“I guess it’s a good thing I’m the jealous kind.” He gave a bitter laugh. “I managed to put a chip into his cell phone yesterday to record his conversations. I was just playing them back when Amaury called me to help him with the encrypted files—”
“I thought I’d heard Milo’s voice in the background.”
Thomas nodded. “I recognized Ilona’s voice when he spoke to her. They are brother and sister. I never saw the resemblance, but now that I know, I can see similarities, gestures they have in common.” He cast Samson a hunted look. “You’re lucky that you never blood-bonded with her. If you had, you’d be dead now.”
The realization hit Samson hard. “Dead? Killed by a blood-bonded mate?”
“No. Killed by her brother. She would have been unable to keep her murderous thoughts veiled once you were blood-bonded. You would have sensed it. But if she had arranged everything with Milo beforehand, you would have remained in the dark about her intentions,” Amaury explained in Thomas’ stead.
“All this for money?” Samson shook his head.
“You sound surprised,” Amaury noted.
“I shouldn’t be.”
“Ilona will stop at nothing to get what she wants. That’s why Milo infiltrated our group. It all makes sense now, even the timing.” Thomas looked into the round. “Just after you dumped her, Milo showed up. First he gained my trust, and then he tried to figure out how to get at your money. Took him long enough. So he figures out who to blackmail to get at the books from one side, then steals my logon and password to finish it off. No wonder he didn’t want us to talk to the accountant.”
“Do you know where he is now?”
Thomas shook his head. “No, but we can try to trace the chip. If he’s still got his cell phone on him, I’ll find him.”
They reached Thomas’ office upstairs, and Thomas let himself fall into his chair. His hands instantly flew over the keyboard as various screens popped up.
“He’s somewhere in the vicinity of Ilona’s place. They are probably on their way to pack up and leave the city. You have to go, now.”
“You think you can reverse the transactions?”
“Yes, trust me. The transactions are on a time-delay loop. It’s a little program I put in place a couple of weeks ago for extra security. We’ll get all your money back. They won’t get away with this. You just make sure you catch the two before they can hurt anybody else.”
Samson put his hand on Thomas’ shoulder and squeezed.
A minute later they were outside.
“Ricky, call backup. We need a dozen guards to close in on them. It will take us too long to get to her place from here. They’ll be gone by then.”
Ricky instantly dialed on his cell and gave orders to his subordinates.
Samson’s cell vibrated in his pocket.
“Carl?”
“Miss Delilah is gone.”
Samson’s throat constricted and his heart froze as all the strength flowed out of his body.
SIXTEEN
The Chinese New Years Parade was in full swing, and the masses of people watching the festivities squeezed through the narrow streets of Chinatown. The colorful dragon which was carried on sticks by even more colorful young Chinese men wound its way through the festive streets. Lanterns and lights hung from each shop and each restaurant on the way.
Delilah had tricked Carl. She’d sent him on a fool’s errand to the drugstore—pretending to have stomach cramps—and had been surprised at how easily he’d bought her lies. She knew that Samson would probably punish him for leaving her alone, but she couldn’t allow herself to feel sorry for him now. She needed to get away.
A future with Samson was impossible, and the faster she put a stop to all this, the better for all involved. The last day and night had severely tried her belief in reality. Suddenly she’d been confronted with a world in which vampires not only existed but pretended to live lives similar to humans.
And in the last few days she’d also had to realize that all walls she’d built around herself had started crumbling. She’d never told anybody about the pain she’d carried around with her for so long, and she still couldn’t understand why she’d told Samson. Of all people, he didn’t deserve her trust.
He’d lied to her, again and again. And he would continue lying to her. In his eyes she’d seen his desperation to have her, consume her. What other lies would he dish up, just so she’d stay? She barely knew him, and the idea of spending eternity with him was too foreign, too much, too soon. While she was with him, she knew she couldn’t think straight. He’d make sure of that by seducing her over and over again. And Delilah knew she would be unable to resist him.