Kade left the unconscious human and drifted through the house, making everything right.  Not that there had been much of a struggle, but there was the gun left out, and a mess on the floor from the broken glass dropped in a moment of shock.  Kade gathered the broken slivers carefully, his keen eyes picking out every sparkling speck of glass on the floor, and wrapped it in a paper towel to dispose of elsewhere.  At some point, Dorian was sure to notice one missing, but by then there wouldn’t be a point in hiding the evidence of what had happened.<br/><br/>One last sweep through the kitchen and he found his eyes lingering on the phone.  Dorian wasn’t the type of person to just leave the thing lying around, especially out of earshot.  Part of him wanted to take it into the bedroom and toss it onto the bed with the man.  Then he smiled to himself and took the device in his hand, unlocked it, and swiped through the numbers.  He imaged that they were all clients or professional contacts, since he’d not uncovered much in the way of friends or family in the snake’s life.  Humming to himself, he realized that there had been an entry made under Jacob’s name, but not his.  Why hadn’t Dorian put it in?  Kade<i>was</i>taking care of the matter of payment, so it only seemed natural.  It was a mistake that he remedied right away, putting his own personal number in.  He didn’t have much use for a cell phone, other than when he had a garden to keep in touch with.  They were all gone now, but he’d always believed in being prepared for anything, so of course he’d never closed out the account.<br/><br/>After that was taken care of, he quietly left the condo, making sure the door latched solid behind him.  He went back home, invisible and silent as he’d left it, and found comfort of his private rooms underneath.  Safe and secure, Kade stripped down and slid into one of the silken robes he enjoyed wearing, then fell into bed with a satisfied groan.  Everything was going according to plan.  That little hand job had been extra, but he counted it as a moment of impromptu genius.  Thinking back on it, he might’ve enjoyed it a little too much.  Remembering the taste of Dorian on his tongue, feeling the residual warmth of the man flowing through his body, Kade was lost to his own pleasure, if only in a half-drugged daze.<br/><br/>The night faded into day slowly, though Kade did not move.  It wasn’t until there was an incessant ringing, fifteen minutes straight, from the phone in the other room that he finally pulled himself up and moved to answer it.<br/><br/>“Yes…?”<br/><br/>“Kade!  Sir… I-I’m sorry to bother you, but…”<br/><br/>“It’s alright.  What is it, Jacob?” he asked, his annoyance quickly replaced by concern.  Even though he’d used Jacob, the young man was still his employee.  It wasn’t quite on the same level as his garden, but he took protecting them seriously enough, and anyone who tried to hurt his employees could also expect a swift and merciless punishment.<br/><br/>“It’s… Mr. Michaelson.  I tried to call, but he didn’t answer.  I’m sure it’s nothing, but…”<br/><br/>“Calm down, Jacob.  Everthing will be fine,” he promised.  “If Michaelson doesn’t keep up on your case, then I’ll simply have to hire someone who can handle it.”<br/><br/>“I thought he was the best?”<br/><br/>“Perhaps.  Around here.  I could find someone outside of San Diego.  That isn’t a problem.”  He thought for a moment, then smiled at the way his mind was going.  “They can’t do anything without talking to your lawyer, first.  All you have to do is keep calm, keep quiet.  I told you, my dear… I have you.  I won’t let anything happen to you.”<br/><br/>“Okay.  Okay,” the man said, obviously taking a few deep breaths between words.  “I’ll leave it to you, then.  Thank you, Kade.”<br/><br/>“Oh… don’t thank me,” he chuckled softly.  “I feel somewhat responsible for you.  I consider this my obligation.  Just sit tight.”<br/><br/>After that phone call, he made one immediately to Dorian’s office.  The secretary answered, of course, and told him that the boss wouldn’t be in.  He’d called in sick.  Well, of course he did.  Kade had gone a little overboard, thanks to the fantastic taste of that malicious snake.  Feigning concern was easy enough, and he even managed to talk the woman into allowing him to send some flowers.  She wouldn’t give the address, faithful as she was to her boss, but she did confirm a delivery location on file with some of the florists in the area.  All he had to do was call in and place the order, let them know the name on file, and they’d be on their way.<br/><br/>Kade did just that.  He debated ordering the blandest, least colourful arrangement they had.  Instead, he decided to go in the complete opposite direction and ended up asking for something bright and cheery, full of vibrant colours.  And of course it had to be a large arrangement, not some tiny little vase with a handful of flowers.  Knowing the layout of the condo as he did, Kade knew there weren’t very many options of where Dorian could put them.<i>If</i>he kept them.  He still wasn’t sure of just how much his prey remembered.  Sometimes it was nothing at all, other times it was everything.  Most landed somewhere between, where what they did remember easily could’ve been confused with dream.<br/><br/>After that was taken care of, he debated returning to the condo.  And yet… he couldn’t.  Even as the hours passed and night overtook day again, Kade wasn’t sure if it was wise.  After all, the last time he was completely alone with Dorian, he’d almost allowed himself to go too far.  He’d<i>wanted</i>to keep going.<i>So very delicious…</i>He fell back into bed to remember it, touching his fingertips to his lips, which were already fading from the luscious pink that the lawyer’s blood had bestowed upon them.  No, if he returned right then, he’d be overcome with desire for the man and drain him dry.  He needed more time to temper his will, perhaps feed some more so he wasn’t so desperate.  Having no garden to sustain him was working against Kade in that way.