"I am, asshole. I mean, if anyone is going to kill you, I want it to be me. Now, cut the crap and just get moving."
He chuckled, and airily waved a hand – a movement I only half saw on the small screen. "No one can get into the office, Ris. Not only is there security downstairs, but the entry into this area is thumb-coded. I'm actually safer here than at home."
"Security doesn't worry vampires," I told him. "All they have to do is take over the mind of the guard and they're in."
Or, in the case of thumb-print security, cut off said thumb.
His grin faded. "And that's what you think is after me? A vampire? Why?"
I took a deep breath, and released it slowly. "I'm not sure you're the actual target," I said, honestly enough. "But a vampire has threatened to kill someone I know, and I'm just warning everyone."
"Warning heeded." His voice was somber. "And I'll be careful, I promise. Now, do you want to hear what I found?"
I did, but I wanted him safe, too, and I couldn't escape the notion that he wasn't, no matter what he thought. Hunter hadn't made that threat idly. But maybe part of the torture was the waiting, the ever-tightening fist of fear, and the knowledge that sooner or later, one of my friends would be dead. The bitch would no doubt enjoy toying with me like that.
"I'll listen, as long as you promise me you'll go home, lock the door, and stay there until further notice."
"Sounds a bit extreme," he said, with a frown.
"Trust me, the bitch who made the threat is extreme."
He studied me for a moment longer, then nodded. "I've seen too much lately to ignore such a warning. The minute I hang up, I'll leave. That okay?"
"Okay." I'd rather he hung up and left straightaway, but I was realistic enough to know that was never going to happen when he had news to share. Why he couldn't leave and talk I had no idea – other than the fact it wasn't legal to drive while on the phone.
Not that legalities had ever stopped him from doing something before.
"Right then," he continued. "I went through public records, and discovered the company that owns that particular warehouse is a mob called Pénombre Manufacturing."