How had I not thought of that? He was absolutely right. So many people wanted me out, and this was the opening they needed. I couldn’t hand the position off to anyone else either, because the only way to take a Tribunal seat was to kill the person who held it.
“Still excited about your newfound humanity?” Holden asked.
I wanted to punch him. I had been excited about it. There were so many things it meant I could do, and opened up a life I’d only dreamed of having. The problem, though, was I’d forgotten about the life I already had. A life where people would rejoice in seeing me dead and now had a golden opportunity to make it happen.
“This fucking sucks,” I said.
“I need to tell Sig. ”
“No. ”
“Secret—”
“No. ”
“Listen to me,” he continued. “I have to tell him. He’s the one person who can keep you alive—in whatever capacity—and he will have my goddamn head if he finds out I knew about this and didn’t tell him. And let’s not kid ourselves, he will find out. ”
My pout was all the admission he needed.
“I’m calling Sig. ” He pulled out his phone. “You’re calling Brigit. ”
I raised both eyebrows. “Brigit? Why?”
“Because you need someone to stay with you who has a hope in hell of protecting you against another vampire. And I trust her not to kill you. ”
If I’d wanted to argue, it wouldn’t have mattered because Holden was already dialing. Since I didn’t get a chance to talk back, and there would be no point in arguing about it with Desmond, I got to my feet—ignoring the protests of my sore body—and found my purse, rooting around until I retrieved my cell.
Brigit’s number was programmed into my speed dial, and I shuffled into the bathroom while her line rang.
“Hello!” came the cheerful answer when she picked up. I didn’t know if she had caller ID or was always that happy when she answered the phone. Neither would have surprised me.
“Hey, Bri. ” I sat on the edge of the tub, not ready to look at myself in the bathroom mirror yet.
“Secret. Omigod. Are you okay? What’s happening? Did Shane talk to you? Nolan said he was trying to get a hold of—”
“Calm down for a second. ”
“Sorry. ”
“Can you come over?”
“Sure. Yeah. Of course. ”
“It might be for a while. ”
“Sleepover?”
I couldn’t help but smile. “Yes. ”
“Cool. ”
“Bri, don’t tell anyone you’re coming, okay?”
A pause. “Is everything okay?”
“Things are a bit weird. ”
“Did you kill Lucas?”