at the morgue will make sure this vamp gets tagged as me.”
“I’ll wait a few minutes until after you’ve gone, then I’ll call council dispatch to report my husband’s murder.” Nix stared at Finn. “If you know what’s good for you, this is as close to actual death my husband will ever get.” Even though Finn could tell she tried to add some lightness to the words, there was a protective edge to her tone. Anyone who wanted to get to Tobias would have to get by her first.
“Rest easy, little cousin,” Finn murmured.
“Don’t. Call. Me. That.”
Caine sighed. “Get out of here, Finn. Keep us posted as much as you can.”
“See ya.” Finn made his way back to his bike and drove away, confident that Nix and Caine would take care of the corpse.
As he headed out of their neighborhood, he saw headlights in his side mirror, and knew for certain this time that he’d been followed. He realized he was enjoying himself, and looked forward to turning this stuff over to Stefan. It felt good to be underhanded. He could see why Keira had enjoyed being a grifter so much.
He pulled over to the curb and shut off his engine, giving a slight grin when the car behind him did the same. He punched in Liuz’s number on his cell, and when the vampire answered, Finn said, “It’s done. I have your trophies.”
“Bring them to me.” Liuz rattled off an address.
“I’ll be there in about thirty minutes,” Finn told him. He disconnected the call and started up his bike again. When he pulled away from the curb, his shadow did, too, and another grin tugged at his mouth. Now the fun was about to start.
He pulled up outside a modest house in the central part of town. As he started up the front walk, he waggled his fingers in a wave to the guy in the car rolling to a stop behind his motorcycle. Pressing the doorbell, Finn waited with his back resting against the side of the house. When the door swung open, he turned to see Stefan Liuz standing there.
“Come in,” Liuz said. “You have what I sent you after?”
“I do.” Finn followed him into the house and reached into his jeans’ pocket for the teeth. As he handed over the crumpled washcloth, he looked around the living room where he now stood. If this was Liuz’s house, and Finn didn’t know for certain that it was, he clearly hadn’t put a lot of effort in his living quarters. All of his furniture, from the worn green sofa to the battered end tables, appeared to be secondhand. Maybe even third.
He turned back to Liuz in time to see the smaller man lift the fangs out the washcloth. He let the cloth drop to the floor and brought the teeth to his face. Closing his eyes, he sniffed the teeth a few times. “Ah, Tobias. To finally have defanged you.” His eyes flew open and he stared at Finn. “There’s bleach on these.”
“Is there?” Finn brought his hands to his face and smelled his fingers. “It must have transferred from my hands.” He reached into his jacket and lifted out the towel-wrapped stake. He pulled the cloth away and showed Liuz the bloody wood. “I reuse this, and I don’t like the smell of blood stinking up my house. So I soak it in bleach after each use. The smell lingers.”
“Let me see that.” Liuz held out his hand.
When Finn gave it to him, he brought it up to his nose and did the sniff test again. “This is Tobias’s blood, too.”
“Well, yeah. That’s how I killed him.” He hardened his gaze. “It’s the best way to put down those damned bloodsuckers.”
Liuz’s mouth tightened. He was one of those damned bloodsuckers, too, and probably didn’t like being called that. “And Nix?”
Finn lifted one shoulder. “She wasn’t home.”
“Well, that’s all right. Like I said, I don’t have anything against her.” His eyes began to sparkle and his mouth curved into a wide smile. “My old nemesis is destroyed. Thank you.” He looked down at the fangs. “I only wish you’d brought me his head.” He closed his hand into a fist. As he walked Finn to the front door, he said, “Oh, and Finn?”
Finn paused at the open door and looked down at Liuz.
Crimson-rimmed eyes stared up at him. “Don’t ever go against my wishes again. The next time I tell you to bring me someone’s head, I expect