Chapter Seven

The heavy stairwell door opened silently. He hesitated a moment before entering the hallway. The scent enveloping Davis caused him to jerk his head up. He knew that scent—he’d chased it for weeks.

Bethany had been here recently.

Why? Her friends’ apartment was in this building, but not on this floor. The only reason he could think of for her to be here was her brother’s apartment. But the question was why?

Davis strode down the hallway intending to confront her and find out the reason.

As he neared the door, a smell assaulted his senses.

Blood.

The instinct to rush the door surged through him, but he pushed the feeling down. He needed to be cautious before he barreled inside into the unknown and possibly endangered her even more. He paused to listen and draw the scents in deeper to analyze them. Hers wasn’t the only scent, there were others, but not as recent.

Silence from the apartment propelled him forward. He grasped the handle. It spun easily in his hand.

One look at her body on the floor sent a white-hot rage spiraling through him.

After a quick glance around, he shut the door and dropped to his knees beside her.

Her chest rose and fell with each breath. His fingers searched and found her pulse strong and steady.

Davis regretfully stood and briskly walked through the apartment. He’d been here before and remembered the layout. After confirming visually they were alone, he rushed back to Bethany.

“Bethany?” He scanned her from head to toe, looking for injuries. The only wound he could see to account for the scent of blood was a split lip. He gently probed the back of her head.

His fingers grazed a small lump. Bethany moaned and angled her head away from his touch. Her eyes fluttered open, and she raised her hand to her head, wincing at the movement.

“Easy.”

Her gaze sought his. “Davis? What happened…?”

She surged up, only to fall back and groan in pain.

“Take it easy.”

“Someone was here.” She rested her frame on her elbows and searched frantically behind her.

“It’s all right. They’re gone.”

Davis stood and leaned down to tentatively lift her up in his arms. He didn’t want to add to her pain. Anger choked him. He wanted to hunt down whoever did this to her, but first he needed to see the extent of her injuries and ensure her safety.

“What are you doing? I am fine. Put me down.”

He ignored her order and carried her to the couch and set her down gingerly. She winced as she shifted and started to sit up.

“Lie still.”

“I told you, I am fine. The pain is already beginning to lessen. You know we heal quickly.”

Davis frowned and sat on the coffee table next to her. “Tell me what happened.”

Bethany grimaced when her fingers probed the sore spot on the back of her head. She rotated her neck to loosen her stiffened muscles. “I told you, someone was here. They shoved me into the door, and then hit me in the back of the head with something.”

His fists clenched at his side.

“What were you doing here?”

Sighing, she smoothed her dress over her legs. “I’m not really sure. I left Kate’s, and I found myself wandering up here.” She shrugged and then stiffened. Whoever pushed her had left a mark. She closed her eyes briefly to avoid his hard stare and then looked around her brother’s flat before meeting Davis’ gaze once again.

“What are you doing here?”

He returned her gaze steadily. “I wanted to have a look around. See if anything had changed since I was here last. Besides, you know there are still questions to be answered about your brother and the things he did, especially confirming whether he did them alone.”

“Has it changed?”

Shrugging he stood and glanced around. “Not much that I can see. I only had a cursory look to make sure no one remained here.” He walked over to flick the light switch on the wall on. “Take me through it step by step. You left Kate’s apartment…”

He wandered around the room and in and out of the guest room, glancing over his shoulder at her.

Rubbing the soft cotton material of her dress between her fingertips, she retraced her steps out loud for Davis. “I was in the elevator, and I decided to come up here. I’m not really sure why, or what I expected. The door was unlocked so I walked in. I thought maybe it had been emptied already, but that really doesn’t make any sense. I am his sister, so that is my responsibility. I was looking for a light switch when I thought I heard something from Bryant’s bedroom. It startled me, and I decided to leave and go get a guard.”

She swallowed and stared at the floor. “Before I could, I felt someone behind me. They shoved me into the door and hit me. The next thing I remember was waking up to see you hovering over me.”

Pushing up from the couch, she stood. The room wavered slightly, but she stiffened her spine and rode it out. Davis strode over to stand in front of her. He tilted her chin to stare into her eyes. She froze at the warmth of his hand on her chilled skin. His hazel gaze searched her features. The breath stuttered in her chest. A warmth spread through her.

“Where is your clan healer? You need to be checked out.”

Bethany pulled her head back from his grasp and twisted away. “I am fine. I certainly do not need the healer.” She wrapped her arms around her waist. “We should contact the guards. Whoever it was, is probably a thief. I have no idea how to determine what they might have stolen, but security needs to be informed.”

“Yeah, maybe. You call the guards. I’m going to take another look around your brother’s room and lab.”

“Fine. You are more likely to notice something missing than I would. I haven’t been here in at least two years.”

His gaze tracked her as she walked to the phone and called the security desk and reported the break in. Davis disappeared into Bryant’s bedroom. She hung up the phone and walked stiffly down the hallway into his room.

The sight of the hidden lab caused bile to churn in her stomach.

