Page 58 of Damian’s Conquest

“You can smell him?”

“A vampire’s sense of smell is as good as that of a bloodhound. And Mick and Tracy clearly had sex here. That makes the scent even more intense. That’s why I can still smell him, even after a few days.”

“That’s pretty handy.” That reminded her of something. “The vial. You said you smelled that it was vampire blood. Was it Mick’s?”

“Not sure. The little that was left in the vial was at least a week old, and had already deteriorated too much for me to make a positive identification. But I’m assuming it was Mick’s.” He gestured to the closet. “Why don’t you check in the closet to see if you can find any bottles of blood? I’ll check the kitchen.”

“You think that Mick came back during the Halloween party to steal the case of bottled blood?”

“It’s possible,” he said, “though he wouldn’t need the blood, if he feeds from Tracy.”

“You think she knows he’s a vampire?”

Damian pointed to the dark drapes. “Looks like she made sure that no sunlight shines into the bedroom.”

He had a point. While Damian went into the kitchen, where she heard him opening and closing cupboards, Naomi searched the closet. She found no bottled blood.

“Anything?” she asked when she saw Damian move from the kitchen to the living room.

“Nothing. And there aren’t really any places to hide anything in this flat.” He motioned to the kitchen. “There’s a partially eaten sandwich on the counter. And by the looks of it, it’s a couple of days old. It doesn’t look like anybody’s been here in a few days.”

Naomi met Damian’s gaze. “Do you think Mick and Tracy left together? Maybe he wanted to break it off with Angelica, and thought it was easier if he just left town with his new girlfriend? Maybe he didn’t get kidnapped after all.”

Damian shook his head. “Mick has a good job at the Mezzanine. And Scanguards’ protection. He wouldn’t simply run away from this life for something unknown. It’s not easy for a vampire on his own. We’re reliant on each other.”

Before Naomi could answer, her cell phone rang. She pulled it from her pocket and looked at Caller ID.

“Damn, that’s my editor. He probably wants to know whether I’ve found anything yet. What should I say?”

“Stall him. Just say you’re following a promising lead.”

Naomi answered the call. “Hey, Wei.”

“Naomi, how are you coming along with the story? What have you found so far?”

“I’m following up on a really promising lead at the moment.”

“What is it?”

“Uhm, I can’t really say yet. I don’t want to jinx it. But I should know more soon.”

“When?”

“Uh, tomorrow. I should have a better idea tomorrow. Gotta go. Talk soon.”

She quickly disconnected the call, and looked at Damian. “What am I gonna tell him tomorrow?”

“We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.”

“Easy for you to say.”

“Don’t fret. I always have good ideas.” He pulled her closer, and instantly her body was on fire again. He pressed a soft kiss to her lips, then released her again. “The bottles of blood aren’t here. Let’s go to Mick’s flat. I was planning to go there last night, but that was when I realized that I was being tailed.”

She caught his pointed look. “Sorry. I guess I’m not very good at tailing people.”

He chuckled. “Well, let’s go there now. Angelica was already at his place. That’s where she found his phone, but maybe she overlooked something. Besides, she doesn’t know that a crate of bottled blood went missing. So even if she saw it at Mick’s place, she wouldn’t have thought it odd.”

“Where does he live?”