Chapter 23 #2
My fists clenched. “That means it was an inside job.” The muscles in my neck coiled, my rage knotting tight.
I did everything for my people. When Shanacy had to bail early to deal with her son biting and sucking the daycare teacher dry, I found her a sub and made sure her kid got into a school nearby.
When Stephan said he only wanted to serve men, I enforced his boundary personally.
When Georgia needed money to bring her mom from Venezuela, I fronted it without adding any vig and let her make payments to me.
I made myself approachable. Present. Loyal. How the hell could any of them betray me?
“Then he goes to security, knocks on the door, and Glen answers.” Ras studied the frame, jaw tight. “Looks like he didn’t have the gun on him yet. Not until he got on the elevator.”
My teeth ground together so hard I thought they’d crack. “Van, where does Glen live?”
Van already had his phone out. A few taps later, he said, “He has a small apartment in Washington Heights, and he just bought a house for his mom in Brooklyn werewolf territory. Goes there a lot.”
“Send someone to his place. If he’s there, bring him in.” Cold fury sharpened my voice. “Post someone at the mom’s house too. If he’s not at the apartment, that’s where he’ll go.”
Van nodded and stepped out of the room, barking orders into his phone.
Ras kept clicking, pulling up a camera feed from the back of the building. “The bomber didn’t stick around after he planted it. Left through the same service door he came in.”
I watched the grainy footage of the bastard exiting through the alley, keeping his face covered until the very last second. Just before he disappeared from view, he pulled off the mask and turned left.
No face. No ID. Fuck.
I shot to my feet and started pacing, talking more to myself than anyone. “If we can’t find Glen, we need to talk to the girls who ran when they kicked them out of the room. Maybe they caught his voice, an accent. Something. We can start narrowing down suspects and casing neighborhoods.”
It sounded insane, so much fucking legwork, but we had to find him.
My mind thought back to the direction the bomber had gone, and something clicked.
I froze, replaying the image in my mind. The alley. His body language. The dumpster.
Scrambling back over, I snatched the laptop from Ras and rewound the footage. “Right there.” I pointed. “He tossed the mask into that dumpster. Van, we need to get that mask and get a hound on him.”
Alic’s voice cut in. “I’ll do it.” I turned to find eyes fixated on me.
“I don’t trust anyone else to keep their scent off it.” He scoffed, uncrossing his arms. “I’ll get it, contact the hound, then help Maso and Lucus finish up since I’m already there.”
I gave him a tight nod and a small smile, genuinely grateful… until he tilted his head toward my bedroom.
“I’ll go if you get some sleep.”
I glared. Who the hell does he think he is, giving me orders?
I opened my mouth to say as much, but he stepped closer, gentling his voice. “You need rest.” His face pinched in concern as he reached out and twirled a lock of my hair, the gesture so effortlessly intimate I froze.
“We’re supernatural, sure, but we still think and fight better when we’re rested. Don’t you want to be at your best when we catch this son of a bitch?”
I looked away, jaw tight. I couldn’t afford rest. Not now. Not until this was over.
Van cleared his throat. “Didn’t wanna say anything, but your skin’s looking a little pale. Your magic’s not fully regenerated yet either.”
I rolled my eyes and turned to Ras, the only one who would give me the answer I wanted.
“Do I look like I need sleep?”
His eyes didn’t waver. “No,” he said, reverent and unblinking. “You’re radiant. Always. A vision of perfection.”
That earned him a pair of glacial stares, and I smirked… until he kept talking.
“But I’ve always wanted to watch you sleep. Just once.” His voice dropped. “I think I’d like it… watching your perfection in a calm, effortless state. It's exhilarating thinking of all the different sides to you lying beneath the tranquility.”
My breath hitched. That was the craziest, most romantic, and most psychotic thing anyone had ever said to me. His smile was soft, inviting, but his eyes spoke of a dangerous obsession that was all consuming.
“Could even recharge my magic…” His words had me biting down on my lip, looking at him through my lashes. “Get ready for that second round like I promised.” He winked, and my pulse spiked, caught off guard by how quickly he flipped from reverent to hungry.
Van cut in, his eyes darting between us. “What's he talking about?”
Alic just turned and stomped toward the door, muttering over his shoulder to Ras, “Get her to bed, you psycho stalker.”
Ras’ face turned dark. His sweet, boyish charm evaporated, replaced with something vicious and predatory. His guttural growl was filled with the promise of violence.
Van stepped between Ras and me, magic surging between his fingers, jaw clenched. “He’s your stalker?”
I let out a little giggle, thinking about how he’d sent me such sweet messages, and just like that, Ras snapped back as quick as a flip of a switch. He looked at me with syrupy sweetness, eyes softening like I was his entire reason for breathing.
“Will you nap at least?” His voice was pure sin, a warning wrapped in devotion.
I sighed. With the guys already working leads at the club, and Glen still unaccounted for, I could wait. I could rest. Just for a little while.
“Yeah, all right.” I didn’t really want to have that conversation right now, so I stalked to my room. With my mind made up, exhaustion slammed into me, and I was actually looking forward to taking a small, quick nap.
Behind me, Ras’ voice floated through the room. Calm. Too calm.
“Don’t worry, Van. There’s still room for you beside her—even if I get first boyfriend privileges.”
The silence that followed was deadly.
Already in my room, already too late to stop it, I winced as I quietly shut my door then leaned my ear against it.
Ras added, almost as an afterthought, “You’ve never made my star cry. I like that about you.”
I cringed, just waiting for it, and Van didn’t let me down.
“ANIYAH! What the fuck is this demon talking about?!”
Oh, shit.
I dove into bed, yanked the covers over me like they could shield me from everything, and squeezed my eyes shut. Sorry, can’t help—already asleep. Honestly, I’d never been so relieved to be told to go to bed in my entire life.