Married (19 page)

And her father had made sure she wielded a mean right hook.

“I take it you don’t welcome the presence of your Father?”

“You could say that.” Graves prowled closer, circling around her in wide sweeps. She held still, all her senses on high alert. Graves stopped behind her. “I have no use for Muso, and he has little use for me.”

“He allowed you to stay in power of the secondary branch.”

“And stripped us of all authority.”

Georgie stifled a shudder as his breath swept over her nape. “And yet, you’ve managed to gain your own power.”

“I’m too strong for him to stop.” Graves’ hand landed on Georgie’s back, a heavy presence between her shoulders.

Georgie smoothly stepped away and turned to face her host. “He’s the Father. He’ll always be stronger than you, Graves. He wields the combined power of every Ngozi in the world. He contains the power of the bloodline.”

“No, I will claim the power, pet, and you would do well to hitch your train to mine, so to speak.”

“Would I?” Georgie tried to see past the gloom, but the firelight didn’t quite reach his eyes, leaving her unable to read them or interpret his expression.

“I’m on the rise. I will only gain more power.”

“And you think to gain power over me?”

“I
will
gain power over you, pet.” His head tilted down as his eyes traveled over the length of her body. “Why else would I have you here? You might as well take off your clothes now. Give in to the inevitable.”

Georgie forced herself to laugh. “Is that your idea of seduction?”

“I don’t fucking care if you find it seductive or not.” He reached for her.

Georgie grabbed his rising hand before he made contact, closing her fingers over a pressure point. His breath came on a hiss. She didn’t need to see his face to know the effect her subtle hold on him had.

“I don’t know what your game is yet, but you should think twice about whatever plan you’ve concocted, Graves. I’ve been trained in several styles of fighting. Hand-to-hand combat is a specialty of mine.”

“You are a weak female. You won’t stand against my strength.”

She tightened her fingers on him, relishing the strain she could hear in his voice. She kept her tone ruthlessly even when she spoke, denying the spurt of doubt icing her mind at a sudden remembrance of her failures in Poland. The Lovaszes, a Family she wanted to be on good terms with, had managed to get the best of her. Graves would not.

“Am I weak?” she snarled. “I’ve spent my life being targeted for being Bane, Graves. There is nothing you can do to me that hasn’t been tried before. I’m still here, still standing strong.”

“I am unlike any man you’ve ever met before.” He wrenched his arm back, cupping his hand awkwardly as he slid to the side and stalked another circle around her.

“You certainly are,” Georgie agreed. “But I am unlike any woman you’ve ever met. I’m stronger, faster, smarter. I fear no one and nothing. I will never fear you, I will never surrender to you. You will never win against me.”

“A challenge?”

“A warning.”

“You think, little bitch?” Graves’ body heat bombarded her spine as he came to a stop behind her. Her blood ran cold but Georgie held still, refusing to show him any sort of reaction.

“So long as I am required to be present in your hotel, I would prefer to keep the hostility to a minimum.” Georgie spun to face him. “But if you force my hand, I will happily declare open war. You will die.”

Even in the dark, as Graves stood so close, Georgie could see his face tighten. More than that, she could feel his anger beating against her, rising to her bait. Before he could gather himself to answer, there was a noise at the door and it swung open.

Georgie glanced over her shoulder. The firelight fell over the familiar features of an older man. She’d barely held a conversation with him, but Georgie discovered a sudden fondness for Warner Gage-Levy as he stepped into the room and gave her an escape route. She took quick advantage.

“Good morning, Warner. I assume you need to discuss marriage matters with Graves?” She moved with confidence toward the door as Warner instinctively moved out of her way. “I’ll let you two get on with it.”

Coming closer to Constance’s father, Georgie was able to make out a quick flash in his blue eyes. Contempt, anger, something else that she couldn’t identify. Maybe jealousy. She didn’t know if it was directed at her, but the man’s eyes were locked on Graves, behind her. He quickly blinked away all traces of emotion.

“We will finish this conversation later, Georgeanne,” Graves called.

Gripping the doorknob, Georgie threw a mocking smile at her host. “Will we? But the topic was so utterly boring that I’m not certain I’ll be able to pick it up again. You must forgive me but, being matriarchal, I have a certain amount of intolerance in discussing the false superiority of men.”

