by Lisa Olsen
“That was close, I don’t think he saw us though,” I whispered. While we watched, another man joined him, a guy I’d never seen before. They shook hands, but Rob didn’t seem to be on very friendly terms with him, despite the guy’s prominent smile.
“What are we doing hiding? Isn’t that the guy you came into the police station with before? Or do you not want him to see you steppin’ out with this guy?” Mathis chuckled.
“Shh!” I shot him a deadly look, but the detective was blasé about my concern.
“Relax, they can’t hear us.”
“You don’t know that.”
“Trust me, if I can’t hear them, they can’t hear us,’ he said with utter confidence and I had to take him at his word that a werewolf’s hearing was sharper than mine. “Anyways, I don’t think he’s worried about much more than his next fix.”
“What are you talking about?”
“That guy he’s meeting with is a specialty dealer. Whatever he’s looking to score is the only thing he’s thinking about right now. Why do you think I chose this location? This is the place to go if you don’t want to be seen by the cops, all the supes know about it. There ain’t a surveillance camera around for blocks.”
“He’s not on drugs,” I hissed, keeping my voice down despite the assurance that we couldn’t be heard.
“Are you sure?” Carter said from over my shoulder. “Looks to me like he’s got the shakes.”
There was a definite tremor to his hands as money was exchanged for a small box, but maybe that was a case of nerves? Maybe he was buying information, like I was? Or some kind of a special gun? A specialty dealer didn’t have to mean drugs. Rob shattered those slivers of hope a second later when he tore into the box and downed the contents of a tiny vial, a shudder going through his body as he swallowed.
The dealer slunk off in the direction of the stairs, leaving Rob, who slumped against the car, the heel of his hand pressed against his eye socket. Whatever it was packed a big punch.
“I gotta jet, some of us have work to do,” Mathis declared, stepping out from behind the column to approach the elevator, not even glancing in Rob’s direction. Rob didn’t look up at the movement either.
“Come on,” Carter touched my elbow, but I didn’t move. I couldn’t. My mind was spinning off in too many directions at once, trying to make sense of what I’d seen. Rob wasn’t a drug addict. He never seemed spacey or out of it. Sure, he’d been irritable lately, but that was only stress, I was sure of it. Carter didn’t say a word, he merely fell silent, stoically waiting for me to snap out of it.
As we watched, Rob pocketed the rest of whatever was in the box and started for the elevator, his gait steady, no sign of weaving or intoxication. The instant the elevator doors slid shut, I made a beeline for the stairs, putting on a burst of speed so that I got to the ground level before Rob did. Carter arrived by my side a split second later with a soft rush of air, but I didn’t acknowledge him, my attention wholly riveted to the ding from the elevator.
When Rob stepped out, I waited what I thought was a decent interval before I started after him, doing my best to keep him in my line of vision but stay out of sight. Suddenly I had to know what those errands were that kept him busy so many nights. It didn’t seem likely he was headed back to the office or his garage to tinker with cars.
“Don’t you think we have more important things to do right now than follow your boyfriend?” Carter asked, falling into step beside me.
“Nobody’s asking you to tag along,” I scowled, darting into a nearby doorway to keep out of sight.
Carter plucked me from my hiding spot by the elbow, pulling me along with him as he continued down the street. “He’s going to spot you if you keep skulking around like that. Walk like a normal person.” Tucking my arm into his, he started down the street again.
“Well, excuse me if I don’t have all that much experience following people,” I said, hating how my voice wavered. I couldn’t shake the feeling that Rob was up to something pretty bad to be meeting with drug dealers in the middle of the night, and when he switched directions to the docks, I knew I was right. The neighborhood turned even sketchier, and I recognized the street I’d first seen Jimmy the friendly pimp on. We were in Rob’s hunting territory.
