City of Sins

Chapter 4

There was a moment of deafening silence in the office after Law exited. Ashley hung back in the foyer with all her goth glory, unsure of how to react to the explosive confrontation, but Bri dove right in. Coming around the desk to envelop Bella in a tight hug full of wonderfully squishy curves and Pink cologne. “Gurl, you don’t need that kinda man’s help. You got this covered in your sleep.”

Still shaking inside, the slender lioness leaned into the warmth and comfort, her tone belying the butterflies still rolling around in her belly. “Pretentious prick.” Sighing, she slowly disengaged, her beast pacing with irritation at the entire mess they seemed to make every time there was a clash with the King. It hadn’t always been this way. Hell, she’d been under his notice for months when Adam initially moved his company from the west coast to Vegas. Other than a half-assed job offer Bella turned down because in her opinion it was a fast way to get into her pants, they’d done nothing but trade barbs till that fateful night two years ago.

Had it been two years? Seemed like a lifetime of angry back and forth since she’d taken down Petra, the previous queen. Funniest thing, Bella didn’t want the job. She’d just had her fill of the b***h’s abusive behavior and manipulative games. And it wasn’t like Petra captured the popular vote either, vilified by both male and female equally. One beat-down later and Bella claimed the title, then told the King he could keep his d**k in his pants. The lioness felt no need to submit either, so it became an uneasy partnership, Adam at the helm and Bella doing her best to take care of her people while avoiding his overbearing presence whenever possible. Apparently, that avenue just slammed shut with a vengeance.

“This isn’t getting things done either, so I’d better get a move on.” Checking her watch, the slender brunette made a moue of distaste. “I’ve gotta head out, anyway. I promised to meet Michael at the Luxor and read Ash into the case as well.”

Ashley, who’d snuck in behind Bri, paled even more under her ivory base. “You’re going to meet with him?”

Around her, the air suddenly blossomed with a mix of fear and excitement, the scent making Bella’s lion lift its head in interest. Quashing the beast ruthlessly, Bella nodded. “Yeah, if something shady is going down in town, he’ll either know about or will wanna find out. Might be better to let the vamps do my leg work.”

Standing, she walked around the desk to give Ashley a one-armed hug. “Listen, I’m not stressing the vamps, but you need to curb this little fascination of yours. They’re not as cool as you think.” Pressing a kiss to the slightly taller girl’s cheek, Bella moved to the gun safe and pressed her palm against the reader. The one thing Adam had done that she’d appreciated was this safe, a state-of-the-art unit that used biometrics to unlock and had some serious room for sensitive info she didn’t wanna leave lying around. Shifting some files around to find the Beretta APX and its belt holster, she clipped the small, lightweight pistol at the small of her back, already knowing it held eight, hollow point, 9mm rounds. She left the spare clips in the safe and snapped the door shut with a sigh. Honestly, if the situation warranted over eight bullets, she was f****d.

As Bella turned, Bri handed her a small slip of paper. “You mentioned the Luxor and this lady called about an hour ago.” In the woman’s chicken scratch you could barely make out a name and a time.

To Bella, legibility wasn’t an issue. “Jenna Watson? What’s she need?”

“No idea, wanted to speak to the investigator. And she insisted on meeting in a neutral place.” Her bare shoulders lifted and fell, cocoa skin gleaming in the sunlight pouring in from a side window. “Like you’re dangerous or sumpthin’..... I just figured you could kill two birds with one stone.”

Nodding, Bella grabbed Bri in a quick, hard hug. “Thank you…for it all.”

Bri just grinned. “No, thank you. I’ve never had so much fun.”

With a jaunty wave, Bella headed out into the burning Vegas afternoon. Hot air hit the lungs like a slap. The waves from just opening the car door made eyes water and her breath catch as she slid behind the wheel. Even her beast gave her a metaphysical eye roll. It took a good ten minutes to get the AC to blast enough cold air to penetrate the oppressive heat of the interior and she breathed a sigh of relief as she pulled onto the strip, heading towards the giant pyramid on the south end.

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The enormous doors to the Luxor opened with a soft whoosh, allowing a wash of air-conditioned air to play along her skin, and Bella sighed softly in relief. Until the wall of noise and smells hit and her beast rolled its lips back in distaste. It was midweek before noon and while the casino sounded like a nonstop party, most of the slot machine banks, video poker bars, and tables lay empty. That’s how they got you in, alarm bells and flashing lights to distract, few windows and no clocks on the walls to remind gamblers how long they’d been hunched over that poker machine feeding it an endless stream of coins.

