Page 30 of Tainted Blood

They watched the game as people bowed out before they were taken for more than they could afford. Alexius wasn’t surprised that Kamose bowed out when Jamal did since they had probably intended the game to be casual. Ramman bowed out when Samas asked him to. Sheba teased the both of them, winning the next hand then cashing out with her winnings, the only person to leave the table at a positive so far. Ivanna went next, shrugging at her brother when she left the table worse than how she’d joined it.

The last three were Isaiah, Lyra, and one Alexius hadn’t seen sit down, thanks to Lyra’s intrusion.

“Who do you think will bow out next?” Everly asked him softly.

“I don’t know. I don’t know how Idir plays, and he’s been very safe so far,” he answered. Idir was another his age. He had wandered all over Africa avoiding werecats. He was a survivor. Not many old vampires got out of Africa, which was dominated by powerful supernaturals who held the continent far longer than most could claim.

Maybe that’s it. He survives until he is the last man standing.

Lyra went next, throwing her last hand down to the table as she ran out of cash.

“Not willing to bet anything else?” Isaiah asked, smiling at her as she stood.

“Not to you,” she said, walking away with a shake of her head.

“This was fun,” Idir declared, standing up next. Isaiah followed, nodding.

“It was, wasn’t it? And it looks like we’re both taking half of the pot left.” Isaiah held out his hand. “Good play, Idir.”

“Thank you.” Idir accepted the hand and gave a small bow. He was counting his winnings as he walked away.

“With that finished, I think I’m going to retire,” Alexius said, standing up for the first time in hours. He held out a hand to help Everly leave the booth, glad she accepted and slid out, standing next to him.

“Yeah, I wouldn’t mind that.”

Alexius waved toward Isaiah, who nodded in acknowledgment, then walked out of the lounge with Everly. She relaxed the moment they left the view of the others in the lounge.

“Do they always hang out in the same room all night?”

“No, it’ll break into smaller groups now. We’ll end up in a few and hear what happens in the others,” he explained, understanding why she was tired already even though dawn wasn’t for a couple of hours.

Once back at their suite, he intentionally cut off conversation, heading to his room to change into more comfortable attire. He saw the file he’d tossed onto the bed and grimaced.

She’s too curious for me to leave things like this out.

He had been able to put it out of his mind most of the evening, but seeing it again, he couldn’t resist looking through it one more time. There wasn’t enough when there should have been much more. The vampire had been with Jacob’s nest since he was Turned, yet Jacob only had a handful of notes on the vampire, and they didn’t end in a way Alexius had expected.

He waited and waited, listening to her move around the suite, the file in his hand like a dead weight. Once dawn rose, he knew she would have fallen asleep and went to the door of his suite, opening it before Isaiah could knock.

“You read through this, right?” he demanded, frustration finally escaping him as Isaiah walked in, ignoring the file Alexius was holding in his face.

“I did and was annoyed by it as well. I wanted you to see it before we discussed it. That’s why I had one of the footmen bring it to you instead of bringing it myself.” Isaiah looked toward Everly’s room, then went to lean on the arm of the couch. “At least she sleeps solidly through the day so we can talk about it.”

“Jacob didn’t explain anything here for anyone,” Alexius snapped. “Healwaysexplains. Are you certain this was all of it?”

“I’m certain, and the last page might explain it. Something made Jacob very angry, and he wanted to destroy all evidence of it,” Isaiah said softly. “The question we should be asking is… Why did Jacob feel the need to banish Henry Abbott?”

“It doesn’t say…” Alexius looked down at the file, going to the last page once again, frowning. Jacob only noted that Henry would no longer be a member of his nest. A simple statement. It was rare for Jacob to be so angry, he didn’t know how to properly express that fury, but that’s exactly what the final paper was. “What did her uncledo?” he asked himself softly.

“That’s the million-dollar question, isn’t it?” Isaiah sighed. “Are you sure you still want me to find him? I don’t know if he’ll be useful the way you hope, not anymore.”

“Clearly not, but I should still find him just to put it to rest for her. We’ll set it aside for now,” Alexius decided. “I need to stay focused on what’s going on here. She saw the file, and I was able to convince her to drop the subject, but I don’t want to risk her catching on and losing focus on our primary reason for being here.”

“Good call. I’ll broaden my search for him once we’re done here. If that’s all, I will retire.”

“Thank you for helping me with this,” he said, staring at the file before holding it out. “You can keep the file and archive it with the rest.”

Isaiah took it, sighing heavily.

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