Nightmare City: Book 1 Of The Nightmare City Series (Urban Fantasy)

by P. S. Newman

  “I just hope you’re not hiding behind that belief because it makes things easier. We humans have a tendency to do that. I should know; keeping Cecelia and Bella out of the press hasn’t been a cakewalk. That doesn’t mean I won’t try to make it work.” His focus had switched from me to Cecelia. Maybe that had been the issue on his mind all along.

  “In fact,” he continued, pulling a small box covered in navy-blue velvet out of the pocket of his cashmere slacks, “I intend to make it work, no matter what. But I need your opinion on something.” He opened the box. Inside sat a silver ring. The diamond attached to it sparkled like a thousand stars.

  “Wow! David, it’s beautiful.”

  “You think she’ll like it?” The nervousness in his voice made me smile. Burgundy patches rode high on his cheeks; one of the most powerful businessmen in the country blushing at the thought of proposing to his girlfriend. It was adorable.

  “She’ll love it.” Cecelia would love it even if the stone were a pebble he’d found on a beach.

  “I hope so,” he said, closing the box and tucking it back into his pocket. “I’m going to ask her as soon as this doppelgänger is caught.”

  I started the car. “Let’s go make sure Mr. Mad isn’t tearing your house to pieces in frustration.”

  “Maybe I’ll make him see the light,” David said. “I can be very persuasive, after all.”

  David could convince a river to flow upstream, but I doubted he’d ever manage to persuade Vaughn Taylor to become pro shades. People would stop dreaming first.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  Taylor was on the phone when David and I entered. He paced the length of the living room with the nervous energy of a caged tiger. "You need to take me off this case," he growled into the phone. “I’d rather crawl through shade shit than stay here and babysit a shade hugger who—”

  He broke off when he caught sight of us. David frowned. Being called a shade hugger wouldn’t offend him; he’d been called worse and had thicker skin than that. But, like me, he was probably worried about the fact that one of his bodyguards seemed to have completely abandoned all pretense at professionalism.

  I gripped my spare sword in its sheath a little tighter. I’d picked it up at my place before we left. It was a katana, like Aunt Vy, a beautiful, deadly weapon. But lifeless. Aunt Vy would have gotten a kick out of the nervous tension in the room, so thick you almost had to wade through it.

  "No, I didn't make that connection earlier," Taylor barked into the phone. "I switch channels when they so much as mention SHAID on the news... Yes, I asked to be put on this case. Now I'm asking to be taken off it."

  It had to be Captain Ganner. She was the only one who could order Taylor off the case. I sent a silent plea to the Universe. Let him persuade her. I could deal with a different hunter as my partner better than this shade-hating robot.

  "Fine. Here she is." He came over to me and shoved the phone into my hands. "The captain wants a word. I'll be on the roof, keeping a lookout from there. I'm not staying in here."

  I put the phone against my ear as he stomped off. "Please take him off the case," I said, by way of greeting. "He's more explosive right now than anything the doppelgänger could throw at us."

  Taylor was halfway up the winding staircase but I could still see his face in the cracks between the steps. He closed his eyes and nodded, as if grateful for my support.

  "He'll have to deal," Ganner said. "I don't have anybody else I can send right now. We're understaffed on hunters as it is. I'm not sending a whole team with you or breaking one up."

  "Even if it endangers all of us because Taylor and I can't work together?"

  "I know Taylor is blowing a fuse right now, but when push comes to shove, when this doppelgänger arrives, he'll focus. He'll kick its ass because that's what he does best and he won't even think about the fact that he's doing it for a member of an organization he loathes. He'll do his job."

  "I'm not so sure," I said. "Being a hunter is some sort of vengeance campaign for him." I knew I was on to something when Ganner didn't reply. "It is, isn't it?"

  "He just wants to stop innocent people from being hurt or killed," Ganner said.

  "No. It's more than that. This single-minded hatred and focus doesn't stem out of a need to protect others. It's an overpowering need to obliterate his enemy, no matter what the cost."

