He just stared at me, waiting.
“Besides being out of your mind looking for Pandora, why did you want to kill Halston?”
His chilly facade disappeared and raw hatred laced his voice when he said, “Because that power-hungry bitch doesn’t care about anything or anyone other than herself.”
“I’m not sure that’s true,” I hedged. “She told me I had use of all the Void’s resources to find Willow.”
A hollow laugh escaped his lips. “Only because she’s of value to the Void. If you really want to know why I threatened her, ask her sometime. Now let me out of here so we can get to work.”
“On two conditions,” I said. “One, don’t ever touch Dax again.”
Allcot’s lips curved into a knowing smile. “You’ve got it bad for that one, don’t you?”
I ignored his observation, even though it was true, and added, “You can’t bail if we find Pandora first.”
“I won’t stop until we find the fae. You have my word on that.”
“And Dax?”
That sordid smile was back, making me want to smack it off his youthful face. God, he was such a creeper. “Sure, Kilsen. Your shifter is safe from the big bad wolf.”
I rolled my eyes, but I reached for the key tucked in my front pocket. Halston was going to blow a gasket when she learned about our deal. But I’d known I was going to work with Allcot before I’d ever stepped into the room. I was already convinced he had nothing to do with Willow and Tal’s abduction. And Allcot had resources no other organization had. Plus roughly a half dozen of his vampires were loyal to Willow thanks to her ability to turn them into daywalkers.
The cell door swung open and Allcot strode out. Without saying a word, he flew up the stairs, leaving Link and me in the dust. I glanced down at the shih tzu. “This should be interesting.”
Link let out a sharp bark and took off after the vampire, his short legs working overtime to get him up the stairs. I ran after them, relieved to finally start the hunt.
11
The moment I stepped outside the Void building, my phone buzzed and Link bounded up to me still in his shih tzu form. The text was from Dax. Where are you?
I typed back, Just leaving the Void building. You?
On my way back into the city. I should be there in twenty minutes. Meet me at the safe house? We need to talk.
That didn’t sound good. Any news on Willow?
Not yet. This is about the pack.
I sighed, disappointed, but knew whatever it was, it’d be important. Dax was all business when he was on a case. Besides, I needed to fill him in on my new arrangement with Allcot as well. I glanced up, finding the vampire leaning against his black BMW. He had dark sunglasses hiding his eyes, but I could still see his right eyebrow arch in question. “I need to meet with Marrok before we take off.”
“Do what you have to do, Kilsen. I’m headed out to find Pandora.” He opened his car door and started to slide in.
“Wait!” I ran around to the driver’s side and grabbed the door handle, stopping him from pulling it shut. “Where are you going? I’ll meet you there in forty-five minutes.”
He pulled his glasses off, staring up at me, his eyes cold and emotionless. For a moment, I was certain he was going to call the arrangement off, but then he gave me a short nod. “Meet me at my compound. But if you’re not there in one hour, I’m leaving without you.”
“Okay. I’ll—”
His hand shot out, knocking me back. The car door slammed shut, and Allcot took off, the wheels squealing in his haste.
“Rude ass,” I mumbled as Link trotted over to me, nudging me with his nose. “I’m okay, buddy.”
Another text had come in while I’d been negotiating with Allcot. This one was from the director. Four words. What have you done?
I ignored Halston’s message and sent a reply back to Dax. I’m on my way.
* * *
The only safe house of mine that Dax Marrok knew about was just a couple of blocks from the Void building. It was in the heart of the Irish Channel, a neighborhood that at one time had been a little on the rough side and home to far too many criminal syndicates. As a result, when I’d purchased the safe house, it had been just another decaying property among many others on the street and a perfect hideout from anyone looking for me.
But these days the neighborhood was revitalizing and the house that appeared to be falling down was becoming more of a liability than an asset. And that was the only reason I’d shared the location with Marrok. Inside, it was equipped with state-of-the-art security, high-tech computers, an office, and a comfortable bed to sleep in if I felt for some reason I couldn’t go home.
Today I was grateful for the office space as I studied the research files Razor had helped me find while I waited for Dax to arrive. Link was snoozing in the corner while I hunched over my desk, staring at the information collected about Asier. The highly secretive group that worshipped the event remained completely underground. They only surfaced every four years in early spring as they prepared for their ritual, which was to be held during the full moon of the fourth month. I glanced at the calendar and noted the full moon was only two days away.
Two days.
My heart sped up as a rush of adrenaline shot through my veins. The urge to arm myself with every spell and weapon I possessed and then charge out of the house on a rampage overwhelmed me. The last thing I wanted to be doing was sitting in a house, combing through research, but I sucked in a breath and forced myself to calm down. Aimlessly searching the city wasn’t going to help anyone. I needed some idea of where Allcot and I should be looking.
I turned the sheet over and scanned a short paragraph indicating a tracker had infiltrated their ranks eight years ago on April twenty-fifth, but there wasn’t any word on if he’d successfully thwarted their ritual plans. My eyes widened in shock when I recognized the code name.
BL4Z3R
“Blazer?” I said aloud, my voice cracking. The code name was the one my brother Seth had used for years during our hacker days and had insisted upon using for all his sensitive cases while working for the Void. There was no question that the report was referring to him. I was absolutely sure of it. I quickly read through the rest of the document, looking for any further references to BL4Z3R.
Nothing.
“Dammit.” With my heart racing, I rummaged through my desk drawer and pulled out the old journal I’d tucked away long ago. It was leather bound and had a single flame carved on the cover. I ran my fingers over the flame, letting myself remember his laughing eyes and goofy smile for just a moment. Then I flipped the notebook open and turned to the month of April in the old calendar tucked inside.
The date of April twenty-first was circled, indicating it was the last day anyone had heard from my brother, a full seven days before the full moon eight years ago.
Anger and outrage seized me. How could I have not known Seth was working on a case involving a cult that practiced sacrificial rituals? I’d been told he’d messed up a routine tracking case and had just disappeared after a prominent New Orleans official was killed by a notorious vampire. There was even paperwork about the incident in his official file along with a letter condemning Seth’s actions. If he hadn’t disappeared, he’d have been disciplined, possibly even forced to leave the Void. He’d essentially been labeled a fuckup.
I flipped the pages in my notebook until I got to the folded piece of paper I’d received as official correspondence from the Void. Seth Kilsen had last been heard from on April twenty-first. Not the twenty-fifth, the day indicated on the Asier research.