High Society (The High Stakes Saga #3)

“Which caused her harm…” Titus argued.

“She seems well enough to me.” Asa’s calculating eyes slid over my soot-infused suit.

Enoch growled, a low rumble resonating from his chest. He bared his fangs at Asa, who simply smiled back with narrowed eyes, feeding off Enoch’s anger and frustration. He loved to punish him, loved to see him anything but happy.

Titus continued, “Terah also slipped into Eve’s room last night.”

“To what end?” Asa challenged. “Eve was not harmed.”

“Who does that, though? And how do you know what her intentions were?” I yelled, stepping forward. Titus put a restraining hand on my shoulder.

“I would ask you the same. What proof do you have that her intentions were malicious?” Asa challenged.

“You’ve been… normal, almost nice since we landed,” I scoffed. “What happened?”

His eyes flicked to Enoch for a split second.

Ah… so it was his brother, or rather his hatred for Enoch, that drove him to become a monumental asshole whenever he was around.

“Why are we even talking about this? Your houses were just set on fire by Redcoat vampires, and you two are out here arguing about everything and nothing when you should be going after the bastards that lit your freaking houses on fire!” Men were so frustrating.

Titus gave me a slow clap. “This is exactly why you’re the top Asset, Eve. You never lose your focus on the biggest threat at any given moment.”

“Would you like to go hunting, brother?” Asa asked Enoch companionably. “Just like old times?”

Titus rubbed his hands together rapidly. “I can’t wait to stick my stake into the hearts of a few vampires.” He was looking at Asa when he said it, and I knew what he really meant. “Ready, Eve?”

“She is not going,” Enoch proclaimed.

“The hell I’m not! I told you the last time, on your ship, that you can’t keep me in a cage.”

“Who will guard my home in my stead?” Asa asked, enjoying the spectacle of our argument.

I smiled at him sweetly. “Let Terah stay behind.” Titus nudged me and gave me a look that said he more than approved of my suggestion.

“She won’t want to be left behind,” Enoch warned Asa.

“But brother, I’m sure you can find a way to persuade her to see the logic in it.” Enoch stiffened. Asa, on the other hand, winked at me before turning and walking away.

“I’ll be back in a few moments,” Enoch replied stiffly, excusing himself.

“What exactly did Asa mean by that?” Titus asked, watching my reaction. “Can Enoch control his siblings?”

“Not that I know of,” I answered. I couldn’t fathom why he would have the ability, or why they wouldn’t be able to resist his compulsion.

“He can control his sires…” Titus led.

“But his siblings are his equals. He didn’t sire them,” I argued.

“As far as we know.” Titus rolled his shoulders, shook his arms out, and stretched, limbering up for the hunt ahead. “We need to watch them closely.”

“You’re watching them close enough for the both of us.”

“And what about you?” he asked. “Are you watching them enough?”

“I know you don’t like Enoch.”

“I don’t like any of them,” he countered matter-of-factly. “And I sure as hell don’t trust them. But how well do you actually know Enoch? We’ve only known him a few weeks altogether, spread out over decades and centuries, and he’s been alive a lot longer than that. How do we know anything about him? I think we’ve seen enough to have learned that there’s a lot more we don’t know. Besides, it can’t hurt to be cautious.”