Page 44 of Bent Out of Shade
“True. Well, one had magic, but none had known ties to BatKian’s crew, and none were vamps themselves. The only common denominator between the vics was their rap sheets.” He wiped his mouth with a paper napkin and carried our plates to the counter. “Ryann is hell-bent on finding the rogue.”
“She’s not letting Zev deal with it?” That was unprecedented.
“No way.” He dumped his toast crusts in the small compost bin next to the sink. “This vamp is out of control and Ryann wants them brought in by her people. She doesn’t trust BatKian to hand them over, especially since he’s been turning more Sapiens than usual.”
My eyebrows shot up. Was Zev replacing vamps he’d lost to the contagion? It explained the new trainees and why he was bringing more to the dark side. What about the tired-looking vampire and Rodrigo saying there were three left? Three victims of the disease? I shook my head. Kian’s blood cured them, so it must have meant something else. Oh well, that wasn’t my problem.
Zev wouldn’t use Sadie to null Ryann’s magic for getting in the way of his plans, would he? No, that would be suicide. He’d never get away with it. I wrapped my cardigan tighter around myself, unable to thaw the icy core inside me.
My thoughts of new vampires triggered a disturbing notion and I frowned. “What if these murders are a power grab, but not between gangs?”
“Meaning?” Eli grimaced at a glob of butter on his hand and rinsed it off.
“Vamps in these parts don’t need to go on murderous rampages. They’re very well taken care of in Blood Alley.”
“Psychopaths are psychopaths,” Eli said, drying his hands. “Human or vamp.”
“Then why contain the violence to gang members? Those humans carry guns, which can still do a lot of damage to the undead. There’s way easier prey for the vamps to slaughter for kicks.”
“You think some vamp is looking to start their own crew?”
I shrugged. “Why not? If I was a vamp looking to take Zev on, I’d want criminals on my team.”
“They’re doing a piss-poor job of it, eliminating some of the best candidates.” Eli frowned. “Unless they’re taking out the ones that would be hardest to manage.”
“Could be,” I said.
“Fuuuuck.” Eli rubbed his hand over his stubble. “Taking on Zev? Thanks for that totally unwanted angle to pursue.” He headed to the front door. “I better give both Espositos the heads-up.”
“Wait. Where’s the Hastings Mill gang’s HQuuuuueeeee—” I bent over gasping, holding my wrist.
Eli dropped his plate in the sink with a clatter. “Did you hurt yourself?”
“Sprained it the other day,” I said through gritted teeth.
“You want a tensor bandage?” Off my head shake, he shrugged. “I have no idea where they’ve set up shop now.”
I called bullshit, but the direct approach was out. Stupid oath.
“By the way,” I said, “Juliette heard from Daw’s healer in Bangkok. She’s healing, slowly but surely.” The pain dialed down to a mild throb, as if the magic was waiting to pass judgment depending on what I said next.
“That’s great.” Eli narrowed his eyes.
“Some nights, I lie awake reliving that game and what would have happened if we hadn’t saved the players in time.”
His suspicious expression softened. “Me too.”
“I’d like to think that even with all the details, I’d still have gone after them.” The ache in my wrist had disappeared, but I continued to rub it. “Though it would have been good to poke around and eavesdrop on the Consortium beforehand.”
Eli took my wrist, carefully turning it over in examination. Looking puzzled, he glanced from it to my eyes and sighed. “Yup. Magic really complicates things.”
I shot him a grateful smile.
“But I’d only have agreed to checking the Consortium out beforehand if we’d done it as team,” he said, “like we handled the rest of it.”
“Totally.” I’d never actually been alone dealing with the Consortium, even when I destroyed their game space, because my animated shadow had accompanied me.
He shot me a level stare. “Delilah doesn’t count.”
