Hear Me When the Sun Goes Down (16 page)

“Tell Anja she looks ravishing.”

“She fixed my hair,” I butted in, feeling awkward with Maggie there.  “What do you think?”

Rob barely gave me a cursory glance.  “That’s what you came banging about?”
He let out a disgusted snort.  “It looks nice, can I get on to bed now?”

“That’s all you have to say?”  Maggie’s face crumpled in disappointment, and even though I knew what he was doing, I couldn’t help but leap to her defense.

“Hey, just because you’re tired doesn’t mean you have to be so grumpycakes.  I happen to think she did a great job.”

“Sorry, Maggie,” he bit out, rubbing the back of his neck as if it pained him.  “I reckon I’m a bit knackered, but that’s no excuse to act like a git, yeah?”

“It’s alright.  It’s late, I wasn’t thinking.”  The timid girl offered a tremulous smile and I wrapped my arm around her shoulders.

“I think we’re all
tired.  Why don’t you head on up to bed, okay Maggie?”

“Sure, I’ll wake you at the usual time then?”

“That’d be nice, thanks.  And thanks for making me presentable again.”

“I do think it came out lovely, even if some don’t think do.”  She stuck her tongue out at Rob before darting up the stairs as though half afraid he might chase her for the impertinence. 

“Watch it,” Rob called up after her, but there was a smile on his lips.  “It’s very nice,” he added, his eyes finally showing me his approval now that we were alone.

“Thanks.”  We stood in the hallway, looking our fill for a few moments, his bed a very visible temptation right behind him.  Almost as if he’d read my mind, he stepped completely into the hall, shutting the bedroom door behind him. 

“We’re back,” I said, unnecessarily, feeling that pull to touch him again, and my fingers curled into fists to keep from reaching out to slide up his chest. 

“Yes, we are.”   He could feel it too, I could tell.  Almost without noticing it we’d drifted closer together, barely a few inches separating us.  So close… I couldn’t stand it anymore.  Rolling up on the tips of my feet I stole a kiss, intending it to be a brief one, just a taste, but his strong arms immediately encircled me, not letting me get away so easily.  Our mouths tangled, hungry for more, and I indulged in the urge to slip my hands up under his shirt to smooth across the glorious ridges of muscle across his back. 

His hands fisted in my shirt, binding me to him, until at some point he decided we’d crossed a line and Rob pulled me away from him, his muscles shaking with the effort it cost him.  “It’s late,” he said, his voice hoarse. 

“You’re right,” I nodded, trying to sound as normal as I could.  “We should get to bed.”  Tangling my fingers with his, I tugged slightly toward my bedroom, leaving no doubt as to the invitation to join me.  As long as he left before the sun went down, no one would ever know.

“Yes, we should.”  His voice sounded a bit stronger as he pulled his hand free of mine, laying a finger across my lips when I opened them to protest.  Leaning close, his lips barely made a sound.  “There are ears everywhere.  Upstairs, outside…”

Stifling a groan of disappointment, I closed my eyes, listening.  I could hear Maggie and Marcus speaking softly high above, but not well enough to make out what was said.  The guards’ footfalls outside were few and far between
; soon it would be time for the sun to chase away most of my brute squad, at least the vampires.  The regular humans patrolling outside wouldn’t be able to hear anything untoward.  Gunnar must have gone to sleep already.  No one was close, but that didn’t mean it couldn’t change in a heartbeat. 

“We could be quiet,” I tried, my lips brushing against the curve of his ear.

“Not bloody likely,” he growled back, sending a ripple of desire to all my tingly bits. 

“You’re to stay by my side.  Jakob’s orders, remember?”

He pulled back to offer a half smile, amused by my efforts.  “Whenever we leave the house.” 

I let out a long breath, trying to tamp down the longing and frustration, but it didn’t help.  Not one bit.  “Goodnight, Rob,” I said finally, backing away before I did something we might end up regretting.

“Goodnight, miss.”  His voice was calm again, but his hazel eyes watched me until I disappeared behind my door.   

The phone ringing off the hook woke me up way before Maggie had a chance to come down.  Apparently the cat was out of the bag about my return and everyone was abuzz, wondering if Jakob would show for the inauguration.  Since I’d barely mentioned it to him at all, I doubted he’d cut his trip short early for it, and to be honest, I’d just as soon he stay in England for as long as possible. 

Felix and Cordelia operated under the notion that he’d be there though, and the few details I overheard seemed wildly lavish for my tastes.  I kept mum about it, letting them do what they would.  I hated how stressed out Maggie was over the process though.  It seemed like every time I tried to talk to her the phone would ring again, and I was grateful for her screening process or I wouldn’t have been able to get a lick of work done. 

Marcus set the videoconference up with the council for eight p.m., which gave me plenty of time to meet with him first.  I pulled him into my office to get the real scoop on what was going on in my absence.  “Okay… lay it on me.  How bad is it?” I asked as soon as he took a seat across from my desk. 

Marcus wore his polished best again, a navy blue suit with a sparkle of diamonds at the cuffs.  He made me feel schlumpy in my pink fuzzy sweater and leggings, but I was still enjoying wearing whatever I wanted to after my visit to stuffy central. 

