Cherry Pie

by Sotia Lazu

  “Yeah. Let’s eat here, and then I have a few more questions for you.” I felt bolder with Sally around. My phone chimed. A text from Sally. This time I knew better than to look at her. I made sure Hunt couldn’t see the screen, and I read her message. He doesn’t smell human. He has a heartbeat, but his scent is all wrong. Nothing I’ve smelled before.

  He definitely wasn’t a ghost. A shifter? I thought they were near-extinct. I swiped back a quick, Stick around. I planned on getting to the bottom of this, and I needed some muscle, in case Hunt wasn’t as friendly as he acted. My coffee was sweet and strong. “This is perfect,” I told Hunt, as I stuffed half a bagel with cream cheese, lox, and capers in my mouth. “I forgot to eat last night.”

  He chuckled. “I like a woman with a healthy appetite.” He was flirting with me, but I didn’t feel any erotic interest from him. It was like he was going through the motions. Or he pretended to be attracted to me, to keep an eye on me, because he wasn’t human.

  We devoured breakfast, and then retreated to my office, where my desk acted as a buffer and a barrier between us.

  I pulled in front of me the printouts of gems that matched his description, and flicked through them, to gain time as I gathered my thoughts. “Ow.” Paper cuts freakin’ hurt. I brought my index finger to my mouth and licked the cut. Though my sense of taste had returned, blood tasted wrong. I splayed my hand and looked at the tiny beads forming a red line across the pad of my finger.

  Hunt frowned, and I watched him watch my blood pool along the cut. “How much of a paranormal investigator are you?” he asked.

  I frowned and licked my finger again. There wasn’t enough blood to get Sally running in here, but better safe than sorry. “Not sure I know what you mean.”

  He stood and closed the door, and I opened my first drawer, ready to go for my gun. He rounded the desk, and I tensed, though his posture wasn’t threatening. He leaned so close I could feel his breath, and whispered, “Do you know your receptionist is a vampire?”

  My first reaction was to laugh, but I schooled my face into an impassive mask. “I know. I don’t know what you are.”

  He sat down again, no longer bothering to keep his voice low. “She’ll probably tell you, but I’m a shifter. Panther.”

  Of course. I should have known by the sleek muscles and feline grace. “I’ve never met a shifter before. Should I be afraid?”

  “Not of me. Others may take offense in the company you keep.”

  “Others? I thought you were all... gone.”

  He gave me a half-nod, half-shake of the head that meant nothing.

  When I was with the VSS, Constantine told me shifters and vampire were non-mixy, but since there were a handful of shifters left in the world, I didn’t expect it to be an issue. “And what do you want from me? For real, this time.”

  He sat back and crossed his arms. “I really want you to find that stone for me.”

  “What about the rest of your story? Did you even have a wife? I found no record of her in the States.”

  Sadness darkened his eyes. “She existed. Part of her still does, which is why I need the sapphire. Katje and I met at a different time, when magic... Never mind. Vampires and shifters were enemies, and though I had no ties to sever, her maker and his other childer opposed our mating. For centuries”—so shifters were immortal too?—“we ran and hid from them, as well as from bigots who hated our other differences, but fifty years ago her maker found us. He trapped the part of her soul that loved me, along with all her memories of me, in one of four soul sapphires.”

  Four. And one of them had been around Ádísa’s neck in Alex’s dream.

  “Am I boring you?” Hunt asked with the same smile that wouldn’t leave his lips yesterday.

  “I’m sorry. It’s a lot to absorb.”

  “And there is more. Last year, I tracked down her brother in L.A. and stole the stone, but I couldn’t use it until I found where they kept Katje. I stuck around, in case he had her with him, but I’ve never seen her enter or exit his house. A few days ago, someone started following me. I don’t see them, but every now and then I feel a presence nearby. Then, day before yesterday, the sapphire disappeared. I need to find it and find my mate. I need to make her whole again.” His voice broke.

  “I’ll help you,” I said. “We’ll find them both.” Someone around here deserved a happily-ever-after, damn it.

