Page 6 of Obsessed in Blood
“I agree.” Sergi scrolled through a report on his tablet. “The semi doesn’t seem to have an owner that we can find. It was hot-wired, so we’ll check with SBPD and see if anyone has reported it stolen.”
“They’ll be dead ends.” Devon picked up the white crystal from his desk and tossed it back and forth. “I’m declaring a level three security alert with security details rotated every four hours. I don’t think Lorenzo will do anything rash after this attack, but we’d be fools not to be prepared.”
Sergi nodded. “Do we suspect Lorenzo is aware Cressa is a dreamwalker?”
Devon took a moment to consider it. Lorenzo had only seen Cressa a handful of times, and nothing recently. “No. I think his intention was two-fold. He believes her to be my Blood Ward and suspects we have a deeper relationship. He wanted to take that from me in addition to proving he can strike a blow at the House whenever he wants.”
“We should hit back hard and fast.” Bella was pacing, as was her usual style. He understood her need for immediate action.
“No. We’ll stay silent on this.” When it looked like she would object, he lifted a hand. “He’ll expect me to do something rash. I think he questions my stability after the Poppy. I need to prove him wrong. That doesn’t mean we won’t poke at him, and I’d appreciate your opinion on the best way to do that, but I want it to be nothing more than an irritating distraction. I want him guessing as to whether it’s me or not.
“Before we can do that, I need a full report on his latest activities, any information on who he’s met with since the week before Boretsky’s murder and when I was dosed with the Poppy. Any scrap of data, even if it appears mundane, I want to know about. Reach out to your normal contacts. We’ll meet again after dinner.”
“How’s Lyra?” Sergi asked.
“Raging. I sent a donor up to settle her beast.”
“That’s good.” Bella stopped near the coffee bar but did nothing more than play with the dials on the espresso machine. “It’s better than the alternative.”
“Agreed.” Devon set the crystal on the desk, nudging it several times until he felt it was in the right position. “And I don’t want anyone acting any differently around her. She is still the leader of this House.” He glanced at each of them, waiting until they nodded.
“What about Ginger?” Lucas asked. “She should be brought to the manor.”
Devon rubbed his face. How could he have missed that? Cressa would be so angry he hadn’t thought of her friend. “Of course. Do you want me to talk to her?”
Lucas shook his head. “I’d like to drive over to the condo and tell her. We had plans to go to the city so she’ll be expecting me and is already packed.”
“As if she would pack for the city like she would for spending time here.” Bella’s chiding was a welcome sound. Even in the face of adversity, he could depend on the cadre to remain calm and settled.
Lucas’s expression shifted as he considered her statement, and a slight blush touched his cheeks, finally adding some color to them. “I guess we’ll need time for her to repack, and then I’ll bring her back here.”
“Agreed. That’s all I have for now.”
Bella was out the door before the others stood. When they filed out the door, Devon called out for Simone.
“Can you stay a minute?”
She kept her back to him for a long moment before nodding and turning around to take a seat in front of his desk. Her fingernails tapped a steady beat on her tablet, but she never glanced up.
He waited until the last of the cadre had closed the door behind them. “You were quiet during the meeting.”
“You didn’t need me to pat your back.” Her head tilted a fraction of an inch. “You seem different. Better. You’re not second-guessing yourself or looking to Sergi for approval.”
He grimaced. “Was it that bad?”
She let the thought of a laugh flutter her lips. “It’s good to have you back. Have you fed recently?”
He swiveled around to stare out the window. From his vantage point, he could see a portion of the sycamore tree. “I dreamwalked with her last night. It was a construct. That’s what she calls these scenes, worlds… Holy hell, I don’t know what they are. But it was something she’d created on her own.”
“She hasn’t done that before?”
“I don’t think so. She dreamed of the garden at Oasis before she ever saw it, but I think that was a prescient dream. She didn’t even know what she was at the time. This was different. It was a combination of different places she’d been with disparate objects.”
“Something she learned while in New Orleans?”
He nodded. “She was so proud of herself. We talked for some time, and after she closed the construct, I had the best sleep I’ve had since putting the beast away. I felt better this morning, but there was still a haze I couldn’t quite get past, although I wasn’t aware of it at the time. I just knew I wasn’t a hundred percent.
“When I was at the accident scene, I couldn’t stop staring at the burnt husk of the sedan. I hadn’t been told yet of what happened to the passengers or how little the passenger seats had been burned. I was filled with such rage. I got this blinding headache like my brain was a balloon and something was filling it with air. The pressure was so intense, I thought my head would explode.”
