Viktor craned his neck. “If you break my tools, it will come out of your pay.”
“What makes him so different from every other man we’ve targeted?” Christian snapped, rising to his feet and taking my side. “He’s a festering wound, and the longer we leave it alone, the more dangerous he becomes. His title shouldn’t give him a free pass to kill. The higher authority pays us to take care of criminals however we deem fit. If this were anyone else, we’d be raiding his house and taking him down the old-fashioned way.”
“Old-fashioned?” I asked.
He held up both fists. “Thunder and lightning.”
Viktor set down his glass. “This is different, and you know it. The law will not issue a warrant against one of their own without substantial proof. He trusted Raven when he invited her into his home, but if you made him suspicious, I can promise you he set those shoes on fire.”
Christian inched forward. “I’m not going to take the blame for lost evidence. If I hadn’t gotten there when I had, do you know what he could have done to her?”
“Baked me a pie?”
He held up his finger, voice flooded with irritation. “I’m going to let that go, but keep in mind that you were unarmed. Maybe you think it’s a common courtesy in the dating world, but it could have cost you your fecking life. You were vulnerable, and if I hadn’t answered my phone—”
“Then I would have taken him down myself if it came to that.”
“Exactly. And this would be an entirely different conversation about how to save Keystone, regardless if you had succeeded or not. Had he stuffed you in a box and tossed you into the lake, we wouldn’t have known about what you discovered in the house, let alone his true name.”
“We knew.” Wyatt sat up. “John identified him when he picked her up.”
“Who the feck is John?”
“The specter I mentioned earlier.”
“Are you afflicted in some way? Your ghost’s testimony would be inadmissible in a court of law on the grounds that no one can see the eejit.” Christian’s attention swung over to Viktor. “I don’t see why we have to go through the charade of a costume ball in order to identify him. Even if he burned the shoes, let me charm the truth out of him.”
“You will not charm a detective. Remember thatyouare still the prime suspect. If we behave like renegades without some measure of order, that will be our downfall. People trust us because we are just as methodical and ruthless as the killers we catch. Romeo corresponded with Penny and Blue. Wyatt is hacking his account to match any of the unidentified victims with his list of contacts. But that takes time. We must link Romeo to Glass by setting a trap. Thismusthappen.”
Christian raked his fingers through his hair from back to front.
“What’s that on your neck?” Wyatt asked. “Did you get a tattoo?”
Christian gave me an icy stare. “It better fade before the party.”
Wyatt jumped to his feet and moved swiftly toward the doorway. “This is a private meeting. No freshies allowed.” He held his arms wide as if blocking someone. “Who?” Wyatt looked over his shoulder at us, then back. “Christian?”
Christian folded his arms. “What are you blathering on about?”
Wyatt aimed his green eyes at Christian. “John says he knows you.”
While the men continued their odd conversation, I headed out of the room, shaken by the events of the evening. I wasn’t sure if I’d left the doors upstairs at Glass’s house open or closed, and if he suspected I knew something, he might try to come at me when I least suspected it.
But unlike all the previous times I’d been in danger, this time I wasn’t alone.
Chapter 25
Christian watchedRaven exit the gathering room. He felt compelled to go speak with her alone, but Gem and Claude followed close behind her, so he stayed rooted in place. Perhaps it was just an innocent dinner, but seeing Glass holding that knife had made Christian want to shatter every bone in the man’s body.
He steadied his eyes on Wyatt. “I’m sure alotof dead men know me.”
Wyatt shut his eyes for a minute and then looked back. “Okay! I heard you.” He strode forward and spoke to Christian in a quiet voice. “Look, John’s swearing up and down that he knows you. I really don’t care if he’s having a hallucination or not. Maybe this is a good chance for you to help me get him out of the house.”
“And where shall we go?”
“Anywhere. Take him to someone he needs to make amends with. That’ll keep him occupied. Once he’s gone, he won’t be able to find his way back. He doesn’t belong here. I like the guy, but that doesn’t mean I want to live with him for the rest of eternity. If there’s a chance for him to move on, he’s not going to find it with me.”
“I don’t know a John, and even if I did, how the hell would I know who he’s got unresolved issues with?”