Weaving her way through the labyrinth of tables and machines, Bella made a quick check of her watch before breaking into a slight jog. Heading towards Flight, one of the bars inside the hotel, she caught sight of Michael’s dark head and made her way towards the table he’d grabbed. Hopping up on one of the low backed barstools, she gave him a nudge on the shoulder. “Thanks for coming on such short notice.”

Michael Cade, King of the Vegas pack and quite a looker if you were into guys who looked more at home at a biker bar than a high end casino. Six foot of muscled glory, just the right amount of bulk under the jeans and leather jacket with piercing blue eyes and black as night hair made him so nice to look at. His beefy hand shoved a bottle of Stella Artois towards her, condensation sliding down the green glass. “After what you told me on the phone, I couldn’t ignore it.” Michael did a brief glance around her, then stared at her with just a touch of amusement dancing in his eyes. “Adam not invited?”

Rolling her eyes, Bella took a pull of the beer before responding. “No, this is an LVPD case right now, so it’s all between us.” Picking at the edge of the label with her fingernail, she got right to the point. “You already know about the dead tiger, but why I contacted you was the fact, I got a bunch of scents off the body…” She paused. “Wolf was one of them.”

Warm brown eyes lifted as Bella looked him straight in the eyes. “Have any of your people gone missing or do they know anything that might help me find out what the hell is going on?”

Leaning back in his chair, Michael took a healthy swig of his own brew, never breaking that eye contact. “I can ask around. Your people know neither?”

Blue eyes clashed with brown. “No, there was no lion scent on the body whatsoever. But Law’s an ass when it comes to new people. He’s even chased down tourists if they cross paths anywhere out and about.” Bella finally let her eyes drop to the table and then rise to scan the few people out and about before noon. “But you know how many people come in and out-of-town daily. It’s easy to lose someone here.” She would have gone on, but a man approached their table, suited up in an off the rack three piece that screamed middle management.

“Excuse me. Ms. Gianetti would like to see you both in her office if you have a moment.” As unremarkable as his attire, the slightly harried looking male rubbed the side of his bald head then tucked the hand back with a touch of embarrassment. “If you’d come with me.” He waited till the pair rose and then spun on a heel to begin a winding game of follow the leader with the two shifters through the maze of machines and tables.

Micheal tugged on her belt loop as they stood, keeping her back a pace or two. “Odd coincidence, don’t you think? Prince of the City’s b***h just happens to have a pressing matter just after we arrive?”

The tone held a wealth of emotion. The sheer volume of suspicion in it made the slender woman smile just a touch. Oh yeah, such a coincidence. It could take weeks to get on the Prince’s calendar for a meet and greet. Show up in public with another shifter clan head on their turf? Instant meeting. The chances of getting out unscathed though got a little thin, so for Bella it was a lesser of two evils. The quicker she wrapped up the case, the better. But all she could do was flash a grin over her shoulder. “Maybe it’s a lucky break?”

He just snorted and raked his hand through his hair, making the bad boy vibe even more obvious. A couple of young girls getting off the elevator giggled and flirted, but Michael ignored them, too busy glaring at Bella’s unconcerned back. They followed Gianetti’s lackey off the casino floor into the maze of ‘employee only’ back corridors, the sudden lack of noise a bit discomfiting for her beast. The lion rose, hitting the edge of its gilded cage and chuffing in irritation. Bella pushed it down ruthlessly as cold floors and fluorescent lighting gave way to thick Persian carpets and dark paneled hallways. Glancing back at Michael, Bella wiggled her eyebrows. “I don’t think I’ve been this far into the inner sanctum before.” Their escort gave her a quelling glance, but she ignored it. “I guess things are a little more urgent than I thought.”

Brought up short when the man stopped at a door. She refocused as he turned the knob and motioned them inside. He didn’t follow, just shut the door quietly.

Both shifters had a moment to look around, the elegant office empty for the moment. Furnished more along the lines of a male’s only club, the dark wood and emerald toned carpet gave it a richness that the current trend of white and metal couldn’t compare with. Gold fixtures everywhere, museum worthy statuary and art scattered about like knick knacks at grandmother’s house and a desk big enough to have an orgy on. Two leather wing back chairs sat before it, the color nearly matching the cherry wood of the desk. Glancing at the wolf King with a shrug, she dropped into the one on the left and crossed her legs, grimacing a bit when the gun at the small of her back dug into her spine.

