Page 29 of Hunted

My skin prickles. ‘Why? What’s so special about—’ I swallow Lyra’s name before it escapes, because maybe Victor doesn’t know the full details. ‘About it?’

‘We don’t know,’ he says, and I believe him. ‘The request didn’t come with context. Just instructions. You take the job. You comply. We all enjoy the massive pay day. Or we all pay the price.’

My jaw tightens. ‘Do me a favour and define exactly what ‘pay the price’ means, please,’ I say, not without a heavy dose of snark.

His mouth flattens. ‘There’s talk of licences being revoked. Neutrality stripped. Protection withdrawn. Doors closing that don’t reopen for a very long time. If ever. And it’s been made clear that would be just the start.’

He snatches up his pen again, twirls it once, twice, then drops it.

‘Eira, look. Revenant might be the best, but it isn’t the only agency doing what we do. The last thing the higher-ups want is for men like Moretti to throw their weight behind our rivals.’

‘He’s not a man. He’s a vampire,’ I mutter.

A very hot, very intense vampire who was scenting me like his next meal less than twenty minutes ago. One who wants Lyra badly enough to threaten a decades-old institution employing thousands across the globe.

Victor sends me a droll look.

His point lands anyway.

This isn’t debt collection or pressure for a favour. This is a clear threat from a very powerful being who knows exactly which pulse points to press to achieve maximum oh shit.

‘And you’re just… fine with this?’ I ask, even as inevitability settles over me, cold and thin.

Hale may be the boss behind the desk, but he’s almost as powerless as I am.

No.

I’m not fucking powerless.

‘I’m not,’ he says quietly. ‘But I like keeping my people alive. Whoever this Hannigan girl is, she needs to be found. Yesterday.’

I straighten slowly, one thing answered as something cold settles in my chest.

‘If they have a connection, why hasn’t he looked for her in six years?’

Hale’s eyes flick back to me. ‘So you noticed.’

‘Yeah. So why now?’ I press. ‘Why summon me to find her now? Why the urgency and pressure?’

He shakes his head. ‘If I knew, I’d tell you. Or maybe not. Look, all I know is this came down hard and fast, and it came with names attached that don’t usually get spoken.’

‘Names like?’

Exasperation huffs out of his round chest. ‘What the fuck did I just say, Cross?’

‘You really expect me to solve this thing with both hands tied behind my back?’

I’ve done exactly that countless times, and it usually makes the chase more fun. Not this time. This has fuckery written all over it.

Victor stays tight-lipped. Stoic. And, fuck, a little terrified by what he’s already let slip.

Names that don’t get spoken. What the fuck does that mean?

Another thread slides into place. Maybe this isn’t about closure or collecting a debt.

Maybe it’s about timing.

I step back from the door, nod once, and leave without another word.