Lover at Last (Black Dagger Brotherhood #11)(25)
Author: J.R. Ward

"Yup. What was going to happen anyway is now nice and legal."

The Brotherhood had known all along who had been on the trigger of the shot that had nearly killed him back in the fall – and the duty of picking off the Band of Bastards one by one was something they were looking at as so much more than a sacred duty to the race.

"Listen, I gotta be honest, true?"

"When are you not?" Wrath drawled.

"Why the hell are you tying our hands?"

"Didn’t know I was."

"With Tohr."

Wrath repositioned George so that the blood supply to his left leg wasn’t completely cut off by the dog’s weight. "He asked for the proclamation."

"We all have a right to take out Xcor. That ass**le is the prize we all want. It shouldn’t be restricted to just him."

"He asked."

"It makes it more difficult to kill the bastard. What if one of us finds him out there and Tohr isn’t with us?"

"Then you bring him in." There was a long, tense silence. "Do you hear me, V. You bring that piece of shit in, and let Tohr do his duty."

"The goal is to eliminate the Band of Bastards."

"And how’s that keeping you from the job?" When there was no reply, Wrath shook his head. "Tohr was in that van with me, my brother. He saved my life. Without him…"

As the sentence drifted, V cursed softly – like he was running the math on that memory, and coming to the conclusion that the Brother who had had to cut a plastic tube free of his CamelBak and performed a tracheotomy on his king in a moving vehicle miles away from any medical help might have sliiiiiiiightly more right to kill the perp.

Wrath smiled a little. "Tell you what – just because I’m nice guy, I’ll promise you all a crack at him before Tohr kills the motherfucker with his bare hands. Deal?"

V laughed. "That does take the sting off of it."

The knock that interrupted them was quiet and respectful – a couple of soft taps that seemed to suggest whoever it was would be happy to be blown off, content to wait, and hoping for an immediate audience all at the same time.

"Yeah," Wrath called out.

Expensive cologne announced his solicitor’s arrival: Saxton always smelled good, and that fit his persona. From what Wrath remembered, in addition to the guy’s great education and the quality of his thinking, he dressed in the fashion of a well-bred son of the glymera. I.e., perfectly.

Not that Wrath had seen it recently.

He put his wraparounds on in a quick surge. It was one thing to be exposed in front of V; not going to happen in front of the young, efficient male who was coming through the door – no matter how much Sax was trusted and consulted.

"What have you got for me?" Wrath said as George’s tail brushed back and forth in greeting.

There was a long pause. "Mayhap I should come back?"

"You can say anything in front of my brother."

Another long pause, during which V was probably eyeing the attorney like he wanted to take a chunk out of his fancy, pretty-boy ass for suggesting there was an information divide that needed to be respected.

"Even if it’s about the Brotherhood?" Saxton said levelly.

Wrath could practically feel V’s icy eyes swing around. And sure enough, the brother bit out, "What about us."

When Saxton remained silent, Wrath clued into what it was. "Can you give us a minute, V?"

"Are you f**king me?"

Wrath picked up George and put him down on the floor. "I just need five minutes."

"Fine. Have fun with it, my lord," V spat as he got to his feet. "Fuckin’ A."

A moment later, the door slammed shut.

Saxton cleared his throat. "I could have come back."

"If I’d wanted that, I would have told you to. Talk to me."

A deep breath was taken and let out, as if the civilian was staring at that exit and wondering if V’s pissed-off departure might just cause him to wake up dead later on in the day. "Ah…the audit of the Old Laws is complete, and I can provide you with a comprehensive listing of all sections that require amendment, along with proposed rewording, and a timeline on which the changes could be made if – "

"Yes or no. That’s all I care about."

Going by the whisper-soft sound of loafers treading an Aubusson, Wrath extrapolated that his lawyer was going for a little walkabout. From memory, he pictured the study, with its pale blue walls and its curlicue molding and all the flimsy, antique French furniture.

Saxton made more sense in this room than Wrath did with his leathers and his muscle shirt.

But the law prescribed who was to be king.

"You need to start flapping your gums, Saxton. I will guarantee you that you won’t be fired if you tell me how it is straight up. Try editing the truth or softballing it? And you’re out on your ass, I don’t care who you’re sleeping with."

There was another throat clearing. And then that cultured voice came at him from head-on across the desk. "Yes, you can do as you wish. I have concerns about the timing, however."

"Why? ‘Cuz it’s going to take you two years to make the amendments?"

"You’re making a fundamental change to a section of society that protects the species – and it could further destabilize your rule. I am not unaware of the pressures you’re under, and it would be remiss of me not to point out the obvious. If you alter the prescription of who may enter the Black Dagger Brotherhood, it could well give even further opening for dissent – this is unlike anything you’ve attempted during your reign, and it’s coming in an era of extreme social upset."

Wrath inhaled long and slow through his nose – and caught a whole lot of no bad juju: there was no evidence to suggest the guy was being duplicitous or not wanting to do the work.

And he had a point.

"I appreciate the insight," Wrath said. "But I’m not going to bow to the past. I refuse to. And if I had doubts about the male in question, I wouldn’t be doing this."

"How do the other Brothers feel?"

"That’s none of your business." In fact, he hadn’t broached this idea with them yet. After all, why bother if there was no possibility of moving forward. Tohr and Beth were the only ones who knew exactly how far he was prepared to take this. "How long will it take you to make it legal?"

"I can have everything drawn up by dawn tomorrow – nightfall at the latest."

"Do it." Wrath made a fist and banged it onto the arm of the throne. "Do it now."

"As you wish, my lord."

There was a rustle of fine clothing, as if the male were bowing, and then more padding feet before one half of the double doors opened and shut.