She swung away from him, a cocky smile curving her glossy red lips. “Aren’t we a little grabby? Wonder what your pretty sacrifice would say about that.”
He advanced on Claudia. Other than a tiny flicker of wariness in her exotic, almond-shaped eyes, she showed no outward signs of fear. Didn’t surprise him. She’d always come across as one hell of a ballsy broad. He bared his teeth in a menacing display. “Couldn’t resist returning to admire your handiwork?”
Claudia frowned. “You think I did this?” Her focus drifted to the damaged walls and she snorted. “Holy hell, you’re an idiot. This is so not my style.”
“Maybe you didn’t wield the spray can. But I’m willing to bet you know who did.”
She swaggered to the low table and propped one knee-high black combat boot on its edge, assuming the stance of an extremely bored badass. “Do I look like I’m psychic?” A husky laugh floated from her. “That gives me an idea. Maybe you should ask your purple-haired friend to give her crystal ball a good shake and see what it coughs up.”
Angry smoke funneling from his nostrils, Aiden crowded over Claudia. “If you don’t come clean with me, you’ll be the one getting a good shake.”
Adopting a sultry pout, Claudia tossed her hair back. “Honey, don’t be making promises you can’t deliver on.”
He clenched his jaw and stepped away from her. Indulging in this sparring match would get him nowhere. “What are you doing here, Claudia?”
“You mean in Michigan, or in your sacrifice’s gallery, exchanging nice pleasantries with you?”
“Both,” he said, deliberately ignoring her sarcasm. “But let’s first start with what the hell you’re doing impersonating a sword smith.”
“Impersonating? I’ll have you know I personally designed each and every one of those gorgeous babies.” She scowled when he sent her a doubtful look. “What, you think your little sacrifice is the only one with some artistic talent?”
“I always thought your talents ran more toward petty theft and grand larceny.”
“Honey, don’t believe everything you hear.”
He clenched his jaw, his patience stretched to the snapping point. “Fine, you’re the next da Vinci of the sword-smithing world. That doesn’t explain the convenience of you working the same festival as Dana, and the fact you ran from me the other day.”
Claudia dropped her boot from the table and planted her hands on her hips. “I wasn’t running from you. I just wasn’t ready to talk to you yet.”
He cocked an eyebrow. “And now you are?”
“Yes. I need your help.” She spit the last part out like it was rancid. “I’m trying to track down Tucker. Lord, the lengths I stoop to for that kid.”
Her answer caught him off guard. “What the hell does your brother have to do with any of this?”
A carefully controlled mask of innocence settled on Claudia’s face. “Did I say he had anything to do with your little melodrama?”
“You wouldn’t be here if he didn’t.” Crossing his arms over his chest, he gave her a measuring look. “If you’re worried about ratting out your brother, I might be willing to let his involvement slide if you both cooperate and tell me who’s behind everything.”
“The big, bad clan Alpha offering the Knoxvilles amnesty? My ancestors must be howling in their graves right about now.” A scoffing laugh hooted from Claudia.
He narrowed his eyes. “Are you finished?”
Her laugh trickling into a chuckle, she wiped her watering eyes. “Yeah, guess so.” She glanced at her fingers before swiping their mascara-smudged tips on her skintight black jeans. “I have your word Tucker won’t be prosecuted for anything he might or might not have done?”
Corralling his impatience at her evasiveness, he nodded.
“Good. I also want your sworn oath you’ll provide protection for Tucker.”
His eyebrows arched. “Protection from what?”
“Not what. Whom. That son of a bitch Kinnit.”
A hot ball of fury gathered in Aiden’s gut. “He’s the one behind this?” His arm arched out in an angry slash, indicating the vandalized walls.
“I have no idea. All I know is he was blackmailing Tucker over some bad business that went down a few months back, and lo and behold, my brother decides to fall off the face of the earth two weeks ago.”
The same time the council announced their intentions for him to honor the Drakoni contract. Mighty big coincidence. “You think Tucker is here to do Kinnit’s dirty work.” He phrased it as a statement of fact rather than speculation. There was no doubt in his mind that kind of arrangement would be right up Kinnit’s alley. Still, he felt compelled to play devil’s advocate. “Could be your brother is holed up somewhere, trying to stay out of range of Kinnit’s radar.”
Claudia dug into her back pocket and held out a folded piece of paper. “This is a recent log of purchases on my brother’s credit card. The last entry is from a convenience store five blocks down the road.”
Aiden snatched the paper and scanned it. “How the hell did you get a hold of this?”
“I have my sources.”
He handed the page back to Claudia. “You realize what you’ve shown me shines an accusing light on your brother. I won’t prosecute him according to Drakoni law, but it doesn’t save him from human laws. He’ll be charged for breaking and entering. Not to mention the vandalism.”
Her mouth tightening, Claudia shoved the paper away in her pocket. “Tucker didn’t do this. I’m almost certain of it.”
“Let me guess. It’s not his style,” he bit out mockingly.
“No, it isn’t.” Claudia strode to the opposite wall and pointed to the offensive words painted there. “He knows I’d kick his ass for ever calling a woman that. And trust me, my brother is very afraid of me.”
He grunted at the note of pride in her voice. It was a safe bet that a lot of males were terrified of Claudia Knoxville. “You haven’t spoken to Tucker at all these past two weeks?”
Claudia scowled, apparently reading his skepticism. “Damn it, Fortune, I’m not blowing smoke up your ass. My brother is missing and Kinnit is responsible. I know it.”
Heaving a frustrated breath, she stomped forward and shot him a fierce glare. “I would rather chop off my big toe than ask you for a favor, but I’m desperate.” Grim determination hardened her features. “You’re the only one who has any power over Kinnit. Help me prove what a backstabbing weasel he is and make him pay.”
Aiden broke away from her stare and glanced at the wall. Rage—black, cold, and purposeful—crested on a fresh wave. “You have my word. If Thomas Kinnit is behind this, no power on earth will stop me from crushing him like a bug.”
Chapter Fourteen
Dana critically eyed the beginnings of the watercolor in front of her. She sighed, tapping the pointed end of her fan brush against her lips. “This isn’t right at all.” Rolling her neck, she listened to her strained tendons pop and crack and took it as a sign that she needed a break. She plopped the brush into the mason jar of water and lifted from her artist’s stool.
Abandoning her office studio, she ventured down the hall to the living room. Jace was sprawled on the couch, enjoying a head massage courtesy of Ms. Whiskers’ kneading paws.
Dana bit back a grin. “Am I interrupting something?”
“Your cat gives a mean shiatsu. You should consider hiring her out.”
She sat on the arm of the couch and rested her chin in her hand before slumping in dejection. “Well, at least one of us has a marketable talent.”