Deathtrap (Crossbreed Series Book 3)(8)
Blue silently entered the room in a long red dress that looked like something out of medieval times. Her daytime attire consisted of tall boots, dark pants, and a tight shirt. In the wee hours of the morning, I occasionally caught her roaming the halls, her gown or cloak swishing against the cold floors. Blue remained an enigmatic figure in the house. On one hand, the face she showed the world was fierce. Yet within the privacy of these walls, a feminine side existed.
“You’re not eating?” she asked. “We saved enough in case you came home hungry.”
I waved my hand. “If you want some, it’s all yours. I don’t have an appetite.”
She opened the box and took out a slice. “I don’t think we’ve ever ordered pizza before. Viktor almost had a heart attack when the delivery man buzzed at the front gate.”
I snickered. “I tipped him online, so I hope you guys didn’t go out of your way.”
She took a seat across from me and folded a slice of pizza in half. “Christian answered the door, so I don’t know what he did.”
“Probably said a lot of fecks.”
Her eyes danced with amusement. “I think he was curious like we all were what you were going to cook.”
I touched some of the hot wax dripping down the side of the candle. “I wasn’t hungry after we found the body, and I really didn’t feel like cooking.”
She took a large bite and picked up a fallen pepper. “I thought you’d be famished.”
I gave her a cold stare even though I knew she was kidding.
“Don’t be ridiculous,” she said. “Claude filled us in on the gory details. No one expected you to cook after that.”
“Is the woman going to be our next case?”
Blue wiped her mouth, her sapphire-colored eyes focused on the pizza. “It’s up to Viktor. A lot of murders happen in the Breed district; it wouldn’t be the first time we’ve happened upon a crime scene. But we still have to get paid, so that means someone would have to hire us to solve the murder.” She glanced over her shoulder at the door across from us that led down to the training room. “Shepherd was upset when he heard about it.”
“Shepherd?”
She ate the pizza up to the crust and left it on the table. “After Claude described the grisly scene, Shepherd got up and left the room.”
“Was Claude talking about it over dinner? No wonder.”
She stroked her bottom lip. “Shepherd has an iron stomach. I once saw him eat a taco while some guy told a story about how he removed a twenty-foot tapeworm from his bowels. Gem I’d expect to leave the table, but not Shepherd.”
“Maybe he had to do some more pull-ups.”
Blue smiled, her cheeks glowing.
I noticed the holes in her earlobes where her feather earrings usually hung. “Don’t those close up when you shift?”
“Sometimes. I could make it permanent with liquid fire, but I just pierce them again. It’s no big deal.”
“Can I ask you a question?”
She sat back. “Sure. But I can’t guarantee you’ll get an answer.”
“Remember the masquerade ball? When you went with Christian to buy a wig, did you see him buying anything else?”
“Like what?”
“Jewelry or something.”
Her eyes skated up. “No. He pretty much stayed in the chair and watched me try them all on. He picked out the hideous ones first so he could get a good laugh. That much I remember.”
“So the guy didn’t try to sell him anything else?”
“We spent about an hour picking out my wig and then loaded the costumes into the van. That was it.”
I leaned back, my arms still on the table as I stared at the candle. I didn’t have the best memory in the world, but I was pretty sure Christian had told me that the seller was pushing his trinkets to get him to buy something else. If that was true, wouldn’t he have also bought Blue a necklace? She’d ended up wearing something Gem had lent her for the evening. Why would he lie?
I refused to believe that Chaos’s statement was true, so there had to be a logical explanation.
“Is this about the necklace I’ve seen you wearing?” She stared at my black shirt, which concealed the stone beneath.
“I thought he mentioned buying it from that dealer, so I was going to see if he had anything else I might like. My memory isn’t what it used to be,” I said, hoping to throw off any suspicion.
Blue seemed satisfied with my answer and stood up, wagging the leftover pizza crust at me. “Viktor doesn’t like it when you skip meals.”