She slipped out into the hall, carefully pulling the door nearly closed, but not quite. She locked her knees against their trembling and leaned toward the crack she’d left, ears straining. Movement caught in her peripheral vision and she glanced up quickly, relaxing immediately when she only saw her cousin emerging from the room across the hall.

Georgie lifted a finger to her lips in silent command. Adam had just reached her side when Warner’s voice whispered out of the room.

“Have you lost all your senses?”

Graves sounded supremely unconcerned. “I know what I’m doing. I’m very good at distracting.”

“I’m not talking about the Davenolds! I mean the way you provoked Muso Ngozi at your Family meeting.”

“He’s not going to come into my home and order me around, Warner.”

The man’s voice became strained. “Yes he is, and you will suffer through it, just as we talked about. You have to follow the plan exactly. I don’t know what Daniel will do if your behavior gets any worse.”

“We have an understanding, Warner. It’s fine. You’re too tense, love. Let me help.”

“Don’t! Don’t try to cozen me, Graves.”

“Shh, love, just let me help you release all this stress you’re carrying around.”

Warner’s protests faded into moans and Georgie stepped back from the door. She looked up to find Adam studying her closely. She shook her head and waved him down the hall, not surprised when he waited for her to move before falling in next to her.

He leaned down to whisper into her ear. “What the hell happened?”

“Graves trapped me in the room with him. Then Warner came.”

“What?” Adam stopped, pulling Georgie to a halt as well.

“He told me he intended to claim his Family’s power. Muso Ngozi arrived this morning.”

“I know.” Adam ran a hand through his hair. “Fuck. What did Graves do to you?”

“He tried to touch me, but I proved to him that it was a bad idea.” She snorted at the expression that crossed her cousin’s face. “Relax, I can take care of myself.”

He blew out a breath, but nodded. “Warner said Graves has to follow a plan, which apparently doesn’t involve poking at Muso.”

“We need to figure out what they’re talking about. Grandmother doesn’t feel well and I promised that I’d investigate whatever’s going on around here. Have you seen Silviu? I’m going to need his help.”

“Madeleine’s ill?”

Georgie rubbed her forehead. “I don’t know. She doesn’t look very good this morning and she accepted room service. I think she may just have too much on her plate.”

“When has she ever had too much on her plate?” Adam’s eyes flashed with concern. “She can handle a lot more than most. Maybe we should take her home, make our excuses.”

“Daniel requested the Sovereign Bestowal,” Georgie reminded him. “We can’t leave until Graves has married Constance.”

Georgie looked up into her cousin’s face as he swore, much more violently than she would have expected. Looking closer, she saw the lines of tension around his mouth, the disarray of his hair and the wrinkles in his shirt. His eyes were bleak.

“What’s wrong, Adam?”

He hesitated before his words came rushing out, low and harsh. “I just fucked Tulah Ngozi.”

Georgie heard a lot of emotions fighting for the privilege of strangling his voice. Purposefully, she made her own cold, hoping to impart a sense of calm to her cousin. “So what?”

“So it…” He swore again. His hand rose to his hair, his movement jerky, an unusual showing of agitation. “Never mind.”

Georgie grabbed his arm before he could walk away. She’d never seen him filled with such turmoil, confusion and irritation. Adam was a chameleon, blending into any environment with poise, grace and laughter. He was a social butterfly, able to soothe and cajole any witch he met. His emotions were never unsteady. Mentally, Georgie swore just as viciously as her cousin.

“What is it, Adam?”

“I don’t know.” He turned pained eyes down to hers. “A connection I don’t want. She’s so fucking vulnerable here that I can’t think straight. Everything in me wants to pick her up and walk away forever. Just get her out of here and keep her safe.”

Georgie took a deep breath and fought for tact. “Is she vulnerable, or is she part of Graves’ plan, whatever that may be?”

