Blood and Blade (Goddess with a Blade #6) - Lauren Dane Page 0,22
return, he sat and let his gift take over and deal with Lyr’s memories at long last.
And by the time he was able to sit back and take a breath, he picked his phone up and texted Rowan to get home as soon as possible because they needed to go to London.
* * *
Clive took some notes, called to relay directions to Alice, and then on his way to ask that Elisabeth prepare a meal for them, found she’d already done just that.
“Is everything all right?” Elisabeth asked as she brought a teapot, along with all the accompanying ingredients such as cream and sugar cubes, over to the table to place in front of him.
“We’ll be heading to London either tonight or tomorrow at dusk. Please prepare my things. I’ll need several suits.”
Before he could finish she made a sound and waved his words away. “We’re your staff, Scion. Betchamp and I will go with you to run the London house while you and Rowan are at work. You have clothing there, but Betchamp will pack your essentials. I’ll speak with Rowan before I do any packing for her. Perhaps David might be a better choice for that. I don’t know that she trusts me enough yet.”
He let the undignified snort go unstated. “Yes. Best to consider David the source for such things. That’s his position as well. He’s her valet and he’s very possessive over that.”
Elisabeth nodded, understanding. “Certainly.”
A bell sounded as the front gates opened. “She’s home.” He knew that in his gut, even without the alarm.
Two minutes later, Star trotted through first, then David and finally, his wife. She’d been thinking hard about something, he certainly knew that expression on her face. But when she caught sight of him, all that concentration flitted from her features, replaced by simple happiness that meant more to him than anything.
“I got your text. Who do I need to kill?”
“I’m sorry to disappoint you, darling. No killing. Not right this moment in any case. But I’m a lot more educated about what went on with Lyr. We need to get to London so I can ferret out this black market contact. This person may well lead us to whoever else within the Nation has been helping those Blood Front Vamps by leaking our confidential information.”
Rowan settled, thanking David as he poured out a cup of tea, doctoring it just how she liked it and then slid it her way.
“Have you spoken to Warren yet?”
Warren Farrelley was the Scion of Europe and as London was in his territory, Clive would need to seek his permission to run his investigation there. Warren also made a brief but utterly failed play for Rowan, which still filled Clive with annoyance.
“Not yet but I did tell Alice to start that process. I’ll speak to him about it but I’d like to get going as soon as possible.”
Rowan sipped her tea a moment. “This is my investigation too and I don’t need any permission to go to London. Nor would I seek it. Because I do what I want. Get the jet ready to go and while you’re dancing the diplomacy dance with Warren, I’ll hit the ground running. You can join me once this thing is set between you two Scions.”
He growled. Annoyed. “This is a Vampire Nation issue, Rowan.”
Her back went up and part of him roared to life, loving it when she was this way. “Nope. This stuff between you and Warren is a Vampire Nation issue. And it’s partly a Nation issue because there are Blood Front Vampires still causing grief for you. But it’s also a problem for all paranormals and the humans who live around us all not knowing we even exist. It’s a problem because one of my dearest friends was murdered, and another two right after that. They were deliberately targeted for assassination because of their connection to me. So. This is most definitely not just an issue for you all. I will go to London. I will track these fuckers down and once I have all the info I need, I will kill them so hard. That’s my plan.”
Part of him knew she’d react this way. His wife had lost people she’d failed to protect. That burned deep within her. She felt she’d failed and wouldn’t stop until this situation was done with. And Rowan didn’t do well with being told what to do.