Page 21

Chapter 21

M axim walked toward them not ten minutes later. Jason gaped at the sight of the blond vampire with his long hair braided and his hunter’s blacks standing out all the darker in the light. Gordon had long since assumed all the looks Maxim got were part of the reason he liked his hunter outfit fitting as snugly as it did. Then again, the outfit probably allowed him all the freedom of movement he needed to use the two swords he was carrying to cut off heads and such.

“That’s Uncle Maxim,” Mil said, jumping to her feet.

The hunter smiled like a kid being given extra candy for Halloween. “Well, yes, Milea! That’s exactly right. I’m Uncle Maxim. What a very good wolf you are.”

She nodded. “Gordon needs to go inside. It’s too warm here. We wanted to go and buy books.”

Maxim put his hands on his hips. “I see. You can never have enough books, and it was especially good of you to wait for me.” From a pocket hidden in his hunter’s blacks, he produced a slim wallet, and Gordon watched in mild shock as he pulled out a few bills and handed them to the little wolf. “There. Shop responsibly.”

“Uh, Maxim, you don’t—”

Maxim shook his head. “I have to, Gordon. I’m Uncle Maxim now, and this is what a good uncle does. You two can go.” He turned to Jason who was still staring. “Jason, I assume. We should talk. If you’ll follow me?”

Jason nodded. “Sure. And thank you, thank you so much.”

“Not for this. This is my work, the thing I have been doing for a long time and am quite good at. It brings me pleasure but rarely, but it is necessary.”

The hunter sounded ominous. Gordon hoped nothing bad had happened to the roommate, nothing that actually required Maxim’s presence. Or that of his swords.

“Good luck,” he said and watched as the two of them walked away, but he didn’t get to watch for long. Mil took his hand.

“We should go. You don’t have to use your collectible money now. We can split this.”

The small wolf was serious as she waved the book money from…Uncle Maxim, and Gordon wasn’t sure whether it was a Mil thing or yet another werewolf thing. It didn’t really matter. They headed to the subway on their quest to buy some books.

The two of them spent nearly two hours in Gordon’s favorite and well-stocked bookstore in downtown New Amsterdam. They had a café as well, and Mil had hot chocolate while trying to decide which books to pick out of her pile.

Gordon had found a series of manga done by one of the people who’d worked on Kawaii Demon Hunter. He’d never heard about the manga series, presumably because it was romance while Kawaii Demon Hunter was marketed as action. Kawaii Demon Hunter only turned romance in fan fic writing. Yet, Gordon was excited. Deciding to grab the entire series still took him a half hour, it feeling so much like an overindulgence. He and Mil left the bookstore with a big bag full of books each.

“Should we have gotten Adler something?” Mil asked when they were on the subway, their bags sitting on their laps.

“Oh. You’re right. I didn’t think… He once said he likes watching me read.”

The little wolf nodded as if that made sense.

But should I have gotten him a book? I know he reads on his phone a lot, but a nice book is a nice book.

Gordon was doubting himself all the way home, and then once he got back home, he felt very useless. Mil had gone to her guest room to read, and Gordon couldn’t quite bring himself to dive into his own books, not when it felt like he should be working or do something nice for his mate.

Wait. I know exactly what to do for him. He lets me drink his blood all the time. Gordon walked into the kitchen and looked at the fridge. I’ll make dinner for my mate. That shouldn’t be too hard.

Gordon pulled out his Kawaii Demon Hunter mug, made himself some coffee, and brought his laptop to the kitchen table where Adler and Mil had eaten their breakfast earlier in the day.

It’s not like I don’t remember food, kind of, it’s just that it’s been a long time. But Mom would make this casserole with noodles, and Paula loved that. Cooking and baking are only chemistry, right? I can do this for him. For my mate.

As if it were a case involving an unusual manner of death, Gordon researched. It took him about an hour after which he checked to make sure Adler had everything that was needed.

Then, he got to work, interrupting only when Mil walked into the kitchen, looking for a snack. He made her a sandwich with the crusts cut off, and the little wolf watched him with big eyes as he sauteed onions, pretty much mirroring Gordon’s own surprise.

Never thought I’d be doing this after becoming a vampire, he thought as he made a roux, just like the nice fae on the MyTube had said.

Gordon felt a strange sense of accomplishment when he had the food in the oven and texted Adler a covert plea to come home soon. With nothing more to do but wait and make sure the casserole’s crust turned golden and not black, Gordon decided it was time he looked at the old Jack the Ripper case as well as at their own Pearson case.

He refilled the Kawaii Demon Hunter mug, feeling not unlike Kawaii Hunter himself. He connected to the Forum’s network, frowning at the old-timey look of it just like he always did. In one of his own folders, he’d started collecting observations from his point of view about the cases, but once they’d caught Pearson, he’d not seen the need to continue it.

“I’m glad I did this now,” he said before taking another sip and opening his file.

The first few pages were notes from the autopsies, basically a short summary of how the victims had been strangled, how they’d been dead when Pearson had cut into them.

