J.R. Ward the Black Dagger Brotherhood Novels 5-8 - J. R. Ward [692]
“It’s for you,” she had said in a tremulous voice. “It’s…Xhex.”
Five minutes later, he’d agreed to see Rehvenge’s second in command, and though nothing specific had been discussed, it didn’t take a genius to figure out why the female had called and what she was going to want. After all, Wrath wasn’t just king, he was gatekeeper to the Brotherhood.
Who all thought Wrath was nuts to see her, but that was the great thing about being the ruler of the race: You could do what you wanted.
Down below, the vestibule’s door opened and Fritz’s voice echoed up as he escorted the two guests into the mansion. The old butler was not alone as he came in with the females, having himself been escorted by Rhage and Butch when he took the Mercedes out for the pickup.
Voices and many feet came up the stairs.
George tensed, his haunches pulling up, his breathing changing subtly.
“It’s okay, my man,” Wrath murmured to him. “We’re cool.”
The dog eased immediately, which made Wrath look over at the animal even though he couldn’t see anything. Something about that unconditional trust was…very nice.
The knock on the door brought his head back around. “Enter.”
His first sense of Xhex and Ehlena was that they emitted grim purpose. His second was that Ehlena, who was on the right, was particularly nervous.
Going by the slight shifting of clothes, he imagined they were bowing to him, and the pair of “Your Highness” es that came his way confirmed the intuition.
“Take a seat,” he said. “And I want everyone else out of this room.”
None of his brothers dared to throw out a grumble, because the protocol button had been punched: If they were around outsiders, they treated him as their sovereign lord and king. Which meant no fucking around and no insubordination.
Maybe they needed visitors more often in the fucking house.
When the doors were shut, Wrath said, “Tell me why you’re here.”
In the pause that followed, he imagined the females were probably looking back and forth at each other to decide who went first.
“Let me guess,” he cut in. “Rehvenge is alive, and you want to get him out of the shithole.”
As Wrath, son of Wrath, spoke, Ehlena wasn’t at all surprised the king knew what they’d come for. Sitting on the other side of a delicate and lovely desk, he was exactly what she remembered from when he’d nearly plowed her down back at the clinic: both cruel and smart, a leader in his physical and mental prime.
This was a male who knew how the real world worked. And was used to having the kind of muscle you needed to get hard things done.
“Yes, my lord,” she said. “That’s what we want.”
His black wraparounds shifted over to her. “So you’re the nurse from Havers’s clinic. Who turned out to be Montrag’s kin.”
“I am, yes.”
“Mind if I ask how you got involved in this sitch?”
“It’s personal.”
“Ah.” The king nodded. “Got it.”
Xhex spoke up, her voice grave and respectful. “He did a good thing for you. Rehvenge did a very good thing for you.”
“You don’t have to remind me. It’s the reason you two are sitting here in my home.”
Ehlena glanced over at Xhex, trying to read in the female’s face what they were referring to. She got nothing. Not a surprise.
“Here’s my question,” Wrath said. “We bring him back, how are we going to get around the e-mail that came in to us? He said it was nothing, but clearly he lied. Someone from up north threatened to ID your boy, and if he gets loose…that trigger’s going to be pulled.”
Xhex spoke up. “I will personally guarantee that the individual who made that threat will not be able to use a laptop after I’m through with her.”
“Niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice.”
As the king smiled and drawled out the word, he leaned to the side and seemed to be stroking…With a start, Ehlena realized there was a golden retriever seated