"Reese, where are you? I was just about to call." Vincent sounded winded and annoyed when he answered his phone.

"I'm with Ori and a couple of demons. We're at Sylvie's place."

"What!"

"I need you to bring the amulet here alone or Ori is going to start killing off hostages."

"Are you injured?"

"No, but he cut Sylvie and he's threatening to do more unless you agree to bring the amulet."

Vincent went quiet. I didn't even hear breathing. Was he texting a distress signal to one of the Valentinos?

"Which demons?"

"Dale and a silent partner."

I heard Vincent grunt. "Well, they just showed their hand. What are the terms of this trade?"

"Ori gets the amulet, everyone goes free. It sounds like Hadria is behind the ambush. She doesn't want Cecile to have it. Cecile may not be long for this world."

"So, you told them I had the amulet when Sylvie was threatened?"

"I told them I didn't know where it was, then Ori said he believed you had the amulet in your pocket the day I opened the vault. He read it in some lore you needed a supernatural object to make it work. So, how is this going to play out? Sylvie is trying not to bleed to death over here."

"I'm going to give them the amulet. Don't try anything heroic before I get there. I love you."

"I love you, too." I hung up the phone and spoke directly to Ori, trying not to cringe at the sight of Sylvie's bleeding arm. "Vincent is on his way with the amulet. May I have my friend back so I can bandage her arm?"

I stood from the couch, holding out my hand to Sylvie, and Ori released her, looking strangely remorseful as he glanced at her pale face. As soon as we rounded the kitchen counter, I broke into my apology.

"I'm so sorry, Sylvie. I'll understand if you don't talk to me after this. Nobody needs friends with knife-wielding enemies." I turned on the faucet and held her arm under the water, rubbing her back as she grimaced with pain. "Where do you keep your first aid kit?"

"What first aid kit? I've got antibiotic ointment and Band-aids."

"Rubbing alcohol?"

"Nope."

"Vodka?"

"Of course. You want me to take a shot to numb the pain?"

"No. I need it to sterilize the wound."

"Cabinet above my head." Sylvie ducked as I followed her directions, uncapping the vodka bottle and pouring a couple ounces over her arm.

"Fuck!" Sylvie's curse had the boys turning their heads, but they quickly lost interest when we both ignored them. I located a dishtowel and started ripping it down the center.

"Hey, that's a new dishtowel," she complained.

"Well, now it's a bandage to minimize blood loss."

Sylvie smiled as she took a slug off the open vodka bottle. "You're an over-reactor, you know that. I would take a blade for you any day, Reese." She leaned in and kissed my cheek, lingering to whisper covertly. "Does Vincent really have the amulet or is he coming here with his gargoyle posse to take revenge on these douchebags?"

"He has it, but I don't know where it is. He didn't tell me the location so I couldn't be coerced into blabbing about it."

"I don't think that strategy worked out so well. What will be the fallout from this trade-off? Are heads going to roll?"

"I'm not sure how it will play out with the gollums once they hear about it, but as far as this ambush, these bozos timed it perfectly. The sun is already up, so Vincent will have to face them as a human, and the same goes for Dale and Silent Bob. I'm sure Vincent has called for back-up, but unless he has an ace up his sleeve, this will be a non-violent exchange. He won't risk our lives."

"You mean, he won't risk your life."

Vincent arrived at the door cloaked in a black trench coat and looking like the steroid version of Neo, although Neo never showed the wounds of his battles, and I doubted he smelled like a gollum after a fight. Vincent commanded the room from the moment he entered it, checking on me and Sylvie first then taking Ori into the hallway to exchange a swift, hushed conversation. Dale and his shadow were asked to stay out of it, which didn't go over well with Dale, but his shady ass was in no position to pick a fight when his demands were being met. As soon as the three douches left the apartment, Vincent sat down and started texting.

"Who all knew about the exchange?" I asked as Sylvie and I flanked him.

"All the Valentinos should know by now," he said. "Charleton will call Sergio and Louis. Colin is on standby a safe distance away. I just told him to meet us here."

"How is Colin?" Sylvie asked.

"He wants to split some skulls." Vincent followed this up with a CEO stare, locking us down with it. "How did you manage to get caught by them?"

