Page 53 of Blood Moon

Eli

The phone Vik handed me was encrypted, which was expected. The encryption wasn’t as difficult to break as I had expected, but what I found on the phone once I was in horrified me.

“Where did you get this?” I asked Vik, staring at him.

“From one of the guys who broke into my cabin. I told you that.” He seemed annoyed that I had asked for clarification.

“Okay, but how? I’m sure he didn’t just hand it over,” I prodded, wanting more information.

“I was waiting to tell Delilah first, but I killed him. To survive. I wasn’t healing from my injuries and hadn’t eaten in hours. I drained him, then stole his phone.” Vik’s face looked grim. He was a firm believer in never killing a blood source.

“That must have been a difficult choice to make,” I replied. His face said that he was shocked at my response. “You know I’m not as pro-life as you are. You did what you had to in order to survive. Trust me, it’s fine.”

“I doubt Delilah will think so,” he countered, lowering his head.

I shook my head at him. “You came back to her. She’ll accept that you did what you had to, and it’ll be okay. She’s more understanding than you give her credit for. When we find her, she can tell you herself.”

“Thank you for the kind words. Why did you want to know how I got the phone?” Vik asked, changing the subject back.

I turned away from the computer screen to face him. “It looks like the guy you killed was pretty high up in this organization. It seems odd to me that he was breaking into your house instead of sending people who were below him to do it.”

“So you’re thinking what I’m thinking?” He looked me in the eyes, and we said in unison, “The Vipers.”

“Yeah, but why would they come after Delilah?” I showed him the data I had been collecting since before we had agreed to share Delilah. It was extensive research showing overlaps in specific crimes against both his company and mine.

“Well, from my research, I’ve found that they picked up Vinny’s method of blood sourcing. They’ve been kidnapping women and selling them to the highest bidder. They’ve also been arrested recently for selling drugs—both human and vampire.” I paused and knew that Vik understood. If they had taken Delilah, it was to sell her to the highest bidder as a blood or sex slave.

Then I continued, “It all seems to be connected. I think the Powder operation is theirs too. I’m not sure if you knew it, but back in the day, they were the biggest drug runners in the city.” Understanding crossed his face at my admission.

Vik nodded. ”I had heard some of that, but didn’t realize how big their operation was. What do they want with Delilah, though?”

I laughed grimly. “Who knows? Maybe it was a random attack, or maybe they’re after something bigger and need her to bargain with us. Maybe someone just wants revenge.” I hung my head, feeling as defeated as Vik looked.

“Are the Vipers working with vampires now? I thought they were an anti-vamp organization.” Vik’s question acknowledged my fears. The men who had attacked me were vampires, and they were working for whoever had taken Delilah. There had to be a clue somewhere.

“I didn’t think so, but they must be. Something caused this change. We have to find out what it was. Then maybe we’ll get a clue about Delilah.”

I typed new information into the search windows and had the traffic cams looking for Viper members. If we could pinpoint their headquarters, we could find Delilah. Vik paced the floor as if he was weighing something.

“They took her, brother. There’s no reason to sit here and try to figure out the why of it. Besides, our feud is done. Delilah has chosen both of us. It’s our job to protect her. Let’s find the Vipers and take care of this threat.” Vik sat down in one of the office chairs I had in front of the computers.

“Agreed. Delilah is the most important thing. Oh, I nearly forgot,” I started, watching him carefully while I spoke. “Delilah and I called your contractor and convinced him to start rebuilding Midnight again. I approved the overage in the budget. Before you object, I’m paying half. For Delilah. I know now isn’t the time, but I don’t want you to think we’re keeping anything from you.”

He nodded, wiping a tear from his eye. I’d forgotten how sentimental he was. I told D that he would do anything for her, and I was right. He wouldn’t object to a partnership on the bar.

“Partners, then?” He offered his hand with the question. I shook it willingly.

“We can work on the contract once all of this is settled.” I offered and he nodded in acceptance.

“Now let’s find those bitches,” he snarled.

I turned back to the keyboard and continued my search. An email in German caught my attention, and I scowled at the screen. Scott only sent emails in his native tongue when he wanted to be sure I knew it was urgent and private. I read through the email twice before responding. I instructed him to keep an eye on the situation and report back as soon as he had more.

“What’s that one about?” Vik asked, trying to read the email from Scott over my shoulder.

“It’s nothing. Just business stuff. Don’t worry about it.” I tried to brush it off.

“You seem awfully upset for it to be just business stuff.” Vik accused.