Blood Wager (Blood Destiny 1)

"Fuck," I mumbled.

"This is the fifth one," Gavin said, hitting the mute button.

"What is he doing with them—their bodies?" I asked.

"He could be doing anything with them," Gavin said. "Tossing them in the ocean, dismembering them and feeding them to alligators, burying them somewhere, it doesn't matter."

"I might be able to find the bodies if I could smell clothing that they wore or something," I said.

"Lissa, I know you have a good nose—better than mine and perhaps better than most other vampires. But we need to concentrate on getting this thing out of the way. Those bodies could have bite marks and that would be disastrous if they're found."

"I was just thinking that the body might have the vampire's scent all over it and make it easier for me to find him in the first place," I grumbled.

"If problems arise, that might be an option. Let's try to get this done quickly."

"All right." I'd borrowed books from Merrill's library; he had all sorts of things. Franklin read too and kept his books on Merrill's shelves. I'd found a couple of mysteries to bring with me, so I left Gavin in the tiny living area and went into my bedroom to read. As usual, Gavin had gotten the bedroom nearest the exit. I didn't even care how big it was.

Chapter 17

Gavin was already dressed and ready to go when I slipped into the shower. Knowing he was likely fretting and pacing while waiting on me to get ready, I hurried as fast as I could. I shouldn't have to feel that way. Shouldn't. But I still had daymares about the compulsion he'd forced on me and the absolute power he'd had as a result. I'd been more comfortable fighting werewolves. At least I'd had some control over my life, then.

"I'm ready." I slung my excuse for a purse over a shoulder. My new credit card, my cell phone and a little cash had gone into it, along with my New York driver's license. I didn't know why they'd picked New York as the state for my U.S. residence, but I did remember that Wlodek had said Merrill owned property there. I wore a sundress with a halter-top to go out sleuthing with Gavin. Charles had loved it the moment he'd seen it, although I didn't think I'd ever have an opportunity to wear the thing. It was a compromise. It only cost three hundred pounds as opposed to the thousand-pound price tag attached to the other dress.

Gavin didn't say anything, raking my body quickly with deep brown eyes before leading me up the stairs to the ground floor of the house. If I'd had time, I wouldn't have minded sitting in the media room and either reading or watching television. We were three blocks away from the gulf and didn't have an ocean view but I could smell the water the minute we walked outside.

"It smells salty and fishy," I said as we climbed into the rental.

"The car?"

"No." I wanted to call him doofus but that would be inviting trouble. I didn't know what he'd been thinking, sending the note and bracelet. How could he even think we'd have a relationship? Relationships allowed teasing. Invited closeness. Formed a bond of trust. There couldn't be any of those things between us.

"Where are we going?" I asked after a while. He hadn't bothered to give me much information. Not that I was surprised or anything.

"The last known places where the humans were seen before disappearing," he said. "Bars and nightclubs."

"Are any of them the same?"

"No."

"He's moving around, then. He might not go back to any of them."

"I know that, Lissa," Gavin heaved a patient sigh. "I want to question the staff. See if they know anything or are hiding something." Gavin did this sort of thing all the time. I was the newbie, so anything I said would likely irritate Gavin. I wondered, for perhaps the hundredth time, why Wlodek had seen fit to send me out like this. At least Gavin hadn't told me to shut up. Not yet, anyway.

"Compulsion." I couldn't help saying it.

"Yes."

That had come to mean something worse to me than any curse word ever could. Curse words for me were a way of letting off steam. I'd known people where I worked, though, who would cringe at a carelessly dropped damn. I'd tried not to curse around those people. Not just because it offended most of them, it was a pain to them too. And I didn't like to cause pain—not back then. I drew my knees up to my chin in the car seat and didn't ask any more questions.

The bartender in the first bar had long blond hair that hung halfway down his back and it was tied at the nape of his neck with a leather thong. Gavin had only placed a slight compulsion since the bartender seemed more than willing to answer questions. It was a Monday night, too, so the crowd was light.

"The police asked me already," the bartender answered one of Gavin's questions.

"That isn't what I asked you," Gavin said, strengthening the compulsion. "You will answer all my questions in detail, no matter how many times you've answered them already."

The bartender's eyes went blank for a second and he nodded. "The guy was sitting down there," the bartender pointed to the other end of the bar. We were currently standing at the opposite end, just to the left of the door. "He ordered martinis. Six of them. He talked to several people including three women, but he didn’t get very far with them. They decided he was too drunk and took off with somebody else."

"You didn't see him leave with anyone, male or female?" Gavin asked.

"No. One minute he was there, the next he was gone. There was a hundred on the bar when I got back."

"What did you do with the money?" I asked. Gavin turned to me and frowned.

"The cops asked that, too," the bartender replied. "We deposited it the next day. The guy wasn't reported missing until the day after that. Too late to do anything about it."

"So you put the money in the till and then take tips out later?" I asked.

The bartender looked like he was sweating, suddenly. He hadn't been honest with me, but then Gavin hadn't commanded him to answer my questions truthfully.

"What did you do with the hundred?" Gavin was now getting forceful.

"I slipped it in my pocket," the bartender whined.

"And then what did you do with it?" I asked.

"Bambalacha."

"Great," I mumbled. No luck getting the vampire's scent that way.

"What?" Gavin didn't know what he'd said.

"He bought marijuana with it," I said.

"How do you know this?" Gavin pointed a deep frown in my direction.

"I used to work for a judge, doofus."