Alice tilted her head. “What the…” She stood still, straining to hear around the corner.

  “Of course. Yes. All clear,” the man said.

  Her stomach dropped when she heard the last two words. She knew what “all clear” meant. They were code words that her father used with his contacts. Those were the words someone would say to signal the colonel that their identity hadn’t been compromised, and the plan was moving forward as scheduled. This man, whoever he was, was a double agent. Now the question was, did she tell Cain? Where did her loyalty lie? “Dammit.” She hurried away. Alice had no desire to meet the man who was in league with her father, or maybe just pretending to be. Maybe he was actually working for Cain and playing Alice’s father. When had things gotten so complicated? She thought figuring out a virus mutation was difficult. That was nothing compared to politics.

  Alice grimaced as her heels clicked against the floor, and her heart seemed to beat in time with each step. She took several deep breaths to steady herself. As she rounded another corner, Alice slammed into a body and nearly fell backward, but strong hands wrapped around her upper arms and caught her.

  “Crap.” Alice hissed and rubbed her forehead, which had collided with the person’s chest. She looked up and saw a man, nearly as handsome as Cain and obviously a vampire. He had this otherness about him, but it wasn’t a werewolf otherness like Finn. This vampire seemed more sinister than Cain. And he was staring at her like he’d just won the lottery. Oh, hell no. She pulled out of his hold.

  “My apologies, madam.” His voice was like velvet, with a hint of an accent she couldn’t quite place. Maybe because it was a mixture of multiple accents, all tossed together, creating something unique.

  “No, I wasn’t paying attention to where I was going.” She straightened her clothes. “If you’ll excuse me.”

  “Are you Alice?” Once again, she stopped in her tracks.

  “Who wants to know?”

  His lips turned up. “Well, considering I’m the one who asked, me.”

  She lifted a brow at him. “And who are you?”

  “I am Claude, Cain’s right-hand man.” It seemed he wanted to impress her, but all he did was put her on edge.

  “I’ve not seen you around before.” If he was so important, wouldn’t she have seen him by now?

  “I’ve been out on errands for my king. But that’s not important.” Claude glanced around, his eyes looking up and scanning the ceiling. “I need to speak with you. I assure you I mean you no ill will or harm.”

  The urgency in his voice alarmed Alice, not to mention the genuine look in his eyes, which moments ago had held a smugness that made her want to smack him in the face. “What do you need to speak with me about?”

  “It’s of a sensitive nature. But it has to do with your species.” His words were halting, as if he was considering how to tell her this.

  “You know what I am?”

  He gave a sharp nod. “What’s more important is how I know what you are.”

  “Cain didn’t tell you?”

  “Not exactly.” He pulled a cell phone from his pocket and kept it close to his body, as if he didn't want anyone to see it. “There’s someone who wants to speak with you.”

  “Who?” Her stomach churned, and she looked at the device as if it might bite her.

  “Follow me. There’s a room that’s soundproof and has no cameras.”

  She laughed, though she kept it soft. “Right. That sounds super smart. Follow the vampire into a soundproof, non-monitored room.”

  “I swear on the grave of my mother that I will not harm you.” His gaze was intense as he stared straight into her eyes. “I promise you will not regret making this call.”

  Alice closed her eyes and sucked in a deep breath. “Shit.” She huffed and opened her eyes before motioning with her hand. “Lead the way.” She was about to do the smartest thing she’d ever done or the absolute dumbest, even dumber than taking this stupid job. Alice could have told her father no and gone about her life blissfully unaware of supernatural beings. Sure, her father would have ruined her career, but that would have been better than what she now faced. Maybe she could have gotten a job somewhere as a lab tech and changed her name, living the entire rest of her life doing menial work for a pharmaceutical company. Nice, safe, menial work.

