Oh. Well that was good. She let out a breath. Felt the tingle at being called aDestine.
And then the ground fell out from under her.
“But if you aren’t, and Col does not fulfill his duty to complete the mate-bonding with you soon, then one of us will have the pleasure of mate-bonding with you instead.” He winked at her, and took another swig of his drink.
Lily was up on her feet without realizing it.Duty? The word rang in her head. It rang true. But it also rang like a death knell.
Col had been that little boy warrior. Trained from birth to…that’s right, fulfill hisduty.
Was that all she was to him? The rational side of her leapt up to rein in the emotions that were roiling, bringing tears to her eyes. Maybe, the rational side reasoned, that was a good thing. A duty for him, and for her, an itch she didn’t know needed scratching. Consider herself well scratched. Maybe now she could finally get that money over to the auto repair shop, like she was supposed to, like she had planned to.
It just wouldn’t be Rey she’d be running away from any more, but the heartbreak that was threatening to engulf her now, as Aylwyn kept blithely talking.
“Oh, that’s right, you must needs return to the Staff Childcare Center. I promised Lady TraceyAnn that I would accompany you.” He rose to his feet, and walked her back through the crowds, oblivious to Lily scattering a trail of broken heart pieces along the way.
* * *
Cadmus watched Jordy puffed up with pride at getting him the information that he needed. Her former roommate was indeed somehow aligned with the man-wolf, working with him in some capacity, and would be able to confirm that the others were man-wolves too. Or at least provide him with what he could use to move forward.
“I even looked up the address where she’s staying.” Jordy relished using the privileges that she had been accorded in her job at the Faire. She named some trailer park that was close to the fair. Cadmus had remembered seeing it in the previous excursions. He shuddered. That was one of the properties that at least one real estate agent he had consulted tried to interest him in.
He’d have to be desperate indeed. Although, why would this woman be staying there?
“You had said she was your roommate? Why is she no longer at the Faire?” Cadmus asked in a silky tone. It was hisgotchatone when he caught his recruits giving faulty or incomplete information. Billy Bob was immune to it, which was why he was not a recruit, but menial labor. Jordy, on the other hand, sped up her speech, and her voice went even higher in pitch.
“She’s staying at the home of another employee and caring for that employee’s children.”
Cadmus was silent for a moment, just to enjoy Jordy’s squirming. And then nodded. “Good, we will go there tonight when you are free of your responsibilities at the Faire. And then we shall take her.”
“You got it, boss!” Jordy’s relief was almost palpable.
Cadmus could almost picture it already. One major step closer to presenting His Terrible Majesty the man-wolf, maybe even a whole group of man-wolves. Or —he almost moaned out loud — possibly learning where to get more. It was delicious. He saw the woman the man-wolves seemed to value in his root cellar, strapped to the industrial stainless steel table in the center, her eyes filled with terror. Cadmus would then use the tools he had purchased, expertly and slowly, to extract pieces of her flesh and information.
He would show Billy Bob how to torture effectively, without prematurely killing your victim.
He couldn’t wait.
* * *
Rey had ducked in his seat, a cap covering his head when the bitch came out of the Staff Childcare Center, with the big blond himbo he had seen walking in a few minutes earlier. Were theytogether?Was she spreading her legs for that roid junkie now? No matter, he’d kill them both.
Despite how jacked up Rey was, this dude had at least 60 pounds of muscle on him. But this right here were two great equalizers: a Sig Sauer P938 and a Glock 19, loaded with hollow points and ready to go.
He’d aerate the big guy first, and then take his sweet time slicing up that whore.
* * *
Simon pumped a fist in the air, his lock of hair flopping up and down with the motion. Finally a possible break. He was beyond past due for something good to come out of all of the digging that he and Miller had been doing.
Since Blake Rickert was killed, if the killer was the same person looking into Simon’s properties, there was a possibility that he went to other realtors. With Miller’s help, they had contacted all the other real estate offices in Gardendale that would be capable of handling similar transactions, and asked about recent inquiries into buying up large tracts of land in the area.
Simon hinted that he might have interest in selling, and surprise, surprise. Real estate agents were even more eager to talk with him. He had to spend major time dodging sales pitches, even with agents who did the equivalent of sticking their foot into the door he was trying to close, but all that effort paid off. Big.
They had narrowed it down to three people who fit that profile of looking for large tracts of land, after cross-referencing with many of the realtors. One of them was in town researching a possible location of another tech company.
And then they struck pay dirt.
Oddest thing, said one realtor who had actually met him in person and handled his short-term rental. She reported that he seemed far from one of those Silicon Valley guys, in that he used a fountain pen and leather-bound notebook instead of a tablet or a smartphone. He also insisted on paying her in cash up front, which was why she did an override on all the weirdness that didn’t add up. But she gave Simon the address of the rental property, in exchange for Simon’s promise to have the realtor meet with Rika and possibly set up some kind of employee perk for using her office’s services.
Simon had to admire that kind of moxie, and also reminded himself to check up on expanding Rika’s staff and office space.
Meanwhile, Miller was looking up the address on his phone, and as soon as the call ended, he high fived Simon. “I’m on it!”
“I’ll go with you,” Simon needed to get out from in front of the computer. He thought of the last time he went to check out something with Miller. Yeah, maybe some backup would be good this time. “Let’s take one of the boys with us.”
“Good idea, but not Col, in case he’s recognized. I’ll ask Tybalt who should go.”
Simon nodded. And some time later, they left with Merek, who was hungry for action.
