Page 41 of Vampires & Bikers

“I had no idea!” I exclaimed. “Why was it kept a secret?”

“We are at war,” Harris shrugged, “We can’t let this get out now. The last thing we need now is a power struggle within our house, we need to stand together. It was his decision, only family knew.”

“And you,” I said. He shrugged.

His words made sense.

“And Taheera?”

He picked up his glass and drained it. “I’m trying to keep her in check,” he said, “but it is proving harder than I thought. She is ambitious, but I have no proof yet that she is involved in anything treasonous.”

“You think she’d want to take his place?” I pondered the thought. She was unpopular though and despite her ambition and intelligence, she had a reputation as a party princess more interested in cocktail parties than governing. “What about the sons?Dano and Vermont?”

Harris shook his head. “The king favors Vermont and it is possible that Dano resents him for it, but enough to kill his own father? I don’t see it.”

I didn’t either.

“Who poisoned Vlas?” I asked him. He shrugged. “It was at a wedding somewhere outside the capital. We had an extensive investigation at the time but we got nowhere.”

“Whose wedding?”

“Prince Dano and Princess Asia.”

I remembered it. A lavish reception and ceremony on a private retreat. There had been drugs and dancing and various blood stimulants. I had attended it with Alexandra, it was when our relationship was at its best. I tried to remember all the people who attended but nothing jumped out.

“At the time, I wondered if Asia’s family had anything to do with it. The Castellanos are a bunch of psychopaths, really but we couldn’t find any evidence they were involved.”

Thinking about Alexandra made me think of the footage I’d just seen.

“Why did you show me the CCTV footage?” I ask.

Harris gave a tired smile. “I guess it’s an olive branch? I do think we are on the same side. We may have different methods, but… your plan with the Sharks was inspired. It was a major coup for us. At least our facilities are safe now.”

“But…?” I could see he was leading up to something.

“The battle is not only in the South. Armies of shifters seem to jump up out of nowhere and when they are on the brink of being defeated, they seem to disappear.”

I told him about my suspicion of the tunnels and how we were trying to get more information. Harris sat up, renewed energy in his eyes.

“Let’s bomb the tunnels!”

I laughed. “Who is being aggressive now?”

“I know, but that is where they are breeding, right?”

“The problem is that the only entry to the tunnels appears to be in Sunside Swamp, on the property belonging to Sunny the Snake. We can’t get anywhere near it without being detected.”

Harris fell silent.

I also didn’t want to tell him that I thought Ruby was down in the tunnels and that I couldn’t risk anything happening to her.

Harris started talking about ways of smoking them out, getting soldiers into the tunnels and pumping gas. I told him that the swamp was a vital resource for humans who needed the fish and water, that was diverted into rivers for agriculture. If we polluted or destroyed the swamp ecosystem, humans would feel it in their food production. It could pollute the water, damage infrastructure. That would bring more conflict with the humans.

“You’re right,” Harris said, musingly. “This has to be thought out carefully.”

“What do you know of Sunny the Snake?” I asked him.

“Not much, to be honest. Always thought he was fairly low-level scum but it seems he has aspirations to make more of himself. He has been seen in the Capital, with the movers and the shakers.”

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