“It’s become very unpopular to be a member of the Order around here.”

“Yes, that much you’ve made clear before.  What kind of stuff is going down?  Has there been something else since the car bomb?” 

Marcus fixed me with his most charming smile, and I prepared myself for the worst.  “Actually, I lied. I wanted to get you alone for a talk before we get too much farther here.”

“Ahh…”
That’s all I had.  I couldn’t begin to imagine what he wanted bad enough to fake an emergency meeting.

“What I wanted to talk to you about is as scary as open violence in the streets though.”

Cool beans.  “Okay, you’ve got my attention, let’s hear it.”  I braced myself for the worst, especially since his face screwed up like he was waiting for someone to lop off a diseased limb or something.

“I want to ask your permission to formally court Maggie.”  He said it fast, much quicker than it took my brain to process the words. 

“
Shénme
?” I blinked.  “That’s what this is about?  You want to date Maggie?”  Weren’t they already doing exactly that?

“No, I want to court her.  There’s a difference,” he pointed out.  “Also, I’m asking you to lift your restrictions on me, with regards to consensual sharing.” 

He meant drinking her blood.  “That’s for her to decide, not me.  Look, it’s not that I object to the two of you being together, as long as that’s something she wants, but Maggie’s had a very difficult past when it comes to vampires.  I’m not sure that’s the kind of an arrangement she wants to get back into, now or ever.”

“It would be nothing like her experience with Jasper, I give you my word on that.”

So she’d already told him about her past with Jasper.  Then they were already closer than I’d thought for her to share such an intimate hurt.  “You’re looking to court her… to what end?  I mean, are you planning on marrying her and buying a house in the suburbs?  Setting her up as your blood companion?  Turning her?”

“I… maybe a bit of all three?”  He shook his head as soon as the words left his mouth, his hands coming up.  “No, that sounds wrong.  I just… I want to be with her, but I want to do it the right way.  The only way I know how to do that is by paying her the respect of a formal courtship.  Where it ends up… it’s too early to say right now.”

“Alright, fair enough.  I’ll tell you what I’m going to do.  I give you permission to court her, but it’s entirely up to Maggie as to how far this goes and the pace is up to her, do you get me?  If I get even a whiff of compulsion on your part…”

“I would never…”

“Because I’d be able to tell.  Having an
Ellri
for a Sire gives me certain benefits that I’m willing to exploit to keep my family safe.  And Maggie is my family now.”  Okay, so maybe that was overselling it a little.  There was no guarantee I’d be able to break any compulsion he put on her, especially if they shared a blood connection, but he didn’t have to know that.   

“I understand completely.”

“You’ll continue to live here so I can chaperone the process.”   

“Thank you, that’s very generous.”

I could see my invitation pleased him, and from my conversation with Maggie the night before, I hoped it turned out to be what she wanted.  “I’m counting on you to be a stand up guy, Marcus.  Your request to do the right thing by Maggie is a step in the right direction, and I appreciate you coming to me.  But next time, don’t lie to me to finagle a meeting.”

His expression turned contrite.  “I’m sorry about that, I needed to get this sorted out and I know how busy you are.”

“I always make time for my friends.”  Not that I didn’t intend to have Rob run a thorough background check on the guy.  “Now then, let’s talk about how things fell apart with Vetis.  I’ll need your help on how to handle the council.”

We spent the better part of an hour going over my strategy for spinning the break as a good thing, being sure to trot out my other victories with Texas and Belonoc first.  Marcus seemed to think I’d made the right decision, especially given Corley’s offer to purchase Canada
.  He thought there was something more than a simple land deal going on in Vetis interests. 

Still, there were giant wriggly butterflies in my stomach by the time the conference started, and I gave my heartfelt apology for deceiving them about my ties to Carys and Jakob
, feeling like I had to hurl the entire time.  To my surprise, they were pretty supportive, far more impressed with the West’s ties to a real live
Ellri
to be bothered by my lies.  So far his being my Sire was turning out to be more of a perk than I’d anticipated. 

It turned out they completely supported my breaking ties with Vetis after they heard about the way Aubrey rose to power, and they were much more concerned with the state of affairs with the Order.  Jakob’s decision to banish them from Vetis sparked a lively debate as to whether or not we should do the same. 

In the end, I won out by arguing that we still needed a body to police the vampire population, and we weren’t anywhere near coming up with one of our own.  It was only a matter of bringing the Order around to enforcing the laws our way.  I was convinced we could make it work if we could get people to simmer down and listen to each other.  I outlined some of the plans we’d made at the Gathering to revise the Order’s charter, and the council was excited by the prospect. 

That left quelling the current unrest in the San Francisco area.  Terry Byrne’s name kept cropping up as the lead
instigator, and I had to wonder if he actually had anything against the Order or if it was all designed to sabotage my rule.  After all, hadn’t he been preaching to ‘get along’ at
Nightshade
not all that long ago?  Now, to hear him tell it, the Order was an abomination that needed to be stamped out by any means necessary.  What bothered me more was my people’s embracing violence so easily.  It was still hard to tell if it was only a few rabble rousers or if everyone hated the Order with equal passion.

