Love burned deeply.
Xhex put the letter against Ehlena's palm and held on to it for a brief moment. In a choked voice, she said, "Rehvenge...has been my hero for years. He's a good male in spite of his symphath side, and he's worthy of what you feel for him. He deserves so much better than he's gotten out of life...and to be honest, I can't imagine what that female is doing to him right now."
As Xhex released the envelope, Ehlena blinked quickly, as if she were trying to keep tears from spilling.
Xhex couldn't bear to look at the female, so she went over to stand before the oil painting that depicted a beautiful sun setting over a calm sea. The colors chosen were so warm and lovely, it was as if the seascape actually projected a glowing heat you could feel upon your face and shoulders.
"He deserved a real life," Xhex murmured. "With a shellan who loved him and a couple of young and...instead he's going to be abused and tortured for-"
That was as far as she could go, her throat closing up so hard she found it difficult to breathe. Standing in front of the glowing sunset, Xhex almost broke down and wept: The internal pressure of keeping all of the past and the present and the future inside of her rose to such a foaming, sizzling combustion that she looked down at her arms and hands to see if they had expanded.
But no, they were the same as always.
Locked into the skin she was in.
There was a soft rustle of paper, the letter sliding back into its envelope.
"Well, there's only one thing to do," Ehlena said.
Xhex focused on the burning sun in the center of the painting and forced herself to pull back from the brink. "And that is."
"We're going to go up and get him out."
Xhex shot a glare over her shoulder. "At the risk of sounding like we're in an action movie...there's no way you and I can go up against a shitload of symphaths. Besides, you read the letter. You know what I agreed to."
Ehlena tapped the envelope on her knee. "But it says you can't go on his behalf, right? So...what if I asked you to head up there with me. Then it would be on my behalf, right? If you're a symphath, surely you must appreciate that loophole."
Xhex's brain churned over the implications and she smiled briefly. "Quick thinking. But no offense, you're a civilian. I'm going to need a lot more backup than you."
Ehlena rose from the sofa. "I know how to shoot, and I'm trained as a triage nurse, so I can deal with field injuries. Besides, you need me if you're going to get around that vow you're stuck with. So what do you say?"
Xhex was all for the guns-blazing shit, but if she got Ehlena killed in the process of letting Rehv out, that wasn't going to go over well.
"Fine, I'm going alone," Ehlena said, tossing the letter down on the sofa. "I'll find him and I'll-"
"Hold up, hard-ass." Xhex took a deep breath, picked up Rehv's last missive, and allowed herself to be open to the possibilities. What if there were a way to...
From out of nowhere, purpose poured into her, her veins firing up with something other than pain. Yes, she thought. She could see how to work this.
"I know who we can go to." She started to beam. "I know how we can do this."
"Who?"
She put her palm out to Ehlena. "If you want to go up there, I'm in, but we do it my way."
Rehv's nurse glanced down before leveling toffee-colored eyes on Xhex's face. "I go with you. That's my one condition. I. Go."
Xhex nodded slowly. "I understand. But everything else is up to me."
"Deal."
When their palms met, the other female's grip was strong and steady. Which, considering everything they were contemplating, boded well for how Ehlena would hold on to the butt of a gun.
"We're going to get him out," Ehlena breathed.
"God help us."
Chapter SIXTY-FIVE
Okay, here's the deal, George. You see these f**kers? They're trouble, straight-up trouble. I know we've done this a couple of times, but let's not get cocky."
As Wrath tapped the bottom step of the mansion's staircase with his shitkicker, he pictured the stretch of red-carpeted on-your-ass going all the way up from the foyer to the second floor. "Good news is? You can see what you're doing. Bad news is? I go down and there's a risk I might take you with me. Not what we're looking for."
He absently stroked the dog's head. "Shall we?"
He gave the forward signal and started stepping up. George stuck right with him, the dog's slight roll of the shoulder transmitted through the handle as they ascended. At the top, George paused.
"Study," Wrath said.
Together, they walked straight ahead. When the dog stopped again, Wrath oriented himself by the sound of the crackling in the fireplace and was able to walk with the dog over to the desk. As soon as he sat down in the new chair, George took a seat as well, right next to him.
"I can't believe you're doing this," Vishous said from the doorway.
"Tough shit."
"Tell me you want us in with you."
Wrath ran his hand down George's flank. God, the dog's fur was soft. "Not at first."
"You sure?" Wrath let his raised eyebrow speak for itself. "Yeah, okay. Fine. But I'm going to be right outside the door the whole time."
And V wasn't going to be alone, no doubt. When the call to Bella's phone had come through in the middle of Last Meal, it had been a surprise: Everyone who could have been hitting her up was in the room. She'd answered the ring, and after a long silence, Wrath had heard a chair get pushed back and soft footsteps approach him.
"It's for you," she had said in a tremulous voice. "It's...Xhex."
Five minutes later, he'd agreed to see Rehvenge's second in command, and though nothing specific had been discussed, it didn't take a genius to figure out why the female had called and what she was going to want. After all, Wrath wasn't just king, he was gatekeeper to the Brotherhood.
Who all thought Wrath was nuts to see her, but that was the great thing about being the ruler of the race: You could do what you wanted.
Down below, the vestibule's door opened and Fritz's voice echoed up as he escorted the two guests into the mansion. The old butler was not alone as he came in with the females, having himself been escorted by Rhage and Butch when he took the Mercedes out for the pickup.
Voices and many feet came up the stairs.
George tensed, his haunches pulling up, his breathing changing subtly.
"It's okay, my man," Wrath murmured to him. "We're cool."
The dog eased immediately, which made Wrath look over at the animal even though he couldn't see anything. Something about that unconditional trust was...very nice.
The knock on the door brought his head back around. "Enter."
His first sense of Xhex and Ehlena was that they emitted grim purpose. His second was that Ehlena, who was on the right, was particularly nervous.
Going by the slight shifting of clothes, he imagined they were bowing to him, and the pair of "Your Highness" es that came his way confirmed the intuition.
"Take a seat," he said. "And I want everyone else out of this room."
None of his brothers dared to throw out a grumble, because the protocol button had been punched: If they were around outsiders, they treated him as their sovereign lord and king. Which meant no f**king around and no insubordination.
Maybe they needed visitors more often in the f**king house.
When the doors were shut, Wrath said, "Tell me why you're here."
In the pause that followed, he imagined the females were probably looking back and forth at each other to decide who went first.
"Let me guess," he cut in. "Rehvenge is alive, and you want to get him out of the shithole."
As Wrath, son of Wrath, spoke, Ehlena wasn't at all surprised the king knew what they'd come for. Sitting on the other side of a delicate and lovely desk, he was exactly what she remembered from when he'd nearly plowed her down back at the clinic: both cruel and smart, a leader in his physical and mental prime.
This was a male who knew how the real world worked. And was used to having the kind of muscle you needed to get hard things done.
"Yes, my lord," she said. "That's what we want."
His black wraparounds shifted over to her. "So you're the nurse from Havers's clinic. Who turned out to be Montrag's kin."
"I am, yes."
"Mind if I ask how you got involved in this sitch?"