That got a fleeting smile out of him. “Focus, Delaney. This is a crime. You’re supposed to be good at this sort of thing.”
“All right. Tell me how this is a declaration of war.”
“Sven was one of mine.” The heat behind those words carried the strength of a thousand years. When Old Rossi brought a vampire under his wing, he became more than just their friend, he became their defender.
“Who wants to start a war with you? Someone you kicked out? Who hates you enough to want a war?”
Just because he accepted new vampires into Ordinary didn’t mean they always stayed here. Rossi had more rules about bringing in vampires than I did about bringing in gods. If vampires couldn’t live up to those rules, Rossi kicked them out.
Sometimes those partings were amicable, but not always.
“Do you have any enemies who would want you to suffer?”
He snorted. “Countless.”
“I’ll need a list.”
He smiled, and it was almost his normal smile—no teeth. Except for the glitter of red in his eyes, he was very nearly the love-not-war guy I’d known all my life. He leaned away, lounging into the couch, both arms spread wide across the back of it.
“I am not in the habit of measuring how many people hate me, only how many love me, baby.”
“Nice try, hippy. That’s not a love letter.” I pointed at Sven. Then a terrible thought crossed my mind. “Is it?”
“No. It is not.”
“So give me names. Who have you made angry who might also have access to the ichor techne?”
Old Rossi sighed, and rubbed one hand over his hair, the most human gesture I’d seen out of him since I had walked into the room. He stared at Sven as if unable to look anywhere else. “I don’t know. There is no one who comes to mind.”
“Really?”
“Despite what you must think of me, I am a fan of peace and non-violent conflict resolution.”
“Okay. So what do we do next?”
“We’ll bury him. Hold a memorial service.”
“I meant about his killer. About the invitation. The war.”
“I don’t know yet.”
“We need a plan. Is there anything here we can go on? Anything that could be a lead? This town has resources we can call on, both mundane and godly.”
“Let’s keep the gods out of it. The only ones who might do me any good would be carrying their power, and when they carry power they do not listen to the needs of the undead.”
“The gods in town could help even without their powers.”
“I’d rather snip my left nut off than owe any of them a favor.”
I could see he felt strongly about this.
“You might not have a choice in that. But I’ll start with police records. See if there have been any unusual deaths in the area, things involving blood markings or shots between the eyes.”
He was still staring at Sven, but grunted. I took that as an agreement and stood. I still hadn’t dried out from the rain and the back of my thighs and butt felt cold.
“We’re collecting information from the folks at the gas station and the people in the area who might have seen or heard something. I’ll let you know if I find anything. If there’s anything else you need, let me know.”
Just before I opened the door, he spoke.
“How much do you know about Ryder?”
That sent chills over my chills. “Ryder Bailey?” At least I hadn’t said: the guy I still can’t stop loving even though he dumped me?
“Ryder Bailey.”
“Um...well, we grew up together. His Dad retired to Florida and left him the cabin on Easy Lake that they remodeled together from the floor up. High school athlete, popular guy.”
Handsome, funny. Kind. Always helping anyone who needs a hand.
“Came back to town just over a year ago with a fancy degree and clients and set up his own architecture business.”
Folds origami, hangs his own art in his living room. Sexy as hell in bed. Gentle. Tastes like something deeper than caramel, something all his own. Something I wake up in the middle of the night craving.
“Hates rhubarb. Why?”
“That is Ryder’s blood.”
My stomach knotted and I glanced down at Sven. “Are you sure?”
“Of course I’m sure.”
“Just his?”
“No. It is mixed with Sven’s. That is an important part of the art.”
“Mortal blood and vampire blood?”
“Yes. Killer and victim.”
I shuddered. “You’re telling me Ryder killed Sven.”
“I’m telling you that’s his blood. We won’t know he’s the killer until I question him.”
I let go of the door knob. “You won’t be questioning him.”
Rossi shifted, his eyebrow lifted, eyes steady on mine. “Won’t I?”
“No. Ryder is a mortal. That means he falls under mortal law. I will question him and you’ll keep your hands off him.”
“No.”
“I’m not leaving this room until you agree to keep your hands—and everything else—off Ryder.”
“Why should I do that?”
I could lie. I could try to strong arm him with legal threats. He wasn’t the only one who could hire vampire lawyers. Just because Rossi ruled the vampires didn’t mean he ruled Ordinary. But I figured the truth would work best.
“You understand that I am the law over you, over the mortals, and over the gods of this town. If you do anything illegal, I will throw you out of town. Permanently.”
“You would never do that.”
“Test me.”
He glared at me. I glared right back.
“Do you love him?” he finally asked.
I don’t know what he saw in my eyes. Probably something I wished I knew how to hide.
Rossi blinked. Opened his mouth, shut it, blinked again. “Oh, Delaney,” he breathed, “are you sure?”
“No. Yes. Sometimes?”
“Is this recent? Since he’s returned to town?”
“Yes and not really. I’ve loved him for years, but never said anything. We finally tried it a couple months ago.”
“It? Sex?”
“Dating. And sex. But I got shot and we decided to take it slow.”
Red flashed across his eyes, a flame moving fast. “Did he dump you?”
“That doesn’t matter. I’m still sorting through the whole thing, which is personal and not a part of this case. You will stay away from him. I will find out if he is involved in Sven’s death. If he is, if I find anything to tie him to Sven—”
“Such as his blood?”
“Which could have been stolen, or taken without his agreement. If I have any solid proof he was actually involved, I will let you question him while I am in the room with both of you. Got that?”
“Yes.”
“I’ll also take your word that the other vampires in town will stay away from him.”
“I’ll let them know Ryder Bailey is untouchable. But Delaney, if he is involved, I will not stand aside. Not even for you.”
No pressure.
“If he’s involved you will talk to me. We’ll decide what’s best. Unlike the vampires in town, Ryder Bailey has family who would wonder what happened to him if he went missing. He has college friends, business colleagues. He can’t simply disappear without turning a lot of unwanted attention to our town.