Now, I wondered if Jerome was truly as indifferent as he appeared, and I wondered if Roman had long suspected that. I knew Roman hated Jerome-probably more than he hated me-but was it worth an uneasy alliance with Jerome to have some peace? Had Roman realized playing off this paternal relationship might be the only way to buy him a temporary reprieve? Of course he had. That had been Roman's plan all along. Lingering love for Roman's mother…and a bit of obligation thrown in. That was why Roman had helped free Jerome-and why he hadn't wanted me to let anyone else in on what I learned, I realized wryly. Secrecy might have been a true concern, but he would have undoubtedly wanted to minimize others' involvement so that he could play a major role in Jerome's rescue and use that as leverage.
'Mei knows,' said Jerome. 'I can't control what she'll do.'
'She doesn't,' said Roman. 'I knew what Georgina sent Seth off to do, and I had shut down just before Mei arrived. She never saw my face last time, so she didn't recognize me now. She doesn't realize what I am.'
'He's right,' I realized, recalling how Grace had had him in a chokehold. Roman had been gradually letting go of his power and had had very lucky timing.
'Even if that's true,' said Jerome, who seemed to be growing frustrated by the logic, 'I can't control what others'll do. The angels will always be a problem.'
'Well, not that much of a problem.' The new voice was accompanied by the arrival of an all-too-familiar aura, one that felt crystalline and cool. Carter now stood beside us. 'Welcome back.'
Jerome glanced over at the angel, and for half a second, he almost looked pleased. The two of them appraised each other, probably communicating telepathically. Or maybe not. Maybe after so many eons of friendship, they no longer needed to.
'I suppose you're going to advocate for him too,' said Jerome.
Carter shrugged and glanced over at Roman. 'I don't know.' Angels had as much of an instinct to hunt down nephilim as demons did. I thought of Carter as benevolent, but he too had helped destroy Helena. 'He did help. Maybe he'll stay on good behavior.'
It was a sign of how crazy things had become when Jerome and Carter seemed on the verge of letting a nephilim stick around-and that I was the one who protested.
'Are you guys out of your minds?' I exclaimed. 'You know what he's done! He killed those people and hurt others. For all we know, this is a scam. Let him back in Seattle, and he could try to kill others. He could try to kill you. He could try to kill me !'
Everyone turned to me, seeming a bit startled by the outburst. 'And here I thought we were partners,' mused Roman.
'Bind him,' said Carter. 'Bind him in a deal.'
Jerome and Roman sized each other up, and I held my breath. An immortal deal reached a creature's soul and could not be broken without dire consequences. I'd made a couple in my life. Everything rested on Jerome now, whether he was willing to go against every immortal taboo and knowingly let a nephilim live in his territory.
Finally, Jerome spoke. 'I will allow you to live in my domain. During such time, I will not harm you-unless you're discovered by others and I am given no choice. I make no guarantees about other immortals who find you and offer no protection should that occur. You in turn vow not to implicate me in any way for doing this. You promise not to harm me or any other immortals who cross into my territory, unless it's self-defense-or unless I've given my okay. You also promise to harm none of my subordinates'-he glanced at me-'anywhere in the world.'
'I accept,' said Roman gravely.
'And,' added Jerome, a sharp glint in his eyes, 'you vow to be available should I require your services in a defensive, covert, or-in very rare conditions-offensive way.'
There it was. The reason Jerome could go along with something like this. In offering Roman sanctuary, he was bargaining to have a secret nephilim agent, a powerful weapon none of his enemies knew about it. I'd never heard of anything like this.
'I accept with the condition that I won't kill on your command,' Roman said at last.
Jerome considered. 'Agreed. The terms of this deal end should you at any time openly renounce my amnesty. Or if I also declare the deal null and void.'
'I want a time frame on that,' said Roman wryly. 'When does my lease expire?'
'A century. Then we'll renegotiate.'
'I accept it all, then.'
'And I agree to the same amnesty terms as Jerome,' piped in Carter. 'Except I don't need you to spy or kill for me.'
'Agreed,' said Roman.
It was all so terribly formal, and my presence felt complete superfluous. All three of them shook hands, and as they did, power burned in the air, binding them all to what they'd agreed.
'Well,' said Jerome briskly. 'Now that that's done, I'm going back to clean up the mess that's been made in my absence.' He gave Roman a wry look. 'Considering you aren't technically in my territory yet, I'd advise you-' Jerome suddenly stopped and scanned the beach. 'What about the other summoner? The human one? Was he here?'
I looked around as well. The beach was empty. 'It was Dante…' I said slowly.
Jerome rolled his eyes. 'Typical. Where is he now?'
'I don't know,' I said honestly. 'Grace beat him up.' I'd worried he was dead, but apparently not. Glancing over to where he'd been lying, I saw what looked like tracks in the sand where he'd been dragged off. I decided to keep that to myself.
'Wonderful,' said Jerome. Turning back toward us, he scrutinized me. 'You will keep this deal to yourself, Georgie. And we'll discuss your reward another day.'
He disappeared and with him, the Grace statue. I didn't envy her.
Roman, Carter, and I started walking back toward the parking lot. I couldn't speak for them, but my mind was reeling with everything that had happened.
'Did you see what happened to Dante?' I asked Roman.
'Afraid I was kind of busy. What happened to Mortensen after he called Mei?'
'I told him to leave, and I think…' I hesitated, not entirely sure how I knew this, unless it was just my understanding of Seth's nature. 'I think Seth may have carried him off in the confusion. Oh man, he actually listened to me.'
The parking lot was empty. My car was gone.
'They took my car,' I explained. I honestly hadn't thought Seth would, despite my pleas for him to leave.
'Wow,' said Roman, clearly delighted. 'Your ex-boyfriend helped save your current boyfriend and then stole your car. Or-well, wait-is Mortensen your boyfriend now? Did he technically save your ex?'
'Oh, shut up. It doesn't matter. We don't have a way to get back.'
'Did you tell him to take the car?' asked Carter.
'Yeah. I told him to get far away. I wanted him safe, and I guess he listened.'
'Depends on how you define it,' said Roman. 'Him coming back for the other guy put him in the demon line of fire. Why would he do that for someone he didn't like?'
I stared at the empty parking spot. 'Because he's Seth.'
Carter seemed as nonchalant about all this as Dante. 'Well, it's a good thing I'm here, huh?' He rested his hands on our shoulders, and I braced myself for immortal teleportation. 'Ready for a ride home?'
'It beats walking,' I said.
Carter paused and gave Roman a curious glance. 'What are you going to do for a home?'
Roman was thoughtful for a moment. 'Well, I hear Georgina's moving to a bigger place.' He glanced over at me with one of his beautiful grins. 'Need a roommate?'
