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There were four women, each with obvious puncture wounds in her neck Vahtforward to me," I said

"Yeah, you would think so, wouldn’t you? But look again at the wo odd?" He frowned and leaned back in his chair, crossing his left leg over his right and interlacing his fingers "I real y want your honest opinion because I want toup a tree that doesn’t exist"

I studied the photographs Women, al pretty, al somewhere in their thirties, looked to be Al

wait abrown hair, layered They al have brown eyes, and they al seem to be around 130 pounds How tal were they?"

"Al between five six and five eight So you see it, too?"

"Yeah Was there any connection between theht was for Chase had already couinated, and they were al kil ed at night Puncture wounds on the throat, though there’s no way to prove for sure that they were kil ed by a vampire Al the women were murdered within a five-mile radius, in the Greenbelt Park District Al four were hookers" He frowned "I’ we have a vairls look alike, I’d just chalk it up to a rogue vampire attack, but they look so much alike, they could be related"

I stared at the pictures Chase was right They did look like sisters And even though he couldn’t ut that it was a va the women

"Do you have their bodies, stil ? I can probably verify va that I am one, but I need to look at their wounds"

Da trouble on our hands Ever since Delilah decked him, Andy Gambit--star reporter for the Seattle Tattler, a yel ow tabloid that fed on the fears and titil ation of Seattle residents--had been on a tear, doing his best to sart Jones for the City Council position

Gambit had done such an effective sh she’d started out with a decent ns pointed to potential victory Gah the mud because of her association with me, and it had worked The surprise, however, had been that Taggart Jones hadn’t won, either A moderate had swept the election

Now, Gambit would be al over this story If word of a vaasoline on the fire

Chase led uys ready for Yule yet?"

I grinned "More or less Delilah hasn’t tipped over the tree yet, but then, we anchored it to the ceiling first thing Ca like a winter wonderland Al we need is snow for it to feel like the holidays"

"Does Otherworld getin behind hiet quite a bit of snow thereI fel silent, biting my lip Our hoh she could stil go to other parts of Otherworld And to us, too "I miss it The city is beautiful, but noonder if we’l ever see it again"

"Queen Tanaquar and your father stil won’t relent?" He looked uncertain, like he thought he should pat , I shook my head "When Delilah and I demanded they al ow Camil e to return to her ful status, they told us we had two choices: Abide by their decree or suffer the same fate ourselves So we al went to work for Queen Asteria instead, and the Otherworld Intel igence Agency is history At least for us At least for now"

"They aren’t talking to me, either," he said "Ever since your civil war, it’s like they’ve decided that the FH-CSI doesn’t need to be kept in the loop"

"Join the club Father tried to guilt-trip us like crazy, but Delilah and I shut him out We hated to do so, but he hasn’t been by our sides, up to his elbows in deh next He doesn’t kno fucking hard Camil e’s worked, nor does he understand the decisions she’s had to make How could Delilah and I stand by and just watch theet it I real y do And I admire the choice you made You three--no matter what, no one wil ever come between you"

He looked wistful, and I wondered if he missed Delilah He was actual y at our house more often now that they’d broken up, and he seeh she was stil finding her ith Shade, the half dragon, half Stradolan A part of the Autumn Lord’s world, Shade had strode into her life and they were slowly building what looked like it could be the love match of the century I’d never seen Delilah’s heart so free and easy

"You okay, Johnson?" I tapped him on the arm

"Yeah," he said softly "And just in case you’re wondering, no--I’ over Delilah I’m the one who decided I couldn’t handle a relationship And frankly, it’s a good thing Myup I’ood boyfriendto help y"

"Good, because unbridled psychic energy is dangerous for al concerned" I stopped him as we stepped out of the elevator "Truth tilistened, and I resisted the impulse to reach up and brush back an unruly cowlick--it was so out of place on his roomed body that it distractedsohts of a reunion later, you’d better say so for Shade like I’ve never seen her fal before" I had no intention of letting hi her to azed at me, his eyes limpid, his expression torn Then, slowly, he asked, "She real y loves this guy?"

"I think he’s the one, Chase"

"Then I’l remain her blood brother, and I won’t interfere Because I honestly don’t knohat the hel ’s going to happen in , now?"

So relieved by his reply that I would have granted almost any favor, I nodded "Ask away"

"Do you think so but an official capacity?" He sounded hesitant, al

I knew ful wel that Sharah was in love with the detective, but that was her place to answer, not ave Chase a soft smile "Listen, you’re a catch You’ve had your share of screwups, but, Johnson, you’re okay, and I think you’re going to make somebody happy someday Could someone like Sharah be interested in you? I don’t see why not"<ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:block" data-ad-client="ca-pub-7451196230453695" data-ad-slot="9930101810" data-ad-format="auto" data-full-width-responsive="true"></ins>