“I’d say bust in and kill the nosy bastards, but I think what’s happening was inevitable,” Nick said with a sigh, coming to sit upright in the recliner. “The exposure of the shadows wasn’t something we could expect to have avoided forever.”
“We’ve done a damn good job of it so far,” Rome said.
“That was before Sabar and the Rogues,” X chimed in. “Shadows live by the Ètica, we care about the threat of exposure. Rogues don’t give a damn what they do or how they do it. You saw that when they robbed that bank and when they started a battle with us right in the middle of a public street.”
Rome took a swallow from his glass. His skin was darker than X’s, and so was his cat. He looked menacing even though he rarely scowled and usually had a mild-mannered demeanor.
“So somebody else might know about us as well,” he said, then cursed.
X figured Rome was feeling this was his fault as the Faction Leader. He was supposed to protect the secret of the shadows.
“You can’t control what others do,” X told him. “Rogues don’t give a shit; they’re out there for all to see. There’s no way we can contain that type of blatant attack.”
“I hate to say it but he’s right, Rome,” Nick added. “Even if we kill Sabar tomorrow, we need to accept that the damage may have already been done.”
Rome was shaking his head. “The damage was done when our parents started working with Cortez. That’s where the door opened to our exposure.”
X had already told him what he’d learned from Hernandez. They’d decided that the immediate issue was still Sabar. But now it all seemed to be coming together to make it all relevant.
“Kalina found some journal entries,” Rome offered. “The dates match those same dates Hernandez gave you.”
“So your father took notes after meeting up with Cortez?” X asked.
“Yeah, brilliant man that he was,” Rome quipped.
Nick shook his head. “At least your father left you something to follow his trail. If my parents had anything I guess it went up in that car fire with them.”
“Either way, the evidence shows that your parents weren’t traitors. They were doing what was necessary to keep the tribe viable. We probably would have died out there in the forest without any outside help.” X had been thinking about this since returning from Sedona.
Yes, Loren Reynolds and Henrique Delgado went to Cortez and took his drug money to supply the needs of a tribe that shouldn’t exist. A wrong deed to support a good cause. X couldn’t hate them for that. Hell, at least their parents had cared enough about their own children and the families of others just like them—whether they knew them personally or not—to take such a risk. If you asked him, they should be commended.
“I think you guys need to lay off your parents about this. They did what they thought was best at the time,” he told them.
Both Nick and Rome looked at him as if he’d spoken in another language. X shrugged. It wasn’t often that he talked about their parents like this; usually he just went along with what they said because he didn’t want to offend them or because he just didn’t know. How was he supposed to know how good parents acted when his were at the bottom of—no, they were beneath—the totem pole?
“They put us all in danger,” Rome said, staring down into his glass.
Nick shrugged. “They probably thought it was the only route to take.”
“You do what’s best for that moment. Sometimes you can’t think about the long term,” X said.
“And what about your parents—you forgive them for not thinking about the long term?” Nick asked.
X’s already weird mood took a turn for the worse. “We’re not talking about my parents,” he said.
“We never do,” Nick rebutted. “But it’s obviously affected who you are now, who you’re trying to be.”
“And why is that your business?”
“Because who you are now is tied to my sister.”
X cursed. “Dammit, Nick. We’ve been over this already. What Caprise and I do is none of your damn business.”
“But what happens to all of us as a result of what you and Caprise do is relevant, X.” Rome put his drink down and took a deep breath. “Look, you know we’ve never pried into your past. Even when we could have looked back to see exactly what happened in Atlanta, we didn’t, because you’re our friend and we respected your privacy. But you’ve got to respect where we’re coming from now.”
X walked across the room, leaving the window yet keeping his back to them. They were supposed to be his friends, but right at this moment he wasn’t so sure. He wasn’t sure about a lot of things, especially after talking to Caprise earlier.
“That has nothing to do with the here and now,” he told them.
“You sure about that, X? I mean, I’ve watched you over the last few years with women. I know the stuff you’re into and I don’t pry because what goes on in one man’s bedroom has nothing to do with me. You’re a good agent and a loyal shifter, but you’re haunted by something and it seems like it’s taking its toll on you now,” Nick said.
He wasn’t yelling, wasn’t accusing as he had been in the last few days. He was just telling him something, as he’d done many times in the past.
“I think that’s part of the reason that agent is looking at you for this Diamond Turner thing. He had to see something in you to make him think you could do a thing like this.”
X whirled on Rome so fast, his entire body shaking with rage. “I did not kill that girl! And FL or not, I should kick your ass for having the balls to stand there and accuse me.”
Rome stood up, went toe-to-toe with X. “I’m saying what that agent is thinking. From his point of view you’ve got the rage, the strength, and since he has that business card he figures the opportunity to do this.”
“He said as much when he called me yesterday,” Nick added.
“He called you and you didn’t tell me?”
“I’m your attorney, but I don’t have to tell you about every call I take.”
“When it concerns me and my life you do.”
“X, he’s not charging you. He doesn’t have enough evidence for that. But you standing in an alley killing that tiger wasn’t helpful.”
“Oh, like you killing Ary’s father in a fucking parking garage? Nick, give me a break with your psychoanalysis bullshit! You’re just as volatile as I am and you would have done the same thing if you’d seen the fear he put in Caprise. Shit, half the shifters in this building would have done it. It’s who and what we are.”
“We’re not disputing that, X. We just think maybe there’s something else bothering you,” Rome said.
“No. There’s nothing bothering me,” X said before storming out of the room.
After he’d slammed the door Nick and Rome exchanged knowing glances.
“Do not worry, Mr. Rome,” Baxter said from the spot he’d been standing beside the bar.
He had been trained in the art of being there but not being noticed. It was part of his heritage. But he’d seen and heard everything. In fact, he’d known this was coming. Mr. Xavier had been like the proverbial pot of boiling water, only someone had set the flame very low with him years ago. Now the water had just begun to boil, the rage just ready to explode. Unfortunately, the remedy was not going to lie in this friendship.
“He will survive this,” Baxter finished. “He will survive and be much better because of it.”
“How do you know this?” Nick asked. “You always know everything, even before things happen. How is that, Baxter? Who are you really?”
Rome did not object to any of those questions, even though they may have been better coming from him. But he looked at Baxter waiting, hoping, he would deem it appropriate to answer at least some of them.