Blood Games

“Where’s the money going?” Jonah asked, leaning on the desk beside Horace.



Matthew clicked keys. “Zurich. Two numbered Swiss accounts. Bulk of the money was moved into one account. The other one received”—he paused as he looked it up—“a forty-thousand-dollar transfer.”



Jonah and Horace exchanged a glance. “Ten bucks says the smaller account is a payoff.”



Horace paused, nodded. “I’ll take those odds,” he said, and they shook on it.



“So, to summarize,” I said, “we think Darius is visiting U.S. cities, transferring money out of the GP’s local accounts, and funneling the money back into Swiss bank accounts.” I looked between Jonah and Horace. “For what purpose? Is he going to just take the money and run?”



“Why else would you open a Swiss bank account?” Horace asked.



It was a good point. “Still—why the travel? If he wanted to secret the money out, why not just have it wire transferred?”



“Because it’s not allowed,” Jonah said. “There are strict restrictions on taking money out of the GP subaccounts intended to protect the Houses.”



When we all looked at him, he shrugged. “We had to learn the rules when they firebombed the House. We got money from the Chicago subaccount to get into the new building and start the renovations on the old one.”



“So what are the restrictions?” I asked.



“Wire transfer is fine for any money going from the subaccounts to the Houses, because they consider it their money. But you can’t transfer money to any other recipient electronically; they’ll only issue it by cashier’s check.”



“Which means somebody has to be here to pick up the check,” I said.



“Yep. The accounts are large enough, and Darius is wealthy enough, that he probably doesn’t even have to go to the bank to do it.”



I thought of the man with the leather portfolio. “So the banker comes to him, even after hours.”



“Exactly.”



“And where’s the rest of the GP? How is no one else noticing this?”



“Because the primary accounts look fine on the surface,” Matthew pointed out.



“The local accounts work like escrow—holding the Houses’ tithes until they’re periodically moved into other accounts.”



Jonah stood up again. “Darius could have told them he was coming here to prepare a response to the challenge,” he said. “He’s head of the GP. He’s allowed to visit the cities that hold his Houses.”



True enough, but still odd. And completely out of character. Since when did Darius, who was essentially the king of North American and Western European vampires, sneak around with finances, or anything else? For that matter, since when did he show up in Chicago and make nice with Ethan?



My phone vibrated, and I looked down at it. “Boston,” I said. “Darius was in Boston.”



“Three cities, three transfers,” Matthew said.



“The Swiss accounts,” I said. “What can you tell us about them?”



“Pretty much nothing,” Matthew said. “What little identifying information the bank collects is encrypted beyond even our capabilities—which is the point of having a Swiss account.”



I nodded. And I didn’t doubt Matthew’s or the RG’s capabilities, but I had a family member with lots of money and lots of financial connections.



“Can I get the account numbers? The transaction numbers?”



Matthew glanced back at me. “You got friends in Switzerland?”



“Not exactly. But I may have someone who knows someone in Switzerland.”



“Worth a shot,” Horace said, nodding as I took photographs of the numbers to send to my source later.



“Thank you.”



Horace crossed his arms, looked at me. “What will Ethan do now?”



“When I tell him Darius has stolen nearly seven million dollars from the Houses? What do you think he’ll do?”



Horace smiled, but there was no joy in it. “I imagine Ethan Sullivan will do what Ethan Sullivan does best: He’ll go to war.”



I couldn’t decide whether I found that flattering or not.



Chapter Eight



THE SEVEN-MILLION-DOLLAR MAN



“Nearly seven million dollars,” Ethan said. He sat at the end of the conference table in his office.



Although we’d normally plan an op in the aptly named Ops Room, this particular topic was sensitive enough that we’d convened in Ethan’s office and gotten Victor Cabot on the phone.



“Your thoughts?” Victor asked.



“As you noted, we found his behavior abnormal. I’ve known Darius a long time. There’s no love lost between us, not that you’d know it today, as he seems to have dissociated completely.”



“He was shaken by Michael Donovan’s attack,” Luc said. “We’ve known that haunts him. Maybe it’s vampiric post-traumatic stress disorder.”



“That could be part of it¸” Victor said. “But I don’t think that’s enough.”



“‘Dazed’ was the word you used,” Ethan reminded him. “What are you thinking?”



“Drugged? Magicked? Frankly, I don’t know.” He sighed, audible even across the distance. “The theft suggests a motive, if indeed someone is directing his behavior. My fear, of course, is what happens when the thief is done with Darius, either because he’s caught or because he has no further need for him.”



“If the perpetrator has stolen millions of dollars he doesn’t want anyone to know about, then Darius becomes a risk,” I said.



“Precisely,” Victor darkly said. “How did you learn about the transfers?”



“Our Sentinel has connections. She wishes to protect her source, but we have no doubt the information is reliable.”



“None?” Victor asked.



“None,” Ethan replied. “It also explains what we saw in the hotel: Darius was visited by a man in a suit who apparently had papers.”



“And we don’t know to whom the money is being transferred?”



“We do not,” Ethan said. “Only that it’s going to two Swiss accounts—a primary account and what appears to be a smaller, secondary account.”



That reminded me that I hadn’t yet done my due diligence. I grabbed my phone, sent the photographs of the accounts to my father, requested any information he could obtain about the individuals who’d opened them.



“Where is the rest of the GP while all this is going down?” Malik asked. “While the transfers are being made?”



“I understand the transfers would be difficult to see on the surface,” I said. “The House accounts are subaccounts, so you’d have to go down a level to even look.”



“And they could be in on it,” Luc said. “The members of the GP have the most knowledge about the GP accounts. If they think Darius is on the way out, they may have seen this as their best opportunity for financial gain.”



