Page 60 of Bound by Vengeance
“Yes, but I have a situation I need yourhelp with.”
“Where are you?”
“The old stronghold.”
“I’ll be there soon.”
“Bring at least Ronan and Declan with you,preferably more.” He didn’t understand it, but he’d come to realizethat Declan had a way of reading people better than anyone elseNathan had ever met.
Her breath sucked in. “Really?”
“Yes, and use code five-one-three-eight, soyou don’t have to break in like you broke out.”
He hung up before she could reply and calledAsher next.
• • •
Kadence sat and stared at her phone for aminute as her brother’s words sank in. What had happened tonight tocause this change?
He’d made it clear he trusted her eventhough the hunters left the old stronghold after she became avampire. Still, he never would have wanted her to reveal thelocation to Ronan and the others.
Whatever happened, she wouldn’t know theanswer if she remained in bed. When she threw the covers aside, thebook she’d fallen asleep reading thumped onto the floor. She set iton her nightstand before hurrying to get ready. Five minutes later,she left the room and rushed down the hall in search of Ronan.
He’d been on a hunt with Killean earlier.She usually stayed awake until he came home, but tonight exhaustionhad won out. Sometimes, when he returned, Ronan liked to have adrink with the others before coming to bed, but there was still achance he wasn’t home yet.
She descended to the marble foyer and strodetoward the bar. She heard Ronan’s baritone before she arrived atthe open wooden doors and stepped inside. At one time, this roomwas the exact opposite of the men gathered within it, because ofthat, it was the first one she redid.
Gone were the delicate chairs with spindlylegs. Leather recliners, leather chairs, and a leather sectionalsat in their place. The once red curtains on the windows were nowwooden blinds currently lifted to reveal the bars outside theglass. The garish red window seats had been replaced with tanones.
The oriental rug was gone, and the oak woodfloors buffed to shine. She kept the oriental carpet because it wasbeautiful, but moved it into the library where she saw itoften.
The bar on the far side of the room remainedthe same, but she’d hung paintings depicting scenes of meadows andforests on the walls. The whole room now had the air of agentleman’s club instead of an old woman’s tea parlor, but she’dbarely call those gathered inside gentleman.
Ronan, Killean, Declan, and Lucien satfacing each other in the chairs, their drinks in hand or on theglass table in the center of the grouping. Lucien puffed on a cigarwhile Declan twirled a lollipop between his fingers. Ronan sat withhis back to her, and Killean stared broodingly out a window. OnlySaxon was missing, and she suspected it was because he’d found awoman for the night.
Sensing her presence, Ronan turned towardher. A smile lit his face as his burgundy eyes warmed to a brownhue. Then, his smile vanished and his eyes became more crimson.
“What’s wrong?” he asked as he rose.
“Nathan called me,” she said. “He wants usto meet him at the old stronghold.”
“For what?” Lucien demanded.
“He said he has a situation he needs helpwith.”
“It could be a trap,” Killean said.
Kadence glowered at him. “My brother wouldneverdo anything like that to me. It’s not a trap. Hespecifically asked for Ronan and Declan, so please, feel free tostay.”
Killean’s full lips compressed into a flatline. He’d been nicer to her since she became Ronan’s mate, butnice for Killean was the same as nice for a rattlesnake. He waspolite to her because Ronan would beat him to a bloody pulpotherwise, but he didn’t hide his intense dislike for hunters.
She turned her attention back to Ronan. “Wehave to go.”
“You up for a ride?” Ronan asked Declan.
Declan flicked the lollipop into the trashbefore replying, “I’m game for anything involving intrigue.”
Ronan looked at Lucien and Killean. Lucienwas already rising, but Killean turned to stare out the windowagain. Then, Killean placed his hands on the ends of the armchairand rose.
