Caught in Darkness by Rose Wulf Read Free Book Online

Veronica said easily, the
uncertainty that had laced her voice all but gone now. “I just got out of work,
so I can pretty much meet whenever.”
    Seth glanced at the dashboard
clock, realizing it was only just past eleven, and said, “Why don’t we talk
over lunch? You can choose the place, I’m not too picky.”
    There was a smile in her voice, and
he could just see the twinkle reflecting in her eyes as she said, “Okay…how about
twelve-thirty at Pete’s Pasta? I’ve been in the mood to go there lately,
anyway.”
    “I’ll be there,” Seth replied as
his lips lifted in the faintest of grins. Was it even possible for smiles to be
contagious over the phone?
    “Great,” Veronica began, “I’ll see
you at twelve-thirty, then.”
    They disconnected a beat later, and
as Seth’s hand returned to the steering wheel he decided to spend as much of
the hour that he had left continuing the search. By noon they would likely be
holed up for the day, but it couldn’t hurt to try.
    ****
    “She called him?” Gregory Richards hissed, a level of incredulity in his voice. “You’re sure?”
    Tobias Wilson shrugged, offering,
“Well, unless she happens to know another Seth. You want me to swipe her phone
and check her contacts?”
    Richards released an exasperated,
drawn out breath as he thought over the offer. “That might not be such a bad
idea…but probably we shouldn’t try that before her little lunch date .”
    “So,” Tobias began carefully, “not
yet?”
    “No, not yet,” Richards snapped,
shooting a glare at his companion. He cast his gaze around the room, then, and
asked, “Where’s your idiot brother, anyway?”
    It was Tobias’s turn to sigh as he
shrugged once again and replied, “Feeding, I think.”
    “And tell me again why you insisted
on dragging your dumbass older brother in on this?”
    “Because he’s loyal to me, even if
he’s stupid,” Tobias explained casually. “Besides, if he somehow found out
about this and we didn’t cut him in then he’d go blabbing to Robert for sure.”
    Arching a brow now, Richards
challenged, “I thought he was loyal to you?”
    “To a point,” Tobias clarified.
    Richards threw his arms into the
air, nearly punching the low ceiling of the darkened room around them, and
growled aloud before saying, “Yeah, well, if we hadn’t had to give him the
damned update then none of this would have happened! It’s as much his fault as
that human bitch’s!”
    “He doesn’t know how much money we
stand to get if it works out,” Tobias said, “just slice his portion.”
    The hesitation in the air was
tangible before Richards finally replied, “That’s not a half-bad idea…you’d go
along with it?”
    “With getting a
little more cash?” Tobias began, smirk slowly curving his lips. “Who
wouldn’t?”
    Richards nodded. “Then that’s what
we’ll do. Of course, we have to get the fucking money first.”
    Tobias sighed and slumped against
the nearest wall. “True.” He was silent for a beat before he lifted his eyes
back to Richards and asked, “Do you wonder about Hunter? I mean, he comes out
of nowhere and now he’s sticking his nose into our business…seems odd.”
    Richards scoffed, waving a hand
dismissively toward his companion. “Ignore him, he’s
just fresh meat looking to make his place in the Family. Maybe he thinks
standing up to us or ‘cracking this case’ will get him in better with Robert. It
doesn’t matter.”
    Tobias frowned thoughtfully, gaze falling
back to the floor, but said nothing.
    “What matters,” Richards continued
after a brief moment, fists curling tightly at his sides, “is that damned human
bimbo. I’m gonna make sure she knows exactly who
she’s screwing around with—and then I’m gonna drain
her dry.”
    ****
    Veronica couldn’t help but feel a
little excited and a little self-conscious as she stepped into the restaurant
at twelve-thirty. She knew that they weren’t really meeting for a good