Page 28 of Bent Out of Shade
Thanks, Sades. I was only mildly annoyed before but now I was concerned. Sadie’s close friends consisted of her cousin and kids she’d known since elementary school, Caleb being the most recent addition to the group. Sadie’s description of her new friends painted them as a good bunch, but this was twice in two days that they were hanging out.
I padded into the kitchen. Was I overreacting and this was natural given the newness of her powers? Should I call Romi and ask her about Tovah’s friends?
To take my mind off things, I started preparing dinner. The radio broadcast the day’s news including a police press conference announcing that the gang murders were targeted and the general public need not be concerned.
I hadn’t paid a lot of attention when I’d first heard the story, but this time I listened to the details more avidly because two of the three deceased were members of the Hastings Mill gang, whose leader, Paxton Craig, Sabrina had put away. The group had taken their name from a long defunct sawmill, the area around which became Vancouver.
Metro Vancouver had a history of gang warfare. Targeted hits were, sadly, not uncommon, and they often resulted in innocent people getting caught in the crossfire. I was shaking excess water out of the salad spinner when Vincenzo phoned back.
“Hi.” I tore clean lettuce into a bowl, sorting through my next words.
“Did you find her?” His rushed words had a pained edge.
Putting the cell on speakerphone, I set it on the counter. “We’ve had a series of gangland murders here, including members of the Hastings Mill gang. I’m worried that Sabrina may have gone into hiding for her own protection.”
“I was her protection.” His anger punched into me.
My hands closed on empty air; I’d shredded the romaine into coleslaw-sized strips. “So long as there’s even a sliver of hope, I’ll find her, but…you need to prepare yourself.”
He gave this half sigh, half moan that was heartbreaking—and coming from such a powerful being, incredibly unsettling. “Just bring her back. Even if she’s…” He cleared his throat. “You’ll still get paid.”
He was silent for a moment, and I sensed he was about to hang up, but I didn’t want it to end on this note.
I found a Ziploc for the extra lettuce and swapped the bag for a cucumber in the fridge. “I was a law librarian for a long time and my old firm wanted to hire Sabrina. I remember when she came for her interview.” I leaned in toward the phone as if I could physically keep him on the line with me.
“You do?”
I smiled. “Yes. A lot of the candidates were pretty cocky, but Sabrina had this quiet confidence to her. When they toured her around the firm and to my library, I felt like she was assessing us not in terms of status or pay but how much good we could help her do.”
He chuckled softly. “That’s Bree.”
Sabrina was a remarkable lawyer, but she had to be a fascinating woman for that warrior of justice to capture the attention of a vampire. I looked forward to meeting her properly.
“I’ll get you closure,” I said softly. “Hopefully with your fiancée alive and well, and if not, then those responsible. Anything I learn, you’ll be the first to know.”
“I appreciate that.”
A weight lifted off my chest at this turn in our professional relationship. “The Vancouver Police Department is interested in these killings, which may work in our favor.”
“Have you spoken to them about it?” So much for our bonding. Suspicious vamp was back.
“You know I haven’t.” You blood-oath-forcing bastard, what are you hiding?
“Good.” He hung up.
There was only one way to get answers: I was going to have to play spy in gang territory, and for that I needed Eli’s help. Except I couldn’t discuss the case with him. Unless… I absently rubbed my wrist. Vincenzo had forced this bond on me, but I’d worked in a law firm for years. I’d obey the letter of the law, the exact wording of the oath to discuss it only with my team.
Cassin & Associates was about to expand by one. Take that, Vincenzo.
