Page 60 of Bonded By Blood
“Of course not.” He wasn’t a fucking idiot.
A misleading smile lifted the ancient vampire’s lips. “Then we have nothing to worry about. I’d rather my two favorite boys don’t kill each other over something so petty.”
Tobias really hated being called a “boy,” but he had no room to challenge the term in his boss’s presence. He hadn’t betrayed the overbearing Queen of Vampires for just anybody. No, he’d turned his back on the so-called First Family and their laws only when he found a leader truly worth following. Someone stronger. Someone older.
The first born of their entire species.
“Take a breath, boys.” Boris looked between them, his dark eyes glittering in the dim, artificial lighting of the hotel room. “We’re going to stay inside today and watch Trista’s toys squirm.”
****
Brianna motioned for Joe to close the door behind them, a small attempt at muffling any part of their upcoming conversation. He’d been right about her mother’s reasons for summoning them—again—to her throne room. And it had been all she could do to keep her focus on her mother’s rant. She was still spiraling from what Joe had told her just before, about his conversation with Kendall. He’d been right about that, too. She hadn’t liked it, not at all. But she did, sort of, understand. And the distraction of having to deal with her mother had given her enough time to get herself under control.
At least enough to keep from shouting. Which she actually felt like doing.
Kendall looked up as Brianna approached. Her small, calm smile betrayed no guilt, but the automatic increase in her heartbeat suggested something different. “Hey, Bri.” Her smile faded. “I heard about Garvin. I’m really sorry.”
Brianna took a breath, released it slowly, and tucked her skirt up under her knees as she settled beside Kendall on the sofa. “Thank you.” She watched Kendall’s gaze flick toward Joe as he moved to claim a chair, but didn’t wait for her human daughter to speak again. “Kendall,” she said, reclaiming Kendall’s attention, “please tell me you haven’t done anything outrageous recently.”
Kendall’s eyes widened slightly. “Outrageous…?” She repeated the word slowly, as if she didn’t understand it. She looked between Brianna and Joe once more. It was hard to miss the question in her eyes.
“Of course he told me, Kendall,” Brianna said, keeping her tone calm and quiet.
“What?” Kendall asked, the question a breathless, disbelieving whisper.
“I had to,” Joe said. “I was worried.”
“Seriously?” Kendall said, making a face at Joe. “I thought we were in this together!”
“I might not have been in my right headspace when we talked,” Joe said, a note of shame in his voice.
Brianna cut off Kendall’s next reply. “Kendall, please, I just need to know you haven’t done anything irreversible.”
Kendall looked back at her, pursed her lips, and finally asked, “Define ‘irreversible’.”
That didn’t sound good. “Something reckless, that you’ll have a hard time taking back.” She paused. “Something my mother, who’s more distrusting and defensive right now than she’s been in your entire life, will have a hard time forgiving.”
Kendall let out a small half-laugh, picked up her phone, and said, “Well, we have about two hours to figure out a way to convince Trista to be open-minded. Or at least forgive me.” She held out her phone, showing Brianna the display. A text message conversation, the latest of which was a received screenshot of a flight itinerary. The sender, labeled Colt, was arriving at the Sacramento airport in just under two hours.
The breath rushed from Brianna’s lungs. “Mercy.”