Page 42 of Bent Out of Shade
11
I allowedEli to live in blissful ignorance until breakfast the next morning. Our family gathered in my kitchen, and Sadie confessed to her misadventures as well as the deal she’d struck with Zev.
Her dad didn’t interrupt or comment, he merely sat there with his unreadable Detective Chu face on. Sadie inheriting her Ohrist magic through Eli’s bloodline had been a huge shock. He’d asked his mother about it, but she thought he was kidding, which meant that gene had come from his father. His dad had died a few years ago, and he wasn’t close enough to any family on that side to ask.
Eli hadn’t said much beyond that, but I knew him well enough to know that he felt betrayed to never have known about magic or his genetic legacy before circumstances had sprung it on him.
I was making a second Moka pot of espresso even though we still had some left, because Eli’s continued silence was unbearable, and I wasn’t even the one in trouble. Also, I hadn’t slept well, my lower back was killing me, and the over-the-counter pain meds I’d taken weren’t cutting it.
Emmett called midway through Sadie’s retelling and I excused myself.
“What’s up?” I stepped into the hallway.
“Bad news, toots. Our client is on the warpath.”
“Come again?” I said in a squeaky voice.
Tatiana said something in the background and Emmett grunted. “Not against you. Apparently I should have led with that.”
I sagged against the wall. “You think? What’s happening?” Geez. I really needed to dust my baseboards.
“Some of his business colleagues are being offed. Ohrists mostly, a few vamps. Okay, technically, they’re having accidents. It’s happening in different places around the world.”
“If accidents are happening globally, how do you know Vincenzo is behind them?”
“One of his seconds was killed a couple of weeks ago. It was played off as a fight with another vamp, but Tatiana knows a crooked guy at customs. He verified that one of the Ohrist names on our list arrived in Vegas just before the second bit it.”
I paced the hallway. “If BatXoha retaliates with force, word would get out that he’s being targeted.”
“Seems so,” Emmett agreed. “He’s being sneaky about his revenge.”
Were we back to Sabrina being kidnapped to get at Vincenzo? It didn’t feel right in light of the gangland murders, but that would account for the blood oath bullshit. Nope, no feeling sorry for the vampire.
“I’m still going to follow up the gang angle,” I said. “Meantime, see if Tatiana has anyone in Vancouver who can check for unwanted visitors. Ohrists can fly on regular airlines, but vamps tend to charter, right?”
“I think so. We’re on it. Talk to you later.”
As I returned to the kitchen, Sadie dropped her napkin on the table. “Say something,” she pleaded.
“I don’t want you seeing those kids again.” Eli pointed at the Moka pot he’d taken off the burner and I nodded in thanks.
“It wasn’t their fault. It was all my idea.”
That much was true. I’d verified it with Romi this morning, learning that Tovah was freaked out by the entire experience.
“It’s a nonstarter.” I paused. “Tovah isn’t allowed to see you anymore.”
Sadie’s face fell. “Oh,” she said in a small voice.
She looked so young and vulnerable that it hit me square in the chest. I opened my mouth, but Eli shook his head at me.
“Go get ready for school, Sades,” he said gently, and she shuffled off.
A text came through from Vincenzo. Have you found her yet?
Would I suffer an accident like his other cronies if I didn’t find Sabrina fast enough? Nah, the blood oath would exsanguinate me first. Still, he’d taken my free will in this matter, and I was working as fast as I could.
Will have concrete update later.