  Perhaps it was the curse of her name. From the moment her mother named her Alice, she had been destined to fall down a damn rabbit hole. And the probability of having her head cut off by an evil queen was always going to be high. Only instead of a queen, she was going to be done in by a vampire. Note to self: If I have children, thoroughly research their names, and make sure there is no gruesome downfall associated with anyone who has previously had that name. Not that there was a chance in hell of her having a child, especially if she was beginning to have feelings for a vampire. Her steps faltered as the thought ran through her mind. I have feelings for Cain. Feelings strong enough to consider what it would be like if she were with him and what the consequences would be. “Double shit.”

  Chapter

  Sixteen

  “Things just got a lot more complicated. How is that possible, you ask? Well, a gypsy healer is considering the possibility that the king of vampires has a conscience. Yeah, we laughed, too. For about ten seconds … and then we realized she was serious.” ~Tenia

  The soundproof room that Claude promised turned out to be little more than a broom closet. He opened the door and gestured for Alice to enter. She sucked in a breath and took a hesitant step inside. What a way to go. Murdered by a vampire in a broom closet. Alice nearly jumped at the sound of the door’s lock clicking in place behind her. She turned and Claude was holding out the phone. “It won’t bite you.”

  “Maybe the phone won’t, but what about you?” She glanced up at him and then looked back at the device.

  “I’ve recently eaten. You have nothing to fear from me.”

  “Good grief.” She pinched the bridge of her nose. “When did my life get so effed up?” After another few moments, Alice took the phone and touched the screen. A number was there with the call button just below it. She took a deep breath and then tapped the button. Alice put the phone to her ear and listened to it ring. It only rang once.

  “Claude?” a female voice said briskly.

  “Not Claude,” Alice answered. “In fact, not a vampire at all.”

  “Alice.” The woman breathed out, sounding both relieved and in awe.

  “You know my name?”

  “I know a little more than that. My name is Tenia. I’m a fae.”

  Alice glanced over at Claude, who was watching her with a strangely intense gaze. He almost looked as if he was in pain. “Is Claude a friend of yours?”

  “Not exactly,” Tenia said cryptically. “What’s he doing?”

  “He’s staring at me, but he looks like someone is stabbing him in the heart.”

  “Could you please hand him the phone for a minute? Then I will explain things to you.”

  Alice held the device out to Claude. He reached for it slowly, as if he was actually trying to fight the motion.

  “Hello,” he bit out through clenched teeth. As the woman on the other end spoke, Claude’s face relaxed, and his body leaned back against the wall as if he didn’t have a care in the world. “Of course. Thank you.” He held the phone back out to Alice, and she took it, though she kept her eyes on the vampire as she put the device back to her ear.

  “What do you want with me?”

  “I’m not your enemy, Alice. In fact, we want to get you out of there, along with Lizzy and Finn.”

  “You know Lizzy and Finn?” Alice’s nerves were on edge, and she gripped the phone tightly.

  “Yes. Finn reached out to Fane, the alpha of all werewolves, and asked for help,” Tenia explained. “Finn told Fane about you. You probably don’t realize how special you are, not to mention what a surprise you are to our kind.”

  “I’ve heard that song and dance already,” Alice said dryly. “You know I’m a gypsy healer, and you obviously know more about that than I do.”

  “I do. And I also know other healers who want to meet you and want you to get to safety.”

  “How do you know I’m in danger?” She knew she sounded defensive, and it irritated Alice that she was coming across that way. But then again, who was this Tenia chick but a voice on the phone? Alice had no reason to automatically trust her. For all Alice knew, Tenia might not be a fae at all. Maybe she didn't even work for this Fane guy. Maybe this was a test from Cain to see where her loyalties lay.

  Tenia snorted. “You’re trapped in a securely guarded government compound with the king of the vampires. I guess I thought the danger was assumed.”

  “He hasn’t hurt me.” That wasn’t entirely true, considering he had bitten her. But she wasn’t going to play semantics with this woman.

  Tenia didn’t respond right away. After a few moments, she spoke. “Are Finn and Lizzy okay?” Alice was confused by the conversation's change of direction.

