“I’m Enforcer Maxwell. Cain said you work this area and might stop by,” he said.
“What happened?” I asked.
“Gang war. We’re on patrol until morning to make sure they don’t return,” he said.
I didn’t recognize the guys standing around, but that didn’t mean much. I avoided most of the other enforcers and mostly stuck to myself. There were about three people I trusted and even Cain wasn’t one of them.
“Thanks,” I said. “I’ll go check on some other things tonight. Keep up the good work.”
He nodded, then walked back to his place in front of the building. It was pretty obvious they were blocking it off.
I was suspicious but I didn’t want to let on. It was possible it was a coincidence, but I doubted it. I needed to get into that building and see if Skylar was inside but I couldn’t while Cain’s enforcers were here. I suspected she was looking for the stone and I wasn’t sure how far she’d go. As long as Skylar could stay out of sight, I was hoping Cain would lose interest. I’d seen her do it before.
In fact, it was how we’d gotten close in the first place. When I arrived, she’d worked round the clock to help me hunt the Knights. She was nearly as obsessed at finding them as I was. We got close, though there was nothing emotional between us. With Cain, it was always just sex. I saw that so much more clearly now that I had Skylar.
Eventually, her interest waned and she moved on to other things, leaving me on my own to pursue the Knights. Which was fine with me. I worked better alone.
I gave one last quick look around. There wasn’t a possible entry to the building without drawing attention.
Our safe house had been compromised. If that was the case, Skylar wasn’t likely inside. I was pretty confident I’d know if she was injured, but our bond wasn’t strong enough yet for me to trace her.
I knew we’d develop that, but we weren’t there yet. I pulled my cell phone out and scrolled through the numbers. Why the hell had I never put her number in? What was wrong with me?
My phone vibrated and the screen lit up. I squeezed it and growled at the name on the screen.Cain.
“What?” I demanded.
“Nice to talk to you too,” she said.
“What could you possibly have to say after this morning?” I asked.
“That’s no way to talk to someone who has news about your sister,” she said.
I stopped walking. “What are you talking about? The Knights?”
“No,” she said. “We’ve got video that makes me wonder if your sister is alive.”
The words echoed in my head as if they were coming from somewhere far away. That wasn’t possible. My sister was dead. The Knights took credit for her death, claimed she was one of their victims. They sent a letter to my father reveling in it.
But we never saw a body.
A jolt of adrenaline shot through me. Was it possible? If Clara was alive, if there was any chance, I had to know. “Where are you?”
“I kept this off the record,” she said.
“Your place?” It had been a while, but I was intimately familiar with her home. And her.
I didn’t intend to revisit that part of our arrangement but I wasn’t worried about that right now.
I glanced back at the safe house. Skylar should be with Xander and he should be keeping her safe. I’d have to figure out a way to find them soon but I had to take this detour. If I missed out on a clue like this, I might never get another chance.
Cain lived in a swanky apartment in the stadium district downtown. Her balcony overlooked the baseball stadium. You could see right into the park and watch the games but she didn’t like sports. She told me she’d bought the place because the constant hum of human energy fed her almost as much as blood.
Being of royal blood, Cain wasn’t a typical vampire. She could go out in daylight and she needed only occasional blood to survive. In a way, we were a lot alike. Most incubi needed regular sex acts, my royal blood allowed me to go a lot longer between feeding.
Cain opened the door before I knocked and I entered without preamble. This was business.
“Glad to see you remember where to find me,” she teased.