How could she have not known her brother at all?

The blood drained from her face as she stood in the doorway gazing around at her brother’s perfidy.

“That’s it. If you won’t go to the healer, you’re at least going to rest. The last thing I need is you passing out and the guards arriving.” He strode toward her intending to carry her back to the couch. He thought about the bed behind her, but it seemed wrong somehow, and he didn’t think she would feel any better there.

She held up a hand and turned away when the front door opened, and people entered the apartment. It made him realize once again how much of a sitting duck she had been entering the apartment alone.

“Wait.” He grasped her arm to halt her progress and then stepped in front of her as two guards entered the bedroom.

She peeked around his arm and wanly smiled at the guards.

The guards glared at him. The larger of the two stepped forward. “Lady Bethany, are you hurt?”

“She was attacked—what do you think?”

“I’m fine. Just a bump on the head. I don’t know what they were doing here or what they were looking for, but I wanted security to be aware of the intrusion.”

The guard gazed about the room before focusing his attention back on them. “You think someone wanted to steal his stuff?” He glared at Davis. “Where were you when she was attacked?”

Davis folded his arms over his chest and rocked back on his heels. Behind him, Bethany sucked in a breath.

“I was alone. Well, except for whoever hit me. Mr. Campbell found me. I suppose whoever it was could have been here to steal something, but I don’t know what.”

The guards’ gazes flicked back and forth between the two of them. He could practically see their minds working. It wouldn’t be long before they pinned the attack on him.

“Did you notice anything familiar about your attacker, Lady Bethany?”

“No, they hit me from behind. I didn’t see anything.”

“Perhaps you had an impression of their size? Were they much taller than you?”

Davis refrained from rolling his eyes and simply waited silently. He supposed it was a small point in his favor Bethany hadn’t jumped to the same conclusion the guard had and started pointing her delicate little finger at him. “I…I’m sorry, but no. I really couldn’t say.”

“What were you doing here, Mr. Campbell? If you weren’t with Lady Bethany, how is it you arrived at the flat just as she was being attacked?”

“I arrived after her attack. If I had arrived during, then I could have prevented it, or at the very least captured her attacker. As to the why, I’m here on council authority. Feel free to question their reasons.”

The guards glanced down and away.

Bethany stepped out from behind him. “I think it might be prudent to post a guard outside my brother’s door until it can be determined there is nothing dangerous remaining in his lab or any evidence of his crimes. Please also be sure to inform my cousin and Advisor Heyes of the incident. Although I’m certain it was a simple break-in, they will want to be apprised of the situation in case it concerns the ongoing investigation of my brother’s crimes.”

“Of course, Lady Bethany.”

“Thank you. I am tired and want to return to my flat. If there are any further questions for me, please contact me tomorrow. Mr. Campbell, would you please accompany me?”

Bethany started for the door. The guards parted for her, giving her a slight bow as she passed.

Davis dropped his hands to his sides and slowly ambled behind her. She kept a brisk pace out of the apartment and down the hall to the elevator. He stayed abreast of her once she exited the apartment to keep a watchful eye out.

After they entered the elevator, she pushed the button for the lobby and faced him. “Care to tell me what you were doing in the apartment?”

“As I told the guards, council business.”

A smirk inched across his face. The urge to stamp her foot came and went. The guards were less than subtle about their accusation Davis was responsible for her ambush and the break- in of Bryant’s flat.

Bethany supposed it was possible. She would be a fool not to consider that possibility. Davis had been the only one there when she woke up. It was a bit convenient.

However, she had no feeling of malicious intent around him. Wouldn’t she feel some fear? Sense in some way if he was the one who attacked her?

Her faith in her instincts had grown a bit tarnished of late, but she couldn’t believe Davis was capable of attacking her.

Davis sighed. “I told you earlier, I wanted to investigate your brother’s apartment to see if anything had changed. I didn’t attack you, Bethany.”

She held his gaze. “I didn’t think you did.”

He nodded. “Think back over the incident again. Did you notice anything at all about who attacked you?”

Bethany rubbed her forehead. The drumming pain had transformed into a steady stream of agony. Even though her kind healed remarkably fast from injury, she was still prone to migraines. The stress of her life was catching up to her.

“No. I heard the sound, panicked, and tried to flee. I heard a rustle behind me and then felt the shove, and the blow on my head.”

“A rustle? You didn’t mention that before. What kind of rustle?”

The elevator doors opened, and they walked in silence out of the building. Bethany stopped on the sidewalk. “A rustle of clothing. A jacket. The sound it makes when the material rubs together.”

“Okay, that’s something. Perhaps if there’s any video footage of the building it will give us something to search for. I didn’t notice any surveillance cameras except in the lobby. Anything else? A smell?”

Bethany slowly shook her head. Cameras hadn’t occurred to her. Surely something should have been captured. “My sense of smell is poor even by human standards I’m afraid.”

“Mine’s not.”

She stared up at him.

“Bethany, the only scent I detected was yours. No other scent existed. It wasn’t a simple break-in.”