I folded my arms. “You spoke to Lenore about our case? How’s that keeping it private?”
“She is a trusted associate. This is not the first time I have consulted with a member of the higher authority on outside cases.”
I released a long sigh, worried that we might be violating Ren’s trust by involving someone from the higher authority. “And what did Miss Parrish suggest?”
“That we use the higher authority as a cover. It is the only way to protect the integrity of the case. You will pretend you are taking a census of all the packs and local Shifters—that way, if they talk to one another, they will not grow suspicious of our questions. You must call them in advance and schedule appointments. In light of the recent scandal with cage fights, we will say the higher authority wants to look at recent deaths and assist with conflict, accidents, or sick children. This is a show of goodwill, and the group leaders will acknowledge the gesture for what it looks like.”
“So the higher authority isn’t really going to help them,” Blue said, not hiding the disappointment in her voice. “That’s a rotten thing to do—extending an empty hand of friendship. What if theyhavehad conflict issues or preventable deaths, and they look to the higher authority for help? Then what?”
“Miss Parrish has offered to work out the details, but we do not anticipate anyone will seek help. Shifters are proud people. You know this to be true. They do not trust outsiders. It is the rogues I am more concerned about, and there is not much we can do for them, even if we were helping. I have confidence that you two will come up with the right words.”
“Do we start right away?” I asked.
“Da. I have instructed Ren to call you with more information. No one is working any large cases, so they are at your disposal if you need transportation or research. But this is only an investigation, so I do not want you armed. Blue, an axe on your hip will not be well received.”
“I understand,” she said, allaying his concerns.
He turned a sharp eye to me. “And you will do the same? No weapons?”
“Of course,” I said, gritting my teeth. I didn’t like going anywhere without my daggers. Even though I had Mage powers, a girl had to prepare for the unexpected.
Blue gestured to the glass of white wine on a table by the chair. “Let me get you some of that Gouda cheese you like so much to go with your wine.”
“I-I am fine,” he stammered. “Not necessary.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. You barely touched your plate tonight at the table. You have a lot on your mind these days, but now that you’ve settled all the details with this case, you can relax and let us take care of the rest. We won’t let you down. It’s not good to go to bed on an empty stomach.” She turned on her heel. “I’ll bring up some of those green olives while I’m down there. Maybe wheat crackers and sweet pickles,” she added, turning the corner.
Viktor chuckled and lowered his gaze to the floor. “What would I do without my Blue?”
“Starve?” I noticed an old painting on the wall of wolves circling a campfire. Keystone’s art was a collection of beautiful and haunting imagery, unlike any I’d ever seen in a museum. They celebrated the packs who had once inhabited these rooms.
“What is on your mind?”
I worried my lip. Viktor’s newfound relationship with Lenore concerned me. She had a tumultuous past with Christian, and for that, I hated her. Yet we’d had some good interactions lately, and she seemed to be genuine. People change, so I had this strange love-hate relationship with her. Well, maybelovewas too strong a word, but how that translated into her getting more involved with Viktor and Keystone affairs was fuzzy. “Do you think a personal relationship with a higher authority member is a good idea? If things go wrong, you could fracture our relationship with the entire organization. Christian and I gave serious thought to what would happen if the two of us split and couldn’t live or work here anymore. Have you thought about the repercussions if things go south with Lenore?”
He licked his lips and reached for his wineglass. “Immortals do not seek long-term relationships. Miss Parrish is a Vampire—”
“But you’re a wolf, and youmusthave that urge to settle down with a mate. It’s practically in your DNA. If she doesn’t have that same desire, maybe it complicates things. I don’t want to meddle in your personal affairs. I love Keystone, so I guess part of me feels… protective of the one person that holds us all together. We don’t know much about Lenore. Besides,” I said, trying to kill the tension, “Lenore is a woman, and hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. That’s why Christian’s always looking over his shoulder.”
He chuckled softly and sipped his wine.
I really didn’t feel comfortableat allinserting myself in Viktor’s love life, but sometimes passion blinds people from seeing the dangers. I’d never been the type who gave relationship advice, so that made the silence between us even more awkward.
“I’ll keep you updated,” I promised him, steering away from the topic of Lenore. “Thanks for taking the case. Ren’s a close family friend, and I feel like it’s the least I can do. I’ll be careful. I don’t want his reputation damaged any more than I want ours.”
“Spasibo.” Viktor muttered a few words in Russian before rubbing his eyes. “It is late. I still have much work to do.”
“I’ll leave you to it,” I said, turning toward the door and making a hasty exit.
As I drew near a window in the back hall, I glanced out. The moon sprayed a dim light on the back property, and though I couldn’t see all of it on ground level, there was no sign of Christian. When I went up to his room, he wasn’t there either. A person could get easily lost in Keystone, and we often used our phones to call one another. But at this late hour, there were only a few places we gathered. I journeyed down to the second level and entered Wyatt’s World, which sounded more like an amusement park but was nothing but a grey room filled with snacks, computers, beanbag chairs, and electricity. It was the only room in the house that looked like it didn’t belong in a Gothic tragedy. Wyatt kept his desk and computer gear on the right side and let us have the rest of the room so we could watch TV or relax on the sofa.
“Has Christian been in here?”
Bopping his head to “Safety Dance,” Wyatt made a few keystrokes on his keyboard before an image came up of the underground garage. “Have a look for yourself, buttercup. His bike’s gone.”
I stepped closer. “Since when do we have security cameras on the property?”
“Since the boss man wanted one in the garage.”
