"Baby, I love you. I hope you know that," he said and hung up.
I'd have floated on clouds the rest of the day, except for one thing.
Fiona Hall, who still had her press credentials, showed up for Hannah's transfer. While other reporters shouted questions at Hannah, Fiona pulled a gun from her bag and began shooting. Hannah died before Fiona did—in the crossfire, as guards and police fired their weapons to defend themselves.
* * *
I felt shaky as I made my way inside Tibby's gym. Hannah and Fiona's deaths disturbed me greatly—after all, I doubted that Hannah was actually dead. A doppelganger had likely died in her place.
Fiona—even with Hannah ruining her life, didn't seem the type to shoot anyone. Was this the Romes' way of tidying loose ends, and serving the world tasty, titillating news as a main course?
I'd begun to look at everything with suspicion, as a result.
"I'm here," Kory spoke as I walked through the door.
He and Mason had come. Both wore hooded sweatshirts and jeans. Anyone would have had to get very close to recognize either.
My hopes were crushed that Kory and I would get time alone. Shoving those thoughts aside, I went to him and wrapped my arms around his waist.
"It's okay," Kory rumbled against my hair as his arms folded about me. I hadn't realized how chilled I was until he warmed me.
"What are we going to do?" I pulled away and lifted my eyes to his.
"We're going to do a bit of sleuthing," he gave a wry smile. "I still can't get Claudia's new home address out of Watson, so we're going to visit a few vineyards that have sold recently."
"I guess you heard about Hannah and Fiona," I sighed and dropped my gaze.
"Yeah. Doesn't make much sense. Come on, onion. Time's wasting."
Kory placed an arm around my shoulders and we followed Mason out the door and into the parking lot. Mason was scenting the air and listening carefully as we made our way to a late model SUV.
"This is our loaner," Kory explained as he climbed into the passenger seat after putting me in the back. "Mason got information from Davis and Thomas on the vineyard sales, so we're going to check things out."
"Good. I'm glad to be doing something useful," I said. "Sitting at home, trying to figure this mess out is driving me crazy."
"We're going to the area around Sonoma," Mason said. "Four vineyards sold there in the past year. Since we don't know exactly when Claudia made the purchase, we're checking all leads."
"Thanks for inviting me," I said. Mason pulled out of the gym's parking lot and headed for the highway.
"I thought you could use some distraction, after the day's events," Kory leaned around his seat to grin at me.
Damn, you're handsome, I sent. It was something I'd never say to him in person—at least not while Mason was with us. Kory blinked at me before turning back in his seat.
Deaf as a post. I sighed and settled in. Sonoma was nearly fifty miles away from San Francisco. We had a long drive ahead of us.
* * *
The first two places were small, boutique wineries completely unsuitable for habitation by a werewolf. The missing wine cellar described by Watson was also a definitive sign. The third winery, however, was the farthest out and looked as if it had possibilities.
"Klancy and I can come back to investigate, if Davis agrees," Mason said, driving past so he could find a place to turn around. Even from the road, we could see the huge doors leading into the man-made wine cave.
If the doors were any indication, it looked as if the cave were large enough to drive trucks inside.
The house was situated farther up a hill and looked down upon rows of neatly planted grapevines. Intermittent moonlight revealed the trellis system employed to support the vines.
If this were Claudia's new place, she had to hire workers to tend the vineyard. If she didn't, she'd eventually be surrounded by an overgrown vineyard and rotting fruit.
Although I hadn't paid much attention to moon phases, I now realized the moon was waxing toward full, which meant Watson and every other werewolf and shifter would be turning on that night.
In fact, they were already feeling the effects of the moon's pull, since we were two or three days away. At least Watson hadn't been growly or upset when I spoke to him earlier; some werewolves were—a full week before and after—a full moon.
"Here's a good place to turn around," Kory pointed to a small side road on the property. The road was fenced and gated, with a lock on the metal gate. It didn't matter; we had enough room to turn in and back around to go out the way we came.