  Chapter Twenty-three

  SALLY CAME IN WITHOUT knocking. “I couldn’t help but overhear...”

  I arched an eyebrow.

  “Okay, so I listened in. I want to help, and I’m sure the girls will be on board. They need the distraction. Constantine too. The more the merrier, right?”

  “You’re a vampire,” Hunt said. “Why help?”

  Sally batted her eyelashes. “I’m a sucker for a good love story. Do we know how many vampires will be at the brother’s house?”

  Hope softened the hard angles of his face. “Two that live with him. A couple others that come and go.” He frowned. “I just realized you’re out in the daylight.”

  She opened her mouth to answer, but I cut in. “You have your secrets, we have ours.”

  Shit. I shouldn’t have said we. I felt his scrutiny like a physical weight. To divert him, I asked, “Why were you flirting with me, if you’re so set on finding your wife? Why the dinner invitation and the breakfast?”

  “I had to know whether you were a hack or the real thing, so I meant to stay close.”

  As I imagined.

  Sally asked Liza and Carrie over. While we waited for them, I left her and Hunt talking about the layout of Filippus Kappel’s estate and went to her desk, to call Constantine. Sally could have done it, but I wanted to hear his voice. I missed him, okay?

  “Cherry.” His greeting lacked emotion.

  “Hi.” Now I had him on the line, I didn’t know what to say.

  “Is this an emergency?”

  “It may be council business.”

  “I’m listening.”

  “I have a were-panther in my office.” Which might make more sense if Constantine knew what I did with my life. “I’m a private investigat—”

  “I know. But a were-panther? I was led to believe—”

  “Yeah, me too.” If he could interrupt, so would I. “I didn’t ask him to shift or anything, but he says that’s what he is, and I believe him. The thing is he’s mated to a vampire, and her... kiss I think it’s called? Anyway, they locked away the part of her that loves him in a sapphire like the one Ádísa had in Alex’s dreams. A soul sapphire?”

  Constantine cursed, and hearing him lose his cool was soothing. The cold version of him broke my heart.

  Like I broke his.

  “You’ve heard of soul sapphires?” I asked.

  “I have, and I feel like an imbecile for not recognizing it when I saw it. I believed she haunted Alex’s dreams because of who she was before she became a vampire. I didn’t think...”

  “This isn’t about her. She’s gone, and we need to help Hunt and Katje.”

  “Your new shifter friend and his mate? What can the council do for them? Are they registered in the U.S.? We have no authority over European vampires.”

  “I don’t know. Can’t you check the census? Please?” After Ádísa and Johnny-boy’s deaths in our hands, the council decreed a census, to record all vampires in the United States. Even if the Kappels weren’t registered as natives, we might find useful information about them. Like whether Catharina was in the country.

  He let out a tortured sigh. “You realize you’re still a council member. You could do the research yourself.”

  “I’m trying to stay under the radar. If one of the others decides to drop by and ask why I’m looking into things, they’ll know I’m human.”

  “I hate when you’re right, but I’ll look into it. Have your Mr. Hunt call me tonight. If the council can’t help him, I will.”

  “What about me?”

  “You will not get
involved.” His tone brooked no argument. “I will not have you risk your precious humanity.” He spat out the last word like it had a foul taste.

  “This is my case. You can’t tell me what to do.”

  “I know. But if you want my help, we do it my way.” He hung up, and I felt empty.

  Hearing his voice for a couple minutes wasn’t enough. I needed to see him—touch him. I couldn’t. I went to the small WC and splashed water on my face, then studied my reflection. I’d changed my hair back to red this month. It felt more me. There were black circles under my eyes, but I looked good. Self-assured. Like I knew what I was doing.

  Ha.

  I went back to my office and found Sally and Hunt laughing.

  “Your assistant-slash-receptionist is a delight,” Hunt said. “She has given me hope I can be with my Katje once again.”

  I told him about my call to Constantine.

  “Another vampire willing to assist?” Hunt’s expression was a mix of incredulity and suspicion.