“You’re doing fine. He’s not even looking up from the sidewalk,” Carter encouraged, slowing us down as Rob started to slow up ahead. “Except for now.” Rob had stopped at the corner, looking up and down the street. Carter stepped in front of me, shielding most of my body from Rob’s view without skipping a beat. His laughter echoed all around us.
“What the heck are you laughing about?” I whispered, ducking my head out of sight.
“Normal people laugh when they’re out for a stroll with a pretty girl. Now it’s your turn. Laugh at what I said.”
I let out a shrill, completely fake sounding laugh, cringing even as I did it. But I’d been so worried that Rob might recognize my normal laugh, I’d entered into one of those falsetto lady voices they did on Monty Python.
“Wow, you are super awesome at this,” Carter deadpanned, and I slugged him in the shoulder, hard. “Good hit,” he smiled genuinely this time. “If he’s even looking at us he’ll just think I said something smarmy.”
Sliding over a few inches, I peeped over the top of his shoulder to see Rob had moved on, completely ignoring us as he strode up to a car that had pulled up. The second the door cracked open, he yanked it wide the rest of the way, grabbing the guy inside. There was a low protest, and then nothing as Rob put the whammy on the guy. Compelled, the man followed him off the main street, around the corner toward the water.
“Let’s go,” I said, starting off after them, and Carter kept pace beside me.
“You know what he’s going to do now. Is this something I need to be involved in?”
“He probably hasn’t fed for the night yet, and he needs a snack. He’s a newbie.”
“Should he be feeding on his own then?”
That was one thing I didn’t have to sweat over. “You don’t have to worry about Rob, he’s made of control. He’s been feeding on his own almost from the first week,” I replied with confidence. I was more worried that this was another one of those clandestine meetings, and I wanted to get close enough to hear what was said.
If there were any words exchanged between the men we were too late to hear it. By the time they came into view again, Rob had the man pressed up against a decrepit shed, mouth clamped on his neck. “See, just feeding.” The count started in my head out of habit as Carter busied himself keeping a look out for anyone else happening by. Rob had picked a pretty deserted spot though. It made sense if this was his usual feeding spot.
Any moment now and he’d stop, I told myself, the count entering the red zone. Why didn’t he stop?
“He’s kinda pushing it, isn’t he?” Carter bristled beside me and I grabbed hold of his arm to keep him from doing anything rash.
“He knows what he’s doing.” I couldn’t let Rob know I was there, he’d ask what I was doing out alone and I sure as heck couldn’t introduce him to Carter.
And still Rob drank.
“Anja…”
“He’ll stop any second now.”
And still Rob drank.
“That’s it, I’m gonna stop him before he kills that guy. It might already be too late.” He started forward and I twisted his arm, pulling him into an effective lock.
“Be still,” I ordered, holding Carter with my will as well as my strength. “He’ll stop. He’ll do the right thing. I know he will.”
Only he didn’t. As we watched, the man slumped to the ground, unmoving. Rob swiped at his mouth, and then dumped the body into the bay after weighing it down with a heavy chain used to moor ships. He did these things with unhurried movements, no sign of distress or worry over what he’d done – by all actions a smooth, coldhearted killer. When he was finished, Rob drove off in the guy’s car without a care in the world.
; I could not have been more surprised if he’d embraced me and whispered Hail Hydra in my ear. I felt like I was going to be sick. How could this be the same man I shared my bed with day after day? The man who brought me hot cocoa without asking and rubbed my feet when I was tired? What else was Rob mixed up in? Was this an isolated incident, or would I find a pile of bodies at the foot of that pier?
“I need to go,” I murmured, letting go of Carter.
“What happened to rooting out violence?” he spat out bitterly. “It looks like you need a good housecleaning at home before you start anywhere else.”
“Shut up.” I couldn’t think, it was all too much. Carter clammed up, frozen in the same position I’d left him in, and I realized I still had him compelled. His eyes bulged at me, he knew what I’d done to him, and had trouble believing it from the looks of it. “I’m sorry. Forget about what you saw Rob do here tonight and forget I compelled you. I don’t want to talk about any of it ever again. After we left the parking garage we went for a walk and ended up here, but that’s all you remember. Do you understand?”