  Ganner sighed. "What I'm about to tell you is strictly confidential.”

  “Okay.”

  “His family was killed by a shade three years ago."

  Ice skittered down my back, though I’d suspected something along those lines. "That's terrible.” Shades had taken his family from him. I wondered if ‘family’ meant his parents or his wife and child - possibly children. Losing your parents before their time was horrible, but losing a child… unfathomable.

  "Maybe now that you know, you can cut him some slack," Ganner said. "He'll do the job when the time comes. Otherwise, I would have cut him loose a long time ago. Keep him and Mr. Baptiste separate until then and you'll be fine and free of this case before you know it."

  "I'll try.” Easy as pie.

  "Good luck," she said and hung up.

  I stood there for a while, staring down at Taylor's phone. Sympathy and a sliver of guilt speared my stomach. His family had died at the hands of a shade. A creature like me. Despite all the precautions people had taken to protect themselves from shades since the Surge, these things still happened. Yet this one hit close to home. I'd never met Taylor's family, but the need to apologize to them was overwhelming. I’m not like the others, I wanted to tell them. But this wasn't about me. It wasn't even about them. This was about the one they'd left behind.

  I found David watching me when I slid the phone into my pocket.

  "So?" he asked. "Is there a reason or is he just an insufferable tickhead by nature?”

  "I see you've dismissed the idea of me being romantically interested in him.”

  "Sorry I ever doubted you.” A glimmer of humor sparked in his eyes. "So there is a reason?"

  "Yes, there is a reason."

  "But you're not going to tell me."

  "It's not my place to tell."

  David nodded. "Of course."

  "I'll tell you if it ever becomes important for your safety," I promised. "For now, I’m going to make sure the house is secure. And then I should go talk to him. Figure out how we're going to set up camp with him on the roof and us down here."

  David nodded and headed to the kitchen. “Come back when you’re done with your sweep, before you head up to soothe Mr. Mad. I’ll prepare something for you to take up to him. As a peace offering.”

  “Good idea,” I said. “Food makes everybody happy.”

  It took me ten minutes to check all rooms, to make sure the doppelgänger wasn’t hiding out anywhere and that all windows and doors were locked from the inside. When I returned to the kitchen, a tub of Ben & Jerry’s and a can of soda were waiting for me on the counter.

  “Ice cream and Diet Coke?” I asked David with a raised brow. “Hope you didn’t strain yourself preparing such a gourmet meal.”

  “You really want me to cook him something?”

  I laughed, tucking the can of Coke under my arm so I’d keep one hand free to hold my spare sword. “Touché.”

  I picked up the ice cream one-handed. "I'll tell him this was your idea."

  "Then he probably won't touch it."

  "That's his prerogative. Spoon." At David's puzzled look I added, "he'll need a spoon for the ice cream."

  "Right." David opened a drawer and handed me a spoon. "Good luck."

  "Thanks. If you see or hear anything out of the ordinary, let me know right away. I have my phone on me. We’ve changed the passcodes and I’ve locked the doors, so the doppelgänger can’t get in without the alarms going off.”

  I headed up the stairs. A stiff breeze greeted me when I opened the door and exited the stairwell on the roof. The moon was out and full, reflecting of
f the ocean far below, bathing the roof in a pale light so bright it left shadows. Taylor was pacing up and down from edge to edge, back and forth, end to end. Every time he reached the edge of the roof, he looked down at the ground with longing, as if he wanted to drop twenty-five feet onto the concrete below just to escape this place.

  "If you survive that jump with all bones intact you're in the wrong profession," I said.

  He spun to face me, fists clenched. "She isn't sending a replacement, is she?"

  I shook my head. "I'm afraid we're going to have to deal with each other."

  "I can't." There was no tone in his voice, only air rasping through a strangled throat. "I can't be here." He continued to pace until he reached the opposite edge, where he stopped. He was shaking. He looked down, his body swaying as if gravity were calling to him. I had the feeling that this was not an unfamiliar view for him. That he had stood on the edge and peered down many times before.

