that if it’s illegal and it makes money, then he’s got one of his sticky fingers in the pie.”
“Wow.” From the corner of her eye, she caught the intense way Ashe was looking at her, and quickly said, “I’m just surprised. I mean, I knew he was considered a criminal back then, but I’d always thought that until recently he was into more…um, gentlemanly crimes.” Whatever those were.
“Gentlemanly crimes?” Knox gave a low laugh, flashing Ashe a smile. “I like this girl, Granger.”
“If we can get back on topic,” he muttered. “Have you heard anything that could be useful to us?”
Knox lowered his arms, scrubbing one huge hand across the auburn stubble on his jaw. “Actually, there’s a lot of talk going on about Raphe at the moment.”
Ashe leaned forward, crossing his arms on the table. “What kind of talk?”
“His mama’s always been powerful. You know that as well as I. But the rumor going around is that her son is forcing her to make some kind of monumental power play within the Council. One that will shake the foundations of clan society.”
“Anything specific?”
“You know ol’ Selingham?” Knox asked, reaching for his beer again.
Juliana was familiar with the name, recalling an old, decrepit vampire who had served on the Deschanel Council for centuries.
“I know him,” Ashe replied with a nod, his voice getting rougher. “What happened?”
Knox tilted his bottle to his lips, taking a long swallow, then wiped the back of his wrist over his mouth. “He turned up dead a little over a week ago.”
“Natural causes?”
Setting his bottle back down on the table, Knox snorted. “Hardly. He was supposedly mauled to death by a rogue Lycanthrope while at the Deschanel Court in Rome.” The Deschanel courts were where all the high-ranking officials within the Deschanel clan lived and worked, as well as the Council. There were several official court compounds scattered across Europe, the court itself moving from one location to the next as the mood struck them.
Ashe’s breath hissed through his teeth in response to Knox’s news. “Like hell that would have happened. The courts have some of the most stringent security there is. No way could a rogue have gotten inside without it being a setup. Is there an investigation?”
“That’s the thing,” Knox murmured, shaking his head. “The whole case was apparently wrapped up within a few hours and judged a freak accident. One of those momentary lapses in security, if you can believe that bullshit.”
“Christ,” Ashe muttered, leaning back in his chair, his expression as dark as the look in his eyes. He had his hands fisted at his sides. “The Delacourts must have them by the balls.”
“I’d say they’re holding on tight, and any second now, they’re going to just rip the damn things off,” Knox drawled.
Flinching from the gruesome image his words put in her mind, Juliana looked at Ashe. “What does he mean?”
“He means they’re going to destroy the Council,” he grated, the lines of strain around his eyes and mouth getting deeper. “Then dissolve the Court…and put themselves in power.”
CHAPTER SIX
S ITTING AT A CORNER TABLE in Knox’s bar the following afternoon, Ashe took a slow sip of his whiskey, his mind running over everything that had happened since he’d found Juliana…and everything that he’d learned. Someone was going to a hell of a lot of trouble to set this thing up, putting him and Juliana in league together, and he wanted to know why.
Even more than that, though, he wanted confirmation of who was behind the assassination orders against the Sabins…and Juliana herself. Was it really Raphe Delacourt, and if so, why go to the trouble of killing the family now? Was the bastard worried that someone in the Sabin family could pose a threat to him? And if so, then what was the threat? According to Juliana, no one had believed their claims nine years ago that Lenora’s accusations were false. So why the
“Wow.” From the corner of her eye, she caught the intense way Ashe was looking at her, and quickly said, “I’m just surprised. I mean, I knew he was considered a criminal back then, but I’d always thought that until recently he was into more…um, gentlemanly crimes.” Whatever those were.
“Gentlemanly crimes?” Knox gave a low laugh, flashing Ashe a smile. “I like this girl, Granger.”
“If we can get back on topic,” he muttered. “Have you heard anything that could be useful to us?”
Knox lowered his arms, scrubbing one huge hand across the auburn stubble on his jaw. “Actually, there’s a lot of talk going on about Raphe at the moment.”
Ashe leaned forward, crossing his arms on the table. “What kind of talk?”
“His mama’s always been powerful. You know that as well as I. But the rumor going around is that her son is forcing her to make some kind of monumental power play within the Council. One that will shake the foundations of clan society.”
“Anything specific?”
“You know ol’ Selingham?” Knox asked, reaching for his beer again.
Juliana was familiar with the name, recalling an old, decrepit vampire who had served on the Deschanel Council for centuries.
“I know him,” Ashe replied with a nod, his voice getting rougher. “What happened?”
Knox tilted his bottle to his lips, taking a long swallow, then wiped the back of his wrist over his mouth. “He turned up dead a little over a week ago.”
“Natural causes?”
Setting his bottle back down on the table, Knox snorted. “Hardly. He was supposedly mauled to death by a rogue Lycanthrope while at the Deschanel Court in Rome.” The Deschanel courts were where all the high-ranking officials within the Deschanel clan lived and worked, as well as the Council. There were several official court compounds scattered across Europe, the court itself moving from one location to the next as the mood struck them.
Ashe’s breath hissed through his teeth in response to Knox’s news. “Like hell that would have happened. The courts have some of the most stringent security there is. No way could a rogue have gotten inside without it being a setup. Is there an investigation?”
“That’s the thing,” Knox murmured, shaking his head. “The whole case was apparently wrapped up within a few hours and judged a freak accident. One of those momentary lapses in security, if you can believe that bullshit.”
“Christ,” Ashe muttered, leaning back in his chair, his expression as dark as the look in his eyes. He had his hands fisted at his sides. “The Delacourts must have them by the balls.”
“I’d say they’re holding on tight, and any second now, they’re going to just rip the damn things off,” Knox drawled.
Flinching from the gruesome image his words put in her mind, Juliana looked at Ashe. “What does he mean?”
“He means they’re going to destroy the Council,” he grated, the lines of strain around his eyes and mouth getting deeper. “Then dissolve the Court…and put themselves in power.”
CHAPTER SIX
S ITTING AT A CORNER TABLE in Knox’s bar the following afternoon, Ashe took a slow sip of his whiskey, his mind running over everything that had happened since he’d found Juliana…and everything that he’d learned. Someone was going to a hell of a lot of trouble to set this thing up, putting him and Juliana in league together, and he wanted to know why.
Even more than that, though, he wanted confirmation of who was behind the assassination orders against the Sabins…and Juliana herself. Was it really Raphe Delacourt, and if so, why go to the trouble of killing the family now? Was the bastard worried that someone in the Sabin family could pose a threat to him? And if so, then what was the threat? According to Juliana, no one had believed their claims nine years ago that Lenora’s accusations were false. So why the
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