and his fangs are fully exposed, but his eyebrows are furrowed as if he really doesn’t know what he’s doing. I seek Lucca’s gaze, who seems as surprised as I am about Ronan’s lack of self-awareness.
“You look like you want to rip someone’s head off,” Lucca replies.
Ronan blinks rapidly, and after a moment, his eyes return to their natural blue color, just in time before Larsson walks into the main area, sporting a frown that means we can expect a serious shitstorm to come our way. Lucca leads our party to an empty table right in the middle of the room, the one Larsson was aiming for. If the decor of this bar were a little more rustic, I would feel transported to an old Western movie. The house might not be full, but the heavy staring could drown an elephant.
“Why did you call this meeting, Larsson?” Lucca asks.
The dragon kingpin—always dressed to the nines—unbuttons his suit jacket and takes a seat. He points at the opposite chair without breaking eye contact and waits until we’re all seated to answer Lucca’s question.
“As you have noticed, half my associates are gone. And do you want to know why?”
“They didn’t like your management style?” I answer.
He squints while a deep rumble comes from deep in his chest. Cheryl hits me on the shoulder, then spears me with a meaningful glance. Riight, I shouldn’t antagonize the king of dragons when I’m not even recovered from the blow I received from one.
“Earlier today, a newcomer came onto my premises,” Larsson continues. “A wolf shifter by the name of Coyote, who got half my people riled up again about Gus’s death. I wasn’t here or I would have put a stop to it as soon as he opened his piehole.” Larsson glances at Jagger, who takes the scathing, accusatory glance like a champ. He doesn’t even flinch.
“Fuck,” Karl mutters under his breath while Cheryl glares at Jagger.
“You couldn’t have told me that detail over the phone?” she grits out.
There’s a visible wince on his part and my jaw drops. Larsson can’t get the guy to show emotion but Cheryl can? They’re definitely more than acquaintances. I chance a glimpse at Ronan, just to make sure he’s not about to pounce on the dragon shifter. Aside from the tight clench of his jaw, he seems okay for now.
“Do you know this shifter?” Lucca asks Karl.
“Yes, he’s the alpha who has challenged Marcus. Why didn’t you kill him on sight?” Karl asks Jagger.
“Kill him on what grounds? He came in as a patron. We don’t discriminate and I didn’t know who he was at first.”
“Plus, we don’t interfere with problems that don’t concern us,” Larsson adds.
“Really? I think you do like to meddle outside of your territory. Isn’t that my mother’s necklace you’re wearing now?” Lucca is glowering at the dragon so hard I’m afraid laser beams are going to shoot out from his eyes. I had totally forgotten that Larsson asked Vivienne to steal that necklace from Lucca.
Returning Lucca’s death glare, Larsson leans forward. “And it’s because of this necklace that I’m going to give your insolence a pass.”
“Could you stop with the testosterone contest for a second and focus on the problem at hand?” Cheryl interrupts. “What exactly did that snake say?”
“He said the Accords didn’t exist anymore and that Gus was the first casualty of many more to come,” Jagger replies. “And that it was high time shifters united to purge the vampire plague from Salem.”
Karl stands abruptly, pushing his chair back so hard it screeches against the wooden floor. “We need to find that son of a bitch right now and put an end to this madness.”
“You can’t do anything against Coyote. You’re not part of the pack anymore. If you kill him before Marcus has the chance, he will be disgraced,” Cheryl retorts, but the fire in her brother’s eyes doesn’t extinguish.
“Does that rule apply to vampires killing that motherfucker?” I ask.
She pierces me with a satisfied glint in her eyes. “No. It does not.”
At once, several ringtones fill the room. They come from my phone, Ronan’s, and Lucca’s. My thoughts immediately go to Aurora, but the text message is not from her. It’s from Dean Davenport, the leader of the Red Guard. It says “call to arms” in capital letters and a location: downtown.
“We have to go.” Ronan jumps from his chair, followed by Lucca and me.