Blood and Blade (Goddess with a Blade #6) - Lauren Dane Page 0,51
my father and then we’re going to Warren’s office to make that offer. Once that is handled, we need to deal with your father.”
“We’ll go to the Keep for that.”
Clive couldn’t help but rear back a little. “Do you think that’s necessary?”
“If I didn’t, we wouldn’t be going there. If I may?” she asked his sufferance to explain and he nodded again. “If we frame this as something Hunter Corp. dug up and you acted on, it might go down easier for him. If you come at him and it looks like a Vampire Nation problem that went undetected until after millions were spent and we were both nearly killed more than once, he’s going to be unhappy. More unhappy than he’d be if it was a Hunter Corp. discovery that you then handled. I tore open the piñata and you dealt with the candy. Then he gets to see how smart you are. You found Roderick. We don’t need to go into detail about the dream I had with the symbol. You discovered the symbol on the token. You and your father, the leader of your house, went and dispatched Arthur and Thomas without mercy and without delay. He’ll respect that. Especially if you give him money for it. I’ll own Roderick’s kill. That was my job, I did it. Period. Plus fuck getting permission from Warren.”
He saw what she was trying to do. “You’re attempting to shield me from your father’s reaction.”
“I’m working with you so we can all stay alive and finally track down whoever and whatever is behind this whole thing. I know him better than any of you do. And when I tell him Thomas had a dossier on me that included all the information that allowed murderers into my penthouse to kill Carey and that they had detailed notes on my schedule, maps of my travels and all the codes to my security, he’ll be so pissed at them he won’t have the energy to take it out on House Stewart.”
“I don’t like this.” The last thing he wanted was Rowan to indebt herself to her father any further. Especially on his behalf. But she was right. She’d thought of the big picture and she did indeed know her father better than anyone else.
“It’s not about like or dislike. It’s about keeping you alive and in your position of Scion. It’s about keeping your crazy mother and your father, who’ve only been loyal to the Nation and to Theo, alive. It’s about the continuation of House Stewart as a power within the Nation they helped build. I’m going to try to say the same about Roderick’s family because I don’t think they knew any of his dodgy dealings either. I grew up the way I did. The supercharged blood I’ve had after nearly dying so many times has erased most of the scarring he left on my outside, but the scars on the inside remain. Let that be for something good and right. Trust me to know how to handle him on this.”
“I trust you with my whole heart,” he told her, kissing her fingertips. “But I hate that you’re being vulnerable to him on my behalf.”
She shrugged. “Let’s eat. Genevieve should be around. She’s staying here while we’re in town.”
As annoyed by the witch as he was from time to time, she’d certainly helped them out more than he could have expected. Staying in one of their guest suites was a small price to pay for that assistance.
They stood but he pulled her to him before they left the room. “I’m sorry.”
She looked up at him, cocking her head. “For what?”
He snorted a laugh. “There’s a list a kilometer long. For my uncle giving help to those trying to kill you. For his helping murder Thena and Carey. He had that access because of his relationship to me and House Stewart. He had all the money he did to support Lyr because of House Stewart coffers. Without all that, he wouldn’t have been able to be such a help to Lyr and the Blood Front.”
She rolled her eyes with a sigh. “You can’t be sorry for what Thomas and Arthur did. They did it and now they’re dead because of it. I mean, they were Vampires and you all have that in your blood, so to speak. You’re all sort of sketchy. I’m sorry you had to go through what you did last night. Even if you didn’t like them, it couldn’t have