Page 90 of Viktor

Greyson shrugged. “There’s a lot of French women out there. Thousands.”

“What is it?” Waverly asked.

Viktor shook his head and pinched his fingers to the bridge of his nose. “Nothing. It’s nothing.”

“Whoever the woman is, she may or may not be French,” Greyson said. “That’s all we know. That and this Adam dude has a hard-on for your girlfriend and may be involved with this underground vampire wannabe brotherhood.”

“Why would he give Waverly the handle to the fleam if it was really some kind of clue? Why go to all that trouble?” Rafe asked. “It doesn’t make sense.”

“I don’t know,” Waverly said. “If he was involved with the brotherhood, why the blood in my apartment? And what about the detective?”

“Maybe there are a couple of players,” Viktor suggested. “Maybe they were working together, and something went wrong.”

“While we’re going down the conspiracy rabbit hole,” she gave a small laugh, “let’s talk about Teagan. I have a feeling Adam may have hurt her. Maybe they kept in touch? Or maybe they both became part of this brotherhood, got reconnected? Maybe he wanted me to get the fleam because, as Rafe said, I think he has a thing for me. I don’t know why it was important for me to be there in Miami though. Like, if she thought Adam was going to hurt me, why bring me to Miami? I don’t know. How would they know I’d be there that night?”

“Maybe the guy who was hassling you in the club was part of it? But it failed.” Viktor plowed his fingers through his hair, frustrated. “This brotherhood, whatever it is, it could be a fragmented organization, if it’s organized at all. Who knows?”

“I couldn’t find much online,” Rafe said. “But I was able to find a few threads in college forums about drinking blood. They believe they’ll eventually be paired with a sire. By the way they talked about it, it almost sounded like the leader was vampire.”

“Jesus Christ.” Viktor’s phone buzzed and he tapped at the screen. “We’re landing in five minutes. Keep working on the research, Rafe. Check with Kade and Quintus. See if you can find anything else. After visiting the witch, I’m thinking it’s time we take a more aggressive approach and go back to the blood club.”

“I’m thinking we should find Adam and make things uncomfortable for him,” Greyson said with a smile. “Find out where he lives. Have a chat.”

“Maybe we should bring Adam here?” Viktor suggested with a sly smile.

“Throw him a little party?” Greyson suggested.

“I do love a good party. And I’ve got the perfect shoes to match,” Viktor said.

Silence filled the cabin as the wheels touched down on the tarmac. Viktor dared not speak his suspicions, arguing with himself about the facts he knew to be true. Baxter is dead. You witnessed his death.

Yet this situation reeked of the diabolical bastard or of that ilk. As he locked his gaze on Greyson and exchanged a look of understanding, they both knew there were others who were every bit as sadistic as Baxter.

“Why couldn’t we meet at Ilsbeth’s?” Greyson grumbled as they stood in front of the antebellum mansion. “Could this place be more pretentious?”

“It’s boujee, baby,” Rafe stated.

“It’s neutral territory. That means it’s protected from things looking to harm us,” Viktor explained.

“Where the hell are we?” Rafe asked.

“St. Tammany Parish. Folsom.” Viktor tapped at the face of his phone, checking his messages. “Looks like Quint and Kade are already here.”

“Do I smell cows?” Waverly asked.

“Horses. This club is run by Tori Shinning. She’s a vampire. Former socialite. She has a stable full of horses and every luxury you can imagine. It’s a distance from New Orleans. This little shindig is invite-only. Professional donors are brought in from all parts of the world to mingle with guests.” Viktor unzipped his black leather coat and smiled at Waverly. “It’s upscale.”

“Does upscale mean it’s going to be safer?” Waverly asked.

“No,” Viktor, Rafe and Greyson all responded at once.

“I’m not really dressed for this." Waverly looked to her jeans.

“Don’t worry about how you’re dressed. No one will say a word.”

“Are you sure Adam won’t be here?” she asked.

“He won’t be here. Even if he’s working with a vampire, he’d have to fly to get down here. There’re only a handful of us that have the ability to dematerialize.”