Betrayed in Blood (Of Blood & Dreams #6)

Chapter 24

Chapter Twenty-Four

I paced back and forth in Devon’s office, staring at the clock then at the door. It was five minutes to four. When Sergi and I returned from our afternoon excursion, Devon was nowhere to be found. From what Sergi said, the only message that had been left was the time of the meeting.

On the way home, I’d explained to Sergi everything Veronica, Agnes, and Monique had shared with me. Afterward, all I wanted to do was punch something.

Mesmerized.

Venizi had my family mesmerized. Okay. There wasn’t proof—yet. But that would explain so much. They probably started with April. The question was whether it began before or after Christopher’s death.

Had they mesmerized Christopher? It was a reasonable question, but I didn’t think so. He’d been running with bad crowds since I could remember. Didn’t want to remember. At some point, after my services had been traded to Devon for a debt and Christopher began searching for my medallion, April had stopped talking to me. That could have been Christopher’s influence winning her over, or one of his new vamp buddies had gotten April in line. Hell, Christopher might not have known, too ecstatic that she found an interest in the family business to look any further.

I glanced at the door and clock again. Three minutes until four. Where was everyone?

Ginger had been locked in a meeting with Lucas and Colantha when I’d gotten home. I found Lyra in her room painting a bold floral landscape.

“Hey, what’s going on? I can’t seem to find anyone in the manor.” I’d plopped onto a nearby sofa and watched her mix paint with her brush before she dabbed a few spots on the canvas.

Her musical laughter filled the room. “You found me.”

“Does that mean you know where everyone else is?”

She was too cheerful, and when she turned around to glance at me, I could tell she’d taken blood, and for the first time, I noticed she wasn’t as rail thin as she had been. But there was more to her glow than that.

She mixed black in with her paint mixture as she spoke. “Colantha has completed her final version of the codex, though she claims there could be a second edition after Philipe and Fiona use it to transcribe another document they have. They’ve recently discovered two other books that might have been written by dreamwalkers, and they’re being flown over from the old country.”

“Wow, that’s great news.”

She nodded. “She’s asked Lucas and Ginger to help her with updating the De f?rste dage based on the latest version of the codex. They’ll be busy until Devon’s meeting.”

“And where is Devon?”

She had returned to her painting, and I had to ask a second time. “Hmm.” She glanced upward as if the ceiling held the answer. “I don’t think I’ve seen him since this morning. I have to admit, I just finished a dreamwalk with Hamilton, and I can’t seem to think of anything else.” She added a few more dabs to a flower, the color a bare shade darker than what was already there, before turning to mix more paint on her palette.

She’d just dreamwalked with Hamilton. That explained her inability to focus on the conversation. And by her glow, they did more than talk. I snorted. It was none of my business, and they had a lot of time to make up for. I doubt she heard me leave.

My next search focused on Bella and Jacques, who had returned with us in the motorcade. I even checked her sparse office, remembering Lucas’s insight that the two vamps used it as a lounge. Bella never seemed to be in one spot. She appeared and disappeared as if she could magically transport herself to wherever she needed to be. She’d always been the most elusive of Devon’s cadre.

Cook didn’t know where Devon had gone, and after checking every room in the manor and the widow’s walk, I finally pulled out my phone and texted him. No response.

Sergi was in his office, and when I tried to enter found the door locked. Before I walked away, he called out through the door, “Go train, Cressa. I need to prepare for the meeting.”

That was always his answer. If he wasn’t worried about his missing House leader, then I wouldn’t be, either. I had two hours to kill, and after an hour in the training room, a soak in the pool, and then a shower, I was ready for the meeting. Yet, here I was pacing the office—alone.

At four o’clock on the dot, Sergi popped his head in. He had one of his shit-eating grins on. “Devon’s guests have arrived. He’s changed the location of the meeting to the solarium. You might want to join us there.”

I stared at him, and his grin widened.

“You knew all along the meeting would be in the solarium.” I planted my hands on my hips and gave him my best evil glare.

As usual, it had no impact on the vamp. “Yes.” Then he turned and disappeared.

I raced after him as he marched down the hall. “What guests? I didn’t hear anyone arrive.”

“Lyra met them and took them around through the garden. Trudy wanted to see the flowers.”

“Trudy? You mean Trudy and Harlow are here.”

“Yes.”

Him and his damn one-word answers.

“I thought they were coming for dinner.”

“And the meeting.”

I was ready to leap on his back and attempt a new maneuver Simone had taught me, but we’d reached the solarium, and multiple voices shattered my dream of taking him down.

Devon met me at the door—a huge smile for me and a glance at Sergi I couldn’t read. Sergi smirked and walked to a computer station Lucas was setting up.

