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Darius contemplated the pitiful man’s words and watched as tendrils of mist reached him to wrap seductively around his prone body. Each time the mist touched him, Andrew winced, much to Darius’s satisfaction. Darius had experienced how much that contact stung.

“And Mara?” Darius asked.

Andrew’s gaze slid to the side as if he couldn’t look Darius in the eye. The programmer confessed, “She was getting too close. When she went to the VP with her suspicions, he ordered me to find out who else she’d told and to get rid of her. I used the same job board to contract some people to do just that, but they couldn’t finish her.”

Darius’s blood began to boil once again. Andrew was the one responsible for everything that had happened to his beloved. “Because she is under my protection, fool! You humans and your petty games mean nothing to us. When you try to intrude on our playing field, you learn too late that humans are not the top of the food chain.”

Darius slowly advanced on the man as the mist began to swallow him. He raised a foot and kicked the man squarely in the chest, hurling him back into the mist. “No one threatens my beloved and lives.”

A horrifying scream began, only to stop abruptly. Silence returned to the realm, interrupted sporadically by crunching. Darius stood to peer into the gloom for a moment before turning and disappearing. He had more work to do.

Chapter

Twenty-One

Darius? Marcus is here to drive me, but he says I shouldn’t go now?

No, Zoí mou. Contact Andrew Poole and leave a message on his system giving an excuse and canceling.

I know you don’t want me to go….

Andrew’s not there, Little girl. You don’t need to be involved in his disappearance. Call to reschedule and state a client needs information immediately. Can you invent a reason to contact one of the bank’s top depositors?

Of course. I can speak to someone about legacy plans. That happens all the time.

Perfect. Do that.

Am I creating an alibi for myself?

Of course not, Zoí mou. You were never at the main bank. No one will suspect you in his disappearance. Was James Mattson at your branch when you left?

No, his schedule was blocked out for a planning retreat. Something last-minute.

At the bank’s penthouse?

I’m not sure, Darius.

No problem, Little girl. Tell Marcus your plans have changed and you’re staying there. I’ll pick you up this evening.

Be safe!

Always, Zoí mou. I have you to enjoy.

Darius dropped the phone off to Bram before sliding through the shadow realm to the next people who deserved his attention. The penthouse was quieter today. One guard sat at the entrance. Darius reached out from the shadow realm into the darkness trapped under the desk to slice the employee’s femoral arteries. The man bled out in record time and slumped on the desk as if he were sleeping. If there were visitors, the furniture would corral the proof of violence for a while.

Remembering the layout, Darius slid through the shadows to the bedroom where he had found Mara. He glared at the bed where they had discarded her drugged body. Forcing himself away, Darius walked quietly down the hall.

No thugs loitered in the living room. He searched for additional guards and found no one. The only people present occupied the conference room. Darius approached silently to eavesdrop on the conversation.

“What do you mean the funds are less this month?” Indignation dripped from the question.

“Nothing significant,” another younger male voice said. “I was going to tell you after my vacation.”

That reference assured Darius of the younger man’s identity. Ramon Garcia was the bank’s vice president. Bram’s email exchange had worked perfectly to get both men to this location.

“I stayed in town as you requested, to keep an eye on everything. I’ll look into the reasons next week, but I approved the programmer to allocate funds to ridding ourselves of a pesky problem.”

“That meddling bitch?”