The Fire Within (22 page)

“I don’t believe I ever mentioned the Cayman Islands,” Beth interjected, sending Romanov a sharp glance over her glasses.

He shrugged elegantly. “The money then began moving around a great deal—where to, I am not entirely certain. Some of that money, I believe, was deposited into the account of one Robert Kensington, currently under arrest for blackmail, murder and attempted murder of a police officer.”

“And you haven’t been able to trace the rest of it?”

“Whoever did this is extremely good at laundering money. They’ve kept it hopping around the world, into different accounts with different names. As yet, I am unable to track all of the locations.”

She nodded. “I’ll see what my tracker can do. She’s pretty good.”

She was looking down at her notes, and so missed the triumph that flashed ever so briefly across his face. But Dante saw it, and was worried for Beth’s friend. As a Cambion, Piotr would find himself drawn to the dreamy, highly emotional Sam. Dante resolved to keep an eye on the fragile blonde. “Anything you can add that might help? We’re definitely dealing with at least one Shem.”

Piotr nodded. “Other than I’ve never met Mrs. Blake, Mr. Blessing, or any of the other players in this little game? I’m afraid not, but I’ll speak with Micah and Zeke. It’s possible they might know something.”

Micah and Zeke worked with Piotr in much the same way Dante worked with Seth and Damien. He’d always wondered before how the two men could stand to be around him.

He still wondered, but now it was whether or not he really had misjudged Piotr. Perhaps he wasn’t as unfeeling as he seemed. Maybe he longed for that brother to brother connection that Dante had denied him because of his last name.

Shit. Now Dante was going to have to apologize for being a dick.

“This isn’t business. This is personal.” Elizabeth’s words interrupted his train of thought. “Whoever is doing this feels he or she owes you.”

“Sheer speculation, I am afraid, but quite possibly accurate.” Piotr stood, pressing a button on his desk and signaling that the interview was over. “If you find anything, anything at all, please notify me immediately. I’ll take it from there.”

She smiled grimly. “Mr. Romanov, if I find anything I’ll make sure you hear about it.”

She sailed toward the door, Dante hot on her heels.

“Dante?”

Dante turned to find Piotr watching him with an odd expression. “
Prebyvaniem bezopasny
,
moĭ brat.
”

The traditional parting words were spoken softly, almost hesitantly, in Russian, but Dante understood them. So, for the first time, he gave them back to Piotr without feeling like a liar. “Stay safe, my brother.”

The lightning-quick smile he received haunted him as he left Piotr’s office. He needed to talk to Seth. It seemed he’d made a serious mistake with Piotr, but he had no idea how to fix it.

The man needed his brothers in the worst way, and they’d shunned him repeatedly. Dante was going to fix that, and he knew just who to ask for help.

Dante needed his family. But first? They needed to catch the Shem that seemed to be targeting not only his lover, but the man he finally acknowledged as his brother.

Chapter Nineteen

She pulled up in front of the precinct, eager to get to Kensington. “You’re sure you cleared this, right?”

Dante rolled his eyes. “Purvis managed to get us the okay. The cops are hoping you’ll be able to get something out of him that they couldn’t.”

She nodded. “What if he turns out to be the Shem?”

“If he is, he’s better at hiding it than anyone else I’ve ever met.” He sighed deeply. “It’s possible he’s working with them, either voluntarily or involuntarily. Find out what you can, but don’t be surprised if there isn’t much there. He seems...immature.” Dante frowned. “Like—”

“He’s being used.” She had the same gut feeling. “That gun. He said he never kept it loaded.”

“I know.”

“So, the question becomes, who loaded it?”

His gaze was full of fire. “The same person who tried to run you over.”

“Then maybe Kensington can tell me who that is.”

He grabbed her arm before she could climb out of the car. “Be careful. When a Shem is cornered they become vicious.”

“You said he’s not a Shem.”

Dante’s cheeks flushed. “I did. But if I’m wrong...”

She kissed his cheek. “I’ll be careful,
tesoro
.” She was close enough that she felt the shudder that ran through him. “Stay in the car.”