Adam shrugged helplessly. “I don’t know. It doesn’t feel like she has an ulterior motive, but…I don’t know. I can’t get past what I want her to be to find out what she really is. There was something in her eyes, though…”

Adam was insightful, so his confusion worried her. Georgie ran through her options. She could order Adam to deepen his relationship with the woman—reconnaissance of a sexual nature—but if he was already troubled by his emotions over her, Georgie had doubts of his success. She could take measures to befriend Tulah herself, but there were other things that required her attention. Christiana would probably love the chance to interrogate the Ngozi female, yet that might stir up more trouble than Georgie wanted to deal with.

Trying to appear democratic, she sought Adam’s opinion. “What do you want to do?”

His jaw firmed, and she instantly knew she’d done the right thing. “I want to find out the truth.”

“Then I’ll leave you to do that in whatever way you think is best.” Georgie grimaced. “Now help me track down the others so I can start doling out roles in our little Ngozi drama.”

Chapter Sixteen

Silviu

“Father Ngozi, I didn’t realize you’d already arrived.”

The older man looked up from the small table he sat at, the weariness coating his face falling away as a polite mask slid into place. The other ten tables in the small dining room were empty of both people and decoration, leaving Silviu to assume he’d missed the memo on the changing of the lunch schedule.

Muso smiled as he rose to his feet, arm extended. “Silviu Lovasz, I didn’t expect you here.”

Silviu shrugged, clasping the offered hand. “I wasn’t invited, but my sister and betrothed both were, so here I am to watch over them.”

“I heard your sister is to marry Eliasz Levy.”

“Yes, but until they’re married, I prefer to be close.”

Muso murmured in understanding. He waved a hand toward the sideboard, which boasted only a shiny, metal canister and a stack of paper cups. “Would you care to join me? There’s not much on offer, but I’d like to hear how your Family is doing.”

“I’ll take what I can get around here.” Silviu moved to pour himself a cup of weak tea, searching in vain for sugar. After a moment, he gave up and returned to sit opposite the Ngozi Father.

“I heard your grandfather stepped down.”

“Yes.” Silviu sipped his tea and winced. “God, this is awful.”

“I know. If this is how Graves treats invited guests, how do the tourists fare?”

“The hotel does not get rave reviews, I can tell you that much.”

Muso snorted into his cup. “It doesn’t surprise me.”

Silviu evaluated his options then leaped at the provided opportunity. He called his magic up in a subtle rush of silver, carefully threading its influence into his voice. It wasn’t as difficult as it had been with Madeleine—the Ngozis weren’t anywhere near as powerful in their magic. “I heard there was a disconnect between you and Graves in the past. Why don’t you tell me about it?”

Muso’s lips twisted. “Years ago, Graves set out to prove he could hurt me. He wants power, always wants more, never satisfied with his place in the grand scheme of things.”

“I’ve noticed that, but he does well with Daniel.”

“Until the wedding, I’m sure. Then we’ll see. He’ll probably decide to try for Levy Fatherhood.”

“What happened between you?” Silviu leaned back in his chair, putting on a show of complete ease. As if the answer wouldn’t be important to him.

“Graves found out that he couldn’t gain my power, no matter how hard he tried. But my nephew, Joseph, couldn’t control Graves. He was the secondary branch leader, but when Graves pushed, he left. Walked away from everything.”

Silviu’s brows rose. “He just left his position?”

Muso nodded. “Even left his daughter and his wife. He abandoned the ship.”

Silviu added a touch more magic to his compulsion. “Why don’t you start at the beginning?”

Silver light swirled around the other man, sinking past his clothes unnoticed. Muso didn’t even try to fight it. “My parents were Matches, they had three sons.”

Silviu blinked, having knowledge of only two Ngozi brothers. “Don’t you have a sister, too?”

“She’s just a woman. She isn’t important.”

“Ah.” Silviu gritted his teeth at the typical arrogance of other patriarchal men. “Forgive my interruption and continue, please.”

“My grandfather blooded me as the heir on my sixteenth birthday. My brother became jealous, so he was sent here, to our cousin, an elderly man with no child of his own.”

“He would take over the secondary branch?”

Muso looked up with eyes darkened by remembered pain. “No, he died before that could happen and his son filled the position. Joseph was taught well, but by the time he was old enough to be named heir of the secondary branch, my youngest brother, Graves, had also immigrated to England.”

Silviu nearly choked on his tea. “Graves is your brother?”