Total pages in book: 177
Estimated words: 171450 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 857(@200wpm)___ 686(@250wpm)___ 572(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 171450 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 857(@200wpm)___ 686(@250wpm)___ 572(@300wpm)
“No. Just that they hate each other.”
Reyna barely smothered a laugh. “That they do. Well, I won’t share her business, but our families have not always gotten along. Still don’t exactly. Him being here is an affront to Beckham’s reign. He hasn’t been challenged in a long time. Let’s hope he doesn’t try to pop his head off like warm champagne.”
“Now we’re talking about a party.”
Reyna finally did laugh. “I like you. How did you get involved with this?”
“Stole from the wrong monster. You?”
“Tried to save my family.”
“Yeah. Same.”
They took their wineglasses back to the men as six feet of well-muscled vampire strode out of the elevator like a New York City penthouse was the last place he belonged. His dark hair was windblown and pushed back from his face. He wore a leather jacket over a black T-shirt and jeans and held a motorcycle helmet against his side. His eyes shifted color in the light from blue to violet as he swept them across the assembled group.
He was startlingly handsome as most vampires were, but despite his dressed-down attire, he held himself like he’d been born and raised to an affluent lifestyle. He didn’t balk at the sight of Graves or Beckham. But he didn’t control his face when he saw Lyra the way he commanded the rest of his body.
“Alexander,” Reyna said, stepping forward with a warm smile that cracked at the edges, “you smell like smoke exhaust.”
“New York City just smells,” Quint said.
“It’s good to have you back in the city even if you’re here on Syndicate business.”
He nodded his head in acknowledgment before holding his hand out to Beckham. “Sir.”
Beckham shook hard. “Alexander.” He gestured to Graves. “This is my associate, Graves and his partner, Kierse.”
Quint shook Graves’s hand and then Kierse’s before his eyes landed on Lyra. “What are you doing here?”
“Last I checked, these are my parents.”
“You don’t live at home.”
“Keeping tabs on me, Quint?”
A growl lodged in the back of his throat. “Again with the nickname.”
Reyna covered another laugh. “Why don’t we sit down about that business? It was good seeing you, Alexander. We’ll be with you in a minute.”
His eyes shifted between them. “Fine. I’ll wash up and get a drink.”
“Lyra, show him around,” Reyna said.
Lyra looked like she’d rather gouge out her own eyes but started walking toward the kitchen regardless. “You’re A positive, right?”
“So glad that you remembered,” Quint deadpanned.
Beckham wrapped an arm around his wife, but his eyes were on his daughter. As if he didn’t quite want to leave her alone with the enemy.
“It’s just Alexander,” Reyna assured him. “Come on.”
Beckham nodded and gestured for them to follow him to a different room. The sitting room was only slightly more cozy with black leather couches, chairs, and a glass coffee table at the center.
A row of bookshelves distracted Graves upon entering, and he stepped up to them, looking disappointed by what he saw. “So many business texts. Do you only read nonfiction?”
“I hide the romances in our room,” Reyna told him.
Graves grinned. “I’d like to see that.”
“Graves doesn’t think a house is complete without a sufficient library,” Kierse told them as she took a seat.
“I remember,” Reyna said, her eyes on her taciturn husband, who had walked to the floor-to-ceiling window and was broodingly looking out at the city beyond. “Becks.”
His head tilted slightly, but he didn’t look back at her. “Tell me why you’re here.”
Graves’s smile might as well have been the one that Kierse wore while in a heist. This was his idea of a good time. Whatever had happened between the three of them had been intimate, delicate, and dangerous. Just the way he liked it. He was having fun riling Beckham up, in his element as he began to work his magic.
“Gregory Amberdash is holding a party this weekend. Did you get an invite?”
Reyna scoffed. “We don’t associate with the Men of Valor. What a ridiculous name they call themselves. Cowards, all of them.”
Kierse couldn’t agree more.
“You know we weren’t invited,” Beckham said, still facing away. “Stop playing your games and get to the point.”
“Becks,” Reyna said even softer.
“We’ve had enough war for several lifetimes, Reyna. I don’t want to stand here and get dragged into another one.”
“We’re not trying to drag you into a war,” Kierse argued. “We’re trying to prevent one.”
Beckham clenched his hands into fists. “Leave us out of it. Leave Lyra out of it.”
Ah, the real problem.
“Lyra came to us,” Graves said. “She inserted herself into what we were doing.”
That had Beckham swinging around with fury on his harsh features. He looked terrifying in the moonlight. The shadows devoured his face as he all but snarled at them, “Do you think me an idiot? I know that you pursued her because of her connection to us and allowed her to continue in your dangerous games for your own amusement.”