Richard tried to hug me to his chest, but I moved away. I had to put both arms down to prop myself up, but I was sitting on my own.
Jean-Claude sighed, looking down at the floor. "If we truly joined, no one could stand against us. That much power is very tempting." He looked up suddenly, letting me see his eyes. Emotions rolled across his face. Excitement, fear, lust, and finally, just weariness. "We could be bound together for all eternity. Bound together in a three-way struggle for power. It is not a pleasant thought."
"Jean-Claude told me that he would not be my master," Richard said. "We would be partners."
"And you believed him?" I said.
Richard nodded, looking terribly earnest.
I sighed. "Jesus, Richard, I can't leave you alone for a minute."
"It is not a lie, ma petite."
"Yeah, right."
"If it's a lie," Richard said, "I'll kill him."
I stared at him. "You don't mean that."
"Yes, I do." Something moved through his brown eyes, something low and dark and inhuman.
"Once you decide to kill someone, it becomes easier to kill others, doesn't it?" I said.
Richard didn't flinch or look away. "Yes, it does, but that's not it. I won't be anyone's servant. Not Jean-Claude's, not yours, not Marcus's, not Raina's."
"Do you understand that once you're bound to him, that hurting him can hurt you? Killing him can kill you?"
"I' d rather be dead than trapped."
I watched the absolute certainty in his eyes. He meant it. "You'll kill Marcus tonight," I said.
Richard looked at me, and an expression passed over his face that I'd never seen before, a fierceness that filled his eyes and sent his power shivering through the room. "If he doesn't back down, I'll kill him."
For the first time, I believed him.
34
There was a knock on the door. Richard and Jean-Claude spoke at the same time. "Enter." "Come in." They stared at each other as the door opened.
Edward walked in. His cool blue eyes took in the three of us at a glance. "What happened to you?"
"Long story," I said. "It wasn't the assassin if that's what you're worried about."
"I wasn't. Your wolves are guarding my backup. They wouldn't let me bring him in without somebody's approval." He looked at Jean-Claude and Richard. "They weren't absolutely clear on whose permission I was supposed to get." He didn't smile while he said it, but I knew him well enough to see the shadow of humor on his face.
"This is my home," Jean-Claude said. "It is my permission that is needed."
I slid to the edge of the bed and found I could sit up. The movement put me between the two men. Richard hovered close to help me if I fell onto my face. Jean-Claude just sat there, not touching me, not offering to. In many ways, he understood me better than Richard did, but then he'd known me longer. I was sort of an acquired taste.
Jean-Claude stood up. "I will go escort your guest in."
"I better go with you," Edward said. "Harley doesn't know you, but he'll know what you are."
"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked.
"If a strange vampire walked up to you in this place and said follow me, would you do it?"
I thought about that. "Probably not."