What we know from the old cases in London , Gordon had titled the section of his notes on the London Ripper. It was what he’d researched when all of this had started, when he’d been afraid he’d need it as a point of reference a lot more than he actually had.

His notes read:

Murders committed at nighttime .

Five victims were fae, three human (though not confirmed). One possible assault/attempted abduction (?)

Victims were not drained of blood (though given forensics of the day, some exsanguination remains a possibility).

Messages written in blood .

Organs taken: kidney, ovaries, liver. None recovered (kidney sent to journalist fake).

Autopsy done by human surgeon. Presumes killer has some medical knowledge. Data collected then makes this difficult to confirm or discount . (I hate forensics back then).

(Fake?) Letters sent to reporters blame werewolves for attacks .

Werewolves blame vampires for attacks; why?

While the kitchen filled with food smells, Gordon reached for the Kawaii Demon Hunter mug as he looked over the notes again.

“Maxim was right about how this was a mess,” he said, then sipped some of his coffee.

Gordon read over what he’d found out about Pearson, how she’d been orphaned young, how she’d always been with foster families. When Maxim had asked him to get an old file of hers, Gordon had managed to find it through an old psychiatrist friend.

He’d read it cover to cover before giving it to Maxim, and one small thing had stood out to him, one thing that took on a different light now.

“What was it in the margins, ‘happy to take direction from older boys she considers savvy.’ That’s what one of her doctors noted.”

Gordon hadn’t paid it much mind then, especially because the handwritten note had been so faded, and it had never come up in the file again.

Now, he wondered if it was important. He began writing an email to Maxim, then stopped before he could even come up with a subject line. He headed back to the living room to get his new phone and wrote a quick text to ask Maxim for his opinion.

He hit send just in time. A second later, the apartment door opened, and a second after that, Gordon’s food alarm went off.

“Oh, perfect timing, detective,” he said while crossing the hallway to the kitchen to turn off the oven.

Gordon heard Adler in the hallway taking off his shoes. With Adler occupied, Gordon opened the oven, found the old mitts, and took out the food. I have no idea if this is going to taste right, but it looks okay at least.

“Sweetheart,” Adler said when he poked his head in the kitchen. “Sweetheart, what’s this?”

Gordon slipped off the mitts and indicated the casserole. “We were home early, and I thought I’d make you dinner.”

Watching Adler’s jaw drop was one of the more satisfying things Gordon had seen in the past decade. His mate kept his composure though, and quickly closed his mouth. Then he approached, almost cautiously.

“You cooked, for me?”

“Yes. And for Mil. But mostly for you. We went to the bookstore, and I sort of forgot to bring you a book.”

“That’s fine. You cooked for me.” Adler looked at the casserole with big eyes. “It smells delicious.”

Gordon nodded. “The Internet promised it would.”

Adler opened the cutlery drawer and pulled out a fork. He glanced up as if he wanted to make sure Gordon was watching, then he stabbed the fork into the casserole, picking up a bite. He blew on it a little before putting it into his mouth.

“Is it good?” Gordon asked, hoping he hadn’t mixed up salt and sugar or anything like that.

“It’s—sweetheart, this is delicious. And you made it.”

“Welcome home, Adler,” Mil said from the kitchen door.

“Hi, little one. Mil. How would you like to order pizza for dinner tonight?”

Gordon’s shoulders sagged. “I messed it up, didn’t I? Adler, stop eating it. You don’t have to eat it.”

Gordon tried taking the fork from Adler, but the werewolf pulled it back and growled a little.

“No. This is mine. You made food for me. Mil, pizza is going to be an exception.”

“I like pizza. Can I order anything?”

Adler huffed. “Sure.”

“Wait, are you saying you don’t want to share my casserole?”

Adler ate another forkful of it. “No. Not particularly. You don’t eat, but you figured out how to make this, and it’s… Gordon, I love you, but I find it hard to believe a vampire made this.”

“I saw him work,” Mil said. “He also made me a sandwich. Adler, I want mushrooms and cauliflower on my pizza.”

Adler grumbled, his attention absorbed by the casserole. When he pulled out his phone to take a photo, Gordon chuckled. He walked over to the laptop that still sat on the kitchen table and quickly closed the Ripper file.

“Mil, I can order for you. Mushrooms and cauliflower?”

“Yes, please. Thank you. Can I go back to read until the food is here?”

“Sure.”

Mil walked off, not minding that she had to eat pizza while Adler was keeping the baked noodles all to himself. And Adler didn’t even bother with plating the food. He put the whole big dish on a wooden cutting board and joined Gordon at the table.

“You made this for me.” He continued eating. “I’m so lucky I found you, Gordon.”

Gordon chuckled and placed Mil’s order.

“I should write a book. How to please your werewolf mate.”

“Hmm. Maybe. No. I don’t know. How was today?”

While Adler ate, Gordon began recounting his day. It wasn’t like they’d never done that before—Adler always took an interest, and Gordon liked to hear Adler talk about Bachmann and how he was proud of her—but today felt different.

Gordon wasn’t quite sure why, but whatever this new thing was, he liked it.