Follow Me When the Sun Goes Down (25 page)

“In the meantime, why don’t you tell us who else is involved in this little plan?”

She named three other people, names I’d never heard of, but clearly members of the Order.  From Bishop’s reaction, I took it he had no idea to suspect them of anything of the kind. 

“Detain them
as well,” Faust ordered, and Felippo slipped out to have a word with security again. 

The fight had gone out of Angel, and she no longer resisted any of the questions I put to her.  She talked freely of Corley’s desire to eliminate me after I rebuffed his offer to purchase
Canada.  She gave a detailed account of how she’d planned to “keep me on ice” as she put it, rather than killing me outright.  As if that made it better.  The more she talked, the deeper the scowl set into Bishop’s brow, and I worried I might have to stick a guard between him and his… whatever she was to him.

When Corley arrived, he was met with a room full of grim stares, most of them having convicted him without his saying a single word. 

“I understand my honor has been besmirched in my absence,” he said, his head held high.

“It’s been more than besmirched, it’s pretty much been dragged through the mud,” Jennkike replied.  “This one’s accusing you of orchestrating not only the attack on Anja, but Tommy’s death as well.”

“That’s preposterous,” he replied nonchalantly, keeping cool as a cucumber.  “I had nothing to do with either event.”

“The lady says you did,” Bishop glowered, looking like he wanted nothing more than to tear Corley limb from limb.

“The word of an admitted murderer hardly signifies to me.  What proof do you have in making such allegations?”

Angel looked up at him in terror, but was unable
to move from her seat.  “You ordered me to exploit the hunter situation.  To be lax in the investigation until a climate where a murder to your benefit would be achieved.”

“Never happened,” he said simply, paying more attention to adjusting the cufflink at his wrist than to anything Angel had to say.  “Again, I ask, where is the proof of this?  Did I ever say to you – kill the Elder of the West?”

Angel stared back at him, open mouthed.

“Did he?” I prompted.

“Well… no.”

“Did he ever say kill Thomas Lyons?”

“No.”  She hung her head miserably.

“Did he tell you to kill me?”

“No.”  Her head snapped up, pleading with Bishop to look at her.  “But it was his plan, don’t you see?  He never came out and said those words directly, but…”

“Enough.”  Corley’s hand came up.  “If there is nothing else to be laid against me?”  He paused a few seconds, the silence stretching before us as I wracked my brain to come up with anything else that might implicate him.  I could hardly say Felix had heard him as much as admit to it over a bug in his office, especially without proof.  “Very well, then Angel, I hereby banish you from Vetis lands, etcetera, etcetera.  You will leave at once, never to return again.  Now, can we leave this behind us and return to business?”     

I couldn’t believe how quickly he’d dispelled the animosity toward him in the room, but most of the delegates present seemed wholly ready to move on now that they had someone to blame.

“You don’t have the right to sentence her,” Bishop spoke up, his jaw tight.  “She’ll be judged by the Order.”

“I do have the right to banish her from my lands, however,” Corley replied.  “Whatever your Order does with her after that is no concern of mine.”

“Fine, I’ll put in a call to Volkov and see how he wants to handle it,” Bishop gave a curt nod.  “We’ll have
her and the other three escorted off of Vetis lands within the hour.  Come on, Angel.”  He grabbed her elbow, but she stayed rooted to the chair and I remembered I’d compelled her to sit. 

“That’s not good enough for me,” I spoke up, laying my hand on Angel’s shoulder to keep her in place.  I wasn’t ready to let her off the hook so easily.  “She killed Tommy and almost took me out too, and all you’re going to do is drive her across the border?  What kind of a punishment is that?”

“She’ll be judged by the Order, I’ll see to it,” Bishop swore.

“
Uh huh, that’s not good enough,” I insisted, keeping her firmly rooted in that chair.  “Okay, so lets for a moment assume that Corley had nothing to do with these plots.  You plan to turn her over to the same organization who could very well be at the root of them?  Should they really be judging one of their own?”

“She makes an adequate point,” Faust concurred.  I expected the Italian delegate to object again, but it was Jennike who spoke up next.

“It’s out of our hands.  She’s a member of the Order, it’s for them to determine her fate.”

