Page 76 of Addicted in Blood
A car blocked the end of the alley.Then a woman popped out of the driver’s door and waved at them.Bella.Thank god.Jamal turned left and kept running, most likely heading for the Civic.Devon, Trudy, and Harlow jumped in, and seconds later the car took off.
I tapped Roxie on the shoulder.“Get us out of here.”
She moved to the driver’s seat while I shut off the feeds and computers then locked down the gear.The van started up, the curtains were slid aside, and headlights came on.She pulled away as if we had all the time in the world.
Harlow had rented a room at a motel near the Hollows.I knew the type before we pulled into the lot and drove toward the back near a tall conifer.Bella’s car was already there, and she stood outside a room near the soda and ice machines.The lot was three-quarters full, but I didn’t see any other car I recognized except for the gray Civic.But when Roxie and I entered, everyone was already there except for one.And I had to ask.
“Where’s Simone?”
ChapterThirty-Six
I stoodby the door and stared at the room of people—vamps and humans alike.It was strange to see Roxie sitting in the corner with her laptop, typing away.I’d never seen her out of her van.The vamps congregated on one side of the room and the humans the other.Devon sat between the two groups as the lone bridge between them.
“So, where is she?”I folded my arms across my chest, refusing to sit until someone explained.When Sergi gave a side glance to Harlow, I sighed.Secrets.Humans just risked their lives for them, and they still didn’t trust them.
“Let’s not worry about Simone.”Devon waved me to take a seat, but I leaned against the wall near the window, too antsy to sit.“We need to review what we shared with the Eliminators and Sentinels, then split up so we’re not seen in the area any more than necessary.”Devon seemed his old self, though every so often, he glanced at Sergi as if confirming his comments.That wasn’t good.
“I set up a secondary backup that’s untraceable.”Roxie continued to type, and then an LCD screen came alive on the dresser.Someone must have brought it in because the motel’s cheaper version had been set on the floor.“I’ve sent the photos to the drop you gave me.”She glanced at Sergi, who had his trusty tablet out.He nodded, which probably meant he’d received them.“I’m bringing up the photos in the order they were taken.This means they could be from either Harlow or Trudy, so they’ll jump around as to what we’re looking at.”
She took us through each photo, and Sergi took notes as we discussed whether the photo had any value.We focused on the first set of files.The information was detailed and quite incriminating.
“This page appears to be in each folder,” Roxie said as she zoomed in so the text was readable.“It names the target, common locations where they must spend most of their time, known aliases, and contacts.”
This particular page had Devon’s name on it.I couldn’t corroborate all the information, but Devon did.
“This is more accurate than I would have thought.I’m only grateful the manor and a tea house are the only locations they’ve listed.The contacts aren’t unusual and shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone.”
Roxie nodded.“The next two pages have more details about your whereabouts up until a week ago.”
“When Boretsky was murdered.”Lucas sat on one of the two double beds, and he leaned toward the display, his eyes moving across the screen.“They must have been planning something for Devon all along.”
Sergi nodded.“My guess is that Boretsky played into their hands.But we have a larger concern with the number of files that were discovered.”
“I agree.”Devon relaxed against the skimpy headboard that seemed to bend beneath his weight.“I recognize most of the names on the files, but not all of them.It’s not surprising Elijah from the Humboldt pack is on it."He slid me a glance.It had been Elijah and his pack we’d seen mutilated in a shared dream.With this evidence, The Wolf would have more than my mysterious text to ensure the pack remained on high alert.“Underwood was a surprise, and I recognize a couple other human names.They’re all CEOs of fairly large corporations on the West Coast.”
“Let’s look at Underwood’s file,” Sergi suggested, and Roxie complied.
“They tracked his whereabouts during the same time period as Devon.”Lucas pointed to the screen.“Scroll back up.That’s it.Right there.Someone sent him the limo the night he was murdered.”
After a quick review, Lucas was right.“What does the last line mean?”I had a feeling I knew, but I wanted someone to confirm it.
“It says Olfug Dilinae.”Devon gave Sergi a glance before turning to me.“It’s a remnant of an old vampiric language.It basically means ‘finish it’.”
I gulped.Christopher and I had our history.I wasn’t sorry to see him dead, though the manner had been gruesome.But to see the order to kill him on the screen was another matter.
“Well, this should take the heat off Cressa for the murder, assuming we can find a way to get this to the police without a lot of questions.”Lucas seemed pleased.
“Why would Cressa be a suspect in her stepfather’s murder?”Harlow asked.“I read about it in the paper.Wasn’t it the same night we ran into you and Ginger?”
I scratched my neck, thinking of something to say that would make him shut up.The last thing I needed was him mentioning the little job we did.The one I never told Devon about.Not that we’d had a lot of time to discuss it.
“Yes.”Sergi was watching us both, and this wouldn’t go well.
“I think we should focus on our primary issue, like getting Devon off the hook.”I glanced at the others in the room, specifically Bella and Lucas.“We should look at what the vials of blood can tell us.”
“Yeah.”Bella finally joined the conversation.She knew I’d wandered off that night, and she had covered for me.It appeared she was still doing it.“The Council is going to want Devon to come in, and we need to know what the Sentinels know so we’re not going in blind.”
Roxie ignored the chatter and jumped to the photos of the vials from the fridge.Crisis averted for now as everyone refocused on the screen.
