loved her. “Oh, I’m fully aware of that. But technically, since you’re now one of my lieutenants, I am the boss of you.”
“You keep telling yourself that.”
He shook his head slowly, completely amused and bewitched by her. He wanted to thank her for saving his life, to let her know that he’d been fully prepared to die, beaten to a pulp by Sutter and his iron bar, and that if not for her, that’s exactly what would have happened, but nothing he could think of seemed sufficient. “Thank you” didn’t cover what he was feeling.
Her head slipped down to rest on the arm of the chair and a few moments later, the rhythm of her breathing changed. She was asleep.
And he hurt too bad to pick her up and carry her to bed. Anger at what Sutter had done to him welled up fresh and hot. He stared at the ceiling, knowing there was no outlet for his rage in the here and now, trying to store up what he was feeling for a time when he could act on it.
The sounds of movement and voices came from the back of the house and a moment later, Lally walked in, Fenton and Dr. Carlson behind her. Augustine put a finger to his lips, then pointed at Harlow.
Fenton frowned. “I think we should wake her. She’s going to have to see this sooner or later.” He pulled out his LMD and queued something up, shaking his head. “I wish you’d told me about this. I understand considering the stress you were under but this is going to be difficult to spin.”
“Spin what? I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
He sighed. “Senator Pellimento held a press conference about thirty minutes ago.”
“Yeah, I knew about that. She wanted me to confess to the murder of her son—she had the confession all written out and everything.”
His brows rose behind the frames of his glasses. “So you’re saying you didn’t give her a taped confession?”
“Hell no.” Augustine narrowed his gaze. “Are you saying she aired one?”
Harlow stretched. “What’s going on?”
“Trouble,” Lally answered.
Harlow straightened in her chair. “Like what?”
“Like this.” Fenton set his LMD flat on the coffee table, then tapped the screen. The holoscreen flared to life with a video.
Senator Pellimento appeared behind a podium. “It is with the great sadness only a mother can know that I must announce my son, Robert Pellimento, was brutally murdered by the fae Guardian of this city.”
“What the hell?” Augustine’s bones heated with his anger.
Harlow was clearly awake now. “Didn’t you tell her Giselle was responsible?”
“Yes, but she didn’t care.”
The senator continued. “The only good news in this situation is that the Guardian, Augustine Robelais, has confessed.” The screen went black for a moment, then Augustine’s face appeared. The camera was zoomed in and showed only from his shoulders up. No sign of the chair he’d been in, the restraints on his wrists or the tarp that had been spread beneath him to keep the hotel’s carpet from absorbing too much blood.
His image began to speak. “I did kill your son.”
The senator’s voice could be heard off camera. “Why did you kill him?”
His image answered. “I hate humans. Not just the citizens of this city. All people.”
Augustine untangled his arm from the blankets to point at the holoprojection. “I never said any of those things.”
The color had drained from Harlow’s face. She stared at his image.
The senator’s voice asked another question. “Do you have anything else you wish to say?”
“The fae hate humans.”
“Why is that?” the senator asked.
“We understand what it’s like to have enemies.”
“So you’re saying that humans are your enemies? Why? What could humans want that the fae have?”
Augustine’s lip sneered. “Power.”
The screen went black again, then the senator reappeared at her podium. “With this shocking confession, I have no choice but to declare the entire state of Louisiana under martial law. New Orleans will be subject to a curfew starting immediately. No othernatural may be outside their home from sundown to sunup.” She held up a piece of paper. “I will also be passing emergency legislation requiring all othernaturals to be registered. I will not allow the human citizens of this great state to suffer the same tragic loss I have just because the othernaturals perceive us as a threat.” She lowered the paper and took a breath. “Thank you for your attention. I will be unavailable for further comment and wish that my privacy be respected while I see to my son’s final