“I still say she should be held accountable to
us
.  Not just for killing Tommy, but plotting to assassinate a head of House not once, but twice.  There has to be a law against this that has nothing to do with Order justice.  We have to send a strong message that this kind of action against an Elder won’t be tolerated, or anyone with delusions of grandeur can pick us off one by one and we’ll end up in total anarchy.”

“Challenge her,” Erlendur bellowed, his smile a crooked line across his face.  “No law prevents your right to revenge.”   

Khalid frowned, his deep voice cutting through the murmur that statement produced.  “That’s barbaric.  Surely we’ve come farther than this by now.”

Faust considered it for a moment before joining in on the debate.  “She has the right to mete out punishment for the killing of her Elder.  A life for a life, as long as she’s strong enough to take it.  That’s as it always has been.”

“But the Order…” Bishop started to say, and I cut him off.

“Isn’t the boss of me,” I finished.  “The Order upholds the law, but there’s no law that says I can’t challenge her to a fight.  Angel took direct action against
my
House.  Against me.  Her life is forfeit, should I be strong enough to take it.” 

I just had to hope I was strong enough to dig myself out of the hole I’d stepped in before it became my grave. 

“Anja…” I felt Rob’s touch on my elbow, but he didn’t say more in present company.  I didn’t look at him.  He had to understand my reasons for doing this, I couldn’t let her get away with it and I was convinced that turning her over to the Order was tantamount to sending her on vacation with a slap on the wrist. 

“You can’t do this,” Bishop said in a low voice, worry plainly etched across his features. 

“You’re not the boss of me either.”  I met his gaze squarely until he looked away, afraid I might compel him into supporting it, I guessed. 

Jennike leaned forward in her seat, suddenly all kinds of happy.  “Corley, it’s your House,” she purred.  “What do you say?”

“I’ll allow it,” he replied after a moment’s pause, which I was sure was entirely for show.  He had nothing to lose.  If I killed Angel, it was to his advantage to have her taken out before we asked the right questions to implicate him.  If she killed me, he’d get what he wanted in the first place.  “Angel, do you accept the challenge?”

“I do.”  There was a curve to her lips that made me think she wanted nothing more than another shot at me. 

Shiny.  “Go ahead then, set it up for tomorrow night.  Brody, I want your word she’ll be kept under lock and key or I’ll hold you responsible.”

“Yes, Your Grace.”  The werewolf stepped up to take hold of Angel and I released her from the compulsion to sit.

“Go ahead and go with him, enjoy your last night.  What’s left of it.”

“If there’s nothing else to discuss?” Corley said with a pointed look right at me, not at all amused by the orders I gave in his house, I’m sure.  “Then I move we adjourn for tonight.  We’ll have the festivities at midnight tomorrow, will that suit Your Grace?”

“That works for me.”

“Grand.”  He left without another word and the rest of the delegates shuffled off, muttering in smaller groups of twos and threes over the events of the night.  Bishop followed after Angel and the Weres, probably to make sure Angel didn’t give them any trouble.  Felix hung back beside me with barely coiled excitement.  When only our group remained, he exploded into a thousand watt smile.

“Jesus Christ, I wish I’d had a camera back there.  You were amazing, boss!”

“A bit rash is what I’d call it,” Rob said conservatively.  “Going up against the likes of her is no small thing.”

“I’ll be fine.  You taught me well and I’m much stronger than she is to boot.  I’m more worried about how we’re going to bring Corley down.”

“Are we sure he’s the one?  I know I thought it seemed like he was the one to set up Tommy, but maybe I was so crazy over what happened, I read more into that conversation tha
n I should have,” Felix said, sobering a touch.  “I never thought she might be trying to protect the Order, but it kind of makes sense.”

“No, Corley’s our man, I’m sure of it.”  I just couldn’t explain why without giving away my secret about compelling people. 

“Well, I’ve got a zillion things to do before the main event tomorrow night.  Wait until the council hears about this.  I knew you were the right man for the job,” Felix’s grin reappeared as he pulled open the door.  “You two stay with her, I’ll be fine on my own,” he instructed his pair of guards before sailing out, whistling a jaunty tune.

“Anja…” Rob tried again, but I shook my head no.  There were too many ears around for the conversation he wanted to have. 

“It’ll be fine.  For now, I think I should probably head back to the suite.  I’d better conserve my strength for tomorrow.   

