Page 30

Chapter 30

M axim returned to the scene at speed, double-parking close to where the area had been cordoned off.

“I’m not in trouble, am I?” Corinne asked.

She stood next to Gordon, both of them still in their white body suits, both with their arms crossed, the van running so the cooling unit kept their guests comfortable.

“Probably not.”

“Dr. Morris, you could at least pretend.”

“I said probably.” Gordon scratched his head. His scalp was itchy, and he needed a shower. Maybe I should get a new color soon. I wonder what Adler would like?

“Probably isn’t a comfort word,” Corinne said, but Gordon had nearly tuned her out.

Adler got out of the car, and their eyes met, the commotion that was still going on while the crime scene was being processed suddenly receding.

…mate.

Gordon’s eyes went wide. He’d heard the word in his mind, loud and clear like his own thought though that undertone of proud possessiveness wasn’t something that existed in Gordon’s mind.

Shit. Fuck. Fuckety-fuck. This can’t be real. I need a shower. And coffee. I’m imagining things. This isn’t the mate bond, can’t be. It’s too rare, plus Adler isn’t even shifted. Yeah, I just need sleep.

Both Maxim and Adler approached them quickly.

“Gordon, you two look like morgue twins,” Maxim said, sunshine rippling over his long braid.

Corinne cocked her head. “Not really.”

“Sweetheart.”

Adler’s voice was low, and it made Gordon shiver in his whitesuit, inappropriate for where they were but not something he could easily avoid, especially not with the way Adler’s eyes seemed glued to him.

“Dearest Corinne, are those two like that in the morgue? You’re supposed to keep things below freezing there, what with the corpses, no?” Maxim asked.

Corinne shrugged. “Live a little. That should be our motto, except Dr. Morris says it’s our guests come first .”

“And right he is. Corinne, Gordon said you paid attention to gossip? Do share.”

Maxim’s voice still had his levity, but there was something about him that tipped Gordon off. Maybe it was the set of his shoulders or the way his hands kept going to the short swords at his sides, but the hunter was agitated.

Corinne shrugged. “It’s really not a big deal, just that my friend’s project partner vanished on her.”

Maxim leaned in. “Corinne, it’s important. Did he ghost her or vanish without leaving word?”

Corinne shifted from one foot to the other. “Well, it sounded like the latter.”

“Call her, please. I need to have this confirmed.”

“Right.”

Corinne unzipped her suit and dug her phone out from her pocket. Gordon’s lips curled in a smile when he saw her screen wallpaper, a selfie with another woman whose skin looked vampiric in the flashlight’s flare. Pearson’s sister had none of the fury her sibling had bred like a cancer, not in her smile nor in the way she hugged Corinne.

Corinne placed the call, and they all waited for it to connect, Adler shuffling closer to Gordon and straightening.

Don’t like him out in the open unprotected.

Gordon flinched, and in response, Adler’s hand came to rest on his mate’s back. No. This cannot be happening. I’m making this up. It’s probably having sex with him when he was shifted that makes me think needy stuff.

“Hey, Corinne,” said a female-sounding voice on the other end of her phone.

“Hey. Lou, I’m here with my boss and the Forum’s hunter. Official business I guess.”

“Funny. What’s up? You got a cookie from that jar again?”

“Madame, this is Maxim Vallois, and much though I wish it were otherwise, I am no cookie.”

Corinne’s friend went silent before she said, “Oh, shit. Sorry about that, Dr. Morris.”

“Uh, nope, that’s me. I’m the doctor. That was the hunter. Like a real raiding party, but, you know, real.”

The friend exhaled, the noise rattly and metallic. “You’re the nerd. Okay, what is this about?”

Maxim inclined his head. “I just need to confirm about the student who you worked with on a project. What’s his name? What was the professor’s name who assigned the project?”

“Huh?”

“The guy you said told you about that Sherlock Holmes theory before he up and vanished,” Corinne said.

“Ah! Prof Roux. Professor Megan LeRoux, Victorian English Literature. And my partner’s name’s Raven Crawford. He’s kinda odd, but really nice, you know. Quiet, but super smart when he starts talking.”

The quivering around the right corner of Maxim’s mouth was barely there, but Gordon saw it, a minute sign of unease or trepidation. Does he know that student?

“Thank you,” Maxim said. “By any chance, did Raven mention to you that he was going to the Forum for one of the public lectures?”

“Uuh, he did talk about that. Part of his theory, and he told me not to tell anyone in case he could turn it into his thesis. I’m guessing I have to tell you, right?”

“Indeed, you do, though I’ve been known to disperse silence like a grave.”

“Okay. Not that I think anyone else would want to know as much as he did. He just said he wanted to meet this old vampire lecturer who’d been in London at the time—when Sherlock Holmes was written, you know. He said he was pretty sure the vampire was the one who was actually behind the stories.”

“I see. I’ll have to go now. Thank you for helping in Forum business today. Be sure to pick up complimentary candy when next you visit.” He ended the call and looked at Gordon while pulling out his phone. “That’s Jason’s roommate.”

“Who the fuck is Jason?” Adler asked before he turned into a very tense, growling werewolf at Gordon’s side.

“The concerned friend your mate ran into when he and Mil were on their quest to raid a bookshop the other day,” Maxim said, pressing the receiver to his ear.

“Uhm, should I be here?” Corinne asked.

“Heath! Darling. We need to take another look at the Forum lectures, specifically the guest lectures. Vampire lecturer who spent time in London around 1900.”

“That sounds like that weird professor guy who says Dr. Morris and the detective shouldn’t be together because werewolves and vampires are an impossible union or whatever,” Corinne said, and all eyes turned to her.

Gordon heard Heath groan on the other end. “Who’s that? Are you wanting to replace me? I’m fine moving out, old bat, you know that.”

“Nonsense, darling. Corinne, dear, what lecturer? Do you have a name?”

“Let me check my schedule,” she said, going back to her phone.

On the other end of Maxim’s phone, Heath cackled. “Check her schedule, are you fucking kidding me? Good joke though, but I have him. Laurenzio Highgate, Sociology since the Revelation. Sounds boring. Did your missing college kid go to that one?”

Adler perked up. “You have a missing college kid?”

“You knew someone was missing?” Corinne asked.

Gordon rubbed his face. “Wait. Wait, this is connected to this guy who was looking for his roommate?”

“I did, I suspected, and I very much fear that’s the case,” Maxim said. “Though whether said college kid is dangerous or in danger remains to be seen.”

“Fuck,” Gordon and Adler said together.