  “Yes?”

  “You don’t sound sure, Alice. We know that Cain has attempted to turn Lizzy into a hybrid. Is she okay?” the woman asked more slowly.

  Alice clenched her jaw and tried to figure out what to say. She didn’t know if she should trust this woman. She nearly growled as she wrestled with her thoughts. Alice cared about Lizzy and Finn. She didn’t want anything to happen to them, but what was done, was done. She couldn’t undo it. “We will know more tomorrow,” she finally said. “The transformation takes—”

  “Six days,” Tenia finished for her. “I’m very old, Alice. I know a great deal about the supernatural races. But the hybrid thing is new … to everyone. But Finn and Lizzy are alive?”

  “Yes,” Alice snapped. “I wouldn’t let them die.”

  “I apologize for my skepticism. You seem to be operating under the assumption that Cain is some kind of good guy. I assure you, healer, he is not. He’s not even an antihero.”

  “I know who he is,” Alice challenged.

  “Do you?”

  Alice heard Claude shift, and she looked over at him. His arms were folded across his chest, and his eyes were narrowed in on her. “Yes.” Alice’s voice was sharp as a whip. “And I won’t let him hurt Finn and Lizzy.”

  “I get the feeling there’s nothing I can say right now that’s going to convince you I’m not your enemy.” Tenia sighed. “Instead, I will only ask for your willingness to keep the lines of communication between us open via Claude. He is under my control at the moment. I don’t have time to get into all that, but just know you should be very careful around him.”

  “Okay.” Alice dragged out the word.

  Tenia pressed on. “We’re working on a way to rescue all the dormants Cain has captured, not just you three.” She paused again and then continued. “I’m a little skeptical about sharing that information with you. Are you going to tell Cain you’ve spoken with me?”

  Alice didn’t answer. Instead, she said, “You know Claude is Cain’s right-hand man, don’t you?”

  Tenia didn’t hesitate. “Yes. As I said, he is working for us now, whether he likes it or not. He shouldn’t be a danger to you, assuming my magic holds.”

  Alice bit her lip and continued to stare at the vampire. “You want me to believe you have some kind of mind-control over him?”

  “Something like that.” Tenia didn’t elaborate. “I can only assume you’ve recently been asked to believe many things you wouldn’t have previously thought possible. Consider this just another one of those things. Can you at least call us and confirm that Lizzy makes it through the transition?”

  Alice considered it and realized that Lizzy must mean something to the fae. If Alice was in this woman’s shoes, she’d want to know about her friend, as well. “I can do that. But I won’t spy on Cain for you.”

  “I’m not asking you to. You’ve given me plenty of information already. Could you please put Claude back on the phone?”

  Alice pulled the phone from her ear and glared at it. Then she held it back out to Claude. She didn’t like the words Tenia had spoken to her. What information had Alice inadvertently given? Had she betrayed Cain without even realizing it? While the vampire was on the phone, she pushed past him and unlocked the door, hurrying out into the hall. Her feet carried her quickly away as her heart pounded painfully in her chest. What the hell just happened? She had no idea who Tenia really was. She didn’t know if Claude was a turncoat like the man who’d been on the phone with her father. She didn’t know who in the world she could trust.

  She rounded another corner and stopped, propping herself up against the wall. Her breathing was rapid, and she pressed her hand to her chest. Tears formed in her eyes as Alice’s emotions began to take control. She loathed when she lost control of her emotions. It made her irrational, and that made for a bad scientist. She relied on facts and logical thinking. But neither of those things were on the table because she didn’t have all the facts. And her damn emotions were all over the place concerning Cain, Lizzy, and Finn.

  She sucked in great gulps of air and attempted to get a hold of herself. She couldn’t let Cain see her like this. He’d question her relentlessly until she answered him. And until she knew if Tenia was an enemy or a friend, Alice didn’t want to give up the fact that she’d spoken to a supernatural that wasn’t on team vampire.

