Authors: Melissa Schroeder
"On top of it, I do not trust MacDonald."
"Gavin?" Malik asked.
"Yes."
"Why?"
Nico glanced out the window. "He is apparently her
birth father."
"That makes sense," Malik said. "He comes
from a particularly strong line."
Nico nodded. "And for years, he hid up there in
Scotland and did not claim his daughter. But now, here he is, ready to do just
that."
He knew he sounded jealous. He didn't care. He did not trust
the bastard around his wife.
"For what reason? What would he gain by getting close
to Cordelia?"
"I don't know. Money?"
Malik shook his head. "He has more money than you
do."
Nico did know that. Or he thought he knew. There had always
been rumors that the MacDonald fortune was massive.
"I am not certain of that. Can anyone tell us for
sure?" Something about MacDonald still bothered Nico.
"What is your problem?"
"Problem?” Nico struggled to keep his voice even. “He
left her with that bastard. Who does that? Not a good father, if he even is
one."
The carriage drew to a stop. Malik stood. "Stop
fighting it, Nico. Bond with the woman so you can get your mind back on
matters."
“Of course. And what would that be?”
“Finding Neal Pearson.”
He nodded and looked out of the cab. “We aren’t at the
hell.”
“No, we are following up on a lead. There was a rumor that a
man by the name of Pearson was living here.”
Nico nodded and followed Malik out of the carriage. The
house was in a reputable part of town, clean-looking and dark.
“Why didn’t you tell me about this, Malik?”
“Saint was verifying.” Malik walked towards the house.
“Why is it just us?” Nico was surprised Saint wasn’t here.
“Was living here,” Malik said again. “That is what I said.
He’s no longer living here.”
“We could have come during the day.”
“No. We would have been seen breaking into the house. And
let’s face it, you need your rest. Being out in the sunlight will deplete your
energy as it is.”
He would argue with Malik if it wasn’t the truth. Every day
he was out in the sun, he felt a little more of his energy drain out of him.
“Around back,” Malik said.
They walked to the back and found the kitchen door standing
open. Nico pulled out his stake. He glanced at Malik and motioned with his head
that he would go first.
The kitchen had been left in a mess, as if the cook had been
in the middle of preparing a meal and was interrupted. The scents of rotting
food mixed in with the scent of blood. He stepped past the counter and found
the cook. Her neck had been slashed.
“Not good,” Malik said.
“Yeah, not good at all.”
The worked their way through the house, finding the members
of the household. The scent was making them both nauseous, but they continued
through the entire house.
They found the last of the bodies laid out in the
bedroom.
Malik lifted one of the bodies with his foot and rolled it
over. Nico recognized him immediately.
“McAlister,” Nico said. “He’s not a very nice fellow.”
“No. He’s also a predator,” Malik said. “It is said he likes
boys.”
“Yes. But why is he here?”
“We assumed Neal was working by himself, but he doesn’t like
to work.”
Nico nodded. “He was always lazy. So, maybe he had Simmons
do the dirty work and report back to him?”
“We need to get this cleaned up before anyone finds it. It’s
surprising no one reported it before now.”
Nico looked down at Simmons. He had been murdered the most
viciously. His neck was a mess, not like the clean cut of the others. “He cut
them across the neck, except for Simmons. With their vocal cords severed, there
was no way to scream out.”
Malik studied the scene. “And from the look of them, they
have only been here a few hours.”
“Why would he do this?” Nico asked.
“His game is over.” Malik began moving through the room,
starting the ghastly task of cleaning the slaughter.
Something wrong moved through him, tightening his stomach.
Malik continued. “And he got rid of anyone connected to
him.”
Something propelled him to start moving. He was halfway
downstairs before Malik yelled. “Where are you going?”
Nico had to go. He had to get home now. “What was the one
thing he did right before he went after Magdalen?”
“Damn. He killed all his staff.”
“He’s going after Cordelia.”
He rushed out the front door, his worry about being detected
by humans gone.
