Blood Trinity (Belador #1)(69)

Bigger question … would it matter if Isak terminated Evalle?

Tzader lifted his chin in confirmation. “Brina knows about the Alterant Isak eliminated, but she stayed out of it because she isn’t responsible for anyone outside her tribe. Isak is dangerous in a lot of ways, Evalle, but mainly because he’s not on board with VIPER. We discussed it a few years back with a Tribunal and the consensus was that Isak wouldn’t play well with anything or anyone. Steer clear of him.”

That’d be a lot easier if she didn’t need answers from Isak, but she couldn’t tell Tzader and Quinn that without putting them in conflict with Brina and the tribe. Isak and his team had been familiar with the Birrn, maybe knew where it had originated or who had sent it.

The question was how much Isak had figured out about her if he was familiar with Alterants.

Evalle moved ahead and covered the VIPER meeting, which included the new members of the team, concluding, “Adrianna worries me, but Lucien should be able to keep an eye on her. I’m more concerned about Storm.”

Quinn studied the ice melting in his glass. “I’ll check into Storm and Adrianna. Wish I knew how Sen ended up in his position. He needs to be replaced.”

She should be so lucky. “Like that’s going to happen when none of us voted him on the island to begin with?”

“Sen’s not going anywhere.” Tzader made that statement in a dismissive tone. “Now, what the hell happened with the Tribunal? When we found Storm at the park tonight he said Sen had taken you to headquarters, but I figured it couldn’t be anything serious, since he didn’t contact me.”

Storm hadn’t told them about her going to the Tribunal?

She recalled the conversation right before Sen had teleported her. Sen hadn’t said anything about the Tribunal in front of Storm, so Storm really hadn’t known where she’d been going.

And Storm had let Tzader and Quinn know she’d been taken.

Why did that stir up a warm feeling in her middle?

Her conscience prattled at her to believe in Storm’s good intentions, but Evalle had once paid a heavy price for believing in another man who had convinced her he was trustworthy. Sen had brought the shaman in for one reason—her. She had to keep that in mind.

Tzader glanced at Quinn, then at Evalle. “Well? Is the problem with the Tribunal worse than last time, Eve?”

She gave him a grim smile. “A Tribunal was called because another Alterant changed yesterday and killed a human.”

“That’s getting old,” Tzader grumbled.

Tell her about it.

“Where?” Quinn put his drink down and crossed his arms.

“In Birmingham.” Sen had told her that little bit just to let her know the attack had been only two hours west of Atlanta, in Alabama. “You know the standard procedure. They pull in the likely suspects. Oh, wait. That’s right, there’s only one. Me. Then they threatened to lock me away. Nothing new there.”

“They can’t do that without bringing in Brina. You did ask for her, right?” Tzader’s smooth eyebrows dropped low over his intense gaze.

“Yes, I did. And, yes, she appeared. Eventually.” Evalle took a breath, considering her words so as to prevent putting these men at odds with Brina. “Brina convinced the Tribunal to give me time to prove I’m not a threat to humanity.”

Quinn shook his head. “You’ve been through this with them over and again. Why do they persist in dragging you in?”

“Because the Alterant that shifted this time was a female Alterant … and pregnant.” She let that sink in for a second. “Now the Tribunal feels there’s a precedent for not just a female shifting and killing, but the fear that other Alterants might seek me out to breed or that I might do that with something else, because, you know, you can’t trust an Alterant.”

If anyone knew that a doctor had raped her at fifteen, they’d realize the chances of her getting pregnant were close to zero if it meant allowing a man to do that again. But that was no one’s business except hers, and that of the doctor she’d sent running in terror when she’d shifted partway into a beast.

He wouldn’t have told anyone about what had happened with her even if he hadn’t lost control of his car and died in a fiery crash that day.

She looked from man to man. “That’s why your escape plan will only hang you with me, because VIPER will hunt me to the ends of the earth if I run. I have to beat this.”

“We’re going to help you.” Tzader spoke the words, but Quinn’s agreement was written all over his face.

“I think Isak may have some information on the Birrn.” She broached the topic just to see what Tzader would say.

“Don’t go near him. Farther you stay from him the better.”

Shouldn’t be much threat of running into him socially after standing the man up twice in twenty-four hours. But she needed to know what Isak had on that Birrn and hated to go hunting him without telling Z or Quinn, so she tried again.

“What if Isak has information on these demons? I could just talk to him—”

“No, you of all people shouldn’t talk to him.” Tzader’s jaw muscles worked for a second as he thought. “Remember that Alterant Isak was suspected of killing in Tehran? The beast ripped his best friend in half. Isak hates Alterants. The number one mission for his Nyght Raiders is to track down every Alterant they can find and destroy them.”