he broke Laws punishable by execution. He knows, even if I get Carter back and he leaves with Raphael, I’m going to hunt him down, even if it means driving the four and a half hours to Las Vegas and doing it on his turf.”
“It would never end for him, and everything he’d built would crumble around him while you carved a path to the heart of his empire,” Cassius said softly, but I didn’t miss the small note of pride. I always knew I was his favorite Executioner, but it wasn’t always obvious.
“Exactly. Cassius, this is a trap. He’s going to try to kill all of us. The only reason I’m not worried about Paden is Tom and Jeremy, the damn fae and witch, went after him without Sinclair.” How I suddenly remembered their names I didn’t know, but they were so stupid for a moment, I wanted to laugh. “What do you want to bet that he kills the fae after he kills us, then walks away with Raphael and takes him back to Mygi for the rest of his twenty-million-dollar prize?”
“It’s very likely, probably the safest bet we can make,” Cassius whispered. “Why didn’t we consider this earlier?”
“Because we had a different important conversation,” I reminded him. “There’s no getting Carter back without bloodshed. People are going to get hurt. The only thing we can do is make sure people don’t die.”
“We outnumber him,” Raphael pointed out. “Three to two. Four, if you include Carter. He’s a vampire, so he should count. I’ve never met him, but…”
“Two to two,” I corrected. “You won’t be going, and Carter will be leaving the moment we give him an opening. I’m not risking either of you. Stop trying to put yourself out there.”
“Excuse me, but—”
“Enough with the Catholic guilt,” I snapped. “I’m tired of it. Two capable, powerful people are going to do their jobs for you. Let us.”
We glared at each other until Cassius coughed. Now that my fae ex knew what Raphael was, the entire thing was embarrassing. He gave me a pointed look.
“We’ll discuss options. We have the rest of tonight and tomorrow to figure out the best idea. We’re not letting you go near Sinclair, Raphael. I’m with Kaliya on this one. We’re not risking the core of the mission, which is to protect and free you from Mygi and anyone they may hire. Carter is an unfortunate side effect we’re going to have to work with. Don’t think Kaliya and I will leave him out there to get hurt. We’re going to do what we think is best for the safety of everyone at this table.”
Raphael stood up and stomped off. I watched him leave, his large back tense.
“He hates this,” Cassius said, frowning. “Catholic guilt?”
“I picked him up before he could make it to Mass. He’s so…intense about his humanity and not wanting to be a ‘freak’ or a ‘monster.’ It’s classic Catholic guilt of a new supernatural.”
“He’s been supernatural for ten years—”
“He never came to terms with it. He just kept running from it. He’s a new supernatural. He’s capable of making stupid choices.”
“You’re being very cold about this, Kaliya.” He sounded sad. “He’s just trying to do what he thinks is right.”
“I’m being rational. It’s a coping mechanism.”
“Ah. I would have thought you were acting harshly because you were avoiding more personal feelings and dealing with fear you’re not used to having.”
I bared my teeth at him, my fangs down. He was right, obviously, but he didn’t have to call me out in front of Leith.
“We still need to talk about what happens after we deal with Sinclair,” he said, moving back to the professional conversation. “Mygi Pharmaceuticals and the Tribunal.”
“I thought we would handle it when we get to it. I don’t want to focus on that problem and fuck up this one. None of it will matter if Sinclair gets away with Raphael and one or both of us are dead.”
“Point made, but I think we need to start considering it. It’s going to be the first thing we have to do when we’ve secured Carter and dealt with Sinclair’s threat.”
“Do we have any chance for backup?” I asked, thinking about our coworkers.
“Most likely, no, but I’ll send out word and see if anyone can get here in time to help us. It's worth trying, but they’re all busy with their own regions and investigations.”
“Worth a shot,” I repeated back to him. “So, you have a location written down over