Page 13 of Bishop's Flight
“How did they lose him?”
“Because he’s smarter than both of them.” She took a long drag on the cigarette. “He’s probably smarter than you, me, and Rose put together. The boy slipped away from them—probably to go somewhere he wasn’t allowed—and three hours later the ransom note was delivered from Zasha.”
“During the day or the night?”
“Day.”
“Zasha had humans waiting.”
“Clearly. We’ve had a new picture delivered by bike messenger every night since he’s been gone. Same pose. Same place. Fresh newspaper.”
“And you’ve looked?”
“I’ve tunneled around the city and so has Rose. She can sense the children better than I can. Wherever they’re keeping him, we can’t feel his energy or smell his scent.”
“What about human surveillance?”
“What do you mean?”
“Zasha had humans waiting, so those humans might have been captured on security footage,” Carwyn said. “There might be a vehicle we can track.”
“Whatever you need, you will have it.” Agnes narrowed her eyes and stared at the glowing ember of her cigarette. “Every casino owner in this town owes me in some way. There’s nowhere in the city Zasha Sokholov will be able to hide for long.”
“They don’t have to hide for long; they have to hide for four days.”
Agnes moved her eyes from the ash to Carwyn’s eyes. “It’s not me you have to worry about. It’s not even Zasha. Rose hasn’t slept since Lucas was taken. She’s becoming less stable by the day.” There was a tremor in Agnes’s right thumb. “It’s not good for Rose to be unstable.”
Despite Agnes’s severe expression and ruthless demeanor, Carwyn had a feeling that if a vampire bloodbath were to happen in Las Vegas, at the heart of that neon melee would be Rose Di Marco.
Five
What are we getting pulled into?
Brigid was staring at three large computer screens sitting on the large conference table where Lee was working.
This boy’s life is in your hands, Brigid.
And she had no idea why.
What wrong had she done in a previous life to garner the fixation of Zasha Sokholov? Who had she crossed in her short vampire life? She wasn’t particularly powerful or influential; in fact, she and Carwyn worked their hardest to remain neutral in a quickly shifting world. They were friendly, but only close with few. They had no formal alliances except to those in their immediate family.
They were under no aegis.
“Okay, what are we looking for?”
Lee’s question knocked her back to the present problem. “There are two prongs to the investigation.” Brigid sat behind Lee and to the right, watching as he worked. “We know who took Lucas, so we look for any connection, any trace, any trail that Zasha Sokholov has to Las Vegas. They’re keeping the lad somewhere. Are there secret properties they own? Do they have relationships with residents? They came as a visitor, but clearly there’s humans working with them. Who are they? We’ve four days to find where they’re keeping Lucas.”
“If he’s still alive.”
Brigid scanned the screens where half a dozen video feeds from around the casino were running. “Lucas will be safe until Zasha gets what they want.”
“Why not just kill him?”
Why not?
She could almost hear Zasha’s taunting voice in her mind.Why would I do that? Where’s the fun in killing the boy right away? Far better to watch you scurry around the desert like beetles on hot sand.
She glanced at Lee. “Whatever game or plan Zasha is playing, they need Lucas alive.”