Sylvie shrugged her innocence, while I took the brunt of Vincent's judgment.

"Blame it on my bleeding heart," I said. "Dale convinced me Christoph had been mortally wounded in battle and was dying on a nearby rooftop. We hadn't walked half a block from Exchange Place when I was shoved into the back of a limo and brought here."

Vincent's expression darkened as I told my tale of woe. "We were all had by these bastards," he moaned. "They set up a fake disturbance. Your boy Christoph was there, along with Bo and a newbie named Jack. I knew the situation felt off."

I looked at Vincent, realizing for the first time he was using his enemy's names.

"Bo was the instigator," Vincent went on. "Although he doesn't usually push past first blood. I think the guy faints at the sight of it. Now I know he was just trying to keep me away from you. He kept trash talking you. Messing with my head. He said something about you and Dale in the shower at the hive. He was adjusting his jaw after I told him what I thought of his big mouth."

"Dale said Christoph didn't know about Hadria's plan. He said Christoph would never betray Cecile. I'm going to call him and find out." I pulled out my phone, talking as I dialed. "How did Christoph fare against your lethal claws?"

Vincent looked slightly affronted. Or was that some other emotion? "He is an efficient fighter. Our battles don't usually come to much bloodshed. This morning he didn't have any fire in him. He seemed more interested in getting Bo to back off."

Christoph answered the phone and I put his call on speaker. "Reese, is everything alright? You don't usually call me."

I glanced at Vincent, making sure he caught that. "I'm okay now. Did you hear about Dale's ambush?"

"What ambush?"

"Me versus Dale, Ori, and Silent Bob in a limo."

"Silent Bob? Wait, are you saying Dale kidnapped you?"

"Yes, I am. He was after the amulet."

"Does Vincent know? We were just... dealing... with... Oh, shit!" Clearly, the realization had dawned on him. "Bo and Jack were diversions. The fight was staged. What did Dale do to you? If that thick-necked son-of-a-bitch hurt you, I'll rearrange the horns on his fat head."

As Christoph growled into the phone, Vincent and Sylvie looked at me, and I could read them both perfectly. What else could I do but shrug innocently and press on?

"Other than manhandling me into the back of a limo, I was unharmed. But Ori jabbed his dagger into my friend."

"Are you at the hospital?"

"No, but it's on the to-do list. Christoph, there's more you need to hear, but you might want to sit down first."

"Oh, no. Why?"

"Dale and his sidekicks are loyal to Hadria, not Cecile. I'm afraid the stunt they pulled this morning is the beginning of Hadria's hostile takeover. She tasked Ori with hiding the amulet from Cecile. The three of them just left here with it."

"So, you did have the amulet. Why did you lie to me, Reese?" I could hear the hurt in his tone, and I hurried to explain.

"I didn't lie. I told you I didn't know where it was because I truthfully didn't know where it was. But, Vincent did."

The silence on Christoph's end spoke volumes, and I pushed through my guilt to attempt a peace offering. "I'm sorry, Christoph. Vincent gave Ori the amulet in return for not cutting me and my friend into chopped liver. It seems everything was orchestrated by Hadria. As soon as Cecile finds out..."

"I have to go to the hive." Christoph's voice came through as an echo, like he was walking down a hallway.

"What will you do when you get there? Will you fight? How many are loyal to Hadria?"

"Enough to turn the tide in her favor. It will be a tough transition for the privs."

"Don't go." The words were out of my mouth before I could stop them, and I had to endure Vincent's narrowed gaze.

"I have to go. I have to warn the queen that her daughter is plotting to overthrow her. But now that the amulet is out of the picture, you can have your privacy back. I'm sure you're tired of being hounded."

"Your hounding saved my life. If you hadn't been there that night..."

"We both know Vincent would have caught you before you hit the pavement. He hates my guts, but I can live with that, as long as I know he's treating you right."

"I wouldn't be with him if he wasn't. Been there. Over that."

"Alright then... I'll call if I can. If not, good luck with everything. It's been nice knowin' ya."

Christoph hung up before I could say goodbye, and I forced down the lump in my throat. Would that be the last time I talked to him? Vincent held me in his sights, and I knew he was waiting for me to lose it. Thankfully, it was Sylvie to the rescue.

"I think I'll call in sick."