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“And think . . . waking the demigod of vice and business? That’s going to put a big monkey wrench in the balance. No wonder Grandmother Coyote wanted us involved. I wonder why she picked me, specifically?” I frowned. “But honestly, it doesn’t matter because we’re all in this together. So . . . now that we know this, how does it help us find Violet?”
“If she’s still around to be found. He’s in the business of selling people. Supernatural Matchups is focused on the Supe world, so we can assume—though we may be wrong—that he’s interested in procuring Supe men and women. I guess the place to start would be to find out who’s going to replace Gerald. They’ll have to have a new lawyer and soon. Lowestar will have to replace him.”
Vanzir shifted. “I’ll get on that. I can go visit Carter again.”
“Please. And tell him everything we’ve learned.”
As he headed out the door, I turned to Camille. “You think we’ll be able to find Violet alive?”
She pressed her lips together. “I don’t even want to bet on that. Thing is, alive or dead, she’s never going to be the same. I can tell you that from experience.” A cold look passed over her face, and once again, I knew she was flashing back to Hyto and the torture he’d put her through.
“We’ll bring them down.” I put my hand on her arm. “We’ll stop them.”
“Maybe, but the corporate world is thick and fast with corruption. It’s that way here, just like it was in Otherworld. The nature of the beast. I’m not holding out a lot of hope for much of anything right now. I guess our biggest hope is to put a stop to the cult, and prevent the reemergence of Suvika.”
I sat beside her and leaned forward, propping my elbows on my knees. “Is it just me, or does it seem like the harder we fight, the worse it gets?”
With a shrug, she shook her head. “The world is a complex web, Delilah. There is no answer to that. The deeper we go, the darker things get. But we have to keep trying. Too many people need us for us to ever give up.”
“Then, it’s simple. We don’t give up. We don’t lose. We get knocked down, and we try again. We dust ourselves off and we fight the good fight.” I laughed. “Easy, huh?”
And then she smiled, her face lighting up. “That’s the spirit. So yes, we fight on. And now, let’s get this meat outside for Ivana. Because as you say, we don’t want to welsh on our debts to the Elder Fae. So not a good idea.”
As we carted the meat out to the appointed place, the rain began to pour in earnest. I gazed up at the silver sky. We were in for a long, hard winter. I could feel it in my bones.
• • •
Once Hanna was home to watch Maggie, we decided to go through with our plans to meet with Tanne Baum, even though we now had a handle on what was going on. He was gruff on the phone, with a thick German accent, but when we met him at the Supe-Urban Café, he was handsome, tall, and blond as spun platinum. He was also pleasant—far more pleasant than I’d thought he’d be.
“We wanted to talk to you about Violet.” I wasn’t sure how to launch into what we thought had happened to his girlfriend.
Camille had made a valid point on the way to the restaurant that we should make certain he wasn’t in on the slavery operation before we spilled our suspicions to him. The last thing we needed was for Lowestar to get wind that we had puzzled out what was going on.
Tanne cast a long look at us. “And I want to talk to you. I know who you are. And I know you’re looking for Violet. Know this: She lives.”
I almost choked on my drink. That was the last thing I’d expected to hear. “Since you know who we are, and that we’re looking for her, let’s skip the formalities. How do you know she’s alive? Do you have any proof? We came here to ask if you’ve heard from her lately.”
He tapped his forehead. “I know. She and I are linked. I know she’s in trouble, though I don’t know what kind, but I also know she’s alive. If she dies—I will know that, too. We have been through certain rituals together.”
Camille inhaled sharply. “Like the rites of Eleshinar Trillian and I went through together.”
“I know what those are . . . Slightly different, but yes, the same principle. You will find her?”
“Well, it helps to know she’s alive, but if we could ask you some questions?” I frowned, but Camille gave me a nod and I could tell she believed him.
“Whatever I can do to help.” He played with the scone in front of him. “I do love her, you know. Tad is jealous, but truly, she has no taste for vampires. He would not stand a chance whether or not I was out of the way.”
I decided to bypass the whole jealousy issue. “Then tell us what you know. When did you last see her? And where? Have you noticed anybody suspicious hanging around her house?”
We talked away the afternoon. Tanne was engaging, without any of the angst that Tad and Albert showed. He was polite, and very European in action. Even the Fae from over the other side of the pond were different than the Fae on this side of the ocean.
By the time we finished, we had a pretty good feel for the guy and we both believed him and we liked him. He didn’t play games, didn’t bother with challenges unless they intrigued him. He didn’t have any jealousy toward Albert and Tad, and in fact, treated them like teenagers. And even though he knew she still lived, his loss and worry were obvious. But none of the information we gathered from him was anything we didn’t know, except the fact that she lived.
Approaching him about the dating site was a gamble, but it turned out to be okay.
“I know she hung out there. We don’t have an exclusive relationship. In fact, we have playmates together.” He shrugged. “It’s our way.”
“Not an issue. I have three husbands.” Camille pointed to my notebook. “But can we get their names, just in case?”
