Page 83 of Damian’s Conquest

Cooper smirked. “Quinn says I’m the best he’s ever taught.”

“Time to apply those skills,” Damian said, and they all got out of the car. He was glad that Ryder was part of the backup team, because he was experienced and cool-headed, not like Grayson, who was a hothead and stubborn as hell. Though he had to admit, he was glad that Grayson had freed Mick so quickly, and apprehended Cynthia.

Ryder and Vanessa walked along the tradesman’s entrance on the left side of the house, and quietly made their way into the back. There wasn’t much vegetation to hide them, but with some luck nobody would bother asking what they were doing.

Damian headed for the front entrance, Cooper by his side, while he kept an eye out for any movement behind the windows facing the street. The curtains were drawn.

At the entrance door, Damian shielded Cooper from view by any nosy neighbors, while the young hybrid used his lockpicks. He hadn’t lied when he said he was good. In fact, Damian had never seen anybody picking a lock that quickly.

“It’s open,” Cooper whispered and stepped aside.

Damian turned the doorknob and eased the door open a tiny sliver, just sufficient so he could listen to the sounds from inside the house. He heard somebody breathing hard and tried to isolate the sound. It seemed to come from somewhere in the middle of the house. There were no other sounds, no creaking floorboards, no water running, only the low humming of an old refrigerator from the back of the house.

Making a sign to Cooper, Damian opened the door wider and entered. Within a second, he assessed his surroundings: a living room to his left, its door ajar, another door on the same side that probably led to an adjoining dining room, and a kitchen in the back of the house. Along the corridor were also three doors on the right. Two bedrooms and a bathroom if he had to guess.

When he stepped farther into the hallway, Cooper on his heels, a floorboard creaked, and Damian instantly froze.

There was a sudden change in the breathing pattern he heard. Then a male voice. “Cynthia? You back?”

Damian exchanged a look with Cooper, and motioned him to walk to the next door on the left. Since many of the houses in this neighborhood were constructed in the same way, he figured that the first door led into the living room, the second into the connecting dining room. They would enter simultaneously to disorient their suspect and cut off his escape route.

Damian used his fingers to count down. Three, two. On one, both he and Cooper opened their respective doors and charged in. The scene wasn’t at all what Damian had expected. There was little furniture in the combined living and dining room, an old couch, a coffee table, and a table with four chairs, no decorations other than a standing lamp and a mirror over the fireplace.

At the dining table sat a young man bent over a bowl of cereal, his figure gaunt, his posture sunk in. He was dressed in pajamas and a bathrobe. Damian could barely recognize him as Ralph Lassiter, the man whose car the thief had driven. It was clear that Ralph couldn’t have been the driver. A walker stood next to his chair, because Ralph was too weak to walk without it.

Ralph shrieked, but even his shriek was weak. “Who are you?” His voice trembled. “What do you want? I have nothing worth stealing.”

Damian walked closer. “We’re not here to steal anything.”

“Who let you in?” He tried to rise from his chair, but faltered and fell back onto it.

Seeing that this man was no danger to any of them, Damian addressed Cooper, “Let Ryder and Vanessa in.”

Cooper left the room.

“What do you want from me?” Ralph asked again.

“Where is Tracy?”

“I don’t know any Tracy. You have the wrong address.”

“Let me give you a hint: she works with your sister, Cynthia. And she was kidnapped, together with her boyfriend. And my people just found where you locked him up. Your sister led them right to him.”

“What?” Genuine confusion spread on the young man’s face. “You hurt my sister? You hurt Cynthia?”

“We didn’t hurt her, but we arrested her. Now tell us where you’re keeping Tracy.”

Ralph shook his head. “Arrested? My sister would never hurt anybody. Why would she kidnap somebody? You must be wrong.”

“Are you saying you know nothing of what your sister has done?” Could it be that Ralph really didn’t know that Cynthia had kept Mick locked away so she could tap him for his blood? Damian glanced around the room. If she was selling Mick’s blood, she wasn’t using the money she was making to help her brother. Something didn’t add up.

“Where’s Tracy?”

“I don’t know anybody with that name. I swear. Do you really think I could lock somebody up? I can barely make it to the bathroom on my own.” A bitter laugh ripped from Ralph’s throat. “Look at me!” His voice was suddenly more forceful, and tears shot to his eyes. “The doctor said I have a month left at best. That was five weeks ago. I’m already living on borrowed time. So you can do whatever you want to me, but don’t hurt my sister. She’s never done anything wrong in her life.”

Ryder popped his head into the room. “No sign of Tracy in the house.”

“I’m checking the garage,” Vanessa called from behind her brother.