  “If the Kappels aren’t registered with the vampire council, this is vampire business,” I said.

  “Is Katje in danger, if she’s found in the country unregistered?” he asked.

  I hoped not. “Constantine will be in charge of the case, and he’ll make sure she’s safe. I trust him with my life.”

  “Plus he’s a big softy deep down,” Sally said. If Constantine ever heard that, there might be an evisceration in her near future.

  Hunt stood and all but crushed me in a giant hug. “I will owe you forever,” he said.

  I wouldn’t be around that long.

  Carrie and Liza joined us, and I stayed and tossed ideas for a Plan B with them. If the council couldn’t intervene, they’d have to storm Kappel’s place. Deep down, I hoped Constantine would drop by and help with the planning. He didn’t.

  By 1 p.m. my lids were drooping and my temples throbbed with the beginnings of a headache. Another thing to add to the con list for being human.

  “I need a shower, a nap, and some downtime. Call me if you need me, otherwise forward calls to my cell and lock when you’re done,” I told Sally.

  “Sure thing, boss.” She didn’t glance my way, too engrossed in her discussion with Hunt and the girls. She was so excited, I smiled despite myself.

  I had my usual fight with the water temperature, but managed a semi-decent shower and was under the covers in no time. My new sheets were crisp and cool and inviting, but sleep wouldn’t come until I took some ibuprofen for the pain.

  Even then, Hunt’s story, my relationship with Alex, and my brief talk with Constantine rattled in my head. Hunt and Katje made it work despite ignorant racists and lethal supernaturals, and I couldn’t commit to a wonderful man who wanted a future with me. I was honest when I told Alex I didn’t want the same things out of life that he did, but I finally admitted to myself he was right too. It was also about Constantine.

  I was supposed to get over him, but I thought of him whenever I had a moment to myself. Like now, when I should be sleeping.

  I squeezed my eyes shut and willed away the thoughts. It must have worked, because the next thing I knew was an incoming text waking me up.

  Unsurprisingly, it was from Sally. Forwarded incoming calls to my cell, so you’d rest. Hunt called. He dropped his wallet at the office. He can be there in an hour, and I’m busy. Will you get it for him?

  I looked at the time. 8:15. I’d slept the afternoon away. I couldn’t bother typing, so I pressed Call, but she declined my call and sent, Can’t talk. Hunt will fill you in.

  I got dressed and went downstairs to wait for him and see if I could find anything online about soul sapphires.

  Hunt was on time, and I let him in and handed him his wallet. “Sally said you’d fill me in,” I said. “Do you have a plan?”

  He nodded. “I spoke with Constantine. He didn’t find Katje’s family in your council’s records, but his search unfortunately raised a red flag. Enforcers went to Filippus’ estate at sundown. He has forty-eight hours to leave the States peacefully. They found two more vampires with him, but no sign of Katje. Constantine and Liza will break into his place tomorrow during the day, to look for the stone. Carrie and Sally will help me lure whoever’s shadowing me, and use them to get to Katje. I’m not losing her again.”

  His determination again brought to mind Constantine—not that he was ever far from my thoughts these days. “How did you make it work for centuries?” I asked.

  He smiled. “We built a relationship that suited us both, and we never let external factors get between us. If we needed space or a diversion, we took it, but we talked about everything. And had regular, passionate intimate moments.”

  I only half-smiled, because my next question weighed on my chest. “After all these years, are you sure she’s alive?”

  “We’re mated, Cherry. When she dies, so do I.”

  I was trying to wrap my mind around the love and certainty it took to tie your lifespan to someone else’s, when I heard glass breaking in the inner room. I rushed to see what happened, but the moment I opened the door to my private office, someone rushed me.

  My attacker was too fast for me to see a face, but it was a woman, judging by the shrieking and the breasts pressing against mine, as she body-slammed me to the floor. She yanked my hair aside painfully, baring my neck.

  I looked up in horror, as fangs descended toward me. In that moment, I forgot my training. I forgot how to move. I forgot how to speak. I lay there and waited for the furious blonde to rip into my throat.

