The keys were hardly a minor part when the earth risked being overrun either by the denizens of hell or unhappy souls unable to move on. "I got that impression. But, for the moment, I need her. Or rather, I need her resources."
His snort was disparaging. "What, to find your mother's murderer? Do you honestly think she has any intention of allowing that? Or that she even cares, now that she has what she wants? You, in her pocket?"
My unease grew. Why the hell was he saying all this? I had no damn idea—but one thing was for sure. It couldn't be for any good reason. "There are Cazadors working—"
"There was one. He found no clues, just as the Directorate found no clues. Your mother's killer might as well be a ghost, for all the evidence he left behind."
I flexed my fingers, trying to relax, but it didn't help much. "I agreed to help her if she helped me. I cannot back out of that arrangement."
Yet, I added silently.
"Not unless you have the help of someone strong enough to rival her."
And there it was, I thought. The twist in the tale fate just loved applying to make my life even more interesting.
My smile was grim. "I may not know much about the inside workings of the high council, but I do know that if you thought yourself her match, you could challenge her anytime you wanted."
"I could, but that would be playing by the rules. She doesn't, so I see no reason for me to do so."
Wonderful. Another schemer. Just what I needed in my life right now. "If you're so powerful, how come you're the daytime manager of a club like this?" I hesitated, then added rather hastily, "No offense meant."
He waved a hand—an elegant gesture that nevertheless managed to highlight the muscular nature of his arms. "It amuses me to work here."
And it had the advantage of keeping him out of Hunter's eye, I suspected. Just as I suspected that this man was the reason for her warning about talking to anyone but the owner.
"Why are you saying all this to me?" I asked, a little hesitantly. "Aren't you afraid I'll tell Hunter? Or that she'll pick the conversation out of my thoughts?"
"Do I fear the former? No." He leaned forward and crossed his arms on the desk. "As to the latter, she is welcome to whatever remnants she can retrieve past those nano cells. She knows I plot, just as I know she plots. It is a game we have played for a very long time."