The moment we passed the main gate leading to the house, however, vehicle lights blinked on and a van pulled out behind us.
I think all of us realized it wasn't a good thing.
Mason hit the gas, causing the wheels to spit gravel at the vehicle behind us. If they'd been out on a normal errand, we'd have left them behind.
Instead, they sped up, too, until they were almost on our bumper. I screamed when our back window shattered—they'd fired weapons at us, spraying chunks of glass everywhere. Yes, I should have considered going to mist, but I was so terrified I couldn't think for a few seconds as more bullets hit the back of our vehicle.
Those same few seconds happened differently for Kory.
He disappeared from the front seat.
The loud crunch and subsequent screech of brakes behind us made me turn my head immediately. With the window shot out, I had an unimpeded view of a High Demon in his smaller Thifilathi punching right through the windshield of the van tailing us.
When the van squealed to a fishtailing stop in the middle of the road, Mason jerked the wheel of our vehicle and pulled over.
He and I were out of the car swiftly, but by that time, the full Thifilathi had made his presence known.
At seventeen feet or so, neither the van nor its inhabitants were any match for him. The van and everything in it was ablaze when the High Demon Thifilathi lifted the vehicle in large hands and casually tossed it into the vineyard. Some of the vines caught fire quickly.
Blowing clouds of smoke before emitting a terrible roar, the Thifilathi threw back his head and beat his chest.
By any standards, he was a perfect specimen of black-scaled High Demon maleness. Massive wings unfurled at his back. Large, curved horns, much like a ram's only black as jet, curled about his ears. Eyes, mere slits of burning red, gazed upon the wreckage he'd carelessly pitched thirty feet.
Snorting more smoke, he turned his gaze upon us.
Then, just as I feared, he became humanoid.
Kory, his clothes missing because they had burned from his body in the change, walked toward me.
My mind, as frozen as it had been, now worked furiously.
Kory.
Kordevik.
I kept my eyes on Kordevik Weth as he stalked toward me.
WhatdoIdo? WhatdoIdo?
Fuck.
Suddenly, I was pissed.
"Why didn't you tell me?" I shouted at him. I dropped to my knees and buried my face in my hands.
"Why didn't you tell me?" I wept.
Chapter 16
Kordevik
When she stopped crying, I attempted to talk to her.
She wasn't having it. I couldn't determine whether she was too angry, or merely confused and angry.
Either way, it didn't look good for me. Mason stayed behind to drive the car back to the safe house; I'd skipped back with Lexsi in my arms.
At least I was dressed, now. Normally I wasn't embarrassed by nudity, but Lexsi wasn't used to it. I dressed quickly after settling her on the sofa and wrapping her in a blanket.
"Lexsi, baby, stop shivering," I coaxed. Her eyes met mine for a moment before she turned her head away. "I can hold you and get you warm," I offered.
No response.
"Come on," I whispered. "Let me hold you. I'm not going to hurt you, I promise." It took a bit of effort because she wasn't completely cooperative, but even
tually I held her, blanket and all, in my arms.
"Want me to take you back to your place?" I whispered against her hair. She huddled closer against me. "Baby, tell me what you're thinking," I coaxed.
"Difik," she smacked her palm against my chest. I couldn't help but chuckle.
"Everything all right?" Mason walked in and dropped the car keys on the coffee table.
"I think we're fine," I said. "I just need some alone time with Miss Lexsi."
"I can go," Mason offered.
"No. I'll take her somewhere else. Come on, onion, let's go."
* * *
Lexsi
I was mad at Kory. And I wasn't. Mixed emotions ran through me, which alternately caused me to feel nauseated and furious. Neither of those things meant I never wanted to see him again, or talk to him again; it just ended up confusing me.
Be gentle with Kory when you discover his secret. He loves you.
Aunt Bree's words came back to me. I wanted to yell at her, too, because she knew who he was and didn't tell me, either. Instead, I was a shivering mess as I considered how Kory's revelation forced my perception of him to change so dramatically.