  She cursed and ran her hands through her hair. “Pull it together, Alice,” she muttered. She had to focus. Lizzy was her priority. She’d wait until they knew for sure that she’d make a successful transition before she even thought about Tenia, Claude, and the spy that was working with her father. Alice stood up straight and lifted her chin. She slapped on her professional face and shoved her emotions into a box. She could do this. She had to do this in order to make sure Finn and Lizzy were safe. At some point, she’d have to deal with her feelings toward Cain, but today was not that day.

  Tenia dropped the phone onto the couch beside her and laughed. She, Lilly, and Skender were in the warlock queen’s office. "You’ve got to be kidding me,” she said to no one in particular. Her mate and the queen stared at her with shocked expressions. They’d both heard the conversation, as Tenia had it on speakerphone, though her mate would have heard it, regardless.

  “She doesn’t think Cain is evil.” Lilly’s yellow eyes were wide. “How is that possible? Could a fae be controlling her like you are controlling Claude?”

  “I doubt it. First, I don’t know of anyone else who has the ability. It’s not impossible, but definitely not likely. And she seemed clearheaded, as if she was thinking for herself. She didn’t sound like she was brainwashed or speaking from a script. She was emotional and adamant. Those are some pretty good signs that a person is in control of their own mind. And I can also usually sense if someone is being coerced. Maybe it’s because of my own ability, but I’ve always been able to tell whether a person is using their own free will.”

  Skender sucked in a breath and looked up at the ceiling. “Do you think she’ll call back?”

  Tenia shrugged. “I don’t know. She sounded genuine when she spoke about Finn and Lizzy. She wants to protect them. But when it comes to Cain, she has some seriously skewed views. How he’s managed that, I don’t know.”

  “Evil doesn’t always look evil. In fact, it often masquerades as something appealing. Otherwise, we wouldn’t be so eager to jump into bed with it.” Lilly shook her head. “No pun intended. I truly hope she has not jumped into bed with Cain. If she has, things might be even more complicated.”

  “This is going to disappoint the healers.” Tenia sighed. “And it’s going to make them want to contact her even more.”

  “Fane said no,” Skender reminded her.

  Tenia raised her eyebrows. “No, he said to wait until Claude got us in touch with her.”

  Lilly shook her head. “You cannot tell them. At this point, we still don’t really know for sure if Alice is acting of her own free will or if Cain is blackmailing her. If the healers go into her mind, it might make her feel violated. That could make her trust us even less, if she trusts us at all.”

  Skender released a deep sigh. “This is a cluster.”

  “It always is,” Lilly said. “But we always find a way to defeat our enemies. We will again.”

  Skender nodded but stayed silent.

  “I’m going to call Fane.” Lilly picked her phone up off her desk. “We’ll see what he thinks about this new development.”

  Tenia sat down on the couch and leaned back. Her head hurt, which was bizarre because fae rarely got sick, experienced headaches, or suffered from any other maladies common to humans.

  Skender sat beside her and ran a hand down her thigh. “What’s wrong?”

  “I think it’s the magic I’m using on Claude.” She pressed her fingers against her temples. “I’ve never tried to maintain mind-control for so long and over such a long distance. I think it’s wearing on me.”

  A look of frustration passed Skender’s face. “Maybe you should drop the spell.”

  Tenia gave a mirthless laugh. “No way. Our entire plan depends on it.”

  “It’s not worth something bad happening to you.”

  “It won’t.”

  “But that’s not the only problem,” she said out loud. “We’ve got a healer in league with the freaking vampire king.” Tenia laughed, a humorless sound. “Never thought I’d see the day when that would happen.”

  “Unfortunately, there’s a first time for everything.”

  She sighed and leaned her head against his shoulder. She heard Lilly’s voice in the background but didn’t focus on her words. Tenia was still shocked that Alice defended Cain. She knew what the vamp king was doing, yet she still defended him. What was the world coming to when a gypsy healer stood on the side of the vampires?