Shadow Watcher (Darkness #6)(12)

“Yeah. That’s how I opened the door.”

“Who else has keys?” Tim asked.

“I have a spare set in the key bowl, and they are still there, and Ann has a set. There is no way a shifter would’ve made it up a set of stairs without me or one of Stefan’s kind noticing.”

“Why does Ann have a set?” Tim asked.

I hesitated and looked at Stefan. Ann used my car when Tim had ordered her to stay put and had people monitoring the comings and goings of vehicles. She would still sneak out if she could, and do whatever she felt like doing with my wheels. I didn’t really want to blow her cover. “Just in case I lose mine. She runs fast.”

Tim let the silence reign again, hopefully not dissecting the omitted truth, before asking, “Does she still have those keys?”

It was a good question. One I should’ve thought of. “Um… I don’t know.”

“Hold on.” Tim was gone for a few minutes, apparently not taking his phone with him. When he came back, he said simply, “They’re gone.”

A shiver ran up my spine. “What do you mean they’re gone? Did she lose them? Did she give them to someone?”

“I woke her up to ask. She said she hasn’t used your car since visiting you directly after the council—when everyone was healing. She put the keys in her basket, and now they were gone. She remembers a strange smell in her room yesterday but figured it was someone new that had wandered into the wrong room. I don’t blame her for not looking into it further.”

“That didn’t need to be said.” I stared at Stefan who calmly stared back. “How would anyone have known those were mine?”

“He had to have been in the area for a while,” Stefan answered with an even voice. It was a dangerous voice, one prone to extreme acts of violence. One that would rip Tim’s command out from under him if I were in trouble in any way.

It wasn’t a healthy component to their new working relationship.

Tim must’ve heard it because he said, “He’s doing his homework, Stefan. But he didn’t realize we had someone of Sasha’s level, that’s obvious. I might’ve followed you and watched, like he did, if I wanted to learn more about you. You might sense me, but you wouldn’t know exactly who I was. But Sasha’s magic has a greater reach—something I learned at the Council facility and at the battle. She is way above the others in your clan, Stefan. This guy obviously doesn’t know that. Or at least he didn’t. I bet he does now. Did he mess up, or is this what he was trying to achieve? And whom is he working for? My shifters wouldn’t care about advanced magic, or know anything about it, if it wasn’t for you guys and Sasha. If this was his plan, he is reporting to someone. Someone of your kind, Stefan, I’d bet.”

“His next movements will determine the kind of man we’re dealing with,” Stefan said. “And his motives.”

“He is a shifter so I will deal with this, Stefan.” A hard edge had crept into Tim’s voice.

Stefan had leaned forward over the phone, his substantial muscles flexing dangerously. He’d rolled his neck and willed control. “For now. But if my mate is threatened or followed one more time, I will find this man and kill him if she or one of her guards don’t do it first. I will not be waiting for you and yours to play dominance games, is that clear?”

Silence had descended for a time before Tim said, “Understood. I can’t fault you—I’d do the same thing. Otherwise, leave this to me. I’ll need to work your territory, though. I need access to the whole area.”

“Done. My people will turn a blind eye.” Stefan had straightened up a fraction before saying, “If you need backup, you got it. If he tries to kill you and take over, or succeeds, I’ll probably kill him. I’ve resigned myself to you—I will not roll over and play nice with a stranger who hasn’t fought beside me. Plan for that eventuality.”

Again there was a pause. “Noted.”

The line had gone dead. The fact that Tim hadn’t argued was the same as saying, “Thanks.” These guys were idiots with each other, but at least they spoke the same language.

“So you don’t think I was really the target?” I asked Stefan.

“No, love. I think Tim was right—this shifter was doing his homework. He’s able to get into and out of Tim’s compound undetected, which means stealth. It also means he’s scouted that place heavily. Instead of acting, or challenging Tim for the throne, he starts to scout my people. Takes notes. He’s not afraid to let us know he’s in the area, either, which I find strange. His tactics are strange. Unless he wanted to observe away from here and thinks he’s too elusive to be found… That’s a possibility if the shifter is dense.”

I shook my head. Too many possibilities. I was no good at this kind of stuff.

And it had been so quiet the last few weeks without Andris.

I shrugged off the memory of the night before as I trudged toward the bathroom.

“Do you want me to get up?” Stefan asked from a heap on the other side of the bed.

“Why? So you can be miserable with me?”

He grunted and rolled over. Once everything had been made official on the mate front, Stefan had turned into a huge softy where it concerned me. He’d bring me breakfast in bed, leave meetings half way through to walk me down the hall, and touched me constantly, regardless of who saw. Charles called it the honeymoon period. Whatever it was, I loved it.