The Thief (Black Dagger Brotherhood #16)(115)

“Where did that piece of shit Throe end up,” Vishous asked. “Other than coincidentally in that alley next to the first shadow attack?”

Saxton cleared his throat. “We believe he is residing as the paramour of another member of the glymera. It is not a dissimilar arrangement to that which he had with Groshe and Naasha—namely, an elderly hellren with a younger shellan who is not getting…adequate attention…shall we say, in some regards.”

Saxton did not need to mince words in this crowd, V thought. The guy should just lay it out that Throe was a banger of trophy wives, true.

“So he moved on when that funding stream dried up,” somebody muttered.

“Or, put another way,” another chimed in, “whatever his faults, at least he’s not into necrophilia.”

“Anyway,” Saxton gently re-steered, “with the death of Whinnig, Groshe’s estate will go to his secondary heir.”

A strange ripple went through V, his tuning fork struck, and he braced himself for a portent—

All at once, a vision of a gracious Southern mansion, the kind with plenty of porches and live oaks with Spanish moss hanging off of them, barged into V’s mind.

“Who’s his next heir,” he heard himself demand.

Saxton cleared his throat again. “It is Murhder, formerly of the Black Dagger Brotherhood.”

Absolute. Fucking. Silence.

For once, no one made any cracks. But there were also no curses. No one even moved or breathed.

Finally, Vishous closed his eyes and shook his head. “Sonofabitch.”

Saxton took the comment as the cue to drop the other shoe. “Legally, I am required to give Murhder notice of his inheritance, and as I have no phone numbers or email addresses for him, it appears as though I will have to go down and see him in person.”

“You do not want to have contact with him,” Rhage said grimly. “That’s a bad idea. I love the brother, but he’s completely insane.”

There was no levity in Hollywood’s voice—and nor should there be. In the history of the Black Dagger Brotherhood, only one male had ever been removed from the roster for losing his mind, and Murhder held that illustrious distinction.

V shifted his stare to another side of the study. John Matthew was listening intently, but it seemed to be out of professional duty.

Did the guy have any idea that they were talking about Xhex’s ex?

Shit. Things were so about to get complicated.

“You don’t go alone,” V said. “Some of us will go with you.”

“No.” Wrath shook his head. “If any brothers show up down there, he’ll think we’re hunting him and he could attack. Saxton and Ruhn will go and speak to him. Send a letter to the addy first, and then go—so he’s got some warning. Besides, it’s good fucking news. Who doesn’t want to be rich.”

“Someone who’s clinically goddamn insane.” V headed for the door. “?’Scuse me, but if I don’t go have a smoke, my head is going to explode.”

“Put some pants on,” somebody called out.

Vishous flipped whoever it was the bird as he marched the fuck out of that study and dematerialized down to the foyer. Stepping through the vestibule, he walked right out into the snow, with only Butch’s fleece and a muscle shirt on.

He didn’t even feel the cold. Which was what too many pieces of WTF news did to a guy.

Passing by the winterized fountain, and then the lineup of cars, he went to the Pit’s front entrance and let himself in. Before the heavy weight even closed, he was at his desk, lighting a hand-rolled, and then he was leather’d up, shitkicker’d, and gun-gathered. He was almost back out the door, with plenty of cigs in his pockets, when his phone went off with a text.

As he saw what it was about, he muttered, “Motherfucker.”



* * *



—

As Sola stood in that concrete corridor, she wasn’t sure she wanted to go anywhere with the doctor. All she knew was that she couldn’t stand being where she was, her grandmother wouldn’t let her in that room, and she couldn’t leave the facility without the older woman.

Screw thinking this facility was the government’s. These people weren’t just outside of the law, the law didn’t even apply to them.

Vampires?

As the word ricocheted around her head, Doc Jane came out. “Everything looks good right now. But that spike means we want to watch her a little longer. We need to make sure she’s stable before we release her.”

Sola stared at the woman’s face, tracing everything from her hairline to her nose, her eyelashes to her chin. She wasn’t sure what she was looking for, but she knew one of the problems she now had was why the hell she’d hadn’t known that Assail was a—

“Come on,” Jane said quietly. “Let’s take a walk. You need to get out of here for a minute. I know exactly where your head is at, and it is a really tough place.”

It was the understanding and the compassion being offered that set Sola’s feet into motion. She was so confused right now, and the idea that someone, anyone, had walked this absolutely fucking bizarre path her life had veered off onto was…well, not a relief, exactly. Because her situation was still the same. But at least she wasn’t totally alone.