Before he could reply she’d climbed out. She barely heard the string of Italian as she walked up to the precinct doors. Walking into the warmth of the precinct, she smiled at the officer behind the desk. “Hey, Koelling.”

The officer, an older, grizzled man she’d dealt with many times before, grinned. “Hey, Rand.” He stood and waved her over, offering her a hug. The man looked like he’d been dragged facedown over three miles of bad road, had tattoos that would make a sailor blush, and was a complete squishy bear on the inside. He scared the crap out of all the juvenile offenders who were brought in, and he was also the one who volunteered at the youth centers, trying to turn their lives around. “How’s Purvis? We sent a fruit basket to his house, but I haven’t heard anything other than he’s home and recuperating.”

“I saw him at the hospital when he went to visit Dante. He’s doing well.”

“You’re here to talk to that scumbag who shot Detective Zucco, right?” Koelling got back behind the front desk and began typing. “You’ve been cleared thanks to Detective Purvis.”

“Thanks. Has he asked for a lawyer?”

“Yeah, he has, but it’s not gonna do him any good. He shot a cop, he’s gonna do time.” For a split second Koelling looked just as scary as the kids thought he was. “Zucco’s good people. He doesn’t deserve getting shot by some asshole who didn’t even know his gun was loaded.”

“Told you that, did he?”

Koelling’s harsh expression relaxed. “It’s the
only
thing he’s told us. Over, and over, and over.”

She shook her head and laughed. He sounded thoroughly disgusted with Kensington. “Let me go see what I can get out of him then.”

“Good luck with that.” Koelling waved her through into the precinct.

It didn’t take long for the officers to bring Kensington to an interrogation room. They had him in the lock-up within the precinct. Apparently he hadn’t been processed into general population yet. She sat across from him and stared at him in his prison orange jumpsuit. He looked thoroughly miserable, his pretty face scruffy. “You need to help me,” he whined. “I didn’t mean to shoot that detective, I swear it!”

She smiled, and had the gratification of seeing him shiver. “Tell me about it.”

He took a deep breath. “Okay. My lawyer told me not to talk, but I figure I wanna cut a deal or something, I gotta talk, right?”

She nodded slowly. “I’m not a cop, so I’m not bound by the same rules. You understand that?”

He nodded eagerly. “Yeah, yeah, I get it, but you’re banging a cop. I figure you can put in a good word for me.”

Was it that obvious that she was together with Dante? “How do you know I’m seeing Detective Zucco?”

He rolled his bloodshot eyes. “Please. The way you two look at each other? A blind man could see it.” He took a deep breath and began speaking. “I saw them, Todd and Jennifer, together. They were in her office, and it looked like, well, you know. Anyway, there they were, going at it right on her desk. And I thought, hey, golden opportunity, make some cash, split for the hills after I have a couple grand in the bank.” He shrugged. “I wasn’t gonna hose them for more than that, you know? Todd’s never going to get elected, and even if he does he’ll hire all new staff. We’re all going to be out on our asses.”

“Why do you say that?”

He scrubbed his face. “Jennifer hated almost everyone in the office. Cranston and I overheard her telling Todd to fire us all and start fresh, that we were going to wind up bringing the campaign down. She especially hated Candy and Oates.”

“Oates?”

“Yeah. She said he was
too
interested in the money, despite being Todd’s accountant.” He laughed bitterly. “How can your accountant be too interested in where the money is going? That’s his
job
.” He paused, apparently to gather his thoughts. “Anyway, I had Blessing pay me. Not much, just a couple grand, then a couple more. Figured I’d stop when I hit twenty in the bank, take a little vacation, then find work somewhere out in California. Nice and sunny there, you know? Anyway, Jennifer up and gets killed, so I lay off the blackmail. Figured it would do more harm than good to have him keep paying me like that. I didn’t want someone to think I’d killed her. Then, the freakiest thing happened.”

“Twenty grand was mysteriously deposited to your account.”