“I’m sorry Sergi didn’t inform you of my afternoon plans.” He gave me a light kiss and rubbed my arm. “I take it the two of you haven’t worked out your issues.”

“Evidently not.”

He chuckled. “I’ve been at the coastal safe house reviewing our final security upgrades. When Sergi contacted me after your lunch meeting, I called Harlow and asked if they could come early for the meeting. He was supposed to tell you all of this.”

“I suppose you’re not going to have him drawn and quartered.”

His smile was more than charming, and all I wanted to do was melt into him and forget the room full of people. “I think that might be a rather harsh punishment. Perhaps the two of you locked in the training room for a day might be a better resolution.”

“I could work with that.” I was already thinking of how that would go, another one of my evil smiles forming.

“Pandora,” a familiar voice called out. “Get your sweet ass over here and give Trudy and me a hug.”

I laughed as Devon shook his head. We both knew Harlow just wanted to squeeze my ass. But he did more than that. He wrapped me in a huge bear hug then dragged Trudy in so the three of us looked like idiots in the middle of the room.

“I always pictured a three-way with us.” Then Harlow grabbed my ass.

I pushed him off, unable to stop grinning. “You’re still a pig.”

“I think it gets worse the older he gets.” Trudy gave me her own hug. “So, what trouble are you in these days?”

“When are we not in some type of trouble?” Then my smile faded. “I’m afraid this one hits close to home.”

“Yes, Devon mentioned that.” Harlow pulled his serious face together for a slim moment, then his face lit up. “But don’t worry about that. We’ll save your mum and sister.”

“If everyone could take a seat. Let’s get this meeting started.” Devon stood next to the computer station where Lucas typed a few last keystrokes before finding a seat with Ginger, a tablet firmly in his grasp.

The cadre were all accounted for, including Jacques and Decker, who I was beginning to think of as Devon’s extended cadre. Colantha, Ginger, and Lyra—the triple threat as I called them—had filled a sofa. When I glanced around for a seat, I found Simone leaning against a wall, which wasn’t a normal position for her to take. She gave me a smile, the tips of her fangs showing, and nodded toward Devon.

He was motioning me to a chair next to where he stood. I took it, feeling like everyone was up to something. Or maybe it was my own doubts and concern for my family and having no one to talk to about it before the meeting.

“As most of you know, Cressa received an anonymous message from someone who claims her father is in trouble and needs her help. Their responses to her most basic questions, like who are you, have been slow in coming. Their last request was for a meeting tonight at midnight in a secluded spot, and, of course, she was to come alone. She responded that she was out of town and wouldn’t return until tomorrow.” He glanced down at me. “I believe we’re still waiting for a reply.”

I nodded.

“We have come to the conclusion that this is a ruse to lure Cressa out of the lockdown. We assume the threat comes from Venizi, but we hadn’t been able to confirm that until Cressa met with her mother’s friends earlier today. That meeting provided us with a valuable lead.”

Devon nodded to Lucas, who turned on the LCD monitor that had been rolled in on a stand. A black-and-white freeze frame image appeared on the screen. It was from the video feed the evening that April and, at the time, an unknown vamp, had gone into my old apartment. The video I’d asked Sergi to pull.

“Cressa was able to get the name of her sister’s boyfriend—Jasper Hunnicutt. Sergi has spent the last couple of hours searching to see if Hunnicutt is a vamp by putting the name and this face out to our entire Family. Based on a hunch, Sergi also checked the list of rogue vampires. Now, we know not all rogues will declare themselves for the records, but this one has.” He nodded to Lucas.

This time, a color photo popped up with a very clear view of Jasper. It was the same vamp. Now we were getting somewhere.

“Being a rogue wouldn’t tie him to Venizi,” Decker said.

“No,” Devon agreed. “However, two of our security detail know this vampire. Though he retains his rogue status, he’s been known to work on the payroll for three Houses—Pearson, Larkin, and Wakefield.”

“They’re all Houses under the protection of Venizi.” Bella began to pace. “And we know Venizi tends to use other Houses for his dirty work.”

“That still doesn’t tie him directly to Venizi,” Sergi added. “These particular Houses have been known to perform tasks they expect will please Venizi, but not necessarily with his approval. It’s a fine line, but nothing they’ve done in the past would be of interest to the Council based on speculation that Venizi is pulling the strings.”

Devon waved a hand at Lucas, who moved to the next picture. “In this case, it’s not the Council we’re worried about. This is a House matter. But Sergi is correct. While we might suspect Venizi of being behind this, the only concern we have at this moment is the safety of this woman—April Underwood. She’s the daughter of Christopher and Willa Underwood and Cressa’s half-sister.

