Burning Both Ends

He drew a finger across her jaw line and followed it with a brush of his lips. “I might have one or two.”

“Yeah, me too.”

Chapter Nineteen

Promptly at 4:58 the following afternoon, Ari walked unannounced into the Magic Hall conference room. She and the Magic Council president had agreed on the phone that her appearance would be more effective if no one knew she was coming.

Startled faces swiveled in her direction, proving the secret hadn’t leaked. She noted the variety of emotions that chased across their features. Annoyance. Surprise. Suspicion. No fear, not yet. Chairs scraped as two of the men pushed back from the conference table and stood. Steffan was one of them, and the first to speak. “Ari. What are you doing here? Is something wrong?”

“Sorry to interrupt. But I have information for you.”

Steffan walked toward her, frowning as he searched her face. “Can it wait? We’re about to take the final vote. This ballot must be taken in privacy, even from you.”

“No, it can’t wait. What I have to say might make a difference in the outcome today. I wouldn’t be here otherwise.”

Steffan still seemed hesitant. “OK. Do you want to talk to me privately? Or is this for everyone?”

“All of you. It affects everyone.”

His eyes widened in surprise, and he parted his lips as if he was going to demand an explanation. Instead, he turned to his colleagues. “Anyone have an objection to hearing her out before we vote?”

“What is this? Another delay?” Vita’s tone was belligerent. “Nice timing, Steffan, but it isn’t going to work. Oh, don’t look so innocent. You set this little scene up. But the votes are against you this time.” With a sneer on her face, the pregnant wolf leaned back in her seat and crossed one leg over the other. “I suggest we proceed. Whatever she wants will have to wait.”

So the she-wolf had claws. It sounded like some drastic vote switching had occurred while Ari was in Toronto. The balance of power had shifted again. Not that she hadn’t anticipated this would happen. After all, that’s why she was here. She’d come to level the playing field, force the last big revelation.

“That’s not true, Vita. I have no idea why Ari’s here.” Steffan was indignant and annoyed.

Vita’s face flushed, but she repeated her accusation, and Steffan’s denial was stronger this time. Ari waited while they argued it out. She was in no hurry.

The other wolves seemed confused, taken aback by Vita’s strong objections. Jena scowled, clearly unhappy with the renewed bickering. Warren fidgeted in his chair and looked embarrassed when the voices grew loud. As she might have expected, Robert kept a wary eye focused on her, perhaps speculating on what she had to say, but he sat down to wait.

Ari cleared her throat loudly. “Steffan didn’t know I was coming today. I deliberately kept it a secret from everyone except the president, so you’d all learn the findings of my final report at the same time. I’m sure Steffan will be as surprised as anyone, except, for the one person in this room that knows more than I do.”

She had their full attention now. Despite the suddenly heightened tension, no one spoke right away. Some, if not all of them, had to suspect a traitor was among them, and four of them were wondering who.

“What’s that mean, Guardian?” Robert shoved his chair back from the table as if prepared for sudden action. “It sounds like you’re accusing one of us of something. Whatever it is, just say it.”

“I’m getting there. But I need to cover some old ground first. It’s important for you to see exactly what happened.” She began by reminding them how votes and opinions had swayed back and forth over the intervening months. Of the five leaders only two votes had never changed: Steffan and Jena, who had been in favor of the coalition. As recently as two weeks ago, they had been the sole supporters.

“Then Warren changed his vote to yes. It seemed like the coalition would pass. One of you panicked and set events rolling that led to Steffan’s kidnapping.”

“Who?” Robert demanded. “Why? We’ve all had our say in this. No one was against the idea of a coalition, only the timing.”

“That’s right,” Vita agreed, scowling. “You’ve got your facts wrong.”

“It only seemed like everyone agreed. One of you was strongly opposed to the basic concept and was willing to do almost anything to stop it.” She held up a warning hand. “Let me complete the story before you ask anything else.

“Steffan’s kidnapping was already planned when Warren switched his vote, setting up a coalition loss by three to two. But the conspirators wanted a guarantee against Warren or someone else switching again, so their plan went forward. Suddenly Vita changed her vote, and even without Warren, the coalition would now win. Steffan disappeared that very night, bringing the negotiations and vote to a halt.” The wolves were growing restless. Chairs creaked, feet shuffled, but Ari also picked up the scent of fear that was growing in the room. One person knew the end of this story and was beginning to realize that Ari might have figured it out.

