He gave me his flat stare. “You want to play twenty questions, blondie? It was a clusterfuck is what it was.” He pointed at Ray. “You fucked up giving those first Van Buren boys your name. Them others were never supposed to come looking for no Ray D at the bar. Just a phone number.”

Mary hummed and then sang to herself, swaying in Ray’s arms. “Operator, could you help me place this call. . . .”

“Ray, can you shut her up?” one of the ghouls I didn’t recognize said.

Ray glared, tightening his arms around Mary. “Fuck you!”

“Fuck you!”

Johnny swung his shotgun around the room, aiming at everyone and no one. “Shut up, y’all,” he said genially. “No point in turning on each other now. For the time being, we’re in this together. Once Stefan’s out of the picture, you want to fight, fight.”

Everyone fell silent.

Surreptitiously, I tested the ropes around my wrists and ankles. Yep, pretty tight. But if no one was watching, I thought maybe I could wriggle my arms over my hips and butt and get my hands in front of me.

And do . . . what?

Daughter . . .

“No!” I said aloud. “No!”

“No, what?” Dunham eyed me suspiciously.

I leaned back against the wall. “Nothing.”

“Ludovic’s taking his own sweet time.” Crouching before me, he plucked the pistol out of his waistband, shoving the muzzle under my chin. “You sure you’re plenty scared, blondie?” he mused.

Hyperventilating, I nodded.

“Stefan’s not stupid, Dunham,” Johnny said. “Don’t you make the mistake of thinking so. He ain’t gonna come storming in here. He’s gonna take his time to assess the situation, rally his troops, make good and sure he knows who’s loyal before he makes his move. When he does, you be mindful of what I told you.”

“No kill shots.” Jerry Dunham sounded disgruntled.

Johnny nodded. “You fire off a kill shot, he’ll just reincorporate.” He snapped his fingers. “Like that. He’s old and strong, stronger than any of us here. Shoot to maim and finish him off with the dagger, you hear?”

“I hear.”

Chapter Thirty-eight

Thirty-eight

Time crawled.

My head ached; my chin stung. My shoulders and arms were beginning to burn from having my hands tied behind my back. If the Locksley residence had air-conditioning, it was turned off in their absence.

Sweat trickled down my temples.

Daughter . . .

I hunched my shoulders toward my ears, trying to block out a sound no one else could hear. I thought about what the Norn had told me: The key lay hidden in something a vampire had said to me yesterday, and whatever it was, it lay within me.

For the life of me, I couldn’t think what it might be.

In the wide world outside, the sun reached its apex, baking in the sky. I made an effort to breathe low and slow.