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I parked in the driveway a little relieved when the house looked vacant. I wasn’t ashamed of staying the night with Gideon or anything, but I wasn’t in the mood to explain where I’d been.
I hurried inside and immediately went upstairs. I walked into my room and went to work showering and getting ready for the evening. I told Orion I would go see Cassius. On top of that, I had to find out who murdered Nyla.
As I was stepping out of the shower, I heard my phone ringing. I cussed in annoyance as I darted out of the room. I retrieved my phone and quickly answered. “Hello.”
“Did I interrupt something?” Henry’s annoyed voice made me hesitate.
“I was in the shower. What’s up?” It was obvious he was pissy, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to know why.
“I was just checking in. How’s Gideon?” He was managing to keep his tone even, but I could hear the iciness behind it.
I suddenly had an idea of why he was calling. “It wasn’t what you think, Henry.”
“So, you weren’t seen leaving his bedroom?” He sounded like he didn’t believe me.
I sighed. “Yes ... I did leave his bedroom, but nothing happened.” I narrowed my eyes. “Why am I defending myself to you anyway? I can sleep with whoever I want to.”
“He assured me he had no physical attraction to you. This isn’t about you ... this is about him lying to me,” Henry growled.
“No ... Henry ... it’s really not what you think. Nyla was murdered, and he went to the scene with me. I didn’t know they were personally involved, and I didn’t know how bad it was going to be. He needed someone with him. I was there as a friend, nothing more.” I wasn’t defending myself. I just didn’t want Henry thinking Gideon was a liar.
“How bad was it?” Henry sounded grim.
I clenched my eyes shut. I’d been trying hard to forget the scene, now I had to describe it. “She was hanging by her wrists with her head gnawed off, and she was gutted ... it wasn’t a pretty sight.”
“Fuck ... I’ll go check on Gideon. Find out what happened, Dorian,” he said firmly.
My eyes widened in shock. “You’re not going to help?”
He sighed. “I promised Roberto the curse was the last case I would take. I have other obligations.”
“Seriously, Henry,” I growled.
“I’m not fighting with you, Dorian. Just get to the bottom of this. I trained you ... you can handle it on your own.” The line disconnected before I had a chance to argue my case.
“Bastard!” I yelled as I tossed the phone on the bed. I closed my eyes and took a slow breath, trying not to imagine all the ways I could make Henry suffer. I had more pressing matters.
I went to my closet to select something to wear. I picked a dark green dress and put it on, then I immediately scolded myself for doing it. I didn’t wear dresses ... I rarely wore skirts. I was going to see Cassius, and I wanted to look good. I couldn’t bring myself to take it off, so I went with it. I found a pair of black heels that went well with it. I couldn’t wear as many knives, but I wasn’t planning to go to war tonight. I put my shoulder holster on, then wore a jean jacket to disguise the gun. I did light makeup even though I didn’t need it. I left my hair down. I made sure I had everything, then I took one final look in the mirror ... I looked good.
I left my room and started down the stairs. As I did, my phone started ringing again. It was Carter, so I answered. “Hello.”
“Dorian ... I have an update from the coroner.” His voice was a little muffled like he was driving with the window down.
“Anything helpful?” I was hoping for a clue, any clue that pointed the blame somewhere other than on Kane and Bear.
“Vampire bites on her private areas. One was as recent as an hour or so before death. The rest are older. Coroner says a progression of about two weeks.” He actually sounded excited because he knew it could be a major clue.
I was relieved too. “Finally, something to go off of. I’m going to see Cassius now, so I will see if he has any idea who she was seeing.”
“Keep me updated. Word around the office is an executioner is on his way. They want this taken care of quickly. As soon as we have a name and evidence, we have to send it to the higher ups for a warrant. The executioner will take care of the rest.” His tone was a little too businesslike for my taste.
“I’ll let you know.” I hung up and continued to my car. The stakes had increased significantly. If an executioner was on the way, then they just wanted it taken care of. Executioners were sent when death warrants were issued for supernatural creatures who committed violent crimes and couldn’t be held by a conventional prison. Whoever killed Nyla or ordered her murder was violent, and what was worse was they were going to start a war, which the higher ups couldn’t afford.
I was starting to wonder if Gideon was right. Maybe Nyla wasn’t a bad person. Maybe she was being controlled by a bad person ... someone who wanted a war ... someone who might benefit from a war ... someone like a vampire.
