“Hello, Maddox. Quite a mess we have here.”
“Raymond. I haven’t seen you in a long time. I thought you were on a beach in Aruba.”
“I had to return, because you went on holiday, your kingdom collapsed, and the city fell into ruin. Your entire retinue, which appeared to be comprised entirely of hounds, fled for the hills, leaving your house empty and your city without leadership.”
“Gideon awoke.”
“And you left the throne to a fledgling who can’t stand midday sunlight to run the city, with a wolf by his side. I don’t know if you recall, Maddox, but vampires kill wolves.”
“Lorien has royal blood, and more importantly, he killed the previous kings. He has every right to the throne, and it is still his.”
“Oh. And who did he leave in charge when he fled?”
“I don’t know, Raymond. I wasn’t here.”
“No,” Raymond says. “You weren’t. Were you.”
Maddox considered tearing Raymond’s throat out along with his voice box, but it was so hard to do that casually in an airport, so he refrained. There would be time to do that later.
“Mad! I’m fucking starving.” Will came striding up from the vending machines, where he had been unsuccessful in finding anything he deemed palatable. His hair had grown out while they were on vacation and now fell almost to his shoulders in dark, glossy waves. Was it possible that he was growing ever more beautiful? Or was it simply Maddox’s perception as he fell ever more in love with this rough, young whelp?
“And who is this?” Raymond directed his attention to Will. How could he not? Will grabbed the attention of everybody in his orbit. He was a stunning creature.
“I’m Will,” Will said. “Who the fuck are you?”
“I am Raymond. I’m”—his lips quirked for a moment—“Maddox’s older brother.”
“Gideon made Raymond before he made me,” Maddox explained as Will’s expression contorted in the effort to try to work out what a vampire’s older brother meant.
“I clean up Maddox’s messes. You look like you might be one of them.”
“Raymond, please,” Maddox intervened before Will broke Raymond’s eternal nose. “Can we leave the public airport before we start a brawl? Is that possible?”
“Certainly, gentlemen. This way.”
Maddox and Will followed Raymond out of the airport. Maddox was not well pleased. He had hoped there would be more time to breathe before encountering family.
“You never mentioned having a brother,” Will said on their way out.
“I suppose there’s a lot I haven’t mentioned,” Maddox replied. “You’re going to learn a great deal in the next few hours. It would be best if you spoke as little as possible.”
He felt Will’s offense without having to look at his face. The more he tried to convince Will he needed to keep his distance for his safety, the closer Will wanted to be. It was human to want to know the family of a lover, but Maddox did not want Will anywhere near them. Raymond’s presence at the airport had already thrown a wrench in the proverbial works.
“Hope you have your excuses ready for Gideon,” Raymond said. He had a car waiting. Maddox hesitated before getting in.
“I think we’ll drive ourselves.”
“Sorry. Gideon’s orders.”
Maddox cursed inwardly. Why couldn’t the old bastard stay asleep? This entire affair was already disastrous, and it had barely begun.
“I need to drop Will somewhere first.” Maddox wasn’t quite sure where. With things as desperate as they were, Candy was a candidate to babysit for a few hours until he could get Henry and Lorien to come back for Will.
“I don’t think so,” Raymond laughed. “Gideon already knows about the puppy. The remnant nobles have been very informative. We know everything you have done, and more to the point, everything you have not done.”
“Have they,” Maddox sighed, indicating for Will to get in the back. “Where is Gideon?”
“At your residence, pitiful as it is. Really, Maddox. A concrete and glass box? Even for you, that’s so very… pathetic.”