Page 57 of Mystic Justice
Damn him for being so perceptive. ‘Gideon was right. None of this has been on impulse – whoever is doing it has studied the regulars and the staff coming and going. I’m betting the next victim has already been earmarked.’
‘Maybe we spooked them.’
‘Maybe,’ I said, though I didn’t believe it. ‘More likely they changed the kidnap point. The full moon is high for the next couple of nights. It’s now or never.’
We watched the staff close up shop and leave. ‘Let’s call it,’ I said into the comms. ‘Thank you all for your hard work. Go home, get some rest. We’ll have another long day tomorrow.’ My gut twisted with fear that we’d find another body. I prayed I was wrong, but none of us would be any good operating on empty. We were done.
Krieg fired up the engine and, without asking, turned the car towards my home. ‘Thanks,’ I said as I yawned.
‘You’re welcome, Inspector.’
Loki was huddled on my shoulder, already sound asleep. He hadn’t enjoyed the stakeout as night had fallen. To stay hidden, we’d had no lights on in the car and I’d felt his small body trembling on my shoulder the whole while.
When I got home, I turned on every damned light for him before I collapsed into bed. It had been such a damned long day and I wondered when I’d be woken with the news of a new death. Because I was all-but certain there would be one.
Elsewhere, someone was dying in the dark.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Ruben was tired, grumpy and not supposed to be there. Closing the bar had been Gideon’s job, but as usual the vampyr had vanished with Betty before the second wave of customers. The vampyr was an ass,he thought, rubbing his eyes as the tills refused to balance. The amounts weren’t matching. He was too knackered.
Just give an estimate,his wolf suggested.
That’s not how it works, Brogue.Ruben sighed.It has to be right.
It took two more counts until he reconciled the figures: someone had given a refund but hadn’t put it through properly. Bloody incompetent idiots.
He was yawning and Brogue was complaining as he unlocked the doors to slink out. He locked up again and set the alarm. He waited until it sounded twice to confirm it was on before he walked away from the building.
Go for a hunt?Brogue suggested enthusiastically, his tail wagging in Ruben’s head.
He considered it for a moment but tiredness won out.Soon,he promised.Rest first.
He rolled his shoulders as he walked down the street, trying to work out the knots of tension that had been bothering him all day. It was time to move on from Botany. He was tired of Gideon taking him for granted, tired of Sandra’s high-handed ways, and now the place held too many memories.
He couldn’t stop thinking about Moss when he saw all the beautiful plants she’d once tended. He’d planned on asking her out for a drink but had always chickened out. Regret pricked at him. Life was too short: next time, next girl, he’d damn well ask.
When she pulled up in her car so soon afterwards, it felt like a sign from the universe. ‘Hey,’ she said through the open window. ‘Wanna come back to mine and get really drunk? We’re not in tomorrow.’ She was smiling more warmly than she’d ever done at work and he couldn’t help noticing she’d undone her shirt button, allowing a little white lace to show. He jerked his eyes up to her face in case she’d seen his gaze linger for too long, but when he met her eyes he saw satisfaction in them. She’d wanted him to look.
Mating is better than hunting,Brogue suggested, sending him a wolfish grin.
He wasn’t wrong.
Well, why the fuck not? Ruben reached for the passenger side door. ‘Sure.’ He slid in and belted up.
She passed him an open beer. ‘I started one for the road,’ she admitted. ‘But you can have it. Better not to drink and drive. I’ll catch up at home.’
He took the can and had a long slug. ‘Nice,’ he commented.
‘It sure is,’ she agreed. ‘I love a pale ale.’
‘Me too. It’s my favourite.’
‘I know.’ She smiled flirtatiously, reached out and rested her hand on his thigh.
She wasn’t his favourite person, but what the hell. She was pretty – and she was definitely willing. Besides, he’d already decided to move on from Botany. He took her hand and slid it higher.
She flashed him a grin and started to rub him in earnest as she drove. He took another long pull from the beer, almost draining it, then set it down in the cup holder and rested his head against the headrest. He closed his eyes to better enjoy the sensation of her warm hand on his crotch.
