Hunting For Love ~ Book 6 ~ The Royal Blood Collection

Chapter 13

"When you said that we had the wrong person, I asked Oliver to check the information while I went out to get you. This is what we based the order on."

Silently I nodded, looking through the newspaper articles, newsletters, and the surveillance notes. These notes had come from someone who was in the halfways watching Henley. The right Henley. They'd attached photos with their notes, they had the right person.

I'd heard the speech; I'd sat through the passionate words about what Henley believed in. He said that he was wrong and that I'd shown him that we were not something to be feared. Had he changed or was it all for show? Did he know that his father was trying to get him out of the halfways and decided to go along with it?

"Is he really the mayor of the Grove?"

"Yes."

"And he's anti-drugs?"

"The surveillance has shown him at many rallies, urging the government to fund rehab clinics, to put more money into the police force. He wanted youth groups and things for the young to do rather than joining gangs."

"But that's pretty standard for a mayor, especially when they're in a high crime area. That portion of the halfways is not his original home. When his mother first moved into the area, she was deeper into the zone. Henley moved to this district after she died. We know that it is the one district that has the highest rate of doorways."

"Doorways?"

My frown said it all but still, I had to ask.

"The gates that the slayers and humans use to get in and out of the halfways. We're watching the wall and it has become so bad that we're about to start the construction of a building free zone. This area will be the first to undergo a trial."

"He said that he's lived there since he was a kid."

"Well, that's true. His mother died when he was ten. The nearest orphanage was in the Grove so that's where they shipped him to."

"Can we check to see if he was at HAVU in the past week?"

"Done and done," Oliver said as he turned a few pages of notes.

"Answer me something, if you will. You know by these notes that Henley was in the halfways for the past week and you even know that he's lived most of his life there. You know that he is the son of a slayer but has not seen his father since he was a child. You know that he's the mayor of the Grove and that he's an upstanding member of their community. You know that he's not a slayer yet you sent me after him with the belief that he was one. My question to both of you is why? Why do you want Henley?"

There was silence.

"I ask because you both know that if I believe that I am faced with a slayer, I will kill them. Why do you want Henley dead?"

"That's two questions."

I growled, tossing the folder aside as I lunged at Alaric. Slamming him into the wall, I looked at him with a wildness that I'd never felt before.