Page 5 of Silent Stalker
TWO
I always did my best, even when I failed.
As it liked to do,my stomach opted against breakfast. I held some hope of being able to eat like a normal person again one day, but I expected a few long months of skipping meals until my stomach decided to cooperate with me.
I wanted Emerick’s waffles and bacon, but I settled with sipping at Wagyu blood and watching him eat what I longed to have.
“According to your expression, you want to steal my food, but you have learned what happens if you steal my food when you’re not hungry.” Emerick broke off a small piece of bacon and offered it to me. “Just a taste, and if you end up needing to throw up, try to make it to the inferior bathroom first.”
Cleaning up the marble bathroom took a great deal less time and effort, and appreciating he understood the problem, I nibbled on the piece of bacon. While my stomach grumbled a complaint, it behaved itself. “I wish this part of things would end sooner than later.”
“You’re due for your next feeding tomorrow, if our predictions are correct. I also have a list of things we can try if you’re game to see if we can readapt your stomach to regular food again. It involves the glowing kettle I received in the mail last night.”
“You ordered a kettle?”
“I did not just order a kettle. I ordered the twin to Kennwick’s kettle, so you might be able to enjoy glowing adventures into the realm of hot cocoa at your leisure.”
I laughed, as Emerick had all but admitted he’d either stalked the other brood master or had asked for the specific model so I could have one, too. “How is Kennwick doing?”
“He is well. Once we get to work today, I expect he will call me with an update regarding what his brood has learned regarding your father’s operations.”
I scowled. We had sent my father a hefty stack of paperwork to review, which revealed how much we had learned about his operations solely from public records. Emerick wanted to make it appear as though I had not disclosed any of my father’s secrets—or that even if I had, I had not revealed anything other than what the law forced him to expose to the public.
I expected it would be a few more weeks before we received a response by courier, assuming he replied at all. With a tentative alliance on the table, I held some hope he would see reason.
As I refused to allow my father to ruin my second life, I lifted my chin and asked, “Do you think they found anything?”
“I think your father made a critical mistake. If Kennwick’s brood hasn’t found anything, his allies will have. We’ll have something to work with tonight. What? That I can’t tell you. But there’s something related I’d like you to start working on.”
Finally. I needed work, and the transition had mostly involved me becoming familiar with Emerick’s general operations and evaluating to figure out where I’d best fit. My rise to Emerick’s wife complicated the situation, too.
If Emerick needed to step away for any reason, I needed to be ready to take over until his return—if he returned.
If something happened to him, I would become the heart of the Lowrance brood. I needed more time to think about the ramifications of marriage to him, but I would make the most of the situation. I would do my best.
I always did my best, even when I failed.
“What do you need me to do?”
“I’d like you to reevaluate your father’s position considering the new information we’re getting. There’s also the issue of the victims of failed raising attempts. I want you to see if there might be a link to your father’s operations.”
Considering my mother’s situation, and the possibility I had been experimented on since I’d been five, I expected to uncover a shitstorm. Perspective mattered, and when I viewed a problem under a new light, I always found something new to pursue. “I can do that.”
Emerick sighed and pushed a piece of waffle across his plate. “That leads me to the next issue, and I do not like it.”
Anything that threatened Emerick’s ability to keep any of his brood safe tripped his trigger. I’d only needed a few nights with him to learn that lesson. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing, except the vampires behind these failed attempts to raise women have gotten blatant about it. The bodies were in poor shape.”
“In poor shape as in mutilated?”
“They were mutilated, among other things.”
Thanks to how Emerick raised his vampires and handled his brood, every vampire in the Lowrance brood loathed abuse, and nothing stirred their ire faster than rape. “Raped?”
“It is probable. One was two months pregnant, and her body showed signs of long-term stress.”
If I rolled with the worst-case scenario, we dealt with a serial killer, one who held hostages and got rid of the victims when they no longer served a purpose. “I don’t know if I can be silent about this situation, Emerick.”
