So I simply added, "Hope we've got hazelnut."
"Yep. I went shopping yesterday."
"You're going to make Liander such a good little housewife one day."
He snorted. "Given your refusal to shop, the same will never be said of you."
I grinned. "When someone else will do it, why bother?"
"Lazy cow."
"Bitch," I corrected. "The cow is down the hall in the liaisons' office."
He shook his head and headed out the door. I sipped the bitter coffee and got back to the business of reading files.
Another hour, and the search results were through. It turned out there were more than twenty murders in the last ten years that bore similarities to our current ones. I hit print, then drained the cold dregs of coffee from my cup and rose. Once I'd collected the printouts, I dumped them on my desk and headed out. Enough was enough for one day. My eyes already felt dry and gritty. I needed to get some sleep if I was intending to go out tonight.
As I caught the elevator back up to the parking lot, I dragged my cell phone out and rang Kellen.
"Riley," he answered warmly. "Wasn't expecting to hear from you for another couple of hours."
Just hearing his voice had me smiling. "You feel like checking out a new club tonight?"
He paused a beat. "Given your love for the old clubs, I'm gathering this is work related?"
"Yeah. I've got to check out Mirror Image, and thought you'd like to come along."
"If you're intending to fuck others, it's probably better if I don't. I've staked my claim, Riley, even if you haven't yet agreed, and I will fight for what is mine."
"The fact that you'd even think I'd do something like that shows how little you really know me."
"Riley, you're the one that keeps telling me you're a free agent."
"Yeah, but—"
"No buts. Free agents go where they please, do whom they please. But I will not stand apart and watch it."
"I'm not asking you to. And I wouldn't do that to you. I'm just going to look, nothing more." No need to get all jealous and antsy, I thought silently.
Even if knowing that he was made my hormones get all dizzy and excited. Not that my hormones ever needed much prompting.
"Fine then," he said.
"I'll pick you up at eleven."
"Great."
That didn't sound entirely convincing. But with a silent shrug at the peculiarities of men, I hung up and went home.
But the peaceful slumber I was hoping for didn't materialize. When I got home, Blake was waiting for me.
"What the fuck have you been doing?" he said, voice filled with an anger that would have cowed the sensible.
I dumped my keys and handbag on the sofa then continued on to the kitchen. I had a bad feeling I was going to need a beer. "What I've been doing is none of your goddamn business."
Not the wisest comment in the world, as evidenced by the explosion of anger that suddenly filled the room.
"I am your pack leader," he bellowed. "You will show me some respect."
I grabbed a beer, pulled the tab, and took several gulps. Then I said, flatly and softly, "You and the pack can go to hell as far as I'm concerned. I'm helping because you threatened my mother, not because I want to or need to. And if you don't like it, then fuck off and find someone else to help you."
His fists clenched, and part of me was suddenly glad he was neither real nor here. I remembered the feel of those fists. I might be able to defend myself against them now, but part of me still feared them.
"My granddaughter is dead" His voice was low and venomous. "And you strut around here drinking beer and throwing attitude. She's dead."
Jodie had already told me that, but regret washed through me anyway. Not so much because Adrienne was, beyond a doubt, dead, or because this monster and his kin so grieved for her. The regret was for Jodie, who had so obviously built her world around Adrienne and who now had nothing, "And this is my fault because…?"
"Because you were supposed to find her."
"Even a guardian can't work miracles." I took another sip of beer, then leaned a hip on the doorframe and added, "Besides, you're the one with the psi-skills. Why haven't you done anything to find her?"
"Because Adrienne's mind-blind, and therefore a dead zone for me."
In life and now in death, I thought grimly. But at least it explained why he was harassing me rather than Rhoan. He might not be able to read my thoughts thanks to the strength of my shields, but he could still sense me. "So if Adrienne was mind-blind, did that mean she didn't have the family trait of clairvoyance?" And why would Dia and Jodie say otherwise?
"Oh, she had it. In fact, she was probably stronger than most of us."
"How, if she was mind-blind?"
He shrugged. "I'm no expert. Her talent wasn't strictly clairvoyance though. She wasn't intuitive and didn't dream, but she could touch people and see things. Sometimes past, sometimes future, but always about that person."
"I'm surprised you didn't try to harness a talent like that for the pack's benefit."
It was sarcastically said, but for once, Blake didn't seem to notice, "We tried. She wasn't obliging."
Good for her.
"So what are you going to do about Adrienne?" he continued.
"Same thing I'm going to do for the other three who have disappeared—try to find whoever is responsible."
"Trying is not good enough."
"Well, it'll have to be." I paused. "Where did you get that picture of the man that was in the files you sent?"
"Found it on her desk."
"At home?"
"Yes." He frowned. "Why is this important? Have you found out who he was?"
"Not yet. Was there anything else on her desk? Notes or anything?"
"If there were any notes, it'd be on her laptop. Which," he added, "has disappeared along with her."
She'd had the laptop on the island, so her disappearance had to have happened sometime between her stepping off the island boat and getting the plane back to Melbourne.
Was that drawing of the man she'd bumped into at the club, and was he connected to the disappearances? Or something else?
"There were no notes on the drawing itself?"
"Nothing at all."
Then how the hell did he get the name Jim Denton? I doubted that he just plucked it out of thin air. "If there's nothing else, then you and I have nothing more to talk about. So you can just fuck off and leave me alone."
He glowered at me for several seconds, then said, "Patrin and Kye are coming to Melbourne. Patrin wants a full report."
Great. Just what I needed. One arrogant son of a bitch harassing me in person. "Who the hell is Kye?"
"His bodyguard."
"So the great Patrin needs a bodyguard?" The thought cheered me no end.
"Patrin has been helping police with certain inquiries and, as a result, has been receiving threats. Hence Kye's presence."
"And these threats have absolutely nothing to do with Adrienne's disappearance?" No.
"You sure?"
"Absolutely. He should be in Melbourne tomorrow. I expect you to be helpful."
"If Patrin comes anywhere near me, I'll break his fucking neck."
"Remember your mother," he said, and disappeared from sight.
Bastard, bastard, bastard.
I blew out a breath, then drained the rest of the beer and tossed the can into the trash. The buzz of anger and alcohol running through my system suggested that while I might need to sleep, it wasn't going to happen any time soon. For several seconds I internally wrestled with the idea of going to the Blue Moon and catching some action, but Kellen's image kept swimming through my mind. If I wanted to explore the depths of our relationship, then I would have to start getting serious. Maybe not commit-to-a-solo-relationship serious—not just yet, anyway—but I would have to start proving to him that he—that we—were important.