Page 88 of Bent Out of Shade
“This is all provided nothing goes wrong.” The vampire tapped his finger against his lips.
“Then make sure it all goes right.” I picked my purse up off the floor. “Look, the bottom line is if we don’t walk out of here with a deal, or fail to walk out of here at all, a number of people have letters they’re to deliver to Vincenzo and the Lonestars stating that we kept Sabrina isolated on your orders because one of your vamps was very naughty and you were trying to hide it.”
“Do they now?” he purred.
Suddenly the devil I knew seemed like the wrong choice, but I held out my phone, my hand steady. “Who do you want to ask first?”
I kept the cell extended with a bored look on my face, waiting for Zev to call my bluff. Except it wasn’t a bluff. This was the insurance policy we’d put into place. My chance to be free and clear of the threat he posed to me once and for all.
Would it be enough?
“Well?” I prompted. “Will you swear the blood oath and take this deal?”
“Tanechka, leave the room for a moment,” Zev said. “Ms. Feldman and I have something to discuss.”
I lowered the phone. “It’s okay.”
Tatiana gave me an uncertain smile but did as we asked.
Zev slid into her vacated seat. “You are correct that I’m in checkmate as far as Sabrina is concerned, but you and I have unfinished business.”
I couldn’t come up with a response that tiptoed around the subject, so I went for it. “That wasn’t your finest moment, but Kian’s your sire, and I kind of assumed all estries have more power. Seems to me your only error was forgetting that.” I shrugged. “Either way, I promise not to bandy it about. Besides, it’s nowhere near as revealing of your vulnerabilities as the story you told me about your wife, and I really should have shut up ten seconds ago.”
He made a sound of agreement. “Regarding Sadie,” he began.
Shadows whipped around me like a tornado in the blink of an eye. “Don’t touch her. Swear to it in blood.”
“In exchange for your vow not to interfere with the bargain your daughter made with me and keep my secrets?” He gave a one-shouldered shrug. “If you want me to swear an oath, the reverse seems entirely fair.”
I teetered precariously on a razor’s edge. Realistically, short of the witness protection program, there was no way to prevent Sadie from fulfilling her end of their bargain. She’d gotten herself into this situation, and much as I wanted to take this burden from her, I couldn’t.
My daughter had loved swings from a very young age. I’d stand behind her, telling her over and over to hold on to the swing chains, until one day, I gave up. The swing went up and Sadie went down hard, badly skinning her knee, arm, and right cheek. She’d screamed bloody murder, tears and blood pouring down her face. The guilt that I’d let her get hurt had strangled me like barbed wire, but I’d made sure she wasn’t swinging too high when it happened. She didn’t break any bones and she always held on tight after that, able to soar.
We can’t always protect people, hell, we can’t always protect ourselves, no matter how hard we try. Maybe our greatest asset isn’t our strength but our perseverance. None of my magic or life experiences would free Sadie from the consequences of her actions. I couldn’t stop this bargain, but I could mitigate the circumstances to make it as safe as possible. Physically and emotionally. Sadie would learn from this and survive to make better choices.
“I gave you my word not to break any confidences or to interfere in your deal with Sadie,” I said. “And I’ve proven that I can be trusted. You don’t require magic to force me to keep my promises.”
The vampire crossed his legs and let out a loud breath. “Which of your friends or loved ones have I harmed since I first agreed not to? Tatiana’s compulsion aside.”
He’d threatened to attack them to get me to do his bidding, but… “You haven’t,” I admitted.
“Yet you insult my character and demand blood oaths.”
I traced the mitered grooves in the armrest, unable to meet his eyes. He could have forced a blood oath on me when he told me the tragic story of the Torquemada Gloves, but he hadn’t. And all this time, his word had remained his bond.
“You’re right, and I apologize for that,” I said. “Though your constant manipulations are insulting to me.”
“A thought you would never have dared voice previously.”
“Are you taking credit for my growth? Is that why you didn’t murder me after I saw what Kian did? Some kind of mentorly goodwill?”
Zev grimaced. “Ascribe such sentimental rubbish to me and I will dismantle you. You have worth. I’ve seen it, Tatiana’s seen it, and most interesting of all, you are finally seeing it.”
That sounded suspiciously like a compliment. From the ancient vampire.
I turned it around for the dig that had to be buried in it somewhere, but try as I might, I couldn’t find it. There’d been a shift at our last meeting when I had my scythe at his throat. It was less about strength than stature, but I still couldn’t wrap my head around the fact that Zev found that praiseworthy, instead of deeming me an irritant or a foe to be snuffed out.
“Thank you.” I crossed my legs, swinging a foot nonchalantly. “So, you agree we either ally ourselves or we go down in flames together?”
