“This… object,” Macuya said, “is of sentimental value?”
“Yes,” Ben said. “I can tell you it is something the client values personally and they are very attached to it.”
Which was one hundred percent true. Tenzin was really, really attached to gold. All gold. But especially gold she could obtain by dubious means.
Ben glanced at Tenzin but saw her staring at Jadzia and Valeria in turn. He looked back at Macuya to see the vampire had been distracted by a wind vampire turning over his head. The woman was dressed in nothing but body paint and feathers. Macuya was entranced.
Inés stepped forward. “Cacique?”
Macuya looked at his sister with a frown. “What?”
“Does the young man have permission to search for this object in your territory? Do you wish to consult with your queens?”
The vampire let out a great sigh as if his sister had annoyed him by asking the question. He glanced at Valeria and Jadzia, who clearly had something to say. Jadzia opened her mouth, but before she could speak, Macuya waved a careless hand in Ben and Tenzin’s direction.
“Go,” he said. “It’s fine. Search for your trinket. If you have any problems, contact Inés.”
Ben made quick work of his exit. “Thank you, Cacique.” He turned to each queen. “Thank you, Cacicas. May you have a delightful evening, and we appreciate your cooperation.”
He backed away from the dais as the music picked up and the dancers filled the cavern again. The wind vampire twisting above Macuya’s head was dipping down now, teasing the vampire lord as he tossed flowers toward her. She caught them and laughed.
Valeria was already consulting with a familiar male vampire in a red tunic that matched her dress. It was Vasco, the nitayno they’d met two nights before. He knelt beside Valeria, nodding as she whispered in his ear.
What was Valeria doing consulting with the general?
While Ben was contemplating, Jadzia—the vampire they’d seen in San Juan—watched them. Her eyes were glued to Ben and Tenzin before they turned and exited the cavern. Even as they walked up the sloped tunnel and toward the moonlight, he could feel her gaze in the center of his back.
“I saw her the other night,” Tenzin said. “Not in San Juan. After that.”
“Who? Jadzia?” Ben wrenched the steering wheel to the side to avoid a dog that ran across the muddy road. “When was this?”
“When I flew out of the car.”
“Two nights ago?”
“Yes. I encountered her near the waterfall. She found my hiding place. Followed me. She confronted me but said nothing about who she was or her role here.”
“That’s interesting.” Very interesting. They were driving down the mountain, and Ben was eager to return to their rental house. The package Chloe had arranged would be arriving in the morning. He needed to get some sleep. “So you didn’t know she was one of the queens?”
“They’re not queens,” Tenzin muttered. “Didn’t you sense that? He doesn’t even pay lip service to them. They’re… tokens. Objects he considers his.”
“So Novia was right. Macuya is the real ruler.”
Tenzin frowned. “I think it’s more complicated than that. They clearly play a role, as does Inés.”
“I definitely sensed that. I’m betting she’s the one who keeps things running around there.”
“Valeria is a strategist. She watched you, Macuya, Inés, me. She watched the reaction of the court to our presence—which was generally positive, by the way; they found you amusing—and she is calculating. Whatever plans she has, she works on them behind the scenes. And Vasco is loyal to her.”
“And Jadzia?”
“Intense,” Tenzin said.
“Intense?”
“Yes, and also calculating,” Tenzin said. “Much harder to read. She’s very smart. I would say she is the smartest of all of them, just on first impression. Though Valeria is also highly intelligent.”
“And Macuya?”
“Intelligent also. But… lazy? No, he’s not lazy. He’s been in power too long. He’s… comfortable. Overly confident. He expects his people to love him.”
Ben always loved talking vampire dynamics with Tenzin. “And do they?”
“Some do, but not the ones who should love him most. Not his queens.” Tenzin crossed her arms. “And that could be a problem.”
“Who is the most likely to cause us problems?”
“I would say Inés if I hadn’t seen Jadzia open her mouth. She has thoughts on why we’re here. You managed to create the impression in Macuya’s mind that we are after some collectible trinket—well done, by the way—but she saw through you. She knows you were being evasive.”
“Of course I was being evasive. You know what? If I walked in there and said, ‘Hey dudes, I’m going to go find a bunch of buried treasure and keep it all for myself,’ they’d laugh at me and then probably eat me. But not a single one would believe I was going after treasure. They’re too arrogant. They would automatically think if there was treasure on this island, they’d have already found it.”
“They might have.”
“At least you’re finally admitting it,” he muttered. “We’ll be fine, Tiny. I think we’ll find something. Did you check the car for bugs, by the way?”
“Yes. I found four, but I crushed them. They were the only ones.”
Tenzin’s sensitivity to electronics definitely came in handy anytime they had to search for listening devices. Not even Patrick Murphy’s company had come up with one she couldn’t sense. Ben knew that because they sent all their new tech to Tenzin for testing. So far, every bug had failed.
“So tomorrow the equipment should get here,” Ben said. “And the night after that we take the Jeep out to the forest. I’m expecting a hike. Are we camping? Where are we setting up a base?”
