Betrayed in Blood (Of Blood & Dreams #6)

Chapter 18

Chapter Eighteen

Devon climbed the stairs to the second floor with Sergi close behind. Lyra’s message had been cryptic.

“We have trouble.”

His concern had increased when he noted Lyra had used Cressa’s phone rather than her own. Had that meant Cressa was in trouble, or the women were talking and discovered a problem?

They’d just reached the landing when Letty rushed down the hall from the direction of Cressa’s room, holding a tray of empty platters and dishes. She stopped short when she saw Devon.

“Oh, sorry, sir. I wasn’t watching where I was going.”

“That’s alright, Letty. We were moving rather fast.” His brow lifted when he confirmed there wasn’t a drop of food remaining on the tray. “Are they still in Cressa’s room?” His initial worry drained away at the evidence of a happy hour in full swing.

She rolled her eyes while grinning. “Yes. I just brought them another tray, though they tried to convince me it was for you.” She moved past them then stopped. “I believe they started a second pitcher of margaritas.” She didn’t get far when Devon called out, “Bring a carafe of coffee, please.”

“Yes, sir.” She had a grin on her face before she turned to scurry down the stairs.

Devon glanced at Sergi, who only shook his head with a look of irritation. Did this mean the women drank too much and had created a problem where there wasn’t one? One pitcher of margaritas between three females, and one of them a vampire, shouldn’t create a false crisis. Lyra wouldn’t have been intoxicated, yet whatever was going on, she felt it was worth involving him.

When they reached Cressa’s door, the laughter inside was boisterous.

“Are you positive they’re not drunk?” Sergi asked. “Maybe this is their third or fourth pitcher.”

“I was before, but now I’m not so sure.” He grinned at Sergi. “Maybe you should go first.”

Sergi grunted. “A House leader standing behind his cadre? Not very commanding. You’ve ridden into battles facing hundreds of enemies. Are you scared of three females?”

“As a House leader who’s not at war with the females inside, I could quite easily assign this task to you.”

Sergi growled, but he paled, and that was good enough.

“Alright then. Strength in numbers.” He knocked on the door.

This time, Sergi snickered. “Then perhaps we should have brought Lucas and a couple from the security detail.”

Devon forced his expression to go blank as he entered the room. The women hadn’t responded but were too loud to have heard the knock. When he entered, all three went silent in what had obviously been a full-blown discussion, though he doubted it had been a serious one.

“Brother,” Lyra called. “You must save me from these women. They’re making me drink most of this pitcher by myself.” She giggled. “I think Ginger made this one even stronger than the last.”

Was she drunk? He strode toward the group, giving Cressa and Ginger a quick glance, but they were busy trying to hold in their laughter. His sister’s eyes were clear, so not drunk, just pleasantly relaxed. Considering her mercurial emotions after Hamilton left, this seemed a positive direction.

“You mentioned trouble in your text. This doesn’t seem like trouble.” Devon placed his fists on his hips as he looked down on them.

“That’s because Lyra said to wait for you, so we moved on to other issues.” Ginger hiccupped, which created a new round of laughter from the women.

Sergi picked up a nearby pitcher of water and filled three empty glasses. “Drink up and eat. We don’t have time for your games.”

Devon had to give him credit. It was good advice, but he’d learned that giving orders to women when not on a mission didn’t typically work. And it proved to be the case this time.

In defiance, and only something Cressa would have the nerve to do in Sergi’s face, she pushed the glass of water aside and refilled their margarita glasses. Then she took a long swallow. Her gaze was a bit glassy, but she set the glass down without a pause and gave him and Sergi stern looks.

“We’re in our scheduled happy hour. It’s not my fault or theirs—” she waved an unsteady arm at Ginger and Lyra, “—that I got a strange text.” She searched the coffee table, then between the cushions on the couch, before finding her phone in her lap. “Oh, here it is.” She held out her phone. “Go ahead, read it.” She turned her focus on Sergi while Devon read the text.