  As if the night wasn’t surreal enough, a low growl came from my left. The vampire on top of me froze, and I followed her gaze to a huge beast prowling toward us. It was a panther, almost twice my length and black as midnight, its coat sleek and its yellow eyes shining under the overhead light. The clothes Hunt wore were strewn in tatters behind him.

  I hated being the only human in the room. Also, could shifters tell friend from foe when in animal form?

  The vampire, who I strongly suspected was Katje, narrowed her eyes at Hunt and hissed. She sat back, and as the panther leapt for her, I kicked her off and rolled on my stomach, to crawl away as fast as my trembling limbs allowed.

  “Get off me, mutt,” Katje screeched. Hunt had her cornered, and she flailed and scratched him. Why didn’t she toss him across the room? Huge or not, he couldn’t weigh more than a car, and vamps can lift cars.

  I found my phone, miraculously unscathed despite my landing on my ass, and called Sally.

  Can’t talk, she texted again, after cancelling my call.

  Vampire attack at the office, I wrote back. I should get out of there, but I watched in sick fascination as the animal lowered its jaws toward the woman he loved. I squeezed my eyes shut, not wanting to see him kill her, but when she shrieked again, it wasn’t in horror but fury.

  Hunt said, “You smell different.”

  I opened my eyes and saw him pressed against her in all his naked man-shaped glory. He sniffed her. “Look at me, Katje. Remember me. I’d never hurt you.”

  She screamed for him to leave her alone and raised welts on his back with her fingernails, but he wrapped his arms around her and held on.

  “Don’t touch me.” Her screams had faded to pleading. “I don’t want you near me. You mean nothing to me.”

  “Then why did you follow me here? Why attack this woman?”

  “I don’t know.” The yell broke into a sob. “I can’t get you out of my mind since I saw you at my brother’s house. You sneaked in and stole my sapphire, and I need it back.”

  “Were you the one following me?”

  “I wanted to kill you”—she was crying in earnest now—“but I couldn’t bring myself to pull the trigger. Why can’t I kill you and get you out of my system?”

  “Because you love me.”

  These crazy kids would have their happy ending after all, and I was intruding. I convinced my legs it was time to stand, and was reaching for the handle when I h
eard Sally say, “Wait. I have a key.”

  Constantine broke down the door. He rushed the huddled couple, and I yelled for him to wait, but Carrie and Sally managed to hold him back. He fought to get free, but Liza grabbed his face, and they span him to look at me.

  “She’s here. She’s fine,” Liza said.

  Constantine had a wild look in his eyes, that tonight were the dark blue of stormy sea. Was all this pain and worry for me?

  “Constantine...” I took a step toward him, and the vampettes let go, but he slid his impassive mask over his features.

  “You’re all right. Good,” he said. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ll have to retrieve the sapphire tonight, if we’re to save this woman’s sanity. Liza, join me?”

  I reached for his hand as he passed by me. I expected him to avoid my touch, but he gave my fingers a tiny squeeze before walking out the ruined door.

  Katje was thrashing under Hunt, trying to throw him off, denying the truth of his words.

  “Will she be safe if we get you both to your place?” Carrie asked Hunt.

  “I have built a room that will detain her until she can be restored,” he said.

  “Good. Sally, help me?”

  The two vampettes held Katje still until Hunt got on his feet. He was very naked, and his clothes were unwearable.

  “I’ll see if I have something you can wear,” I said. Five minutes later I was back with a tracksuit that was too tight and short for him but wouldn’t get him arrested for indecent exposure.

  Katje oscillated between threats and pleas, but the three of them managed to get her outside.

  “Do you want my car?” I asked.

  “Better to fly them,” Sally said. “Something tells me she’ll be a horrible passenger.”

  “Call me when it’s all over?” I kept away from the unstable vampire snapping her jaws at me.

  “I will,” Sally said.

  “Let Sheena know where we are,” Carrie told me. To Sally she said, “Ready?” and all four of them took off toward the night sky.