“If we hide the Jeep, you can probably camp in the sinkhole without anyone catching on that you’re there. I can stay in the caverns during the day. Be prepared for the damp though. Lots of water around there. Waterfalls, streams, springs. It’s remote, so bring food. No fires. We don’t want anyone to come by.”
“Gas stove it is,” Ben said. “Everything we need should be in the shipment.”
“And your cousin?” Tenzin asked.
Ben frowned. “My cousin?”
“You realize she’s working at the Camuy Caves right now, don’t you? That’s not very far from this site.”
Ben blinked. “What? No.”
“Your little spy didn’t tell you about her transfer? It’s just temporary while they’re doing some administrative updating. Apparently she’s brilliant with computers.”
He was speechless. “What…? I mean, how did you—?”
“How did I know she was doing this project when your spy didn’t?” Tenzin shrugged. “Easy. I asked your abuela. She’s very nice, by the way. Her coffee is excellent.”
Ben yanked the Jeep to the side of the road and put the vehicle in park before he turned to Tenzin. “Explain,” he said. “Now.”
“On the side of a single-lane mountain road?” she asked. “Wouldn’t you rather go find some food? Or go home? Let’s go home.” Before Ben could respond, she opened the door and flew out. “I’ll see you at home!”
Ben gritted his teeth, started the car, and pulled it back onto the road, trying not to speed as he drove toward Quebradillas.
Interfering little pain in the ass.
Tenzin was going to pay for this.
By the time he got home, Tenzin was nowhere to be found. Ben flipped on every light in the house, then flipped them off again to not waste power. He searched every room. Then he gathered the most recent file his agent had sent him and went out on the balcony to read and listen to the sound of the waves.
Liza Ochoa Rios, daughter of Juana Rios and Eduardo Ochoa. Her parents had divorced when she was three and her father had moved to Florida, leaving Juana and Liza to move in with Ana Lisa Rios, Ben’s grandmother. Though they had lived
in New York on and off for Juana’s education, they always returned to Puerto Rico. Juana was his father’s older sister, and she’d been a teacher. She’d passed away after a horrible car accident three years earlier.
Liza had moved back to Puerto Rico after she’d graduated with a degree in environmental science from a university in Florida. She’d already been an intern in the national park system during school. When she’d applied to work at El Yunque National Forest, she’d been hired quickly.
She took care of her grandmother, who kept a small farm on the edge of the park. It was the same place her great-grandparents had lived, and her abuela loved it. They kept chickens and goats. Liza and Ana Lisa grew most of their food and kept seeds from one year to the next.
They had not suffered as much after the storm because Ana Lisa had known how to replant their garden after the storm and their fruit trees had survived. Their home was a gathering place for most of their neighbors. It was old, sturdy, and hadn’t suffered much damage.
Ben had gotten all that from a deep background check done by the agent Giovanni had recommended.
Ana Lisa was resourceful and tough. A devoted grandmother, friend, and neighbor.
And Liza, his cousin, was a rule follower. A high achiever. A good citizen.
Ben was none of those things, and he was her only cousin.
He’d never met Liza. He wondered if she even knew about him. Probably. Ana Lisa Rios wasn’t a woman who hid things. Unlike his father. Unlike his mother. Unlike everyone in his family, vampire or not.
Ben lived in a world of secrets, and his cousin didn’t belong there.
Tenzin landed on the edge of the balcony an hour after he’d arrived at the house. He’d had time to calm down, but his decision hadn’t wavered. Not even a little bit.
“I don’t want you near them,” he said quietly. “Not Ana. Not Liza. Leave them alone.”
“I only spent a little while with your grandmother, and I altered her memory afterward. She’s not going to be suspicious.”
“That’s not the point.”
“So you’re going to just pretend they don’t exist?”
Ben was silent.
Tenzin narrowed her eyes. “They’re your family.”
“No.” He closed the file. “They’re not. I had the chance to make them my family when Giovanni asked me. I chose something different. They didn’t. And I refuse to bring them into this world, not even to the edge of it.”
“I think you’re being stubborn and stupid.”
“Because I’m not doing what you want?” He shook his head. “Too bad.”
Tenzin scowled at him.
“Listen, most of what I said to Macuya and that vampire court was bullshit. You and I both know it. But part of it wasn’t. A minor object of sentimental importance can be used against someone in your world. Any attachment can be turned against you. A person?” He shook his head. “They’re not targets right now. Nothing about them makes them targets. And I refuse to bring them closer. Don’t pretend you don’t know why.”
“You brought Chloe closer.”
“And you think I don’t question that every day?” Ben asked. “You think I don’t blame myself?” He scooted to the edge of the lounge chair. “Listen, you and I both know that someday something is going to happen to her. She’ll be used as bait or leverage or… God knows what.”
“I will kill anyone who attempts it,” Tenzin said, her voice utterly cold.
God, she was so damn loyal. It wasn’t easy to gain Tenzin’s loyalty, but once you did, you had a friend for eternity. That alone made it hard to stay mad at her.
“I have no doubt you would, Tiny. But there’s no guarantee Chloe wouldn’t be hurt in the process. Someday something will happen to me,” he continued. “With all my connections, all my training, all my precautions, something will happen to me. I’ve lived in your world long enough to know. Humans don’t usually live to old age.”
