Page 47 of Visions in Blood
“I don’t recognize the shifters.”Elijah scratched the stubble on his chin.
“I do.”The men turned to Raquel.She’d been so quiet, Devon had forgotten she was there.“The two male vampires have been spotted in various cities along the coast, but the majority of their time has been spent in Sonoma.”She shook her head.“The women are from the Trinity pack, so I don’t understand why they’d be together.”
Elijah nodded with a cheeky smile.“Raquel is head of my security.I’d believe what she says.And I do recognize the girlfriend.She’s also been seen around Sonoma.”
“So, any of the three could belong to Lorenzo,” Devon said.
“Well, that would fit with her hanging on Underwood.I wonder if the missus knows?”Decker squinted, his wheels turning.
When Decker turned to him, he didn’t have to ask.They might not have seen each other in decades, but the minute he’d walked back into The Den a couple of weeks ago, the years between them had melted away.And maybe that was why Devon had avoided his old friend and the memories they brought back—the dark times.Those days were inconsequential now, and the fact his old camaraderie with Decker had slid into place like a pair of well-used loafers could only benefit their plans.
Devon nodded.“Be discreet.”
A hundred years ago, Decker had worked as a private eye before it became a thing, back before his life had been stripped from him.But even after he opened The Den, he’d built a network of connections, keeping tabs on all the magical news.It only made sense he’d be able to track down information on the Poppy.
“Check in with me before doing anything with the photos.”He stood and nodded to Elijah and Raquel.“I think we should keep our eyes on this group.If those vamps belong to Lorenzo, their relationship with the shifters won’t be what it seems.”When they both returned his nod, Devon turned and disappeared before anyone at Underwood’s table noticed.
ChapterSeventeen
I fell into bed,unable to stop my mind from racing through images of the long day.First, my mother, as cold as ever.For a moment, I’d thought maybe there’d been a flicker of something when I’d mentioned my father’s name.Probably nothing more than a play of light, sunshine hitting the window just right.
Then Devon found me and gave me one of the best gifts—a place of solitude where I could feel the air on my skin.Then he was at my neck, sending shivers of pleasure straight to my core.I touched my lips, and even hours later, I could still feel the heat of his mouth on mine.When his lips blazed a trail under my breast, I thought I’d scream with need.He was such a tease.
I blinked.
Was that something I knew from experience or from my dreams?It had to be the dreams.Great.Now reality was blending with my dreams to where I could barely tell them apart.What could possibly go wrong with that?
I pushed thoughts of Devon aside to replace them with someone much darker.Lorenzo Venizi.Why was he always cropping up, or was I just that lucky?Maybe he was thinking the same thing about me.I shivered.That would not be good.Sooner or later, someone might connect the dots of stolen items and that I’d been at each of the scenes.There would be dozens of names on that list, but if there was one thing I’d learned living with vamps—they were thorough.I’d have to give that possible calamity some thought.
Anna had barely scratched the surface on the House Wars, and I hadn’t learned anything of value on what had turned Devon and Lorenzo’s Houses against each other.I was still plowing through their section in the chapter, but it was a painstaking effort having to read such archaic language.I’d keep at it, but I couldn’t stop thinking about the wordsDe første dage.It had to be a book.If I could only put my finger on why I was so adamant about that fact.
The weight of sleep came with images of Devon again, and when I opened my eyes, I stood next to the lake at Oasis.The air was cool and golden leaves blew across the browned grass.The sky was a deep sapphire blue, and the earthy scent of mums filled the air.
Devon paced several feet away.He was mad.More than mad.He clutched a piece of paper in one hand while running his fingers through his tousled hair with the other.
“Don’t worry so much.”I took a step closer then stopped.“We knew something like this might happen.Simone said you’d prepared for it.”Soothing words were all I could provide.Anything else, and he might literally bite me.His beast was close to the surface, and even I was smart enough not to encourage it to the ledge.
“He didn’t have to do it.”Devon’s words were clipped and filled with rage.“He did it for spite and nothing more.A despicable warning that he felt me breathing down his neck and this was his way to get me to back off.”He stooped, picked up a rock, and threw it into the lake.Then he repeated it one more time.
I didn’t think that was going to do much to cool him off, and being more foolish than I thought possible, I reached for his arm.He pulled away, but I tried again.This time, he let me pull him close.
“Let me grieve with you.Don’t push me away.”
His shoulders slumped, and his aura pushed out.His agony and pain rolled off him and crashed over me like waves slamming against a rock-hewn wall.Defeated.For now.
“We’ll come back stronger.For now, just be with me.”
He fell into my arms, dragging me to the ground where he remained a crumpled heap.All I could do was hold him as he shook.
When I glanced up, the landscape had changed to one of nightmares.The air stank with the coppery smell of blood.
It was everywhere.
I stood in a grand foyer.The gray marbled floor and cream-colored walls were draped in crimson—splashed, spattered, and pooled.Broken bodies, the necks ripped out, littered the floor.Six men in all.I wanted to turn and run away, but my legs moved as if someone else commanded them.The next room, large enough to hold three distinct sitting areas, had been decorated with balloons and streamers that hung from the ceiling, wall hangings, and light fixtures.A champagne bucket had been overturned, and a cake lay crumbled on the floor.More bodies, at least a dozen men and women were strewn across the floor or dropped like broken marionettes over the leather couches—mutilated.Necks had been torn here as well, and in some fit of great rage, arms had been ripped off and a couple of heads had rolled away from their bodies.
A party gone wrong.
A woman lay on top of a table, naked, her body sliced in so many places it was impossible to see the true damage beneath the blood.
