Bitten Beauty (The Deadly Beauties Live On 3)

“Hey!” Dice yelps, throwing his hands up as he walks inside. “Hashtag, bullies. All of you. I’m hashtag, epic. Hashtag, recognize.”

Thad shakes his head while putting his phone in the center, and placing it on speaker. Rolling my eyes, I listen as Kane answers.

“Slade—I want his head on a platter,” he says, bypassing cordial hellos.

Chaz and I exchange looks, and Ella’s eyes fall to the floor.

“Obviously I do, too, but what’s got a bug up your ass?” Thad asks.

“If he steps near Ella one more time, someone puts a knife right between his eyes. Understood?”

All eyes swing to Ella, and her brow furrows in confusion as she looks up. Guess Kane has figured out Slade seems to always show up when she’s in danger, and that can only mean one thing…

“Hate to point out the obvious, but he has saved her life a few times,” Dice announces.

“Not fucking now, Dice,” Kane seethes.

“The guy took a slew of bullets to save her,” Roslyn says, even though she should hate him as much as Leah.

“Dead,” Kane repeats, and the phone call ends.

“That’s not what the conference call was supposed to be about,” Dice groans. “Again, why am I having to be the bloody rational one?”

“You want to call him back?” Thad asks, and Dice rapidly shakes his head.

“Let’s give him a few minutes to calm down from whatever has him pissed off,” Gage says, clearing his throat as he pulls Kimber onto his lap. “Then we’ll call back.”

Again, everyone looks to Ella.

She holds her hands up innocently. “I swear, I didn’t do a damn thing.”

Chaz looks los

t in thought, and I nudge him.

“What’s on your mind?”

He glances up, and notices everyone else looking at him as well.

“Leah and you couldn’t be killed by the anointed because of the hex, right?”

“That’s the theory. What about it?”

He motions to a picture on the mantle of Masie and some guy I don’t know.

“Resemble anyone we know?” he asks.

I shake my head.

“His daughter has his green eyes,” Chaz explains, and I suck in a slow breath. “Her dad was killed by Victor, but her dad was an Aquarius. See where I’m going with this?”

Leaning back, I try to process that. It hadn’t even occurred to me, and it should have.

“If he didn’t die, then where is he?” Dice asks, getting serious.

“That’s the question we need to be worried about,” Chaz says, still eyeing the picture.

“No one tell Leah,” I whisper quietly. “Not until we know for sure.”