Page 12 of The Blood Shadows

“Where are you staying?” Ian caved.

“I’m in room 248 at the Jefferson on Wilmington.” She was happy and excited, but Ian felt nervous. He told Nox that he would wait for him and that he would stay in the apartment.

"I'll meet you this afternoon," Ian suggested.

"No, honey, I'm only here for the next hour, and then I'm catching a flight back to Macon. I purchased a cheap ticket after Ron refused to let me see you. I thought it was useless to hang around. It's not refundable, and I can't afford another ticket.Please meet me here within the hour. Please, honey." Ian wasn't even sure if he could get to the Jefferson in an hour.

“That doesn’t leave much time.”

"You can make it. Please try."

“Okay.” He left it there and hung up. A strange anticipation overtook him at finally getting answers to his questions finally knowing why she left him. As he thought about meeting her the nervousness set in again and a dread began to take shape. His feelings about it were all over the place but in his heart he wanted to see her. It might be the last time.

He thought about dropping Nox a text and letting him know what he was doing but he didn’t want to bother him. It was more than that but that was the reason he told himself. Truth was he knew Nox would try to talk him out of it. He needed to see her.

CHAPTER SEVEN

Nox traveled to Ron and Ian’s apartment first in order to pick up a scent to follow. No one was there but he caught the scent of Ian of course and of his fellow enforcers Fane and Samuel who obviously had conducted a search.

Then he recognized Ron Mathews’ degenerate decay, which came across as a molding rot. He was a dark one for sure and not just an abusive uncle. This man had a history of horrible acts that Ian was not aware of. The man needed to be put down, and Nox was the only man who could make that happen.

He moved around the apartment taking in the desperate and desolate nature of the place. It was dire until he reached Ian’s bedroom and when he walked inside he felt a lightness and beauty that fully described his precious lover. Ian was safe now and Nox vowed to make sure Ron and is ilk would never get near the man again. He held the sour notes of Ron’s essence and folded into the current of the air and followed his trail.

"He's coming, so don't worry about it. The room is in his name, so it will look like he was staying here and suffered anunfortunate accident. It will come back on us, and once they contact you with the sad news of Ian's death, then you can file for the insurance money.

It'll be fine." Trinda was so sure of herself as she flitted around the room, trying to make it look like a young man was staying there. She'd taken a few things from Ron's apartment to make it look authentic.

"I get my five thousand back off the top before we split the rest," Ron demanded. "That useless Ward Sinclair was a waste of good money, and now I can't even get hold of him. He's not answering his phone."

"He failed and probably took off with your five thousand. Forget about him." Trinda, with her graying blond hair and pinched face, looked every inch the calculating bitch that she was. "He's not going to say anything. He would be incriminating himself, so forget it for now we can take care of him later." Ron nodded

"We've been playing the long game here, and I don't want to mess this up," Ron stated desperately. "I only took in your brat so I could eventually profit off his ass and you know that." Trinda nodded.

"It was smart getting that life insurance as soon as you took custody and then letting it sit for the last four years. No one will suspect you, dear brother, or me for that matter. I'm simply the uninvolved parent living many miles away."

“It better go off without a hitch. Are you sure he’s coming?”

“I’m sure.”

"He has a friend, you know, some guy who saved him from the mugging incident and has been seen with him since.He might bring that guy with him. Sinclair said he could be a problem." Ron was running everything through his mind making sure they accounted for ever possibility. "We can't fail. He has to die here today."

"He will, and if his friend comes along, then his friend will die too." Trinda was casual about the killing; she had no heart or soul. "Now, you need to get out of here before he shows up. Go back to the bar and wait for me there."

“How are you going to do this on your own.” He asked.

“I have some hired muscle that should be here shortly. I’ll be fine and will call you when the deed is done.” She smiled and waved him off.

Ian found the elevator and took it to the ground floor he passed by a few people that he recognized as vampire, but they didn’t talk to him or bother him. It was strange being able to see people for who or what they really were, and Ian was still getting used to it.

He found the door which led out to an alley and that’s when he realized the coven house was disguised as a basic warehouse. Looking at the outside one would never guess what lay inside Master Rose was a genius. Ian walked to the main street and once there called for a ride.

As he made his way to Wilmington Ave and then the Jefferson motel he thought of Nox. He should call him and let him know he was meeting his mother but there was a part of him that wanted to see her first get a read on her before introducing her to the most important man in his life. Nox knows him and knows where he came from, but he hasn’t come face to face with the players and Ian wasn’t sure he ever wanted him to.

The driver dropped him out in front of the Jefferson. It was a decent motel, not too cheap and not too expensive. Trinda was on the second floor in room 248. He looked up to the second floor and just considered what it was he hoped to gain by meeting with her.

There was no way this was going to go well. It was either going to be a shit show, or he would gain a little insight into her life and decision-making. She left, and that was the fact. She left and never looked back, leaving him to be cared for by Uncle Ron, a man who should never be in charge of anyone or anything. She did him dirty, and now she was going to tell him why. Did he really want to know?

He was here now so he might as well follow through. Ian looked around making himself aware of his surroundings just like Nox told him. There was a man by the east corner that was paying him a little too much attention, so he looked at him directly catching his gaze and holding it. He looked away and then left. It didn’t mean he wasn’t trouble, but it let him know that he saw him.

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