Uncle Kevis would say that my shivering was caused by the aftereffects of an Adrenalin surge, which resulted in unsteadiness when Kory placed me on my feet. I understood now what Kevis always said could happen if I found myself in such a tense, dangerous situation.
The bullet that shattered the SUV's back window could have killed me in human form. Kory, realizing the same thing, had leapt to my rescue. I'd watched firsthand as he'd destroyed the ones who'd followed us; they'd tried to kill us, first.
"Where are we going?" My voice wobbled as I tugged the blanket tighter about me. I felt cold. Perhaps it was the natural drop in blood sugar and blood pressure after the Adrenalin rush.
"How about coffee at your place, baby?" Kory pulled me against him again. "With lots of sugar and cream?"
"All right."
So many things lay between us. What would he say about me leaving him at the altar and running away? How had he ended up here, too? It couldn't be a coincidence. Suddenly, I felt like weeping.
"It's natural," Kory wiped a tear off my cheek. "Come on, I'll skip us over."
* * *
"Decaf," Kory told Anita as he settled me on a barstool at the island. She was in the kitchen, waiting for us to arrive.
Kory had mindspeech.
"Oh, my God," I mumbled and covered my face with both hands.
"Hey, what's wrong?" Kory attempted to pull my hands away.
"You have mindspeech," I burbled between fingers.
"Yeah. That. I had to take a cold shower after one of your recent sendings," he said.
Anita had no idea what we were talking about while I, in my utter stupidity, had confessed to Kordevik Weth that I wanted to sleep with him.
"I thought you were human," I dropped my hands and my gaze. "Or shifter. Not," I waved an unsteady hand.
"I know."
"You're like two people. I think of you as Kory, when you're really," I breathed a heavy sigh.
"Kordevik Weth, former fiancé," he admitted.
"Former?" Anita huffed. "When did that happen? When were you engaged? This is completely confusing." She thumped a mug of decaf in front of me.
"We were engaged when she was a baby," Kory admitted.
"Oh. Now I see the light," Anita said. "Here. Your decaf, demon of the high persuasion."
"More like seeing the fire and not the light," I huffed. After a moment, I realized Kory was attempting to suppress a laugh.
"So, what happened?" Anita asked, taking a seat on the opposite side of the island and lifting a cup of decaf to her lips.
"I taught some of Claudia's minions a lesson after they shot at us earlier," Kory rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably.
"In other words," I supplied, "they're toast. In a very real sense. Their van, too. Maybe some of Claudia's grapevines on top of that."
"Well done, you," Anita grinned at Kory.
"I'm concerned about retaliation," Kory admitted. "I followed my instincts when I did what I did, but I figure they'll know who to blame for it."
"That means we need to keep Watson away from Claudia," Anita said. "Or we could have a hostage situation on our hands."
"Fuck," Kory shook his head. "You're right. Fuck."
Listening to Kory and Anita discuss the possibilities and methods of retaliation by Claudia and Granger helped me to calm down. Eventually the shaking stopped, too, and I was grateful.
It didn't keep me from feeling embarrassment every time I recalled my mindspeech to Kory, though. When I let the blanket slip off my shoulders, Kory reached over and ran a hand down my back and up my ribs.
I had no idea that would kindle a different kind of fire. I wanted to complain when he took his hand away.
"Anita, will you excuse us?" Kory asked.
"Sure," she shrugged. I watched her mouth, she'd hidden a frown.
Something passed between them, then, because she nodded and slipped off her barstool.
"Huh?" I turned to Kory as Anita shuffled through the hall toward her bedroom.
"It's all right," Kory held up a hand. "I just wanted to say that we need to give this some time, onion. You know what happens if I kiss you. I want you to ask for my kiss, and be sure that you mean it, before we go any further."
With that, he skipped away, leaving me alone in the kitchen.
* * *
Monday morning, I was furious with the world. Furious with Kory, furious with Anita and furious with Lee's replacement, who hadn't even arrived yet. Barry was in charge for the moment, until self-important and probable aggrandizer Milton Landreth arrived to take over Lee's office.
