The drive to Mott Haven was tense.

Dorian and I were both tired beyond belief, and all I wanted was to collapse and sleep it all off – Lucia, Edmond, Jax. Forget about it all for a minute.

Still, something inside me remained restless. A fly of suspicion buzzed inside my skull, waking me up the moment my mind drifted away.

"You had a man on the inside." I said once we were close enough to our destination.

I wanted to talk, but I also wanted the conversation to be short.

"I have men everywhere, you'll need to be more specific." Dorian leaned his head against the seat and looked at me sideways, his gaze blurry and lost.

"That hunter. The Asian guy." I said. "He's a vampire."

"Oh, you've met Haoyu." Dorian smiled. "A great guy, an absolute beast in a fight, but nimble as a ballerina when it comes to sneaking into unsuspecting enemy's territory."

I let out a rough laugh, "You knew everything. The moment Jimmy knew it, you knew it."

Dorian just looked at me, "Did you think I'd let you run around with hunters without knowing you're safe?"

Another laugh, "Don't pretend this is all for my benefit."

"It sounds more romantic that way."

Our gazes locked.

The car stopped and the driver glanced behind, "Mr. Darascu, we're here."

"Thank you, Roger." Dorian averted his gaze, opened the door and stepped out of the car.

I followed, although I would have rather done anything that walked back into Sabor de Isla, the Puerto Rican restaurant Jax took me to on our first date. The sun was high up, burning into my skin as if trying to tell me I didn't belong in the path of its rays.

I preferred night anyway.

Unlike the first time I've been here, there was no loud music and joyous laughter, only a few men sitting around a single table, a bottle containing clear liquid in front of them and sour frowns on their faces. When they saw us, their shoulders fell just a bit more and their frowns deepened. Mikey tried to stand up to greet us, but Jax grabbed his forearm and pulled him down. His shoulder was bandaged.

"Leave." Jax looked at his comrades. "I want to talk to them alone."

"Are you sure?" One of the hunters, a tall blonde guy, asked.

"Yes." Jax remained sitting. "Leave."

Mikey was the last to walk away, gaze jumping between Dorian and me, like he couldn't quite believe we were vampires. Finally, his shoulders slumped and he walked out.

"I assume your plan worked." Jax leaned against the seat and threw his healthy hand over the side. "Considering you're not dead."

"More or less." Dorian pulled out a chair for me. "We have a few things to discuss."

I sat down and eyed the bottle, wondering if my body could take another drink.

"Help yourself." Jax murmured, eyeing me.

Dorian poured us a drink, then sat down, "Right then. Since we can finally be honest with each other, I suggest we continue down that road. I'll start. Where is Jimmy?"

"In a hospital." Jax said, voice cold.

"I'm afraid we'll have to hand him over to Edmond."

Jax flinched, eyes jumping to me, "Seriously?"

"We have to sacrifice someone." I said, "Edmond is not going to stop until he finds him, and if he starts looking around, he might find you too. And Mikey."

Jax's shoulders relaxed, "I told him he shouldn't attack without preparation."

"None of you are prepared." Dorian said. "If you want to fight vampires, you'll have to go through proper training."

"I understand that, Darascu, but Jimmy is my boss. I don't even know the guy above him, how am I supposed to get hunters to train properly if I can't tell them what we're dealing with?"

"Don't you worry about that." Dorian said. "You worry about becoming the next Jimmy. Get his boss to promote you. You're a smart guy; capable, ambitious. Probably more suited for the role than Jimmy himself."

Jax chuckled, "And what will you be doing while I climb up the corporate ladder?"

"Odette and I are taking over the Zaleria family council." Dorian said. "Once we're there, we'll overrule Edmond's decisions, take him down from the inside."

Well, he was more confident than me.

Jax shifted in his seat, probably not as convinced as Dorian that this plan would work.

"You used me today." Jax said. "Kept me out of the loop, almost got my friends killed."

"They're mostly alive." Dorian shrugged. "And the only reason they'll continue being alive is because I took care of the cameras and Edmond."

"That's fair." Jax kept his gaze. "It also makes me distrust you."

"I don't need your trust." Dorian said. "I need you to do what's in your best interest: learn how to fight and kill vampires."

Jax leaned forward, "Why would you want me to know how to kill you?"

My glance kept jumping between the two of them.

