Page 54 of House of Malice
“Grimswater?” Val asked the second time. “He was sent to Grimswater after Venefica? Doesn’t make any sense.”
They were back at their home, gathered in the basement.
Jolene rolled her eyes. “He wasn’t sent there as a student. He took a job there.”
Val frowned. “Interesting.”
“That’s what I thought,” Alecto said, nodding. “Why would a prominent student from Venefica go work as a teacher at that wretched academy?”
Blaze’s stomach sunk anytime someone mentioned Grimswater. Not only because of Dominic, who was currently there, but also because it was a place his father always threatened him with.
All the stories about Grimswater were true. And then some.
“I am more concerned about why he would hide his work there from his public records,” Andro said, inspecting his nails. “That seems more suspicious to me than his working there.”
Val was silent for a moment, lost in thought. “More questions,” she finally said. “We don’t seem to be getting any closer to where we need to be.”
“That’s not true,” Alecto protested. “We found out about his art expos and his artwork. Blaze has the copy of the features from way back when.”
Blaze fished out the papers from his pocket and handed them to Val. She laid the pages down on the pool table and tried to put the texts in order.
“Okay, at least something we can work with,” she said. “Leigh should be here any minute.”
“Leigh?” Jolene asked. “MyLeigh?”
Val glanced at Jolene. “Yes, your Leigh. Since when are you so territorial, Frone?”
Jolene crossed her arms. “Since you can’t seem to leave my girlfriend out of our business.”
Val leaned forward on her hands braced flat against the pool table and smirked. She arched one manicured brow. “Don’t worry, Frone. I’m not trying to steal your girlfriend. It just so happens that she’s useful. Well played on your part.”
Jolene ground her teeth, clearly offended by Val’s words.
“Okay, Val, stop it,” Alecto said.
Blaze blinked, surprised. This might have been the first time Alecto—or any of them—stepped in to stop Val before things got too out of hand.
Val regarded Alecto for a moment and then returned her attention to the copied pages. She read over them in silence.
Blaze exchanged a glance with Andro, who appeared to be just as stunned about the fact that Val had listened to Alecto without making any remarks.
Alecto returned her own attention to a magazine she was reading and crossed her legs. She still wore the skirt from earlier. Blaze’s cock stirred inside his pants whenever he remembered that inside that perfect pussy and her soaked panties, she carried a piece of him.
The basement door opened, and someone climbed the stairs down. It was Leigh, in her riding boots, black pants, and a nude turtleneck.
“Sorry I’m late,” she said. “I got held up at work.”
She walked over to where Jolene sat and kissed her on the lips. Jolene smiled and scooched over to make space for Leigh to sit down.
“You’re just in time,” Val said without lifting her eyes from the papers. “We found out where Dean Gondalez was during those missing years.”
“Oh, that’s great news, isn’t it?” she asked. “Where was we?”
Val jerked her chin at Jolene.
“Grimswater,” Jolene said to Leigh. “After he graduated Venefica, he took an art teacher job at Grimswater for three years.”
Leigh seemed quite surprised by the revelation.
