Murder, Mayhem, Monsters, and Mistletoe
Page 9
Chapter Seven
The rest of that day and the entire next one, Tyson blew off everything. He didn't go to work. He didn't answer his calls or check his voicemail. And he skipped the Moon Ceremony/announcement/blessing crap. It wasn't necessary that he go anyway. Everyone knew he was on the team from the beginning. Instead, he stayed within inches of Sabine the whole time. They screwed, ate, watched T.V., talked, and screwed more. She asked about their relationship and her life, and it was hard to give her details that wouldn't send her into shock (like she'd lived and died three hundred years ago), but he managed.
She was only slightly different from the woman he knew then. Tyson figured that without the memory of her hard life as a slave and the knowledge of Voodoo magic, she simply had no need to be as tough and volatile. He actually really liked this Sabine; this innocent young woman who was his to protect and his alone.
On Wednesday morning, she laid in his lap watching the news as he twirled his fingers around the curly strands of her hair. He sipped on his coffee, paying no attention to what the WGN news team was saying until a familiar house caught his eye. Then he turned the volume up.
The female anchor told a story he really did not want to hear:
"The other home owners of this West Side neighborhood say that this home has been abandoned with no gas or electricity for two years, so it is a complete mystery as to why and how the fire would have started last night. What is no longer a mystery, is that the body found inside the home has been identified as Javier Price, Vice President of Training for Price Industries and brother of the C.E.O., Jackson Price. So far, no one has been able to reach Jackson Price or any representatives of the multi-billion dollar weapons manufacturing company for a statement. WGN will report updates on this bizarre story as more information comes in."
Sabine retreated to the other side of the couch as Tyson jumped up and let out a stream of curse words that didn't even begin to color the thoughts that were going through his head. That was their training house. He'd been working with Bree there for months. And Javier Price was one of the Hunters who'd tried to exorcise Raphael from that anthropologist, Paul-somebody, before he skipped bodies to Bree. Price Industries his ass! Every Daimon on Earth knew that the company has a government contract to manufacture tactical weapons, but it was all funding and cover-up for the recruitment and training of more Hunters. The Price family had been a pain in their asses since the Middle Ages. And he died in a fire. It pissed Tyson off to no end that he knew exactly who was responsible. Did she have any idea what sort of hellstorm the death of a Price was going to bring down on all of their heads?
"Is everything okay, honey?" Sabine asked in a small voice.
"Yes. I just...I have to make some phone calls." He excused himself into the office and closed the door. The first person he called was Bree.
She answered immediately. "I didn't do it!"
"Bullshit, Breanne! Who else would have started a fire and burned alive a Hunter who she knows personally?"
"You know what, Tyson? I am not going to defend myself to you. I have been calling you for three days. Three! You haven't returned my calls, and some serious stuff has happened since we last talked."
"Were you there last night?"
"Yes! And he attacked me, but I swear we didn't do this."
"How am I supposed to believe that? I have to report this to Cayden."
"Oh no you don't!" She paused briefly. "Rafe is giving you a direct order not to say a single word to Cayden, or Thelan either. We will handle this, got it?" With that she hung up.
Tyson was at a loss. On one hand, he had a duty to tell the Luminosi leader that someone under his care and alliance has not only killed a human, but a Hunter. On the other hand, he still considered himself a subordinate of Raphael. He also had promised that Bree would be on that plane headed to Antarctica by any means necessary. But telling Cayden this would put an immediate stop to any plans they had for that happening. What the hell was he going to do? He started by putting in a call to Figgy.
"Figueroa," he answered.
"What do you know of this house fire on the West Side?"
"I know that a damned Hunter got set on fire inside the damned house and that, to me, it looks like a Fire Elemental was involved. How about you tell me what you know, Shango?"
"Right now, I know nothing. I'm going to find out as soon as the other brass leave the area. I'll do my own investigation."
"Yeah, you do that. And then you tell me what kind of trouble I need to look out for. Jackson Price is going to retaliate big time for this. Every Daimon is in danger, Luminosi and Scuri. Not all of us are indestructible like the Great Eight. You, me, everyone is at risk if that human goes on a rampage."
Tyson sighed. "I know. I'll find out what happened, I swear. I'll turn the perp in to Price myself if I have too." He didn't really mean that but he knew it would make Figgy feel better.
"Okay, fine. Call me when you know something."
"Yeah, yeah." He hung up and walked out to the living room. Sabine still looked wary.
"I have to get dressed and go investigate that. Will you be okay for a little while?"
She looked relieved and smiled. "Yes. I'll be fine. You do your police things. You've been here taking care of me for too many days."
"Okay. There's a phone in the office. No one ever calls my landline, so if it rings, answer it. That will be me checking up on you." She nodded, and he went to put some clothes on. When he left, she walked him to the door, told him not to worry about her, and gave him one hell of a goodbye kiss.