on the cool doorknob, I
hesitated. I turned my head slightly, seeing Logan in my peripheral
view. “I’ll try not to kill any more possible informants.”

He moved behind me, wrapping his arm around
my waist. “Why don’t you find another way to work out that
anger?”

I turned, shocked by his aggressive come
on.

“You’re drunk.”

“Nope,” he answered with a smile, stepping
closer. I stepped back, flush against the door.

“I’ve tried to be patient. I’ve tried to be
subtle, but Olivia…” He ran his thumb over my cheek bone. “I like
you. A lot. I’ll be honest, I never thought of you as emotionally
available until Blake, and now I can’t stop thinking of you.” His
words softened, his lips dipping down to mine, which had a mind of
their own, lifting to meet his shapely mouth.

The touch was light between us, tentative on
my end. Apparently, my whole “temporary” self-talk was thrown out
the window at the first possibility of a boy liking me. The problem
was, I was afraid I liked Logan, too, and while I could try lying
to myself, my body wasn’t listening.

Large, warm palms wrapped around me, pulling
my back away from the cold of the door and into Logan’s fierce
warmth. I groaned and the pressure of his lips increased.

My hands were busy pulling out his dress
shirt to feel the finely formed flesh underneath it.

“Hey boss—“ Mark called out, coming around
the corner, breaking the spell.

Logan moved back, turning to face him. I
couldn’t see Mark’s face, but I could imagine Logan was sporting
some pretty fine, hard, thick, evidence of our entanglement.

I had to get out of there.

I slipped out the door before I heard more of
their conversation, again not checking the fucking halls.

No one was waiting for me this time and I
continued on, belatedly realizing I was breaking my own rule about
going out alone. Whatever, they’re my rules to break.

I made it back to the safety of my room
without incident. Tossing my duster over my suitcase, I landed face
first onto the bed. I’d like to say I wasn’t thinking about how
pleasant Logan’s lips felt against my own, but I’d lied to myself
enough.

I liked the kiss. I liked his attention and
ran away from both, because I’m a chicken shit.

I groaned, pushing my face into the pillow. I
needed to make a decision, either I was in or out. I just wished it
didn’t scare me. I wasn’t sure I could handle being hurt again. In
some respects I was over and done with Blake. I sure as shit didn’t
want him back, but being crushed so effortlessly … I wasn’t sure I
wanted to give another the opportunity to hurt me like that.