dart out of his mouth, moistening his lips. “Why?”
I took a step down, unsure of how—or why—I had bartered my biggest secret to find the murderer of a woman I couldn’t stand and a man I barely knew.
“Upstairs.”
Vlad actually looked up from his laptop when Pike walked in. I felt my eyebrows rise and a sweet warmth spread in my stomach when Vlad’s dark brows shot downward, his thin lips pulled into a menacing scowl as his eyes flickered over Pike.
Aw, Vlad. He cared.
“I’m sorry,” Pike said, looking from Vlad to me. “I didn’t realize you had company.”
“He’s not company, he’s my nephew.” I crossed over to Vlad. “Vlad, this is my friend”—my breath caught on the word—“Pike. Pike, my nephew, Vlad.”
The two men regarded each other casually, critically, before offering each other one of those barely perceptible manly head nods.
Vlad went back to his screen and Pike followed me to the couch.
“All right,” Pike said, sitting down beside me. “What’s the big reveal?”
I saw Vlad stiffen in his spot at the dining table. His eyebrows shot up over the screen, his eyes, wide and accusing, following. “Can you come here for a second, Nina?”
I beelined over to Vlad and leaned my head in, certain of what he was going to say. “Please tell me your big reveal entails your tits or your ass or something else that won’t potentially ruin my life or make you have to eat Pike.”
“I know what I’m doing, Vlad,” I hissed. And, because I felt like I should, I added, “And watch your language.”
Even though I had no idea what I was doing.
Pike edged to the side of the couch. “So?”
A knock on the door stopped him and I celebrated my good luck. I snatched open the door and was greeted by Felipe’s strangled cries, his shoulders shimmying under the dead weight of his emotion.
“Nina, Nina, oh, it’s awful!” He plunged himself into my arms and I was forced to hug him, to think of friend over fashion as a snot bubble popped on my dupioni silk blouse.
“Felipe, what’s going on?”
“It’s my Reggie,” he huffed.
Pike and I shared a very déjà vu look. “What about Reginald?”
“He didn’t commit the suicide. He—he—he was murdered.” The admittance came out with another rash of hysterical tears and Pike rushed over.
“What do you mean he was murdered?”
I knew what I heard at the cocktail party, but Felipe’s crushed face was painful confirmation.
“I just came from the police station. They did the”—sniff—“the”—sniff—“autopsy. It came back positive. Or whatever you say. My Reggie was murdered!”
Pike snaked his arms in front of his chest. “First Reginald and now Emerson,” he said just under his breath. He shot me a sidelong glance and I knew exactly what he didn’t say: that I was next.
We spent the next twenty minutes listening as Felipe filled us in on what the police had told him—which wasn’t much. By the time he left the sun was dipping into the Hudson and I was pacing. Pike grabbed both my shoulders and I stopped my march.
“What’s up?”
“What’s up? There is a murderer on the loose. And you and I both know who’s next on his list. Me.” Being mainly immortal I wasn’t all that nervous. But still, getting stabbed or hung would be nothing short of an enormous pain in my ass, not to mention the havoc it would wreak on my wardrobe.
“I’m not sure that’s what you should be most concerned about,” Pike said.
I raised a brow.
“Suspect.” Pike mouthed the word.
I shook my head. “No, no, that’s just a theory. And a flimsy one at that. You have more motive.”
“Like I said, Emerson and I barely spoke. The whole boyfriend-girlfriend thing was completely in her head. Emerson and Reginald were both your competitors. With both of them gone, you’ve technically won the competition. That’s your motive.”
I yanked my shoulders away from Pike and gaped. “Are you seriously accusing me of killing off my competition? I’ll have you know that I would have whipped their asses fair and square. God rest their souls.”
“I’m not accusing you. I’m telling you.”
“They don’t think it’s me. They think it’s you.” Pike rolled his eyes and I dropped my voice. “Or me.”
“How much do you know about Emerson? You said you used to run into her all the time. I know you two weren’t friends but—”
“But what? I knew nothing about her other than what I told you. I didn’t even know she had a sister for God’s sake until she showed