Page 59 of Damian’s Conquest

“In the Inner Sunset.”

As they left the flat, Naomi pulled the door shut behind her, but she didn’t hear the lock click. She turned around. “It’s not locking.”

Damian looked over his shoulder. “Can’t do anything about that. It’s another thing that sucks in this building. Most of the doors in here only lock if you have the key. Just pull it shut. Most burglars around here won’t bother walking all the way up to the fifth floor.”

Naomi shrugged. While she didn’t like the idea that Tracy’s flat didn’t lock, there wasn’t really anything worth stealing inside. And perhaps Damian was right. A thief would first try to break into flats on the lower floors, rather than getting trapped in a narrow stairwell when trying to escape.

To Naomi’s surprise, Mick’s flat was much nicer and bigger than she’d expected. It was a two-bedroom flat on the first floor of a triplex, and was nicely furnished.

“So we’re looking for bottles of blood?” Naomi asked.

“Yes, and if you see anything that looks like grey dust or ash, let me know.”

At his words, an odd shudder went through her. “Does ash mean what I think it means?”

“I’m afraid so. Vampires and hybrids can be killed with a stake through the heart, and all that’s left will be ash—and any metal items like jewelry or phones.”

She stared at him. “There wouldn’t be anything left for a vampire’s loved ones to mourn. That must be terrible.”

Damian smiled at her unexpectedly and stroked his knuckles over her cheek. “You understand us now. You know that we love and we mourn, we have the same emotions as humans.”

“Because you showed me that you don’t have to be human to have humanity in you.” She put her hand over his, clasping it, and turned her face to press a kiss into his palm. His eyes started to shimmer golden, and the sight turned her insides to molten lava. “How do you do that?”

“Do what?”

“Make your eyes look like liquid gold?”

“I don’t do anything. It’s simply a reaction to what I feel and what I’m thinking.” He leaned in. “Do you want me to tell you what I’m thinking right now?”

A pleasant shiver slithered down her spine. “No.” She dropped her gaze. “It’s pretty obvious from where I’m standing.” The bulge in his pants was hard to ignore. She lifted her lids. “How come you’re always hard?”

A soft chuckle rolled over Damian’s lips. “How come you’re always sexy?”

He stepped back. “We’d better get on with this search, before we do something we shouldn’t be doing here.”

“Good point.”

They divided their efforts, and went through the flat. In the bathroom, Naomi found something of interest.

“Damian?” she called out, and he joined her.

“What did you find?”

She opened the box she’d found underneath the sink. “A whole box of empty glass vials. The same as the one I found underneath the dumpster. It was hidden in a larger box, and had cleaning materials on top of it. I almost didn’t see it.”

“Hmm.” Damian contemplated the find for a moment. “He didn’t want Angelica to find them, hence the cleaning materials. She doesn’t like cleaning, and she would certainly not do it at her boyfriend’s place. Mick knew that.”

Twenty minutes later, Damian found something else.

Naomi walked into the bedroom he’d been searching. “What did you find?”

Damian turned around. He held bundles of cash in both hands. “Mostly twenties and fifties. Used bills. I think this pretty much confirms that he sold his blood. Maybe for fifty or a hundred bucks a vial. It’s definitely worth that. And finding the money here with him gone means he didn’t leave voluntarily.”

Naomi nodded. “You’re right. Nobody would leave money behind, not if he’s going on the run.”

“Exactly. Somebody took him.” Damian tipped his chin up. “When you spoke to Mrs. Zhang yesterday, are you sure she didn’t recognize the person Mick was meeting with or where the thief on Halloween disappeared to?”

“She said she couldn’t see the face of the person Mick met with, but she saw where the thief disappeared to, but she couldn’t tell what type of car it was. She said she knows nothing about cars.”