Thrall
Page 33
“Shade.”
I paused before shutting my car door and saw Liam walking toward me. He was dressed in his civilian clothes, worn blue jeans and a flannel shirt. Even though it was only sixty degrees out, his sleeves were rolled up to the elbows. Ready to work as always.
Even the sparks I felt crackling in my blood at the sight of him after our surprise kiss yesterday wasn’t quite enough to chase back the tension of my last interaction with Scath.
Liam read my expression quickly, and jogged the last few steps. “What’s wrong?”
“I talked to Scath.”
He waited, but I wasn’t sure what to say next. Scath had just opened up, it seemed disrespectful of her trust to go blurting it out to someone else a few hours later. Even though she really hadn’t said much. I shook my head.
“I’m fine. Just worried for her as a friend. It’s personal.”
Liam hesitated. I held my breath. Werewolves were notorious gossips, and as alpha, Liam had even more of a need to know every detail he could about anyone who might come into contact with his pack. It said a lot about how much he trusted me when he finally nodded.
“I talked to Jamila’s sister,” he said. “You’ll be happy to hear Arianne is helping her come to America.”
“Oh, that is good news.” My shoulders slumped in relief, and my smile came a little easier.
“Shall we go in?”
“Yes.”
Liam’s aura pressed against me, and I let him give me his hand to help me up the monstrous first step. He didn’t let go right away, holding my hand until we’d entered the building. Warmth pooled low in my body as he looked at me, his blue eyes appearing darker in the shadowed hallway.
“Do you want me to fly ahead?” Peasblossom asked slyly. “Give you a little privacy?”
Liam started to pull away. I tightened my grip on his hand. “Yes,” I told Peasblossom, not looking away from Liam.
I thought I saw a flicker of gold pass over Liam’s eyes, but I couldn’t be sure. And I didn’t care. Peasblossom snickered and flew away, disappearing down the hall. Liam let go of my hand and slid an arm around my waist, pulling me closer. I came willingly, putting my hands on his strong, bare forearms before sliding my hands up to his shoulders.
His mouth closed over mine, sending a shower of crackling electricity down my nerve endings and drawing a soft gasp from my throat. The sound seemed to encourage him and he deepened the kiss, his arms tightening around me. I rose up on tiptoe, trying to lessen the height difference, make it easier to keep the delicious contact going.
Unfortunately, my balance was terrible, and I tipped back toward the wall. A cry rose in my throat, but never got the chance to escape. Liam followed me, his mouth continuing to move against mine, his body pressing me against the wall. The heat from his aura threatened to melt whatever thoughts I had left of finishing the walk down the hallway.
When he finally pulled back, his eyes were definitely lighter than they’d been before, and his aura had thickened until it felt as if it were holding us together even as he stepped back. “We’re still on for dinner?” he murmured.
I nodded. Or I thought I did. “Yes.”
A flicker of pink caught my eye. Peasblossom peeked out from where she’d hidden herself in the doorway down the hall. “I can’t turn the door knob,” she said defensively.
Liam chuckled as I shook my head. Together we resumed our trek toward Andy’s office door. It wasn’t until I was farther inside that I realized the building was worse off than even the facade had suggested. I wrinkled my nose at the unmistakable scent of dry rot coming from the floor. I made a mental note to suggest to Andy that he relocate, if only for health reasons. The door swung open on squeaky hinges so loud and awful, I cringed.
FBI Agent Andrew Bradford was around six feet tall, and somehow the immaculate lines of his dark blue suit pants and pale blue dress shirt made him seem even taller. He wasn’t wearing his jacket, which surprised me. It was very rare to catch Andy without the complete suit. But his black tie hung straight and neat, and he’d either just combed his brown hair or really layered on the product.
He stood facing a wall covered in photographs, with honest-to-Goddess thread connecting the pictures, and Post-it notes pinned here and there with neat comments printed on them. I stared at the pictures of Flint. Some of them had obviously been taken without the sidhe’s knowledge.
