Total pages in book: 138
Estimated words: 131708 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 659(@200wpm)___ 527(@250wpm)___ 439(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 131708 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 659(@200wpm)___ 527(@250wpm)___ 439(@300wpm)
Gritting his teeth at the idea, Viper gazed beyond the chain-link fence, eyeing the barren land and black forest suspiciously. It was no sweet view. The yard, too, was no one’s idea of pretty. There were no plants, no flowers, no decorative items. Only a large patch of mowed brittle grass, some concrete paving, and several picnic benches.
Most of his brothers were currently gathered in the yard. It was easy to tell by their expressions that some were still offended that he’d suspected them. Nonetheless, they understood his need for caution, so they weren’t holding it against him. Their main concern was that an outsider might have somehow acquired inside information.
Viper’s main concern was Ella.
He currently had Ghost and Rebel watching her; neither had spotted anyone loitering near her home or car, and they’d confirmed that she wasn’t being tailed. Well … aside from the guards that her anchor had wisely put on her.
On the bench across from him, Prophet leaned forward and rested his lower arms on the wooden table. “I don’t see how any outsider could get close without our knowing.”
Sting caught Viper’s eye from the neighboring bench. “If it is a celestial writing these notes, the only thing I can think is that they’ve been following your financial activity. You bought her apartment building. You bought the bar next to her store. You bought the pool hall she frequents. Ella’s the common denominator there.”
“Yeah,” allowed Dice, who was seated on Viper’s right, “but he buys a lot of property—there’s no reason for those three to stand out. And how could any celestial know he bought the bar anyway? It’s located in the Underground.”
“They could have heard about it,” Sting suggested. “Demons talk. Especially when they’ve got something to whine about. And a lot of them aren’t happy that our club has a presence in the Underground.”
“That’s true.” Dice looked at Viper. “If I was watching you, I’d be very interested in any properties you purchased in the Underground. I’d wonder if you’d done it to be near your woman. So I’d look at what staff worked there; I’d take note of what businesses are close by, and I’d notice Ella’s store. A celestial could teleport down to the Underground and move about unseen, if they were careful enough. They just wouldn’t be able to linger for long.”
Razor nodded as he scooped up a dead bird and tossed it over the fence. “If a watcher cottoned on to how Ella also lives in a building you own, their bat senses would be tingling.”
“Spidey,” Jester corrected.
Razor waved that away. “Whatever. If the celestial also watched you at the pool hall, they’d have noticed you eye-banging Ella, V—they could have then put the pieces together and suspected who she is to you. It wouldn’t take much detective work to figure out she’s been going there for years. Dots would be connected. Assumptions would be made. Why notes would then be written, I don’t have a damn clue.”
“It’d help to know the intent of the compulsions,” said Dice, absently running a fingertip along his eyebrow. “They were cleverly written, when you think about it. The phrases on the first two notes are harmless enough that someone might say them out loud in a kind of amused surprise. The third was more threatening but, coupled with how it was delivered to her door, it meant there was a chance Ella would read it aloud out of anger.”
“I personally don’t get why anyone would go down a note-writing route at all,” said Blackjack, perched on the edge of a bench on Viper’s left. “The Uppers would surely want her dead. A professional slayer would get the job down fast and bail.”
Jester pursed his lips, considering that. “Maybe it ain’t a slayer at all. Do you think it could be one of the now-Six archangels, V?”
“They’ll have found someone to replace me by now. There’ll be Seven of them again at this point.” Viper rubbed at his jaw. “As for whether any of them would do this, I don’t know. We didn’t exactly part on a pleasant note, but I don’t see what reason they’d have to target Ella.”
“They killed her once,” Jester reminded him.
Like Viper could ever forget. “To keep us apart. It didn’t work. They failed. They’d be likely to just accept it. The Uppers, though? They’ll resent her since, in their view, she ‘seduced’ me down ‘a dark path’ that resulted in an obsession I never shook off.”
“What if it’s not a celestial, what if it’s someone close to her?” Rivet suggested. “Like her sister?”
Omen’s brows met. “What?” he asked, pure incredulity ringing through his voice.
Rivet lifted his shoulders. “They live in the same building, so it’d be easy for Mia to leave the note.”
Jester shot him a derisive look. “That’s the stupidest idea ever. Why would Mia do any of that?”