“One hour,” the voice said, and the line went dead.
Morgan put the phone down, then was brave enough to meet Ethan’s furious gaze.
“That you would dare to volunteer Merit without her, or my, consent absolutely astounds me.”
“I had to take someone. Who else at this table would you send?”
“So you’ll throw her to your wolves without even asking her permission?”
“Did you ask her permission to make her a vampire?”
Ethan’s body went rigid, and he moved to stand, but I squeezed the hand on his arm.
“Morgan,” I said, “quit being an asshole. Ethan, he’s right. I’m the best person to go. I’ve dealt with Jude Maguire, I’ve got skills, and I can talk to Morgan telepathically. That’s a big advantage.”
“He might have asked you.”
“He should have,” I agreed, leveling an unflattering gaze at Morgan. “But he didn’t, and it’s done.”
Ethan’s gaze didn’t waver. “How long will it take to get to the helipad?”
Jeff scanned the map he’d already pulled up on the screen. “Current estimate is twenty-three minutes.”
“We get there early, scope it out. That gives us twenty minutes to get this operation ready to go.” He glanced at Morgan. “And when it’s done, you and I have business.”
Morgan nodded, and the preparations began.
* * *
I let them deal with the logistics, ran upstairs to change clothes. This wouldn’t be a social call. I’d need as much protection as possible, so I pulled on leather pants, a red tank, my leather jacket, black boots. I wanted to tuck a dagger into my boot, but the CPD still had it. Not that it mattered; the Circle would undoubtedly search me and take it, and since it had been a gift from Ethan, I didn’t want to lose it.
The possibility that Balthasar would be there, would be involved, occurred to me, and turned my stomach. I was looking forward to a good down-and-dirty fight, but not one that took place in my mind. I considered, grabbed the bracelet from the nightstand, fastened it. Better to be safe than sorry where he was concerned.
I splashed water on my face, brushed my hair so I could tie it up. When I emerged from the bathroom, pulling my hair into a ponytail, Ethan stood in the doorway, hands in his pockets, still vibrating with irritation.
“He’s put you in a damn fine position.”
“It was an asshole move,” I agreed, snapping the elastic into place and ensuring that the ponytail was snug. “But he’s right—he didn’t have a better choice.”
“They now know you’re coming,” he said as I walked toward him. “They’ll be prepared for you, and might consider taking you as an asset.”
I nodded, offered up the realization that had made my heart thump beneath my chest like a nervous rabbit.
“If they really wanted to negotiate, to give him a new assignment, they’d have done it over the phone. Bringing us to their HQ is risky. Which means they don’t really want to negotiate.”
Ethan’s brow furrowed, and he nodded. “We think you’re right.”
“So they want to kill us, or use us as bait to get something else. Like Sanford King, who is currently inaccessible to them, since he’s in protective custody. And they’ll assume my grandfather knows where he is.”
“And they’ll assume they can use you to get to your grandfather.”
I nodded. That was a lot of weight on my shoulders, and I really didn’t want to get kidnapped again. I’d already been held by a demon and a group of jingoistic elves, and didn’t want to make it an even three.
“Morgan’s aware of all this?”
“He is. Your grandfather spoke with him about it.”
I nodded, considered. “I think we go in with the assumption this will be a hostage exchange, that they’ll come out swinging. From our perspective, we’re trying to nail a location, identify players, so we can turn the mess over to the CPD.”
“I am so proud of what you’ve become,” Ethan said quietly. “And it terrifies me.”
I grinned at him. “It terrifies me, too. But it’s also surprisingly fun. In between the bouts of terror and anxiety.” I put a hand on his chest, felt his own heart pound beneath my pulse, and was relieved when it didn’t add to my anxiety. “I know you’ve already planned an escape route. What is it?”
He smiled, just a little. “Brody will have the car ready, your grandfather will have two CPD units and the van ready to go, and I’ve arranged for a helicopter, just in case.”
“Any sense of where they’ll be taking us?”
“Either someplace they don’t want to be followed on the ground, or a place offshore.”
“An island in the lake?”
“That was Arthur’s thought.”
I nodded. “That could work. It would also explain why the CPD hadn’t been able to find their lair. Depending on its location, they may not even have jurisdiction over it.”
“Your grandfather thought of that as well,” Ethan said with a smile. “He’s contacting authorities in Wisconsin and Michigan, just in case. Those seemed the most likely possibilities.”
I put a hand on his chest. “I’ll take care of myself.”
“Oh, I know you will,” he said, and pressed his lips to my forehead. “Because if you don’t, you and Morgan will both have to answer to me.”