“It says Rasmussen is in trouble and needs my help.” She leaned back, both arms outstretched on the back of the couch as if she didn’t have a care in the world.

Sergi took the phone to read the short text that matched Cressa’s words. His brows scrunched. “I’ll get Cressa a new phone for her contacts. We’ll keep this one to work from.”

Cressa sat up. “What does that mean?”

Devon answered the question. “It means your phone is compromised. We don’t know who sent this message, and while Sergi will try to get the information, it’s quite likely it was sent from a burner phone. But we might get lucky. Either way, your phone is no longer safe. No one should be able to track it, but it would best if you let your contacts know you have a new number.” Devon hated what he had to say next, but Cressa had to know it was for the best. “Everyone except your mother. If she contacts you, it needs to be on this phone. At least until we know what’s going on.”

“Does anyone know about Rasmussen other than your mother, Devon, or the cadre?” Sergi asked.

Cressa gave it a second before she shook her head. “No, we already considered that.”

Devon sat next to Cressa on the sofa while Sergi leaned against the fireplace mantel. “Sergi hasn’t had time to check on April, but this is now a high priority. Have you tried contacting your mother?”

Cressa shook her head. “I wanted to wait for your guidance on this. I really don’t know what could be happening.”

“Could it be another dreamwalker?” Ginger asked.

“How would they get her number?” Lyra asked.

“Let’s ask Colantha anyway,” Devon answered. “Perhaps she might have some insight into this.” Devon would have expected Colantha to have said something if she’d heard news of Rasmussen, but the woman wasn’t always forthcoming.

“Should she answer the message?” Ginger asked.

“It’s been a couple of hours since they sent it.” Sergi handed Cressa the phone then returned to lean on the mantel. “It’s not inconceivable that she might not have read the message yet.”

“Or they think she’s called in the troops like we’ve done,” Ginger responded.

Sergi shrugged. “If they know anything about Cressa, they should know she’d find this suspicious. Or perhaps it’s someone who believes she’d do something rash.”

“If it’s April, she might believe that.” Cressa nibbled on a strawberry tart. “We haven’t spoken since I first moved to the manor, and whenever the topic was Christopher, I did tend to react before thinking.” She gave Sergi a wink. “I’d like to think I’ve learned some patience.”

Sergi grunted but didn’t respond.

“We might as well see what they want,” Devon said. “We don’t have enough to go on. It won’t take Sergi long to see if he can trace the number. When can you have a detailed background on April completed?”

“I have the preliminary information from Cressa’s original background check and when April was seen at her apartment, but there’s not much there. I’ll dig deeper, but if I don’t discover anything interesting by the end of tomorrow, there’s nothing to find. At this point, any additional information can only help. I agree she should respond.” Sergi scratched his chin. “I find it interesting that Cressa recently reached out to her mother, was worried about the call, and a couple of days later received this message.”

Devon had found the timing curious as well. “Get an update from Bella on what’s happening at the house.”

Cressa leaned forward. “Is she monitoring Christopher’s house?”

He gave her a long look. She didn’t consider it her mother’s house. But Underwood’s murder wasn’t that long ago. “I put her on the detail as soon as you mentioned your concern.”

“Oh.” She glanced down at her hands then gave him and Sergi a nod. “Thank you for taking me seriously.”

He studied her. Her gaze was still glassy, but she’d put away her sass. “Go ahead and respond. Let’s see how quickly they answer.”

“Okay.” She stared at the phone. “I think the first message should be to ask who they are, right?”

Ginger nodded. “Absolutely. It’s what we all immediately wanted to know. It only makes sense.”

When Sergi nodded, Cressa spoke as she typed. “Who is this?”

It wasn’t more than thirty seconds when a ping came back.

“It says ‘a friend’.” She snorted. “That narrows it down.” She typed a response. “I need more than that.”

This time the return message took a full minute. Cressa read, “We’ll get back to you.”

“That’s interesting,” Sergi said.

“How so?” Cressa asked.

