The Thief (Black Dagger Brotherhood #16)(127)

“Will you be coming back here with me?”

His chest—which was even larger now, it seemed—expanded as he inhaled. “I should be the one to rid you of your memories. I will do the most thorough job because I have been there for so many of your experiences.”

“Oh. Okay.”

“So would you like to leave with me the now?”

“I should speak to my grandmother first.” Assuming the old woman would grant her an audience without trying to hit her with a bedpan. “But yes. Thank you.”

“I shall arrange for transport. Excuse me.”

As he got to his feet, there were several cracks as if his spine were realigning itself, and then he walked slowly and stiffly toward the office she had gone through with Doc Jane.

Sola watched him go. And was surprised to find that, like him, she was very sad.

Trying not to dwell on that, she dragged herself off the floor and stretched until things resettled into a more functional order. And then she knocked politely on the closed door she had been sitting vigil next to.

“Vovó,” she said softly. “May I please come in?”



* * *



—

As Assail emerged from the office, he was grateful for Vishous being so accommodating. The Brother had just woken up, and yet he was willing to skip First Meal and come down immediately to get Marisol to the glass house for her things. Assail had also contacted Ehric and explained what had happened and why Marisol needed some privacy on the property. Thus his cousins were going to take Markcus out for the evening.

Assail didn’t want her to have to see all of those males. She’d been through enough.

Although now his cousins were heartbroken, too. It was funny how those two females turned that mansion into a home. Without them, it was just glass walls and a view that mostly couldn’t be seen because of the drapes he kept down all the time.

In the end, Assail had decided not to mention the meet-up with the arms dealer to his cousins or to Vishous—because he wasn’t sure exactly who he was communicating with. He didn’t want to waste Vishous’s time if this was an underling—or worse, members of the human-law enforcement agencies on a fishing expedition. And his cousins were frustrated and trigger-happy on a good night. Finding out that they were going to lose what felt like members of the family was not going to help that.

Further, the woman on the other end of the call had requested that he come alone.

So fine, he would go meet her after Marisol was taken care of. And he would return to the training center only when his female was ready to leave.

It wasn’t good for her to be stuck seeing him all the time.

And she wasn’t his female anymore, anyway.

Just as he was coming up to Mrs. Carvalho’s room, Marisol stepped out and rubbed her eyes. He wanted to ask her if everything was all right, but he didn’t think she would tell him—and besides, he knew that answer already.

He cleared his throat so she would realize he was there. “We’re just waiting for—”

“I’m here,” Vishous announced as the Brother came out of the office. “Let’s do this. The Mercedes is down here for a wash. We’ll take that car.”

Vishous nodded at the two of them and then strode by, heading for the exit.

Assail indicated the way forward for Marisol. “After you.”

“Thank you.”

As the three of them walked along, Assail guessed the formality between Marisol and him was better than anger or sorrow. Fates, when she had cried in front of him, and told him the story of her father, he had never felt so small in his life. To have taken her back to that terrible moment—because he had done something similar—was to put a curse upon her.

When their trio came to the heavy steel door at the end of the corridor, Vishous held things open, and then they proceeded across the parking area to a black S600 that sparkled in the fluorescent lights.

“You’re both in the back,” V informed them.

Assail opened one of the rear doors for Marisol, and then he went around and got in himself. The sedan was so long, it felt as though the Brother was in a different zip code, and the heat came on quickly, which was a benefit as no one was wearing a coat.

It was quite an ascent until they got up to ground level, and Marisol stared out of the tinted windows even though there was nothing to see.

“So no one knows where you are here?” she murmured. “No one can find you?”

“That’s the idea,” V said from in front.

“Humans leave you all alone, then.”

“Or we make them.”

Assail cursed and wanted to tell the Brother to ease up on the aggression. Then again, good luck with that. It would be like trying to get a German shepherd to greet hat-wearing strangers with a rollover-rub-my-belly.

“We’d just be hunted,” V tacked on. “So it’s a case of survival for the likes of us.”

“You don’t think you’d be accepted?” Marisol asked.

“How’s that immigration policy of yours working out?” When she didn’t reply, the Brother muttered, “Exactly.”

“Perhaps we should speak of something else,” Assail offered.

Like the weather. Sports.

Anyone read any good books lately? he thought to himself.