Page 96 of This Ravenous Fate
“I’m good at hiding my stuff; there’s definitely some left,” Jamie said. He pushed in a loose panel on the wall, and the whole thingcame sliding out. Behind the wall was a compartment full of shelves. Jamie glanced up at the stacks of wooden shelves, his face twisting with confusion. “Oh, brother,” he muttered.
Layla sighed. “What is it?”
Jamie turned to her, one hand on his hip, his other hand rubbing his chin. “It appears that the booze has vanished,” Jamie said.
“Oh?” Layla swallowed her frustration. “Jamie, are you being honest right now?” She snapped, glaring. Already, she felt her fangs digging into her gums and just a slight parting of her lips revealed them to Jamie.
Jamie’s face went pale with fear and he hissed. “Okay, I sold it. When I found out the club was going under, I passed all the liquor off to someone else.”
“Who?” Layla demanded.
“To be fair, I didn’t know there was anything wrong with it until you told me—”
“Who did you sell it to, Jamie?” Layla pressed, sharper this time.
“She said her name was Rome, but I’m almost positive that’s an alias,” Jamie said.
Layla blinked. So many new burdens piled on her shoulders, she almost couldn’t sort through her racing thoughts to make an informed decision. “We’re going to have to find out who she is and get the liquor back before it’s distributed—”
Jamie held up his hands. “This was not even my supply to begin with. I only took over for the Diamond Dealers. And if the alcohol was really tainted, then wouldn’t everyone who came to the clubhave been poisoned?”
Layla let out a sad sigh. “Stephen Wayne sold reaper venom to the Diamond Dealers to ruin the products he knew would go straight to the dancers. They got infected. He tried to pin his plans on Dr. Harding, but the truth is, Stephen Wayne was the one who wanted to hurt us and make us hurt everyone else so we were to blame.”
“Sinister man,” Jamie muttered.
“It’s not long before another fan club comes along for him. One Klan out, another one in. But this time with biological warfare.” Layla turned away from the hideaway and stalked back to the main room of the club.
Jamie stopped by her side, a slight frown tugging at his lips. “I might be able to help you,” he said.
Layla cast him a sideways look, but said nothing.
“I already have control over a lot of distribution in this area, but I can secure more. That way we’ll have eyes on any malicious intent and we might be able to prevent the spread of this poison.” Jamie nodded to her. “Would you trust me?”
Layla laughed roughly. “Are you proposing an official alliance?”
Jamie lifted a brow, smiling. “What do you say, Quinn? Should we bring gangsters and reapers together?”
“Sounds like hell.” Layla grinned and reached for his hand.
44
“Is there a reason why you’re here, Miss Saint?” Valeriya asked in a low voice.
Elise watched her trace her finger over the edge of her crystal glass, which was full to the rim with blood. A bitter taste rose in Elise’s throat and she looked to Layla, who stood by the door of Valeriya’s study. “Layla let me in. But I think you want me here.”
Valeriya lifted a brow. She took a sip of her bloody cocktail, then smiled, her teeth scarlet in the flickering candlelight. “You want your sister. Tell me, Elise, what would you do for her?”
The gun on Elise’s hip suddenly felt very heavy. She twisted the water glass in front of her, noticing the plain fear and anger etched into her reflection. “I would kill your entire clan for her.”
Layla shifted by the door. “Elise—”
Valeriya lifted her hand, stopping her. “Oh, tension between the new lovers already.” She chuckled. “You are so easy. So predictable.Tell me, Saint. If you had to pick between your darling sister and your beloved Layla, who would you pick?”
Elise’s free hand twitched by her side and her fingers closed over the gun handle. Her other hand gripped her water glass. “What do you want?” she hissed.
“I want you to choose. You cannot mix humans and reapers. I was there when the first venom was spilled. The Saints continue to spread it and you will regret your role in aiding that spread,” Valeriya said.
“I no longer wish to vilify reapers. You are victims of a system that is bigger than all of us. We all are,” said Elise.
