Binding the Shadows (Arcadia Bell #3)(72)

“Maybe he’s Telly’s original source. Do you know where the guy lives?”

“Yes, I know.” Lon nodded and pocketed the vial. “Guess you and I will be paying Evan a little visit.”

• • •

My biggest worry about confronting Evan Johnson was that he’d be wielding some juiced-up knack, but Lon informed me that Evan didn’t have one. It was one reason why Lon suspected the guy had never been a regular attendee of the Hellfire Club’s monthly Succubi and Drugs parties at the Hellfire caves. “Hellfire members without any special gifts tend to be ignored,” Lon explained. “They’re outsiders.”

Like I needed another reason to hate that stupid club.

Evan’s house was a few blocks from the hospital. It was almost midnight, but I reasoned since Jupe had overheard Yvonne telling the guy she’d stop by his place later, he’d still be up.

We rang the doorbell. When the door swung open, we found ourselves staring down the barrel of shotgun.

“Lon Butler?”

The gun lowered to reveal a dark haired, paunchy man who looked to be a little older than Lon. He might’ve been handsome, but his T-shirt and boxers weren’t flattering, and his eyes looked tired and panicked. A wary gaze flicked my way, then over our shoulders. “You alone?”

“Nice to see you, too, Evan,” Lon said, then slugged him in the face.

Evan hollered as he staggered backward, dropping the shotgun to block his face.

This was not part of our plan.

“What the hell?” Evan managed to spit out as he stumbled and collided into a wall.

Lon shook out his hand. “That’s for getting my kid drunk.”

Evan pulled his hand away from his face and stared down at the blood covering his fingers. Lon had got him good, all right. And as he stalked Evan down the hallway, he began transmutating.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry!” Evan shouted, holding up his hands in surrender. “It was Yvonne who encouraged it, I swear. And I wasn’t trying to put the moves on her, or anything.” He made a pained noise. “Jesus, Butler—I think you broke my nose. Please stop. I can’t . . . just, please.”

Lon’s horns were out now. I pulled the front door shut so no one would walk in on us.

As I did, Lon cornered Evan against the wall. “I don’t really give a shit what Yvonne does, but I could have you arrested. My boy is at home sick. And on top of that, you’re selling Yvonne this?” He pulled the red vial from his pocket and shoved it in front of Evan’s face.

Evan made a sobbing noise. “Get that out of here! I gave it to Yvonne—I don’t want any part of it anymore. Please!”

Lon stared at Evan for several moments, reading his thoughts. “What the—” Lon flinched. His head swiveled toward an open arch that led into a living room. “Jesus!”

I peeked around the corner, desperate to see what Lon saw. The living room was torn apart like someone had searched it: drawers pulled out, cushions removed, furniture broken.

And sprawled on the carpet was a teenage boy with a bullet between his eyes.

Telly.

I glanced at Evan. “You killed him?’

“I found him like this,” Evan argued. “Lon, you’ve got to believe me. Isn’t that how your knack works? Can’t you tell? I wouldn’t kill my own stepson.”

“Hold on,” I said. “Telly’s your stepson?”

“His mother and I are separated,” Evan mumbled, slumping against the wall as he looked down at the body. “He’s been nothing but trouble since the day I met him. But now this . . .”

“He originally stole the bionic elixir from you?” I said, remembering Telly’s words from the camp under the bridge.

Evan looked surprised. “You know what it does?”

“Your kid nearly killed us with his knack after using it. He robbed my bar in Morella. He’s killed other people.”

“Oh, God. That elixir . . . I wish I’d never laid eyes on it.”

I glanced at Lon. Go on, I encouraged without speaking. Use your transmutated knack and get him to talk to you. If he resists, I’ll bind him.

Lon clamped a hand around Evan’s shoulder, causing the man to jump. “We need to know everything about the elixir, and you want to tell us.” He’d tapped down his anger and now sounded patient and coaxing. “Why don’t you start from the beginning, yeah?”

Whether or not Evan knew about Lon’s latent persuasive abilities, he didn’t resist. “It started at Thanksgiving. I’d just signed the separation papers. I hadn’t been to a meeting down at the Hellfire caves in months, but I didn’t have anything else to do. I somehow ended up in one of the Succubi rooms with David and whatever woman he was attempting to seduce that night.”

I stilled. “David Merrimoth?”

“Yeah. He normally wouldn’t give me the time of day, but we were all loaded, you know. Anyway, that’s where I first heard it mentioned. He was telling us about this rare elixir that amped up your knack. I didn’t see any that night. It was just a story, and I probably wouldn’t have thought about it again.”

“Keep going,” Lon encouraged. “When did you hear about it again?”

“Before we left the Succubus cavern, Merrimoth invited us to a party at his house. A private party—we were the only Hellfire members invited.” Evan wiped away blood trickling from his nose. “He’d never even spoken to me before that night. I felt like the luckiest guy in the world. But when I showed up for the party, he couldn’t remember my name. He thought I was from the catering company. It was humiliating. I was going to leave, but he was showing off, making it snow inside his house. When he wasn’t looking, I sneaked upstairs and looked around. Found the elixir stash in his closet. Ten vials. I took five.”