Demon's Vengeance The Complete - Jocelynn Drake Page 0,31
of operations. Dropping in unexpectedly wasn’t smart, but goblins weren’t the friendliest of creatures. They weren’t going to be happy to see me even if I was there on business, and trying to go through the right channels to schedule a meeting would have taken days if not weeks.
Of course, I wasn’t in the best of moods either. Trixie hadn’t been waiting for me at my apartment when I returned last night. She’d kindly put dinner into old butter bowls and placed them in the fridge before leaving me a note stating that she’d gone home after talking to Bronx. It had been tempting to go over to her place and slide into bed next to her, but instead I stretched out on the couch and glared at the ceiling until sleep claimed me. She needed her space. Between the news of my return to the dark side and Kyle’s death, Trixie could use some time to herself.
I was even proud of the fact that I’d managed to refrain from rushing over to her place first thing in the morning, but rather waited until noon to call her. Her lovely voice drifted through the phone to me, sounding strong but wary as she promised to return to my place that evening to get an update on any progress made in finding Kyle’s killer.
But all that self-control had left me edgy and pissed.
The troll turned off the engine and killed the lights. The heavy silence of winter consumed the night, threatening to suffocate us. There were no chirping crickets, no howl of the wind, and no distant hoot of an owl. Just a vast nothingness and the cold gleaming snow set against a black sky.
“How do you want to handle this?” Bronx asked. His seat creaked as he turned to look at me in the passenger seat. Serah’s coat rustled softly as she moved closer, ready to join in our little adventure.
“I thought we’d just talk to them. Nothing too strenuous,” I said, my eyes skimming over the large white three-story farmhouse rising up like a forgotten sentinel against the darkness. Nothing moved and there was only a faint glimmer of light peeking out of a heavily shaded window on the second floor.
Serah scoffed and flopped back against the backseat. Glancing over at Bronx, I found the troll frowning at me, his yellow eyes narrowed.
“Have you dealt with goblins before?” Bronx said, sounding more than a little skeptical.
“No. Not directly.”
“This won’t go well,” he muttered.
“Yeah, I’ve heard that they’re a pain in the ass, but they can’t be entirely unreasonable.” Lifting my left hand, I rubbed my eyes with my thumb and forefinger. A dull ache had started along the bridge of my nose and was creeping through my skull. “They run an underground business. How can you ever hope to have customers if you can’t talk with them?”
“The goblins started this little enterprise because they’ve discovered that they love gold more than they love eating human babies,” Bronx explained. “They don’t give a damn about seeing that childless vampires are able to have a family of their own. They don’t even care if these children go to good homes. They want the money these desperate people are willing to pay.”
“And when you’re desperate, you’re willing to put up with a lot of shit,” Serah chimed in from behind me, her soft voice pricking my conscience. Was I some of the shit she was willing to put up with just so she’d get a little respect from her coworkers? Wonderful.
“Look, we find the ringleader and we ask if they’ve heard anything about these murders,” I said sharply as I grabbed the handle on the door. “That’s it. Once we get our answers, we leave. I’ve got other things I’d rather be doing tonight.”
Without waiting for my companions to agree with my poorly thought out plan, I shoved open the door of the Jeep and climbed out. A small wave of relief swept through me when I heard two more doors open and close behind me. I preferred to have Bronx with me during this encounter. He had a knack for pulling my ass out of the fire. I wasn’t as confident about Serah. She might have been a police officer for five years, but there was no telling what kind of experiences had filled those five years. Had she ever been in a high-stress, shoot-or-be-killed situation? I wasn’t ready to bet my life on that.