Page 30 of Veiled Justice
‘They expect you to walk around carrying a mace?’
‘Yes.’ He carried it by the handle with the head resting against his shoulder. He made it seem effortless, like it didn’t weigh a tonne, but the weapon was solid metal from the shaft right up to the murderous spiked head.
‘That has to be heavy,’ I commented.
He held it out to me and I braced myself and took it. Even braced as I was, my muscles shook as I struggled to hold it up and it took every inch of my strength not to drop it. Krieg removed it from my grasp a moment later before I could do something embarrassing like drop it on my toe.
Loki cackled with laughter. ‘Puny Pigdog!’
I ignored the bird and narrowed my eyes at Krieg. ‘You could have just said, “Yes Stacy, that’s fucking heavy”,’ I complained.
He grinned. ‘Most people learn better through doing.’
I rubbed my arms. ‘Sometimes I’m okay with just beingtold something.’
His grin widened. ‘No, you’re not.’
I put my hands on my hips and bristled – then realised I was absolutely proving him right. He laughed again. ‘Come on, Inspector Wise. Let’s go and smash some vamps.’
I slid him a glance. ‘Just so you know, in some local vernacular “smash” means “fuck”.’
He stumbled. ‘I meant kill,’ he added hastily.
It was my turn to grin. ‘I know. I’m just letting you know so you don’t strut around Liverpool threatening to smash everyone.’
‘Brings a whole new meaning to “Hulk smash”,’ he murmured, which made me snicker despite myself.
When we got into the building, Verona was sitting behind the sleek black reception desk. I knew it was Verona because she matched the description Channing had given of her, which was another point in his favour. She was also wearing a name badge, which was a bit of a giveaway.
She was dressed in black-leather trousers, a black corset and a leather jacket. Her white-blonde hair was pulled into a long plait and her stunning blue eyes were ice-cold as we approached. She looked like BDSM Barbie.
Since she was going for unfriendly, I met her vibe. ‘Inspector Wise, High King Krieg,’ I snapped. ‘Where can we go to talk?’
Her mouth twisted in a moue of distaste. ‘The boss wants to sit in. Go into his office. Ludwig is already in there.’
‘Excellent.’ And, because she hadn’t offered, I added, ‘A cup of tea. Milk.’
Her azure eyes narrowed further but she nodded. ‘You?’ she said bluntly to Krieg.
‘Coffee, black.’
I swept into the office without looking back. It was light and airy, with windows on three sides, and its sparse furnishings had a cool, minimalist elegance. There was a large rug on the floor, a few plants on either side of the mahogany desk and two chairs in front of it. And that was it. All that space and nothing to fill it; it felt like Volderiss was bragging that he had money to burn. Real estate in this section of town was pricey.
The man sitting behind the desk was Volderiss. Like all vampyrs, he could choose how old he looked and evidently he was currently trying out ‘silver fox’. His dark hair glittered with the odd silver strand and his eyes were a bright, piercing blue. Charisma and strength rolled off him; he was clearly a born leader. Or perhaps a turned one.
The other man was pacing in front of one of the windows – and there was nothing imposing abouthim. For all his height, square jaw and sandy blond hair, his shoulders were bowed like he was trying to make himself as small as possible, an impossible feat for such a large man. He had to be at least six foot eight. His height set alarm bells ringing: a vampyr as large and strong as him could surely have carried a stumbling Helga outside, just as Ava had described.
‘Ludwig?’ I asked.
He started nervously and then froze. ‘Yes, that’s me.’
Ismiled to set him at ease – at least for now. I was going for good cop to start with. I had no doubt that Krieg would step into the bad-cop role if we needed it. Or even if we didn’t.
‘Hi, Ludwig,’ I said warmly. ‘I’m Inspector Stacy Wise. It’s nice to meet you.’ I made a show of taking out my PNB. ‘What’s your full name?’
‘Ludwig Huber.’ He inched closer to Volderiss as if the seated vampyr would protect him.
‘Interesting surname. Where are your family from originally?’ I asked.
