Hear Me When the Sun Goes Down (4 page)

Holy schnikes
, he did want to talk about starting something up between the two of us again.  I had to get out of there before I ended up giving something away.  “You know we should probably save that for later.  I’d better get upstairs and face the music, see what people have to say about my lies.  My knee is already feeling tons better, I shouldn’t keep hiding out down here.”

His brows drew together into a single dark line.  “No one will think you’re hiding out.  I’m pretty sure you’re entitled to a little R and R after what we’ve been through.” 

“Unfortunately, that’s not what being the Elder of the West is about.  They’ll take it as a sign of weakness, trust me.  No, for good or ill, Jakob’s stepped forth to claim me, and now every relationship I’ve forged since I got here will be called into question until I can go and schmooze with them all.  Not to mention Jakob himself.  I’d better go find out what being claimed by an
Ellri
entitles him to.”

The furrow between his brows deepened.  “I don’t like the sound of that.”

“Neither do I, but I don’t have a whole heck of a lot of choice, do I?”  I flashed him the briefest of smiles.  “At least it’ll get Aubrey off my back.  Not much he can do to me now, is there?”

“That wasn’t all about you, you know.  Part of it is his history with me.  He wanted to make me suffer
, and lashing out at you was the easiest way to make that happen.”

“Do you think so?  Because it felt like he was plenty hurt when I turned him down.”

“I’m sure that was part of it,” Bishop smiled, picking up my hand in his.  “I happen to know what it feels like to push away the woman you care about because of your own pigheadedness.” 

“Everything all right here?” Rob asked, popping his head in the doorway.  His eyes flicked to our joined hands, but his face gave nothing away. 

“It’s all good.  I’m feeling much better, thanks to you.” I breathed an internal sigh of relief, pulling my hand free.  “Time to go see what trouble Jakob’s gotten himself into.”

“Feeling better, beloved?” Jakob asked as soon as I tracked him down in the meeting hall.  Brody and his werewolves were in attendance, with no sign of any Order members beyond those scurrying to clear out of the lower levels.  Brody stepped aside without a word as Rob and I entered, shutting the door behind us.  If he found anything demeaning about being relegated to doorman status, no sign of it showed on his face.  I had a fleeting thought to wonder where Tucker had disappeared to since he was cleared by Jakob’s arrival, but I didn’t ask.

“Yes, thank you,” I replied in all honesty, leaving out the part where I owed that more to Rob than Winter.  “We need to talk, don’t you think?”  I gave Jakob a pointed look, head jotting to the werewolf guards, hoping he got the hint I wanted to talk to him alone.

“Not now, petal.” Jakob motioned me forward.  “Come and sit by my side.” 

“Well
, which is it?  Do you not have time to talk to me, or do you want me to sit beside you?”  I hung in place, not sure which way to move.

“Both,” he grinned.  “Send the delegates in.”  He waved to Brody as I took a seat at his right hand.

“You called a meeting for now?  Don’t you think maybe we should get our stories straight first,” I said, leaning close for his ears only.

“The better to address these few petty things aside and be on our way,” he replied, taking advantage of my proximity to kiss the side of my neck.  A tiny squeak emerged from my lips at the unexpected contact, and I jerked back upright, much to his amusement. 

Rob stood behind us as the delegates filed in, and I wished I could see his face without having to be completely obvious about it and turning halfway around in my seat.  For the moment I focused on the delegates themselves, trying to gauge how they received me in their midst now that my secret was out.  To my disappointment, Felix wasn’t among them, and neither was Macallister James, the rep from Texas.  

“Now then,” Jakob began when they were all seated.  “As you can plainly see, I have decided to re-enter society, such as it is these days,” he said loftily.  “I admit, I have little interest in your dealings, but I will offer my counsel as is my duty.  Not all of you are known to me, and as such, I will endeavor to sit in on your sessions whenever my schedule permits.  You have one week to submit any petitions, then I will be returning to the West with my Anja.”

I had a thing or two to say about that, but I held my tongue, smiling blandly.  And I’d thought him domineering before… Jeez, Louise, that was barely the tip of the iceberg.

“You may proceed,” Jakob waved them on.  “Pretend I’m not here.”  His fingers stroked at a lock of my hair, and I swatted at him absently, not enjoying being pawed at when I was supposed to be representing my House. 

Aubrey slouched at the opposite end of the massive conference table, Jakob having appropriated the Elder’s usual chair.  “Right then, first order of business…” he began, but I cut him off before he got any farther.