“For two reasons. They seem to be testing you or their plan. Perhaps they were expecting you to respond a different way. Their first response said they were a friend. Their next response was that we would get back to you. Emphasis on the we. There’s more than one person involved.”

Devon rubbed Cressa’s arm. “We’ve got it started. Now, I’m going to ask you to do something with your newfound patience.” He gave her a warm smile, and the defiant expression she’d been building up faded. She nodded. “Keep the phone. Sergi has what needs from it.” He glanced at Sergi, who nodded. “But you need to contact either me or Sergi the minute you get another text. No responding, regardless of the message, until we have a chance to see it and discuss options. Okay?”

She nodded. “Should I call my mother?”

“No. If this is April, she might become suspicious that you immediately reached out to her.”

“But this is about my father. Wouldn’t that be natural?”

“Perhaps. But your mother also said she would contact you. We have to make the assumption that she’s being heavily monitored.” When her face fell into disappointment, another thought occurred to him.

“When you first reached out to your mother a few months ago before Underwood was killed, you said she was strict about her appointments.”

She sat up. “Yes, her spa and her salon appointments. We could see if she’s still going to those.”

“That would be a start. What days were those?”

“Hair on Wednesdays, followed by lunch with her friends. The spa is on Thursdays.”

“Hair day is tomorrow.” Devon took a moment to consider their options. “There’s been enough time for mourning that she should be back to her normal activities. Bella and Jacques will know if anyone leaves the house, but they probably won’t know who’s in the vehicles. Either way, let’s see if Willa is getting out of the house. Sergi, I’d like you and a full security detail to take Cressa to see if Willa shows up for her appointments.”

He turned back to Cressa. “Absolutely no contact with your mother. This is critical. Surveillance only at this point.”

Cressa nodded vigorously. “I promise. I’ll play by the rules.”

“Alright.” Devon breathed out a sigh. While this was an added problem they didn’t need, at least Cressa was being agreeable. “Is there anything else?”

“Yeah,” Cressa said. “The two of you can leave. We have a happy hour to get back to.”

Devon returned to his office while Sergi made a quick stop in his to set up a trace on the phone number from the mysterious text. When he dropped into his office chair and turned to look out the window, he considered Cressa. He wasn’t sure how to read her responses. While she was intoxicated, she was still respectful and had thought things through, most likely with guidance from Ginger and Lyra.

Once she had time to come down from the adrenaline rush from the incident at the safe house and the alcohol was flushed from her system, how would she really feel about the text message? It wasn’t lost on him that they’d both been dancing around his untimely release of her debt. He’d played that all wrong. But it was done. Should he attempt to fix it or wait for Cressa to work through it?

He wasn’t sure there was anything more for him to say, and he needed to be patient. Give her time. If he pestered her, it wasn’t really giving her a choice, and she had to come to him with her heart. Maybe that was asking too much.

The slight rap broke his musing as Bella strode in with Jacques two steps behind her.

“I wasn’t expecting you. How did the clean-up go at the safe house?” Devon asked.

Bella dropped into a chair. Her hair stuck up in places, probably from running her hands through it. Her eyes were sallow. “I was surprised to hear Venizi sent one of his own security detail to stir things up. I know Levi has made friends with El Lobo, but having humans involved in our business could be a problem down the road.”

“Levi has been instructed to have another talk with the group. If the gang understands the rules and still wants to play, there isn’t much we can do about it. They consider it their neighborhood, and if Venizi stirs up trouble in a human neighborhood, that’s something the Council can’t ignore.”

“I’ve tried telling her that.” Jacques glanced at his fingernails, then slowly lifted his eyes to meet Devon.

He couldn’t remember the last time Jacques said a word in their meetings, though he was always fully engaged. Perhaps he didn’t think he was supposed to speak, since he wasn’t cadre, but he wasn’t just Bella’s partner. He was an intelligent and loyal vampire. Maybe a one-on-one discussion with him was in order.

“I’m going to ask one thing of you.” Devon’s gaze locked with his. “See to it after this meeting that Bella gets a full feeding.”

