With or Without You

Chapter 20

Guardian Croft had left nothing to chance regarding Tasha Ozera's return to Court. When Her Majesty had approached him and revealed the true perpetrator of the regicide, something had disinclined him to believe it. However, once she had outlined the six witnesses Mazur had arranged to observe Moore's interrogation and confession—and the human magic used to extract it—he was convinced. Then his conscience started pricking him, reminding him of how certain he'd been that Janine Hathaway's lass had been responsible, and his unwillingness at the time to look for other suspects. He'd felt so guilty, once he was aware Janine knew her daughter was alive and in the care of her father, he'd met with her to apologize.

Hans had to take his hat off to Mazur. Tricking the girl's own mother into believing she was dead and spiriting her away was a masterful move—because that Janine genuinely believed her daughter had passed away was undeniable. No one could fake the level of distress he'd witnessed from Janine in the aftermath of Abe's attempted jailbreak. Again, he felt a little silly that the possibility of Mazur doing something like that had not occurred to him. As a career guardian, it's unlikely Janine would have the money or the contacts to pull an act of that magnitude off—but Abe was another matter altogether. No wonder his eponym was the snake. All in all, Croft was relieved the man spent most of his time in Europe because he was certain he didn't want Abe Mazur spending much time on his patch!

These ponderings were cut short by one of his guardians pointing to the luxury private aircraft that was approaching Court's runway. It touched down with a kiss of smoke, taxying toward the small terminal where Croft could see Mazur Industries neatly printed on the side, with a logo that looked somewhat like a stylized snake. His lip twitching with amusement, Hans had to admire the guy's moxie. Standing to attention, his guardians did likewise. Assured Natasha Ozera would be compelled periodically throughout the flight, he wasn't expecting any problems yet in his job he'd learned to always be prepared. As he watched, the plane stopped, and a few minutes later the stairs were lowered, and the occupants started to de-plane.

"Lord Ivashkov," he greeted Adrian, who was first out escorting a young blonde human into the terminal. From his briefing with Her Majesty, Croft knew this to be one of the two Alchemist witnesses, Sydney Sage. Nonetheless, he waited for the Moroi Lord to formally introduce her.

"Guardian Croft, this is Ms. Sydney Sage, a representative from the Alchemists. Sydney? This is Guardian Hans Croft, Chief Guardian and head of the Guardian Council."

Aware of the Alchemist's suspicion and mistrust of Moroi, and to a lesser extent guardians and dhampir, Croft nodded politely but did not shake her hand. "Thank you for your attendance," he said, keeping a respectful distance. "Your colleague is waiting for you in a suite in guest quarters. My guardians will take you there." Croft wanted the Alchemist away from Natasha as quickly as possible, just in case.

Sydney appeared alarmed at the notion of going anywhere with the two young uniformed men she had never met. She wished she'd never agreed to have any part in this, not that there'd ever been much of a choice. Between following orders and the favor she owed Abe, this had always been inevitable.

"Guardian Croft? Given Ms. Sage is unfamiliar with Court, and these guardians, perhaps I could escort her to guest accommodations? She knows no one here..."

The look of relief on Sydney's face was enough to secure Croft's permission, and since Adrian was carrying her small bag, and his own, the Moroi Lord wasted no time helping Sydney into the back of one of the waiting SUVs, before rounding the vehicle to seat himself in the back seat beside her.

"Take the scenic route," the slightly manic Moroi hissed at the twenty-something-year-old guardian who would drive them, slipping the guy a $50 before opening the door and preparing to be his most charming self.