deliver to the vampire, Niamh turned to her mate. “I want you to stay here. I’m going to travel into Echo’s apartment.”
Kiyo shook his head and hissed, “No. You have no idea from this vantage point what room she’s in or how many supes are in that apartment with her. Never mind the fact that they’re clearly listening in.”
“Well, I could mess with their equipment but that might bring them to her apartment to check on things,” she mused. “I guess I’ll just have to be really quiet.”
“Niamh.”
“Kiyo.” She held his eyes, her expression deadly serious. “This is too important. This affects Elijah.”
“Or we could just warn Elijah about her and be done with it.”
Niamh grimaced. “You know that’s not the point. They need to meet, and she has to learn to trust him. Without this”—she patted the satchel—“she’s just another one of William’s puppets.”
Letting out an exasperated sigh, Kiyo gave her a sharp nod. “You better be back here in five minutes. Five minutes. I’m counting. Or I’m coming for you.”
After pressing a swift kiss of reassurance to his lips, Niamh concentrated on the thought of Echo’s apartment and everything went black for a moment before the world blurred back into focus.
The blackness barely lifted, however, as she found herself standing in the middle of a large sitting room with tall windows fitted with state-of-the-art blackout blinds. Niamh’s eyes adjusted to the dark and she spun around, looking for a doorway. It was behind her. The best thing to do, since it would force Echo to look, was to empty the contents of the satchel across the vamp’s bed. Niamh took a step toward the door but was halted by the shadowy appearance of a female.
Eyes flashed silver in the dark.
Artificial light filled the room as the ceiling spotlights flooded on.
A beautiful blond with pale skin stood in the doorway wearing nothing but oyster-pink silk shorts with scalloped lace edging and a matching cropped camisole. Her arms were relaxed at her sides but in her right hand, she clutched a handgun and in her left, a dagger.
Niamh knew vamps had good hearing, but how the hell had she been alerted to her presence so quickly?
As if reading her mind, Echo Payne replied in an accent borne from living in Canada most of her life, “Silent motion-detector alarm.”
With a discreet flick of her wrist, Niamh created a soundproof bubble around the room so the feckers listening out in their van wouldn’t hear their conversation. “I’m not here to hurt you.”
“I hate to tell you this, witch, but I’m a vampire. I’m not the one who should be worried right now. What did you just do? I felt magic.”
Niamh raised her arms in a surrender gesture. “I just made it impossible for the members of The Garm sitting in their surveillance van down the street to hear what we’re saying.”
Echo smirked, her green eyes like icy chips. “You think I don’t know my apartment is bugged?”
“I don’t think they know you know.”
“Who are you?” The vampire raised her gun to point it at Niamh.
“I’m a friend.”
“I don’t need a friend.”
“Then think of me as a friendly messenger.” Niamh counted the minutes in her head, and worry made her tense. If she didn’t get out of there very soon, Kiyo would come crashing in. “The message is in my satchel. May I open it?”
“You may not.” Echo pulled back the safety on her gun.
Done with taking the slow route, Niamh thought of the documents, the air around her tingled with magic, and then they scattered at Echo’s feet.
She cursed, jumping back, her attention fixed on the pile that included the photographs of her supposedly dead mother, the therapy session notes, and the medical records that described her dead father’s fatal injuries. The most important aspect of which was the puncture wounds in his neck and the fact that his body had been drained of blood.
Satisfied she had Echo’s attention where it should be, Niamh traveled back to the rooftop.
Only to find Kiyo fighting three werewolves.
Anger burned through Niamh as the wolves crowded Kiyo into a tight circle that didn’t allow him space to fight off their hits with much success. Just as she moved to approach, her mate let out a grunt of fury. He jabbed his fist upward, a flash of silver held within it, through the chest of one of the wolves.
Niamh sent magic across the rooftop, the energy hitting the other two wolves’ carotids. They slumped and collapsed on