“No! I don’t want a new companion! You can’t take him! Please!” Tears running down his face, he lunged at the nearest guard, who hit him with the long-handled prod, forcing him back. Puzzle burst out in a sob, darting sideways again, in an attempt to get around them.
Black flinched in spite of himself. When he realized Puzzle was trying to get to him, he raised his cuffed arms in a vaguely protective gesture, more instinct than reason. Next to him, the guard holding him clenched his jaw in anger.
“Fucking bloodsuckers,” he muttered.
“He’s mine! You have to give him back to me! You have to!”
“No.” Dr. Nguyen shook her head. “We don’t. We’ve been over this, Puzzle. You drank too much of him. You can’t have this one again.”
“It was an accident!” Puzzle screeched. “I won’t do it again! I promise I won’t! I promise, I promise, I promise I won’t! I’ll be extra careful with him!”
Black winced, exchanging grimaces with the guard in spite of himself.
Dr. Nguyen only sighed. Looking at the two guards holding Black, she jerked her chin towards the door, frowning in obvious annoyance.
“Well?” she said coldly. “You said they have the authorization. What are you waiting for? Get him cleaned up and take him upstairs. Now.”
Black didn’t let out his held breath until the guards already had him through the door.
He heard Puzzle screaming from that room the whole time the guards watched him in the bathroom, and then while they un-cuffed him long enough to change out of the bloody clothes he still wore and into a clean pair of the baggy prison pants, along with a new tank top and blue jersey. They even gave him a clean pair of boxers.
He left the clothes he’d been wearing on the floor of the bathroom.
When one of the guards asked him what to do with them, Black gave him a flat stare.
“Burn the fucking things,” he said.
A wince of sympathy went over the guard’s face, but he only nodded.
Black still heard Puzzle’s screams muffled by the walls until the elevator doors closed on the lab and he and the guards began to ascend up through the building.
Before they’d reached the top floor, they’d put another cloth bag over his head.
They were a hell of a lot nicer about it that time, though.
“Sorry,” the guard muttered, the same one who’d chewed out Nguyen. “Procedure.”
Black didn’t reply.
Even low on blood, his heart was pounding harder already.
Now to find out if Brick would keep his promise.
Twenty-Two
KILL THEM ALL
“ARE YOU SURE it’s happening today, though, Miri?” Nick looked at me, his eyes openly worried. “You’re just going to fly all the way across the country, waiting for a phone call from one of these fucking things? How do you know it’s not another trap? Or that he’s not just bullshitting you, trying to stall you from doing anything to hurt them?”
Despite his sharp tone, Nick sounded nervous.
Nervous of me. Nervous of this plan. Nervous about a lot of things.
I couldn’t really blame him. I hadn’t exactly been a pillar of sanity for the past few weeks, this last one, especially. But I’d just gotten off the phone with the same person Nick was asking me about, so I didn’t have to hesitate with an answer.
“No,” I said blunt. “I’m not sure. And no, I don’t trust him. At all. But he seems motivated, and I definitely got the sense he had his own reasons for that. He assured me it would be today... with caveats, of course.” I looked between Nick and Angel, my hands clenched in my lap. “A lot of things could go wrong. But he assured me it would be today. He said he would send coordinates to pick him up as soon as they’re clear, assuming all goes well.” I smiled humorlessly. “He tells me that Black has a contract with him, and that he cannot negotiate that contract with me... only its aftermath.”
“And you’re okay with that Miri?” Nick said, his voice gruff. “Because it sounds insane. The whole idea of negotiating with these... things... just sounds fucking insane to me.”
When I didn’t speak, Nick subdued his voice even more.
“What did the Colonel say? Is he on board with this?”
I paused, thinking about Nick’s words, his endless-seeming string of questions. I stared down at the plate of eggs and avocado I’d ordered and still hadn’t touched, and fought to control my mind, to think rationally about this.
From the outside, I’m sure the three of us sitting there looked odd, and totally out of place.
Nick wore a rumpled suit he looked like he’d slept in. Angel was in her running tights and a tank top, and looked like she felt vaguely sick. I wore a loose green skirt over my bathing suit and a black tank top over that. I’d gotten up early to swim laps, more out of nervous energy than any desire to swim. I might have appeared beach-y if not for the complete absence of a tan and the fact that I probably looked worse than either Angel or Nick since I couldn’t keep down food and had barely slept over the last however-many days.
Yet the three of us sat under a bright red umbrella on the tranquil patio of me and Black’s five star hotel in Santa Monica. The same patio where movie stars supposedly liked to hang out and eat and drink expensive champagne.
I couldn’t really focus on anyone around us though.
Finally, I sighed, giving Nick a tired look.
“What was your question? Which question should I answer, Nick? Do I trust him? No. I don’t trust him. But he seems to understand there will be consequences if I don’t see Black alive today.”
“What kinds of consequences?” Nick said.
“The kind where Uncle Charles and me hunt him down and bleed him until he tells us where Black is. The kind where I start working with the Colonel to authorize a government program to start taking these things out... as well as working on finding allies from human governments around the world to help the United States Military exterminate them.”