  "Taylor!" My voice whipped through the space between us. He jerked back as if I'd physically pulled him. "Come here."

  He stalked towards me, his breathing fast and shallow. "Are you one of them, too?” he asked, his voice rising in pitch with every word.

  "One of wh--?"

  "Never mind, it's better if I don't know." He stopped in front of me, eyes wide and wild, his breath coming in bursts. I could basically hear his heart drumming in his chest. Beads of sweat covered his face. His skin looked ashen. He was about to have a panic attack. Induced solely by the fact that David was a member of SHAID. ‘Wicked hate’ didn't begin to cover it.

  I put down my sword, the coke, and the ice cream, and stood in front of him, catching his gaze. I wanted to take hold of his arms to make him focus on me fully, but I knew from Bella that touching him could potentially induce a deeper panic, so I kept my hands by my sides. “You need to breathe, Taylor.”

  He was looking at me, but I wasn’t sure he heard. Bella sometimes shut down completely. All she heard in those cases was the storm in her head; outside voices didn't penetrate, not even to guide her through her breathing exercises. If Taylor was that far gone, I wouldn't be able to help him. But he nodded after a brief moment and took a deep, shuddering breath, rubbing his face with his hands.

  “Take another. Four counts in, eight counts out,” I suggested.

  That earned me a grunt.

  “Breathing out longer than breathing in calms down your heart-rate,” I explained.

  “Okay, mom.” But he took a deep breath and let it out slowly, following my recommendation. He already had more color in his cheeks again. I couldn’t decide whether to grin or shake my head, so I picked up the can of coke at my feet instead. I held the can out in front of him, bumping it gently against his hands. "Drink something."

  He took the can, avoiding my eyes. I picked up my sword and walked towards the edge of the roof. We'd been up here, unaware of our surroundings for more than five minutes. An army of stormtroopers could’ve been sneaking up on us. I took a tour around the roof to secure the area. Nothing but shrubs and distant houses hiding in the moonlight. I hurried downstairs and found David sitting on the couch, the TV running on low volume while he worked on his laptop. His brows were furrowed in concentration, but he was fine and alone. He noticed me before I could slip back upstairs. "Did you manage to tame the wild beast?"

  "Some," I said, stopping myself from blabbing what had almost happened. It wasn't my story to tell. Plus, hearing that one of his protectors had been close to a panic attack wouldn't make David feel safe. I probably could have used that information to get Taylor taken off the case, but I didn’t have the heart to use his turmoil against him like that. This might be the one thing Ganner would consider firing him for.

  Strange how not thirty minutes ago, that prospect wouldn’t have bothered me one bit. Now, knowing more of the back story and how much it affected Taylor… The man was a brute and could become my worst enemy if he ever found out about me. And yet I just couldn’t be that heartless.

  "We're still strategizing," I told David, "but I'll be down soon."

  "'Okay." He was already staring into his screen again.

  I pulled my phone out of my pocket and called Cecelia. She answered immediately. "What happened?"

  "Nothing, don't worry," I soothed. "I just wanted to know how things went with Bella after we left. Did Aunt Vy get her to meditate."

  "Twenty whole minutes. I didn’t even have to convince her. Aunt Vy reminded her, I suppose. I just came upstairs and there they were, Aunt Vy lying in front of Bella in her meditation pose. How are things going on your end?"

  She was my best friend, and Taylor’s panic attack had shaken me more than I wanted to admit. I almost told her about it. Almost. "As good as can be expected. Taylor's hiding out on the roof."

  "At least that gives him a good vantage point." Cecelia Perez, Corporal Practical.

  “Speaking of vantage points...” I suddenly remembered something I’d meant to talk to her about, “do you think we should let Bella watch more age-appropriate movies?”

  “You mean because of her fight with Louis?”

  “It seems that topic was the instigator. He was teasing her for not being allowed to watch some movie or other even though she’s seventeen.”

  “I know.” Cecelia was quiet as she mulled it over. “Do you think she wants to watch rated movies? Or is it just peer pressure? I worry that if we let her watch these movies for the wrong reasons, the nightmares will get worse, not better.”

