Bruja Born (Brooklyn Brujas #2)(68)

“Don’t you need an arrest warrant?” McKay asks, snapping his fingers like he just figured out a riddle. “If we wake up Fred, I’m afraid for your life. Treaty or not.”

“I’m not afraid of a vamp.” Rhett looks at McKay with a challenge in his eyes as he pulls out a square piece of parchment from his back pocket. He glares at my dad as he hands it to me. The card stock has an aged quality and is velvety to the touch. There’s a scarlet wax stamp at the corner with a coat of arms, the same one he wears on his belt buckle.

The letters are finely written in stark black ink. My eyes go blurry, like a camera coming in and out of focus, but I can still recognize my name.

“Lula?” my mom says.

I hold the card in front of Rhett’s face and tear it in half. “Why wait until now? You’re the one who was stalking around our house and left a human heart on our back porch. You have no right to be here.”

“I have every right,” he says. “I gave you a chance to handle this yourself. Now it’s our turn.”

“You’re one of the hunters from the alley,” Nova says. “I recognize your ponytail.”

“Get out,” my father says. He hasn’t moved, hands still on his hips. But he annunciates every word, baring his teeth.

“I don’t think so,” Rhett says, losing his cool. “The Knights of Lavant assist the Thorne Hill Alliance. You, on the other hand, keep creating messes for us to clean up. So, you see, I have every right to be here. Nothing changes the fact that your daughter has broken several of the laws of the treaty.”

“Did you see her break the law, ponytail?” Nova asks.

Rhett turns his attention to Nova. His body posture changes from confident to predatory. He takes a single step in Nova’s direction, and Alex puts a hand up. An invisible force ripples, stopping him from moving any farther.

“You can call me Rhett,” he says, retreating a step. “Not ponytail. Look, I know I’m the bad guy to you. But I’m following protocol. There are rules in place for a reason.”

“Hypothetically.” I meet his dark eyes. “Did you see me raise the dead?”

“We don’t follow human law and order,” he says. “But if we did, you know I saw you and your sisters go into Mr. Horbachevsky’s room just before he died. When I went to inspect his body in the morgue, he was mysteriously gone.”

“So what?” I ask and hope I’m convincing enough that he doesn’t call my bluff. “You’re going to put me in a cell? Without our help, you’ll spend the rest of your life hacking away at casimuertos. Let us help. You were willing to before. What’s different now?”

Rhett lowers his lips to my ear. “What’s different is that I lost two hunters because of you. Because I gave you a chance. Because I felt sorry for you. Their deaths are your fault just as much as they are mine.”

“Back away from my sister,” Alex tells him.

Rhett shrugs. “You won’t hurt me.”

Alex’s eyes flash with pinpricks of lightning. “You want to test that theory?”

“Don’t threaten me, Alejandra Mortiz.” Rhett sets his briefcase down. He opens it and pulls out a black metal handle. I recognize it as the hilt of the sword, but the blade is missing. Strange. I can’t even sense the magic that cloaks the blade. “Very well. You’ll assist with the larger problem. But for now, I do need to dispose of the abominations in your possession.”

Maks. It wasn’t supposed to be like this. My stomach drops. I’ve known the end has been coming for us. But the thought of him being cut down by a stranger who thinks he’s a monster makes me want to hit something—someone. It can’t happen—not like that.

“And if we refuse?” Alex asks, reading the panic in my face. “Do you know what I am?”

“Yes.” Rhett settles a cocky stare on my sister. “What do you call it? An all-powerful encantrix. Nice job you did on that tree in your backyard. We had quite a time covering that up from the cops. How’s Rishima Persaud, by the way? I do hope she’s enjoying her cousin’s wedding in Fort Lauderdale. She looks lovely in that violet dress.”

Alex’s face is ashen with fear, which is swiftly replaced with fury. The pull of her magic feels erratic, and I force her to look at me so she won’t act on her anger.

“The Mortiz sisters,” Rhett says, setting his eyes on Rose. “I sure hope you’re the good one.”

Rose doesn’t react to him. She tilts her head to the side. Her hair rises with static the way it always does when she’s seeing beyond the Veil. Her eyes go completely black. Dad holds on to her shoulders. Then Rose speaks to Rhett in a strange whisper.

“Follow the path, son. Make me proud.” She clears her throat. “Do you want to hear from him, Rhett? You’re not the only one who can make threats.”

Rhett’s face blanks and his eyes widen. I allow myself a moment of pleasure at his discomfort. But as Rose recovers, so does he. He cracks his neck, and his full lips press together into a scowl.

“I’m not the enemy,” he says.

“Tell that to our ancestors your kind has slaughtered,” Dad says. “You might’ve signed the Alliance’s treaty, but that doesn’t erase centuries of bloodshed.”