Moonlight's Ambassador (Aileen Travers Book 3)(52)

Peter flinched at Thomas’s name, his face going ghost-pale and his shoulders rounding.

So, it wasn't only Liam and his men who'd been involved in this. Thomas too. For someone who wasn't supposed to be in my life unless I invited him, he was sure finding lots of ways to interfere.

"You know she won't forgive you for helping them catch her," I said, ignoring that for the moment. "You help them and any chance of a friendship between you two is over."

Not that there was much chance either way. At this point, I’d say anything that might keep him from handing her over to them.

"That's enough." Liam's voice cracked through the air. "You've put me in a difficult position. The wolves know about your little adventure and are calling to have you turned over to them. Their accommodations would be much less nice than the ones we've provided."

"Not to mention, I'm seriously pissed you sic’d a pack of harpies on me," Nathan said with a scowl. "They stole my wallet, phone, and even my lucky penny."

"I've been lenient with you because of your unique set of circumstances. That ends now." Liam gestured, and Nathan sighed before ambling over to me. "See her to the car and don't let her out of your sight again."

I started to protest but was cut short by Nathan as he guided me to the door. "Come on, Aileen. Don't make it worse than it already is."

"It's not my job to make yours easy," I snapped, feeling like a two-year-old put in time-out.

"Yeah, yeah. Tell it to someone who cares," Nathan said, his tone bored and disinterested. One hand settled on my arm, the grip confining but not bruising, as he led me out of the room.





CHAPTER TWELVE

I TRIED TO shrug out of his hold, but Nathan jerked my arm, his grip tightening. "That's enough. We're going to sit in the car until Liam concludes his business. I'll drag you out of here if I have to." Nathan's tone left no room for argument, the fun-loving, laid-back guy of before, gone.

He escorted me the rest of the way in silence, his anger a live thing around us. Guess he really wasn't happy about the manner in which I'd ditched him.

He put me in the car and climbed in after me, forcing me to scoot to the other side or be sat on. Nathan pressed a button in the key fob he held and all the locks in the car clicked on.

"That's a little much, don't you think?" I said, fixing him with a narrow-eyed stare.

He shrugged his massive shoulders. "Is it? Given your tendency to run, I think it's best to be cautious."

"You're mad at me," I stated.

He fixed me with a flat stare. "That would imply I care about you one way or another."

Yup, definitely mad.

I sighed, trying to decide if I wanted to attempt to fix this or not. While Nathan's loyalty lay with Liam, he had proven a valuable ally in the past and keeping on good terms could help me in the long run.

We sat in silence for several minutes, each consumed by our own thoughts.

"For what it's worth, I'm sorry I set the harpies on you." And I was. Sort of. Not because I wouldn't have done it again, but because it had been necessary.

The leather seat creaked as Nathan shifted, facing me more fully. "Do you have any idea the hot water you've put us both in? Liam's not happy. Don't let his little routine in there fool you. There will be repercussions—not just for you but for me too. I haven't failed a mission. Ever."

"Is that what you're upset about? The fact that I showed you up in front of your boss?" I could sympathize with that as I hated when the same happened to me. No one wanted to look like a fool in front of someone they respected.

"Never mind. You'll understand soon." Nathan sat back and faced forward. His hard expression made it clear he was done talking.

The quiet between us was not an easy one. It was uncomfortable and full of the weight of unsaid things. It was the sort of quiet that came when there was a regard for one another—the sort I usually only had to worry about with the people I cared for. Not the sort of thing I associated with Nathan. We weren't friends, nor were we likely to become friends given he drank gladly from the vampire Kool-Aid, while I tried to get as far from it as possible.

The driver and front passenger doors opened, saving me from any further awkwardness.

"Get what you needed?" Nathan asked.

I pressed my lips tight together to keep from asking if Peter had given Liam a way to track Caroline, knowing they were unlikely to share, and not sure I wanted the answer.

"We got a piece. Evidently, it’ll take time to create the rest." Liam didn’t sound happy about that.

Eric started the car and pulled away from the office building, one that blended in with the rest of this side of town. Nothing marked it as anything unusual. Nothing that shouted ‘sorcerer's stronghold here’. As with so much of the spook world, it was as nondescript and ordinary as everything else in the area. It was no wonder humans never suspected the presence of the supernatural. How could they when we blended almost seamlessly into the everyday world?

"You're quiet, Aileen," Liam said. "I expected a lot of questions about what we got from the sorcerer."

Precisely why I hadn't bombarded him with those questions, since I knew he'd withhold the answers just to aggravate me.