Page 70 of Betrayed in Blood
“What is it? Is it about your father?”
I snorted. “Yeah. They don’t want to divulge their name over the phone. They want to meet.” I rolled my eyes. “Alone. The only thing missing is their request not to call the cops.”
“Do they say where?”
I dropped the phone on the coffee table, topped off the cocoa, and added more brandy. “Newberry Park. Tomorrow at midnight.”
Ginger barked out a laugh. “Why don’t they just say walk into my web so we can kidnap you?”
“Right?”
“This can’t be Venizi. He couldn’t possibly believe you’d be that gullible.”
“No. But I think April might believe it.”
“What are you thinking?”
“April was never business savvy. At least not when we were still speaking. She was more interested in fashion and going to parties. It was only recently that she seemed to be following in Christopher’s shadow.” I stared into my cocoa. No one changed that quickly. Why did April? Devon said her mom had an escape plan. I’d always thought Christopher was rolling in cash, but what if it was all for appearance? What if his estate wasn’t a boon but a pile of mounting debt? Sergi should be able to check that out.
“I think it might be possible that April is working for Venizi but at a much lower level than she likes. Maybe she thinks it would make for a nice payday and a shot up the power ladder if she was able to pull me in along with the medallion.”
“But she doesn’t know you’re a dreamwalker. Does she even know you’re living with vamps?”
That was the problem. “I don’t know how much Christopher knew and how much he might have shared with April. Maybe it’s just about the medallion, and April doesn’t know about anything else. I need to talk to my mother.”
“Is it safe to call her?”
“No. But Devon is sending me on a surveillance mission to see if she shows up for her hair and spa appointments.” I rubbed a hand over my face. “All we have at this point are assumptions. We need hard facts.”
Ginger nodded toward the phone. “Are you going to answer it or wait to talk to Devon?”
“He won’t be back until tomorrow.”
“What about Sergi? Maybe his investigation has turned up something.”
The phone pinged again.
“What the hell?” I leaned over and grabbed the phone. “It’s them again.” After a quick read, I wished I had the vamp strength to crush the damn thing. “Unbelievable. It took them hours to come up with their stupid plan, and now they’re harping at me for an answer.”
“You can’t tell them you’re on lockdown. Or do you think they know?”
I hadn’t even considered that. “It’s probably best not to mention it either way, but tomorrow night is too soon.” I tapped the phone against my chin, considering my options. The sane thing to do would be to ignore it. But I wasn’t in the mood. This was pissing me off. If Rasmussen was alive and in trouble, why all the mystery? Tell me where he was and tell me how I can help. I typed a reply, ignoring Ginger’s pleading look to not do anything rash. But if this was April, I knew how to deal with her.
I lifted a finger at Ginger. “I haven’t sent it. How does this sound? I’m out of town on a job and won’t be back until Thursday. And unless you want to tell me who this is, I prefer a public spot to meet.” I reread my message again. “That gives us two days to come up with something.”
“Why don’t you wait until you talk to Sergi?”
Another ping came in. I laughed. “They seem to be desperate for my response. If this is April, I think it’s best to answer with something she’d believe. If it’s someone else, they need to know I’m not going to do something so obviously stupid.”
Ginger tilted her head, giving it some thought. “Read your answer again.” When I did, she nodded. “They can’t refute whether you’re out of town without giving away how they know that. And you’re right. Anyone who’s watched at least one horror movie knows meeting a stranger alone in a place with no other people is stupid. I mean, you’re not even blonde.”
We both chuckled.
“I’m going to send it. Just because I’m getting home on Thursday doesn’t mean I’ll drop everything to meet them, right?”
“Right.”
I should be contacting Devon or at least Sergi. Then I got my dander up. Why did I have to pass everything through them? This was about my father. Yes, there was the whole lockdown thing. And yes, this could be Venizi or some other vamp yanking my chain. But if it was April, my mother was unwittingly in the middle of whatever this was. If anything, we needed time, and my response would give us that.
