Dark Obsession (Vampire Royals of New York #3) - Sarah Piper Page 0,6

tea. “There were no other reports of them in Manhattan last night.”

“Not of grays, anyway,” Cole said. “But I got word of something else. Remember that traffic clusterfuck we hit coming off the FDR?”

“Don’t tell me it was more grays,” Charley said.

“Worse.” Cole took a swig of whiskey, then said, “Demons.”

“You’ve got to be bloody kidding me,” Aiden said. “What happened?”

“Turf war, apparently. I got a shifter friend in homicide. She told me the cops are calling it gang-related, but the bodies—nine of ‘em—were charred to shit. No eyes, either. Cops thought it was a bomb or maybe even a chemical attack—that’s why they were blocking everything off last night, searching the cars.”

“Have they identified any of the bodies?” Aiden asked.

Cole nodded. “Four so far. Three are Chernikov’s guys. One is Rogozin’s.”

“Why are demons fighting over turf in Manhattan?” Charley asked. “Isn’t that vampire territory?”

“Indeed, it is.” Aiden dumped some more sugar into his tea and frantically stirred, spoon clanking hard against his mug.

It reminded Charley of her sister, and her chest immediately tightened. Was Rudy feeding her a decent breakfast? What about coffee—did he get her the almond creamer she liked so much? Did she have any books to read? A warm bed?

“Shit storm’s brewin’, my friends,” Cole said, drawing Charley back to the moment just before the flood of worries swept her away. “Better get your umbrellas ready.”

Forcing herself to refocus, Charley poured a splash of Cole’s whiskey into her tea, then said, “I don’t know what’s going on with the demons, but the thing about the grays is weird. You said there were no other sightings in the city?”

“None reported,” Aiden said.

“They weren’t even there when that Silas guy first blurred me into the alley,” Charley said. “They showed up right after he dropped me in the dumpster. Literally a minute later.”

“They must’ve been holdin’ the fuckers somewhere close,” Cole said. “Probably had ‘em right there in the building. If that many grays had come in from outside, you would’ve heard trucks or something.”

“It was definitely a setup,” Charley said. “The timing is too perfect otherwise.”

“But if your uncle wanted you dead, why go to so much trouble?” Aiden asked. “Why not order Silas to do it? Or why not do it himself, for that matter? He certainly had the opportunity.”

“There’s a lot about last night that doesn’t add up.” Charley took a deep drink of her spiked tea, trying to put all the strange, mismatched pieces together.

First of all, Rudy had allowed Silas to rough her up, which left visible injuries. Rudy had to know Dorian would notice them and question her about what happened. What if he got suspicious? This close to the big day, something like that could throw a wrench into everything. It was a sloppy move for a pro thief like her uncle, and it made no sense.

Then there was the matter of the gun. Between Rudy and his vampire buddy, they had all the supernatural power they needed to keep Charley in line, yet he still felt the need to flash that weapon.

And what was the deal with his watch? When she’d inadvertently torn it from his wrist, it revealed his terrifying black eyes. But didn’t most demons look human? And if demonic entities took over human bodies as vessels, why did demon Rudy still have all of human Rudy’s mannerisms and memories?

Charley shared all of this with the guys. The longer she spoke, the more outlandish it all sounded.

“Bloody hell,” Aiden said, shooting a worried glance at Cole. “Rudy isn’t just a vessel. He’s a host.”

“A host?” Charley tightened her hands around the mug, trying to remember what Dorian had told her about demons the day he’d given her the supernatural crash course. “So Rudy’s basically letting a demon hitch a ride?”

“It’s the best of both worlds, really,” Aiden said. “Rudy has access to the demon’s power, and the demon has access to a physical body, which he can use as he sees fit, and claim fully when your uncle dies.”

“But if that’s true,” she said, “it still doesn’t explain the gun.”

“Perhaps he just wanted to frighten you.”

“That’s just it. Rudy’s addicted to power. If he had something more than that weapon, he would’ve relished the chance to use it against me, even if he’d only intended to make Silas compel me later. He gets off on terrifying me.”

“What are you suggesting?” Aiden asked.

“I think there’s something wrong with him. Like, maybe his power is fading or something. It might