Page 10 of Bitten By Desire

“But my husband is—was on the board.” Lorraine scooted back as far as possible without running into the grand piano situated behind her.

Julian raised his palms. “We are not your enemies, Mrs. Montague. Rather, we are trying to understand things ourselves. We don’t know what your husband was involved in, and for your sake, I hope he was as ignorant of the goings on as we were. But we do need to find out.”

“Gerard would never hurt anyone, if that’s what you mean.” The woman sniffed again and looked off toward the wall, deep in thought. “Is it possible he discovered whatever business you did and paid the price for it?”

“We don’t know, but it’s a place to start the investigation,” I said, and she turned her now sharp gaze to me.

“How can I help?”

“Cooperating is very helpful,” Julian soothed. “Do you happen to know any other members of the board?”

“No. I may have seen one or two in passing while traveling, but I never really got any names.” She sighed. “Would it help if I showed you his office like I did the others?”

“What others?” Julian asked behind a plastic smile.

“Um, there were investigators sent by the other board members.” She stood and strode to a small ornate table at the front of the room where she rummaged for a bit before lifting up a business card and handing it to Julian.

“Marcia Honeywell, Private Investigator,” Julian read out loud.

I chewed my cheek to stop from swearing. She was the MorningStar major who’d drained and starved Julian then experimented on me. But I’d used mind-bending to make sure she forgot us and ordered her to leave her post—so how was she back at it?

“Do you know her?” Lorraine asked, eyes narrowed. She appeared to be more astute than I’d given her credit for initially.

“In passing,” Julian said casually, tucking away the card. “We will take a look at the office, but if Ms. Honeywell found nothing of use, I’m sure there won’t be much else.”

“Excuse me, Lorraine?” I asked. “You said these people had been following you for weeks,” I gestured at the fae body between our feet. His head had started to move as though he were waking up.

“Yes,” she said, holding a fist to her mouth. “Gerard couldn’t see them. It was the strangest thing. They’d be staring at us wherever we went. I’d recognize them anywhere.”

“Do you know who they are?” Julian pressed.

“I have no idea. I’d been all but convinced they were a figment of my imagination. Then to attack me at the memorial like that… Well, I can’t thank you enough—Julian, was it?”

The way she smiled at him made me fidget and clear my throat. “Were you aware they’re fae?”

She turned her attention back to me with wide eyes. “No. It makes sense, I suppose. I’d thought either that or vampires perhaps.”

“And they made no moves to attack you while you were with your husband?” Julian asked.

“No.” She shook her head. “Most supes were afraid of Gerard, so it makes sense that they’d kept their distance. Either afraid or had a hefty dose of careful respect,” she amended.

“If you don’t mind my asking, what type of supe was your husband?” I asked as the fairy’s eyes fluttered open.

“He was a demon lord.” Her words were so matter-of-fact I glanced away from the clear and present danger at my feet for a moment to find her gazing out the window.

“I hadn’t known demons were a thing,” I admitted.

She smiled. “Most people don’t. Or they think it has to do with religion. But the truth is, they’re simply from another dimension, similar to the fae. Just like any species, some are nice, and some are not. Gerard had a black heart filled with gold.” She sniffled again, and a tear escaped down her cheek.

“How did he die?” Julian asked, leaning down to press the iron harder against the struggling fairy’s chest.

“He was torn apart,” Lorraine said sadly. “Tyler had a devil of a time getting the gore out of the cream-colored carpet. Whatever did it ripped him open in eight slices from neck to knee from behind.”

The scene of Mama’s murder came to mind. She’d been killed the same way, except her killer had faced her.

“Are you all right, Dr. Devaux?” Lorraine asked.

I shook myself and nodded to Julian who lifted the fairy by the arms and forced him to face me.

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