“More notifications.” She looked up at him. “Someone must be at my house.”
“Tap on the notification. It’ll bring up the app and give you an option to view it.”
She did as he said. The first screen that came up was the front door. She hit play, and the night vision picked up a figure dressed in dark colors, though a hoodie obscured most of his face.
“I think someone’s trying to break into my house.” She showed Pierce.
“Anyone you recognize?”
“No. Hang on. I’ll play the next one.” That one showed the man trying the door into the garage. But the angle was about the same, making it impossible to get a good look at the guy’s face. If it was a guy. The body shape seemed to fit.
“Anything from the back porch?” Temo asked.
She nodded. “That’s the last notification that came in. He must be trying all the doors.” She tapped the button to play that one and watched.
She shook her head. “That hoodie is making it impossible to see what he—”
The figure looked up, enough that his face was plainly visible.
She gasped and almost dropped the phone. “No freakin’ way. No freakin’ way.”
“Who is it?” Neo asked.
Donna lifted her head to look at her, shocked to the core. “It’s Joe. My dead husband.”
Chapter Twelve
Donna replayed the video two more times. Her hand shook with anger as she pressed play for a third viewing. “How is this possible?” She growled. “I know how. He faked his death. That freakin’ piece of lying garbage faked his death.”
Pierce had already called for the check and handed over his credit card. The server returned, and he quickly signed his name on the receipt and pocketed his copy. “All right,” he said. “We can go.”
They left Rigby’s behind and went outside.
“I’m gonna walk,” Neo said. “I’m not far from here, and you all need to get back. Donna, you let me know what I can do to help, and I’m there.”
“Thanks, I will.” She gave Neo a hug. “And thank you again for your help tonight. Talk to you soon.”
“You know it.” She gave Temo a little smile. “See you later.”
He grinned. “Later.”
But his smile vanished with Neo, and he was back to business as they headed for the car. “Where do you want to go, boss? Your old house or the penthouse?”
“The penthouse. There’s nothing I can do at my old house. And Charlie’s waiting on me to deal with this sanctuary issue.” But her attention was solely focused on the appearance of Joe, not the situation waiting for her at the penthouse.
Pierce put his arm around her. “You okay? I know you’re mad. How do you want to handle this?”
She couldn’t do anything but stare straight ahead and fantasize about all the ways she wanted to do Joe in. “I want to kill him. He’s supposed to be dead.”
“I know.”
She clenched her hands to stop the shaking. “Isn’t there a statute of limitations on that? Couldn’t I kill him and not get in trouble for it because he’s already legally dead?”
“It doesn’t work that way.”
“Well, it should.” She pressed her fists into her thighs. “He’s not getting away with this.”
“He won’t. You going to talk to Rico?”
“I have to.” She finally managed to break out of her rage-induced fixation to look at Pierce. “Who did I bury? Who was in that casket?”
“I have no idea. Not Joe, apparently.”
“Yeah. Not Joe.” She grimaced. “You don’t think he became a vampire too?”
“Did he look like he’d benefitted from some kind of supernatural change like that?”
She thought about the image of him in that camera. “No. He looked the same.”
“Then he’s probably not a vampire.”
“That’s something, I guess.”
They got in the car, and Temo leaned back to speak to her. “Boss? You can email those videos to Rico if you want to.”
“I can? How?”
“See that little tab at the top of the—yeah, right there. Tap that and it opens up a menu. Tap share and select email.”
“Perfect. Thank you. I’m sending these to Rico right now.” While she typed in the message, Temo got them on the road toward home. She read over what she’d written, then hit send. Done, she turned to Pierce again. “I want to talk to him first.”
Pierce frowned. “You want to talk to Joe?”
She nodded. “I do. I want to have it out with him, say everything to him I’ve ever wanted to say. Then the feds can have him. But I get my chance with him first.”
“I’m sure Rico can arrange something.”
