She had to do what he asked.
“Morning.”
The deep voice startled her, and she let out a yelp as she flung herself around, pressing the note to her rapidly beating heart.
Ketu stood there in a pair of gym shorts and a gray T-shirt, yawning and rubbing his eyes.
“What’s that?”
She crumpled the note until it was a small wad of paper in her fist and said, “Nothing. Where’s the trash?”
“Recycling and trash are in here.” He pointed at a door that opened into a small pantry. Sofia stuffed the note into the side of the trashcan and hurried over to wash her hands.
“You okay?” Ketu asked. “You seem nervous.”
She shook her head without looking at him. “I-I was planning to make breakfast. To surprise everyone. I didn’t think anyone was awake yet.”
His voice immediately brightened. “Oh yeah? Cool. Need help?”
She shook her head again. “No, that’s okay. Go do whatever you were planning to do.”
“All right, I’m going for a run then. See you later.”
He left and she began pulling items out of the fridge and piling them on the counter, appreciating the distraction for exactly what it was. Because she honestly had no freaking idea how she was going to get Antoinette to give up her computer password. And where was her laptop, anyway? Most likely, it was in her bedroom or maybe an office upstairs somewhere. Sofia needed to figure out how to go snooping without anyone thinking that was exactly what she was doing.
Making breakfast wasn’t distracting her after all.
A door opened and slammed shut, and Sofia heard voices, a male and female. A few moments later, Delilah and Trennon came staggering around the corner into the kitchen.
It was so weird that her father was standing a few feet away and yet the man had no idea they were even related. He didn’t know that his affair with her mother had produced a child.
He had two heirs, not one.
The strangest part was, despite what Griffin had said, she could see her own features in his face. They had the same nose, the same lips, the same high cheekbones. She’d gotten her thick hair and dark complexion from her mother, but she’d obviously gotten her height from her father.
Part of her couldn’t believe he didn’t see it, except that he wasn’t even aware that he should be looking for similarities.
This morning, he and Delilah both looked…terrible. They were still in last night’s clothes, although Delilah was carrying her heels and he’d untucked his shirt. His hair was flat, sticking to his forehead; hers had a halo of frizz around the otherwise limp strands. Her makeup was smudged, the mascara and dark eyeliner creating huge, black marks under her eyes, like she was getting ready to play in a football game.
“Oh gods,” Delilah said when she spotted Sofia. “Please tell me you are making a grease- and protein-rich breakfast.”
“Erm, yes?” Omelets and bacon certainly qualified as “grease and protein rich,” but that hadn’t been the purpose of her choice.
“Excellent. How about a Bloody Mary? Can you make one of those too?”
“Make it two,” Trennon said. He leaned against the counter and rubbed his temples.
“There’s mix in the fridge,” Delilah said helpfully. “And the vodka is right here.” She slid the bottle down the length of the counter; Sofia caught it before it went off the edge and shattered on the tile floor.
“Rough night?” she asked conversationally as she set about mixing their drinks. She found pickle spears and green olives and added those before offering up the pint glasses full of dark red liquid.
“You’re all right,” Delilah said, taking both and sipping at one before handing the other to Trennon. “This is good. You should consider a career in bartending.”
“I’m a waitress at a bar, actually.”
“Probably one we got kicked out of, which is why I don’t recognize you.” Delilah took another drink. “And now we can’t go back to the one we were at last night, either.”
Sofia was honestly afraid to ask, but Delilah apparently didn’t need her to.
“It wasn’t our fault though. I mean, pretty much all the other bans we’ve gotten were of our own volition, but not this one. Right, T?”
Trennon nodded while nursing his drink. “Somebody spiked our drinks.”
Sofia felt her eyes widen. “You mean somebody drugged you? Without your knowledge?”
Delilah nodded grimly. “And I’m pretty sure it was dragon’s blood.”
That was the drug Darius used to manufacture. Did that mean he was back in business? Was that what he wanted with Antoinette’s laptop? She did not want to help him get up and running again, but neither was she in a hurry for her mother to die.
What the hell was she supposed to do?
Make breakfast, apparently.
Sofia whisked eggs, milk, salt, and pepper in a bowl. “That’s terrible,” she murmured.
“Tell me,” Delilah said and then rounded on Trennon. “I know he’s your son, but that little asshole is bad news. It’s gotta be him behind this.”
“You think my son deliberately drugged us last night? I would have sensed it if he’d been in the bar. And I haven’t sensed his presence in months. Damn near a year.” Trennon frowned. “Although it’s strange. I do have this weird feeling. I’ve had it since yesterday. Haven’t been able to shake it.”
“You mean he could be back in town?” Delilah asked.
Sofia wanted to shout “Yes!”
But Trennon shook his head. “It’s not the same feeling I get when he’s around. I don’t know; it’s hard to describe. And even harder when I’m coming down from being high. I don’t know why anyone would willingly ingest
