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Wade’s eyes lingered on my face. “I believe you. You wouldn’t work for Terrance. And you don’t want to run for the office yourself. Who’s pul ing your strings? It’s got to be somebody higher up.”
“I can’t tel you, but I am tel ing you that if you want to save your fucking life, you’l withdraw from the election. Believe me, what you think you’re fighting for isn’t what you’re real y fighting for.
Honestly.” I leaned back in the booth and crossed my arms. The bal was in his court.
Wade wasn’t stupid. He cocked his head to one side. “It wasn’t Sassy that put you up to this. It has to be someone with power. Someone with enough power to make you jump. Who could that be . . .” He began to run over names in his head—I could see the wheels turning—and then stopped. “No. Not him.”
I kept my mouth shut. Roman hadn’t given me permission to drop his name. And name-dropping with vampires wasn’t just tacky, it could be deadly. “I promise you, Terrance won’t gain the position.”
Pul ing a couple packets of sugar from the tray on the table, Wade played with them, snapping them together as if he were going to pour them in a cup of coffee. After another moment, he said,
“I’l let you know. I’l cal you tomorrow night with my answer. Now, you said we have a vampire serial kil er on the loose? I saw the reports on the news. Bad scene, if it’s real.”
“Oh, it’s real al right. I’ve seen the victims, and I found one of them. Hey”—I pointed to his hand
—“put the sugar down unless you’re planning on eating it, and since I know just how sick you’d get, please don’t. I don’t need you vomiting blood al over my bar.”
He tossed the packets at me. “This is bad. For al of us. What are the details?”
“He—and it is a he—targets young women, FBHs, under thirty-five, with long brown hair. They’re al average build, a little curvy, and average height. Hair is straight, bone structure delicate. The victims could be related by looks. Al exsanguinated. Raped. I found a cross drawn on the forehead in water on one of them. We’re thinking he’s a newly coined vampire, either that or something triggered him off a couple weeks ago.”
As I ticked off the salient points, it occurred to me that Wade had lived in Seattle al his life.
“What do you know about the Greenbelt Park District?”
“Stay away from there. Bad energy. Lots of reported hauntings. When I was around twelve, I rode my bike too far from home and ended up near there. It was late afternoon and rainy. I ducked into one of the abandoned buildings for cover and was hiding from the rain until I saw a shadow move against the opposite wal . There was nothing to make the shadow—that I could see clearly enough—and it was coming toward me. I ran out of there so fast I tripped and broke a tooth. My mother found out where I’d been and freaked. She’d heard the stories.”
I suppressed a grin. His mother was a piece of work and one of the main reasons I’d given up on dating him. She was also a vampire, and she hung around his neck like an albatross. Think George Costanza’s mother off Seinfeld combined with Fran’s mother off The Nanny, and you have Belinda Stevens. Oh yeah, she was a piece of work, al right.
“How is your mother?” I couldn’t help it. The words just slipped out.
He arched one eyebrow and then broke into a short laugh. “Luckily, she’s currently obsessed with putting together a moonlight garden club, no less, of matronly vampire women. Not many takers, especial y since it’s winter, but she’s managed to find a few members. They currently play bridge every Thursday night and cultivate night-blooming indoor plants, I guess.”
Snorting, I gave him a shrug. Things almost felt back to normal between us. “At least it’s a hobby.”
“Yeah, I guess. So what do you need to catch this freak?”
“Any information you have on vampires around the Greenbelt Park District. Any info on new vamps to the area. Or someone in the life who had a traumatic event happen a couple weeks ago that could have triggered their behavior.” Suddenly feeling conciliatory, I reached out one hand.
“Wade, I miss you as a friend. I miss the VA. I’m stil terribly hurt by what you did.”
He stared at my hand then slowly took it, his skin cool against my own. “I’m sorry,” he whispered.
“I’ve wanted this so much—the Regency. But if you’re tel ing me the truth—and I believe you are—
then there’s no way I’l live to ascend to the position. I just don’t want Terrance to win. He would hurt our standing with the breathers so badly.”
“I know he would, but he isn’t going to make it. Trust me. I’m . . . I’m involved in making sure he doesn’t.” That was as much as I could say, but Wade squeezed my hand and then softly let go.
“As I said, I need to think about it, but I’l have an answer for you tomorrow.” He paused, then asked, “Are you happy? Do you have . . . someone?”
I broke out in a wide grin. “The best girlfriend I ever could have. See?” Holding up my hand, I flashed the gold promise ring. “We’re bound. And . . . it looks like I’ve got another playmate on the side, but I can’t talk about that right now.”
Wade nodded. “I know who you’re talking about. I won’t ask.” He was sliding out of the booth, about to head toward the door, when it occurred to me I should talk to him about Sassy.
“One more thing. We have a problem with Sassy.” I quickly ran down what Erin had told me.
Wade’s soft smile turned to a dark frown. “Oh no, not Sassy. But it doesn’t surprise me. She quit the VA, you know, when I kicked you out. But even before then, I was starting to sense an edge to her. I’m afraid we’ve lost her.”