The only good news that morning was that George sent an e-mail, saying that he'd gotten a call to interview with Lee at News Eighty-Two.
In the interim, while I and every other employee in the building had growing anxiety, I settled in to do more research on DSG Enterprises.
I also received an e-mail from Marine Animal Sanctuary, saying that the problem of dead seals had cleared up in the Bay area, but now dead animals were washing up on a beach in Colombia.
Colombia wasn't their problem, though, so they were exhibiting signs of relief. I didn't know what to make of the information, so I tabled it for the moment.
That resolved one of the items Hannah eliminated from Vann's list of investigations. The other one she'd dropped—Abe and Donna Raven's murders—was still there waiting, as long as I continued looking into it on the sly.
DSG Enterprises commanded most of my attention, however. The G could stand for Granger, but the D and S stumped me. After all, if the Romes were in this with Claudia and Granger, the other two letters didn't match at all. That led me to believe that Granger wouldn't be so obvious with his involvement.
That's when it hit me.
Why hadn't I considered talking to other guests who'd gone to the Rome's anniversary party? Some of them had to know that the Ravens attended.
Like Mike, had they seen or heard something they shouldn't, resulting in a death plot carried out by the Romes or Granger?
I also recalled that the Ravens' supposed murderer, Reece Channing, had moved from the LA area shortly before the murders.
Perhaps I should talk to the Ravens' daughters, too. Everybody else had dropped the case, including the police. They considered Reece to be the murderer, and she'd conveniently offed herself after killing the Ravens.
I considered that the Ravens may have become something of an inconvenience to the Romes, who arranged to off them using someone who'd had no connections but had likely been obsessed.
The Romes appeared to be master manipulators—they'd killed the Ravens, then engineered the scenario where Jeremy Rollins was murdered by Hannah, who was then killed by Fiona, who subsequently died from gunshot wounds after being shot by the police. I still believed the real Hannah to be alive and hidden away, however.
> Anita, I sent. See if you can bribe away the guest list for the Romes' anniversary party.
You're speaking to me now?
Only because I want something.
Fine. I'll see what I can do. Have you heard from Kory?
You mean my ex?
He's your ex, now?
He pushed me away last night. You tell me.
Yes, I was still upset and angry.
I'll get the list. Anything else?
No.
New boss there yet?
No.
Let me know how it goes. If you're still speaking to me.
I'll consider it.
"Lexsi?" Barry appeared at my cubicle.
"Hi Barry, what's up?" I asked, shutting down my mental conversation with Anita.
"Mr. Landreth's here. He wants to see you."
"Sure."
Barry looked guilty, in my estimation. That meant Mr. Landreth didn't have good news. That was fine with me. If he wanted to fire or demote me, well, Aunt Bree said to take the Romes down. I would do it, whether I was employed by them or not.
"Come in, Ms. Silver," Milton Landreth answered my knock. He had reddish-blond hair, ruddy good looks for a man in his fifties and I didn't trust the smile he wore. "Please, sit," he invited.
I sat, although I'd have preferred to remain standing. Forcing myself not to fidget, I waited for him to announce his intentions.
"I have good news," he grinned. "The Romes want to move you to the LA station. You'll have a bigger market and you'll be reporting there on weekends."
* * *
"I told him I'd think about it," I slammed my coffee cup on the breakroom counter and reached for the coffeepot. Farin, biting her lip in shock, stood nearby, hoping I'd give her a better answer than that.
I imagined that the Romes wanted to start manipulating me, just as they were manipulating so many others. Did they imagine that their pet Sirenali could lay an obsession and I'd do whatever they wanted, like Hannah had?
Or—did they intend to lay a trap? Would they pull me away from Aunt Bree's house, which was evidently protected in some way, and move me to an unprotected home in the LA area, where they could attack at will?
I considered telling Kory, but recalled that I was pissed at him.
Hot Demon in the City (Latter Day Demons Book 1) Page 22