“Maybe.” She stared out the window. “Watch. The feds will arrest him, he’ll decide to flip, and he’ll be the one who ends up in WITSEC. Probably in Florida.” She turned back toward Pierce, pointing her finger at her own chest. “I was supposed to be the one with a condo in the panhandle. Not that loser.”
Pierce chuckled. “I think you’re getting a little ahead of yourself.”
She slumped back in the seat. “Yeah, maybe.”
“Look, you have every right to be angry. But this isn’t going to end well for him. You have video evidence of him now. His get-out-of-jail-free card is gone.”
“I hope so.”
“The good news is, you don’t live in that house anymore, so he can’t bother you.”
She straightened. Slouching was no good for the suit anyway. “That’s true.” She exhaled a long, exhausted breath. “I just thought I was done with him. That the Villachi chapter of my life was just about closed.”
“It will be. Soon.”
Temo grinned at her from the driver’s seat, his smile visible in the rearview mirror. “Pretty sure the Russian chapter’s closed, boss.”
She smiled back. “I think so too. Just as soon as Pierce gets the money sent to them. Then that’s that.”
Temo nodded. “You really have four million dollars to send them?”
“Yes, but only because they gave it to my husband in the first place. I didn’t know where it came from until they sent one of their lunks to try to intimidate me and get it back.”
“That’s the guy you…” Temo hesitated.
“Drained to death?” she finished for him. “Yep, that’s the guy. Wasn’t intentional. But yes, he’s the one who led to everything that happened between me and Claudette. Ultimately, I guess I have the Russians to thank for my new position as vampire governor of New Jersey. How funny is that?”
“If only they knew.” Temo chuckled. “You gonna tell your not-so-dead husband what happened to you?”
“No. The less Joe knows about my new life, the better. Because trust me, if there’s a way for him to use something to his advantage, he’ll do it.”
Her phone chimed. “Hang on.” She looked at the screen. A text from Rico.
Joe’s alive??? You safe?
Yes. And yes. Moved to the governor’s penthouse, remember?
Right. We’ll talk in the morning. On stakeout. Need radio silence. Good?
She typed back, Good. She wasn’t in the mood to discuss the problem named Joe right now anyway.
She glanced at Pierce. “That reminds me. I absolutely have to talk to my kids. I’m not going to tell them about Joe just yet, but they definitely need to know what’s going on in my life. I know I said I was going to do it in person, but I’m thinking a call might be the best I can do right now.”
“They’ll understand,” Pierce said.
“I hope they do.” She rested her elbow on the armrest and leaned her head into her hand. The adrenaline rush of dealing with the Russians and then seeing Joe had worn off, leaving her with an odd, melancholy feeling and a touch of fatigue.
She stayed that way until they reached the penthouse. Temo dropped them at the lobby, then went to park the car in the garage.
As she and Pierce rode the elevator up,
Donna sent Charlie a text to let her know they’d arrived.
Charlie sent a quick note back. In the conference room next to the office.
Donna let Pierce know as they got off the elevator and went into the penthouse. “Charlie’s in the conference room, so I’m headed there.”
“Right behind you. Unless you need me to do something else.”
“No, I’m good. Time to see what this sanctuary request is all about.”
But Charlie met them in the hall. “How did everything go?”
Donna nodded. “Great. All things considered.”
Pierce snorted. “She was a rock star. She handled the evening beautifully. I’ll tell you the whole story when we’re through here.”
Charlie smiled, but there was tension in her expression, and it didn’t reach her eyes. “Great.”
“What’s going on?” Donna asked. “You seem shaken, and that feels really unlike you.”
Charlie sighed. “I’ve never had a situation like this before. Maybe best you just come in and hear her out yourself.”
“Her? Okay.” Donna immediately wondered if it was a woman trying to escape her husband, but she knew that was her own history coloring things. “Let’s go.”
