They walked toward the stand-alone building, and as they neared the door, he stopped and looked at her in earnest. “If you ever want to talk about things—personal things—I’m always here.”
She frowned up at him. “Have you been dipping into Wyatt’s wild herbs? I don’t want to leave Keystone. I love it here. I love my job. Where else can I have adventures like these? I’m surrounded by friendsandmy closest partner.” Gem’s doe eyes twinkled as she studied his face. “Claude?”
“Yes?”
“Just so you know, you’re my good friend. But Niko? He’s my best friend.”
Claude smiled at the clean scent of honesty and devotion. What Gem and Niko had between them went deeper than trivial affection and even deeper than any friendship bond. Whatever relationship they had decided on was true to themselves—one that would stand the test of time. That knowledge filled Claude with so much contentment that he began to purr.
Now Gem was giving him a funny look.
Claude cracked the door to the room and felt along the wall for a light switch. When he turned it on and swung the door open, they both gasped.
A Vampire stood in the empty room, just a few feet from the door. His grey hair and widow’s peak were familiar to Claude. It wasn’t until he noticed the mark on his hand that he realized they were face-to-face with Borislav, the last remaining oligarch.
CHAPTER25
After leaving Lenore’s building, I sat in my truck for a long time. Not only did I want the alcohol to wear off, I kept hoping that either she or Fletcher might drive or walk out. I wasn’t sure what the plan would be if that happened; I only knew that I couldn’t bring myself to leave.
Someone knocked on my window, startling me. When I looked up and saw Christian, I rolled down my window. “What are you doing here?”
“Unlock the door.” He walked around to the passenger side. After I reached over and pulled the lock, he got in. Christian’s breath clouded in front of his face. “Something wrong with the heater?”
“Nope.” I had on a nice pair of leather gloves, and after a while, I’d gotten used to the cold. “Did you walk all the way here?”
“Claude and Gem went to the storage facility, so Viktor won’t need me for a while. I can’t scrub the human until they finish. Viktor’s afraid the little shitebag might be holding out on us. Worry not, I’ll scoop it all out before I work my magic.” He watched a car turn in Lenore’s parking garage, which was adjacent to the building.
“How did you find me?”
“This is where you were supposed to go. When you didn’t come back, I figured you might be watching her. That’s what I’d be doing. Watching and thinking.” He reached over and rubbed the back of my neck. “Why don’t you turn the engine over and get some heat in here. You’ll feel better.”
I turned the key, and the truck rumbled. Icy air blew through the vents, and after a few minutes, it warmed up.
“You wanna head home?” he asked.
“Not really.” My eyes were locked on the garage exit.
“She might not even be in there.”
“What else have I got to do? Wyatt’s managing all the money, and Gem and Claude are checking out the assets.”
“Wyatt already moved the payment out of her account and into ours. If only I could be a fly on the wall when she finds out.” Christian gave a sinister laugh while he folded his arms. “I suppose she tied up a lot of her money in that confounded castle in the sky. That might be all she has left. That and the broken statue.”
“If Viktor gives us the command to take her out, what do we do? You favor traded with her, and you’re bound to that promise.”
“I don’t think Viktor will kill an official. He’d never want that stain on his reputation, whether she was involved in nefarious activities or not. This isn’t like our past cases. He’ll want to be careful about his decision. But it should give you a glimmer of satisfaction that you’re getting your wish. You wanted to tear down her world and ruin every dream she had, and now you’re seeing that come to fruition. She’ll never get her hands on the oligarchs’ fortune, and she promised us a ridiculously high payout, which drained her account. Ronald is now out of her life, and even though she knows we can’t turn her in for her crimes, she’ll never feel safe. She might even flee, dreading what Viktor might do. She burned him, and that adds a whole new layer of frosting to the cake.” Christian cupped his hand around his ear. “I can almost hear her pacing the floor as we speak.”
“And yet… it just doesn’t seem like enough.”
Christian lowered his hand. “Aye.”
I leaned forward and glanced up when I heard a helicopter. “Is that thing going to land on the building?”
Christian looked. “Must be a helipad up there. It was more common years ago before they started having accidents. I suppose the rich can have whatever they want.”
I popped open the door. “Let’s go check it out.”
“Raven?” Christian jogged after me and caught up when I reached the front entrance.