“I’m half Vampire, so I’m only half hungry. I’ll have a big breakfast in the morning if it makes everyone happy.”
Her brows arched with subtle amusement. “Then you better be sure to cook something you like.”
I smacked my forehead. “Don’t we have any cereal?”
“Good night, Raven.”
After Blue left the room, I glanced at the closed door that led to the training room downstairs. It was close to the exit, and I guessed that it must have once been a basement used to store food or wine. As I stood up and approached, I heard the faint sound of grunting. Either Christian had snuck in a hot date, or Shepherd was down there doing reps. I paused near the door, my ear pressed against the wood. Shepherd didn’t like anyone disturbing him when he worked out, so there was no point in bothering him so late. If the man wanted to lift weights in the middle of the night, it was no business of mine, so I left the candle burning on the table for when he finally came out.
The mansion came alive at night with shadows and light reflecting on the windows. But imagined fears paled in comparison to sleeping in abandoned buildings and alleyways. Monsters under the bed didn’t frighten me. The true terrors were the faces of seemingly normal men who walked the streets, concealing the darkness within them. That was why I used to hunt them down. It made more sense to get the monsters before they got me.
Once I reached the third floor, I paused before a row of windows overlooking the courtyard. Gem was floating in the heated pool, green and blue lights rippling through the still water beneath and around her. She had on a long dress or nightgown and looked so serene lying there. It must have been her form of meditation, the same way that Niko would sit for long spells down in the gym.
“Did you have a good time?”
I pivoted around on one heel, a dagger in hand.
With one finger, Christian gently moved my arm away. “Your reflexes are quick, but you don’t have to arm yourself around here. This is your home.”
I blew out a breath and tucked the push dagger back in my belt holster. “Force of habit. I don’t like people sneaking up on me. You need to curb all that shadow walking. Women don’t like to be snuck up on.”
He stood next to me and peered down at Gem through the latticed window. “She’s a peculiar lass.”
“We’re all nuts here. Shepherd’s downstairs battling it out with kettlebells.”
“And I suppose you’re on your way to walk on the roof?”
I strode over to a chair on the opposite wall and took a seat. “I don’t know.”
Christian leaned against the wall across from me, hands in his pockets. “Still thinking about the murder?”
What I really wanted to ask him about was the case of the mysterious necklace, but the longer he stared at me, the more wary I became. Was I ready to open up a can of worms, especially if Mr. Chaos had only been bluffing? Christian would love nothing more than to think that I believed he’d given me a multimillion-dollar necklace. That was the discord Chaos was trying to create, so I kept my mouth closed.
“Vampires can’t read minds,” he said absently.
“Someone murdered her and stole her baby. I get why they’re doing it, I just don’t understand it.” I rubbed my temple. “This is a sick world. And I don’t mean generally speaking. I mean our world.”
“Don’t give humans so much credit. They’re fairly adept at wiping out entire populations and building weapons of mass destruction. Why do you think we’re still in hiding?”
“I hope someone hires Viktor for this case. I’d love to catch the people behind it and give them a taste of their own medicine. Has anyone looked at the latest black market listings?”
“Wyatt’s monitoring the site. It shouldn’t be long before we see the auction go up. Marketeers don’t like babysitting.”
“If he sold the baby direct, we’ll never catch him.”
Christian pushed off the wall and clasped his hands behind his back. “Most immortals have trust issues and won’t deal with anyone directly. If you’re going to hire someone to do your dirty work, then you have to kill them when they finish the task. Loose ends are a nasty thing, so most prefer the anonymity of the black market.”
“Men with money surround themselves with lackeys who do their dirty work.”
“And that’s their flaw. Men can’t keep secrets, and money will always win over loyalty.”
“That baby better show up on the black market.”
“And if he doesn’t?”
“Plan B.”
“Plan B. Is that a pregnancy test? Your bra size?”
I crossed my legs at the ankles. “Not everyone knows who we are and what we do. Let’s go to a few bars and ask around—pretend we’re a couple in search of a child.”