Trina made a disapproving noise. He expected her to come out with the “you gotta know when to say no” speech, but she didn’t. She seemed transfixed with her cards. In front of her was a jack that had blue skin. Next to that, overtop like a barrier, was a bunch of swords. Beside that one was a black dragon.
“Wait. What’s that?” Sully asked.
“That’s what’s been in the past,” she said, referring to the dragon. She flipped over another card and put it on the other side. “And this is what’s in your future.”
Sully stifled a gasp when it was a hand on fire. The Flame was written underneath. “What is this deck? This isn’t like any tarot cards I’ve seen.”
“It’s not. It’s a deck made by an elemental guy who circulates them when he can. Each deck is different. I think this is his twenty-fifth now? Wait, I know how to be sure.” Trina shifted through the cards, then produced one that said The Moon. “Yes, twenty-five. You can tell by how many moons he crams onto this card.”
Sully only glanced at the card. It was drawn in the same style as the others. He got up and walked around to Trina’s side to get a better view. When The Judge appeared under the black dragon card, Sully couldn’t contain his surprise.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m telling your future. Want to see the next card?”
“No.” Sully grasped Trina’s hand. “What are these cards? What do they mean beyond the reading you’re doing?”
“The cards are just fun time killers. Like your translations. The Flame card is supposed to be the elemental guy. His name is… Nat? Yeah, Nat. I always want to call him Nate, though.”
“Fuck.”
“What? I think Nate sounds better.” Trina made a face. “Wait. You’re getting weird. I mean, you’re always a little weird, but you’re—”
“This is Chip’s ex. Nat. The Flame. That was who he was upset over. He says he’s dead because of him.”
Trina’s blue eyes doubled in size. Then she smiled even wider. “Oh my God. See? My cards knew the way. This is exactly your future. Your past. And now what you’re going toward in your future. We have to see.”
“No.” Sully shook his head. His heart leapt into his throat. He didn’t want to see the future. Only the present moment mattered. “Please, Trina, no. There are some things I want to wait on.”
Trina slipped her hand over the top card. She gazed from the card to Sully and back again before sighing. “Man, you have some self-control.”
“Thank you for not looking. I just… I just want to find my book.”
Trina glanced at the publication information again. She nodded to herself and turned around to gather some things from her small cabinet. The CD started again at the beginning, and she mouthed the words to “When Doves Cry” as she worked. Sully stared at the cards, shock rushing through him. Chip was telling the truth. Not that he’d doubted him—but the story was a big deal. It was… the actual stuff of legends. So what kind of vampire was he? What had he come from to warrant cards like this?
“Here you go.” Trina placed a small bag in front of him. “Keep that under your pillow and your dreams will lead you to what you want.”
“I… I don’t know if that’s the best way to get the book.”
“Trust me, okay? These spells are based on desire. Even if you’re having a nightmare, it will sense that you need something to save you. And the book will come to you. Huzzah.” Trina snapped her fingers in time to the music. “Simple as pie.”
Sully swallowed. “It’ll bring me only the book? Or is it anything I desire?”
“Oh, what do you have in mind?”
“Nothing.” He shook off his concern and placed the bag in his pocket. Love spells didn’t work. Besides, he’d take the first edition of The Night Walkers over love any day. “Thank you.”
“Not at all. You need me to fix you anything to sleep?”
Sully didn’t want to admit to that weakness, but he nodded. He didn’t have to use it to get to sleep tonight, but if he wanted to, it would be there. Trina didn’t take long to prepare another bag filled with herbs. She labeled it with a blue moon sticker so he wouldn’t get them confused.
“There,” she said, handing it over. “Anything else?”
“Um. Is there… are there any cards about vampires?”
Trina laughed. “Oh. Your boy. You think he’s in the deck?”
“No. I just… I want to understand.”
“We can turn over the next card. See what it says?”
Sully shook his head, but he couldn’t take his eyes off of it.
“Well, while you try and decide, I’m going to tell you what I know, okay? Because there are a lot of cards in this deck, and I have a feeling Chip hasn’t seen this in a while, because he’s getting the story wrong.”
“He is? What one?”
“All of it. He was upset in your meeting, which means he probably thinks something is going wrong. The underground network is falling apart. Blah, blah, blah.”
“He was worried about the workers. There have been a lot dying. Young ones. Cupids.”
“I know. We know. Not everyone makes it here safely. But there’s hope. There’s always so much hope in these decks, which is why they were made and why I like them. Imogen’s here, you know.”
“She is?”
“In the deck. She used to be The Empress, but now she’s The World. I won’t take off the top card, but I’ll show you since you never wanted to meet her.”
“Okay….”
Trina searched and searched the deck, only to end on the card at the top. The World was the next one; it was the future for Sully. There was no getting around it.
“It’s a good card,” Trina said, flipping it over. “Means that the things you want are finally coming to fruition.”
