Page 56 of Addicted in Blood
“Then what?”
“I’d planned on grabbing a staff car, but I’ll never make it out the gate.”
“It’s a long walk to any bus stop.”
Fate was on my side when I remembered the business cards.“Do you think they’re tracing your calls?”
Ginger considered it.“I don’t think they have the tech to do it live.They’d have to work with the phone company.I’m sure they have someone on the inside, but I doubt they’re considering it.Not with everything else going on.”
“I agree.And by then, this will all be over.”
“Are you sure it’s a good idea to go after Devon?”
“I didn’t have to hear it from Decker to know he doesn’t have much of a chance on his own.I can see it in every vamp I look at.Even Sergi.”And the hours ticked away, reducing any chance I had of getting to him in time.“Let me use your phone.”
She glanced around, snagged it off a dresser, and tossed it to me.
“Do you have Harlow’s number on it?”
“I didn’t.But after that little caper you did with him—you know, the night Christopher got killed in the same neighborhood—I thought it best to have his number handy.”
“Smart thinking.”I found his number in the contacts list, hit the button, and prayed he’d answer.It took four rings before I heard his gruff voice.
“Ginger, luv.Good to hear from you.”
“It’s me, luv.You busy tonight?”
“Cressa.Hey, Trudy, it’s Cressa.What’s up, luv?”
After five minutes of telling him my plan, him telling me I was nuts, and then both of us agreeing he was probably right but it didn’t change what I needed, he agreed to meet me a few blocks from the manor.
“I need to make another call, but I’d rather do that in my room.”
Ginger was already up, tossing DVDs and snacks onto a tray.She handed me the two bottles of wine and glasses before opening the door, holding the tray in one arm.The two vamps stared at us as we crossed to my room.
“We want a fire, and my room already has the wood.”I nodded toward the door and lifted my full hands.My guard nodded and rushed to open the door.
Once inside, I sighed with relief.I opened the wine while Ginger loaded a DVD and turned up the volume.I grabbed the silver business card, my cell, and ducked into the bathroom, shutting the door behind me.
I sat on the toilet, the cell in my hand as I stared at the card.Was I making the right decision or getting in the way?If anyone had bothered to clue me in or take five minutes to listen to me, I might not have to make this decision.But they shut me out in the name of security and protection.
It all came down to one thing.Devon.What was his best chance?
With shaking hands, I dialed the number.
“What do you mean,she’s gone?”Simone, hands braced on the desk, leaned toward the cadre standing before her.Each one could have been a statue—even Bella.
“We haven’t been able to locate her anywhere in the manor or on the grounds.”Lucas stared at the wall behind her.
“For god’s sake, relax.Sit.”She dropped into Devon’s chair and turned to face the blinds covering the window.“When was she last seen?”
“Ginger was with her until almost eleven.”Lucas continued to stand while he gave his report as if Simone hadn’t said anything.“Then she went back to her room.Dimitri said she stumbled at the door, and I confirmed this morning they’d been drinking most of the night.We know they ordered dinner in.Dimitri also mentioned that he’d seen Cressa in her room when Ginger left.It looked like she was picking up the remains of their dinner.”
“She’s going to be looking for Devon.”Sergi had been grumbling since his return from New Orleans.Cressa getting away from them only made it worse.
She had to hand it to the human.Dreamwalker.Whatever the hell species they were supposed to consider her.Two guards at her front door, a dozen working the perimeter.“Double the perimeter guards.”Once this was all over, Devon would be wise to add Cressa to their security detail.If there was a hole in their defenses, she was obviously the one to find it.
“She didn’t take a vehicle.”Jacques reddened when everyone glared at him.“I know it seemed obvious since no one signed her out of the gate, but I thought it best to confirm.”
