She smiled. “Have a good day.”
“Thank you.”
He would have anything but, once the shit hit the fan, but hey, why worry him now?
The voice chuckled yet again.
She listened for a warning from the voice and cautiously moved down the stairs.
“No one’s around, Taz. It’s clear.”
She slipped out the front door and took the guard’s car. It wasn’t difficult finding her way back to the city, but she needed to focus on the voice’s instructions to locate the building. Matthias still held a heavy mental block against the Tribunal, and even though she could sense he was close, she couldn’t communicate with him. He wasn’t powerful enough to hear her through his mental barrier this far away, and she had to tell him about Bartholomew.
At least Matthias was alive. Once word reached Bartholomew that she’d escaped, would Matthias be safe?
“Pull in here.”
The helpful voice directed her into an underground parking garage and up a stairwell instead of the elevator.
“Third floor.”
She stuck her head through the door and saw the corridor was empty.
“Ladies’ room.”
Well, the voice wasn’t British. No car park, lift, or loo in the helpful advice.
There was someone else in one of the stalls, and Taz turned to leave.
“Wait, Taz.”
She waited. An older woman emerged and smiled at her.
“Ms. Proctor, I assume?” She washed her hands at the sink.
Anastazia nodded, not sure if she was friend or foe.
“Tell her what happened. She’s okay,” the voice encouraged.
Taking a deep breath, Taz told the story, still not even sure who she was talking to. By the time she got to the doped tea, the woman held up a hand and stopped her. “We don’t have time for more, dear. Follow me,” and led her to a private office.
Taz felt a test bump from the woman. She was hellishly strong, whoever she was.
The woman nodded. “When you feel that, come in. I’ll make sure Matthias is kept safe. We must time this right or Torvald will sense something is amiss. I can protect my thoughts from him, he’s not stronger than me. You keep your barrier in place. Wait here until I call for you.”
Taz nodded, and the woman patted her arm and left.
“Who the hell is she, anyway?”
The voice told her.
Chapter Nineteen
“Matthias, you must look at this from the Tribunal’s point of view,” Bartholomew said.
Matthias gritted his teeth. “I take personal responsibility for her.” Taz was nearly two hours overdue. The last place he wanted to be was in the Tribunal chambers, verbally sparring with Bartholomew.
“But can we risk her losing control?”
“She was overcome by grief. She had only found out about her special nature a few days earlier, and was still not sure how to control her powers. When she fed me to save my life, it triggered an explosive chain reaction. Believe me, this is not something that will happen again.”
Bartholomew sighed. “We cannot be sure of that. I understand you are very fond of her.”
Matthias leaned across the table. “You have no idea what you’re talking about.” He stood and looked at them. “I will, as I said, take responsibility for her. If there is ever another issue, I will take care of it. Personally.”
“You apparently don’t even know where she is right now. How can you take responsibility for a woman you cannot keep under your control?” Bartholomew’s confident smirk chilled Matthias to his core.
Matthias fought the urge to rip the man’s head off.
Dame Agnew spoke up. “I don’t see why we can’t trust Matthias to oversee her. Out of respect for Rafael, and Tobias, I think we should allow this.” She turned to Bartholomew. “Why are you so anxious to incarcerate her, Torvald?”
Bartholomew’s face flushed. Matthias suddenly had a horrible feeling, a worry that there was more to Bartholomew’s protests than the common good, that maybe he had something to do with Taz’s sudden disappearance.
Dame Agnew’s eyes flicked to his, and Matthias caught just the breath of a thought before she looked away again.
“She’s safe, Matthias.”
Matthias strengthened his barrier. Something was going on, and Dame Agnew knew what that something was. He knew he could trust her.
Another member spoke up. “I have no problem with leaving her to Hawthorne’s supervision. I agree with Millicent. I think we should leave Anastazia alone. Had she wanted to kill someone, she could have easily hurt any of us back in Yellowstone. If I don’t hold a grudge against her for what she did, I don’t see why the Tribunal should.” He looked at Bartholomew. “Frankly, I wouldn’t have blamed her for killing Caroline. Obviously Anastazia showed great restraint by not immediately eliminating that traitor.”
Matthias breathed a silent sigh of relief as the rest of the Tribunal nodded their heads.
Dame Agnew called for a vote to allow Taz to stay free. All the members except Bartholomew raised their hands. He reluctantly joined them when it was apparent he was the lone holdout.
Bartholomew fixed his gaze on Matthias. “We will hold you personally responsible for her. If she becomes uncontrollable, you must neutralize her.”
Matthias smirked. “Let’s not use pretty language. Say what you mean. If she gets out of control you want me to kill her, that’s what you’re saying.” While he spoke to the Tribunal body as a whole, his words and steely gaze were focused on Bartholomew. “None of you would do it, would you? You’d hire someone to do it. You couldn’t stand to do your own dirty work, could you?”
“Matthias, she is very dangerous. You must admit that,” Bartholomew protested.
“She is a loving, intelligent woman. If I catch any of you going after her, you will answer to me.”
Matthias looked like he had been turning to leave when the door flew open. Anastazia walked in. She stood next to Matthias, looking at each Tribunal member in turn.
“Some of you I’ve met before.”
As she studied each one, most shrank before her gaze. Then she reached a very shocked Bartholomew. Taz smiled, walked forward, and stood in front of him. “Oh my, you’re a naughty boy, aren’t you?”
He started to stand but the men on each side of him restrained him. They put their hands on his shoulders and securely held him in place.
She closed her eyes and locked onto Bartholomew’s mind. “Matthias, do it.”
With Bartholomew helpless, Matthias was able to look inside his mind. Finally, he nodded. “I invite all of you who are able to take a look into his mind before she releases him, and then we’ll see who’s truly dangerous.”
All the members looked to Bartholomew, whose eyes were wild and searching.
“You can’t do this—”
“Shut up,” Anastazia said. “You are the one who put the Others onto me, who led them to Caroline. There weren’t many people who knew about me. Matthias. Rafael. Robertson and Albert, of course, and Tobias. And you. We already know Albert, Robertson, and Tobias are not the traitors.”
Her expression darkened. “Not to mention you drugged me, you bastard. By the way, next time, tie the legs, lock the door, guard the prisoner, or fucking kill her before you leave. Oh wait, you won’t get a next time, asshat.” She waggled her fingers at him. “Buh-bye!”
The phantom voice laughed, loud and hearty, and Taz struggled to maintain her composure.
Anyone but Rafe. Couldn’t it sound like anyone but Rafe?