Page 16 of A Shade Too Far
I didn’t bother looking up, sorting through to find blue pieces for the sky in one of the article photos. “No, you didn't.”
Ryann insisted she wasn’t out to get me, and I believed that on some level, but I wasn’t an idiot. I would never have made this deal with Zev and gone through that shit show on the island if I harbored even a seed of hope that anyone else could accomplish this.
Eli nudged me. “She did.”
I stacked some pieces into a pile. “Okay, I’ll bite. Who is this warding marvel?”
“She’s a total recluse.” Ryann shook her head. “I’m amazed I tracked her down.”
“Mazel tov. Have another cookie.” I pushed the tin closer to her.
“Mir,” Eli said. “You’re being a bitch.”
“No, you’re being an ass. I was very clear that Zev is doing this.” I wasn’t suicidal and refusing this gesture of help would be an insult the vampire wouldn’t overlook. Especially not a second time. Plus, he really was the only one with the abilities to create this kind of ward. I suspected it had to do with his demon bloodline.
Ryann put her hand on my arm. “I appreciate that you’re in a terrible position, but we can protect you from him.”
Not when he had free rein in my home. “I already have a protector, thanks. My quota is full.”
“Your boss? Another trustworthy one.” Eli hooked his ankle around my chair, pulling it slightly toward him to make me look up from the puzzle.
It jostled my arm and a piece fell on the floor. “So long as I’m of use to her, she’ll do whatever she can to keep me safe,” I said tightly.
Ryann retrieved it. “The Lonestars have more power than you give us credit for.”
I laughed without an ounce of humor. “Trust me, I don’t underestimate your reach. Besides, it’s not like you’re assigning Lonestars to guard me full-time.”
“I wouldn’t have to,” Ryann said. “One word from Elizabeta and you’d be safe.”
“This is the warder?” Off Ryann’s nod, I set down the puzzle piece.
Was Elizabeta a demon? Someone higher in the evil supernatural food chain than Zev? Would I take the devil I didn’t know over the one I did if that meant I could give Naveen the gloves?
I’d win some likeability points with him, which would make Laurent happy. I’d had two best friends in high school who’d despised each other and it wasn’t a pleasant experience for me. Eventually, I’d chosen between them. Not that Laurent and I were besties, but I didn’t want to cause him any pain.
Plus, it would be one less demon artifact in the world.
“Why is she so powerful?” I said.
The Lonestar pressed her lips together, looking off as if weighing a decision. She exhaled slowly. “This isn’t something many people know, but in the interests of you trusting me…” She steepled her fingers together. “Lonestars operate like packs. Each chapter has an alpha, or a head, and is autonomous from the others, but in case of…issues, there are continental alphas. Elizabeta once ruled all of North America.”
I shot out of my chair so fast that it fell over backward. “You want me to trust my safety to a Lonestar?” I gestured at the gold star tattoo on Ryann’s wrist that was the emblem of her authority, while speaking to Eli. “Just because she has some kind of cop badge and you babysat her, you’re going to ally yourself with her over your ex? The mother of your child? Ryann had no compunction putting me in danger to assess her partner’s guilt.”
Ryann shrugged. “Guilty as charged. Those were extenuating circumstances, though.”
“You did what you had to.” Eli patted her shoulder. “No officer wants to believe their partner is dirty.”
I moved over to the counter to put some space between us. “You’re unbelievable. And this Elizabeta? Got a handy justification for me to trust a stranger when at least one Lonestar was complicit in my parents’ murders?”
Ryann had figured out my interest in Fred McMurtry and when confronted about it, I hadn’t denied it, so there was no reason to hide the facts from her now.
“One bad cop doesn’t mean all of them are.” Eli spoke with the exaggerated patience he’d used on Sadie when she’d thrown tantrums as a toddler.
Delilah swelled to life behind me, her shadow elongating to the height of the top cabinet.
Eli darted a nervous glance at her.
“Since the original phrase is ‘one bad apple ruins the bunch,’” I snapped, “extrapolate.”
