“Fine,” she said reluctantly. “Three days.” She didn’t look happy about it, but that was one less hurdle. This way we could…
I shook the image out of my head. What was I hoping for? That we enjoyed the trip? That I’d tumble into her bed, and then what? After only two days, I was attached, and I couldn’t afford to be. I had to remember that Selena was a tool—my tool—to survive Assembly.
“You have to be ready,” I warned her, pulling my mind away from the consequences if she failed. “Which means we keep working on this. As for your temper…you must learn to control it.”
“I can do this.”
“I know you think you can. But I’m not putting you in a dangerous situation unless you’re prepared.” Since when? I asked myself. She was useful to me, that was all. But even telling myself that, I knew it was a lie. My membership in the Ouroboros Society came with only one requirement—protecting humans with rare abilities—and right now, that edict was at odds with my objective, to survive Assembly.
Safeguarding humans didn’t exactly mesh with using her ability to give me an edge with my brethren, but damned if I wouldn’t try to do both. I’d never met—never heard—of a human who could read vampire minds. But now that I had, I felt the urge to protect Selena, even as I trained her to spy for me.
“I’ll be ready,” she insisted. “I don’t even know why…but I’m inclined to help you.” The sweet scent of fear mixed with adrenaline filled the space around us, and I drew a subtle breath. It went straight to my head, and I turned away as my fangs descended. She leaned forward in her chair. “Besides, I’m not in the habit of letting anyone down.”
That much was apparent. She was smart and determined, but she was so damn young that I couldn’t fathom how she’d ended up in charge at Langston-Forge. Yet when I’d skimmed through the company website, there she was, front and center as the acting CEO.
Pretending I was inspecting the flowers, I asked, “How did you end up running the company? You’re a bit young for that much responsibility.”
“Just for future reference, those are the kinds of questions you get in trouble for asking these days.” When I turned, she raked me with the same derisive look I’d given her when I first saw her. “It wasn’t like I asked for it. I was in college, taking business classes, hoping that maybe, someday, I could step into Dad’s shoes at the distillery.”
Her face flushed, and even from here, I heard her heartbeat speed up. “But then my asshole brother decided to clear all his drug and gambling debts by putting the company up as collateral. It took everything we had to pay off the loan shark. Since then, it’s been a constant game of catch-up.”
As before, myriad emotions flickered over her face. Regret, anger, resignation.
“This brother of yours, where is he now?” I knew my voice had turned hard, but I couldn’t help it. If I were her, I’d wring the little shit’s neck and force him to repay the damn loan himself. I couldn’t imagine being so irresponsible to risk everything my family had built for a personal debt.
“Dead, along with Dad.”
Fuck. I’d assumed she was a spoiled-rotten rich girl the first time I saw her. But that wasn’t it at all. She was fighting to fix her brother’s screwups and fill her dad’s shoes, with all her hopes riding on some barrels in an old barn.
While I was using her to leverage a situation to my advantage.
“You are saying none of this—the company, the loan from me—none of this was your doing?”
“Not really. But Langston-Forge has employees who depend on us, a reputation to preserve and someone had to step up. And I’m the only Langston left.”
8
As I gave Forge the short, no-frills version of the last six months of my life, his face changed, ever so slightly. Granted, I’d only known him for a day, but if I didn’t know any better, I’d say Forge was angry.
“Look, it’s no big deal.” I waved it off. “Sure, I’d planned on finishing college first, but it isn’t like I’m a noob or anything. I’ve spent more time at L&F than anyone except maybe Holloway. You could say I’ve picked up a few things along the way.”
“Who mixed the special batch you brought yesterday? You know, the bribe to maneuver me into helping you?”
Now I smiled, glad that Forge saw it for what it was. “That was Dad’s last batch, from twelve years ago. He believed it would be special, swore up and down this would put us on the map. But he had a stroke later that year and was never the same again. He couldn’t use his left side, and his memory… It was pretty bad after that. But I helped him mix that day, and I took careful notes. I’ve used that same recipe ever since.”
Forge grew more intense, if that was even possible. “How much more do you have?”
“Eight years’ worth. Almost one hundred and fifty million dollars, if I’ve calculated it correctly.” Regret and anger ached in my chest while I added, “But this batch? When I bottle this one, I’m naming it after Dad.”
Forge didn’t say anything about that, but I got the feeling he approved. “This man, you called him a loan shark? What about him?”
“He made some noise at first.” Like threatening to kill me. “Hoping to squeeze more money out of me…or rather, the company. But he left us alone once he discovered how close we were to bankruptcy.” A small laugh escaped my lips. “Can’t squeeze blood from a turnip, Dad always said.”
“His name?”
“It’s over, Forge. Leave it alone,” I warned him. The expression on his face got darker, deep furrows
