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“That was all it took? We could have just called them and told them to check her for fang marks?” I asked.
“Hunter,” Cain called, coming out of the doors right behind Elias.
“Yes, enforcer Cain?” I asked with mock sweetness.
She ignored my tone. “We have it on good authority that the killer was looking for a moonstone in your apartment. You haven’t seen anything like that, have you?”
I tensed. Why would Cain be asking me about this and how would she know? “Like a piece of jewelry? Is that a wolf thing?”
“It’s a valuable ancient artifact that was last traced to someone in her pack. They were holding it illegally and rumor has it, Lola took it when she fled. Probably figured she’d fence it if she fell on hard times. It’s not easy for a wolf to be without a pack.”
I knew the last comment was a dig at my mixed heritage. “Some wolves do better on their own.”
“Maybe,” she said. “Either way, if you come across it as you’re cleaning up the mess, let us know.” She pulled a business card out of her pocket and handed it to me.
“Does this mean I’m no longer a suspect?” I asked.
She eyed me up and down, as if looking at something disappointing. “For now. But in your line of work, I suspect it’s a matter of time before you cross the line.”
I smiled. “I look forward to working with you again, then.”
She waved my comment off with a flick of her wrist, then turned to Heidi. “This is the human?”
“Heidi,” she said. “Humans have names.”
“Right, Heidi. I need to ask you some questions,” Cain said.
Heidi followed Cain a few feet away, stopping in front of the glass doors that led to the back of the mortuary. I noticed blood splatters on the glass.
“You took out the vampires in the back, didn’t you?” I asked Elias.
“I told you I’d give you back up,” he said.
“How did you get shot?” I asked.
He relayed the story about the seemingly human woman with the dart gun. I listened with rapt attention. It sounded like a hunter, but there were no human hunters. At least not fully human.
“She must have come through after she got you and taken out the vampire,” I said. “But why?”
“Keep him from talking,” Elias said.
“But who hired her? What was the point of that? I thought they were after the stone,” I let the words hang between us and checked to make sure Cain was still busy with Heidi. I looked back at Elias. “How did Cain know?”
He shook his head. “I didn’t tell her.”
“Everyone is after this thing, aren’t they?” I asked.
“I think it’s safe to say we can’t trust anyone,” he said.
“Wonderful,” I said. “It’s going to make it that much harder to figure out my next steps.”
“Don’t worry,” he said. “You’ve got help. There’s me, and I know Xander is waiting for you to call him in.”
“I thought you were out as soon as this was over,” I said.
“You think I’d miss the thrilling conclusion of this?” he teased.
Knowing I wasn’t on my own was reassuring. Strange for someone who was used to working alone, but in this case, it felt like I’d have help rather than the burden of another set of hands. Unlike the few times I’d teamed up with other hunters when I was younger, my current partner could take care of himself.
