"You don't want to leave?"
He looked a bit startled by that. "I've been with Lord Valerius a long time."
By the note in his voice, she could tell "long" had a meaning all itself.
"Are you another Squire?"
He shook his head. "They don't even know I exist. It's why Lord Valerius changes Squires out so often. He took me in when I was fifteen and he was stationed in London. No one else would have me."
She frowned at his words. "Why didn't they make you a Squire?"
"The Squire's Council refused to grant Lord Valerius that request."
"Why?" she asked, not understanding it. The Council had let Nick Gautier in when Kyrian had asked and heaven knew that boy had an extremely shady past.
"They don't think much of the general or his requests, I'm afraid."
Tabitha growled low in her throat. She'd never been the kind of person who could stand those who sat in judgment of others. As her Aunt Zelda so often said, but for the grace of God, there go I.
"Don't worry, Gilbert. I'll make damn sure no one messes with Valerius while you're gone. Deal?"
He smiled at her. "Deal." He bowed to her, then took his leave.
Tabitha crossed the room only to discover that her clothes had already beea unpacked and everything placed neatly in drawers, the armoire and in the bathroom.
Wow. A woman could get used to this kind of treatment.
She sorted through her weapons, which had been placed in a drawer by themselves. Her favorites were the retractable knives that fastened to her wrists with Velcro. A high-pressure release shot them from her arm into her hands, but you had to be careful or they would cut a nasty wound into the palm.
She lifted her pants leg and slid another stiletto into her boot and tucked a butterfly knife in her back pocket. Most of her weapons were illegal, but she had enough friends in the police department that they didn't harass her for them.
She was pulling on a long-sleeved sweater to cover up her arms when someone knocked on her bedroom door.
Opening the door, she found Valerius on the other side. He had to be the most handsome man she'd ever seen. His hair was still damp, pulled back into his almost requisite ponytail, though to be honest, she preferred it loose and wild.
His chiseled features betrayed nothing, but she could sense delight in him.
"I'm on my way out to patrol."
"I'm ready."
The amusement she sensed doubled. The lines in his face also softened and it was all she could do not to pull him back into her arms.
Really, no one should be so tempting.
He widened the opening for the door. "Come, my Lady Dangerous, your Daimons await."
Tabitha led the way down the stairs where Otto was waiting for them.
He must have come back while they'd been upstairs.
"There's an alert going out to New Orleans," he said to them. "All the Squires except the Blood Rites are being evacuated. Ash is also bringing in a couple more Hunters from upstate and Mississippi. Did you know about this?"
"No," Valerius said. "I didn't realize an alert had been issued."
"Are the Addamses leaving?" Tabitha asked.
Otto nodded. "Even Tad. They're transferring the control of the Dark-Hunter site up to Milwaukee until the alert breaks."