She hurried through the gate and across the dried grass of the back yard to her kitchen entrance, inserting the key and pulling open the door as quietly as possible. Setting her laptop on the table, she turned it on and then tiptoed up the stairs to her bedroom in search of something to wear. She didn't know what the dress code was at a blood house, but it probably wasn't jeans and a tee. And if she hoped to get any information, she was going to have to blend in.
Chapter Thirty-eight
Raj slid to a tire-squealing stop outside Krystof's. He left the engine running, threw open his door and stormed across the street to where Emelie and three others were gathered, his power thrumming around him like an electrical current, his eyes as bright as sun through glacial ice.
All of his vampires, even Emelie, fell to their knees at his approach.
"Get up and tell me what the f**k is going on."
Em stood gracefully, assuming a parade rest position, hands crossed behind her, shoulders back. She raised her eyes briefly to his, but quickly lowered them. “My lord,” she started. “We were doing our usual rounds. Four teams, hitting each house for a while and moving on. I was with Abel when I got a call from someone using Simon's cell phone."
"Where was Simon supposed to be?"
"He was at the warehouse, my lord, but he'd called earlier to say he was going for electronic supplies of some sort."
"Who called you?"
"The caller didn't identify himself, my lord, just said if I wanted Simon back alive, I'd better find you and get you over here in the next half hour. That was . . .” She checked her watch. “Forty minutes ago, my lord."
He didn't hear any judgment in Emelie's voice. He didn't have to. He'd been humping Sarah in the parking lot while someone was kidnapping Simon out from under his nose.
"I called you first, of course,” Emelie continued. “And then Abel and I came directly here, along with Danny and Cervantes.” She nodded at the other vamps. I called the rest of the teams and sent them back to the warehouse in case this was some sort of a setup to pull everyone away."
"I just came from the warehouse. They weren't there yet."
"No, my lord. They were the farthest out, which is why I sent them to the warehouse while we came here. We arrived perhaps thirty minutes ago, but there's been no acknowledgment of our presence. Per your command, we made no attempt to approach the house directly."
"All right—"
Em's phone rang at that moment. She checked the ID, looked up at Raj and said, “Yossi.” She listened for less than a minute and hung up. “He and the others are at the warehouse. Everything appears normal, but they're rousing the rest of the human guards as a precaution."
Sarah was at the warehouse. But he couldn't think about that now. “All right, let's see what the old man wants."
Raj led his vampires around the back and, not bothering to knock, threw open the kitchen door. He stared down the piece of meat Krystof had on guard there and strode past. He didn't run, he didn't fling things about, just walked through as though he had a right to be there and woe to anyone who dared tell him otherwise. He could feel Em and the others behind him, a wall of strength both physical and Vampire. He wasn't like Krystof. He didn't make vampires out of stupid humans and he never turned someone unwilling. His children were both smart and strong and served him out of personal loyalty and, according to Em, affection.
But Simon wasn't Vampire. He was human. He could outthink any of them, but he was not physically strong, which was probably why he'd been chosen as Krystof's sacrificial goat. He hadn't been harmed yet, however. Simon had been with Raj a long time, far longer than appearances would lead one to believe. He received regular feedings of Raj's blood to keep him alive and well, which meant Raj would have known if he'd been hurt.
The room at the bottom of the stairs was as crowded as it had been before, but he made no pretense of friendliness. He let his power swell, shoving everything and everyone out of his way like so much trash on the street—which was pretty much how he saw them. He didn't see Jozef, but perhaps the security chief was inside with his master . . . and Simon.
The door opened before he reached it, swinging wide in invitation. He sneered. If Krystof thought to impress him with a cheap parlor trick, he was mistaken. He gave Em a jerk of the head over his shoulder and knew she'd put the others on the door while following him inside herself. He would have liked it the other way around. Not because he didn't trust Em, but because he did. If it was going to come to a showdown between him and Krystof, he would have liked Em to be away from it so she'd have a chance of saving as many of his children as possible from the backlash. But he wouldn't do that to her. Wouldn't ask her to stay outside while he faced the greatest threat of their lives together.
"Rajmund,” Krystof said smoothly. He was sitting on the same settee where the girl had lain the other night. He leaned back into a pillowed corner, legs crossed at the knee, one hand draped gracefully over the upholstered arm, while the other was on Simon's head, stroking his fine, brown hair as if he were some sort of dog kneeling next to his master. But Krystof wasn't Simon's master.
Raj felt his fury soar and tamped it down, knowing this was the reaction Krystof was hoping for. He watched the old man's face and saw the disappointment there. He smiled. “I believe you have something of mine,” he said mildly.
Krystof laughed lightly, but the look he gave Raj was not amused. “But, Rajmund,” he chided softly, his voice growing hard when he continued, “you're not supposed to have anything of your own."
Raj's smile only grew, and for a moment, he saw a glimmer of fear replace the smug look in his Sire's eyes. “Let's not play games, Krystof. What is it you want?"
The vampire lord shrugged gracefully and stood, leaving Simon behind. Raj didn't move other than to turn in place, keeping Krystof in sight. But he was aware of Emelie as she quickly stepped to his side, putting Simon behind them. Krystof settled at his desk and gestured at Emelie. “You've trained them well, I see. I couldn't even get that human—” He waved at Simon who'd risen to his feet. “—to tell me anything. Of course, I could have forced him."
"You could have tried,” Raj corrected.
Krystof's mouth tightened in irritation. “What I want,” he said, ignoring the truth of Raj's statement, “is a report on your investigation."
Raj gave him a look. “You couldn't phone?” he scoffed.
"I shouldn't have to,” Krystof said petulantly, slapping one hand to the desk. “I brought you here to solve my problem, not to have your people running all over my city poking into my affairs."