His aura was a deep, fuming purple. Of all the hard cases that rode with the tribe, Sammy was the one Cara liked and trusted the most. He was a biker with a problem with authority and a love for speed and violence, but underneath that, he was still a good man.
Cara’s eyes went to Ion. Most of the Kris, as well as other true Tribe members, had the ability to hide their auras from others of their kind, but Sammy was Tribe in name only. Even if he had known that every Kris person at the table had the ability to see what he felt, he probably would not have cared, Sammy prided himself on his honesty. He was always honest, often brutally so, and this time was no exception.
“I’m fucking worried, Nico, and I ain’t the only one. There’s some guys that want to cut like Clive did. I hear there’s some good things going down in Vegas right now and the crew there’s running some heavy stuff. They’re looking for prospects, good ones, like Clive.”
“And you?” Nico’s eyes were steady.
Sammy’s aura went transparent and white, his honesty showing through. “Hell, yes. This is weird, Nico. I ain’t never seen nothing like these guys. They call themselves the Fallen and I hear they did some major damage… ”
Cara felt the air suck inward. The Fallen was back! Dammit!
Her father and the other members of the Kris were all leaning forward intently. Jaelle had paused in the kitchen doorway, a plate balanced on her right hand, her eyes locked onto Cara’s.
Cara looked away, towards Ion. Ion was young and he was rash. He sometimes forgot to hide his aura from those who could see it, and right then his was jetty black, almost smoky. Nico was looking at Ion as well, and there was a sharp vertical crease between his dark eyebrows.
Ion was a hothead. He’d gotten in plenty of trouble with humans before. Now they were facing the fact that the Fallen were back. Ion was in line to be leader if anything happened to Nico, but that smoky cloud around him didn’t bode well for his ability to lead with a cool head.
“It might not be the same crew.” That was Darva.
Sammy looked from Darva to Nico. “You know these guys?”
“Unless there’s some other club calling themselves that name, yes.” Nico gave Sammy a long smile. “Sammy, I want you to hear me right now. You wanna go to Vegas? That’s your decision, and I won’t hold you back. Get on your bike and keep the shiny side up all the way to the desert and past.”
Sammy’s brow creased. Cara’s heart tightened painfully.“You giving me a blessing, Nico? Really? They must be some real badasses.”
“The worst.” Nico kept his eyes on Sammy’s. Sammy had always been honest, and Nico was not going to dishonor him by lying now.
“Maybe I should stick around.” Sammy’s shoulders drew back. “You’ve been my boss for so long I can’t really say I would know how to be someone else’s mid-guard.”
“If that’s how you feel,” Nico said, “But I’m warning you, Sammy — if this is the Fallen, we know you have never seen anything like them.”
That was an understatement. Cara closed her eyes. Her mind was reeling. A memory surfaced —
Teeth flashed in the darkness. Her mother’s arms were around her waist, then she was being lifted high into the air. Her mother was trying to hold her up, out of harm’s way. A howl rang out and the rumble of motorcycles rose in the distance. They wouldn’t get there in time; that was clear. Pain sliced through her leg and she screamed but her mother was there, her spells flashing around them…
“I don’t think you know half of what I’ve seen,” Sammy said calmly.
“We’ll talk about it tomorrow. It’s been a long day and we all need some rest. Go on home, Sammy.” Nico was issuing an order and they all knew it.
Sammy stood for a moment and then he nodded. He’d been a soldier before he’d been a criminal, but either way he was too used to taking orders to go against them. He walked out and Cara looked at Nico with an accusatory stare.
“You knew.” Of course he had. She should have known it from the minute he walked into the house. His absent-minded Romani had should have been her first warning.
“Did you know?” Ion asked.
Nico sighed and rubbed his neck. The large ruby ring on the fourth finger of his left hand winked in the overhead light. “I had my suspicions. Okay, we have a problem with the Fallen. But we have a bigger problem right now — we need to get three kilos of coke out of — ”
Cara practically fled the dining room. She hated the criminal activities that the Tribe — Kris and otherwise — engaged in. She hurriedly tossed on her sneakers and headed out of the house.