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"Nope. Just passing through. They took me to an empty warehouse, where they were camped. No sign of any people at all. "
I could feel Jack's eyes on me and deliberately avoided looking at him. I was going to sell this lie. The only one who could contradict me was the vampire. Maybe I should have drained him . . . But, no. Raquel would take my word over his.
The werewolf nodded, then helped his partner haul the vampire up by his armpits.
"Be careful. He's really strong. Like, stronger than you. "
The werewolf eyed me dubiously.
"No, really. He kills-" I stopped, my stomach sinking with the realization of what that information could do if it were spread around. "I'd better talk to Raquel. Make sure he doesn't wake up until you have him in Containment. An ankle tracker's not gonna do it with this one. " They nodded, half carrying, half dragging him back through the door. I caught a glimpse of one of the faeries, but I didn't recognize her. Just as well.
Sighing, I slid down the wall to sit on the ground and winced as pain stabbed through my lower back, radiating outward from my tailbone. A few painful shifts and I was comfortable, in a not-going-to-die-right-now-but-maybe-later sort of way. A movement at the end of the street caught my eye. Birgitta, invisible to anyone else's eyes, nodded at me, then disappeared back into the shadows. At least I'd done something right today. Maybe. Probably.
"So. " Jack sat next to me. "A fossegrim, trolls, and a super vamp all in one night. I've changed my mind-you really do know how to have a good time. "
On the verge of tears, I leaned over until my head was resting on his shoulder. "You have no idea. " I couldn't get the desire-the need-I had felt to drain the vampire out of my head. My empty stomach churned with guilt. But I hadn't done anything. I wouldn't have, either, even if Jack hadn't saved the day. My fingers tingled, disagreeing with me, and I balled my hands into fists. No.
We were quiet for a while, Jack tense under my head, uncomfortable but nice enough not to move. I felt strangely close to him right then, like we were the only two sane ones in a world swirling with madness and murder. I could
feel the threads from that world, threatening to pull me in, and I'd take whatever anchor I could get. Even if he was a blond nightmare.
I lifted my head to look at him. "How did you find me?"
"Just lucky. " The answer was smooth, but it felt like he blurted it out a little too easily. I narrowed my eyes, but he continued. "Why did you lie about the trolls?"
"I didn't. " We sat there looking at each other, two seasoned liars, until I couldn't take it anymore. "Jack?"
"Hmm?"
"Thanks. " My voice cracked a little. "If you hadn't shown up . . . "
"If I hadn't shown up, you would have been fine. No need to get sappy on me when I've decided you might be some decent fun after all. Now, you happen to be wearing my nicest coat. I'd like very much to get it back, so let's take you home, shall we?"
I couldn't argue with that.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Honestly a Liar
Raquel frowned at me over the top of her black coffee. "Just looking at your drink is giving me a cavity. "
"Good thing IPCA has excellent dental. " I smiled and used a candy cane to stir my double whipped cream hot chocolate. The coffee shop was small, with warm yellow walls and poofy chairs in dimly lit corners, the scattered patrons hunched over laptops typing out caffeine-fueled works of dubious genius. I had picked this place because they stocked Christmas flavors ridiculously early (in spite of the various spiders and bats hung in honor of Halloween), and because it was thirty minutes by bus outside my town, so there was little chance of running into someone I knew. I doubted any of my werewolf or vampire buddies would recognize Raquel, but I preferred to avoid finding out.
"This is nice. " She wiped at a spot on the table, again, and glared at a couple making out in the corner opposite us. At least she'd agreed to meet me here. Mostly because I'd flat-out refused to go back to the Center to debrief about the mission.
Well, to lie about nearly everything, if you want to be technical.
We'd already gone over my story about the trolls passing through. I resisted the urge to ask if the vampire had said anything about them. If he had and I was caught, I'd know. I hated keeping secrets from Raquel, but some things called for it. Jack had mentioned the near drowning, so I fed her some nonsense about how the fossegrim hadn't killed me because a stray current separated us and let me get out of the water. No reason to give her more to worry about. The uber-vamp was information overload enough for one visit.
I shivered at the memory of his grip on my wrist and what I had wanted to do to him. "You're not letting him out of Containment, right?"
"Of course not. He's far too unstable for even the most basic assignment. But you were right not to tell anyone else why he's so strong. It's a disturbing development. I've never come across a vampire who targeted paranormals, and the fact that it helps him overcome natural vampire weaknesses-well, it's best kept strictly under wraps. " She heaved a things are never simple, are they? sigh.
"Good. Guy's a psychopath, even by vampire standards. And that's saying something. " I leaned back, trying to find a position that didn't hurt my bruised tailbone. I'd have to figure out how to hide it from Lend when he came tonight.
No. No more hiding.
"Hey, what about the elementals? Do you think maybe the vampire-" I felt slightly ill, worrying about a repeat of Viv's spree. I didn't think I could handle more paranormal deaths that I had to figure out.
