The Epilogues: Part I: Badge of Honor (The Potentate of Atlanta Book 6), Hailey Edwards [year 2 reading books TXT] 📗

“You got him a job at Marx’s, or he got you a job at Marx’s?”

“I got him on. I work four of the bars down this way. I have friends who owe favors.”

Yet another potential reason why his behavior hadn’t gotten him sacked. Though Amber might be wrong about him hating women. Just as easily, he might hate humans. But I wasn’t here to psychoanalyze him.

“You got him on weekends, let him develop a feel for the place and the flow of the area prior to the job.” I waited for him to add more, but he kept quiet. “Who drove the SUV? Who else helped?”

“Three members of my clan,” he told the pavement. “The job paid big, so I could afford extra hands.”

I doubted he knew why they wanted Neely, since he pled ignorance on who issued the contract, but I had contacts who could ensure he told us what he did know.

“Who is your clan?” I circled back to the big questions. “Who is your master?”

The vampire clamped his jaw shut again, but no amount of fang-to-neck action on Midas’s part unstuck it this time.

Walking away from them, I dialed Lizzy and smiled when she answered with a growl.

“I’ve got a vampire who helped orchestrate Neely Torres’s abduction. He can give you the names of his accomplices. They’re clanmates. It shouldn’t be too hard to locate them once you get his master’s identity out of him. I would appreciate it if you could round them up, question them, then forward the information to my office.”

With vampires involved, this was firmly a Society issue. Sentinels were my go-to in such cases, but I wanted to play this hand close to my chest, and that meant trusting the pack and its enforcers.

“I see how it is.” She clucked her tongue. “Using me to do your dirty work now that you’re big-time.”

“I’m not big-time yet.” I might never be if we didn’t crack this case. “But if you’re not up to it…”

“Twist my arm, why don’t you.” She covered the receiver with her palm and yelled to someone. “I’m sending Burke. He’ll pick up your guy and grab the others while he’s at it.”

“Thanks.” I noticed Bishop arriving late to the party. “Bishop will be here waiting on him.”

The call ended, and Bishop licked his fingers then wiped them with a napkin.

“You stopped for a snack?” I searched him for his tumbler, but it was gone. “Seriously?”

“I was hungry.” He scrunched down the top of a bag and tossed it to me. “I got you some too.”

Given how he started his night, I wasn’t sure I wanted to know what was in the bag. “Thanks.”

His smile told me he knew what I was thinking and was amused to have spooked me.

There was a lot I didn’t know about Bishop. There was more I didn’t want to know about him. But, at the end of the day, he was my friend. My best friend. And I understood how hard it was to let someone in, to let them see the ugly parts as well as the pretty ones. He had shown me glimpses of his true self, and I was humbled and terrified in equal measure.

That was why I reached into the bag, to reward that trust, and found three donuts with a pinkish glaze, each sprinkled with fruity cereal.

“Where did you get these?” I bit into one and moaned around it. “They’re insanely good.”

“You’re just saying that because you burned your daily caloric allowance trying to beat Midas here.”

“You might be right.” I tossed half the treat into the shadow at my feet. “Midas?”

The gwyllgi released his hold on the vampire’s neck, but he kept him pinned under his paw long enough to catch the donut I threw him. He swallowed it in one gulp, licked his chops, then resumed his position.

How a shadow managed to be whiney, I couldn’t say, but Ambrose was pouting his heart out that he only rated half a donut while Midas got a whole one. Not that it hurt my feelings any, but I ate half the remaining donut then tossed the rest into the void.

“That’s it.” The three of us were even. “No more donuts.”

Ambrose slinked over to Bishop, ready to beg, but Bishop held up his hands.

“I got nothing.” He patted his pockets to prove his point. “Sorry, man.”

Ambrose cast himself against the far wall, head down, shoulders drooped, and mimed sobbing.

“I get it.” I sympathized with him. “We’re all sad when the donuts are gone.”

“Who else is back there?” Wesley demanded, as if he had the right to ask. “Who are you talking to?”

Few people could see Ambrose. Most of the ones who could were High Society necromancers or other species with healthy amounts of magic at their disposal. This guy, even had he been looking right at us, wasn’t one of them. I could tell, thanks to Ambrose’s feedback as he salivated over the vampire.

As chocolate was my ambrosia, vampires were the pinnacle of noms as far as Ambrose was concerned.

“This is our guy?” Bishop crossed to Midas. “Wesley the Woman Hater?”

“This is him.” I stuck my hands in my pockets. “Do you mind waiting with him for the enforcers?”

“You’ve got that dinner thing,” he recalled, moving into position. “I can handle this.”

Releasing Wesley into Bishop’s care, Midas embraced his change then joined me. “Ready?”

Until we got a fresh lead, I had nothing to do but twiddle my thumbs.

“Hang on.” I couldn’t ignore what the vampire told me. “I want to see this board of his.”

“Okay.” Midas fell in step with me. “Let’s go look.”

I waved to Bishop then pushed back into the bar through the emergency exit door.

The bulletin board slumped on the wall behind the bartender. It was small, missing chunks of cork, and filthy. It also held a note pinned to its surface with my name scrolled across the front in a blocky hand.

“I’m Hadley,” I told the bartender, pointing