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“Shit. I need to talk to you about something,” she said, her expression falling.
“Just don’t tell me that you don’t want to be seen with me. Been there, done that tonight, and I’m not taking it too well.” I draped her pants over a nearby chair and began to get dressed in my own clothes.
She cocked her head. “Who the hell said that to your face? Is he still alive? And if he is, tell me who it is, so I can go rip his throat out.”
I shrugged as I zipped up my jeans. Wade’s betrayal had hit deeper than I thought. “Wade,” I mumbled. “He kicked me out of Vampires Anonymous. Apparently he’s convinced that associating with me will jeopardize his chances of snaring the regent’s position for the NW Vampire Dominion. Fuck him. Or not. And would you believe he tried to put the moves on me, after he cut me off? I can’t believe he did that. The sleaze.”
Nerissa leaned against the counter, a frown on her face. “You think he’s slipping more into the predator side of his nature? That seems out of character with what you’ve told me about him.”
I jerked my head up. It couldn’t be true. Wade, of all vampires? Turning into a badass?
“No,” I said quickly. Too quickly. I caught the panic in my voice. “At least, I don’t think so.”
The geeky glasses had vanished, yes. And sure, he was wearing a shiny replica of Jim Morrison’s pants. But moving into the shadows? I shook my head.
“I know he’s worried that Terrance will win. And if Terrance prevails, all the work the VA club’s done over the past few years goes down the drain. Maybe I overreacted. Wade’s just facing reality. As much as I hate to admit it, he’s right. I’m a liability now. I’m controversial.” It stung even more to admit I could see his side of things, but I couldn’t deny reality.
“Shit,” she said. “I’m sorry.” She held out one hand, and I took it, just lightly holding her fingers.
“So that’s my news. What did you want to tell me?”
She rolled her eyes. “Oh, life just gets better and better. The Council of Elders held a meeting tonight and asked me to attend. I came directly here afterward. You know, right, that since Zachary’s going to be in a wheelchair for the rest of the summer, and since his bid for City Council is pretty much toast, Venus the Moon Child is serious about wanting me to run in his place?”
“Right, but I also thought the COE had debated shelving the idea for a while because you’re so against outing yourself as a Supe.” Nerissa was in the closet about being a Were. Passing had helped her career over the years.
“Yeah, I thought the issue was off the table, too, but apparently not. The council met again and discussed it at length. Venus thinks it will be good for the community. And if the state fires me when I come out, we can slam them with a law-suit under the new anti-Supe discrimination laws going into effect. When the government scrambled to give Earthside Fae rights, they had to extend the same to the Weres. So if I come out now, theoretically they can’t touch my job.” She fidgeted.
The Fae first. Supes second. Vampires—maybe sometime in the future. The government had never been known for an equity-for-all stance. I gazed into her eyes. Flickering indecision stared back at me.
“You don’t want to run, do you?”
Nerissa shook her head. “I never did. I don’t want the responsibility. The campaign will eat up all my free time. I won’t have a moment to myself, especially if I keep working, and I plan to keep working. I like my job too much to give it up. And that means . . .” She glanced up at me. “I won’t have much time for my friends. Or lovers.”
I blinked. “You aren’t walking down Wade’s road, are you?”
“Not at all,” she said, and by the tone in her voice and the strained look in her eyes, I believed her. “If they told me to break off with you just because you’re a vampire, I’d tell the council to screw itself. Venus knows we’re lovers, and he’s okay with it. And Venus practically rules the Puma Pride at this point. No, the problem is that if I accept the challenge, I’ll have to spend every spare moment campaigning. By the time you get up for the night, I’ll be exhausted. And I don’t have the luxury of getting by with just three or four hours of sleep.”>“You outed her.” I shook my head. Vamps who passed caused a lot of problems in terms of record keeping once they were found out.
“Inadvertently. I didn’t do it on purpose. I had a talk with her husband. Sure enough, he knew she was a vampire, and he helped her hide the fact. Social Security and the IRS are going to be breathing down his neck, but there’s nothing I can do about that.”
He grinned, then shrugged. “What can I say? They broke the law. Anything a vampire earns after death is subject to taxation, and you know as well as I do that there are some very wealthy vamps who went to their deaths as paupers. It would seem walking among the undead is a good way to earn a living.”
I gave him that one. “It has its perks. Especially when you consider the lack of need for food or certain other amenities and the ability to charm money out of anybody. That’s why the regional dominions are forming—to serve as liaisons to the government for the vampire community.”
“Whatever the case,” Chase continued, “her husband’s worried sick. He told me that Claudette always comes home on time. He showed me what the girl’s been keeping herself busy with.”
“You mean she’s not just sitting around soaking up the atmosphere?” If she was a member of the Clockwork Club, she had no reason to work or do anything she didn’t want to. Nobody got invited who didn’t have a few million tucked away.
“Old money, inherited from her father, so no, she didn’t need a job. But she’s writing a book. A guide for new vampires. To me, it looks well-thought-out. I don’t think she’s a flake or particularly bloodthirsty. In fact, if Claudette were alive, I’d mark the case as suspicious because there’s no reason I can find for her to want to disappear. At least not on her own.”
Chase frowned and toyed with his glass, staring at the end of his right pinky finger, which was missing its tip. The finger had healed, but the inner scars were still there. The Chase we knew now was less obstinate, more thoughtful, and more than willing to go the extra mile in the fight against Shadow Wing and his cronies.
“You think her husband’s telling the truth about them being happy?” This case just screamed of a husband staking his wife and then reporting her missing. If they’d tried to scam the government, he couldn’t very well come out and say what he’d done. And if she’s the one who had the money, then declaring her missing would eventually net him big bucks.
The courts were still hung up on whether killing a vampire was murder or not. The conservative factions wanted to declare the undead personae non grata without any rights. The liberals wanted full rights for all vampires and Supes. It was a hot debate right now, and not likely to be tied up neatly with a pretty bow.
“You know, you’d think so, but all my instincts tell me he’s on the up-and-up.” Chase usually didn’t give people the benefit of the doubt, but this time he seemed genuinely convinced that the guy was telling the truth. “What do you say, will you look into it? Ask around? You’ll get better results than I will.”
“You’re spot-on there,” I said. “Most vamps don’t like the cops.” Whereas I might actually be able to sniff out anything suspicious. Especially if I hit Sassy Branson up for info on the Clockwork Club and its members. I leaned on the counter.