There was only one way I knew to suss out how bad it was on the streets, and that was to get out there myself.  That was the only way to tell if all I needed was a few minutes alone with Byrne to set him straight or if we had a much larger problem at hand.  

I was still trying to figure out the best way to track Byrne down, when the conversation turned back to the topic of the inauguration and whether or not Jakob would attend.  Promising to ask him about it, I ended the conference, preferring to work on stamping out Byrne’s influence before Jakob got back and saw how out of control my city was. 

A quick check of the time showed it was early morning in England,
so I decided not to bug Jakob about coming to the inauguration yet, in case he’d already gone to bed.  I had other fish to fry.

* * *

It was more of a hassle than I thought it would be to pop down to
Nightshade
for a drink and put some feelers out to track down Byrne.  By the time my security entourage was ready to go, it was well past midnight, but barely the shank of the evening by vampire standards. 

The moment Jarrod spotted us
, he came over to greet me with an effusive smile that quickly dimmed when my security stopped him more than five feet away from me. 

“Oh, come on, guys.  Jarrod’s a friend,” I scowled, even as Gunnar stepped up to let him pass.  “I’m sorry about this, Jarrod, security precautions.”  I made a face. 

“Surely there’s no need for all the muscle here where you’re among friends,” he said, straightening his tie.

“I know, but it’s out of my hands.  Jakob’s orders.”  The name Jakob spread through the club like wildfire.  If I’d been famous before
, it was nothing compared to now – it felt like they all hung on my every word, waiting to hear some inside scoop on the elusive
Ellri
. 

“Come and have a sit and tell me all about it,” Jarrod’s eyes practically glowed, ushering me to my usual table. 

“Listen, about that… I’m sorry some of the tales I told when we first met were less than accurate.”

“No worries, it’s all part of the mystique, isn’t it?  Leander’s going to be green with envy when he learns he missed out seeing you first.  Hullo, Rob, didn’t see you there for a moment.  Crikey, you sure brought them out in force, didn’t ya?”

“Anything to keep the boss safe.”

“
You won’t have to worry on that account.  No one here would dare so much as say a word against you,” Jarrod insisted.

“Only takes one,” Rob muttered, taking a seat beside me, his eyes sweeping the crowd.  “Oi, you lot, spread out.  Can’t see past my elbow with you hulking about,” he growled, and the security team filtered into the room. 

“Listen, I’m glad to hear you say that,” I said to Jarrod, trying to steer the conversation back my way.  “I’m here to try and track down Terry Byrne.  Has he been in here lately?”

“Byrne?”  Jarrod’s brows inched higher.  “We wouldn’t let that wanker in here, not since you gave him his walking papers.”

“Do you know where he’s hanging out?”

“Nah, ‘fraid not.  Could ask around for you if you like.”

“Thanks, I’d appreciate the favor.”  I should’ve known it wouldn’t be that easy to fix. 

“Anything for you,” Jarrod beamed and I decided to take advantage of his enthusiasm.

“Great, how about one more?  I have a friend in town who could use a job as a bartender.”  I hoped Laveda wouldn’t mind me asking on her behalf but Jarrod seemed open to the idea.

“Sure, send him over, I’d love to meet him.”

“It’s a her actually, and I’ll see if I can arrange it,” I said.  Rob gave no sign as to whether he approved of my request or not, his eyes scanning the crowd that seemed to be inching closer with every word.  “Oh, also, since I’ve got you…”

“You can have me for as long as you want,” Jarrod winked.

“I wanted to have a chat with you about the situation with the Order.”

Jarrod’s hands came up in a gesture of supplication.  “We haven’t got anything to do with that mess
.  We’re strictly neutral territory here.”

“I’m glad to hear that.  But what’s y
our sense for the average vamp on the street?”

He took a few moments to mull it over before he responded.  “To be honest, I expect most of us is just waiting for it all to blow over and go back to normal.”

“That’s good too.  That’s the smart position to take.”  I let my voice rise a notch, knowing there weren’t many in the club that couldn’t hone in our conversation anyway.  “I’m going to do everything in my power to put an end to the violence on both sides.  I hope you’ll all give me that chance.”

“Right-o, whatever you think is best,” Jarrod nodded, and nobody else said anything differently.  That was good to hear.  It meant my chances of ending the so called revolt lay heavily in shutting Terry Byrne up. 

“Can I have a picture taken with you, your grace?”  The request came from a curly haired club waitress, I couldn’t remember her name. 

“Ah, yes, I guess so.”  I waved her through, all smiles as she handed her phone to Gunnar to do the honors. 

“Me too?” another waitress chimed in, I think her name was Amber.

“What for?  You see me here all the time.”

“That was before, now you’re famous,” Amber giggled as the dam broke and the rest of the club eased closer.  Now I was actually glad for my red shirts who kept them from swarming, cameras in hand. 

“Sure, but… I’m the same person I was when you elected me Jarl
. I just have a higher title now.”

“Oh, it’s not that,” the curly haired waitress said after the picture was taken.  “You’re the
Ellri’s
consort, aren’t you?”