Nell looked up, holding out three fingers. Just keep her on longer.
“Or maybe I’ll come to visit my son. See about mending some fences. Boys need a mother. I can’t imagine why you’d try to keep us apart. Does he know this about you? You’re very jealous. He’s handsome, my boy. Without the bond, would he even have looked at you twice?”
Dominic’s gaze narrowed, his handsome face hardening. He shook his head and reached for the phone but she patted his hand and shook her head right back. As if she’d believe that crap anyway.
Meriel laughed because she couldn’t help it. “You’re dialing the wrong number. And it doesn’t matter anyway. I’d protect him no matter what. He’s everything to me. My people are everything to me. You can’t have them, or Dominic. It’s your biggest mistake that you tried. All you’re going to get from me and my clan is misery. You declared war on us last night when you played with dark forces and used them on one of my witches. You clearly have a lot to learn about clans. I’m going to enjoy teaching you.”
“You sound almost strong enough to do it. But I’ve been around the block a few times.”
“I bet. But this isn’t a contest to see who aged worse, is it?”
“Oh, you think you’re so clever. We’ll see how clever you are when I drain you. When your magick keeps my belly full. With my son at my side, imagine the feast I’ll have. I’ll destroy your precious clan witch by witch. You’ll keep me fed for a long time.”
She was making such a mistake to peg Meriel as an easy mark. But fine, that would only serve Meriel in the end.
“Being turned makes you crazy too, I see. You have nothing. You are no one. You don’t scare me. I know you, Gloria. Do you know what that means? Last night I saw into the heart of your power and you are a shell. Empty. You work with stolen power. Stolen power won’t ever be stronger than what I’ve got in my belly. I tasted what you’re made of. I’m not impressed.”
Dominic sighed and raised a brow at her.
“You and your precious font and your clan. What do you know about struggling? About working for anything?”
“Focus, Gloria. Why is it you’re mad again?”
“We’ll see how smug you are when I go to the press and expose you.”
Dominic leaned forward. “And how will your friends the human-only separatists feel when they know you’re a paranormal too? If you do that, you only expose yourself … Gloria.”
His voice was wrapped with so much violence it sent a shiver through her. They hadn’t known for absolute sure Gloria was working with the humans. Simply taunting Gloria into revealing all her plans seemed too easy, but Gloria wasn’t working on all cylinders and had already given them more information than Meriel had thought she’d expose.
Nell held out five fingers. Just a bit more to go.
But she didn’t deny it. Which answered that question. “Oh, is that you, Eduardo? My baby boy.”
“I’m not your baby boy. And my name is Dominic. My father gave it to me. He says hey.”
“I don’t think he can.”
Meriel felt sick. Gloria meant Felix, who she obviously knew was dead. Because she’d helped kill him. Not that he’d been anything less than a villain by that point too.
Dominic laughed and it made the hair on the back of Meriel’s neck stand up.
“I said my father gave it to me. Not my biological donor. The man who raised me. But back to your threat about going public and your buddies the human separatists. I’m not sure who’s worse, but I know they’d get a fairer shake in the court of public opinion than an old, shot-out hag of a turned witch with no power and a giant drug habit. You think you can control them when this gets out?”
“They’re stupid, but useful.”
Nell’s gaze darkened, her mouth hardened. Gloria had just admitted she was part of this plan.
Meriel decided to poke at her some more. “I imagine they’d be more useful if you had a plan instead of just rolling into town draining a few witches and going away.”
Nell nodded, giving her the keep going with that motion of her hand.
“You don’t know who you’re dealing with. Until a few years ago, they were uselessly attacking Others. The odd hunting and killing of a Were. Vampire stakings. And then there was a story about how one of these silly groups had caught themselves a witch and wanted to kill her. I was nearby and stopped in.”
The phone was silent for a few moments and Meriel wondered if she’d hung up. But no, she came back on the line. Talkative woman, Gloria Ochoa. Meriel would be pleased to use that against her.
“Sorry about that interruption. I’ll tell you more when we meet. Then I can teach you my lovely ritual and introduce you to some mages who’d love to play with you awhile. Some of them even have bounties on the heads of clans. I’ll be sure to point them in your direction. You can’t win. I’m too powerful.”
She would eat this bitch for breakfast. And she’d smile as she did it.
“First I’ll kill your mother. She’s the icing on the cake. Oh, I’ll be so powerful after that. Then I’ll let them drain you partially, but I have better plans for you. A ritual I’ve found to be very effective.”
“Oh, I’d pay money to see that.” Meriel laughed. “Not in a million years are you half the powerhouse my mother is. But I’d love to see her rip you to shreds and then curl her lip at the mess on her shoes. But I’m growing super bored with this back-and-forth smack talk. I have a job, so if you’re done?”
“I’ll drain you slow. Feast on your fear and pain. And then I’ll kill you. Afterward, I’ll take Dominic. Maybe I’ll keep him around if he’s useful. Pretty bait for witches I’d wager.”
She also didn’t seem to understand just what a bond was. Which was good too.
Nell gave her the thumbs-up that they’d unraveled the confusion spell and had traced the call. They knew where she was.
“You’ve been warned, Gloria Ochoa. There is a warrant for your death in all our territories. You can’t have Dominic.”
Meriel hung up.
Chapter 26
NELL had left and Meriel came back inside to find Dominic hanging up the phone. “We can move into the new place at the beginning of the month.”
They’d chosen the apartment open in this building. Ron had already volunteered to help with the warding, not just of the apartment but of the hallways too.
“But I turned it down.”
“What? Why?”
“I think we need a house. I want a house. I like it here in downtown, but being at Tom’s reminded me how much I like living near water. I want to buy a house with you. I don’t want to worry about how loud I’m being and I don’t want to hear people walking above me all the time.”
“You want roots? With me?”
He moved to her and swept her up into his arms. “Yes. I want to build a life here with you. In our house where we’ll raise our family. What do you think?”
“I think I can manage to like that. I think I can suffer through waking up next to you for the next six decades or so.”
“When I’m with you like this, I can sort of see the appeal of a magick addiction. You make me drunk on your magick.” He breathed in deep at her neck and walked her backward until her back met the door.
“Here I am again, Dominic, backed against a door while you have your way with me.”
He kissed her just behind her jaw and if she hadn’t been pinned to the wall like a butterfly in a case, her knees would have buckled at the shocking pleasure of the heat of his tongue and the scrape of his teeth where her skin was so achingly sensitive.
He was so good to her. Every touch telegraphed just how much he wanted her. Rough, yes. Hard, yes. But his touch never hurt, was never aimed to harm her in any way.