Page 88 of A Touch of Crimson
It was indeed the time.
“What the fuck were you thinking?” Adrian asked in that cool, modulated tone of voice that made Lindsay grit her teeth.
As wired as she felt, she’d prefer him to yell or raise his voice, pace, or glower—something. Instead, he stood casually in front of his desk and spoke so calmly he might have been commenting on the weather. It was only the distant rumble of thunder that told her he wasn’t taking the news of her reckless assault on one of the Fallen with anything less than total aplomb.
“I’ve been looking for that vampire my whole damn life,” she bit out, “and there she was, strolling right by me. I had to do something.”
“It was the middle of the day. You were surrounded by dozens of tourists.”
Her arms crossed. “I don’t have forever to hunt her down. If I have to wait another twenty years to find her, I might not be physically capable of doing anything about it. I might not even be alive. It’s now or never.”
Adrian’s flame-blue gaze bored into her, searing her with its heat. “You’ve now exposed yourself to the Fallen. They’re going to come after you.”
“I hope they send her,” Lindsay shot back defiantly. “Next time, I won’t play with her. I’ll just take her down.”
Damien made a noise that drew her attention.“If you could have killed her, why didn’t you?”
“Because I need to know where the other two assholes are. She was alone when I first saw her. I didn’t see anyone with her until she was rescued. And, by the way, the guy driving the getaway vehicle had the same crazy crayon-colored spiked hair I remember from the day they attacked my mother. If she’s still hanging with that dude, I’m guessing the other one isn’t far away.”
“The ramifications of what you’ve done are going to haunt us. We don’t hunt the Fallen. We can’t. Their punishment is to live with what they are.”
“She wasn’t suffering when she terrorized my mom; she was having a damn good time. That bloodsucking cunt doesn’t deserve to live.” She shot a look at Adrian, whose impassive face gave nothing away.
Her stomach knotted. God, she didn’t want to cause him any more trouble. But what could she have done? Her entire life had been built around avenging her mother. “She left me alive, so it’s her stupid mistake that I’m hunting her now. I guess she figured that, as a human, I wasn’t going to grow up to be a threat. But that should absolve you of any blame. I’m not one of you. I don’t operate under the same rules. What I do shouldn’t affect you.”
“You had a lycan with you,” Adrian reminded. “That involves us.”
“So cut me loose.” She hated the soft note of pleading in her voice. “I can’t bring you anything but trouble. That’s killing me, Adrian. It’s breaking my heart.”
With a harsh exhale, Adrian leaned his hip against his desk and wrapped his hands around the edge. “When Vash shoved you into Elijah, she could have just as easily punctured your rib cage with her fist and ripped out your heart. You’re only breathing now because she let you go.”
“Why the fuck would she do that? Again? I got the drop on her; I can do it again.”
“That was Vash?” Elijah’s growl rumbled through the room. “I want that hunt.”
Lindsay glanced at him and gave a curt nod. Vash had taken people they loved from them, and it was time to make her pay.
Looking back at Adrian, Lindsay said, “You told me you’d help me hunt her down. You dug around in my brain. You knew who she was. Were you lying?”
“No. But we need to provoke them into attacking us, not launch a war ourselves. We can take defense, not offense. There are rules, and there are ways around those rules—” His phone began vibrating, drawing his attention to where it rested on his desk. Frowning, he said, “Excuse me.”
He answered curtly, “Mitchell.”
As she watched, Adrian’s face took on the hardness of stone. She could hear someone speaking rapidly, but couldn’t make out the words. Elijah exhaled in a rush and stepped closer to her, as if to stand with her. Support her. A chilly sense of foreboding swept over her.
A long, drawn-out moment passed. Finally, Adrian nodded. “Yes. Stand by. I’ll make the arrangements.”
Putting the phone down with far too much care, Adrian swept his gaze from Damien to Elijah. A silent communication passed between them, and the two men moved to leave the room. Elijah’s brief squeeze to her shoulder and Damien’s pitying look tightened the cold knot of dread in her stomach.
“What is it?” she asked when the door shut, leaving her and Adrian alone in his office.
He stepped toward her and gripped her upper arms in gentle hands. “It’s your father, Lindsay. He?—”
“No.” The floor fell away from her, and she swayed. Her chest felt as if it had just cracked open, the pain so excruciating she would have sunk to the floor if not for Adrian’s hold.
“He was driving and swerved off the road. He hit a tree.”
“Bullshit.” Tears streamed down her face. “I don’t fucking believe it. My dad handles cars like a pro. This is Vash’s fault. She’s Syre’s second. She could order this.”
