“Surely there’s somewhere they could go?”
Before Cillian could reply, Randy called out. “I know someone who can take them, boss.”
Cillian sighed. “Fine. But do it quick because I want this place burning before someone shows up to start loading the drugs and notices the bodies.” With that final order, Cillian kicked at the bar on a door marked exit and we ended up outside in the crisp air.
A deep breath cleared my head enough that I thought to ask, “How did you find me?”
“I’d like to say I tracked you down because of my epic hunter instincts, but in truth, you should thank Gwen and her computer skills,” his sheepish admission. “Once I realized someone tried to kill me, I went completely dark. Took the battery out of my phone. Didn’t use any credit cards. Didn’t make any calls that might be traced. Hence why you had no warning. When I chose to play dead to flush out the suspect, I assumed you were safe in the house with Lou. I was obviously unaware he’d betrayed me.”
“Lou claimed he felt the bond between you sever.”
“My doing. I muffled the link between me and all my servants. That way, if any of them were captured, they couldn’t divulge my location, even if tortured. ‘Course, shutting myself off also meant I didn’t know about Lou’s treachery and you almost paid the price.” Cillian’s lips turned down.
“He did it to become a vampire, but I don’t think Tom or Belial ever had any intention of honoring their deal with him.”
“Oh, they used him, of that I have no doubt.” Cillian cleared his throat and continued walking. “Anyhow, to return to how I ended up here. After the explosion, I had to spend some time fixing up Randy.”
“By fix, you mean give some blood.”
He nodded. “While I gave him enough to heal the worst of his injuries, Gwen went on a hunt for a vehicle that could accommodate my particular need.”
AKA blacked-out windows.
“It took longer than expected and then didn’t help much since we didn’t know where to find the culprit behind the bomb. I might not have found this place at all if not for the live CrypTube the satyr began streaming.”
“I’m going to assume that’s some kind of social media bullshit for vampires and other wiggy folk?”
“It runs on the very dark web for cryptids only. As soon as I put the battery back in my phone so I could call the house and check in with Lou, it began blowing up with notifications. The satyr thought me dead and had me tagged. Once I realized you’d been taken captive inside some kind of warehouse, and by who, Gwen did her magic with a computer and got me an address. Luckily, we weren’t too far.”
“In case you hadn’t figured it out, Sophia was the one behind everything. She still had the hots for you and had a jealous fit when you brought me to her party.”
“Sophia didn’t want me. More like she held a grudge that I ended things.” He stopped by a plumber’s van and opened the door.
“This is your ride?” I couldn’t stop a snicker.
“It was all we could manage on short notice,” was his wry reply.
I clambered into the truck, scooting right over to the passenger seat while Cillian took the driver’s side. He started the engine.
“Aren’t we waiting for Randy and Gwen?”
“They’ll be a bit making sure the fire goes off without a hitch and all evidence is burned.”
“Gotta get rid of the drugs.”
“Actually, I’m more concerned about the bodies being discovered by authorities. While Sophia can pass for human, Tom and Belial dropped their glamours before dying.”
“Can’t let the people know monsters exist,” I murmured.
“Exactly. I pride myself on keeping the city free from suspicion and rumor.”
The choice of words had me blurting, “Sophia called you the Cryptid Overseer. What’s that mean?”
“It is my duty to ensure nonhumans in my territory follow the primary rule of don’t do anything to expose our existence.”
“What happens to those who fuck up?”
“I eliminate them as an example to others who might think they can do the same.”
