Deathtrap (Crossbreed #3)(51)
If he could get close enough.
The Chitah rushed the Mage, and they rolled end over end across the snow. As Christian drove past them, I turned in my seat to steal a final glance of the violent ending.
A lawless society terrified and intrigued me. The appeal of a place like the Bricks was undeniable, even to the most honorable man. I’d lived in fear of the Mageri for many years. As an illegally made and undocumented immortal, our laws supported my execution. And yet criminals were given a safe haven in a place like this.
During the ride back to the club to pick up Christian’s car, we didn’t speak. The silence wasn’t awkward, and for the first time, it felt like we were two partners out on a ride.
By the time we made it back to Keystone, everyone had already eaten. I felt guilty that Viktor had to cook breakfast on my week, but I trudged upstairs and decided to worry about it later—after I took a hot shower.
With my hair still wet, I put on a workout hoodie, jeans, and thick socks. I used cotton swabs to clean out the dried blood from inside my nose, and once I finished that delightful task, I felt like myself again. My blue eye was a little puffy from rubbing it, but no one would ever know to look at me that I’d fought a Mage, dodged a sword attack, escaped an explosion, gone on a subway chase, traipsed around the Bricks, and slept on Christian’s lap.
When I knocked on the door to Wyatt’s office, no one answered. The lights were out, which was unusual.
“That’s a first,” I muttered, heading to the staircase. Why wasn’t anyone monitoring the black market website?
When I reached the first floor, I steered toward the dining room to see if maybe they were eating. Voices overlapped from the adjacent gathering room, and a log crackled and snapped within the hearth on the wall opposite the entryway.
“Hold your ponies!” Wyatt said, clearly flustered. “I have to put in the right amount. Don’t break my concentration.”
As I entered the room, I glanced up at the massive window on the left, admiring the way it sprayed colors onto the floor. The fireplace glowed, Niko sitting beside it with his back to the wall and one leg drawn up. I stepped behind Gem’s chair and faced the group. The long wall to my right dividing the gathering room and dining room had small archways in the middle that allowed those sitting in the booths to peer into the room. The couch was against it, Blue sitting next to Wyatt, who had a MoonPie in his mouth, laptop on his legs, and was wearing a grey T-shirt that said: NO BONES ABOUT IT and depicted a skull and crossbones.
I leaned against the back of Gem’s chair, Viktor sitting in the chair that faced the sofa. “What’s going on?”
Gem and Viktor were in the middle of a conversation, only I didn’t understand a word of it. Gem had an arcane knowledge of ancient languages, but that didn’t exclude everything in between, including Russian. When he swung his gaze up and said something, I shook my head.
“In English,” Gem said.
He cleared his throat. “The baby is on the auction block.”
“How do you know it’s the same one we’re looking for?”
“The child is a Sensor and of the same age. Babies don’t go up on the market every day.”
Gem peered up at me with wide, expressive eyes. “There’s a bidding war going on.”
My gaze darted around the room. Christian was on the far end with a glass of alcohol in his hand, Claude nowhere to be seen.
“Where’s Shepherd?”
Viktor stroked his beard. “Resting.”
“He can rest on my fist,” Christian muttered from a distance.
Viktor wagged his finger at him. “Remember what we talked about.”
“He knows something,” Christian bit out. “I’d stake my life on it.”
I stayed quiet, uncertain how much Christian had revealed about our night in the Bricks. Wyatt folded his arms, his eyes centered on the screen.
I sauntered over to the liquor cabinet in front of the stained glass windows where Christian was isolating himself. “What did you tell them about last night?” I whispered.
“Viktor knows,” he said, implying they’d had a private conversation.
I ran my hands through my damp hair and thought about Christian’s remark. Shepherd’s meltdown happened after Wyatt showed him the picture. If he knew something about our guy, then why wasn’t he helping?
“You should eat something,” Christian suggested.
“I’m fine.”
His dark eyes lingered on me for a moment.
“Blast!” Wyatt kicked the table in front of him.
“Another five,” Viktor said calmly. “Small increments. The bidder will try to raise it high in the end, so let’s not push it too early.”
Blue stroked one of her grey feather earrings, eyes glued to the screen.
I nodded at Christian’s empty glass. “Isn’t it a little early for alcohol?”
“It wasn’t too early for Shepherd.”
“Did something happen between you two?”
“I haven’t seen him yet, so the jury’s out. But mark my words, that man is keeping something from us.” Christian leaned against the table, hair slicked back from a recent shower. The sleeves of his charcoal shirt were pushed up, and it fit his body so snugly that I could see the outline of his abs and chest.