“We believe that Christopher brought April into his business arrangement with Venizi. Either on purpose or by accident. The question now is whether April has been mesmerized to continue working for Venizi through this rogue. Also at stake is this woman.”

The photo shifted to my mother. It was a photo from the day I’d surprised her in the spa, back when Christopher had been frantic about finding my medallion. We’d spent five uncomfortable minutes talking in a coffee shop, and though she’d confirmed Rasmussen was my dad, it hadn’t been a friendly meeting. Someone must have taken a photo of her leaving the shop after me. Had she been crying? My heart clenched.

“This is Willa Underwood, Cressa’s mother,” Devon continued. “Her closest friends haven’t heard from her in the last three weeks, and, in that same time, she’s missed her weekly appointments. We have no reason to believe anything has happened to her and assume she’s being sequestered in her home.”

Another picture came up. A sprawling mansion in the Woodbridge estates northwest of the city.

This time, Bella took over. “We’ve been monitoring the Underwood estate for the last couple of days. There’s plenty of activity with SUVs, all with heavily tinted windows. We’ve been able to obtain visuals of two drivers who we believe belong to House Venizi. Whatever is happening in that house, it’s under vampire control. And while Jasper might be rogue, we’ve been able to confirm the drivers belong to House Venizi and not the other Houses.”

The next photo was an aerial view of the estate. The manor sat toward the back of the three-acre estate, heavily landscaped with trees. Bella continued, “A six-foot wall runs the entire perimeter. There are two vampires stationed at the front gate. There’s a back gate that leads to an ally, and there’s at least one vampire there. It’s impossible to tell how many others are at the house. We’re working on getting updated satellite images, but we’re not sure it matters at this point.”

The next picture was the layout inside the manor. It was the typical floorplan one would find in a sales brochure for a newly built house and reflected the various rooms, including all entry points. The screen was split in two. One picture showed the ground floor and the other the upstairs.

“Cressa needs to review the floorplan and revise for any inaccuracies in addition to adding any details pertinent to our mission.” Bella nodded to Devon then went back to her corner where she’d be free to pace.

“This is all great information.” Decker pulled out a bag of licorice bits and chewed one as he glanced around the room. “What exactly is the mission here?”

I knew what his plan was, but it seemed he hadn’t shared it with many others.

“We’re going to extract both women.” When the room went silent, Devon added, “And if we’re lucky, we’ll take Jasper Hunnicutt as well. All other vampires are expendable.”

Someone gasped, and I assumed it was Ginger. He’d modified the plan. Was that based on my earlier lunch meeting?

“We need to move quickly on this.” Devon scanned the room, stopping to meet everyone’s eyes. “We’re going in on Friday night for one specific reason. Venizi is holding a party on his island—Family only. He might have been hoping to show off his new acquisition,” Devon glanced down at me. “But I imagine even without luring Cressa out, he won’t cancel the party.”

“Of course not,” Sergi sneered. “It would only show weakness.”

Devon’s smile was predatory. “Exactly.” He glanced around the room. “I’ve invited all of you here in support of this mission. Each of you will have a role to play, assuming those outside the House Trelane Family wish to participate.”

There were a few head nods, but no one walked out or said no.

“A table has been set up on the back patio for dinner. There’s also a bar for drinks. Dinner is in an hour. Afterward, I’d like to regroup here to work through a high-level plan and determine tentative assignments. From this point forward, Cressa will be the mission leader.” He smiled at me as the impact of his statement rolled over me. “We have a lot to do to prepare. Until then, let’s adjourn to the patio.”

The crowd quickly dispersed, leaving only Devon and me in the solarium.

I was still sitting, not sure what to do. I was thrilled I was being given the lead, but how was I supposed to tackle this in less than forty-eight hours?

Devon pulled me up and wrapped his arms around me. His kiss was tender, then he whispered in my ear, “You’ve got this. We’re all here to support you. I know that head of yours is already spinning with possibilities. Remember to listen to the experts before making a final decision. You know this. No one is better suited for this mission.”

I hugged him so tightly I thought I might have cut off his oxygen, but he let me stay that way for a while. Then I stepped back. “What if they’re not the ones behind the texts?”

“Then we’ll know who isn’t involved, but we might discover that it is Venizi, and he’ll continue to try. Either way, your mother and sister will be out of his reach. And there’s really nothing more important than keeping you safe.”

My heart swelled at his concern for my family. “Does being the team lead mean I have to stay outside while others go in?”

He chuckled. “To use a human vernacular, you mean benching the most valuable part of our strike team? No, Cressa. You won’t just be the team lead. You’ll lead the strike team as well.”

I was grinning so widely as Devon led me out to the patio that I thought my cheeks would crack. I finally had a project.

Hold on, Mom. We’re coming for you.