Page 64 of Destined for Shadows
“True.” Melena shook her head. “Genevieve is probably one of the coldest and scariest vampires I’ve ever met, and she’d love to have a sensor under her control, though she makes it sound like it would be a partnership. I don’t buy that story for a second.”
“If she’s allowing Griff and his brother to come and go from her city,” Bartol began, rubbing his chin. “She’s getting something from them in exchange.”
“I’m thinkin’ that, too,” the alpha werewolf said.
Cori swayed a bit on her feet, suddenly feeling lightheaded. She was going to have to eat again soon if she wanted to get her strength back up. Bartol took hold of her arm, steadying her. To her surprise, he didn’t let go, though he kept his gaze on the others.
It was weird, but just being in contact with him made her feel a little better, and she was able to think with a clearer head. “Could Griff be trading any intel he gathers on Fairbanks to Genevieve?”
Derrick’s expression darkened. “Yeah, it’s possible.”
“He’s been testing our defenses in a roundabout way if you think about it,” Melena said, worry entering her gaze. “Griff has probably been informed about all of us, which is why he’s been going after Cori indirectly except for the first time she saw him. We weren’t prepared for that, and he knew it.”
Bartol let go of her, glanced at her to make certain she was steady and started pacing the room again. “We should have kept a closer watch on the parents’ house.”
“Actually, I had a guy there,” Melena said, pulling out her phone. “But he hasn’t reported in today, and I was too busy to check on him.”
Cori swallowed, thinking that couldn’t be a good sign. “Is he human?”
“Mostly, except he’s got a little elf in him. He works at the police department, but sometimes my office borrows him. He can be discreet.” She tapped on the screen and put the phone to her ear. For a few moments, they all waited in silence to see if the man would answer. Melena’s expression brightened when he did. “Hey, Burkes. I just wanted to check in with you about that case.”
A moment later, Melena’s expression changed to one of frustration and worry. Cori couldn’t hear anything on the other end of the line, but it was clear the others could. Bartol had stopped pacing to listen, and his expression was darkening by the moment.
When he cursed under his breath, she gave him an inquiring look. “What is he saying?”
“The vampires attacked him before going into the house sometime around two in the morning,” Bartol answered in a low tone so as to not interrupt Melena. “They left him for dead, but he woke up a few hours later and managed to get to the hospital. He was lucky that the elf side of him kept him strong enough to call for help.”
“Why didn’t he call Mel earlier?” Cori asked.
Bartol didn’t answer right away, busy listening to Melena’s conversation. “He was in surgery and then in recovery. After that, he had to explain to his police department what happened to him. They’re letting him rest right now before he has to answer more questions for their reports. It sounds like they’ve already brought Griff’s mother in for questioning as well as found his father’s body.”
And they’d been going about their day not even realizing so much was happening. Cori wished they could have figured this out sooner. She wasn’t exactly sorry Martin was dead, but she did feel awful for Ruth. Griff’s mother had always been quiet and withdrawn, but she’d also been nice to everyone she met. The police were going to come down on her hard while they tried to figure out what happened, and she may have been compelled to forget. After putting up with that horrible husband for so many years, she didn’t deserve that kind of treatment.
Melena hung up the phone. “I’ve got to go.”
“Wait,” Cori said. “Can you watch out for Ruth and keep her safe? Griff probably compelled her, so she’s not going to have any idea what’s happening, and he might still try to take her.”
“I’ll take care of it, don’t worry,” the sensor promised.
After she left the room, Derrick looked at Cori. “Do you still want to talk to Jacob?”
She considered it. “Yeah. I have a couple of questions I need to ask him.”
“One of us could ask for you, if you’d rather not see him,” Bartol offered.
“No.” She shook her head. “It’s fine.” She was definitely getting tired, but she’d force herself to push through a little longer so she could get to the bottom of how Jacob had gotten involved, and what had happened to make him become a vampire.
Derrick led them down the hallway to the basement stairs. It was darker and cooler, which was made worse by the cement walls and low lighting. Cori counted six doors down there, but only two had locks on the outside. The alpha werewolf led them to the first one. He pulled out a set of keys and opened the door. It was totally dark in there, but he flipped a switch from the hallway and a bulb hanging from the ceiling lit up.
In the middle of the cold cement room, a man wearing only a pair of dirty jeans hung by his wrists in chains. His brown hair was tousled, and his pale torso was leaner than she remembered. Other than a trickle of dried blood on his bottom lip, he didn’t appear hurt.
Cori had only seen Jacob a few times before he moved, and a few more during holidays. He’d always been kind and respectful to her. The only thing that made her cautious now was that he had been turned into a vampire, and she didn’t know how that might have affected him. Melena swore most people didn’t change that much from their original personality, other than a hunger for blood, but there could always be exceptions to the rules.
“Jacob?” She took a couple of steps into the room, mindful of keeping a healthy distance. Bartol stayed close behind her while Derrick remained out in the hallway, watchful but giving them space.
The vampire lifted his head, confusion filling his dark eyes. “Cori?”
“When did you become a vampire? How?” she asked. “Was it Griff who changed you?”
