Lover at Last (Black Dagger Brotherhood #11)(99)
Author: J.R. Ward

Blay’s first thought was…well, since Qhuinn was usually the first in line for that, it was unlikely he was going to have to put any kind of Superman outfit on.

"I promise."

As Saxton left, Blay stared off into space. He didn’t see what was in front of him, or remember what he and Saxton had shared in the room. Rather, his mind was next door with Qhuinn, and Qhuinn’s things…and the memories he had of that session with Qhuinn.

Shit.

Glancing at the clock, he put his phone into the chest pocket of the jacket and headed out. As he jogged down to the staircase, voices from the foyer echoed through the hall, a sign that the Brotherhood had already gathered and was waiting for the departure signal.

Sure enough, they were all there. Z and Phury. V and Butch. Rhage, Tohr, and John Matthew.

As he descended, he found himself wishing that Qhuinn was going to come with them – but surely the male was staying home, given the Layla situation.

Where was Payne? he wondered as he went to stand next to John Matthew.

Tohr nodded a hello in Blay’s direction. "Okay, we’re waiting for one more, and then we’ll start moving. First wave will go to the location. On the all-clear, I will dematerialize with Wrath to the house with backup by – "

Lassiter skidded in from the billiards room, the fallen angel glowing from his black-and-blond hair and white eyes, all the way down to his shitkickers. Then again, maybe the illumination wasn’t his nature, but that gold he insisted on wearing.

He looked like a living, breathing jewelry tree.

"I’m here. Where’s my chauffeur hat?"

"Here, use mine," Butch said, outing a B Sox cap and throwing it over. "It’ll help that hair of yours."

The angel caught the thing on the fly and stared at the red S. "I’m sorry, I can’t."

"Do not tell me you’re a Yankees fan," V drawled. "I’ll have to kill you, and frankly, tonight we need all the wingmen we’ve got."

Lassiter tossed the cap back. Whistled. Looked casual.

"Are you serious?" Butch said. Like the guy had maybe volunteered for a lobotomy. Or a limb amputation. Or a pedicure.

"No f**king way," V echoed. "When and where did you become a friend of the enemy – "

The angel held up his palms. "It’s not my fault you guys suck – "

Tohr actually stepped in front of Lassiter, like he was worried that something a lot more than smack talk was going to start flying. And the sad thing was, he was right to be concerned. Apart from their shellans, V and Butch loved the Sox above almost everything else – including sanity.

"Okay, okay," Tohr said, "we have bigger things to worry about – "

"He has to sleep at some point," Butch muttered to his roommate.

"Yeah, watch yourself, angel," V sneered. "We don’t like your kind."

Lassiter shrugged, like the Brothers were nothing more than yappy dogs circling his ankles. "Is someone talking to me? Or is that just the sound of losing – "

Lot of shouting at that point.

"Two words, bitches," Lassiter sneered. "Johnny. Damon. Oh, wait, Kevin. Youkilis. Or Wade. Boggs. Roger. Clemens. Is it that the food sucks in Boston? Or just the ball game?"

Butch lunged at that point, clearly prepared to light the guy up like a Christmas tree –

"What the f**k is going on down there!"

The bellowing voice from above shut off the Sox-versus-Yankees showdown.

As Tohr hauled the cop out of angel range, everyone looked over while the king was led downward by his queen. Wrath’s presence tightened everyone up, the crew going professional. Even Lassiter.

Well, except for Butch. But then, he’d been "wicked hyped up," as he’d call it, for the last twenty-four hours – and he had good reason to be tetchy: His shellan was going to be at the Council meeting. Which, from the Brother’s point of view, was like having two Wraths there. The trouble was, Marissa was the oldest of her line, and that meant if Rehv wanted full attendance, she had to be present.

Poor bastard.

In the lull that followed, Blay’s dagger hand started to tingle, and he had an almost irresistible urge to palm a weapon. All he could think about was that this was nearly identical to the prelude to Wrath’s shooting back in the fall – on that night, they had all gathered here, and Wrath had come down with Beth…and a bullet had been shot out of a rifle and ended its trajectory in the king’s throat.

Apparently, he wasn’t the only one thinking like that. A number of hands went to holsters and stayed put.

"Oh, good, you’re here," Tohr said.

Blay turned with a frown, and had to swallow his reaction. It wasn’t Payne who joined them; it was Qhuinn. And man, the male looked more than ready to f**k some shit up, his eyes grim, his body taut as a bowstring in its black leather.

For a moment, a fissure of pure, sexual awareness shot through Blay.

To the point that a totally inappropriate fantasy occurred to him: namely, he and Qhuinn ducking into the pantry for a quick, clothes-stay-on f**k.

With a groan, he refocused on the king. Which was only appropriate. Wrath was what mattered here, not his frickin’ love life….

A feeling of unease replaced the lust.

Were he and Qhuinn ever going to be together again?

God, what a strange thought. It wasn’t like the sex was a good idea emotionally. Arguably, it was an extremely bad one.

But he wanted more of it. God help him.

"All right, let’s do this," Tohr spoke up. "Everyone know where we’re going?"

It was a troubling relief to have the grave nature of the assignment in front of them clear his brain of everything but the commitment to save Wrath’s life…even if it cost him his own.

That was better than worrying about the Qhuinn shit, though.

For certain.

Chapter Fifty-one

Qhuinn took form on a snow-covered terrace, and as everyone in the Brotherhood but Butch materialized alongside of him, he was not surprised by all the swank. The estate that the Council meeting was being held at was your standard glymera setup: lot of land that had been cleared and landscaped. Little cottage down by the entrance that looked like it belonged on a postcard of the Cotswalds. Big-ass mansion that, in this case, was made of brick and had dentil molding, shiny shutters, and slate roofing.

"Let’s do this," V said, walking over to a side door.

The instant he pounded on it, the thing opened, as if that, along with so much, had been prearranged. But oh, man, if this was their hostess? The female who stood in the doorway was dressed in a long dark evening gown that was cut down to her navel, and she had a ring of diamonds around her throat the size of a Doberman’s collar. Her perfume so heavy it was like a slap in the sinuses – in spite of the fact that he was still outdoors.