"I thought of you the minute I saw the photograph of the painting," I smiled back at Wlodek. "I never liked Meissonier as much as I did David."
"You seem to know a little about it."
"I have some hours in art history."
"Merrill has told me as much." I wondered what else Merrill had told him but didn't ask. Who knew what information Wlodek kept inside his head? He was still the oldest vampire I'd met and therefore likely held a great deal of information.
Merrill came back, apologized for the interruption and sat down again. "Now, back to business," Wlodek said. "Weldon Harper has requested that Lissa provide security for him while he performs some of his yearly duties across the United States. He managed to accomplish the European portion while he was here, but now he is scheduled to travel across the U.S. And since his Second's wife is pregnant, the alternate that was here with him will be going. The Grand Master has asked for Lissa as extra security. I have given permission, since she is officially a member of the Pack, as it were."
"Lissa?" Merrill was looking at me. I hadn't said a word.
"I'll go," I said. "I just hope there's no more of," I hesitated, searching for the words to describe what Winkler had done to me, "whatever it was that happened last time," I floundered around a little. What was I supposed to call it? Dry humping? In front of Wlodek? It had only been dry on my part. I wondered what happened to the clothes Gavin ripped off me. Not to mention the total embarrassment of being dragged out of there in only my underwear. Gavin had stripped me in front of the entire Council and the Enforcers. If the observers hadn't been vampire, I imagine that my image would be all over YouTube by now.
"We'll send you tomorrow evening; you'll spend the night in a safe house in New York before making the second leg to Grand Forks," Wlodek said. "Russell and Will are going with you since you don't have the information and codes for the safe house and such."
"How long is this going to take?" I asked.
"Three months," Wlodek said. "With a short break for Thanksgiving and Christmas. If Merrill wishes, you may join him for the holidays."
"I already have other plans," Merrill said. I turned sharply in his direction but didn't say anything. Merrill's face was unreadable, as usual. Franklin had plans to be with Greg, I knew that already. Well, I'd have to make my own plans, looked like.
"Well, then, if Gavin isn't busy," Wlodek smoothed it over. "He is your intended, after all." I didn't want to be the one to tell Wlodek how firmly Gavin had staked his claim, but then Merrill may have already supplied that information.
* * *
"Franklin, I'll email you and do my best to get your Christmas card to you," I said as I folded clothing to tuck into one of four bags I was packing.
"You have my phone number and Greg's," Frank said as he watched me pack from a chair beside my bed. I'd gotten Greg's number while he visited earlier, just in case I needed to call him about any other emergency that might crop up with Franklin. Franklin declared that there weren't going to be any other emergencies, but I'd taken the number anyway. "You can come and stay with us during Christmas if you want."
"I hate to interrupt the time with your honey," I said. "But I'll call if everything else falls through. Who knows, I may see how the wolves do the holidays."
"You know if Gavin's available, he won't leave you alone."
"I sort of do know that."
"You still don't trust him."
Franklin must have known by my expression just what I was going to say before I said it. "I don't trust any vampire," I said. "They're all full of secrets and they squeak when they turn loose of one of them. And when one of those secrets gets me in trouble or nearly killed, they don't really give a shit. Do they?" I tossed underwear into my suitcase a little harder than was warranted.
"Lissa, they're a secretive race. It's difficult for them to invite trust. They anger quickly too, for the most part."
"Well, same here," I said. "If it took going to bed with Gavin so he wouldn't kill his cousin, then so be it."
"Is that why you did it?"
"Not the whole reason, no," I grumbled. "I'm still a little pissed about all this. Why didn't they tell me up front they wanted to sell me off to somebody instead of parading me in front of a bunch of old vampires, just to see who put up a winning bid?"
"Do you have any feelings for Gavin?"
"Yes. Of course I do. It's just, I don't know." I sat down on the bed and put my head in my hands. "How did my life get so f**ked up, Franklin? How?"
"Terrible things happen all the time, little girl," Franklin came over to sit beside me. "Come on, you're better than this. I know you're stronger than this. I don't know too many vampires, werewolves or humans who would willingly rush in, grab somebody strapped with a bomb and haul them out of the building, just to save a bunch of people who almost killed you to start with."
I lifted my head and looked at Franklin. "It was bad enough, seeing all of them there and about to get blown up, but what scared the bejeezus out of me was that Merrill was there, too. Now, I still haven't forgiven him for getting me sick when he ordered me to drink from a kid who'd taken a whole medicine cabinet one night, but I sort of like him."
"I know," Franklin patted my back. "And in a perfect world, well," he didn't finish.
"Frank, I've seen the picture on his nightstand. There's only one reason for a man to have a woman's picture on his nightstand. I can't compete with that. Not now and not ever. Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind, and therefore is winged Cupid painted blind," I quoted Shakespeare. "It's as simple as that."
"Is that your favorite quote?"
"No. But it's the one that fits," I sighed. I sat on the edge of my bed, contemplating the twists and turns my life had taken in a short span of time. "I get the idea that the woman in that photograph is so special, nobody can come close," I added.
Franklin smiled at me. "Shouldn't you be packing?" he asked, tapping the edge of my suitcase.
"Yeah. Don't remind me. I have to go guard the king of the werewolves and his court jester, who came all over my clothes the last time I saw him. Can you explain that to me? What kind of custom is that?" Franklin laughed and we were back to normal.
Merrill drove me to the airport the following evening, after making sure I had plenty of money, my credit card, passport, driver's license and anything else I might need for the next three months. I wasn't sure how I felt about spending three months with the wolves. Gavin already knew when I phoned him; Wlodek asked Charles to give him a call. He wasn't happy, but then I knew he wouldn't be. Being merely unhappy would have been an improvement over what he was. He was angry when he called. And he lectured me quite extensively over the whole thing. Lots of don'ts came out of his mouth. "Don't let that werewolf put his hands on you. Don't trust any of them. Don't let them put your life in danger like the last time." The list went on, but those were the big ones. It’s a good thing vampires don't have heart attacks, strokes or aneurysms. Gavin would be well on his way to vampire limbo if that were true. He also ordered me to check in regularly. In his eyes, he owned me, and I was tired of being owned already.