Page 33

Chapter 33

T heir second stop was a hotel. The building was unremarkable, fitting in perfectly among the surrounding structures. Adler didn’t like the thought of their perpetrator being inside a hotel—an old vampire who thought himself cornered could wreak havoc in such a public place. Bringing Gordon along while they were investigating didn’t help much either.

If he thinks he’d have an easier time handling an old vampire like Maxim than I do…

Adler shook his head to clear it while Maxim talked to the hotel manager, explaining that he was here on Forum business, that he needed to see the suites, now, thank you very much. As a beta, Adler could tell that while Maxim was being pleasant, his patience was wearing thin, and his beta nature didn’t like that, wanted to accommodate the hunter.

He’s seconds away from compelling the manager, Adler thought as he absentmindedly placed his arm around Gordon in order to soothe his mate, let him know not to worry even in the face of an alpha’s displeasure. Though I don’t know if he can see it. He’s starting to understand that he has a pack now, but he can’t read people like werewolves can.

Gordon turned his head to look at Adler, his blue eyes thoughtful. He cleared his throat. “I think…I think Maxim is doing a great job talking to the manager, isn’t he?”

Adler cocked his head, ignoring the fake smile the manager had plastered all over her face while she tried to explain about the guests’ privacy.

“Of course he is. Are you worried?”

Gordon looked surprised. “Huh? Worried about what?”

“Uhm. Because…Maxim’s doing a good job. You don’t have to worry about him getting upset with the manager or with you.”

Adler was whispering. They were an arm’s length behind Maxim’s back and the manager was human, but he still didn’t want the woman to overhear.

“Oh. Oh, that’s a worry? Okay. Hmm. Would you protect me?” Gordon pushed a strand of his still-blue hair back behind his ear. He wasn’t trying to be coy, Adler realized. He was asking an honest question.

My silly mate. My beautiful, silly mate. “Of course. Always. But he can handle it.”

In that moment, Maxim leaned in, saying, “Enough with the back-and-forth. Get me all the records I asked for, and get them now, and a keycard for the suites I mentioned.”

The manager’s eyes widened as the compulsion dropped on her. She rushed to comply, hurrying to the nearest computer to get it done. Maxim turned.

“My turtledoves, what are you two whispering about behind my back?” He put a hand on his hip, and Adler could appreciate how it brought out his swords.

“Nothing. Just saying you handled that well.” Whenever an alpha’s competence made Adler flush like now, he was glad for his darker complexion and the way it didn’t show how much he enjoyed watching an alpha in their element. He glanced at Gordon, worried that his mate might get the wrong idea if he saw too much alpha energy in other people, but Gordon didn’t seem impressed at all.

“Do you think they’re here?” he asked.

Maxim smoothed his golden braid. “Who knows. Best to check, although…it doesn’t feel right. So public. So many people and…” He shook his head. “It doesn’t feel right. The killer or killers would have had to walk back in here with blood on them. Or they would have changed elsewhere, but…it just doesn’t feel right.”

Fifteen minutes later, they had confirmed that the suite Highgate had booked was empty and didn’t look like it had been in use. They asked the cleaning crew, and those who were on the clock confirmed that they’d always walked into an untouched suite each day.

Maxim took the printouts of old bookings under Highgate’s name from the manager on their way out and tossed that in the back seat along with the penny dreadfuls he’d confiscated from the typewriter place with the very bigoted employee.

Adler was hoping they’d find their culprit soon, but at the same time, he didn’t want to find the vampire lecturer at all, not with Gordon here.

Back in the car, Gordon wordlessly patted Adler’s shoulder again, instantly making him relax.

“We’re going to another hotel next,” Maxim said as he started the car and pulled out of the underground parking structure. “I hate this kind of tedious thing. It’s like an Easter egg hunt, you see, or like learning which buttons to press with a new lover in order to sate them.”

“Most people like both those things,” Gordon sassed at Maxim from the back seat, making Adler feel proud inside.

“Yes, and then there are people like me who prefer to crack the egg and get their lover to cum over and over and over again. It’s precision, perfection, and control. Much like a knife’s edge to take a life or give it.”

Adler wasn’t sure how a knife could give a life, but since Gordon seemed satisfied and was nodding along, Adler kept that to himself.

They found nothing in the next three places, and Adler’s skin was itching by the time they got back into the hunter’s car after yet another futile search.

“How many more places on the list?” he asked Maxim.

The hunter looked at his phone. “Four, and—oh.” He tapped the screen. “Heath, darling? What is it?”

Heath’s voice came over the speakers. “You know how you call me obsessive? You know how you brought grass into my office so I could touch it every now and then?”

“Of course, darling. Have you touched your grass recently? Maybe it’s time.”

“Oh, shut it, old bat. Look, with the weird low-quality detective novels—and don’t you fucking dare lecture me about how they had their uses as toilet paper too, back in the day. Anyway, the fucking stories. I was just thinking, wouldn’t you want to know who reads your drivel? Wouldn’t you want to connect with your fans? I may have gone a bit overboard when I hacked my way to the water and electricity bill for the entire building, but get this. The apartment above the typewriter store belongs to some old lady, but the power and water bills fluctuate. Nothing for months, then it looks like someone lives there, then nothing again. Super suspicious.”

Maxim straightened and started the car. “What about right now?”

“Admit I’m amazing at this,” Heath said.

Adler’s skin crawled at watching an alpha being challenged. The thought had only just popped into his mind when he felt a hand on his shoulder, Gordon. My mate. My perfect mate, soothing me.

“Darling, you’ve touched the grass just like I told you, and it has worked, doing wonders on your ponderous mind.”

“Fuck’s sake, they’re using electricity and water right now. Can’t you just pay me a compliment? Seriously, it’s all, oh, the detective and the corpse whisperer are so perfect, and they made me an uncle, have you considered finding a dove to turtle with as well? Whatever in the fuck that even means.”

Maxim maneuvered around the traffic, going faster than humans might have managed, fast enough for Adler to hold on tight.

“Why, darling, it means taking your sweet time while you go hunting for Easter eggs.”

Heath went quiet. “You know, I don’t even want to fucking know at this point.”

“Go touch your grass, darling. I’ll be home soon.”

Heath went quiet again instead of just ending the call. “Okay. But be careful, for real. Old vampires are fucking scary.”

“Thank you, darling. I’ll take it as a compliment.”

Heath groaned. “Just call me, okay?” And he hung up.

“Don’t tell me the vampire and the student were there while we talked to that typewriter guy.” Gordon didn’t sound as if Maxim’s racecar driving bothered him.

“Hiding in plain sight, hiding to delight in the pain and foolishness of others.”

“Maxim, if that’s a yes, just hurry. I don’t want to make room for any more corpses in my morgue.”

Adler agreed with Gordon, and apparently, so did Maxim, ignoring a red light and weaving through traffic as if he did nothing else all day, every day.

Adler’s grip on his seat tightened. Ugh, I hope we’re there soon.

As if he’d heard the thought, Gordon’s hand sneaked forward yet again, and he squeezed Adler’s shoulder in reassurance. Adler relaxed if only slightly.