Dorian shrugged, "I like my fights fair."

"What's your end goal, Darascu?"

"World peace."

Jax laughed; a throaty, rumbling sound. He leaned back against his seat.

"And what do I get out of your strive for world peace?"

Dorian leaned forward, "I'll keep your family safe."

Now, this got Jax's attention. His mocking smile disappeared and his gaze jumped to me as if asking me whether this was true.

"Whatever you need, you ask for it." Dorian continued. "Money, resources-"

"I'd never take your money."

"But you better take my protection." Dorian said. "You'll need it."

Jax did not like this one bit; his teeth kept gritting and his gaze jumped from me to Dorian and back. After a full minute, he leaned forward and put his healthy elbow on the table.

"I'm going to have to talk to Odette alone."

My heart skipped a beat.

Dorian looked at me, "Seems like everyone wants to talk to you alone."

I couldn't quite read his expression, but he stood up quickly and grabbed the chair backrest, as if impatient.

"I'm waiting for you outside."

He was out of the restaurant in a second, leaving me alone with Jax.

My former lover leaned back against his seat and took the glass, his observant dark eyes locked on me. I had no idea what to expect, no idea what to tell him.

"I guess you're friends now." Jax said.

"We're at truce."

"So, all is forgiven?"

The words caught in my throat, "I'd say I know where we stand now."

"And where is that?"

"On the same side." I said. "And for now at least, he's proving to be a better ally than foe."

Jax stared at me, the confident mask he's put on cracking just a little bit when he put his hands back on the table and scooted to the edge of the seat.

"Odette." He said my name in a similar manner as before, when he still wanted me, which caused a pang in my stomach. "Tell me the truth. Please. If you've ever cared about me at all, tell me the truth."

I waited, spit gathering on my tongue.

"Can I trust him?" Jax's palms flattened against the table. "And how can I know if I can or can't?"

I swallowed.

My glance escaped to the front of the restaurant and through the window, where Dorian waited in the black town car.

"He wants to be the next Chief." I looked back at Jax. "And all of your enemies are blocking his path. Edmond. Anton. My father. He's not going to stop until he takes them all down. And you can trust him to get the job done."

Jax leaned forward, "And where do you fit in?"

The question took me aback, rendering me answer-less for a second.

"I can help him take Edmond down. And if we're both on the Council and on the same side, we may be able to vote my father out of the picture without going to an outright war."

"And what happens to you after that?" Jax asked. "You are also a Zaleria, if I remember correctly. You're in his way, too."

You're with me until you're against me.

"I-"

"And if I remember correctly, he's still engaged to your sister." Jax raised his eyebrow.

Then I realised where his mind went to.

"Jax." I sighed. "Nothing- nothing happened."

"But you want it, don't you?" Jax asked. "You want him."

I glanced back through the window, "That's not the reason why I trust him."

"Why do you trust him?"

I leaned against the backrest, gaze flying back to Jax, "You were right. We had unfinished business. For years, I haven't been able to move past it. I thought I hated him because of what happened to Elena, until I realised he might be the only person in this world that's been hurt by her death more than me. He loved her. He won't stop until he avenges her death, and he'll do it by forcing our world to change."

"Once again I ask – where do you fit in?"

My mouth fell open.

"I think-" Jax leaned back, his gaze jumping through the window to Dorian's town car. "I think we're all just a means to an end for him." He looked back at me. "And you are the end."

I took a moment to even out my breathing and come up with an answer.

"If that's true, then all you have to do is trust me." I said. "Because I won't stop until I avenge my sister, and I'll do it by changing the goddamn world we live in."

"Good." Jax nodded. "Keep in mind that we're a part of this world, too. Mikey, Lucia, my family. All of your personal squabbles and fights come second."

Jax obviously hasn't met my family. Our entire world centred around personal squabbles. It was the very thing that needed to change.

When I said nothing, Jax sighed, "You can tell Darascu that I'm with you."

"Thank you." I breathed out. "Lay low, Jax. Someone still tried to kill us and we have no idea who it was."

"Right." Jax chuckled, "Unlike some, I don't have a crazy vampire bodyguard willing to leave a trail of bodies on the way to my heart."

"On the way to the throne." I corrected.

Jax smirked, "When you're an heiress to the Zaleria clan, those two are the same thing."