A door on the right opened and what had to be the most sultry looking creature in town sauntered in, Manolos making no noise as they sunk into the thick weave of the rug. Karissa Gianetti, Prince Asheron’s beloved, and one of the original mob bosses when Vegas rose up out of the desert in all her bawdy glory. Rumours had it that the petite brunette who even now settled herself behind the desk was as OG as it got with roots going back to Italy, when Sicilian families protected themselves with mafie, small private armies. Her features backed it up, olive-toned skin, high cheekbones and sable black hair that she’d pulled back into a tight bun, emphasizing her stunning profile. The smile she flashed held nothing but acceptance, a welcoming….

Danger

Dead thing, dangerous

runrunrunrunrun

Bella shook herself, the lioness within flashing her own teeth in a silent growl. f*****g vampires. Shoring up her own power, she fought the vamp’s soothing aura rolling over her, then shook it off. A quick, sideways glance at Michael caught him doing the same, straightening slightly and gripping the leather arms of his chair with white knuckles.

Watching the pair struggle only seemed to amuse the woman behind the desk, the curl of her lips as she drew the power back obvious. “When I heard you were here at the hotel, I just couldn’t resist having you up for some refreshment and to check in with two of our most valuable allies.”

Out of the same door she and Michael had come in, their earlier escort sidled in with an ingratiating smile “You needed something, Miss Gianetti?”

“Yes Charles, please fetch me a glass of tea……” Motioning to Bella first. “And what would you like, Ms Talos?”

Bella gave Karissa a self-deprecating smile. “Nothing. I’m actually here on business with another appointment shortly. I just needed to meet with Michael about….”

Holding up a hand, the other woman waved Charles off and waited till the door shut behind him before speaking. “Yes, the shifter murders. I’m surprised anyone is even taking an interest in the current public opinion of anything not human in this country.”

There was no doubt that many of the public still bought into the ‘preternaturals aren’t human’ rhetoric and thought that all species needed to be strictly monitored and controlled. Some groups protested, some took it to a whole new level with reports of bombings and protests in some west coast cities.

Bella nodded in agreement. “I haven’t seen the Brethren pop up in a while but PPVI supporters have been recruiting over at UNLV.” For the last few years, the Prevention of Preternatural Violence Initiative and its supporters had been filling the pockets of businessmen and politicians, the main mission to remove civil rights protections for anyone not designated human.

Michael had relaxed a bit but the mention of the Brethren tensed his beast up, the scent of wolf becoming stronger but she didn’t feel the press of it. If she’d had to hazard a guess why, the vampire servant behind the desk fueled it. Bella ignored both beasts and pushed on. “But I don’t think this is about civil rights. This is something different.” Leaning forward, she stared at Karissa’s face. “The body was partially eaten by another shifter, the same species shifter. And he’d been around a bunch of other lycanthropes, wolf, leopard, bear….”

Karissa lifted one perfectly shaped eyebrow. “No lions?”

Bella sighed. “No. But like I was telling Michael…”

“Yes, your King is a bit of an ass when it comes to visiting lycanthropes of his own species.” Karissa interrupted with a thin smile. “He actually might notice someone going missing, even a visitor.”

Michael finally jumped in. “So I guess we’re here because you already have some ideas. And it would be easier for her to do the legwork. I’m just along for the ride.”

Karissa favored the only male in the room with a frank, ebon eyed stare. “No, I’m sure you’re going to go right back to your people to see how this is happening. You’re here because nothing like this should happen in Asheron’s city. I know that your kind isn’t fond of my kind, but we all call this city home. We are just as motivated to keep it safe for all who live in it. So…”

Those dark eyes moved to Bella. “I will see if I can find out anything on my end. It may take a few days, but there isn’t much that gets by our information network.”

Our information network. Bella controlled her features, so the derision didn’t creep into her expression. Vampires and the Gianetti ‘family’ business, not exactly the types police wanted to work with, but options were getting pretty thin on the ground at this point.

“Thank you. I know whatever they’re doing has to be somewhat public. I figure the more people looking, the more likely we’ll be able to narrow the possibles down.” Bella reached over and tapped Michael on the wrist. “They’ve gotten past all of us, tigers and Zander too. Whoever’s behind this is doing their best to avoid detection on insane levels, but someone, somewhere, has to know what’s up. We’ll find them.”