Page 5 of Blood Claims (Garnet Dagger Mafia #2)
The order prompted Andras to step forward, making the girl’s eyes widen in a comical way.
Then she pushed her big round glasses back up her nose at the same time her mouth dropped a little.
But it wasn’t her response to him that had me narrowing my eyes in question.
Not when this was only to be expected. No, it was actually Andras’s reaction to her that surprised us both.
As well, let’s just say that our second in command wasn’t exactly known for his mercy, nor his gentle coaxing.
Yet one look at the slim Goth girl and his whole demeaner suddenly changed.
“I erm… I don’t think you… you should be here,” she stammered as she took quick steps back, her slippers making hurried little swishing sounds on the floor.
But instead of just advancing and pulling his knife, he took it slow as he approached, holding his hands out to the side in a non-threatening way.
Something that made my brother and I look at each other, silently questioning why.
Fuck, but I didn’t think Andras knew any other way to extract information out of someone… woman or not.
So, the question now was what was it about this mortal that caused this reaction? Could it be the same reason that had my brother and I also acting so out of character ourselves? And fuck me, but if it was, then shit just got even more complicated.
“Easy now, darlin’, no one is going to hurt you.”
Victor frowned and mouthed ‘what the fuck?’ at me before then stepping inside the apartment behind Andras. His big body commandeered the small space, that was both quaint and quirky in equal measures.
A small colorful kitchen was off to the left, whilst the only living space was to the right. A narrow table was placed against one of the windows that was only big enough for two. Giving me cause to imagine the friends sharing a meal whilst watching the busy street below.
The same went for the couch, one that looked as if it had seen many hours of use as the girls no doubt watched the TV attached to the wall opposite.
As for the rest, a single glance ahead showed three more doors, and it wasn’t hard to guess what was beyond them.
However, what did surprise me was the colorful theme of the place, especially knowing who the apartment belonged to and her particular choice of style.
One that Andras seemed particular fond of right now, given the way he was eyeing her up and down like she was candy.
“Wh…what do you want?!” Stacey asked, her panic growing as we closed the door behind us, locking her in.
“Your friend, Vanessa, we just want to know where she is, that’s all,” Andras said, his voice taking on a softer, sweeter tone neither of us had ever heard before.
But at six foot four of pure muscle, a tattooed shaved head, and piercing light-grey eyes, I wondered if it would have any effect on her.
Or were her eyes drawn to the scar across his neck…
before questioning how different her day would have gone had the enemy actually managed to slice his blade clean through?
“Who… who are you? Are you like… like cops or something?” she asked, making my brother scoff as Andras told her,
“No, sweetheart, we ain’t cops.”
She started shaking her head, causing one of her pigtails to droop slightly off to one side.
“I don’t know where she is but you’re wasting your time even if I did.
I would never tell you,” she replied, and had to give it to the girl, she was loyal alright.
Facing the three of us would have made braver men squeal…
friend or not. It was amazing what people would do to save their own skins but not our little Goth girl here.
Or should I say, Andras’s little goth girl.
Speaking of which, he released a sigh of frustration, as it was clear he wasn’t about to relish this next part like he usually did.
“Shame that, as it would have made this next part so much easier,” he told her, making her eyes grow wide.
With a quick glance at my brother and I, she suddenly turned and made a run for it to the bathroom. At this, Andras looked back at us both and after a nod from my brother, he sighed again before heading in her direction.
“Come on out, darlin’, there is no escaping this,” he warned after first knocking on the door, whereas before he would have simply kicked it in.
“You better leave! I am calling the cops, they are on their way!”
We scanned the small apartment and quickly found her cell phone on a checkered black and white painted coffee table. I shook my head at Andras, telling him she was bluffing.
“Hard to do that without a phone, Angele Mou,” he said, calling her his angel in Greek and giving us both cause to grant each other another look of concern.
“Erm… that one was Vanessa’s, mine is in my pocket!” she shouted back, making me smirk when I took note of the phone cover. So, I walked over and retrieved it, chuckling as I showed my brother… who read it aloud.
“I’m so goth I shit bats… cute.”
Andras smirked hearing this and asked,
“Any bats in there, sweetheart?”
“Damn… okay, fine, so I didn’t call the cops, but I have got a weapon in here and will stab whoever tries to break through the door!” she threatened, making Andras grin as if the son of a bitch was fucking proud or something.
“I will take my chances,” he said, before twisting the door handle and simply breaking the lock, making her squeal in fright.
After this we couldn’t see what happened next as all we heard was a scuffle and what sounded like soothing words being whispered to her.
Words we could attest to Andras never using before.
Although the effect was just the same, as before we knew it, he had her unconscious form in his hold as he carried her toward the other two doors beyond the bathroom.
The first must have belonged to Vanessa, as the second was opened to reveal black walls and a very gothic bed.
Andras laid her down on it as my brother and I made our way to our girl’s private space.
One that made us both grit our teeth as the first thing we saw was the duffle bag sitting on the unmade bed. The next was the closet that had clearly recently been ransacked. The open door allowing us to see the few bulky items left hanging there as well as a few pairs of used shoes on the floor.
As for the rest of her room, there wasn’t much to speak of.
A pin board that looked as if the few pictures that had once been there were now torn off.
A purple bedspread lay rumbled up at the bottom of the bed, with a purple lamp to match sitting on a bedside table.
This as well as a pair of curtains in the same material that were still drawn closed.
In fact, it was so void of Vanessa’s personality, it made me question how long she had actually lived here?
Or was it just that her bastard ex had robbed her to the point that it left her with nothing.
A girl drowning in so much debt that she didn’t have the money to waste on what she would no doubt class as unnecessary things.
One look to my brother and the way his hands were fisted at his sides, and I knew that our thoughts were running the same line.
“The girl speaks the truth. She hasn’t seen her for when she returned, Vanessa wasn’t here,” Andras informed us, drawing our attention from the pitiful sight of our girl’s meager possessions.
“Tell me you at least got something useful,” I gritted out, my voice strained as my frustration grew.
“I infiltrated her thoughts and her memories, telling me that she has been worried about her friend ever since the night they went to see the fortune teller.”
My brother and I looked at each other.
“That was the reason for her being at the club,” I reminded Victor before asking, “What night did they see this woman?”
“The same night we killed the traitor, and you first met her spying,” he replied, making me look to my brother once more.
“Then that has to be the witch,” he said before I had the chance to do the same.
After which Andras walked back into the girl’s bedroom and scanned the space, leaving us in the small hallway.
After this he exited, shaking his head to tell us there was nothing before he walked back into the living room.
We followed him in and, once there, his eyes scanned the area before we found a second pinboard attached to the end of one of the kitchen cabinets.
But unlike Vanessa’s, this one was covered with everything from tickets, receipts, coupons, and book notes.
Not to mention all the photographs of what I gathered were Stacey’s family.
But our gaze quickly shifted to the ones that included our Nessa smiling and looking as breathtaking as always.
However, as my brother and I were distracted by the sight of our girl, it was Andras that pointed something out,
“There.”
This made Victor rip the piece of paper from the pin, before showing it to me at the same time telling me,
“A coupon for one soon-to-be-dead fortune teller.”
“Then it looks like we have more than one reason to get our asses to Yonkers,” I said with a malicious grin that silently spoke of the same murder. My brother then placed a hand to my shoulder, gave it a squeeze, and grinned before saying,
“That we do, for we have a witch to kill and a prisoner to reclaim.”
I smirked and replied,
“And a fortune to retell.”