Page 82 of Hunters and Hydrangeas

“Fine. Okay, how’s this? No, we didn’t kidnap her. But…she’s not super happy with us right now, either.”

“Why?” Cassian demands.

“Because we won’t let her leave, and we coerced her into calling you.”

“That’skidnapping,” Noah says forcefully.

“Eh,” Alfred says like he’s not convinced, and then he suddenly clutches his forehead. “Sorry, headache. Just a minute.”

“It’s wearing off,” Noah says to Cassian.

Alfred narrows his eyes. “What’s wearing off?”

“Your alcohol buzz,” Cassian lies. “You should probably lie down. We’re going to get going.”

“Already?” he says, bummed. “But my chef made blood sorbet.”

Okay,yuck.

“Next time,” Cassian promises, rising.

Alfred frowns, looking a bit befuddled. “I didn’t ambush you, and we had a nice chat. We’re in a good place, aren’t we?”

“That depends.” Cassian walks over to Alfred and gives him a look that makes the man gulp. “If you tell Gerald that Piper is his, I will kill you—and there’s not a lot your father can do once you’re dead. So, as they say, the ball is in your court. We can be friends, or we can be enemies. It’s your choice.”

“Okay…but youaregoing to turn down the nomination, right?” Alfred calls as we walk away. “I scratch your back, and you scratch mine?”

“Goodbye, Alfred,” Cassian says instead of answering, ushering us toward the dock.

Thankfully, Alfred was too loopy to instruct his crew to take the yacht out of the marina.

“You’re not going to arrest him?” I ask Noah.

“I’ve already contacted Harold, and he’s sending people in.”

“We need to hurry,” Cassian instructs, giving me a little nudge to get me moving faster. “Once his body burns off the drug, he’s going to realize how much he told us.”

“What the heck did you give him?” I ask.

“Maropitant citrate—it’s an anti-nausea medicine they give dogs to help ease motion sickness. It has a strange effect on vampires. It makes them happy, content, and comfortable. As a side note, they don’t generally throw up when they’re on it.”

“You gave him some kind of puppy downer?”

“It doesn’t usually make people sleepy, so it’s not really a downer.”

“I thought it was a weird vampire truth serum.”

“No,” Cassian says with a laugh. “Alfred is just prone to babbling when you catch him in the right mood.”

“And when you ply him with alcohol,” Noah adds, checking his phone. A second later, he makes a fist, elated. “That was Harold. Sophia is in NIHA custody. Richard gave us the right address.”

“We have her?” Cassian demands, sagging with relief.

“They’re taking her to the office.”

“What about Larissa?” I ask.

“I don’t know.” Noah practically jogs back to our borrowed car. “But we’ll find out soon.”

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