He looked surprised. “How’d you know?”

She smiled grimly. “Lucky guess. What did you do?”

“I was getting ready to head for the hills when you and that detective showed up. Figured I’d better get the hell out of Dodge before you decided to either pin the murder on me or Blessing. Either way, I’d wind up doing jail time.” He sighed roughly. “I didn’t do it, Ms. Rand. I didn’t kill Jennifer. You gotta believe me.”

She did, but she wasn’t certain the cops weren’t going to nail the murder on him anyway. It wasn’t like Dante could walk up to them and tell them that a Shem had been the murderer. But she couldn’t leave this guy twisting in the wind, either. He’d still do time, but she wanted him to do it for the crimes he’d actually committed. “I do, actually.”

“You do?” He looked surprised, and hopeful. He leaned forward, but didn’t touch her. “Listen, I didn’t mean to hurt that cop. Like I said, I always kept that gun unloaded.”

“Can you think of anyone in the office who would have it in for either Blessing or Romanov?”

Kensington turned white as a ghost. “Romanov?”

She nodded slowly. “Yes, Romanov. Anyone come to mind, Kensington?”

He shook his head slowly. “No one I can think of would deliberately mess with Mr. Romanov. That is one scary-ass dude. Why?”

“Anyone in the office ever mention his name?”

He shrugged, still shaken. “Cranston, once, but that was in connection with a campaign contribution he’d made. Cranston seemed confused about it, because there wasn’t a file on it.”

Beth frowned thoughtfully. “That’s odd. He told us that Romanov had never made a contribution.” Cranston had lied to her. She needed to dig deeper into his past.

Kensington laughed. “Maybe he lied to you because he’s terrified of Romanov, just like the rest of the sane world.”

Beth looked at Kensington mildly. “You know, Romanov’s really not
that
bad.”

“Neither is a grizzly until you piss it off.” Kensington began making ripping motions with his hands. “Then it tears you into very tiny little pieces and devours what’s left.”

Beth stood, closing her notebook. “Thanks, Kensington. Can’t say I’m happy with you—” she frowned over her glasses at him, “—but I’ll see what I can do.”

“I didn’t murder Jen.”

“I know.”

“How?”

She glanced toward the two-way mirror, aware they were being recorded. “Because you’re not a grizzly.” She ignored his thanks as she walked out of the precinct.

Why had Cranston lied about the money? It was time to go talk to him and see what was what.

“Well?” Dante’s impatience had him practically vibrating in his seat.

“Cranston lied to us.”

His brows rose. “
Figlio di puttana.
”

“You think he’s the Shem?”

Dante took a deep breath. “There’s no way—unless he’s a Chameleon like Diana—that he could hide from me.”

Beth’s mind was running a mile a minute. “Camouflage.”

“What?”

She waved her hand impatiently. “You’re the one who’s obsessed with poo gas, remember? Is it possible a Shem can use the stench to camouflage their presence?”

Dante paled. “I hope not, or the Neph are in deep shit. We rely on that stench to hunt. If they’ve found a way to use it to their advantage...” Dante shuddered.

She pulled away from the precinct. “Call whoever you need to. I’m going to drop you off at home and go speak to Cranston.”

“The hell you are.” He managed to get his phone out of his pocket and up to his ear. “Call Gabriel.” He punched a button on the phone and she could hear it ringing. He’d set it on speaker for her.

“Dante—”

“
Stai zitto!
You are not facing a Shem alone, and that’s that.” He turned his attention back to the phone when a voice came over the speaker.

“Good morning, Dante.”

“Good morning, Gabriel.” Dante’s tone was growly.

“What seems to be the problem?” The voice of the man who ran the Nephilim was deep and smooth, soothing to the ear. His tone was serene, as if he’d been expecting Dante’s call.

“I’ve been shot.”

Silence. “A Shem?”