“I understand,” he nodded blankly, and I breathed a sigh of relief.
“I need to get home. You get started tracking, but don’t kill anyone,” I added quickly. I shuddered to think what would’ve happened if he’d stumbled upon Rob’s feeding without me there.
“Hey, I can’t make any promises.”
“Don’t kill anyone!” I sent out another burst of compulsion. “If you identify anyone who’s a danger to humans, contact me and we’ll handle it together.”
“Together,” he smiled, coming out of the daze. “You got it, sunshine.”
* * *
I had to wonder – if I hadn’t followed Rob that night and seen firsthand what he was up to, would I have noticed when he came in through the back door reeking of blood? Probably not. Most nights I spent holed up in my study, either engrossed in work or sneaking in a couple of hours of reading. With so many people living in the house, I didn’t give comings and goings a second thought.
But I was extremely attuned to Rob’s arrival that night, still debating whether or not I should confront him about what I’d seen. He went straight for the bathroom and the shower turned on seconds later. I followed him down, my steps slow, as if I was headed for my own execution.
I didn’t know what to say or how to say it, I wasn’t even sure if I could bring it up at all. All I could do was hope there was something in his eyes or manner that would allow me the opportunity to ask him what had happened.
The bathroom door was locked.
He never locked the door. Not even when he was a human and did things in the bathroom that required more privacy. In fact, he teased me for locking the door sometimes when I took a bath.
Pressing my ear to the door, I couldn’t hear much more than normal showering sounds, the tang of blood fading as he washed off. Taking a chance, I rapped my knuckles against the door. “Hey, is everything okay in there?” I called out. There was no immediate response, even though I knew he could hear me, and I was considering knocking again when he replied.
“Be out in a jiff.”
I paced the room, hugging my elbows tight. Maybe I was making a bigger deal of it than I should be? What if there was a reasonable explanation for his actions? Finally the door opened, and Rob stepped out, smelling of soap and aftershave. There was no sign of his bloody clothes, all he wore was a towel slung around his hips.
“Feel a powerful need to bathe, do you?” he asked with a half smile.
“No, I was surprised to find the door locked is all. Usually you don’t mind the company.”
“Sorry, didn’t realize it was locked ’til you said something.” He shrugged it off. “You done working for the night?”
“Yes, I’m not sure I can get anything else done tonight.” Not a lie… “It was a busy night though, I’m pretty tired. How about you? Busy night?”
“Naw, I ain’t all that tired. I’d be happy to wash your back if you feel like a bath after all.” He sent me a heated look that still turned my insides all jumbly despite the fact that I was so upset. Part of me really wanted to take him up on it and forget about what I’d seen that night like I’d compelled Carter to do, but instead I shook my head.
“No, I think that’d put me to sleep.” Still, I went into the bathroom to brush my teeth, though actually what I was doing was spying, trying to find his bloody clothes. Rob left me to it, pulling on a pair of boxers in the other room while I brushed and searched.
I struck paydirt when I looked in the hamper. His clothes were rolled up into a ball and sopping wet from his attempts to rinse them out, but I could still smell the blood embedded in the fabric. Enough of it to bring the memory of the man’s lifeless body slumping to the ground back to the forefront of my thoughts.
“What did you get up to tonight?” I called out.
“Not much, a few errands. Nipped round to the hospital to meet a fella about arranging for another shipment of bagged blood to set us up for a while.”
It didn’t match his bloody evening one bit, and I fought to keep the skepticism from my voice as I held up his sodden jeans for him to see. “What happened, did he spill some free samples on your clothes?”
“What you going on about now?” he scowled, yanking them out of my hand and tossing them back into the hamper.
“Rob, you can’t fool a vampire when it comes to blood. What happened tonight? Did you get hurt?” It wasn’t hard to inject a note of concern into my voice, I was crazy concerned about him, just not the way I made it sound.