Charlie took a breath, then opened the conference room doors. “Governor Barrone, this is Rixaline. She’s half fae. And half vampire. She says that makes her a dhamfir. And she’s come seeking sanctuary.”
Donna’s first thought was how young she looked. And how scared. Rixaline wasn’t sitting in the chair farthest away so much as she was perched on it. Her knees were drawn up to her chest, her hands clutching the ends of the armrests.
A glass of water on the table in front of her looked untouched.
The fae side of her was evident in the razor-blade cheekbones, pointed chin, and angular physique. Her skin wasn’t as dusky as the one fae Donna had seen in person, but she had enough coloring to indicate she wasn’t strictly human. “Hello, Rixaline. I’m Governor Barrone.”
Rixaline nodded, eyes enormous and wide, mouth open as if she wasn’t getting enough air.
“May I ask why you seek sanctuary?”
Her gaze went to Pierce.
Donna held her hand out toward him. “This is my assistant, Pierce. I promise you’re safe here. But you need to talk to me, or I won’t be able to keep you that way.”
More silent seconds ticked by.
Donna tried a different tactic. “How is it that the iron protecting this building doesn’t affect you?”
Rixaline glanced sideways at the walls. “I can feel it, but it’s not painful.”
“I guess that’s your vampire side, hmm? But can you tell me why you seek sanctuary?”
The girl hesitated but finally answered. “They want to kill me.”
Finally. “Who?”
“The fae. King Dredward.”
Donna shook her head. She hadn’t realized the fae had a king. Another subject she needed to educate herself in. “Why would he want to do that?”
“Because,” Charlie said, “she’s half vampire.”
Rixaline nodded. “I am a dhamfir. An abomination.”
“I’m sure you’re not,” Donna said.
“Because of my skills, they gave me a choice,” Rixaline went on. “Help them. Or die.”
Donna took a seat at the far end of the table. “Would you like something to eat? I don’t know about you, but I’ve had a long day, and it’s made me hungry.”
Rixaline seemed to be struggling to answer.
Donna glanced up at Pierce. “How about two glasses of blood? And let’s get a couple pizzas ordered.” She looked at Rixaline. “What do you like on your pizza? I’m a meat-lover girl myself, but I’ll pretty much eat anything covered in cheese.”
Rixaline frowned. “You want to feed me before you know more?”
“You look like you’ve had a genuinely rough go of things. And I’m guessing we have a lot to talk about. So we might as well be comfortable doing it, right? Now, I assume being half vampire that you need blood, but maybe I’m wrong.”
“No,” she said softly. “I need blood. But I can survive longer without it than most.”
“Okay, good to know. And for the pizza? You like pizza, right?”
Rixaline suddenly smiled. Just for a second, like a shooting star flashing through the night sky, then the smile was gone. “Yeah, I like pizza. Any kind.”
“Wonderful,” Pierce said. “I’ll get to work on that.”
Donna looked at Charlie. “Are you taking notes on all this?”
“I can.”
“Join us, then.”
Charlie took a spot on the opposite side of the table from Rixaline but close to Donna.
Donna put her hands on the table and smiled at the girl. “Now, back to you. What do they want you to help with?”
She stared at the glass in front of her. “Hunting down vampires. I refused.”
Donna frowned. “How awful. Of course you refused.” The girl looked young, but Donna wasn’t sure if looks meant anything considering her bloodlines. But in the moment, all Donna could think about was her daughter, Christina, and how she hoped someone would help her if she was ever in a bad way.
Rixaline glanced at Donna. “That’s why the king ordered my death.”
“Well, that’s not going to happen now.”
Pierce came back in with two glasses of blood. He set one in front of Donna and the other in front of Rixaline. “Pizza’s ordered. One meat lovers’, one ham and pineapple with onions, and one with extra cheese.”
Donna gave him a look. “Ham and pineapple?”
“That’s for Temo. But he said he’s happy to share.”