“As you wish,” he nodded curtly, and I could tell he had a lot more to say.  “You should have something to eat as well,” he added when we reached the bottom of the stairs.

“No, I’m good.  My last meal was more than enough.”  I wasn’t the least bit hungry.  My wanting to go back to the suite stemmed more from wanting to escape dealing with any more of the delegates rather than a need to rest.  Then again, more of Rob’s blood didn’t sound like a bad way to spend my night either.  “Unless you know where I can get some more?” I raised a single brow. 

“We both know that’s not a good idea,” he said softly. 

“Even if it’s my last night on Earth?  Don’t I get a last request, or is that just for the prisoner?”

“Not funny,” he growled, his emotions tightly controlled until we reached the suite and left the two bodyguards and Tucker outside.  I think we both forgot Bridget would be back at the room and Rob grew more physically agitated when he couldn’t give me an earful over my impulsive decision with another witness present.  He paced restlessly while I filled her in on the highlights of the meeting.

“No shit… you’re really gonna have a rumble?  That is the coolest thing I’ve ever heard.  You’d better kick the shit out of her, Anja.  Wait… can you?” 

“Of course I can,” I replied with more confidence than I felt. 

“Okay, it’s just that I’ve never actually seen you fight.”

“There was that one time I bea
t Serena at the Hart,” I pointed out.  “And I even schooled Rob once,” I boasted, and he shot me a murderous glare.

“Only the one time.”

“That’s because we haven’t sparred much since.  You agreed I was the champion of the world.”  I knew I shouldn’t tease him, but I wanted him to lose the pinched look around his eyes.  “I’ll be fine.  I have the element of surprise in my favor.”

“How do you figure?” Bridget asked.  “It’s not like it’s a big surprise you’ll be fighting tomorrow night.  She has all night to prepare for it.”

“Because she’ll underestimate me, she always does,” I insisted.  “It’s exactly the same as what happened with Bishop.”  I explained briefly about how I’d brought him down out in the maze, because he didn’t expect me to know how to fight.”

“Unless Bishop told her.  Didn’t you say they were shacking up?”

There was that possibility, but I didn’t want to dwell on it.  A knock sounded at the door, and Rob went to open it, stiffening when he saw who was on the other side.

“Who is it?”

“Bishop here to see you,” he said formally.  “Shall I send him away?”

“No, I’d rather hear what he has to say.”  Bishop stepped through the door, ignoring Rob’s barb.  “If you’re here to plead for your new girlfriend’s life, you can keep on
stepping though,” I added.

“I’m not here for that,” Bishop said, his shoulders stiff,
neck perfectly straight.  “I wanted a word with you alone.  Rob, Bridget, will you excuse us?”

Bridget let out an inelegant snort.  “No way, this is better than what passes for TV
in this dump.  Go on, pretend I’m not here.”  She waggled her fingers at us, taking a front row seat on the couch.  Rob didn’t do much better, simply leaning against a wall, and shoving his hands in his pockets to wait and hear what Bishop had to say.

“Fine
,” Bishop’s jaw twitched, but I could see him try to roll with not getting his way again.  It was turning out to be a rough day for his ego.  “Look, I only came here for one thing, and that’s to get you out of here.”

“What are you talking about?”  I shook my head, not tracking.  Out of where? 

“I can sneak you out of the mansion close to dawn and see to it that you get on your jet and on the way home.  Felix can finish up for you at the Gathering, and I’ll get Angel back to Rome to stand for judgment.  Nobody will think less of you, I promise.”

“Did you slip and hit your head on the way up here?  I’m not going anywhere.”  I looked to Rob for his input and he merely shrugged.

“Don’t look at me, I’m with him for once.”

“I can handle it.”

“Not saying you couldn’t, but I still think it’s a bad idea.”

Bishop cleared his throat, drawing my attention back to him.  “Angel has decades of training with the Order.  Even if you are stronger, she’ll put you down in a heartbeat.”

“We’ll see about that.  I got the jump on you, didn’t I?”

“That was a lucky shot.  If I was really bent on hurting you I could have, but I knew it was you out there.  Angel won’t hesitate for an instant.”

“You’re just mad I challenged you in front of a group of Elders.  But the truth is, you’ve never seen me as anything more than poor little Anja who you had to ride to the rescue for over and over again.  Why can’t you see I’m more than that?”

