Page 2 of Addicted in Blood
“Where’s his tablet?”I had to ask, though they probably covered that before I arrived.
“We haven’t located his phone or tablet.”Lucas seemed more troubled than the others.“Taking his phone makes sense, but he doesn’t always take his tablet.”He jumped up and moved to the espresso machine.Though no one had asked, he started making drinks.“It was my turn to watch Ginger, and I left before six.”
Simone continued her search in a drawer to her left.“I was at Oasis until Sergi called this morning.The last time I spoke to Devon was a couple of days ago.”
Eyes turned to Bella and Jacques, and though I expected Bella to respond it was Jacques who spoke up.“We had the day off and had gone down to the city.”Which meant San Francisco, a couple hours’ drive south of Santiga Bay.“We got back around two a.m.Instead of staying at the mansion, we continued on to the safe house.”
“The sedan was pulling out of the driveway when we drove past,” Bella finished the story.“We both thought it was Sergi.”
Lucas dropped cups of espresso in front of Simone and Sergi, then picked up the phone.He whispered something into it, waited a moment, and hung up before moving back to the coffee bar.“The sedan is still gone.According to Mateo, Devon didn’t say anything about where he was going or how long he’d be gone.He was polite, but there was an edge to his tone.”He shrugged.“That could be Devon on any given day.”
“What about GPS tracking?”I asked.
Sergi shook his head.“All GPS tracking is removed from cars, phones, and tablets.”
Of course.I’d been told that before.“I assume everyone checked their messages?”My question sounded lame.Of course they would do that, but sometimes in the heat of the moment, the simplest of things were overlooked.I reached for my back pocket, a reflexive habit, then remembered I’d stuffed my phone in my overnight bag after checking for messages.There hadn’t been any.
No one seemed to think the question was stupid because they all nodded.
“Ah, here it is.”Simone closed the drawer to the right.“That’s unusual.”Her blank expression didn’t falter.She never let her emotions show when she was working, but I caught the glance she gave Sergi, and the pit in my gut turned into a hole the size of a meteor.A massive meteor.Like apartment sized.I could only assume by her earlier statement that Devon never left his calendar in that drawer.Was that a message in itself or just a sign of being distracted?
She flipped through the pages until settling on one that would either reflect yesterday or the entire week.I couldn’t see the pages, so it might have been a monthly calendar.I found it odd that he would use a paper calendar rather than his tablet.Perhaps he kept two calendars for some reason, then I remembered him writing letters with a fountain pen and linen paper.A man caught between two worlds—the old and the new.
“He doesn’t have any meetings listed for last night or this morning.”Sergi stood behind her, reading over her shoulder.He pointed to something.“What’s that mark?”
Simone frowned.“He left a message.This is strange.He hasn’t used symbols for some time.”
“Symbols.”Sergi moved back to his tablet.“I’m not sure I still have the legend to decipher it.”
Bella moved to lean over the desk.“Don’t bother.I recognize it.”
Sergi’s brows rose.“You weren’t even around when we used symbols as messages.”He didn’t appear to think she was lying, he was just curious.A ding from his tablet distracted him.
“Devon asked Jacques and I to use the old system when we started trailing Venizi.He didn’t want anything traceable.”She jutted her chin toward the calendar.“That symbol means he’s taking a secret meeting with someone who isn’t a friendly.”
“Is there a message drop to know who he was meeting with?”
“Sometimes.But usually not until we knew the information was good.”
“I don’t think we have to guess anymore.”When Sergi looked up, his face was one I never hoped to see again.It was a strange combination of fear, anger, and disbelief.“Council member Boretsky was found dead this morning, his throat ripped out.Devon’s sedan is in the parking lot.”
He stared at Simone.“They found a vial of Magic Poppy in the front console.”
ChapterTwo
“Not possible.”Simone’s tone left no confusion of her certainty.
“Dammit.This was exactly what I was afraid of.”Sergi dropped into one of the chairs in front of the desk.
“Explain.”Simone stern response confirmed she was playing full-on House leader, and Sergi wasn’t questioning it.No one was.I wasn’t surprised.She was, after all, the one being groomed for her own House.
Sergi leaned back, his tablet laid forgotten in his lap.If any vamp could look like a whipped pup, he would have been last on my list.He appeared to have the weight of the world, or at least his House, on his shoulders.
He spoke to the room at large, his gaze unfocused.“Devon and I have been following the deaths of rogue shifters in the Los Angeles area with a tip that Magic Poppy might be showing up.One of Decker’s fighters had been dosed without his knowledge.”
Bella paced, and Jacques seemed to curl in on himself.I wasn’t sure what Magic Poppy was, but it obviously wasn’t good.Yet, something nagged at me.I’d heard the term before but couldn’t remember where, maybe from one of the dreams.
Simone’s fangs dropped.“Why didn’t I know about this?”
