Page 109 of Bought for Blood

I walk down the row of vehicles, and I let the glamour go about ten feet out.

He doesn’t jump. He looks up from the engine and stares in my direction.

“That’s a useful trick,” he says, reaching back to wipe his hands on the rag.

I let the magic sink. It swirls around me in a ripple that I can almost feel.

“I need to ask you something, and I need you to hear everything before you answer.”

“Go on.”

“Bastien is alive. He’s in that quarry on Viktor’s map, but Viktor wants to wait until they’ve checked it out before they go in. He doesn’t have time for that.” My voice doesn’t shake, and I’m proud of that. Because the rest of me is shaking. “I think he trusts you. And I think he’s your friend. And I don’t think you’re the type of man who’d leave a friend to die.”

Crowe folds the rag in half, and in half again, slowly, watching me the whole way through it.

“I need a car,” I continue, “and I need somebody who doesn’t answer to Viktor.” I lock eyes with him. “Will you help me?”

Chapter 33

Serenity

Crowe drives up out of the vehicle bay with the lights off, and for the first minute he’s silent.

Then: “Before I hand you to the people I’m about to hand you to, I need to know how you’re doing this.”

I chew the inside of my lip. “I’m not completely sure, but I think…it could be my wolf?”

What am I saying? Of course I’m sure.

He shoots a look at me. “Wolf. Right. Of course.”

“I think she chose him when we were back at the facility. I just didn’t think she’d be strong enough to fight for him yet.”

“You were weak after being in there.”

“Yes. For a while. But then my magic came back, and she was stronger. I was stronger. Everything was stronger. More than before.”

Another look my way. “When did this happen?”

I consider this. “A little while ago. After he… After…” I stop.

“After what?” He looks over again. “After he what, Serenity?”

I’m looking down at my hands.

“He gave you his blood.” He’s not asking me.

“Just once,” I say quickly, as if it’ll make a difference. “One night he took too much from me. I was dying, and he opened his wrist and made me drink. Why?”

“Because shared blood makes a tie. His blood is in you, and it knows where he is; across a room, across a country. It doesn’t guess, and it doesn’t fade.” He watches the road. “It’s also against Court law. His law, not yours, and it falls on both of you. That’s a problem for another night. Tonight it makes you the only one who can pinpoint where he is.”

“Then you believe me.”

“I believed you in the garage. Now I understand you.”

He drives silently for another minute, then shakes his head and mutters something under his breath.

“What?” I ask.