Page 74 of Knight’s Dominion

But another half hour ticked by and still no sign of him.

She was serving one of the regulars, a sweet old guy who tipped well and she suspected only came in because he was lonely, when Gunner strode in, spotted her, and headed her way.

Great. Now Chaos had sent his brother to check up on her. What was this? High school?

“You can tell Chaos to back the hell off," she said as soon as the knight stopped in front of her.

He lifted both hands in surrender. "I wasn’t sent here by your mate." His top lip had a jagged scar through it on one side that you could see even through his short beard, and his mouth twisted on one side in a barely there smile. "But I'll be sure to pass on your message."

"Don't bother." She sounded like an asshole, but right then she didn't give a damn.

Concern covered his rough features. “I'm surprised to see you up and about."

"I'm fine. You want a drink or something?" Her ploy to divert the conversation did not go unnoticed, but he didn't call her on it.

He rested his forearms on the bar, and she couldn't help but admire the beautiful ink covering them. She also noticed the small cross that dangled from a chain around his neck. It was gold, delicate…feminine. It looked completely out of place on the big male. "Yes, but I won't."

"How can I help?" God, she wished she was out on the streets hunting tonight, her aggression levels were off the charts and she needed to beat the shit out of something.

There are other more pleasant ways to burn off some steam.

She shut down those thoughts as quick as they came.

"You seen Oden tonight?" Gunner asked.

Just the mention of that male’s name was like a bucket of ice water. "No. Why are you looking for him?"

Gunner shrugged. "He's a powerful demi. We keep an eye on a lot of people."

The guy was being cagey on purpose. He wanted her to bite, so she did. "You got something to say, then spit it out."

He was watching her like he didn't trust her worth shit, and that did nothing to improve her current emotional state.

"You sure you haven't seen him tonight?"

"Are you deaf?" she fired back.

"No, and I'm not stupid, either, so cut the shit. Oden was here about half an hour ago."

She rested her hands on the bar, kind of freaked that she could have missed him. “It’s been busy most of the night, he could have slipped by without me seeing him."

"He left through the front of the club. I followed him, then poof, I couldn't sense him anymore.”

She stilled. “Fuck.” They both knew what that meant. He was involved in the war, deeply involved. In her gut she’d known. The male hadn’t just been hanging around to get in her pants.

"You know where he might have gone, how he was able to do that? Has he ever shared anything like that with you...during your time together?"

Was he actually questioning her loyalty? She gritted her teeth, fingers curling into fists on the bar. "I gave the prick a lap dance, Gunner. I'm a stripper, that's what I do. So, no, he didn't share his plans for world domination with me. He let me bounce around on his dick for a bit, shoved a twenty down the side of my G-string, and sent me on my way like a good little whore."

Gunner’s eyes darkened. “I don't think you're a…”

"Sorry, my bad. You just think I'm a liar, and someone who would betray her people for some asshole with a fat wallet and a little power. Don’t you think I’d be with Chaos right now if that was the case?” She turned away before she threw a bottle at him and served a waiting customer.

Gunner waited for a while, but she ignored him until he finally gave up and left.

She’d feel bad for the attitude she’d given him, if he hadn’t all but accused her of colluding with the enemy. She needed to talk to Vince. Now. Jesus. That disappearing act Oden did was proof he was a traitor to his people, that he was thoroughly tied up in the war.

Grace got someone to cover for her, and rushed to Vince's office.