The werewolf froze. Slowly, his muscles relaxed—tension actually seemed to seep out of his body. His jaw hung open and his eyelids drooped as he met Ned’s gaze, and fell into it.
“That was a splendid little offensive you and your friends mounted in the park just now.”
“No,” the man said, chuckling sadly. His accented voice—he might have been German—was haunted, dreamy. “It was a mess. Rushed.”
“Oh?” Ned feigned curiosity.
“We were just supposed to be watching … sur-surveillance.” He sighed, tried to shake his head, but Ned wouldn’t let him break his gaze.
“Watching who?”
“The American bitch.”
I never knew whether to take that term figuratively or literally.
“I think I need to get that on a T-shirt,” I whispered to Ben, who quirked a smile.
“Who else were you tracking?” Ned asked.
“Mexican delegation. The Indonesian doctor. The wolf soldier.” I tensed, my instinctive, protective reaction at the mention of Tyler. The prisoner continued. “It’s no secret where they’re staying. But when the bitch went out with you all … we called it in.”
“Called it in to whom?” Ned asked.
“Jan.”
“He’s holding your leash?” The werewolf nodded, and Ned went on. “You were ordered to watch Kitty Norville, then. You didn’t get your information from anywhere.”
“Her. Her mate. We tracked them.”
“Why target them?”
“Not them. They’re in the middle of it … but not important. Follow them, secure the target.”
Ned raised a brow and seemed genuinely intrigued. “Oh? Who, then?”
The werewolf smiled, a conspiratorial edge showing even through the trance. “Edward Alleyn, Master of London.”
“Am I to take it, then, that Jan saw the opportunity to remove a foe from the field and sent everyone he could muster to attack?”
“Too good a chance to miss,” he said. “You’re the obstacle. Without you, the rest would fall.”
“Well.” Still holding his gaze, the vampire absently stroked the man’s face. “How do you feel about that now?”
The werewolf’s body tensed, straining against the grip that held him. Anguished lips pulled back from teeth, and he snarled. But the gaze held, and the werewolf didn’t struggle. The vampire shifted his grip, twisted, and snapped. Neck broken twice in a night. Had to suck.
But I had a feeling he wasn’t going to wake up from this one.
Caleb dropped the limp form to the carpet and brushed his hands. “First London, then the world, is that it?”
“And it wasn’t Emma who told, right?” I said.
“No,” Ned said, looking at the young woman. “But you understand, we had to ask.”
She’d collected herself, sitting straight and calm, not letting the least emotion flit across her face. She tipped her chin up in acknowledgment, that was all. A gesture she’d learned from Alette. Ned must have recognized it, too; he turned to hide a smile.
“I didn’t think you’d really done it,” Antony said, spreading his arms. “It was just a possibility.”
“This cannot stand,” Ned said. “Any neutrality they’ve enjoyed, they’ve lost.”