“I’m good.” Donna laughed. “You like pineapple on your pizza, Rixaline?”
“I don’t know. I’ve never had it.”
“Well, if you want to try it, you can.” Donna sipped the blood Pierce had brought her in the hopes that Rixaline would feel comfortable enough to do the same. “I need to ask you some more questions, Rixaline. I hope you understand that.”
She nodded, looking scared again.
“You said something about your skills. Because of them, you were given the choice to help or die. What kind of skills do you have?”
Rixaline carefully took a small taste of the blood in her glass, then swallowed a few big gulps. Almost immediately, some of the greenish-gray left her skin, and a more human tone appeared.
She wiped her hand across her mouth. “I really only have one skill.”
“What is that?”
“I can find anything.”
Chapter Thirteen
Donna shook her head. “Explain.”
Rixaline shrugged. “It’s really as simple as I said. I can find anything, whether it’s lost or not. That’s why they wanted me to help them hunt vampires. And other runaways.”
Donna hadn’t realized the fae had runaways. This conversation was getting pretty interesting. “So you find people, then?”
“Or things. Or animals. Anything.”
Donna sat back. “That’s an amazing skill.”
“I don’t know. Hasn’t done me much good so far.”
“Do they have anyone else with this skill?”
“No.” Rixaline relaxed from her hunched posture and crossed her legs under her. “Probably why they’ve been keeping such a tight rein on me.”
“I’m sure. How did you come to be half fae, half vampire? I’ve never heard of such a mix.”
“Dhamfir. That’s what it’s called.” Rixaline stared at the table again. “My mother, a vampire, was a fae prisoner. She managed to make her guard fall in love with her. It’s said that her beauty was mesmerizing. Once he fell in love with her, he had to protect her. He knew there was no way she’d be set free, so they ended up running away together, but they were pursued, and the guards caught up with them.”
She sniffed. “He sacrificed himself so she could escape. Nine months later, I came along, but the birth went badly,
and she didn’t survive longer than it took to get me to an orphanage and leave a note about my care. That’s how I know I’m named after my father. He was Rix.”
Donna nodded, fascinated, but her heart went out to the poor girl.
“The fae found me in the orphanage and took me in. More out of curiosity than anything else, I think. They made me do a lot of chores. Mostly cleaning.”
Donna’s heart clenched a little more. That didn’t sound like much of a childhood.
“But when I came into my gift, they figured out I could be more useful. Then they gave me the ultimatum. And I ran. Just like my parents.”
“Except,” Charlie said, “you made it here.”
Rixaline nodded. “I overheard some elders talking about what would happen if I ever escaped and asked for sanctuary with the vampires. After that, I could think of nothing else. I started planning my escape that very day.”
“And you did it. You poor, brave girl. How old are you?” Donna asked.
“Seventeen. My gift arrived two years ago.”
Younger than Christina. More vulnerable too. Donna had to protect this child. “Do you have any other living relatives?”
“My father’s people have disowned him. They want nothing to do with me. I wouldn’t want to be with them anyway. And I don’t think my mother had any relatives still alive.”
Donna leaned in. “Those elders you overheard? What were they afraid would happen if you sought sanctuary with the vampires?”
“That the vampires would use me to hunt down King Dredward and eliminate the fae.”
Charlie nodded. “He’s notoriously hard to find.”
“I see.” Donna gave Rixaline a gentle smile. “I assure you we would never force you to do something you don’t want to do.”
“Oh,” Rixaline said. “I think hunting down the fae king and killing him sounds like an awesome idea.”
“Good to know,” Donna answered. She held up a finger. “Excuse us for just a moment, won’t you?” She turned to her admin. “A few minutes of your time outside, please?”
Charlie stood. “Certainly.”
Donna got up. “We won’t be long, Rixaline.”
She and Charlie left, closing the doors behind them. They went into the kitchen, where Temo and Pierce were talking.
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