  “Maybe it’s not about letting her do things anymore but about letting her make her own decisions.”

  “You’re saying that if we treat her like an adult, she’ll make adult decisions?”

  “It’s worth a shot.”

  “I suppose.” She sounded dubious.

  “You said yourself, she needs to take more responsibility for her actions. This is one way to get her started.”

  “You’re right. I’m just already dreading the first, inevitable setback. Something will go wrong and throw off her confidence, and it’ll take her forever to find it again.”

  “Isn’t that how we all learn?” I asked. “Plus, Bella has her ways to deal with setbacks. Ways we don’t necessarily know about.”

  There was a loaded pause. “You mean ways I don’t know about.”

  “I only found out about it a couple of days ago,” I confessed. “She bought herself the Dreamscape: Lightmares volume and smuggled it into her room. She says it calms her down. I’m sorry, I meant to give you a heads-up sooner, but it slipped my mind in the doppelgänger hubbub.”

  “Don’t worry about it. It’s her favorite of the whole series. It makes sense that it calms her.”

  “She knew it would.”

  Cecelia chuckled. “I get what you’re saying. She’s already making adult decisions. Except for the one where she hid the graphic novel from us.”

  “She was afraid we wouldn’t understand and take it away.”

  “I know. How about this: we include her in this decision about letting her make her own decisions.”

  “Sounds like a plan. Though we should probably wait until this whole doppelgänger issue is resolved and things return to normal.”

  “Or as normal as things ever get,” Cecelia agreed. We said our good nights and I headed back up to the roof. The moonlight was bright enough to show me that Taylor had moved from the spot where I’d left him. The can of coke had been opened and he'd set it down next to the untouched tub of ice cream. I picked up the tub and spoon. He stood with his back to me at the roof's edge, hands in his pockets. He didn't react when I stepped up beside him.

  "Hungry?" I held out the spoon and ice cream.

  His eyes flickered down to my offerings, then back to infinity. "No thanks."

  "Awesome, more for me." I opened the container and poked the spoon inside. Yep. Soft and gooey. Not yet runny, though. It was the perfect consistency. I shoveled a spoonful into my mouth. "Do you think the doppelgänger will attack at nig
ht? It's difficult to see out there, even with the moonlight being so bright."

  Taylor looked at me, a frown bunching his brows. He’d probably expected me to pester him about his almost-breakdown.

  Sorry, dude. I'm not that dumb. I resumed talking in between mouthfuls. "The roof is the best place to spot any sort of light coming towards us and we could each take a wing. Or you could stay up here and I keep David company downstairs. Just as long as we agree on a signal."

  "Signal?" he finally said. His voice was still barren of all tone, but it didn't sound constricted anymore.

  "Something to let each other know if something out of the ordinary is happening. You know; smoke signals, carrier pigeons, a foot stomp.”

  "Or a phone call?" Was that annoyance or humor coloring his tone? At least he no longer sounded like death.

  “Right, a phone call." I pulled his phone out of my pocket and handed it to him.

  We fell silent until Taylor heaved a sigh from somewhere deep down. "I'll stay up here. You can go back downstairs since I won't be good company."

  Are you ever? "I'll bring you a chair and blanket," I said. I held the ice cream out to him again. "Sure you don't want any of this?"

  He took it. When the first spoonful of gooey chocolate hit his taste buds, his eyes brightened. He was most likely starving. Panic attacks left Bella both mentally and physically exhausted - and famished once she was over them.

  I headed back to the stairwell to get the promised chair and blanket.

  "Eden?"

  My name sounded strange coming from him. He'd never said it before. I stopped and turned back. "Yes?"

  "Thank you.”

  It was unexpected. His abrasiveness I could handle, but gratitude? I squirmed like a ten-year-old having been caught raiding the candy drawer. "Hey, what are partners for?"

  A myriad of emotions swept across his face, too quick for me to determine. Like me, he wasn't sure how to respond to our newfound... something, either.

  "I've got your back," I added.