Nick winced, then looked at me with worry in his eyes. “Jesus, Miri.”
“I told him what would happen if Black wasn’t there today... or if I didn’t hear from him. I don’t want to do it, Nick. But yes, it’s come to that.”
“Do you really think this guy is afraid of you? Or even of Charles?” Nick’s voice sounded strained. “Miri, I understand about Black. I really do. I’m just saying––”
“I know what you’re saying.” I met his gaze, forcing myself to take a breath, to calm down. “I know, Nick. I’m sorry, but I don’t see a lot of options right now.”
“Why not hit more of his assets? These guys are rich, right? Doesn’t that hurt them?” Nick continued to watch me, that worried look on his face. “Maybe you hit the wrong holdings before, Miri. Are you tracing everything back to who owns what? Maybe the stuff you hit belonged to Konstantin, and not this guy, Brick. Most people respond if you clean out their bank accounts...”
Angel didn’t speak, but when I looked at her, she still looked like she felt sick. I felt whispers of anger on her too, and worry about me. And grief about Black.
She thought Black was dead.
She was like ninety percent sure in her mind that he had to be by now.
Forcing the thought away from me, I bit my lip, staring down at my eggs. “I have people for that now, Nick,” I said, as calmly as I could. “The holdings are Brick’s. Trust me. If you’d talked to him, you’d understand. He’s feeling... motivated. But the exposure threat is what got him to start making promises.” I met Nick’s gaze. “I think he finally realized I’m willing to sacrifice seer’s anonymity to come after his race.”
Yes, I’d told Angel and Nick about the vampires.
I felt like I had to. Not only were they the only two people left in the world I completely trusted apart from Black, I needed them to understand what was at stake.
I needed them to be safe, too.
If they were in my life, they were in danger of these things. Jus
t like Black had been. Just like my parents and Zoe had been. Maybe all seers shared that danger, but something about me, something about my mixed race parents, made that danger worse. Some part of me had known it. I’d known whatever went after my family and me might eventually go after Black.
I’d known, but I’d had no way to warn him.
That time, it was Angel who broke the silence.
“Is Black even alive, Miri?” she said, her voice gentle. I heard the grief in her words, and fought not to let it in. “Did this... Mr. Brick... say anything about how he was? Did he let you talk to Black? Show you any pictures? Anything that was proof of life?”
I met her gaze, forced myself to hold it, to soften my voice.
“He’s still alive, Angel,” I said.
Nick exhaled, shaking his head as he stared down at his own plate, which had a half-eaten order of huevos rancheros on it, smothered in green chili.
“Where is it you have to go?” he said finally, his voice empty.
That question was a lot easier to answer.
“Louisiana,” I said. “He told me to fly into New Orleans and wait there. He’ll call me with the coordinates once they’re clear.”
“And if he doesn’t call?” Angel said, pursing her lips. “What happens then, Miri? Are you really going to go after a whole race of people? You don’t even know what kinds of numbers he commands. Didn’t your uncle say there are a lot more of them than there are of...”
Letting her words trail off, she looked around, lowering her voice.
“...You know,” she murmured. “People like you?”
I returned her earnest stare, feeling that heat flare back into my chest.
“If he doesn’t call,” I said coldly. “Or if he tries to kidnap me... or if Black is dead, or if Brick reneges on our deal in any way... then every seer on this planet is going to start murdering vampires, Angel. Not just Brick’s people... or Konstantin’s. All of them. We may be fewer, but we have some advantages over their race you might not be aware of... advantages my uncle has assured me he’s been cultivating for some time. He’s trained an army for this day. Most of what he’s been doing over the past twenty years has been in preparation for it...”
Nick and Angel stared at me, silent, their faces holding twin expressions of disbelief.
Leaning back in my chair, I folded my arms.
I started to say more, then didn’t.
After the barest pause, Angel only nodded, taking a sip of her champagne as she watched me with worried eyes. Exchanging nervous glances with Nick, she looked out at the pool next, and I felt her worrying that I’d actually cracked, that losing Black had done something to my mind.
She might be right.
Clinically, I could see why she might think that. I could objectively review the things I’d said, how I’d been acting, enough that I understood her fear.
The problem was, I didn’t really care.
Twenty-Three
PAY THE PIPER
BLACK DIDN’T HAVE long to wait when he got back to the prison.
They didn’t even take him to his cell.
Pulling the bag off his head even as the van crunched to a stop on the gravel of the prison parking lot, they opened the van doors and unlocked his ankles before leading him inside. He didn’t pass through any of the common rooms or the cell blocks, either.
They took him straight to a windowless cement room.
It definitely wasn’t a prison visiting room. There were no bulletproof glass windows, no partitions, no chairs. It was just a blank, windowless room with two doors, one on either side of the featureless space. After the guards brought him there, they left him, locking the door behind them without a word.
Black stood there, looking around at the four walls.
He knew Brick had to be behind this.
Still, something about it felt off, like something had changed. He tangibly felt a sense of apprehension, like things were moving faster now.
He still stood there, thinking about that, when the second door in the cement room, the one on the opposite side from where he’d come in, abruptly opened.
