Chapter 3
Raze made it back to his hotel just before dawn.
He showered again, finishing the job he’d started with a hosing down at the field.
Restlessness gnawed at him. The hunt wasn’t over.
What troubled him was that he had no idea what it would take to end it.
How many more of Grimm’s devotees were out there?
Tugging on a pair of black sweats, he propped up his iPad and placed a call to Vashti.
“Hey,” he greeted her when her face came on screen.
“Hey yourself.” Her gaze narrowed. “You’re looking rough. What’s up?”
It was hard for a vampire to look rough. He was surprised she said he did, but he brushed past it and caught her up on the night’s events.
“You killed him?” She leaned back into her sofa cushions. It was rare for her to indulge in any downtime, so rare that it took him a moment to pinpoint her location as her home in Raceport. “Just like that?”
“Just like that. After what they did to the man they left on my porch, he got off easy. I made it quick and painless.”
Her brow rose. “O-kay… But who’s going to give you intel now that the two minions you captured gave up a whole lotta nada?”
“I got his name. Eventually, I’ll have his mate.” His mouth curved without humor. “Baron has to have one if only to practice what he preaches.”
“Maybe you killed her tonight. Surely she would have been there.”
“She wasn’t on the field. Trust me, if you had seen how they were dressed and lined up, you’d know that everyone was paired except for him. I agree she was probably somewhere nearby, but she kept out of sight.”
“So, how are you going to find Mrs. Baron?”
“I’m emailing you his prints.” Sitting back, he ran a hand over his shaven head.
“It’s probably a long shot to hope they registered when they mated, but it won’t hurt to check.
I’m also sending you a video. They recorded the killing that brought me here.
I found it on a jump drive bracelet Baron was wearing.
The recording shows a blond woman doing the deed, but I can’t be sure that’s legit because they sent a doctored version to Adrian that shows me as the killer. That’s what brought him to Chicago.”
Vash whistled. “They set you up.”
“My guess is Adrian was leverage. Baron was under the impression that Syre would do just about anything to stay in Adrian’s good graces, including throwing me under the bus. I think he planned to offer me a mate and sanctuary from the Sentinels after Syre washed his hands of me.”
“You got all that in the few minutes you let him breathe?”
“He wouldn’t shut up. One of those assholes who like to listen to himself talk.”
“All right. I’ll have Torque look at the prints and video and see what he can dig up. You gonna hang around Chicago for a while?”
He nodded. The data search was in good hands with Torque, Syre’s son. No one dug up intel better or faster. The rest would be up to Raze. “I’ll wait to hear back from Torque and spend some time on the streets. Maybe they’ll come to me.”
“Watch your back.” Crossing her long legs on the couch, she leaned toward the screen. “And don’t trust Adrian. He’ll throw you under the bus, too.”
Touching a finger to his brow in salute, he acknowledged the warning and signed off.