“Honey is good people,” he said. “She’s also the lead on this case. We sell her on Addie’s innocence, and the sentinels will back off. They might take a harder look at you—hell, even me—in light of these new points of connection, but I can take it. Can you?”
Anger was an emotion Cass respected. It was honest, she always said. Not always deserved, but still.
“Selling Addie’s innocence?” Cass wet her lips, diffusing the tension. “That sounds downright lascivious.”
“That’s…not what I said.” Boaz cast her a dry glance, willing to play along. “Bad vampire.”
Maybe they wouldn’t kill each other after all. It would definitely make my life simpler if they got along.
“You have no idea,” she purred, reeling herself in as she checked her phone. “Oh, no.”
Her pallor set my gut roiling, and I leaned closer. “What’s wrong?”
“If the pattern holds, the killer has chosen his next victim.”
“Who?” Boaz demanded, rising from his chair. “We need to move while the lead’s fresh.”
“Ari Willis,” she rasped. “Her mate, Demaryius, the clan master, texted me.”
“Cass?” I touched her arm. “What did he say?”
“She’s missing.”
And this close to dawn, there was nothing they could do about it.
Thirteen
Boaz had earned a reputation for haring off alone after leads, but Honey was still pissed when he cancelled their dusk meeting via text to avoid a confrontation. He, Cass, and Addie jumped in the Ferrari to hunt for Ari Willis as soon as the moon rose.
Much to his amusement, Addie had skipped the leather and gone casual in jeans and a tee with sneakers.
“Your friend Honey…” Cass caught his eye in the rearview mirror and wetted her lips. “She’s single?”
“Yes.” She wouldn’t have come on to him otherwise. “Fair warning, she’s straight.”
“Mmm.” Cass returned her attention to the road. “She sounds absolutely delicious.”
Addie had chosen to ride in the cramped backseat with him while Cass drove her matchbox-sized sports car. It didn’t have to mean anything, but it made his chest go tight when he glanced over at her. She was protecting him. He was the Elite sentinel, and she was worried he might get hurt going out on what amounted to a routine call for her and Cass.
Aside from Grier, no woman had ever worried about him or his ability to handle himself.
There were parallels there, yeah, and no. He wasn’t about to study them too hard. Not now.
That would come later, during the long days when his restless mind ought to be sleeping but couldn’t shut down. Guilt was a hell of a catalyst for insomnia, and he had been spending too much time watching sunrises lately.
“Gustav wants us at Third Saturday Market,” Addie said, her fingers sliding over a tablet’s screen.
“Ari Willis,” Cass said, “would rather die than be caught at some local arts and crafts fair.”
“Gustav is leaving me on read. I don’t know what he’s trying to tell us, but he’s not saying anything.”
“I ought to kick his hairy ass with my silver-tipped boot,” she snarled. “This is Ari.”
“You have a relationship with her?” He hesitated. “Her mate called you, not your boss, right?”
“Ari was a member of Cass’s clan until about three years ago,” Addie explained to Boaz. “She pledged to Clan Willis when she mated one of the founding members’ descendants.”
The direct connection to Clan Willis drew his attention. “Does she have a direct link to Twyla Thorne?”
“She babysat for Twyla. They were close. Close enough Ari often played bodyguard for Twyla when she was allowed out.” Addie pressed her lips together. “Ari will be devastated when she hears the news.”
The perp might have flubbed on Twyla’s state of undeath, or maybe not, but for him to go after Ari and not, say, Twyla’s parents was curious. It meant the kid had protected her parents while giving up Ari’s name, or that the perp asked specific questions that led to Twyla answering them with Ari’s name.
“She was a remarkable woman before Demaryius got his claws in her,” Cass said sadly. “Then she faded a bit, like a rose pressed between the pages of a book for safekeeping.”
“Cass and Ari dated.” Addie caught his eye. “For about a decade.”
The corner of Cass’s lips twitched in a fond smile that didn’t stick. “Social-climbing hussy.”
Boaz didn’t have to know Cass well to hear the strain in her voice as she tried to make light of her worry.
“I wasn’t opposed to being climbed, you understand.” Cass gave the windshield her full attention. “The social aspect is what split us apart. I came from nothing. I was used to being invisible. She came from a rich and influential human family. She was overlooked one too many times as a second daughter for her pride to bear it.” She shook her head. “She moved out one night while I was at work. The next time I heard from her, she was sending me an invitation to her mating ceremony.”
“I’m sorry, Cass.” Boaz dipped his chin. “We’ll do our best to find her and retrieve her safely.”
The vampire mashed her lips together and nodded, her attention hyper-focused on the road.
“You’re staring.” Addie kept her eyes on the screen. “Do I have a bat in the cave?”
“That’s disgusting.” Cass huffed from the front. “And an insult to vampires everywhere.”
“I don’t follow,” Boaz confessed. “What does that mean?”
“It’s a booger in your nose.” Addie rolled her eyes at Cass. “Even vampires have them, so get over it.”
“You’re breaking my brain.” Boaz chuckled. “I had this idea of how our lives would be, but this—you—are nothing like how I pictured.”
Lowering the tablet, she searched his face. “Is that a good thing or a bad thing?”
“Good.” He couldn’t hide his smile. “You’re fascinating as hell, Addie.”
A flush warmed her cheeks, and he almost brushed his fingertips across them, but he made a fist on his lap instead.
“We had good timing.” Addie turned her face toward the window. “The party is in full swing.”
“The harvest
