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“He’s the one who’s the most responsible for what happened out at your country house,” I said. “He’s been plotting his vengeance for a long, long time. I’m not sure he’ll stop until he’s taken care of the rest of you too. But I intend to bringhimto justice, and to do that, I need to know everything you found out about him before you took his daughter.”
Ruby’s eyes flashed. “You’re a thieving, lying murderer, and we have nothing to tell you.”
I snorted, unable to stop the laugh that erupted from me. “When did you decide that I was a thief and a liar? What have I stolen or lied about?”
My mother was quick to answer. “All you sinners are the same. I’m sure you lie and steal just as much as you murder. Once one sin is committed, the rest are just as likely.”
And what makes you not murderers? You may be murdering with a purpose—a psychotic one—but you’re still just as much a killer as I am.I held my tongue, knowing the accusation would bounce right off them.
I chose my words carefully. “Whether I’m a sinner or not, the Blood Hunter is a man with a mission. He’s carried out most of it, and you’ve seen the results plastered all over the news. Do you really want him to go free, or do you want me to do what I can to make sure he’s no longer a threat to this city?” And who knew how many others besides.
Carter nudged his mother. “We can’t help her after what she did.”
Iris simply looked at me. “What will you do if we answer your questions?” she asked. “Are you going to use the answers to kill someone else? Is that the kind of justice you’re talking about?”
Oh, for fuck’s sake. Wasn’t that how they dealt out their twisted version of justice too? At least killing the Blood Hunter would end his reign of terror. What they’d done to his daughter had only made things worse.
“Does it matter?” I asked through gritted teeth.
“We’re not going to facilitate you killing someone.”
I held myself back from rolling my eyes. “My main goal is to make surehedoesn’t kill anyone else. I’m going to be preventing murders. Isn’t that what your holy mission is all about? Wouldn’t you be defying your legacy if youdon’thelp me stop him?”
All three of them remained silent other than Carter grumbling wordlessly under his breath. My jaw clenched. “Fine. If you’d rather ‘facilitate’ him organizing all kinds of crimes across the country…”
I turned on my heel and started walking down the steps. Silence followed me long enough that I wondered if they’d stop me, but just as I reached the bottom step, Iris’s voice stopped me.
“I think I remember the girl you’re talking about,” she said. “She was the sacrifice in one of the first of the rituals I was involved with after I came into the family.”
“Iris,” Ruby said in exasperation, but Iris held up her hand to quiet her mother-in-law.
“Okay,” I said, peering up at her. “What did you see him doing? Who was he associating with? I need to know everything you do about his past crimes.”
Her mouth slanted at a pained angle. “Unfortunately, there isn’t much I can tell you. I had no idea he was powerful enough to arrange anything like what you’re talking about. We’d simply seen him interacting with a few of the gangs in DC, smaller operations, and we found out he had a young daughter… He seemed like an ideal target.”
I blinked at her. “You thought he was just a petty criminal. Someone who didn’t have much clout.” A wave of queasiness washed over me.
That approach made their legacy even worse. They didn’t try to take on the biggest, baddest criminals. They purposefully targeted low-level perps, no doubt because it was easier to attack their families without any backlash. But they had no idea why those criminals had gotten into that kind of life. Someone at that level might simply be desperate and see no other choice, not like the real overlords of the underground who reveled in hurting those who got in their way.
Maybe I could still get something useful out of this conversation. “Which gangs was he working with?” I demanded.
“I don’t remember,” Iris admitted weakly. “It was so long ago, and I wasn’t involved in gathering the information. We don’t keep records, of course, because there can’t be a trail…”
“Damien suspected,” Ruby said abruptly.
All our gazes shot to her. “Suspected what?” I asked. “That the Blood Hunter was more important than he looked?”
My grandmother pursed her lips. “I don’t know if he connected his concerns to that particular ritual, but—I think he was worried that your supposed death had something to do with our mission. And after you came back, he spent some time mulling over our past targets. He must have realized your kidnapping could have been revenge.”
“Did he say anything else about that? Had he done any more investigating?”
She shook her head. “He didn’t share his thoughts with me. A mother can simply tell. And now he can’t share anything, because you wrenched him from us and this world.” Her eyes burned with anger again.
My hopes deflated. This visit had been a total waste of my time. The Maliks had set this whole horrible situation in motion, and they’d had no clue the whole time.
“All right,” I said. “Then we’re done here.”
“That’s it?” Ruby sputtered before I could turn to go. “You killed our family and then came to ask questions about some lowlife. You’re not even decent enough to apologize for what you’ve done?”