“Home, Briggs.”
His driver nodded. Malik and Nico scrambled into the
carriage.
“He hasn’t had much time, and you have your house
well-guarded. We will save her in time. He might not even be acting out
tonight.”
He knew Malik was trying to calm him, but Nico remembered
Neal too well. “Neal was unpredictable except for two things.”
Malik’s face was grim.
“He always killed his partners, and he always used the women
to get to the men.”
He just prayed they made it there in time.
*
*
*
*
Cordelia woke up slowly. She couldn’t remember a time when
she’d slept so soundly. The room was dark, but she sensed a figure moving
through it.
“Nico? You know I hate when you sneak through the room in
the dark.”
He said nothing and kept walking toward her. As he came
within inches of her, a slant of light from the bathing room illuminated his
face. The man she saw was not Nico.
“Good evening, Lady Cordelia,” he said as his lips curved.
Something cold moved down her spine as if he were sliding an icy finger across
her flesh.
“Who are you?”
“I’m an old friend of the family. The Blackburns. A pity
they never told you about me.”
Cordelia tried to stay calm. “What are you doing here?”
“Righting the wrongs of the past. Up, Lady Cordelia. We have
a ride to take.”
“No.”
“Oh, I think you will come with me.” The man seemed very
sure of himself.
“Why?”
He held up a sharp piece of wood. Even in the dark she could
tell it was a stake. “If you don’t, I will kill your family.”
Nico rushed up the stairs to his townhouse and burst through
the door. Terror was screaming in his veins, and it was more than just worry.
The fear he felt rushing along his nerve endings was not just from him.
“Cordelia,” he yelled.
“What on earth,” his father said as he walked out of the
study. He was still in his evening clothes which meant he must have just
returned.
“Have you checked on Cordelia?” he asked, running up the
stairs.
“No,” his father said, but he barely heard him. The only
sound he noticed was the rush of Malik behind him. He hit the door full force
and burst through. He found the room empty.
“Cordelia!”
Nothing but silence. He rushed into the bathing room. Empty.
“Nico,” Malik said. He was holding a slip of paper.
“He has her.” Nico knew what the note said without Malik
even reading it.
“Yes and he wants you to meet him.”
“Where?”
“Demetrius’s old house.”
His heart sank. Everything in him chilled at the thought.
Neal had taken his sister-in-law there and killed her in front of Demetrius.
“We go.” He knew what would happen to Cordelia if he did
not.
“But it could be a trap.”
“Of course it is. It’s Neal. We just have to make sure that
we outsmart him.”
Malik sighed.
“Agreed. Let’s send notes to Saint and Gray and tell them to
meet us there.”
Nico nodded.
*
*
*
*
Cordelia shook her head, trying to get her wits about her.
For some reason, everything was very fuzzy. When she opened her eyes, the room
was unclear.
“So nice of you to join me again.”
The voice was familiar. Then everything came rushing back to
her. Her eyes finally focused. She was in a dimly lit room. The furnishings
were old and there was a hint of mold in the air.
When she could finally see clearly, she noticed the man in
the shadows.
“What did you do to me?” she asked then fought back a cry as
pain spread from her jaw out. She tried to lift her hands but found them tied
to the chair she was sitting in.
“Just a little knock to the jaw.” He walked forward slowly.
“Sorry about that, but I wanted to make sure that you didn’t summon help.”
She was still a bit dizzy and the restraints hurt. “I would
not have done that.”
“I could not take a chance.”
Cordelia needed to keep him talking. The longer she
distracted him, the better chance she had of being alive when Nico arrived.
“You are Neal Pearson.”
“No,” he said. “I am called by many names, Devil,
Suprema
, but my mother named me
Michael.”
She frowned. “You have to be the man who killed Nico’s
brother.”
“I did not do that. It was my father.”
“Your…father?”
“Yes.”
“If I remember correctly, Neal didn’t have any children,”
Nico said as he stepped into the room. “He didn’t favor women.”
