Bullet Page 0,59
from Nicky’s too-rapid shapeshift beginning to dry in our hair and on our skin. I thought, “What do I say?”
His answer breathed through my mind, “Tell him the truth. He is our ally.”
I told Max an abbreviated version of what had happened. Jean-Claude told the others to go and clean up before the gunk dried. Most of the men looked to me to see if I wanted them to go. Honestly, I wanted some hand holding. Jean-Claude sat beside me while I talked to one of his strongest allies, and the men I most wanted to stay and hold me sat on the ruined silk sheets around us, and didn’t obey Jean-Claude. I didn’t know what to do about it, but I did know that I felt better with Nathaniel, Damian, and Micah near me. Jason had gone to clean up and check on J.J., which was good. Cardinal tried to get Damian to leave, too, but he wanted to know what we were going to do about Mommie Dearest and the council. He was vampire enough to need to know that before he died for the day. Cardinal was woman enough to need her boyfriend farther away from me.
Richard kissed me on the forehead and whispered, “I’ll clean up while you do the vampire politics.”
I wanted to say more, even though I was still telling Max how deep the shit was, but it felt wrong to let him leave after everything without more good-bye. Jean-Claude must have thought so, too, because he did leave the bed to walk Richard to the door. Micah kissed my cheek and followed them, which surprised me. Jean-Claude might be trying for a last hug, but that was never what Micah and Richard were to each other. Asher stayed by my side, but his face had a listening look. The wereanimals and vampires on the bed could probably hear everything on both ends of the phone. They might be staying to cuddle, but they were also staying to listen.
I finished listing the disaster, and Max said, “Motherfucker.”
“That’s what I said.”
“Bibi insisted that everyone that was coming to St. Louis leave early. Victor, Cyn, Rick, and the others are in the air and headed your way.”
“Max, no insult to your people but we have bigger fish to fry than cementing some sort of arranged marriage treaty between your people and Jean-Claude’s.”
“Bibi says that our only hope to defeat the Dark is to have another Master of Tigers, another Father of the Day.”
“I appreciate the vote of confidence for Jean-Claude, but tiger isn’t his animal to call and the only vampire we have who’s able to walk in the day isn’t a master of anything.”
“Your vampire servant, Damian, right, he’s your day walker?”
“Yeah.”
“And who made him a day walker? It wasn’t Jean-Claude, no offense to your Master of the City; it was you that made a weak vampire able to do one of the rarest feats among us bloodsuckers.”
“Yeah, but . . .”
“We’re not sending our boys to Jean-Claude, Anita. We’re sending them to you. Though Auggie of Chicago says we should send him some of our women, something about maybe he’d inherit your power to call tiger like you inherited his ability to call wolf.”
“What?” I asked.
There was noise on the other end of the phone. Cloth moving and Max saying, “You okay to do this, Bibi?”
A moment later Chang-Bibi of the White Tiger Clan was on the phone, so I guess she was okay to do this. Or Max couldn’t stop her from taking the phone. Sometimes he loved his wife a little too much.
“Anita,” and her voice was tear-filled, almost hiccupy with emotion. Since she was one of the scariest weretigers I’d ever met, that was not comforting.
“Hey, Bibiana, I mean, Chang-Bibi.”
“It is too late for titles between us, Anita.” She took a shaky breath and said, “You must embrace my tigers when they arrive. You must bring the tigers with you into their full power.”
“I know that you wanted that, but the other tiger clans don’t want you favored above everyone else.”
“All their Changs have had the same nightmare that I had, Anita. They have seen the Darkness, and they remember in the heart of them when she tried to rule us all. The Father of the Day, he saved us. He controlled us and kept her from harnessing all the power of the tigers. She only defeated him by destroying the last golden queen.”
“How do you know all that now? You