Dark Warrior Untamed (25 page)

“I am the Chief Talion, Consort. I take that very seriously and know exactly where my duty lies. I have guards stationed here on the grounds and extras patrolling the neighborhood. Sandor has already brought Lena here, and he’ll be in charge of security tonight. I’ll relieve him at first light.”

Grey eased back, giving them both more breathing room. “Look, I know you’re worried. We all are. But don’t presume to tell me what to do. The Dame has no reason to doubt my abilities or loyalty, so I will do my job as I see fit.”

After a few seconds, Ranulf nodded. “I’ll let you know what I find out about the people on my list.”

“Good. Now, if you two will excuse me, if I don’t get a move on, I might be late picking up Piper. She’s stubborn enough to take the bus if I’m not waiting at the curb.”

Sandor looked up from his computer screen. “Doesn’t take orders well, does she?”

“No more than Kerry or Lena from what I’ve
heard.”

Ranulf actually laughed and clapped him on the shoulder. “I don’t know whether to congratulate you or offer my sympathies.”

Grey resisted the urge to rub the spot Ranulf had hit. The man didn’t know his own strength—or then again, maybe he did. Talion tempers didn’t cool off quickly.

“I’ll settle for a little of both. I’ve a feeling I’m going need it.”

Sandor and Ranulf’s laughter followed him down the hall.

Grey pulled up in front of a stately brick home, the kind of place that spoke of old money and an upper-class pedigree. He studied the exterior for a couple of minutes. The place was well tended. It didn’t tell Grey much about the man. If Reginald had the same kind of money his cousin Lawrence did, he probably paid other people to take care of the place for him.

As Grey got out of the car, an older man came around the corner of the house pushing a wheelbarrow. He wore grass-stained jeans and a faded work shirt. As soon as the guy spotted Grey, he stopped and waited for him make his approach.

Looking curious rather than worried, he asked, “Hi, can I help you?”

Grey nodded. “I’m hear to talk the owner, Reginald Harcourt. Do you know if he’s in?”

“No, actually he’s out—here, that is. I’m Reggie,” he said with a smile as he stripped off his work gloves and tossed them down in the wheelbarrow. “And you are?”

“Greyhill Danby. I am here on a matter of great urgency on behalf of the Grand Dame of our people.”

“I see.” Reggie’s smile dimmed considerably. “Why don’t we take this conversation inside?”

Without waiting for Grey to respond, Reggie headed for the front door. Inside, he kicked of his shoes. “I’ll make a fresh pot of coffee while you tell me what brought you to my doorstep.”

Grey followed him into the kitchen and took a seat at the table. He watched with interest while Reggie started the coffee. Either the man had no idea why the Chief Talion was paying a call on him or else he had nerves of steel.

“I’m going to get out of these dirty clothes. I’ll be gone just a minute.”

“No need to do that on my behalf, Mr. Harcourt.”

“If you’re sure.” Reggie joined Grey at the table after setting out coffee cups along with cream and sugar. “I’ve heard of you, Mr. Danby, but I wasn’t aware that you were here in Seattle.”

“It was a recent move, Mr. Harcourt. Grand Dame Thorsen offered me the position of Chief Talion, and I’m here in that capacity. Someone has been threatening our Dame and the people who work for her.”

“Is she all right? I’ve only met her once when I attended her wedding, but she seemed like a nice young woman.”

“She’s fine, but the Talions are investigating the situation.
Such attacks constitute high treason according to Kyth law.”

“I’m sure, but what does that have to do with me?” Reggie avoided looking Grey in the eyes, instead staring at the steady drip, drip, drip of the coffeepot. The bastard knew something. The question was what.

“We have a list of people who questioned Kerry’s right to assume the throne when Dame Judith died.” Grey pushed enough energy to ensure that his eyes were flaming. “You and your cousin Lawrence were right at the top.”

All pretense of good humor disappeared from Reggie’s expression. “Damn it, I knew he’d go too far.”

“Who would?”

Reggie looked thoroughly disgusted. “Lawrence, of course. He and I used to be close. But ever since he got it in his head that Adele was the anointed one, he’s been impossible. Putting on airs, acting like it was only a matter of time before he took control of our world. Since Judith died and Dame Kerry took over, he’s gotten worse and worse.”

