Page 60 of Obsessed in Blood
I shook my head. “I have a better idea. Let me check with Harlow. I bet Roxie has an idea or two on that topic.”
Simone shrugged. “Let’s check with both and keep our options open.”
“May I ask what my brother has you doing?” Lyra’s voice was cold, but Simone ignored the tone.
She sighed and looked aggrieved enough for the tips of her fangs to show. “That’s part of the reason I’m here. I don’t say this lightly when I say I might have taken on more than I can handle.”
“Oh?” I found this more than interesting and couldn’t help smile when Simone squirmed.
“I told Devon I would socialize and see what the word is on Lorenzo’s activities.”
I glanced at Lyra, then at Ginger, then back at Lyra. The tension with Lyra broke, and much to Simone’s shame, we all broke out in laughter.
ChapterTwenty-One
Sergi followed the steep,winding road as it curved its way to the mountain peak. It had taken some time to find Yun after multiple attempts to locate Guildford’s old cadre. There were four at the time of Guildford’s death, and they’d scattered after Devon took over the House and brought in his own team.
There had been hurt feelings, and Devon discovered quickly that he’d handled the transition badly. One of the cadre, a young vampire by the name of Teller, was the only one who seemed to have understood Devon’s inexperience enough to speak with Sergi.
Teller had found a new position with a small House in Chicago. He was the only one of the four Sergi had been able to easily find, and they agreed to meet at a coffee shop with a view of Lake Michigan.
“Thank you for meeting with me.” Sergi centered his cup of cappuccino and set his tablet to the right. He studied the young vampire, who by now was closing in on two hundred years, which would have made him quite young to be part of a cadre back in the 1920s, but the same could be said of Lucas and Bella. The vampire was broad-shouldered, tall, and muscular. And maybe it was that muscle that Guildford liked to have close by.
Teller gave him the same measured study. “I heard Trelane got himself into some trouble lately.” There wasn’t any animosity in his tone. He was fishing. The House he belonged to was considered an ally to House Trelane, but that was because they were tied to a larger House that was fully committed to Devon. Whether his House was a true friend to the Trelanes might not matter to Teller. Members of a cadre held to a certain standard, a loyalty that could transcend House politics. One reason for a leader to hold their cadre close.
“The complexities of the Trelane and Venizi Houses go back centuries, as you know.”
The vampire nodded, a frown creating wrinkles on his forehead. He sipped his coffee. “Venizi hasn’t given Devon any rest since his rise to House leader. But he seemed happy enough with Devon’s censure. If the rivalry is heating up, then Devon must be pushing for something.”
“He wants the censure removed.”
Teller nodded. “And Venizi knows Trelane’s vote would tip the Council away from Venizi’s old-world thinking. I can see where that would be enough for him to take action against Devon. With his censure, Devon should be an easy target.”
“One could make that assumption.” Sergi scanned the coffee shop as he sipped the cappuccino. It was a small place and not very crowded. Other than the one vampire that came with Teller, and a possible shifter, the rest of the customers appeared human.
Teller laughed. “And that could end up being a fatal mistake.”
Sergi eyed him but said nothing.
Teller relaxed and gave Sergi another smile. “I know there were hard feelings among Guildford’s cadre when Devon took over. He’d been away for some time, and the cadre thought he’d keep us around while he settled in. We felt abandoned. We’d been dealt a great loss when Guildford and Irene were killed and Lyra injured.”
“There was hurt and mistakes made on all sides. Devon tried to make amends.”
Teller gave a half shrug. “By then, it was too late and too fresh. We were concerned for his struggles, his addiction, but it wasn’t our place to help.” He played with a stir stick, picking away fine strands of wood. “And though we don’t share it outside the old cadre, we were all proud of his return; his unwillingness to be beaten even after his censure. The others would probably never admit it, but we watched his rise in the business world—the partnerships he’s made with the shifters and humans.”
“You’ve been watching him?”
Teller grinned. “Of course. Whatever you or Devon might think, we still have loyalty to House Trelane and Guildford’s Family. We watched Devon and Lyra grow up. And while some of the hurt still remains, Devon’s loyalty to his sister and his House is everything Guildford would have done.” He leaned over the table. “Devon has his father’s patience. We know he’s building up to something. We thought he’d been dealt a fatal blow with this mess with the Poppy and Boretsky’s murder. But he’s a sly one. He has many of his father’s leadership qualities and he’s battle-tested. Because of that, Venizi believes Devon handles a House like his father and the other ancients.”
He fell back in his seat and snapped the stir stick in two. “The other thing none of us will admit was that Devon made the right choice in selecting a new cadre.” He held up his hand before Sergi could say anything. “We still believe it could have been handled better, but we would have held him back. Devon might be five hundred years old, but his focus is set firmly to the future. And he needed a cadre with that same drive. We would have hampered him in finding his own footing.”
“Devon still wants to make amends. The cadre’s departure still bothers him.”
“Now that sounds more like his mother.”
Sergi chuckled—the first crack in his defenses. “Now that is something I never considered.”
“So, what made you fly to the Windy City and track down old Family members?”