Luc frowned. “And none of them have noticed Darius is missing?”



“Technically, he’s not missing,” Malik put in. “He’s visiting cities in which there are GP Houses. And he’s in Chicago, where he’s been challenged. Not unusual that he’d do any of those things.”



Ethan nodded. “I suspect that’s precisely what they’d think. They’d give him space to act as he feels appropriate for the GP, especially considering the current turmoil.”



“What a mess,” Malik said, rubbing his forehead.



“I may be able to assist,” Victor said. “I have a team. Men who take care of . . . special problems that may crop up from time to time.” He cleared his throat. “In anticipation of trouble, I sent them to Chicago at sunset.”



Ethan’s brows lifted with obvious interest. “Oh?”



“He was only in New York for thirty-six hours. In the event you had to act, I wanted to help you act quickly. I apologize for not advising you of their presence. I hoped they’d prove unnecessary, that I was worrying without cause. But I find myself glad that I arranged it.



“I’m not suggesting that I support your challenge, or the overthrow of my king.” Victor’s voice was careful, his words obviously measured. “But this cannot stand. Darius cannot take our funds for his own personal use, presuming that’s what’s happening here. And if these actions are not his own, a wrong is being done to him, and I cannot support that.”



Ethan leaned toward the phone, as if he was speaking directly to Victor. “I have no doubt of your loyalty to the GP or to Darius, Victor. Nor would I feel the need to advise anyone of your participation, unless you wish it.”



“I thank you,” Victor said, with obvious relief. “They’re standing by, and near the House in the event you need them. I’d hoped they’d prove unnecessary, but as it is . . .”



“We’d appreciate their expertise,” Ethan said. “I presume they’ll understand the need for covertness? And for keeping civilians safe?”



“Of course,” Victor said. “But a reminder never hurts, and I’ll do so. Be careful, Ethan. Your issues with the GP and Darius notwithstanding, take care not to make things worse than they already are.”



“This is no longer about the challenge, Victor. This is about Darius. And as far as I’m concerned, it’s now a rescue mission.”



“We should tell the other GP members,” Victor said. “I’m not particular about who—if you believe Darius has a particular ally. But a division between the American and European Houses has already opened, and I do not wish to exacerbate the situation.”



I can handle that, I silently told Ethan. Jonah and Lakshmi were friends of a sort; she had a crush on him, and he wasn’t interested. But they’d communicated, and she’d reached out to me before through that relationship. I could do so again now. So while Victor, Ethan, and the others discussed plans, I pulled out my phone, sent Lakshmi a message.



DARIUS IN CHICAGO. REMOVING MONEY FROM HOUSE ACCOUNTS, POSSIBLY IN DANGER. OP IMMINENT.



It took only seconds for her to respond. NO TRANSFERS AUTHORIZED. I’LL ARRANGE TRAVEL. PROCEED WITH CAUTION.



It was, for our purposes, as good as permission. I passed the phone to Ethan.



“Lakshmi has been apprised,” Ethan said, glancing at the screen and handing the phone back to me. “And, more importantly, she has not objected.”



Malik, Lindsey, and Luc stared at me, at the phone, undoubtedly surprised I could make that kind of contact.



“That will have to do for now,” Victor said.



They said their good-byes, and Ethan pressed a button on the phone to end the call. Then he sat back in his chair, ran his fingers through his hair. “It appears we’ll soon be storming the Portman Grand. Lucas, find out Darius’s room, get plans. Get plans for the entire building, if you can find them. I’ll go, with Merit, Lindsey, Luc, and the Cabot team. Malik, you’ll have the House.”



Malik nodded. “Do you have any concern about Victor’s people? That this is part of some larger charade?”



“I wouldn’t be Master if I didn’t have doubts,” Ethan grimly said. “But I believe Victor’s solid. He supports the GP, but he’s direct. If he had issues with me or the House, he’d let me know about them.”



He looked at me. “You might call your grandfather. Considering we’ll be in a public building, and the risk of trouble, it would be good to give him a heads-up.”



I nodded, pulled out my phone, and stepped into the sitting area to have a little bit of privacy.



“Baby girl,” he said. “I’m glad you called. I’ve got some news for you.”



“Oh?”



“There’s been a break in the Jacobs case. Jonah told us about the Magic Shoppe, and Detective Stowe stopped by. They recognized the tsubas. They were purchased by a Magic Shoppe employee named Mitzy Burrows. Arthur confirmed she and Brett dated briefly. Stowe went to interview her, but her house was empty. It looked like someone left in a hurry.”



“She fled.”



“That’s what they believe. They talked to neighbors, who said they heard yelling. Possibly her breakup with Jacobs was unpleasant. The CPD’s looking for her.



“Additionally, the ME found drugs in Jacobs’s system. A pretty good dose of Rohypnol. More than enough to knock him out.”



“That explains the lack of defensive wounds.”



“It does,” my grandfather agreed. “We’ll keep looking on our end, let you know if we find anything else.”



“I appreciate it. Unfortunately, I called about something else. Darius is in trouble, and we have to run an op. We’ll be downtown at the Portman Grand. We wanted you to know just in case . . .”



My grandfather sighed. “I don’t suppose there’s any point in asking you to wait for CPD support? Or for a SWAT team?”



“I think not. This is a vampire matter, and the vampires want to handle it. And there may be magic involved; we don’t know how that might affect humans. We’ll do everything we can to stay inconspicuous and to keep the humans safe. We just wanted you to know.”



“I appreciate it,” he said, then paused. “How dangerous is this likely to get?”



“They have muscle,” I said. “But I understand we’re basically getting an advance team from a New York House. Ethan made it clear civilian injuries are not an option.”



“Good,” my grandfather said, murmuring the way he did when he considered and planned.