“Wait,” I objected.  “
We should include Macallister James, don’t you think?  If we’re going to have a true meeting of all the Houses, he deserves to be here.  He’s the leader of his people same as we are.  It’s time we acknowledged him as such.”

It didn’t hurt that I had Jakob by my side as I made the declaration, and not a peep was made to the contrary, not even by Jennike, though the look in her eyes could hardly be described as soft and fluffy. 

“Very well,” Aubrey said when no one spoke to the contrary, and in a few minutes time, Mac strolled in, his grin a mile wide as he took a seat at the big boy’s table. At least he had the common sense not to gloat beyond the smile.

“Right then, if we may continue on to business.  I believe we should address the elephant in the room,” Aubrey
forged on, gesturing to me and I froze, not expecting him to call me out like that.  Sure, I expected to be the topic of the day, but not at the official meeting. 

I sat very still, my back straight as I waited for the disapproval, the recriminations, but the first thing any one said was, “Yes, we need to address this attack on one of our own.”  I had Rein Faust to thank for that, but the conversation that followed made one thing abundantly clear.

They weren’t mad at me at all. 

They were far more outraged at how I’d been treated.  If there were any noses bent out of shape over my lies, it didn’t make it to the table.  The topic was broader than my ordeal though, the main concern seemed to be what it could mean for all of them. 

“The Order has too much power, that’s clear.  It’s time to talk about limiting it,” Faust added, with mixed results.  

“But how can we go against the Order?” Felippo asked, looking like he’d rather jump into a pit of poisonous snakes.  “The laws are clear.”

“And who writes the laws?” I posed, warming to the subject.  “Who decides what the penalties are for breaking the laws?”  My questions were met with a stunned silence, as though they’d never once thought about it.  “Come on, guys, it’s the twenty-first century.  Isn’t it time for a little change?” 

Erik Erlendur’s meaty fist pounded on the table, his eyes as wild as his unkempt hair.  “I say we hunt the Order down and eradicate them!”  That brought a new
wave of murmurs to the crowd.

“Go up against the Order?” Khalid scowled.  “That’s madness!”

“Madness is thinking you stand a chance against them,” the delegate from Thyssa muttered.

“No one said it had to be a frontal assault,” Jennike’s lips curved into a speculative smile.  “There are other ways to take down one’s enemies.”

“I never said they were the enemy.”  I jumped back into the conversation before it descended into further thoughts of bloodshed.  How had this steamrollered out of control so quickly?

Faust raised his hands in a calming gesture.  “No one’s talking about attacking the Order, we’re talking about being strong enough to bring them under our control, as it should be.”

“Right,” I agreed.  “We need the Order to, well… keep order.  At their core they provide a valuable service to our community.  They deter vamps from exposing us, and keep breeding under control.  Those are still good things.  But we should be able to dictate how much power they have in our own lands.  They shouldn’t be the only stop between a lawbreaker and the final death.  Everybody deserves a fair trial, or at least the opportunity to speak in their defense instead of this
I am the Law
crap.” 

Jennike’s eyes narrowed, unconvinced.  “You’re talking about another branch of government entirely.  Who will pay for this all?”

I took a deep breath.  Somehow or other, it always boiled down to money.  “That’s where you have to decide if it’s worth it to you to take control of your own lands.  Are you willing to share some of the wealth?  ‘Cause I can guarantee there are vamps out there ready and willing to take up the additional burdens of setting up a judicial system.  If we pay them a decent wage, they’ll be less susceptible to bribery and corruption.  Or is it only the West that’s run that way?”  I could see from their faces that it wasn’t.  I could also see the tide turning.  They were at least considering my proposal, and that was a huge step in the right direction.  Maybe something good could come out of Volkov’s treatment of us after all?

“There seems a simpler way to go about this,” Jakob observed, his voice cutting through the din.  The room fell silent, all of them hanging on his every word.  “Disband the Order if they have outlived their usefulness.”

“Yes!” Jennike declared, her dark eyes shining.  That alone told me it was a stupid idea if she supported it.  The room was more conflicted, the murmurs flying fast and free.

“Wait, you can’t do that,” I gasped, my head swiveling to catch his gaze.

“Can’t I?” he smirked. 

“Have you not been listening at all?  We need order, not chaos – we just need to limit the Order’s charter.”

Jakob spread his hands.  “You have the chance to remake the Order as you would have them.  Starting fresh will ensure there they are all entirely loyal to you, not harboring a desire to return to the glory days.”

“He speaks the truth,” Faust agreed.  “Were we to build our own force from the ground up, we
could shape them as we would.”

