Luckily, he still had good men on his side. Even if they were a pain in his ass.
“What?” he demanded, rapidly losing what little patience he possessed.
“They pulled the file to corroborate a tip,” Milo answered, each word slow and measured in a way that filled Felix with dread. His cousin always chose his words carefully, but when he talked like that, it wasalwaysbad news.
And the way Milo avoided his gaze? It had to be very bad indeed.
“Apparently, a server was injured. Substantially.”
“So?” Felix didn’t love the idea of innocent bystanders getting hurt, but it wasn’t earth-shattering, either.
Milo took a breath before he met Felix’s stare. “The Bowans have gotten word that there… that there might have been blood exchanged with the server. And that server just tested neutral.” He swallowed. “Our spy said they’re planning to mobilize.”
It took him a second to follow what his second was trying to tell him. Working it out just as slowly as his second, Felix said, “The Bowans wouldn’t care if one of their men accidentally turned someone. They’d only care if…”
“If it was Alastair’s blood.”
Felix narrowed his eyes. Relaxing a bit now that he knew the sky wasn’t falling down, he leaned back in his seat. “Well, shit. He should send us a crate of guns or something. Sounds like we handed him a shiny new heir, no effort required.”
The old man didn’t have a direct heir, so they’d really done him a favor. Turning was a damn nasty business and unreliable, since the odds of it working were slim. Most vampires relied on good old fashioned procreation to make the next generation,but Alastair Bowan had been handed a gift: an heir of his given blood.
If it turned out the new vampire really was venom neutral, making them a coveted blood bride, too… They’d be worth more than their weight in gold.
Only blood brides could procreate with another vampire, making them highly prized by families who cared too much about their bloodlines. They tended to be female, but there were grooms, too.
If Alastair suddenly had an heirandthey were venom neutral, it’d make that new vampire the single most prized bride on the market.
And the most hunted.
Godspeed and good luck, you poor wretch,he thought.You’ll need it.
Reaching for his synth, it took him a moment to realize Milo hadn’t relaxed. If anything, he looked even grimmer, which was saying something.
Speaking against the rim of his drink, Felix said, “There’s more.”
“Your girl went to the doctor today, right?”
His muscles locked. Speaking took some effort when he could barely unclench his jaw. “Yes.”
Looking a bit like he’d resigned himself to taking out one of his kidneys with his own claws, Milo told him, “The tip came from a doctor at San Francisco General. An hour ago.”
The noise of the room whited out. There was nothing but static in his ears as the facts tumbled together.
She wasn’t supposed to work that night.
The twenty-four hours after the hit had been some of the longest of his life. He hadn’t even known that she was in the building until she texted him the following night. All she’d said was that she didn’t have her phone, and since she’d refused tospeak to him since, he hadn’t gotten any further details about that night or where she’d been.
Her silence drove him to distraction, but he’d been reassured that she was well. Physically, at least. He didn’t have time to follow up in the two weeks after the hit as he stabilized his control on the family. Whatever was going on in that enigmatic blonde head, they’d hash it out when he snatched up his prize.
Felix’s grandmother would’ve called him careless. She was always saying he missed the bigger picture.
The droning in his ears got louder and louder. Setting his bottle back on the table with a gentle tap, he asked, “Do they know the name of the server?”
Milo let out a breath. “Dahlia McKnight.”
Asshole
—Missed call Wednesday 3:05 AM
