Night's Cold Kiss by Tracey O'Hara Read Free Book Online

approached them about a truce with the humans, Dominique had jumped at the chance, even though Christian had thought it was insane. She’d quickly joined Ignatius’s cause, agreeing to be an emissary, but when they’d been murdered Christian had wanted to wipe humanity from the face of the earth.
    Viktor had saved him then; he’d opened Christian’s eyes to the fact it wasn’t humans he was angry with—it was himself for not being there to protect them.
    “Christian…”
    He looked up at his friend to find his pain and loss mirrored in Viktor’s face. He’d also suffered. The third assassinated emissary had been Viktor’s father, Mikhail.
    “I’m sorry.” Viktor dropped his gaze. “I shouldn’t have brought that up.”
    “Don’t apologize. It was a difficult time for both of us. The act of a few misguided men happened long ago and I’ve stopped blaming anyone. Including myself.”
    Time to change the subject. “So if the Guild won’t cooperate why isn’t CHaPR stepping in?”
    “The Guild is autonomous and hasn’t broken any laws. They’ve repeatedly denied any leaks from within their number. Sir Roger Wilberforce-Smythe, the human CHaPR ambassador, repeatedly blocks any attempts by the Department to become involved. He refuses to see the patterns similar to The Troubles when the Council almost split into two factions. If that happens then all we’ve achieved will be…” Viktor trailed off and his eyes went blank.
    “Viktor?” Christian prompted.
    His friend shook his head. “We have to gather more evidence, force them to open their eyes.”
    “So how—will we use the girl?”
    “We’ll use her—somehow get her to draw out the one we’re after. You must convince her that you’re genuine. It’s essential to gain her trust.”
    “I know, but that’s easier said than done. With Sergei’s fall from grace with the Guild, I see no other way to get near them,” Christian said.
    “What does she know about it?”
    “I don’t know. Sergei didn’t seem willing to go into it, but I’m pretty certain she’s not aware of the tension between Sergei and Sir Roger.”
    “Excellent. Let’s keep it that way for now.” Leather creaked as Viktor shifted in his seat. “What about Grigore? What does she think happened to him?”
    Christian stared down at his hands. “Sergei never told her the truth; she still thinks he’s dead.”
    Viktor sighed heavily. “He could be for all I know. It’s been weeks now since he disappeared. It’s just not like him to stay out of contact this long.”
    Christian sank back into the soft seat. “Did he give you any other clues?”
    “No more than what I’ve already told you.”
    It was something cryptic about a contact within the Guild and a distant Petrescu family member being involved. Christian stood, frustration pounding at his temples. “But that doesn’t tell us much.”
    “Which is why we must use Grigore’s daughter as bait.” Viktor crossed his legs and smoothed out an imaginary wrinkle on his pants before fixing Christian with a stern gaze. “There’s no other way.”
    At that moment Viktor’s cell phone went off with a funky techno beat and he held up a finger to Christian as he answered it. “Talk to me.”
    “Right,” Viktor said after a minute and flipped his phone shut before looking at Christian, his face all business. “We have to get back to New York ASAP. Looks like the human ambassador to CHaPR is the next target. But we still don’t know who the leak in the Guild is and if we can’t get Antoinette to draw them out, our plan could fall apart.”

5
Goodbyes
    Nici was waiting outside for her as she left the training room.
    “Sorry—but can we leave this until tomorrow?” Antoinette asked. She was bone tired, the weight of the day suddenly pressing down on her.
    Nici reached up and tugged his left ear, a sure sign he was nervous. But then he dropped his hand and straightened. “No. I need to talk to you now—it’s