Black found himself backing off when five guards walked in holding batons and what looked like electrical prods, like they’d used on Puzzle in the lab.
“What the fuck!” Black blurted. He’d already fallen to a fighting crouch, preparing to defend himself, even with his hands cuffed. “What is this?” he growled. “What did I do?”
A familiar voice rose from behind the row of kevlar.
“You didn’t do anything, Mr. Black. Please do not overexcite yourself. The equipment is simply a precaution... I assure you.”
The familiar, New Orleans-accented voice of Brick made Black’s muscles tense so hard they hurt. He fought a sudden swell of rage, even as he looked for the vampire among the faces. He found him at once, wearing another black suit like the one he’d worn in their first meeting.
“All right, boys,” Brick drawled. “Bring him along.”
He held up his wrist and tapped the face of his watch pointedly with the index finger of his other hand.
“Tick-tock, my friends,” he said, still tapping. “Time to pay the piper. And we must hurry. Mrs. Black is waiting, and she will not abide tardiness.”
Black stiffened at the mention of Miriam.
It threw him enough that he only stood there when two of the guards grabbed hold of his cuffed arms and began leading him forward out of the room. They led him right up to Brick, who was already re-entering the corridor on the other side.
Brick looked back over his shoulder as he walked, smiling at Black, even as he looked him over with a more critical eye. Avoiding that appraising stare, Black glanced at the guards holding him, and for the first time, he noticed the faces lurking behind those helmets and shields.
Both had the same glass-like, tinted red eyes as Brick and Puzzle. Looking around at the rest of them, Black realized all of them did.
He was surrounding by fucking vampires.
That panic he’d felt when they first came at him in the room resurfaced in a rush. Not panic. Survival. He kicked into fight or flight so quickly that adrenaline shook his arms and hands.
Mr. Brick must have felt the change, or seen some hint of it in his expression.
“There, there, Quentin,” Brick said. His voice was soothing, but firm. “Calm yourself... you are quite safe, I assure you. This is why I thought perhaps we needed to approach you with some consideration and caution. I did not wish you to... overreact... given where you’ve been staying these past ten days, and your probable experiences while there.”
Black watched those red eyes flicker over him languorously, right before his pupils noticeably dilated. Brick gave him a wolfish smile and Black tensed more.
“I bet you were... popular there. You were probably quite the belle of the ball.”
Black’s voice came out in a snarl. “What is this? Where are you taking me?”
He could practically feel the other vampires looking him over now too, smelling him maybe. His reaction was animal, visceral, like a zebra finding himself surrounded by lions.
Some less-rational part of his mind told him they were going to bolt him down to another padded table and drain him dry.
“What do I want?” Brick raised an eyebrow at him. “You know what I want, Mr. Black. We have an arrangement you and I. But your wife has grown quite impatient, I’m afraid, so I’ve been forced to speed up the timeline somewhat. Which is no matter to me, honestly... as long as you’ve gotten us the intelligence we need, I see no reason to prolong this ordeal for any of us, yourself and your wife included.”
Glancing over his shoulder at Black again, his face erupted in a delighted grin, right before he let out a happy laugh.
“Your Miriam, she is quite the firecracker, isn’t she though, Mr. Black? And such a beautiful woman... photographs really don’t do her justice. No, they do not do her justice at all.” He motioned towards his own face. “Some elem
ent of that fire missing... am I right?”
Black stared at him, putting his words together in shock. Heat bloomed in his chest, running adrenaline to the ends of his fingers, making his feet stumble in their steps.
Brick went on speaking as if he didn’t notice.
“...The combination must keep things interesting on the home front, I must say... and in the bedroom. I find myself quite envious of you, Mr. Black, in more ways than one.” That predatory smile grew. “I confess I would have loved to go toe-to-toe with her in a real way, but now is definitely not the time for such indulgences. And, as I’ve mentioned before, I did not bring you here to be cruel... but to obtain your assistance in a task I knew no other way to accomplish.”
He gave Black a more searching look, lifting an eyebrow.
“Do not worry, Mr. Black. Your wife is perfectly fine. I touched not a hair on her lovely head... although it was tempting, to be sure.”
Black didn’t answer. He continued to walk, stiff-legged, every muscle in his body tensed to rock. Still watching him warily, Brick went on in a more conciliatory voice.
“I suspect you can imagine now, why I felt this operation was so important to my people, having seen this torture facility for yourself?” His lip curled, and for the first time, a glimmer of real anger crossed his flawless countenance, lighting those scarlet-tinted eyes. “Imagine yourself in our shoes, if you would, Mr. Black... just for a moment, imagine if it was your people down there. A noble race, one older than the race of humans. Enslaved. Treated like vermin. Debased. Experimented on. Forced to beg for food from lesser beings, like stray dogs...”
His voice grew angrier the longer he spoke.
Black didn’t answer. His mind was bent on one thing, and one thing alone: getting out of here. Getting out of here and finding out what happened to his wife.
He’d think about what came after once he’d done that.
Black And Blue (Quentin Black Mystery #5) Page 28