“We’d be going there in peace,” Sam assured him, but Marco shook his head.

“They wouldn’t believe that. I can ask your questions for you.”

“I don’t trust you to tell us the truth.”

Marco smiled at Sam’s bluntness. “I can’t say I’m surprised.”

There was a long pause before Sam said, “We have reason to believe that dragons may attack The Hollow.”

Lazarus and Annalise gasped.

Shocked she’d told him, I spoke to Jared, What the fuck?

Imani’s safety matters to him, Jared pointed out. If he thinks she is in danger, he might be more inclined to help.

“Attack?” echoed Marco, eyes flaring.

“You know how much destruction their kind can cause,” said Sam. “It’s imperative that we find a way to stop this from happening.”

Marco’s eyes slid briefly to Imani before he said to Sam, “The drove would not accept you on their territory.” His mouth twisted. “He might, however, allow one of your vampires to go there as a representative.”

Knowing exactly where he was going with this, I snapped, “No.”

His eyes darkened. “Imani’s my first-born. The Alpha would be curious to meet her, and he has enough respect for me to at least consider the meeting.” Marco turned back to Sam and Jared. “He’d point blank refuse to admit you two on his territory, however.” He shrugged, as if it was all the same to him. “The choice is yours. I suppose it all depends on just how much you need to speak with him.”

We needed it badly, but…“No.”

Ignoring me, Marco arched a brow at Sam and Jared. “Well?”

After a tense pause, Sam said, “Fine, but don’t think you can manipulate this situation so you have some alone time with Imani.”

I was about to lose my shit at her decision when Jared’s voice came into my head. I spoke to Imani. She said she’s okay with this. Don’t worry, you’ll be going along.

“If she goes, she won’t go without some back-up from us,” Sam stated.

Marco’s eyes narrowed. “She has my protection. She doesn’t need anyone to accompany her.”

“I don’t trust you to protect her,” said Sam. “And neither does Imani.”

Face once again softening as his gaze slid to Imani, Marco said, “Sweetheart, you know I’d never harm you.”

“You already did,” said Imani. That arrow hit its mark, because Marco’s fists clenched.

“She’s not going without guards,” Jared insisted.

“Two other vampires can come along with Imani.” Marco jerked his chin at me. “But I don’t want him with us.”

“Three will go,” said Sam. “And one of them will be Butch. He’s a shield. He can protect her in a blink.”

“Fine.” But Marco seemed far from ‘fine’ with it. “I’ll contact the Alpha. He’ll probably take a few days to give you an answer purely to annoy you.”

Sam gave him a curt nod. “Contact us when you hear from him.”

Marco looked at Imani. “I’ll be seeing you soon, sweetheart.”

Then Jared teleported us all out of there.

(Imani)

By the time I got back to my apartment, I was emotionally drained. Seeing some of my nest, particularly Lazarus, Annalise, and Eleanor, had been great. But I was the kind of person who found social situations tiring after a while. Putting on an ‘I’m totally aloof to Marco’ act had been just as draining—as had facing Marco again, for that matter.

Whether or not he’d truly be of any help, I wasn’t sure. Life was one big game to Marco. But if Sam and Jared were right and Marco had helped me to stay alive all these years, just maybe he would also help with this.

Still, the Grand High Pair hadn’t seemed very optimistic when they left to talk with Antonio and Luther. The four intended to work out who would want the entire island destroyed so badly that they would hire dragon shifters. Jared had made a good point when he said that the person behind this didn’t have to be a vampire; they could be anyone. That made the pool of suspects much wider.

Not wanting to think about it anymore, I indulged in a long, relaxing bath. Well, it would have been relaxing if I’d been able to clear my mind. How could I, when I was consciously aware that my three nights were up? Butch would be here soon, and he’d want us to talk.

Honestly, I didn’t have the emotional energy to deal with it. But I didn’t want to delay it any longer, because I didn’t like having things up in the air. Besides, there would be no turning Butch away. He was too freaking stubborn.

Once the water turned cold, I left the tub. Having pulled on a tank top and pair of shorts, I then settled on the sofa with my Kindle and a vanilla-flavoured NST. I was only two chapters into my book when there was a knock at the door. With a steadying breath, I put down my Kindle and headed for the door. As I opened it wide, my libido went totally hyper.

He looked good. Too good. One thing I could say for Butch was that he had style. Always looked neat and presentable. There was never a single wrinkle in his designer clothes, most of which were dark and plain yet still smart and stylish.

In two slow, predatory steps, Butch was inside the apartment, closing the door behind him. His brow creased in concern. “You look wiped again. I could kill that bitch from the bar.”

“I’m not as tired as I was last night, so the exhaustion’s wearing off.”

His fingers combed through my damp hair. “I’d still like to kill her.”

Yeah, so would I.

“Your three nights are up, baby.” He stroked his knuckles down the column of my throat. “Now we’re going to have the conversation we should have had when you woke up in my bed.”

I nodded. “Want an NST?”

“You need pure blood if you’re going to get your strength back. But we’ll get to that later.” He took my wrist. “Let’s get more comfortable while we talk.” In a blink, he moved so that I was straddling him on the sofa.

And I remembered how much he liked me to ride him; how much he liked to tell me how fast and how hard to take him. Remembered how he liked to look into my eyes the entire time.

His hands cupped my hips and pulled me closer, snapping me out of my memories. “I laid it all out for you three nights ago. I told you what I want and need from you. You needed time to process everything; I get that. I gave you time. Now this is where you lay all your shit out for me. I’m relying on you to be as straight with me as you always are.”