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I glanced over the names. “Let’s go talk to Claudia. She mentioned Exo recently turned down the conference with somebody he felt was ‘off’…plus, her guilt is eating her up. I think she could use a visit.”
Privately, I was worried about the werewolf. When Weres lost their mates, it was like any other couple except the animal side came out too easily under the stress of the grief. And then the loss became dangerous to others. If Claudia lost control of herself, she could end up roaming the city in wolf form, attacking from the frenzy of her grief.
Claudia and Exo’s house was in the Queen Anne neighborhood. Quiet, classy, understated. We parked in the driveway next to the chain-link fence that prevented her children from running out in the road. The kids were out in the yard, home from school, and their older brother was watching over them. I did a double take. He could have been a carbon copy of Exo, only years younger.
As we swung out of the cruiser and headed up the walk, I jammed my hands into my pockets and shook my head. At least the hardest part was over—notifying her of the loss. But now we were intruding into her sorrow and pain. I hated what we were about to do.
As we entered the gated yard, the kids gave us a brief glance, then went back to their games. The teenager watching them nodded but kept quiet. His eyes were ringed and red, and I could tell he’d been crying.
Chase knocked on the door and Claudia opened it, standing back silently as we filed into the house. She motioned to the living room, and we gingerly sat on the sofa as she quietly lowered herself into a wooden rocking chair and pulled an afghan over her legs. An older man came out—he also looked a lot like Exo—and gave us the once-over.
“Orick, this is Chief Johnson from the Faerie-Human Crime Scene Investigation team. And Delilah and Camille D’Artigo. Orick is…was…he’s Exo’s brother.” She said the last in a flurry of words infused with pain. As she said Exo’s name, she cringed, then hung her head. “Please, some tea?”
“Of course, Claudia.” Orick gave us a two-fingered salute and retreated into what was probably the kitchen.
“Excuse us for intruding, but last night you said that Exo had refused to book a convention?” Chase quietly slid out his pencil and notebook and flipped it open. He kept a gentle eye contact with Claudia, but a nonthreatening one, letting her know through body language that the lead was hers. Wise move. Very wise move. Chase had learned a lot since we first met him.
Claudia paused, then motioned to an appointment book on the coffee table. “I don’t know who it was. Like I said last night, we had a fight over the fact that he turned them down, but I was mostly concerned with the money he said no to.” She coughed, wiping her nose with a tissue.
“That sounds horrible, doesn’t it? I was worried about money…I didn’t trust his judgment and now look what happened.”
“It’s not your fault, Claudia. You didn’t do anything to cause this.” Chase started to pat her hand, then stopped, merely flashing her a gentle smile.
“Yeah, right.” She let out a shudder, then said, “You might find something in his appointment book. This happened about a week ago. It was on a Wednesday, I remember. Thursday is garbage day and I was fretting that Exo had forgotten to put the cans out. He took off for the hotel after the fight, and so I remember asking my son to do it instead.” She lingered over the words, as if simple memories of daily life could erase the pain.>I caught my breath at his beauty and stepped into his embrace. He pulled me close, and I rested my head against his chest. As I stood there, safe in the shelter of his arms, he murmured low whispers I couldn’t quite catch. I searched his face, and he lowered his lips to mine and then, my breath was whistling out of my body and into his as he leaned me back, sucking the life out of me, and then with a soft hiss, breathed me back into my body again. He held me tight, the energy of his aura crackling like a pulse through me, vibrating every cord, every muscle, and I began to soar as he brushed my breast with one hand.
“My Delilah.” A low growl ripped out of his throat and he pressed his lips firmly against my own again, his tongue meeting mine, forcing me to acknowledge his power. I moaned low as the flames erupted through my body and I ached to have him, to feel him in me, to know what it was like to embrace the power of the Harvest. As if reading my thoughts, he swept a hand down, brushing my thighs, and I came hard and swift, crying out as a swirl of sparks echoed through me, struck by the heat of his touch.
“My lord,” I whispered, when I could think again. “What do you ask of me?” Whenever I was around him, all I could think about was making him proud of me, making myself worthy in his eyes. He was my dark lord who had reached out and yanked me forever into his world. He brought out my panther side, and for that I would forever be grateful.
“You will be facing a trial with Greta soon. It will test your heart, but follow through, knowing that it is what must be.”
Greta was another one of the Death Maidens, and she was my trainer—teaching me to harness the powers that the Autumn Lord had given me. She, along with the rest of his harem, lived in Haseofon, the temple that existed in his realm. And I had fallen in love with the Harvestman as surely as I loved his emissary—Shade. Though separate, distinct beings, they were connected. And my love encompassed both of them.
I nodded. “I won’t disappoint you, Hi’ran.”
“You think you won’t, but when the time comes, I guarantee you will question whether it’s the right thing to do. When that happens, search your heart, search your soul, and you will know.”
And then, with another quick kiss, he vanished from my side and I was once again standing in the rubble. As I shook my head, blinking, I looked down and saw something sparkling among the ashes.
As I leaned over and picked up the item, shaking the ash and soot away, I heard a shout from outside and hurried back through the door to find Camille and Andy Gambit. The fiery imprint of her hand marked his face.
I started to run forward but then stopped, waiting. Camille needed to ask for my help. She had to face her battles on her own; she’d made that quite clear over the past month. Hyto had damaged her self-esteem, her confidence in her ability to fight back. Even though she put on a good show, I knew she worried constantly about being weaker than Menolly or me.
She leaned toward Andy, hands on her hips, her voice low. “If you ever dare to touch me again in any way I’ll run my stiletto through your dick and claim it was an accident. And then, I’ll let my husbands come after you. All three of them. Got it?”
He rubbed his face, eyes glistening. “Bitch. Whore. You fuck three men and you dare to call yourself married? You’re a slut! Marriage is a contract between one man and one woman—”
Before he could continue, she backhanded him again—launching him backward into the rubble-strewn grass. I heard the crisp, clear sound of lightning overhead as her hand connected with his cheek. Maybe her self-esteem was coming back faster than I thought.
“Don’t speak to me. Don’t look at me. And never, ever touch me again. If you do, I’ll kill you.”
Leaning over him, she grabbed him by the collar and dragged him up. We were all strong, but Camille wasn’t as athletic as Menolly or me. I was surprised to see that she’d been working out. As he protested, she yelled for Frostling, who came running around the corner. When the officer saw Andy Gambit, her eyes lit up and she strode over and dragged him away from Camille.
“I told you last night if you didn’t get the fuck away from this place, I was going to run you in for trespassing. Thank you for making my day, Gambit!” As she spoke into her radio that was clipped to her collar, requesting a car, Andy let out a sigh and gave up struggling. Frostling was a lot stronger than even me, and she must have put the squeeze on him.
“You have the right to remain silent. You have the right to an attorney…”
As she read him his rights, Camille and I slipped out, giving her a wave. By the time we were back at the Jeep, another patrol car from the FH-CSI had driven up. We watched silently as they hauled Gambit away in cuffs.