Jacques’s grin was predatory as he glanced at his partner, who had enough energy to scowl at both of them. “Not a problem, sir.”

“Excellent. Ah. Here’s Sergi.”

Sergi closed the door behind him and sat in his usual seat, his tablet on his lap. “Have you brought them up to speed?”

“I was just getting to that.” Devon spent ten minutes reviewing the text Cressa received and the return reply when Cressa asked who was texting her. He also added that it was possible that it tied back to the recent phone conversation with her mother. “Sergi, do you have anything to add?”

“Not much. I wasn’t able to start a deeper dive into April’s background or access information on the Underwood estate. I just forwarded what limited information I have to all of you. I just made a couple of calls, which is why I was late. One was to my friend at the SBPD. I’m curious about what they might have dug up on April during the Underwood investigation. I’m also checking to see what Underwood’s will stated.”

“Why is the will important?” Bella asked.

“If April is working for Venizi, it would be interesting to know how much she got from Underwood’s estate. It might mean something, and it might mean nothing. Either way, it helps paint the picture along with other bank records I’m gathering. In the human world, money is the most valuable commodity.”

Bella nodded. “You mentioned that outside of the cadre, only Cressa’s mother knew about Rasmussen and that April might have learned of him from Willa. That’s her name, right?”

Devon nodded.

She continued. “Why are we thinking Venizi?”

“April was seen going to Cressa’s old apartment with a vampire when Underwood was searching for the medallion. We don’t know who the vampire was working for, but we know Underwood had connections with Venizi.”

She considered it for a moment. “Cressa isn’t a common name. Is it possible Venizi has connected the dots?”

“If so,” Jacques interjected, “I would think he would have kept Cressa locked up rather than give her an opportunity to escape.”

Sergi glanced over, as surprised as Devon had been by the vampire’s participation. Bella didn’t seem fazed by Jacques’s comments. Maybe she spoke with him about his ability to participate.

“He has an ego,” Sergi replied. “He probably thought the mesmerizing was working.”

“If Venizi has discovered that Cressa is April’s sister—” Bella leaned forward as she worked through a theory. “Maybe this was recent news to him. Something he didn’t discover until after Cressa escaped from Shadow Island.” Her leg began bouncing, her energy returning. “Let’s say when Underwood was searching for the medallion, he didn’t tell Venizi who had it.”

“Which was one of our theories as to why the drawing of the necklace was left next to Underwood’s body in the limo.” Sergi nodded, seeming to know where Bella was headed. “It was meant as a lure for the person who had it.”

Bella stood to pace. “He probably thought the medallion was lost to him until April said something. Cressa told you April was still upset with her. If April is working for Venizi or one of his underlings, perhaps her disgruntled words floated up to him.”

Devon didn’t like where this was going. “Now that he’s lost Hamilton, his dreamwalker, he might believe Cressa is another dreamwalker. That was something I didn’t want him to discover.”

“If any of this is true,” Sergi picked up the trail, “with the lockdown, it’s almost impossible for him to gain access to anyone in the Family. But with a lure of one’s missing father, someone she barely remembers, it might be enough to get her out in the open.”

“Maybe April considers Cressa rash enough to jump at the opportunity and leave the nest.” Bella stopped and leaned against the coffee bar. “I’ve only run a couple of drive-bys in different cars to get a look at the neighborhood and the house before the problem at the safe house. But we can get back to the surveillance tonight. We found a couple of places where we can watch the front drive without notice.”

“I was able to get a couple of images of the property and neighboring houses. It’s in the information I sent.” Sergi went back to his tablet. “I have the name of the estate’s security company from your earlier request, but not the specifics. I’ll have something for you later this evening.”

“Let’s meet back in the morning. I’d like Cressa to join us. I don’t want her left out of this. I’ll speak with Colantha and see if she can track down Rasmussen. This might not be Venizi at all. Maybe it’s another dreamwalker who’s just being careful.”

When the group gave him patronizing nods, he chuckled. “We need to consider all angles. I know we all want to blame Venizi. Maybe this time we’re wrong.”