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Pulled forward, he stopped inches from a pale face with red eyes and gleaming fangs.
“Boo!” The vampire grinned.
“Knock it off, Nathaniel,” he drawled.
“You’re such a spoilsport, Amberson,” Nathaniel grumbled in his lightly accented voice. Those with keen eyes would notice no warm breaths left his lips.
He let go of Amberson’s wrist and bent to fuss over Lily, reaching into his jacket pocket for a treat. Her tail wagged happily as she accepted it from his hand. “At least one of you is always happy to see me, isn’t that right, Lily? He can’t help but be a grouch. No, he can’t,” he cooed, petting her behind the ears.
“Really? She’s a dog, not a baby.” Amberson lifted a brow.
Rising to his full height, the Korean only just reached the man’s pectorals, but that didn’t stop Nathaniel Lee from being one of The Union’s best Soul Gatherers. “You said you had a job for me,” the vampire said, lighting a cigarette. The flare of the lighter illuminated his sharp features and topknot.
“Two, actually,” Amberson said, fetching out a brown manila envelope from a pouch on his utility belt. “One for now, one for later.”
“My, my, you’re spoiling me, hyung.” Nathaniel winked, his fangs flashing as he perused the contents.
“The first is a Canadian gang based in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Their leader is Daniel Scott. They do the usual: drugs, arms, girls, but they’re untouchable. The police are their lap dogs. And they’re getting sloppy. Their last confrontation with a local gang left over fifty dead. It’s beginning to look like the OK Corral. Complete with plaid shirts. They have a job planned around Christmas. I don’t know when exactly. You’ll need to do some legwork.”
Nathaniel looked down at his legs with a quizzical look. “But my legs are fine.”
“As in ‘research’.”
“Well, why didn’t you say so?”
Amberson sighed. “If I hear anything more, I’ll let you know, but they need… tending to. They’ll be all together for the job. It would be a good opportunity to tie up loose ends.”
“Consider them tended to.” Nathaniel folded the envelope and placed it in the inside pocket of his leather jacket. “I don’t know why you don’t go into the SPD. You wouldn’t have to keep your vigilante justice secret then. With your skill set and Fæ abilities, you could make a real impact.”
Amberson shrugged. “I like to keep one foot in this reality. Otherwise, you forget there are actual mortals involved. Anyway, I didn’t think you’d complain about free food!”
“I don’t eat them!” Nathaniel snapped before taking a drag on his cigarette and blowing out a perfect smoke ring. “I just take a nibble here and there. And I’m not complaining. They’re tastier than the supplies I get. Anyway, you said there were two things.”
“There are.” Amberson passed him a second, smaller envelope. “It’s a shipment.”
Nathaniel opened it and whistled. “The D'Acapos?! You finally have some dirt on them!”
“You can talk.”
“Hey, we've been clean for years!” Nathaniel looked affronted.
“Is that what you call it?” Amberson smirked.
“I know some of my ancestors have been shady. Okay, really shady,” he said, seeing Amberson’s sceptical brow. “But the Lee Family haven’t dealt with arms or girls in years. I’ve made sure of it. I’ve had enough of that shit.”
“And drugs?”
“Our focus is on property. You know that,” Nathaniel said with a sniff.
“Good job too, or I'd be coming after you.”
“In your dreams, hyung!” Nathaniel laughed. Avoiding his friend’s keen gaze, he perused the contents of the envelope. “So the D'Acapos have a shipment of girls arriving…”
“Yes, they’re due to arrive sometime between Christmas and New Year’s. I'll confirm the exact details when I know. If we time it right, we could bring the D'Acapos down and save the girls.”
“It’ll be a busy Christmas.”
Nathaniel's mobile phone buzzed as a bell chimed from Amberson's utility belt. Amberson pulled out a reception counter bell, its black metal shining brightly as it caught the light of the lamps that illuminated the paths to the park. Lily cocked her head to one side, her tail wagging in anticipation.