“No. A human, but one that may have given us a lead on the Shem that killed Jennifer Blake.” Beth remained silent as Dante filled Gabriel in. “Elizabeth managed to question the man who shot me, Robert Kensington. It seems one of Todd Blessing’s accountants may have been responsible for her death. Cranston lied to us about contributions Piotr made to the Blessing gubernatorial campaign.”

“What about the miasma? Was it present around Cranston?”

“The whole office reeked.”

“Ah.” Gabriel didn’t sound surprised. “He hid himself in plain sight.”

Beth and Dante shared a confused look. “How so?”

“Is that Elizabeth?” Gabriel sounded delighted to hear her voice. “You’ll have to bring her to meet me.”

“I will. I look forward to introducing you to her.” Dante smiled fondly at her. “But what did you mean about hiding in plain sight?”

“I think the Shem decided that if he couldn’t hide the miasma from us, he’d make sure the entire office was saturated in it.”

“Like a fog, so we couldn’t see who was giving off the stench?”

“Yes, Elizabeth. Exactly like that.”

Beth smiled. “Call me Beth.”

“Thank you, Beth.” The warmth of Gabriel’s tone seeped through her. It was different from Dante’s warmth, more comforting and far from sensual. Dante’s inner fire threatened to burn her with his passion, but Gabriel’s quiet warmth was like roasting marshmallows in the backyard as a kid. She’d sit in front of the fire pit, holding white pillows of yummy goodness out on a stick, soaking up the warmth of the banked coals while dreaming of a Halloween costume she’d probably never get.

“So you’re basically saying he hosed down the entire place so we wouldn’t be able to detect which of the office workers was him?”

Dante choked on a laugh.

“Hosed?” Gabriel sounded amused. “I guess that
would
be an appropriate way to phrase it, yes.”

“How is that even possible?” Dante was obviously confused.

Beth was too. “It’s never happened before?”

Dante shrugged. “Not that I’m aware of.”

“It has.” Gabriel’s tone was confident. “It’s a tactic that’s more frequently used when a Shem hunts in an area surrounded by Neph, like in a city. Most times that Shem runs before the Neph can accurately pinpoint which of the people he’s investigating is the target.”

That made a certain kind of sick sense. “Like a skunk that’s been startled.”

“Exactly.” Gabriel sounded pleased with her. “So this Shem should be running soon.”

“We can’t let him do that.” Beth would hunt him down herself if she had to.

“No, Beth. We won’t let him get away.” Gabriel’s tone was gentle. “Dante. I’m calling in Seth and Damien. Meet them at your house. I want the three of you to confront—”

“No.” Oh, fuck no. “Dante’s injured. Get someone else.” She wasn’t budging on this one.

“Of course, Dante won’t be hunting the Shem. But Damien and Seth are his partners, and will need at least his information.”

“If I have to, I’ll take Dante’s place.” The thought frightened her, but she’d have Seth, who was practically Superman, and Damien. She’d be almost as safe as if Dante were there.

“No. If need be,
I’ll
accompany Damien and Seth. You stay by Dante and protect him until he’s healed.” The stern command in Gabriel’s voice was hard to ignore.

Dante’s relief at Gabriel’s order was written all over his face, so she couldn’t bring herself to argue with Gabriel. “Yes, sir.”

Dante grinned. “I’ll keep an eye on Elizabeth as well.”

“I’m sure you will.” Gabriel’s tone was back to that gentle warmth. “Seth and Damien should be at your place soon. Tell them everything, and we’ll see what we can do about hunting down your Shem.”

“What about the Shem Angelus that threatened Elizabeth? Do you think he’s tied in with Cranston?”

“No way to tell, but if you’re right and the Shem are starting to work together we’ll need to keep a watch on all the mates.”

Dante’s head tilted. “All of them? Does that mean...”

“The others will find their futures soon, yes. And the Angelus’s threat may be to all of them.”

“Damn.” Dante started to laugh. “I don’t know who I want to see fall first, Damien or Piotr.”

“When the time comes, your brothers will need all of us. Especially Piotr.”

Dante’s laughter died. “You’re serious? Their women are in danger?”

“Yes. Piotr’s most of all.”