"Well, it's not one I want to be in the middle of."
"And yet here you are, right in the middle."
"Uh, no. I'm working for Hunter on a case, nothing more, nothing less."
"Hunter intends to use you and the keys to become overlord of the council."
"And you don't?"
He smiled. It was quite a pleasant smile compared to Hunter's, but that didn't mean he wasn't as cold-blooded and calculating as she was.
"No, actually, I don't. I just believe that the council—and the world in general—would not only be better off if the gate situation remained as it is, but a hugely nicer place to live in without her polluting presence."
A sentiment I could totally agree with—and I had to wonder if he was choosing his words to match whatever thoughts he might be catching.
"I see no point in falsehoods," he commented, thereby confirming that he was, indeed, catching some of my thoughts. "Especially when Hunter herself is my greatest asset when it comes to convincing others she must go."
Something else I could agree with. "Look, I'm really not interested in either your plans or Hunter's. I just want to do what I have to do to get free."
"Which you will not do without assistance."
I couldn't help smiling. "Don't take this the wrong way, but I very much suspect asking for your help would simply mean jumping from the frying pan into the fire."
"Oh, I am far more honorable than Hunter. And I, at least, am sane."
"If she's insane, then she's doing a good job of hiding it." I didn't like her. I didn't trust her. But she would hardly be head of the Directorate and a high-ranking member of the high vamp council if she was off her rocker. The vamps, at the very least, would not have stood for it.
"Oh, trust me, she long ago mastered the art of hiding what she truly is."