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A few moments later Mercedes descended the stairs behind the desk and waved for me and Holden to follow her.
I had lied when I told him no one in the building would know what he was. Judging by the cold stare Cedes fixed him with the instant we sat down at her desk, she’d recognized straight away he wasn’t human.
“Cedes,” I said, a warning tone in my voice, “this is Holden. ”
She was familiar enough with the work I did to recognize the name of my liaison. It didn’t do anything to make her like him, though. Mercedes hated vampires almost as much as the werewolves did.
“What brings you to my humble establishment?” She leaned back in her desk chair and pretended Holden wasn’t there. “I was hoping the next time I saw you it would be over cocktails and you’d be giving me the dirty details about Lucas Rain. ”
Holden made a sniggering sound that I tried to ignore.
“You know the girl, the one who said she was saved from a…” I lowered my voice, “…vampire?”
Cedes focused on Holden with a glare tainted by accusation, then looked back to me. She was a beautiful woman, but her job had etched her face with a shrewd, knowing patina that aged her more than necessary. She had almost-black eyes, and her dark hair was curly the way mine was not, with tight untamed coils. Her skin was honey bronze, but too many hours indoors without natural sunlight made it look sallow. The dark bags under her eyes and minimal makeup told me she was working hard on something. I just hoped it was something that could help me.
“Yeah, her name is Brigit Something. Stewart or Samuels. Somethi
ng Anglo. Are you admitting you’re the one who saved her?”
“Off the record?”
“Sure. ”
“It was me. ”
“Yeah, I knew that. ”
“I need to know if anything has seemed hinky since it happened. Anyone reporting attacks from similar assailants? Any bodies showing up looking a little pale?”
“You want to know if I suspect any vampire activity?” Her voice hushed. “Isn’t that really more your box of crayons, Secret? What’s going on?”
“I can’t tell you. The fewer details you know the better. But you’d be helping a lot of innocent people if you could tell me everything you know. ”
Her face was grim. She laced her fingers together and leaned back. “Some big bad on his way?”
“Big bad is already here. ”
Exasperated, she directed her full focus on Holden. He met her eyes, but to his credit didn’t use his powers on her.
“Now you listen to me, you pretty boy mosquito, because I’m only going to say this once. I don’t care how old or powerful you are. If anything, anything happens to this girl here, I will find a way to rip your pulseless heart right out of your chest. Comprende?”
Without missing a beat he coolly replied, “Detective Castilla, your Secret is safe with me. ”
She blinked with surprise, and I groaned. “God, Holden. How long have you been waiting to use that line?”
“About three years. ”
“And in three years you couldn’t find any room for improvement?”
“I like a good pun, what can I say?”
“Terrible. ” I shook my head.
Cedes, in spite of herself, was unable to keep from smirking at his awful one-liner. She might not like him, but he had done his best to endear himself to her without stooping to mind tricks, and I appreciated it. With the exception of Keaty, Mercedes was my only human friend.
“Please, Cedes. ”
“Okay. One of our undercover vice officers has been hearing that a lot of the girls are afraid to go with new johns. From what she’s been hearing, there are rumors about some handsome john who pays girls double or triple the normal rate, but after they leave none can remember what he asked them to do or why they were paid so well for it. Same rumor mill says a few of the girls haven’t come back at all. We had an anonymous call to come get a dead body, but when we got there it was gone. And we found a dead girl a few blocks away from Central Park. She was totally drained, but it was the fucking weirdest thing. It looked like she’d been ripped up by a wild dog before she was killed. ” Her eyes were all too knowing. “Since we don’t know of any wild dogs loose in the city, you could say we’re a little mystified. ”