“I have news,” Andy said without turning around. He held up a photo he’d been about to pin to the wall. “I think I know where Flint’s been getting his fun—”
He turned and abruptly stopped talking when his gaze landed on Liam. Tension seized his shoulders, and for a second, it was as if he’d somehow gained a vampire’s gift for utter stillness. His gaze flicked to me. It was just my imagination that he could tell what we’d been doing in the hallway. I was ninety percent sure.
“I brought Liam,” I said, stating the obvious. “He wants to help with the investigation into Flint.”
Liam stared at the photograph in Andy’s hand. “Is that Anton Winters?”
For what felt like the hundredth time since sunrise, I found myself fighting to breathe. Only this time, it wasn’t just shock.
It was fear.
I put a hand to my throat, instinct driving me to touch my neck as if I could feel the magical confidentiality contract I’d signed with the vampire Anton Winters. The terms of said contract forbid me from revealing his true nature. If Andy asked me about him…
The vampire’s name broke Andy out of his near-coma state, and his brown eyes sharpened as they fixed on Liam. “You know him.”
“Everyone knows him,” Liam said grimly. “That vampire fancies himself the master of the city. And he’s probably not wrong.”
“Vampire?” Andy asked sharply.
My knees trembled, threatening to spill me onto the floor. I groped for the table in the center of the room, holding onto it for support while I pulled out one of the chairs. It wasn’t until I’d managed to sit down, one hand on my pounding heart, that I realized Liam was watching me.
Blood and bone. He could smell my fear.
I took a deep breath. It’s fine. It’s fine, of course I’d be afraid. It was a perfectly natural reaction for anyone to have at the mention of Anton Winters. It in no way betrayed my connection to him.
“Yes,” Liam said slowly. “He’s a vampire. And his wife is a rusalka.”
Andy grabbed a notebook off the table and flipped it open, scribbling furiously. “Rusalka?”
“A siren,” I said weakly. “Sort of like a mermaid without the fish tail. Very seductive. Enchanting voice.”
“Like Borgia?”
I nodded. “Similar, yes.”
Liam picked up the photo Andy had laid on the table. I braced myself, then leaned over so I could see it too. The picture had been taken at night, but there were enough streetlights to make the identity of the man undeniable. It showed Flint entering the Winters building. “Do you have any idea what he was doing there?” Liam asked.
“Not yet. But that’s not the first time I saw him going into that building. He’s gone in at least once a month since I started watching.”
“What made you start watching the Winters building?” Liam asked.
“This.”
Andy slid a sheet of paper across the table. His eyes were on me when he did it. A sick feeling swirled around my stomach as I leaned over.
It was a copy of someone’s bank records. One line had been highlighted. A payment of five million dollars.
Cold sweat broke out on my forehead. It couldn’t be.
“It turns out, Flint doesn’t actually have a lot of money. That apartment he gave you? His friend owns the building. So when I saw this little transaction, it stood out.” He tapped the paper. “That’s a payment from one of Winters’ accounts to Flint. Look at the date.”
I didn’t want to. I already knew what I’d find.
“What?” Liam demanded.
“Anton Winters loaned Flint five million dollars in April. The same night Flint bought Shade at auction. For five million dollars.”
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THE BLOOD TRAILS SERIES is a fusion of fantasy and mystery that combines a classic private investigator/whodunnit with the sarcasm and magic that’s made the Urban Fantasy genre so famous.
THE BLOOD PRINCE SERIES is a sensual paranormal romance series that twists beloved fairy tales into original tales of love, adventure, and…well, blood. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, and ultimately, you’ll need to sink your teeth into the next book as you follow a desperate desire to find out just what the werewolf, the vampire, the demon, the angel, and the god are really up to…
THE BLOOD REALM SERIES is a spin-off /continuation of the Blood Prince series. Though these books can be read in any order, to get the most out of the epilogues, I always recommend following the suggested reading order HERE.
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Jennifer Blackstream
Table of Contents
Cover
Title Page
Contents
Copyright
Don’t Forget!
Summary
Also by Jennifer Blackstream
Epigraph
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Next Book
From the Author
Did you find a typo?
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