“Maybe when I stop having to rescue you,” he retorted, biting the words out slowly.

He had a point, but I had no intention of acknowledging it, or the fact that secretly I had doubts of my own whether I’d bitten off more than I could chew.  It didn’t change the fact that I’d issued the challenge, and I wasn’t going to back down. 

“It’s not that I don’t appreciate you helping me the other night, I do.  I really do.  But the fact of the matter is, I am the Elder of the West, and it’s my duty to set this right.  You can’t tell me the Order is going to do more than give her a slap on the wrist
, are they?”

That gave Bishop a moment of pause.  At least he didn’t come up with the easy lie, points in his favor for that.  “It’s hard to say.  I don’t recall there ever being a situation like this.” 

“Because everybody knows not to screw with an Elder.  I can’t be the one to start a new precedent.  I just can’t.”

“And what if she kills you?” he demanded, green eyes blazing in pent up anger.  “What kind of a precedent will you be setting then?”

“You really have that little faith in me, huh?” I shook my head.  “I’m telling you, I can beat her.”

“I won’t be able to help you out there.  You’ll be completely on your own.”

“The hell she will,” Rob growled, pushing himself away from the wall to stand before me.  “I won’t let her hurt you.  Have your little game, but Angel won’t be walking out of there alive, be sure of that.”  Without waiting for a response, he stalked out of the room.  I knew he wouldn’t go far, even though his frustration level was through the roof. 

The thing was, I knew everything Rob wanted to say to me
.  All of his arguments about this being a very bad idea were valid, without him having to say a word.  But I still felt it was the right thing to do.     

“So, you and Rob are…” Bishop swallowed awkwardly, and I blinked at him, not sure what he meant when he didn’t go on.

“What?” 

Bishop’s chin jerked up and to the side, either unwilling or unable to say the words.  He kept looking at me until I caught on to his meaning.

“That’s none of your business anymore, is it?”  I tossed his own words back at him. 

“Fair enough.”

“We’re… close.  Rob supports me.  Can you imagine what that feels like?”

“Well, I can’t, not when you make stupid decisions like this.  I’
ve got half a mind to stake Angel myself and ship her off to Rome,” he muttered. 

“That’s the difference between you and Rob
– he has faith in me.”

“Or he doesn’t care about you as much as you think.”

I held up my hand, I didn’t want to hear anymore.  He had a lot of nerve questioning Rob’s motives.  “Don’t… just don’t, okay?”  I didn’t want to hear his passive aggressive way of saying he still cared about me more than Rob did. 

“I guess there’s nothing left for me to say about this, is there?” he said stonily.

“Nope.  Not unless you have any pointers to offer to give me an edge over Angel,” I grinned, but Bishop just shook his head. 

“Try and be careful.”  That used to mean
I love you
in Bishop speak, I wasn’t sure what it meant now.

“Thanks, but I think we’ve got it under control.”

Bishop nodded one last time, barely sparing a glance to Bridget, who I’d almost forgotten was still there before leaving.  I lingered by the door, waiting to see if his departure would send Rob back in, but it stayed firmly shut.

“Dun, dun, dun…” Bridget grinned, swinging one leg over the arm of the sofa.  “The plot thickens.  How long have you and Rob been doing the nasty?”

“There’s nothing nasty going on between me and Rob,” I sighed, plopping into the chair across from her.

“Oh please, it is
so
on with you two.  Why else would you talk to Bishop like that?  The last time I saw the two of you together, you looked like you were about this far away from throwing yourself into Bishop’s arms.”  She held her thumb and forefinger a centimeter apart.  “Something had to have changed.” 

“I told you, I’m over Bishop
.  It’s as simple as that.”

“Because you and Rob are…”

“Are nothing,” I snapped.  It wasn’t a matter of trusting Bridget, but Rob’s life was at stake, and possibly mine, if word got out that we were more than friends.  While I trusted Bridget with my life, her proximity to Felix made her too much of a liability to gamble with the truth.  “I told you before, it’s complicated.”

“Okay, okay, you don’t have to bite my head off.  I take it back.  Nobody who’s getting some lovin’ on a regular basis, especially from Rob, would be so crabby.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to jump all over you, it’s just been a weird couple of days.  Almost dying and all.”