Dark Obsession (Vampire Royals of New York #3) - Sarah Piper Page 0,41
Dorian asked. “The staff? Other patrons?”
“Clean. And human—all of them. If he’s conferring with demons, he’s not doing it in person. While he was out, I search his penthouse—nothing professional inside, and no signs of Sasha.”
Charlotte sighed beside him, but still managed a faint smile. “Thank you, Gabriel. I appreciate your… All of this. I’m not…” She trailed off, her eyes misting with tears.
Gabriel softened at the sight. “We will find your sister, Charlotte. And wherever she is, I’m certain she’s already got those motherfuckers taking her out to breakfast, listening to her endless stories, and catering to her every whim.” He let out a light chuckle, then reached over and touched her hand, his eyes filling with a compassion Dorian hadn’t thought possible of the man. “Please don’t lose hope. You’re carrying it for all of us—Sasha too.”
Charlotte seemed just as surprised by the turn in Gabriel’s normally brusque demeanor, and his words buoyed her, bringing a new smile to her lips.
For that alone, Dorian was beyond grateful.
“I do have other news, though,” Gabriel said somberly, glancing back at Dorian. All the warmth left his eyes. “It’s about Malcolm.”
“Have you spoken with him?” Aiden asked.
“He’s managed to evade me at every turn, but one of my sources spotted him entering and leaving Bloodbath on more than one occasion.”
“I thought Bloodbath was closed down indefinitely,” Cole said.
“To the public, yes,” Gabriel said. “But House Duchanes still owns the building. They’ve been more careful due to the increase in police presence after the murders in the area, but they’re still around.”
“So our brother was spotted cavorting with Duchanes vampires?” Dorian asked.
Gabriel nodded. “As well as vampires from house Mirren.”
“Mirren?” Dorian sipped his scotch, trying to place the name. “Doesn’t sound familiar.”
“Relatively new on the scene, though the older sires were around when Father first started making inroads here.” Gabriel retrieved the phone from his jacket pocket. “Young vampire by the name of Dominic, and another my contact wasn’t familiar with. He took these pictures.”
“Dominic… Why do I know that name?” Dorian reached for the phone, glancing down at the screen. There were two vampires in the shot—one he didn’t recognize. The other, however, made his blood boil. His face was partially obscured by the shadows, but there was no mistaking that smug, youthful arrogance. “For fuck’s sake. Dominic was at the bloody council meeting.”
Gabriel leaned his head back and sighed. “Fuck. You’re right. I barely gave him a second glance that night.”
“Nor did I. Just long enough to put him in his place.” Dorian recalled the little twat who’d insulted him at that sham of a meeting.
House Redthorne is not united… How can you keep our communities safe and at peace when you can’t even keep your own house in order?
Well. The boy had certainly pressed that advantage, hadn’t he? Parlaying it right into a friendship with the one Redthorne brother who seemed to agree with him.
“Malcolm’s gone full-on turncoat.” Dorian tipped back his glass, wishing the alcohol would burn the taste of his brother’s name from his lips.
“There’s more. The bad kind of more.” Gabriel slid a folded newspaper from his inside pocket and handed it over—today’s Times. “Looks like our brother and his new friends have been doing a bit of midnight snacking.”
A fresh hole burned through Dorian’s gut, and he knew before he even finished scanning the article what he’d find.
crimson city devil copycat strikes again
Two more bodies were discovered late last night in a dumpster in the East Village. Both victims appear to have suffered massive blood loss from puncture wounds at the neck and thigh. Police are not sharing additional details about the scene and are not speculating on the exact cause of the wounds, but have released sketches of three suspects compiled from key witness reports. Suspects are to be considered armed and extremely dangerous. Anyone with information is asked to contact the authorities immediately. A midnight curfew remains in effect for all of Manhattan.
The first two sketches looked very much like the vampires in the photo Gabriel had just shared.
The third was a dead ringer for Malcolm, and the sight of it nearly brought Dorian to his knees.
All the bloody battles. The arguing. The cruel words. The threats and betrayals. The heartbreak.
And this is what it had come to.
“Witness reports can be unreliable,” Dorian said anyway, tossing the newspaper back at Gabriel. “We can’t assume—”
“I’m not assuming anything, brother. But we need to consider the possibility that Malcolm is… not himself.”