“Lucian being Julio’s son?”
“Yes.” He glanced at me, expression cool yet again. “And considering a couple of the men involved are from your clique, that should probably be our first avenue of investigation.”
I might not like my king’s or my clique’s ways, but I still felt honor-bound to defend them. After all, not everyone there had grown up to be an arrogant bastard—just a good percentage of them.
“That doesn’t necessarily mean clique involvement. For all we know, it could be an underground movement of draman.”
“But why would draman kill draman?”
I snorted softly. “Killing is an accepted part of dragon culture, and regardless of what dragons may think of us, we are a part of that culture. And for all we know, this whole mess could be nothing more than a territorial dispute between draman.”
“A territorial dispute won’t fly. Both towns were on separate, unclaimed dragon lands.”
“And draman can’t dispute property?”
“Of course they can, but a territorial dispute wouldn’t lead to such complete destruction of life.”
No, I guess it wouldn’t. “If there is a clique behind it, will you have to go to the council and make this an official investigation?”
“I can’t. Not until we know for sure what’s going on here.”
“That’s not what I asked.”
He glanced at me. “Yes. I can’t move against a clique unless I have the approval of all the other kings.”
“Then I’m praying like hell that there isn’t a clique behind it all.” Because if the council got involved, things could go very wrong. Not just for my own quest, but for draman in general. “So, what’s next?”
“We find Deca Dent and its owner.”
“You don’t think they’ll be expecting that?”
“Probably.”
“And you don’t care?” I said, squinting across at him.
“Something like that.”
And he thought I was crazy? “Well, I’m not going to walk into anything blind,” I said, and reached back to grab my bag, which I’d spotted earlier on the backseat. Once I’d located the phone, I punched in Leith’s number.
“Who are you phoning?” Damon asked.
“A friend,” I said, then added when Leith answered, “Hey, babe, I need some help again.”
“You are going to end up owing me a fortune in food,” he said, voice heavy yet hinting at amusement.
“Dinner for a year is worth the price, trust me.”
“You say that now, but you’ll be complaining when you actually have to foot the bill. What can I do for you?”
“I need you to find out what you can about a club called Deca Dent. Oh, and if you can also check out a guy called Hannish Valorn for me, I’ll be eternally grateful.” I paused, then added, “But tread carefully on that one—he’s the Nevada king’s son.”
“Delightful,” he said drily. “I’m gathering you need this ASAP?”
I grinned at the exasperation in his voice. “Of course.”
“I’ll see what I can do. Oh, and Janelle says to tell Death he’s not only a fool, but he needs an attitude adjustment.”
“Several people have already told him that, including me.”
“I bet you have,” Leith said, amusement in his voice. “Oh, and there’s no death certificate for Seth Knightly. But there’s been no activity in any of his bank accounts and he hasn’t worked or paid taxes, as far as I can tell. For all intents and purposes, the man has disappeared and might well be dead.”
Which didn’t really help solve the matter one way or another. “So there’s no rumor as to why he disappeared?”
“Nothing concrete.” He hesitated. “But I did hear a whisper that he was involved in some land transaction that went sour, and had to leave the state fast.”
Instinct prickled. Maybe it was coincidence that his disappearance might have been due to a land dispute, and maybe it wasn’t. Either way, it was a rumor worth chasing.
“I gather you’re hunting up information on that?”
“Of course.”
He said it like I’d offended him, and I grinned. “Thanks.”
“No probs. I’ll get back to you as soon as I can, Mercy.”
“Who was that?” Damon said as I hung up and shoved the phone back into my pocket.
His voice sounded a little tight, and surprise ran through me. “A friend, as I said. He runs Phoenix Investigations, a very successful PI agency.”
“And this Janelle he mentioned?”
“You were listening? That’s not very polite.”
“If you wanted to keep the conversation private, you should not have had it in the car.”
Again there was a touch of tightness in his voice, and I shifted to look at him. “You’re annoyed.”
“Of course I’m annoyed. I was just called a fool by someone I don’t even know.”
I grinned. “Janelle’s a psychic who works for Phoenix. I think she’s older than the moon itself, and she’s very forthcoming with her opinions.”
“Being old is no excuse for rudeness.”
I laughed. I couldn’t help it. “Oh yes it is. Just ask her, if you ever happen to meet her.”
“It’s probably lucky I won’t, given her opinion of me.”
I gave him a quizzical look. “Why is this bugging you so?”
“Because it does,” he muttered, voice as dark as his expression. “You think this Leith fellow will come through with the information?”
Once again, he was changing the subject rather than discussing what was going on in his mind. It was frustrating, but if he thought I was going to give up, he was badly mistaken. I might not have much time with him, but I was going to use it to get past the barrier, to see and understand the core of the man. “Leith usually comes through with whatever I need.”
“So you’re close?”
“Yes.”
He flexed his fingers against the steering wheel and it suddenly hit me. Death wasn’t happy with the realization that there were other men in my life. And as realizations went, that was pretty damn good, if only because it was further evidence that he wasn’t as immune to me as he was pretending.
“Is that a problem for you?” I added, a hint of my amusement bubbling through in my voice.
His expression seemed to darken, and I hadn’t thought that was possible. “Of course it isn’t. I just wanted to know if he could be trusted.”
“He’s been helping me find leads on this case, and I’d trust him with my life.”
“Why?”
I raised my eyebrows. “Why does it matter?”
“Because you said earlier that you never trust anyone, and yet you’d trust this man with your life.”
“I trust you, too. Which, according to you, makes me strange.”
“That’s true, too.”
This time a smile teased his lips, breaking the tension and the darkness shadowing his features. But what he said was true enough. It was odd that I’d trusted him so readily, yet there was just something about the man that made me feel safe. And that was rare when it came to fire dragons and me—although given my history with them, the actual attraction I felt wasn’t surprising. I did tend to have a thing for bad boys.
“So where are we headed now? Until we find out where Deca Dent is, we’re sort of stuck.”
“As it turns out, you’re not the only one with friends.” The last of his tension slipped away under the growing warmth of his smile. “And mine also have the capacity to use the Internet.”
“So much for Death being a lone ranger who cares for no one.”
“Friends are not loved ones. There is a difference.”
“How would you know if you’ve never had any loved ones?”
“I had a mother.”
“Had?” I glanced at him, and caught the hint of sadness that washed across his features. “She’s dead?”
“Yes,” he said, and then, frustratingly, shifted the topic again. “How do you feel about a cooked lunch?”
“That depends on where we’re having it.”
“It happens to be a pretty apartment overlooking a certain club of interest.”
I couldn’t help smiling. “And would you happen to know the person who owns this apartment?”