“Yes, yes, we know all this,” Robert grumbled, finally interrupting and glaring at her. “I’m beginning to think Vita’s right; you’re stalling for some reason. This is all ancient history. Is there a point you’re trying to make?”

“You bet there’s a point. To influence the vote, one of you lied, conspired in a kidnapping, betrayed every secret held by this group, and changed her vote in an attempt to throw everyone off her trail. Actually the vote switch was your first mistake, Vita. I have a good idea why this all happened, but I’d rather hear it from you.”

Jena gasped. “Vita?”

The other leaders jerked to attention, heads turning toward Vita. As if frozen in place, the she-wolf barely moved. She gripped her hands tightly in her lap; her face revealed nothing of what was going on inside her head.

Shock and disbelief written on her face, Jen turned to Ari. “I don’t understand. You just said she was going to vote in favor of the coalition. This must be a mistake.”

“I wish it was, but she fooled us all for a while. Later, when I thought about it, her switching votes was the only thing that didn’t make sense. Not until I considered what the switch actually did. It didn’t change the fate of the coalition, but—”

“It left me and Warren as the only suspects in the kidnapping,” Robert interrupted. “My God! Why?” He came around the table and dropped on his haunches in front of Vita’s chair. “You’ve said nothing, Vita. Why would you do this?”

At first, it seemed as if she still wouldn’t answer, then she met Robert’s look with a defiant one of her own. “She can’t prove a thing. All I’ve heard is a lot of talk and speculation. It’s some game she and Steffan are playing on behalf of the government. If she could prove any of this, I’d be under arrest.” Vita pushed to her feet, forcing Robert to stand and step away. “It’s all lies, Guardian. You and Steffan are obsessed with this coalition. You’ll accuse anyone, do anything, to make it happen. Maybe you think it’s a good thing, but you’re not a wolf. You either can’t see or don’t care how bad such a federation would be for us. Steffan,” she spat his name, “doesn’t have any excuse.” Vita shook her head, anger turning her aura an orange-red.

Ari crossed her arms. So the role Vita had chosen was the injured innocent. So be it.

“You’re right, up to a point,” Ari conceded. “Your part in this conspiracy is circumstantial, an assumption based upon other facts.”

“Then why—” Robert began, his face flushed with sudden anger.

The anxiety in the room grew as the other wolves reacted to the anger and fear radiating from Vita. It was instinctual behavior but could get out of hand if Ari wasn’t careful.

“Because those facts are rather damning. While the leak might have been anyone, the extent of knowledge narrowed it to the four of you very quickly.” She pointed her finger at each as she spoke. “Robert and Warren were obvious suspects, as we already noted. Jena seemed unlikely due to her unwavering pro-coalition stance, but in the beginning I suspected everyone. Vita’s switch in position eventually drew my attention. It was the timing. This sudden change of heart occurred just before the kidnapping. I couldn’t figure out why, until I realized she must have known she’d never have to follow through.”

“That’s taking a big leap,” Steffan said. His face wore a worried frown, as if he thought she’d made a mistake.

“Don’t worry, that was just the first clue. Then she mentioned it was too bad Steffan hadn’t seen his captor’s face.” Ari looked at the she-wolf. “How did you know about the kidnapper’s efforts to conceal his identity?”

“I remember when she said that.” Jena looked at Vita, shock still evident on her face.

“No!” Vita stomped a foot. “Steffan told us. You all heard him.” She swept her angry gaze from colleague to colleague and lied through her teeth. Watching her, Ari decided her act was really quite convincing. Warren appeared more confused than before.

“That’s wrong, Vita, I didn’t.” Steffan’s voice held regret, even sadness. “Not until later—after you brought it up.”

“Then I made a lucky guess, a natural assumption. It still proves nothing.” Vita appealed to her colleagues for support, but no one said anything. Indecision flitted across her face, as she turned her back and stalked across the room. When she reached the far wall, she spun on her heel, crossing her arms. “I can’t believe I’m seeing this. You’re taking an outsider’s word over mine?” Her voice was scathing.

“That’s not how I see it.” Robert bristled, pulling himself to his full height. “Steffan is not an outsider, and I want the truth.”

Warren shuffled his feet again. It was time to end this. She’d given Vita every opportunity to come clean. Now Ari would have to do it for her.