He licked his lips and reached for his wineglass. “Immortals do not seek long-term relationships. Miss Parrish is a Vampire—”
“But you’re a wolf, and you must have that urge to settle down with a mate. It’s practically in your DNA. If she doesn’t have that same desire, maybe it complicates things. I don’t want to meddle in your personal affairs. I love Keystone, so I guess part of me feels… protective of the one person that holds us all together. We don’t know much about Lenore. Besides,” I said, trying to kill the tension, “Lenore is a woman, and hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. That’s why Christian’s always looking over his shoulder.”
He chuckled softly and sipped his wine.
I really didn’t feel comfortable at all inserting myself in Viktor’s love life, but sometimes passion blinds people from seeing the dangers. I’d never been the type who gave relationship advice, so that made the silence between us even more awkward.
“I’ll keep you updated,” I promised him, steering away from the topic of Lenore. “Thanks for taking the case. Ren’s a close family friend, and I feel like it’s the least I can do. I’ll be careful. I don’t want his reputation damaged any more than I want ours.”
“Spasibo.” Viktor muttered a few words in Russian before rubbing his eyes. “It is late. I still have much work to do.”
“I’ll leave you to it,” I said, turning toward the door and making a hasty exit.
As I drew near a window in the back hall, I glanced out. The moon sprayed a dim light on the back property, and though I couldn’t see all of it on ground level, there was no sign of Christian. When I went up to his room, he wasn’t there either. A person could get easily lost in Keystone, and we often used our phones to call one another. But at this late hour, there were only a few places we gathered. I journeyed down to the second level and entered Wyatt’s World, which sounded more like an amusement park but was nothing but a grey room filled with snacks, computers, beanbag chairs, and electricity. It was the only room in the house that looked like it didn’t belong in a Gothic tragedy. Wyatt kept his desk and computer gear on the right side and let us have the rest of the room so we could watch TV or relax on the sofa.
“Has Christian been in here?”
Bopping his head to “Safety Dance,” Wyatt made a few keystrokes on his keyboard before an image came up of the underground garage. “Have a look for yourself, buttercup. His bike’s gone.”
I stepped closer. “Since when do we have security cameras on the property?”
“Since the boss man wanted one in the garage.”
Mental note: don’t have sex in the garage with Christian.
“What’s the purpose?”
He retrieved a set of keys from his pocket and hopped up to open the vending machine. “Viktor was out there talking to Lenore one night, and I guess he got to thinking how vulnerable they were all by themselves. If something happened in the garage, nobody in the house would hear it. So I set up a motion-activated camera that triggers an alarm on my computer. It’s also handy when Viktor needs to know who’s around and who’s not for meetings and stuff.” He reached inside the machine and grabbed a package of Nutter Butters. “With Hunter running all over the place, I think Viktor was afraid the kid might accidentally lock himself in there one night. I also had my buddies put in a garage door with a safety sensor.” Wyatt closed the vending machine and locked it. “If he wants me to start childproofing outlets, I’m quitting. In my day, we called it survival of the fittest.”
“Now I see why you never had kids.”
He snorted and sat back down, tearing open the cookie wrapper. “The family name will die with Wyatt Blessing, and I’m okay with that.” After tucking his light-brown hair back into his loose beanie, he gobbled up two cookies. “Kids are fun when they belong to other people. Most Gravewalkers I know hate their parents for cursing them with the gift of afterlife sight, so that’s a therapy session I ain’t got time for. My guess is everyone here feels the same about kids or else you wouldn’t be here.” He leaned back in his chair and tapped a cookie against his bottom lip. “Doesn’t mean I don’t like the act of making babies.”
“Then you might want to wear a condom unless you want a hundred little Wyatts out there.”
He frowned. “You need to run along, Dr. Ruth. I’ve got work to do.”
As I turned, Kira glided into the room with a tray. A silver dome covered a dish, which I could clearly identify as french fries when I took in the unmistakable scent. She lowered her copper eyes, always finding small ways to make herself invisible. When I glanced back, I noticed Hunter hiding behind her skirt. He held his finger to his lips, and I mirrored his action, acknowledging that I’d keep his secret.
Halfway down the hallway, Shepherd appeared with a string dangling from his finger. His face flushed and dewy, he met up with me and caught his breath. “You seen Hunter?”
Switch must have gone to bed. Shepherd had that “I’m in over my head” look on his stony face, like a boxer who’d just walked into a ring with a guy twice his size.
“Maybe you shouldn’t go around yanking his teeth out until they’re ready.”
Shepherd dropped the string onto the floor. “That was Spooky’s idea.”
“Since when do you listen to Wyatt? That’s the same man who grows his own drugs.”
Shepherd gave me a toothy grin. “Not anymore. I heard that Chitah dug them all up.”
We both erupted with laughter. Shepherd abruptly stopped when Kira approached with an empty tray. She moved so swiftly that her wavy red hair danced behind her like a flickering candle.
As she passed us, Shepherd turned and spotted Hunter walking closely behind her. “Aha!”
Kira pivoted, and the tray slammed against the stone flooring. Her eyes were wide, her complexion as white as a ghost.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to—” Shepherd rubbed the back of his neck, his embarrassment obvious. “Hunter, get over here.”
When she caught sight of the little boy emerging from behind her, she made two tight fists and blew out a long, slow breath. It wasn’t a reaction of relief but one of control. Maybe she’d come close to flinging the tray at Shepherd’s skull, killing him dead. The thought made me smile. Instead, she speared Shepherd with a hostile glare and collected the tray before heading off.
Shepherd took Hunter’s hand. “What did I say about running off like that? You always need someone with you, little man. This place is big, and you’ll get lost.”
Hunter flashed his blue eyes up and held a defiant look.
Shepherd squatted in front of him. “I’m not gonna pull your tooth. Promise. Cross my heart and hope to die.”
When Hunter wrapped his arms around his father’s neck, Shepherd stood, his kid dangling. Hunter snickered as he kept his legs straight instead of wrapping them around Shepherd’s waist.
“So that’s how it’s gonna be, huh? You’ll break my neck.”
We walked toward the stairwell, and Hunter finally let go. He didn’t have on his light-up shoes, but his pink socks made him easy to spot.
“Do you know where Christian went?” I asked.