Tenzin stared at him. “You know what the solution to that is.”
“I know I don’t want it.”
“Keep telling yourself that.” Tenzin walked toward him. “What do you think your life is going to be, Benjamin? Are you going to make your fortune, retire from vampire life, and marry a nice human girl from the suburbs? Have three kids and coach baseball on the weekends?” She leaned down and braced both hands on the arms of his chair. “Do you really think that’s your destiny? You would be bored to death.”
“I don’t know what my destiny is,” he said. “And neither do you.”
“I think I have a better idea than you do.” Tenzin stood. “This isn’t my world, Benjamin. It’s our world.” She walked to the edge of the balcony. “But for now I’ll respect your decision about your family. You’re right. We don’t have any power in this place. Either of them could be leverage.”
She fell back into the darkness, and Ben heard her take to the sky. Then he picked up his files, went inside, and locked the door to his room before he got some sleep.
Tomorrow would be a long day.
12
Ben pulled up to the small surf shack east of Arecibo and waited in the Jeep. The sun was baking the private cove where the bungalow sat, turning the pale sand a shimmering gold. He waited for fifteen minutes, long enough to count the cars passing on the road in the distance. After he’d heard the third one pass, he opened the car door and walked to the house.
Opening the kitchen door with the key he’d been given, he saw the pile of boxes in the middle of the room. They were stacked, plain brown cardboard with a familiar smile on the side, nothing that would arouse suspicion if anyone were to pass by and peek in the windows.
He opened each with a box cutter he found in the kitchen drawer, then carefully resealed them and took each out to the Jeep. Camping equipment, caving equipment, and his metal-detecting kit. All of it was there, along with a page of directions his agent had left for their exit from the island.
Within fifteen minutes, he was finished packing everything up. Within twenty he was back on the main road, leaving the small house locked and waiting, surveillance cameras set and programmed.
He drove back to the rental house in Quebradillas and put the Jeep in the garage. There was no use unpacking it when all the equipment was just going out that same night. He ate a small lunch, dragged a lounge chair into the shade, and tried to take a nap. The balcony was bathed in sunlight and would be for hours. He was as safe as he could be.
He slept.
“What are you doing, José? Your father and I didn’t raise you this way. What kind of life is your son going to have if you keep drinking like this? If you keep shoving your responsibilities away!”
“Ma, I told you my name is Joe. Stop calling me fucking José. You think we’re still back on the island or something.”
“José! Joe! Whatever you want to call yourself, you cannot let your son stay with that woman.”
“That woman is his mother.”
“And you’re his father.”
“So she says.”
Ben heard a slap.
“Watch your mouth. That child is the spitting image of you at that age. Don’t lie to me. He should be with us. With his family. Not with a woman who’s using him to steal! What kind of life is that for him? How can you allow this? Does he even go to school? I can see how bright he is. What are you doing for his future?”
“It’s not my decision, Ma. I give her money when I can. Look at this place; you think I’m rich or something? What do you want? You think I should take the kid from his mother? She feeds him, okay? I never seen him with bruises or cuts.”
Not unless you put them on me. Ben slumped against the back of the door and listened to his abuela and his father arguing.
This wasn’t good. He didn’t want anyone to argue. And they were talking about taking him from his mom. That was… not a good idea. Ben was the only reason his mom ate. She’d be out of control without him.
He eyed the locked window that led to the fir
e escape. Joe’s apartment was on East 116th and 2nd, not too far from the 116th Street station. He could catch the green line there and go south. He’d be back at his mom’s place before dark.
“If you don’t do something about him, then I will,” his abuela said. “This cannot continue. I refuse. I refuse. Benjamin is my grandson. He deserves better than this. He deserves a family. Stability. Safety. And if you’re not willing to do something, then I will do something, José. Do not test me.”
“Don’t you make trouble, Ma. Don’t you dare—”
The voices stopped when Ben used a blanket to punch through the glass in Joe’s bedroom. It really hurt, but he didn’t stop to think about it. He grabbed the jacket he’d come in and a metro card off Joe’s dresser. Then he scurried down the fire escape as Joe and his abuela stuck their head out the window.
“Ben!”
“Benjamin, stop!”
He didn’t stop. He couldn’t.
Ben woke, flexing his hand, the pain of breaking glass still real from his dream. He could feel the bruises forming, the tiny shard that had wedged between his knuckles, getting infected a few days later. His hand had been so stiff he’d nearly been caught picking pockets that week.
He deserves better than this. He deserves a family. Stability. Safety.
Whether his grandmother knew it or not, those words had carried him through the roughest parts of his childhood. When bigger kids picked on him or hurt him, he felt sorry for them, because probably no one thought they deserved better. But Ben deserved better. Even though he never saw his grandmother again, he knew he deserved better. His abuela was an honest woman; she wouldn’t have said it if it wasn’t true.
It was strange what stuck in your memory. Ben remembered every kick his father ever gave him, every punch that Joe managed to land. He remembered the way his blood looked on a broken mirror and the sound of a bone breaking.
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