A Forced Disappearance: A Lawson Vampire Mission (The Lawson Vampire Series)
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“There’s nothing you could have done,” said Arthur. “They killed her before we were even ready to mobilize.”
“I know,” said Belladonna. “But that doesn’t make it any easier to take.”
“You told me you’ve lost apprentices before,” I said. “Is that why you kept Megan a secret from us?”
“A lady needs her backup plans,” said Megan.
“Would have been nice if she’d told us about her precautions though,” I said.
“Too risky,” said Belladonna. “I’m sorry I kept you both in the dark, but it was for good reason. If they’d known about Megan, they might have gone after her as well. You’re not mad, are you?”
I looked at her and sighed. “Nah.”
“Good.”
“But I am hungry,” I said. “Tell me you know of some place around here that serves a kick-ass breakfast.”
“As a matter of fact,” said Belladonna. “I do.” She frowned. “But don’t you and the old man here need to get back to Boston before you’re missed?”
I shrugged. “I think we can afford breakfast. What about you, Arthur?”
“I think that will be fine.”
He helped Belladonna to her feet and when he did, she hugged me. “I can’t thank you enough for everything you’ve done for me, Lawson.”
I smiled. “It was my honor to help. But aren’t you worried about your Council investigating Kaesun? You could be punished for what you did.”
She shook her head. “I’m not worried. Kaesun wasn’t well liked. When word gets out of his betrayal, everything should work out fine.”
I turned to Megan and held out my hand. “Hell of a job you did, helluva job.”
She hugged me instead. “I’m just glad it all worked out.”
Her embrace was warm and reminded me of the gratitude I feel every time I’m able to help someone. Or put away another bad guy.
The sun rose higher in the sky. The world still had a lot of bad people in it, but I was fortunate enough to be in the company of some of the best just then. Together, we set off across the rocks, back toward civilization.
Where we would demolish a whole lot of pancakes.
As we walked, I looked at Arthur. “You still have the Cloak, right?”
“Of course.”
“Good, because if we don’t hurry up and get to Boston, I’m going to need it on a permanent basis. Niles is going to be really pissed off.”
Arthur grinned. “We’ve got a long drive back. I’m sure you’ll come up with something to tell him.”
“Maybe I’ll just tell him the truth,” I said.
“You do that,” said Arthur. “And you’re going to have yourself a new name, mate.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah,” said Arthur. “Mud.”
Also by Jon F. Merz
The Fixer: A Lawson Vampire Novel
The Invoker: A Lawson Vampire Novel
The Destructor: A Lawson Vampire Novel
The Syndicate: A Lawson Vampire Novel
The Price of a Good Drink: A Lawson Vampire Story
The Courier: A Lawson Vampire Mission
The Kensei: A Lawson Vampire Novel
Enemy Mine: A Lawson Vampire Story
The Ripper: A Lawson Vampire Novel
The Crucible: A Lawson Vampire Novel
Incident at Palmyra: A Lawson Vampire Mission
The Shepherd: A Lawson Vampire Mission
Mission: Malta: A Lawson Vampire Mission
The Enchanter: A Lawson Vampire Novel
A Fog Of Fury: A Lawson Vampire Mission
The Infiltrator: A Lawson Vampire Mission