"Where's Beth?" Butch demanded.
"She's safe. And healthy."
"No thanks to you."
"Thanks only to me."
"Then you've got some weird-ass ways of defining those words. I want to see her for myself."
"Later. And only if she wants to see you."
Butch's anger flared, and the bastard seemed to sense the surge in his body.
"Watch it, cop. You're in my world now."
Yeah, fuck you, buddy.
Butch was about to open his mouth when he felt something grab onto his arm. He looked down. Fear was shining in Marissa's eyes.
"Butch, please," she whispered. "Don't."
The suspect nodded.
"You be polite, and you stay with her," the man said, voice softening as he looked at Marissa. "She's happy to have your company, and she deserves a good shot of happy. We'll see about Beth. Later."
Mr. X took Billy back to the Riddle estate after they'd driven around the city for hours, talking.
Billy's past was perfect, and not just because of the violence he'd perpetrated on others. His father was just the kind of male role model Mr. X liked to see. A total, raving lunatic with a God complex. The man was a former NFL player, big, aggressive and competitive, and he'd ridden Billy since birth.
Nothing the son ever did was good enough. Mr. X's personal favorite was the story of Billy's mother's death. The woman had fallen into the pool after drinking too much one afternoon, and Billy had found her floating facedown. He'd pulled her out of the water and attempted CPR before calling 911. At the hospital, as the toe-tagged body had been wheeled to the morgue, the distinguished senator from the great state of New York had suggested his son had killed her. Evidently, Billy should have known to get an ambulance on the scene first rather making a half-assed attempt to play paramedic himself.
Mr. X didn't question the merits of matricide. It was just that in Billy's case, the kid had been trained as a lifeguard and had actually tried to save the woman.
"I hate this house," Riddle muttered, staring up at the beautifully lit bricks and columns and shutters.
"Too bad you're on all those waiting lists. College would have gotten you out."
"Yeah, well, I might have gotten in to one or two. If he hadn't forced me to apply to only Ivies."
"So what are you going to do?"
Billy shrugged. "He wants me to move out. Get a job. It's just… I don't know where I can go."
"Tell me something, Billy, you got a girlfriend?"
He smiled, a little half pull at the corners of his lips. "I got a couple."
Yes, Mr. X could imagine the guy did, handsome as he was. "Someone special?"
Billy's eyes slid over. "They're good for getting off. But they're all over me. Calling and shit, wanting to know where I am, what I'm doing. They want too much, and I, ah…"
"You what?"
Billy's eyes narrowed.
"Go on, son. There's isn't anything you can't tell me."
"I, ah, I like them better when they're hard to get…" He cleared his throat. "Actually, I like it when they're trying to get away."
"You like to catch them?"
I like to take them. You know what I mean?" Mr. X nodded, thinking that was one more vote in Riddle's favor. No ties to family. No ties to a girlfriend. And his sexual dysfunction would be taken care of during the induction ceremony.
Riddle grabbed for the -door handle. "Anyway, thanks, sen-sei. This was really great."
"Billy."
Riddle paused, glancing back expectantly. "Yes, sensei?"
"What if you came to work for me?" Riddle's eyes flared. "You mean at the academy?"
"Sort of. Let me tell you a little about what you would be doing and then you can think it over."
Chapter Thirty-seven
Beth rolled over, looking for Wrath, and then remembered that he'd gone upstairs.
She sat up, bracing herself in case the pain came back. When nothing hurt, she got to her feet. She was naked, and she looked down at her body. Everything seemed the same. She did a little jig. Seemed to work okay, too.
Except she couldn't see very well.
She went into the bathroom. Removed her contacts. And saw perfectly.
Well, there's one benefit.
Whoa. Fangs. She had fangs.
She leaned in, prodded them a little. Eating with those puppies was going to take some getting used to, she thought.
On impulse, she brought up her hands, turned her fingers into claws. Hissed.
Cool.
Halloween was going to be a real kick in the pants from now on.
She brushed out her hair, pulled on Wrath's robe, and headed for the stairs. When she got to the top, she wasn't breathless at all.
And wasn't this going to make her workouts a snap?
As she stepped out of the painting, she saw Butch sitting across the sofa from a stunning blonde. In the distance, she heard male voices and heavy music.