Reggie got up to fetch the coffee. “He asked me to send a letter expressing my concern over a relative newcomer to our culture wielding so much power. I still feel that way, but that’s all it was—concern, nothing more.”

“But your cousin feels differently.” It wasn’t a question.

“Yes. But when he started talking about a bunch of us forcing the new Dame to abdicate, I backed away quickly. I want nothing to do with that kind of talk. As I
already said, Dame Kerry is a nice young woman. Who knows, I trusted Judith’s judgment in everything else.” He shrugged. “Maybe she knew what she was doing when she chose Kerry as her heir.”

“When’s the last time you heard from your cousin?”

Once again Reggie’s eyes flicked to the side. “Last time I saw him was when I took a trip to London earlier this year.”

Okay, now he was definitely dancing around the truth. “Reggie, that’s not what I asked. When did you last hear from him?” Grey injected a compulsion into his question, determined to get a straight answer.

Reggie fought him briefly, but then slumped back like a deflated balloon. “Last night. He called wanting to know if I’d seen his daughter lately, you know, here in Seattle. I told him no. I haven’t seen nor heard from Adele.”

“Is there anything else you haven’t told me?”

Reggie wrapped his hands around his coffee mug, probably to hide their shaking. “I’m not part of this, Mr. Danby. Whatever it is you think Lawrence is involved in. I swear.”

Grey believed him. “If you hear from Lawrence or Adele, I expect a call. Should I learn that you’ve been less than forthcoming, I will be back. Trust me, Harcourt, you do not want that to happen.

“Thank you for the coffee.” He stood up and held his hand out to Harcourt, mostly to make sure the man saw the surges of energy burning under his skin. “I can see myself out.”

Just before he reached the end of the hallway, he glanced back at his host. Reggie was leaning forward, elbows on the table, supporting his head with his hands. Grey’s gut feeling said Reggie would throw his cousin overboard if it would keep the Talions off his back. He might even warn others before they threw in their lot with Lawrence.

Mission accomplished.

Time to pick up Piper.

“So should I try calling her again or not?” Harcourt asked himself, wishing he had a more satisfactory answer to offer than, “What else can I do?”

He could call Grey Danby. He even considered it for all of ten seconds before rejecting the idea. That would be tantamount to signing his daughter’s death warrant and quite possibly his own. Right now, he’d let them have Adele in a heartbeat if it meant saving his own skin. If that made him a bad father, well, he could live with it.

Literally.

All right, he would call her one more time. If she didn’t answer, he’d have no choice left but to sacrifice her for the greater good and save himself. As he reached for the phone, it started vibrating. Could the silly twit finally be showing some common sense and returning his call? A glance at the name and number displayed on the small screen quickly disavowed him of that notion.

His blood ran cold.

What did Greyhill Danby want with him now? It was a bit late for that fool to suddenly decide to clue Harcourt in on his activities since returning to Seattle. In fact, the Talion had made it clear that he had no intention of betraying Dame Kerry.

Before answering, Harcourt swallowed hard in a vain attempt to dislodge the bitter lump of fear clogging his throat. “Danby, what do you want? It’s the middle of the night in London.”

“You don’t sound as if I got you out of bed. Are you having trouble sleeping for some reason?” A nasty laugh echoed in his ear. “Besides, that’s not very friendly, Harcourt, but no offense taken.”

That was a lie. Cold fury dripped from every word the man spoke.

Harcourt tried to bluff. “I repeat,
what do you want?
I have more important things to do than talk to you.”

“No, actually, you don’t. As Chief Talion, I’m officially putting you on notice.”

There was a definite predatory growl underlying his words that had Harcourt’s knees shaking. It was so very tempting to simply hang up, but that would leave him wondering what kind of threat Grey posed to him and Adele.

“About what?”

“Someone is playing games with us, Harcourt. Dangerous games. If I manage to trace any of this back to you—and I suspect I will—the consequences will be terminal. I can’t wait to check your credit card records.
What little surprises will I find?”

Dear God, this was a bloody disaster. Had Grey stumbled across something that could possibly link Adele to some attack on the Dame? Or was the Talion casting his line in hopes of startling Harcourt into confessing something? How best to play this?