“No, that ain’t my blood, I’m fine.”
I waited, but he didn’t elaborate, instead he went to the record player and switched it on. Did he seriously think he could distract me with Nina Simone? “Whose blood is it then?”
“Come and dance with me,” he said, stretching out his hand in invitation.
I couldn’t let it go now. I’d already waded in too deep, it was time to dive into the rest of it. “No, I don’t feel a whole heck of a lot like dancing. Would you just tell me what happened? You’re kind of freaking me out here.”
“Ain’t nothing to fret over, it’s all well and good,” he soothed, using that tone of voice on me he used to calm Leila when she went into one of her spooky moods. His hands skimmed up my arms, but I recognized it for the distraction technique that it was.
“Rob… whose blood is it?”
His jaw tightened and he looked away. I thought for a moment he might walk away, but then he offered me a grim smile. “I didn’t want to worry you as all. I went hunting today and caught m’self a bleeder. He didn’t make it. Wasn’t nothing I could do about it, it all went sixes and sevens and he up and died before I could so much as blink.”
Was that what had happened? I replayed the memory, trying to review it under the new light he shed upon it. I knew how freaked out I’d been when Evan had bled out, and I remembered how quickly it’d spiraled out of control. I hadn’t seen Rob frantically trying to revive the guy, but then again, he wasn’t likely to panic as easily as I was. More than likely he’d recognized it for what it was and dealt with the consequences with the same amount of self control he usually displayed.
“Oh, Rob, I’m so sorry, that’s awful. Who was he?”
“Not to worry, I took care of it.” He kissed my forehead, as if that was the end of the discussion. “How about that dance now?”
This time I let him gather me into his arms, laying my head against his shoulder as we swayed to the music. I suppose it made sense why he didn’t want to talk about it. There was nothing either one of us could do about it now, but it bothered me that he’d tried to shoulder the burden alone.
“Rob, is everything alright?” I asked softly, my head still on his shoulder.
“Course it is. Why wouldn’t it be?”
Because I want to know what kind of drugs you’re on and I’d kinda like to know what else you’re keeping from me… I wanted to say, but I couldn’t
ask him about the drugs without admitting to following him. And I couldn’t admit to following him without revealing my arrangement with Carter, which would no doubt send him off the deep end with how hot his temper was running lately.
“No reason,” I murmured, closing my eyes as we danced together.
Chapter Seventeen
The door opened, and Bishop didn’t bother to look away from his computer, the columns of numbers on the screen absorbing the whole of his concentration. People came and went all the time, picking things up, dropping things off. Though he was used to a knock first, he hadn’t given the lack of one a second thought. He’d almost forgotten there was still someone in the room when the familiar voice demanded his full attention.
“I require your assistance.”
His eyes closed just long enough for a few choice swear words in the sanctity of his mind before he turned to Jakob with a deceptively tepid smile. “They say if you live long enough you’ll see everything. What could you possibly need my help with? And don’t say Anja. I haven’t spoken to her in months.”
That wasn’t strictly true. They’d been corresponding regularly, he simply hadn’t allowed himself the sweet torture of her voice, figuring his longing would fade in time. So far it hadn’t.
Ignoring his sarcasm, Jakob forged on. “I wish you to find Carys.”
Bishop turned back to his computer. “Not interested. Sorry you had to come all this way, but I’m done with that part of my life. Good luck though, you crazy kids deserve each other.”
“It makes little difference to me where your interests lie. You will assist me in this because I command it.”
The sheer amount of condescending self-entitlement in Jakob’s voice made the vein in his head feel like it was about to explode, but Bishop struggled to keep a civil tone. “I can’t do that, I have a job to do here. A job you insisted I take, as I recall it. Otherwise I’d be…” in San Francisco, with a front row seat to Anja’s happy new life. He wasn’t sure if that was better or worse.