I could see them start to sway the crowd and I couldn’t be sure any decision to disband the Order wouldn’t come with a whole lot of bloodshed.  “That would take entirely too long.  The infrastructure of the Order is sound enough, it only needs some adjusting.  These people are used to following orders, we
just have to be the ones to make sure the orders they get are the right ones.” 

Macallister drew himself up, addressing the group for the first time.  “I know I’m new to these pro
ceedin’s and all, but it don’t seem like there’s much sense in reinventin’ the wheel here.  All she needs is a couple ‘a whacks to get her back into shape again and we’ll be set.”

“Exactly.”  At least
someone
got it.  “Let’s not throw the baby out with the bath water.  There’s no reason to start from scratch, and if we do… we run a much higher risk of widespread violence in the process.”

Faust stood, waiting until he was sure he had everyone’s attention.  “But we are all agreed that some change is necessary?”  The murmurs were universally in agreement.  “Then I move we table this for another day after we’ve had time to think on it.  I for one don’t want to rush into any decision, no matter how cruel their treatment of one of our own.”  His blue eyes came to rest upon me. 

Was he truly so concerned over the Order’s treatment of me, or was he using my situation for his own agenda?  As long as it ran the same direction as my own agenda, I didn’t question it too closely for the time being.         

“I agree,” I nodded.  “It’s been a taxing couple of days.  I say we adjourn for the night and come back to this with fresh eyes.”

The meeting broke up then, most of them milling around to try and get in a private word with Jakob, whose ego ate it up. 
Man, he was going to be impossible to live with if I didn’t get him out of the spotlight soon.
  Mac approached me, his dimples in evidence as he pulled me aside for a few semi-private words. 

He was tall, casually dressed in a plaid shirt and a pair of Wranglers with pointy toed cowboy boots peeking out below.  His sun streaked hair fell over one eye, in definite need of a trim, but still more sexy than slovenly.  Clear, green eyes snapped with delight, a joyful smile curving his lips. 

“You really came through, darlin’.  We’re one step away from bein’ recognized as a sovereign nation, thanks to you.”

“I’m
only holding up my end of the bargain,” I smiled back, his good spirits infectious.  “Thanks for your support, by the way.  Half the time I’m talking to these guys, it’s like they’re speaking a foreign language I can’t keep up with.”

“Seems like you’re doin’ fine to me.  In fact, you had us all reeled in, hook line and sinker.”

“About that… I’m sorry if I was less than honest with you.”

“Don’t give it another thought, sweetheart,” he waved my apology away.  “Pedigrees don’t make no nevermind to me.  I admire a gal who can make herself over into what she wants to be.” 

“Thanks, that’s nice to hear.”  I hadn’t thought it would be so easy.

“Say, you really serious about givin’ the Order a makeover?”

“Yep, I totally am.  It’s what I’ve been pushing for since before I came into office.  I think it’s possible to turn them into something great.”

Mac took that in stride, his head tilting to one side.  “Might have a few ideas on that account.  We have our own loose form of justice, seems to keep the masses in check just fine.  I’d be glad to let you pick my brains over a quiet drink if you like.”

Okay, so I knew he was flirting with me, but part of me was so desperate for support on my Order reform, I didn’t care.  I’d take whatever help I could get.  “I will definitely keep that in mind, Mac.  But not tonight.  I think I’ll end up turning in early.”

“You bet, I understand completely.  All the better for me if you’re bright eyed and bushytailed anyhow.  Keep your head up, darlin’, I’ll catch you later.”

“Not if I catch you first.”  Jakob’s voice slid over me as the last few stragglers filed out, leaving Rob to take a position by the door, his face impassive.  I turned to find Jakob standing very close, my elbow colliding with him in the process.  “Steady now,” he smiled, his hand resting on my hip.  “You have an admirer there.”

At first I thought his head jerked toward Rob, but a half second later I realized he
meant Macallister and I shook my head. “He admires himself first and foremost.  But he needs the legitimacy I can give him, so he’s pitched his tent in my camp for now.”

Jakob’s lips curved into an indulgent smile.  “You’ve become a political animal.  I’m not entirely sure it suits you.”  His thumb brushed over the top of my cheek where the pale scar marred my skin.  “You look tired, petal.  Soon we will quit this place and I will return you to a smaller arena.  I could even relieve you of the burden of leadership for a time if you like.” 

“What?  No!”  My head snapped away from his touch.  Was he talking about taking over the West?  Hadn’t he said he wasn’t interested in our politics?  “You can be in charge of other stuff and have people come kiss your feet and whatever, but the West is mine.”