Neal stood. “Ah, finally, Nico has joined us. And yes, my
father did have children.”
Nico didn’t look at her. “Are you alright?”
“Yes.”
“How endearing. I was not sure you would come after her
since…” he stepped closer and sniffed at her. There was a loud rumble from
Nico. “You have not bonded. Amazing. I don’t think I would be able not to bond
with such a woman. Although I did learn from my mother that bonding can be a
detriment. Say, if I killed her now, you would not be affected. But I had a
feeling about you two.”
“Do tell,” Nico said.
“Something about the way you watched her. It was always
so…endearing.”
“You watched us?” she choked out.
“Yes, at public functions.”
“So, what is your relation to Pearson?” Nico asked.
“I told you. I am his son.”
“Liar.” Nico seemed to be taunting the man.
Michael’s face slowly turned red in anger, but when he
spoke, he kept his voice calm. “I am his son. My mother was Charlotte.”
Recognition moved over Nico’s face. “Charlotte Bryer?”
“Yes,” the man said. “She told me what truly happened.”
“What truly happened?” Nico asked warily. “What do you think
happened with your father?”
“Mother told me. She told me about how you used my father to
blame him for the murder of your sister-in-law.” His voice was tight, signaling
that Nico was indeed upsetting him. She knew he was doing it to throw Michael
off balance, but it also made Nico more of a target. A scream clogged her
throat. Cordelia bit the inside of her mouth to keep from letting it loose.
But it did not seem to affect Nico. His mouth twitched, then
curved upward. “Do tell me why I would do that?”
Michael raised his chin, looking very much like a boy trying
to take on a master. “You were in love with her. To get back at your brother
for marrying her, you killed her and framed my father after killing him.”
“Oh, my, I am quite dastardly.” Every syllable dripped with
sarcasm. “Of course, your father was quite stupid, so I could see where you
would fall for it.”
His fingers tightened around the stake he was holding. “Shut
up.”
Nico continued. “He really wasn’t all that smart. He was
kicked out of Eton. Did your mother tell you that?”
Michael seethed, his breaths coming out short and choppy. He
stalked closer to Nico. She had to bite her lip to keep from screaming at Nico.
Why was he antagonizing the man?
“Nico,” she said, but he did not look at her. His attention
was on Michael, who apparently had forgotten about her.
“Shut the hell up,” Michael screeched. “I will kill you
where you stand.”
“Now would work,” Nico said loudly.
“What?” Michael seemed confused. She didn’t blame him.
“Malik, now.”
Neal lunged forward as Nico leaned to his right. Malik came
through the door, a stake in his hand. Without hesitation, Malik pulled his arm
back and plunged the stake into Pearson’s heart.
Pearson fell back, stumbling. A look of surprise, and then
dawning horror, moved over his face. The screech he released was unlike any
sound she had heard before. It bounced off the walls and made her slightly
nauseous. Nico rushed over and blocked her view.
He undid her restraints then pulled her into his arms. He
was shaking when he drew back and kissed her.
“What the bloody hell were you thinking leaving the house?”
he yelled. Then, without waiting for her to answer, he pulled her back into his
arms. He hugged her so tight, she thought she might lose her breath.
“Nico,” she said, but could barely hear her own voice. It
was muffled in his coat.
“Do you think we can get out of here sometime soon?” Malik
said.
Nico let her step back, but he did not let her completely
go. He held onto her arm then pulled her to his side.
“Yes. We need to…but we need to do something with the body.”
“We can take care of that,” Saint said, walking through the
door. He studied her as if checking to see if she was bleeding anywhere. “I see
that the bastard didn’t get to you.”
She shook her head.
“Go on. Aunt Adelaide is going to be beside herself with
worry.”
Gray nodded to her but did not say anything as Nico ushered
her through the door and out into the London night.
Malik followed them. Soon, they were on their way home. She
was sitting on Nico’s lap and would have been embarrassed in front of Malik,
but she was too relieved.