was perfectly ripe and juicy. She took another bite.
Then, out of curiosity, she checked the freezer.
Jackpot. Ice cream! Or, rather, sorbet. Chocolate Caramel, Strawberries and Cream, and an interesting one called French Mango Sunset.
She hunted through the dark stained cabinets for a bowl and spoon, intending to snag a hefty scoop of each.
Chapter 8
Just about the time Rita crawled off the bed and sauntered from the room, sans a couple of pints, Cortez entered. How long had he been waiting out there for Mace to finish up? Not that Rita would have minded her boss watching, Mace thought. Cortez had undoubtedly seen her engage in more sultry acts than a simple feeding.
“How are you feeling?” Cortez asked, though it was clear there were more pressing questions burning in the back of his mind.
“Been better.” His chest ached as his healing flesh battled against the encroaching acid and shrapnel. Luckily, the alcohol Balthazar had poured over him earlier help to nullify most of the destructive chemical. “Should be on my feet by morning,” he added. “There are a couple things I need you to do for me.”
Cortez cocked his head. “Now you ask for favors?”
“Yes,” Mace replied simply. “The jeep outside in your parking lot will need to disappear, preferably tonight. Same with the three bodies I left on the mountain pass. There’s a motorcycle up there as well. It’ll be reported stolen soon. Take it, sell it, strip it for all I care, but it shouldn’t be traced back here.”
“Is that all?”
“No. I’ll need a replacement vehicle. Cora and I will leave here in the morning.”
“I’m going to need some answers, Mason. What the fuck is going on?”
Mace let out a breath. There was no getting around it. “The night Brayden disappeared, arsonists burned down his apartment building.”
“Yes, several other vampires had resided there. They labeled it a hate crime.”
“Right. And with all the bodies virtually incinerated, and Brayden missing, the local investigators easily declared him deceased. It was Trent who came to me last year with the news that his blood was discovered on the black market.”
“Why didn’t he come to me?” The fire behind Cortez’s eyes betrayed his cool tone.
“You know why.”
“I could have helped in the search. There are witches I could call upon to scry—”
“Don’t you think we tried that?” Mason paused, waiting for Cortez’s rebuttal, but none came. “Anyway, I joined the VEA the next day. With Trent’s connections, he was able to streamline the process and we’ve been partners ever since, with our main goal finding Brayden. I was going to tell you when we had…something, but it was like we were always chasing shadows.” He let out a haggard breath. “Then came Cora.”
“Yes, the female. If you’re so intent on finding my brother, why are you taking time to guard this girl?”
“It’s…complicated. I…well, she’s the only clue we have at the moment. Part of the theory is her late husband was testing product on her before approving it for sale. She had no idea. We have samples of her blood being analyzed now, but that’s just schematics. Trent and I both smelled Brayden on her.”
Yet , now it was his own scent all over her.
The thought was too satisfying.
“Toward the end,” Mace continued, “her husband was giving it to her more and more. Often for no reason at all. We figured he’d received an influx of blood that needed testing, so we beefed up surveillance on him and his associates, hoping to catch a drop off. That was probably our biggest mistake. Two days ago, our suspects were eliminated as if by well-trained assassins, creating a virtual dead end for us.”
“Still, why bother with the girl?”
“Should we just leave her life in the hands of fate then?” Mace hissed.
“If she has no further use in the investigation, I see no point—”
“Whoever killed her husband and the others
Then, out of curiosity, she checked the freezer.
Jackpot. Ice cream! Or, rather, sorbet. Chocolate Caramel, Strawberries and Cream, and an interesting one called French Mango Sunset.
She hunted through the dark stained cabinets for a bowl and spoon, intending to snag a hefty scoop of each.
Chapter 8
Just about the time Rita crawled off the bed and sauntered from the room, sans a couple of pints, Cortez entered. How long had he been waiting out there for Mace to finish up? Not that Rita would have minded her boss watching, Mace thought. Cortez had undoubtedly seen her engage in more sultry acts than a simple feeding.
“How are you feeling?” Cortez asked, though it was clear there were more pressing questions burning in the back of his mind.
“Been better.” His chest ached as his healing flesh battled against the encroaching acid and shrapnel. Luckily, the alcohol Balthazar had poured over him earlier help to nullify most of the destructive chemical. “Should be on my feet by morning,” he added. “There are a couple things I need you to do for me.”
Cortez cocked his head. “Now you ask for favors?”
“Yes,” Mace replied simply. “The jeep outside in your parking lot will need to disappear, preferably tonight. Same with the three bodies I left on the mountain pass. There’s a motorcycle up there as well. It’ll be reported stolen soon. Take it, sell it, strip it for all I care, but it shouldn’t be traced back here.”
“Is that all?”
“No. I’ll need a replacement vehicle. Cora and I will leave here in the morning.”
“I’m going to need some answers, Mason. What the fuck is going on?”
Mace let out a breath. There was no getting around it. “The night Brayden disappeared, arsonists burned down his apartment building.”
“Yes, several other vampires had resided there. They labeled it a hate crime.”
“Right. And with all the bodies virtually incinerated, and Brayden missing, the local investigators easily declared him deceased. It was Trent who came to me last year with the news that his blood was discovered on the black market.”
“Why didn’t he come to me?” The fire behind Cortez’s eyes betrayed his cool tone.
“You know why.”
“I could have helped in the search. There are witches I could call upon to scry—”
“Don’t you think we tried that?” Mason paused, waiting for Cortez’s rebuttal, but none came. “Anyway, I joined the VEA the next day. With Trent’s connections, he was able to streamline the process and we’ve been partners ever since, with our main goal finding Brayden. I was going to tell you when we had…something, but it was like we were always chasing shadows.” He let out a haggard breath. “Then came Cora.”
“Yes, the female. If you’re so intent on finding my brother, why are you taking time to guard this girl?”
“It’s…complicated. I…well, she’s the only clue we have at the moment. Part of the theory is her late husband was testing product on her before approving it for sale. She had no idea. We have samples of her blood being analyzed now, but that’s just schematics. Trent and I both smelled Brayden on her.”
Yet , now it was his own scent all over her.
The thought was too satisfying.
“Toward the end,” Mace continued, “her husband was giving it to her more and more. Often for no reason at all. We figured he’d received an influx of blood that needed testing, so we beefed up surveillance on him and his associates, hoping to catch a drop off. That was probably our biggest mistake. Two days ago, our suspects were eliminated as if by well-trained assassins, creating a virtual dead end for us.”
“Still, why bother with the girl?”
“Should we just leave her life in the hands of fate then?” Mace hissed.
“If she has no further use in the investigation, I see no point—”
“Whoever killed her husband and the others
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