Free Fang Shway in LA by Casey Knight Page B

office.”
    “Not so fast, Lady, Mr. Chivas would like to chat. Dragon, don’t make any quick moves, or I’ll have my men shoot you both. Now get in the car, the boss doesn’t like being kept waiting.”
    “Traygen, do as they say, I’ll be fine. You’ll help me more by staying put.”
    Sparks flew from Traygen’s eyes but he did as I asked. It was just this type of incident that drove him crazy. It was one of our biggest reoccurring arguments. He thought I took too many chances and I knew I could take care of myself. We hadn’t been able to strike a suitable balance and I was certain I could handle Chivas and his men. Traygen needed to find the Russian stronghold, besides these macho guys weren’t about to worry about a woman. Mistake, big mistake, I was armed and pissed.
     

Chapter 11
     
    We rode in silence to the Chivas manor, where I was pulled from the car and escorted inside. The men took me down the hall to the library. Chivas was standing in front of a window, staring at God only knows what, when I entered.
    “Lauren, thank you for coming on such short notice, we need to talk.”
    “I’m listening.” Like I had a choice, you smug son of a bitch.
    “I want the spear, which is why I hired Azif. I didn’t know I was going to step on the vampire’s toes and the Daywalker is causing me problems. I don’t want war with the thrall. I don’t have time for it.”
    “It’s a little late for that, don’t you think? Didn’t Azif tell you bringing him in would upset the balance of power? I see from the look on your face he failed to mention it. Employing a rogue wizard on Earth’s planes without provocation is a violation of council law.”
    I could see Chivas fighting to keep his composure. “Must have slipped his mind and for the record I didn’t ask him to kill Ekil’s son. I need your help?”
    I laughed despite myself which was a bad idea. Righteous boy put a loaded gun to my head, pulling back the hammer, grinning like the psycho he was. Shit, how did I get myself into these things? I managed to stammer, “What do you think I can do, that you can’t?”
    “I want you to kill Azif, so the vamps will leave me alone. Then I can get on with my purchase.”
    He was fucking nuts, or he assumed I was. There was no way I could just kill another wizard without cause. The council took a dim view of such things. “I can’t kill him without a darned good reason. The World Council would kill me. However, I might be able to corral him for a short time.”
    “How short? I need him out of commission from today until…”
    He checked himself. I guess he realized he didn’t want me to know exactly when he was buying the spear. “Can you contain him through the weekend?”
    “I don’t know. He’s a powerful wizard and I may not have the strength. He could kill me.”
    “It looks like you’re between a rock and a hard place, doesn’t it. Accept my offer or I’ll have you killed now. Control Azif and you at least have a chance to live. Deal?”
    “Well if you put it like that, how can I refuse? Why don’t you just kill him yourself? Then all your problems would be solved without involving me?
    “Lauren, if I could have handled this myself, I would have. Azif has gotten too strong.”
    “What will you do about the vampires?”
    “I’ll tell them the truth. Azif killed Farok and he was acting on his own. I had nothing to do with it.”
    “Gee, I sure hope they don’t think I was his accomplice. You know they might assume I had something to do with it.”
    “Your welfare isn’t my problem. Anyway, I believe you can take care of yourself. Take her home.”
    He dismissed me with a wave of his hand. His boys drove me home without comment, which was good because I was in no mood to chat.
    “Thank God. Lauren, are you all right? They didn’t hurt you did they.”
    “No, I’m mad, but unharmed. Chivas ordered me to kill Azif.”
    “He what? You can’t do that the council would kill