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Authors: Cynthia Garner
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him know what Tori had reported. He could imagine the other detective’s disappointment. And dread. Since Barry wasn’t the suspect in the “werewolf incidents,” as Captain Scott called them, that meant there was another attack coming.
His Appaloosa nickered, obviously impatient for his grooming to begin. Dante put his phone away and picked up the rubber curry. “All right, Benny. All right.” He’d fed the horses about two hours ago, and this brushing was a weekend ritual he and Big Ben both looked forward to. On the other hand, his buckskin quarter horse, unlike the Appaloosa, merely tolerated being groomed, so he always got his grooming last. Even the little burro who acted as stable mascot enjoyed being brushed, but the quarter horse had his nose in his feed bucket, trying to get every last little nugget that might still be in there.
As Dante got started with slow circular motions of the curry on Ben’s neck, he reflected on yesterday’s incident. He was torn between feeling just a little aggrieved at being called out on a drunk and disorderly and feeling somewhat relieved that it hadn’t been anything more serious.
The vampire slayings he’d investigated earlier in the year had been gruesome, so much so that the images still scrolled through his mind every now and again. And while he, Tobias, and Nix knew who had been behind the murders and why, they hadn’t been able to make that particular report because of the uncertainty of the players’ identities. He and his friends had been victorious in the end and had managed to get their hands on the device the bad guys were using to communicate through the rift. But having been informed that some of the council members were at the very least aware of those communications and had seemingly been doing nothing about it had added a level of danger that made this particular tightrope hazardous to traverse.
In the end, they’d all decided that for the moment no one but the three of them—and later, Tori—needed to know they had the device, or that there even was a device. For now, the official report was that the slayings had been related to a group of rogue preternaturals but the motivation was unclear.
Tobias had held onto the apparatus and corresponding schematics, waiting for things to cool down. He’d given them to Tori within the last several days, asking her to look it over and see if she could figure out how it worked. But he hadn’t told her where he’d gotten it or from whom.
Dante had been itching to look it over, too, but he had held his tongue. This was more of a pret issue than it was a human one. And he trusted Tobias to do the right thing. If the new council member felt Dante needed to be brought into things, he’d call.
So Dante told himself to be patient. He’d soon enough get a chance to see inside that thing. And a chance to work with Tori on something unrelated to being a city detective.
Not that he should be looking forward to spending more time with her. She was a temptation he just didn’t have the luxury of giving in to right now. Because he knew as surely as he breathed that once he had a taste, it would be impossible to walk away.
Deciding he didn’t want to think about that now, Dante forced himself to concentrate on grooming his horse. He let himself be calmed by the motions and soon was lost in the rhythm of the process.
He’d just picked up a towel to wipe down Big Ben in the final step of grooming when his sister, Liliana, walked into the stables.
“How are my boys doing today?” she asked.
The burro brayed and shoved his head over the gate of his stall. Lily stopped and scratched his forehead, grinning when he draped his chin across her shoulder. “Hello, Sugar,” she greeted.
Dante noticed his sister looked a little pale this morning. He turned away before she could catch him staring, and he sighed, making sure the sound was vexed without any trace of the concern he really felt. “I don’t know why you
His Appaloosa nickered, obviously impatient for his grooming to begin. Dante put his phone away and picked up the rubber curry. “All right, Benny. All right.” He’d fed the horses about two hours ago, and this brushing was a weekend ritual he and Big Ben both looked forward to. On the other hand, his buckskin quarter horse, unlike the Appaloosa, merely tolerated being groomed, so he always got his grooming last. Even the little burro who acted as stable mascot enjoyed being brushed, but the quarter horse had his nose in his feed bucket, trying to get every last little nugget that might still be in there.
As Dante got started with slow circular motions of the curry on Ben’s neck, he reflected on yesterday’s incident. He was torn between feeling just a little aggrieved at being called out on a drunk and disorderly and feeling somewhat relieved that it hadn’t been anything more serious.
The vampire slayings he’d investigated earlier in the year had been gruesome, so much so that the images still scrolled through his mind every now and again. And while he, Tobias, and Nix knew who had been behind the murders and why, they hadn’t been able to make that particular report because of the uncertainty of the players’ identities. He and his friends had been victorious in the end and had managed to get their hands on the device the bad guys were using to communicate through the rift. But having been informed that some of the council members were at the very least aware of those communications and had seemingly been doing nothing about it had added a level of danger that made this particular tightrope hazardous to traverse.
In the end, they’d all decided that for the moment no one but the three of them—and later, Tori—needed to know they had the device, or that there even was a device. For now, the official report was that the slayings had been related to a group of rogue preternaturals but the motivation was unclear.
Tobias had held onto the apparatus and corresponding schematics, waiting for things to cool down. He’d given them to Tori within the last several days, asking her to look it over and see if she could figure out how it worked. But he hadn’t told her where he’d gotten it or from whom.
Dante had been itching to look it over, too, but he had held his tongue. This was more of a pret issue than it was a human one. And he trusted Tobias to do the right thing. If the new council member felt Dante needed to be brought into things, he’d call.
So Dante told himself to be patient. He’d soon enough get a chance to see inside that thing. And a chance to work with Tori on something unrelated to being a city detective.
Not that he should be looking forward to spending more time with her. She was a temptation he just didn’t have the luxury of giving in to right now. Because he knew as surely as he breathed that once he had a taste, it would be impossible to walk away.
Deciding he didn’t want to think about that now, Dante forced himself to concentrate on grooming his horse. He let himself be calmed by the motions and soon was lost in the rhythm of the process.
He’d just picked up a towel to wipe down Big Ben in the final step of grooming when his sister, Liliana, walked into the stables.
“How are my boys doing today?” she asked.
The burro brayed and shoved his head over the gate of his stall. Lily stopped and scratched his forehead, grinning when he draped his chin across her shoulder. “Hello, Sugar,” she greeted.
Dante noticed his sister looked a little pale this morning. He turned away before she could catch him staring, and he sighed, making sure the sound was vexed without any trace of the concern he really felt. “I don’t know why you
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