die too. The plan was flawless. Easy actually, since Derrick lived in one of the tallest condos in Back Bay. Even the
Based on her history, no one would question that Kristina jumped off the roof, and no one in the family would doubt that Derrick would jump right after her, attempting to save her, as he’d done for the last fourteen years.
Derrick was too weak to lead their family, and so he would die too. Shame, though. His intelligence and strength would have been invaluable. But choosing Kristina over the family had proven his weakness for humans. The rest of the family would have no problem with the plan to start moving key creatus into top-level positions in the government, something they’d never done in the past. Notoriety was something creatus had always shied away from. If you were famous, humans started to wonder why you were still alive when everyone else was dead. But now, they’d use their heritage to their benefit. Outliving their peers would work to their advantage as they infiltrated all branches of the government.
“Oh, my… head…” Kristina moaned from the passenger seat.
Enough was enough. She obviously had a high-tolerance to drugs. Pulling the vehicle underneath an overpass before she awoke completely, the rogue sifted through the bag of medical goodies on the floor. “You like drugs, Kristina? You are going to like this drug, lovely. Propofol will give you a high like you’ve never known.” With a slight squeeze of the pump, all of the milky substance disappeared into Kristina’s vein. That would keep her knocked out until everything was ready.
Escorting Kristina to the parking garage was easy; no one seemed to care that a half-drunk woman was being assisted to her apartment. Of course, sleeping beauty wouldn’t be receiving a princess’ welcome. The maintenance room on the roof would serve as her quarters until this evening when Derrick arrived.
Chapter Thirty-eight
After hours of knocking on doors, and knocking some down, Derrick had no more information on Kristina’s whereabouts than he’d had since she’d been kidnapped from the zip-lining stand. He knew he should have just returned to his condo, but he wanted to be in control, to catch the rogue off-guard. He’d questioned and demanded everyone he found, but no one had seen Jonas or Ry, Vic, or even his brother since yesterday. The only hope Derrick had at this point was that the rogue wanted to confront him, so he headed back to his apartment, assuming he’d have to wait for a call.
Derrick ascended the stairs to his apartment, knowing that anyone waiting would more than likely be watching the front door. As much as he wanted to scour the city for Kristina, he knew all he could do was wait for the rogue’s next move. It was painfully clear that he wanted Derrick to suffer. And so, the rogue would stage an event where he would have to watch Kristina die he was certain. His father had promised to keep searching for the others, rally a group of watchers who would ferret out the rogue once and for all. Though his father and mother had only known Kristina from a distance, they’d always loved her. And his mother had always wanted a daughter and grandchildren. It would kill them too if something were to befall his wife.
Inching through the emergency-exit stairway door, Derrick saw a figure hunched over in a seated position, arms wrapped around their knees, sitting in front of the entrance to his apartment. His heart skipped a beat, wondering if it could be Kristina, but then he saw a strand of black hair sticking out from the knitted ski cap, standard watcher protocol in the event they needed to shield their faces.
Padding his way along the corridor, he approached as quietly as possible, but her head jerked up off her knees when he was two doors away. “Derrick,” she said on a sigh. Vic’s eyes were barely visible beneath her swollen eyelids. Crimson ringed her irises as if she’d been crying for days. He’d never seen her cry.
He shook his head, not believing she could have done anything to hurt Kristina, knowing that he could never fall for anyone again. Surely, Victoria loved him enough not to cast him into a lifetime of torture. “Please, Victoria…” He plummeted to his knees in sheer agony, remembering her scornful remarks the other day, her utter hatred for what he had done. His stomach twisted, pain seared straight up to his heart at the thought that she could have left Kristina for dead. “Please tell me you didn’t hurt her. Just tell me where she is, and I’ll do anything you ask. Kristina and I will leave. You’ll never see either of us again, I swear.” The thought that he’d have to kill his best friend to avenge his wife hurt almost as much as the thought of losing Kristina. He knew he wouldn’t be able to live with himself, but hatred surged through his veins. “I love her. Please tell me she’s alive.”
Confusion shaded Vic’s eyes. “What?” she asked, shaking her head. “You think… you think I’d hurt your wife.”
A wave of relief washed through him as he lifted himself and her off the ground. “Kristina’s missing. Why are you here?
“I wanted to confront you, Derrick. Find out if your relationship was authentic.” Victoria threw her head up, releasing a breathy groan, seemingly restraining a cry. “But I guess you just answered my question.”
He ran his hand over his head. Grateful that Kristina might still be alive, but now he needed to find the next suspect in his mind. “Where’s Jonas?” he demanded. “Have you heard from him or Ry, or Michael? Someone kidnapped Kristina, and it has to be one of them.”
“You’d accuse your own brother…” She pulled her hand to her mouth, chewing on a fingernail. “You think your brother, or someone in the family could do such a thing?” She closed her eyes in exasperation, shaking her head again. “Why would they kidnap her?”
Derrick grabbed her shoulders, resisting the urge to shake her until she understood. “I told everyone he threatened her, but no one seems to be taking this seriously. I don’t know why, dammit. I don’t know anything. All I know is he murdered another innocent man, and Kristina is missing.” He choked out a breath. “Now, where’s Jonas?”
Vic knocked his hands away and stepped out of his reach. “Last time I saw him was eleven this morning. We ate breakfast together.”
“
Her eyes cast downward. “We spent the night together.”
Odd that that tidbit hadn’t even fazed him, and she’d clearly thought it would. Or maybe she was just embarrassed. “And you haven’t seen him since?”
She wagged her head in a jerky action. “No.”
“Where have you been all day?”
She shrugged. “Just thinking. I’ve been smacked upside the head with a lot of stuff in the last few days, and I’m not sure—” She released a long sigh. “It doesn’t matter. You’ve got more important things to concern yourself with.”
Derrick released a groan. “I do care, Victoria, but I don’t have any time to think of anything but finding Kristina at the moment.” The problem was he didn’t know where to start. He had hoped that the rogue would call or show, make demands. Obviously he wanted something, but for the life of him, he couldn’t imagine what. Even if it was one of the three men, what could they gain? What had he ever done to them? And then it occurred to him. Maybe his position? They wanted to be overseer? Well, they could have it. He’d leave. He didn’t even care about the position. It wasn’t as if he’d run for office. The council chose the overseer.
Derrick unlocked the door and held it open for Vic, but she didn’t step inside.
Vic shook her head. “I have to go, Derrick.”
He took a step toward her, resting his hand on her shoulder, gentler than he’d been before. She’d always been his best friend. He’d confided in her more than he had Michael. “You know I never meant to hurt you, right?”
She nodded. “We both knew. We’ve always been honest about our relationship. But now, I have to go after someone before I lose him.”
“I need your help, Vic,” he said. She was dressed in black jeans, long sleeve shirt, and a heavy leather jacket over her arm. Obviously, she’d planned to be on watch tonight for him—for all of them. But he knew it must