He aimed for righteous indignation. “Danby, you have no right to make such threats against me. The new Dame may think you’re worthy of serving her, but we both know the truth. You’re nothing but a guttersnipe playing dress up to mimic your betters.”

“The thing about guttersnipes, Harcourt, is that we know our way around shadows and back alleys. You’ll never see me coming.” Then the bastard laughed. “Take care, Harcourt, and give my regards to your daughter.”

•   •   •

Grey disconnected the call just as he saw Piper coming out of the building. Perfect timing. Later he’d have to think long and hard about Harcourt’s response to his call. Had that really been a faint note of panic he’d heard in Harcourt’s voice? Maybe. It definitely put the man at the top of Grey’s list. He’d tried the same surprise calls on two others before dialing Harcourt’s number and had definitely gotten them out of bed. Somehow, their anger had felt more genuine, although that didn’t let them off the hook, either.

But right now, he planned to concentrate all his attention on the woman who’d just spotted him and waved.

As Piper made her way down the steps, a couple of college punks watched her walk by. As she moved, he caught a glimpse of that tat on her thigh. God, how had he missed how short that skirt was when he’d dropped her off? If he was the jealous sort, he’d tell them to keep their effing lechery to themselves.

Considering he was now out of the car and heading straight for the little pricks, he guessed he was that sort. Lucky for them, Piper walked straight into his arms and allowed him to give her the kind of kiss that staked a very public claim. When he was sure the point had been made, he gave her a second kiss, meant for her alone.

She gave him a considering look. “Somehow I think there was more to that kiss than that you were glad to see me.”

He didn’t bother to deny it. “But I
am
glad to see you.”

She fell into step beside him and caught his hand in hers. “Good. Let’s go home. I want a hot bath, some greasy food, and some quiet while I study. How does that sound?”

“Fine, as long as I get to scrub your back.” He lifted her hand up to kiss it. “I also have work to do tonight, so I think we’re set. What kind of grease do you want for dinner? Pizza? Burgers?”

“How about fish and chips? I know a great little place closeby.”

“Perfect. It will remind me of home.”

Piper sat curled up on the couch studying for her history exam. Every few minutes, though, her eyes were drawn to the man sitting at the table across their hotel room. She’d soak up a few seconds of his compelling presence and then drag herself back to her book. Each time, a variety of expressions paraded across Grey’s face as he stared at his computer screen.

Right now he was looking decidedly grim, as if what he’d been reading had given him a bitch of a headache. She could help with that. After marking her place, she set the book aside.

As soon as she touched his shoulders, Grey reached up to pat her hand without taking his eyes off the laptop. She began to knead the tight muscles across his shoulders.

Grey sighed as he tipped his head forward, offering her easier access to the back of his neck. “That feels like heaven. Do you think you might have a touch of the healing gift?”

“I’ve never been tested, but anything’s possible.” She moved on to gently rub his temples. “You looked as if you might have a headache coming on.”

“More like a pain in the ass,” he grumbled as he typed.

She loved the play of his muscles under her fingers as the knots melted away. Massaging him this way reminded her of all the ways she liked to touch and be touched by him. Especially naked. Maybe this wasn’t a good idea, not if either one of them wanted to get any work done.

That didn’t mean it would be easy for her to let go and walk all the way back to the sofa without him. She
eased her hands down the front of his chest and rested her head next to his. “Feel better?”

“Actually, quite a bit.”

She could feel him smile. “Want to take a break?”

“I could use one. Just let me finish this search first.”

“Perfect, I’ll make a fresh pot of coffee.”

Before she could back away, Grey suddenly tensed up and craned his head forward toward the screen.

“Bloody fucking hell!” He slammed his hand down on the table hard enough to rattle the dishes left over from their dinner. “I cannot believe this!”

“Grey?” she asked.

He jabbed a finger toward the e-mail on the screen. “I talked to this wanker right before I picked you up at school. And did he bother telling me that he was here in Seattle? No. In fact, hell no!”

She held on to the back of Grey’s chair with a death grip. “Who is it?”

“Lawrence Harcourt, a first-class prick who is currently at the top of our list of suspects and is apparently already here in Seattle.”