Page 83 of Protector Unmatched

“Don’t worry. You’ll barely notice that I’m there.”

“Ha!” As if.

Daphne had already pulled out her cell phone then moved to a quieter corner of the foyer. Pearce heard her talking in hushed tones.

“She’s very resourceful,” Gabriel said.

“So, that’s her, huh?” Patrick asked. When Pearce raised an eyebrow, Patrick said, “Grayson filled me in.”

“Well, you’d better keep it to yourself, or you’ll have to deal with me.”

The hybrid lifted his hands. “I can keep a secret.”

“Hey, meeting is about to start,” Enya called from the open door to what seemed to be the living room.

Daphne was already coming toward them, putting her phone back in her pocket. “He’ll do it. We’ll have to meet him in the morning at the VIP entrance. He’ll get us the right passes then.”

“Great, thanks,” Pearce said, and smiled at her, even though he still didn’t like that she was coming with them.

As everybody made their way toward the living room, Logan waved to him. “A quick word, Pearce.” When Daphne stayed with Pearce, Logan added, “Alone.”

Pearce turned to Daphne. “I’ll be right in.”

Once Daphne was out of earshot, Pearce joined Logan in the small alcove under the stairs. “What?”

“Winter had another vision,” Logan said.

Excitement flooded Pearce.

“It’s the same as four days ago. Exactly the same. Nothing has changed. Nothing at all. All the things you think you did had no effect whatsoever on the outcome of the vision. You’ll still die, and the killer is still Daphne.”

Pearce ran a hand through his hair, trying to think. Why had Winter’s vision not changed? How could that be? “But…”

“You have to face the facts. Winter’s visions are never wrong. Whatever you do, it’ll always end the same way. With you being killed by Daphne.”

~ ~ ~

Daphne hadn’t wanted to eavesdrop. But the moment she’d entered the spacious living room where over a dozen people congregated, many of whom she didn’t know, her bladder reared its head. It always happened when she was nervous. So she’d snuck out again, without being noticed, and walked to her left, seeing a door there, but it turned out that it was a coat closet, so she’d turned around and heard Logan’s warning coming from somewhere underneath the stairs.

She couldn’t see Pearce or Logan, which also meant they couldn’t see her. For a moment she stood there, frozen, then realized that if Pearce or Logan found her here, eavesdropping, they would—given Winter’s vision—assume the worst. Her heart beating into her throat, she managed to return to the living room and found a place to sit in the rear of the room, next to a woman she didn’t know. She could only assume that she was one of the vampires Gabriel had mentioned.

When Pearce and Logan entered the room a few moments later, she was glad that there was no seat available close to her. Logan took a seat next to Enya, and Pearce walked to the front of the room, which was a wall of floor-to-ceiling windows, affording a beautiful view of manicured lawns and more mansions out to the ocean. But Daphne couldn’t enjoy the view. Nor could she concentrate on Pearce’s explanations. He was talking about teams and rules and precautions. About how to best find the dagger, about the man in whose possession it currently was, and how he would be dressed at the cosplay event. Somebody distributed pictures of James Harcott, while Pearce spoke about costumes and weapons, about the importance and urgency of this mission.

But Daphne heard only parts of it. Logan’s words kept repeating in her head as if on an endless loop.

It’ll always end the same way. With you being killed by Daphne.

Why hadn’t Pearce told her? And Winter was the one who’d foretold this? Was that why she’d been so hostile at the compound? Because she knew that Daphne would kill one of them? But how? She had no reason to kill Pearce. And even more importantly, no desire to do such a terrible thing. In the short time she’d known Pearce, she’d come to care for him. Deeply. And to hurt him, kill him, was the farthest thought from her mind. He’d saved her and her brother. Even if she didn’t care about him, she would never be so ungrateful as to hurt her rescuer.

No, she couldn’t allow Pearce to believe that she was a danger to him. She had to tell him what she felt, explain to him that the vision had to be false, even if that meant she had to admit that she eavesdropped.

The discussions dragged on, teams were formed, communications equipment distributed and synched, while Patrick took down notes on clothing and shoe sizes for the costumes that were supposed to be delivered to the house sometime during the night.

“For the four vampires who will need protection from the sun,” Patrick announced, “I’ve got some guys reworking Star Wars costumes to protect you from the sun. I’m afraid you’ll all have to dress up as either a Stormtrooper or a Darth Vader. Sorry.”

A few people in the room chuckled.

“But how are we gonna be able to recognize each other, if we’re in the crowd? I doubt we’ll be the only ones in those costumes,” the woman next to Daphne asked. “I mean, if our entire body is covered, nobody will see our auras.”

“I thought of that too,” Patrick said, and raised his hand. “The Stormtrooper and Darth Vader costumes will have a little pink ribbon on the chest plate.”

“A pink ribbon? Are you kidding me?” A tall bald man with a mean look shot up from the couch.

“Zane, pipe down!” the woman next to Daphne said. “A little pink isn’t gonna kill you.”

“Thanks, Yvette,” Patrick said, then told Zane, “The idea is to make it look natural. The pink ribbon is a symbol for breast cancer awareness. Nobody is gonna question it. But we all will know what it means.” Patrick looked on the piece of paper in his hand. “Okay, then. That’s all from me. I’ll set up two rooms with the costumes as soon as they get here. One for the men, one for the women. I need you all down here at four a.m. sharp to get ready.”

“Thanks, Patrick,” Pearce said, walking up to him. “Everybody knows what they need to do. The housekeeper tells me there’s food in the kitchen for the hybrids and the guardians. The rest of you, I’m sure you’ve already fed before you flew down here. Let’s get some shuteye.”