“You’re right. I do like that.”
“You’ll also be pleased to hear that I decided the situation did not require Leo’s death.”
She’d bet he was pleased about that, too. Isen could be ruthless if he thought it necessary, but he preferred to be devious. “Good.”
“Leo was under the impression he was being clever. He thought I’d appreciate his, ah, sneakiness. In his mind, by selling worthless information—he knew the prototype had problems—he benefited his clan, thereby benefiting Nokolai as well. I explained the flaws in his reasoning.”
“You did more than that.”
“True. However he may have justified his actions to himself, he deceived and betrayed Nokolai. I can no longer trust him. I required him to pass Laban’s mantle to his heir—”
The quick “son of a bitch!” came from Cullen.
“—who will be joining you in San Francisco to assist in your investigation.”
FIFTEEN
LILY snapped her seat belt in place. “I’ve never wanted to punch your father more.”
Rule smiled at his nadia, seated between him and Cullen in the backseat of Isen’s oversized and armored Lincoln. No doubt it was perverse of him to find her aggravation comforting. “It’s not an uncommon reaction.”
“There is no reason for him to be so tight-lipped about his reasons!”
“He did explain.”
Lily snorted. “Oh, yeah. He’s just making things easy for me.”
“That’s Isen for you,” Cullen said. “One considerate son of a bitch.”
Isen had informed Lily that it would be convenient for her to have Tony around to question in person. True, but Lily’s skepticism was justified. There was more to Isen’s arrangement…not that Rule assumed he knew all of that “more,” but he knew some. “You will want to talk to Tony about the deal his father made with whoever wanted the prototype.”
“Of course I want to talk to him. Isen didn’t get any information about that from Leo. At least that’s what he claims.” She shot Rule a look. “You were with Isen for a couple hours. You know more about this.”
“Most of our discussion this morning involved clan politics. Isen’s manner of handling Laban’s betrayal will have repercussions.”
“Why?”
“It’s meddling,” Cullen said. “Meddling in an internal Laban matter.”
“It’s okay for Isen to kill Leo, but it’s meddling if he makes him step down?”
“Pretty much, yeah.”
Rule could tell how little Lily understood that. “A subordinate clan owes obedience to its dominant, but is governed by its own Rho. Isen was well within his rights to require Leo’s death, but telling him he must pass the mantle to his heir…he has the authority, but some will question whether he has the right. Only a Rho makes decisions concerning the mantle.”
“Yet killing Leo would have the same effect—the mantle would go to his heir. Plus Leo would be dead.”
Rule nodded. “And that’s how Isen will present his decision, as the symbolic death of an oath-breaking Rho. The Rho ‘died’; the man did not. Some will still see it as a usurpation of the Laban Rho’s authority. Ah…this isn’t a perfect example, but think of how testy local cops get when your Bureau intrudes on what they consider their turf. The feds have the authority to do so, but local officers sometimes think they abuse that authority.”
“Then there’s the Civil War,” Cullen said cheerfully. “States’ rights and all that—what powers belong to the federal government and what belong to the states. People still get hot under the collar about that. Laban is subordinate to Nokolai, but it still has rights.”
Rule nodded. “It doesn’t help that Tony was Leo’s heir, and Isen didn’t allow him to change that before passing the mantle on.”
“What does that have to do with it?”
Rule and Cullen exchanged a look. Rule answered. “Until this past July, Leo’s heir was his older son, James, but he suddenly replaced James with his younger son, Tony. It’s widely believed that the two of them argued and Leo wanted to teach James a lesson, and that Tony, the younger son, is a temporary placeholder for his brother.”
“What’s wrong with Tony?”
“Nothing,” Rule said firmly. A little too firmly, maybe, and she raised her brows at him. He sighed and gave a partial answer. “Tony doesn’t have a son. And yes, I’ve told you that’s essential for a Lu Nuncio, but it’s a cultural requirement, not a distinction the mantle makes.”
Cullen put in helpfully, “It’s like the way Jasper Herron named Myron the Lu Nuncio for Kyffin. Myron’s a lousy fighter.”
She nodded slowly. “A Lu Nuncio is supposed to be proven in battle, but Jasper made his uncle his heir because his son’s too young and Myron doesn’t want to be Rho, so he’ll be glad when his great-nephew is old enough for the position. Everyone’s wink-wink, nudge-nudge about it. Does everyone wink at Tony being Lu Nuncio, then?”
“More or less. We’ve assumed Leo would remove Tony before long.”
She nodded again. “Okay, so there’s an issue of territory and rights with Isen telling Leo to step down. I get that, but how does letting Leo live change the way the boundaries are drawn?”
“It was Leo who was responsible, you see. Not the mantle.”
Lily chewed on that a moment. “In a weird, lupi sort of way that makes sense. Leo took responsibility for his actions, so he’s personally culpable, which lets his clan off the hook. But Isen’s decision was about the mantle, which makes it about Laban.”
“Some will see it that way.”
“Is my head spinning? It feels like it’s spinning. And all that doesn’t explain why this new Rho is ordered to join us. Or why we should let him.”
“You and Cullen and I are exposed to risk because of Laban’s actions. Laban’s Rho will therefore be exposed to risk, too—and given a chance to help recover what his clan caused to be taken from Nokolai.”
“Grandmother says that if you make an enemy lose face, you have to either kill them or give them a way to regain face.”
“Laban is not our enemy, but otherwise…yes.”
Lily fell silent, thinking that over. Or maybe she’d reverted to worrying about him.
His fault. He hadn’t found time to have a word with her alone. He took her hand. She looked at him once, a slanted glance from under her lashes. She wanted to ask him questions, but she wouldn’t, not here. He looked away, stroking his thumb over the fleshy base of her thumb. He didn’t want her questions. Shame clung to him, vague and sticky as a spiderweb. He saw no reason for it.
It had been a shock to learn he had otherkin. He hadn’t reacted well. No doubt some of that was due to the timing, falling as it had on Mick’s birthday. But he wasn’t shamed by his reaction.
How did he feel now? That’s what Lily would ask if they were alone. Or perhaps not. Much as she loved questions, she did understand that some answers arrived more fully without tacking words to them. He was…curious. Yes, now that the shock was past, he wanted to know more about Machek. He didn’t want the man in prison, if it could be avoided—a goal Lily might help or hinder, and there was a question he needed to ask when they were private. But there was no real bond between him and this newly discovered kin, even if Machek had called him brother on the phone last night.
But Jasper Machek was fifty-three years old. Rule knew this because Lily had asked Isen while Rule was still reacting. And while Rule might have been utterly unaware of Jasper Machek’s existence, Machek had known about Rule. So Isen had said just before Rule left the room last night. The man had had ample opportunity to call Rule brother before now.