Sully didn’t say anything. At the center of the card, a woman with dark hair held up a world. In the four corners, Artie, Heather, Didi, and Anna were there. All the final safe houses in the network, created for people to get out of the world of sex trafficking and into something better.
“I’m already safe, though,” Sully said. “This card makes no sense to me. And I don’t want the world. I’m not Atlas carrying it around on my shoulders. It’s what Artie tells us not to do. It’s why she does what she does. We’re not—”
“I know. We’re not gods so we don’t need to bear the burden. That’s why someone else is holding it. Not you,” Trina said. “But these cards for our future often don’t make sense until later on. Let me shuffle them again. I’ll put them away, so you don’t need to dwell.”
Sully nodded. He watched keenly as Trina put all of them away, leaving The Flame card until last.
“You don’t know, do you?”
“Know what?” Sully said.
“The actual story behind the Judge and his Flame.”
“I don’t really follow tabloids. And Chip only gave me snippets.”
Trina smirked and shuffled the cards aimlessly. “Well, I can’t say for sure either. Sources get mangled in all of this, but I know what these cards say and I can sense the electricity in the air. The flowers that still bloom outside the park, even when it gets too cold at night. These are good omens, Sully. And it all leads to one thing.”
Sully waited a beat. Another. She was being too dramatic again, but he was on the edge of his seat. “What?”
“You really don’t know?”
“What, Trina? I’m getting sick of this runaround. Just tell me what you mean.”
“The Flame’s alive, Sully. He didn’t die. Neither did the Judge. They just went underground, and now they’re helping us.”
Chapter 18
IT RAINED for the next two days. When Chaz finally arrived at Artie’s place, Tabby was at the front desk. Her long black hair was twisted in braids, and she wore a striped top with her skirt. When she smiled, her candy-red lips parted to reveal teeth that were spread far apart at the front.
“Yes?”
�
��I need to see Sully.”
“He’s not working tonight.”
“I have something for him.”
“I can keep it for you,” Tabby said and gestured behind the desk. “In a basket right here. It’s where all the gifts go. But if someone has a red dot on their name for the night, it means they don’t work.”
Chaz’s stomach twisted into a knot. After the long day he had, he wasn’t sure if he could walk away from Sully so easily. And that thought scared him more than he wanted to admit. “Can you call him? I know he’s in his room. If he says no, I’ll leave—I promise.”
Tabby gave him an odd look. Her eyes were as large as marbles. Chaz wondered what kind of creature she was, or if she was, like Sully, a human. When she picked up the phone, he let out a breath.
“Thank you.”
Tabby didn’t meet his eyes. She dialed a number and spoke in a hushed tone. Artie, not Sully, appeared two minutes later. She wore a long dress. One side of her chest was flat, something that Chaz had never noticed before. Breast cancer? Had she removed it to beat a disease? Artie’s transition from sex worker to madam took on a sudden clarity. He wondered if she, or anyone else he knew, had ever visited the monster hospital they’d uncovered.
“What can I do for you today, Chip?”
“I’d like to see Sully.”
“I can give you someone else’s blood tonight. How is that for a compromise?”
“Oh.” Chaz shook his head, not even remotely hungry after the huge meal he’d had the last time he was here. “No, I don’t want to drink. I have something for Sully.”
Artie smiled, just barely, when Chaz held out Reggie’s phone. “I will take it to him. When I get there, I’ll ask if he’s up for seeing anyone tonight.”
“Good, okay. Thank you.”
Artie gestured toward the couches at the side, and Chaz took a seat when she disappeared. Artie had a persuasive way about speaking. Her height and lucid, almost deep, sonorous voice made him feel rooted in place. He needed to see Sully—desperately wanted to—but if Artie was the deliveryperson, then he could handle the wait.
A few other men came into Artie’s foyer, so Chaz tried to hide his face behind magazines. He checked each one carefully, but none of these were Desire on Fire or any of the associated companies Chaz had searched. Two days had passed since they’d found the monster hospital and Chaz had retrieved the phone, and most of those days had been spent going over paperwork for all the blood at the scene, coming up with nothing conclusive. A few more names from the back of the Desire on Fire magazines had turned up as missing people or unsolved homicides, but as Declan pointed out, that was common for sex workers. Hardly a conspiracy. The number of vamps who were in that tally, though, made Chaz reconsider breaking out a ball of red string to start connecting the dots. He suddenly wondered if there might be a connection between the men on Reggie’s phone and the men at the back of the magazine from the house, but he pushed the thought away. You’ve had a long day. Everything is scrambled. You need to calm down.
When Sully appeared on the staircase, all of Chaz’s anxiety disappeared. He’d been nervous Sully would reject him tonight. He’d never come to Artie’s on a Wednesday before, so it was very possible the not-working-tonight story had been real. He’d wanted to come sooner to give Sully the phone, but he’d been exhausted the past two nights. He still was now, if he was being honest, but Sully’s presence warmed Chaz’s heart—and made his body respond right away.
Sully rushed over to him, the flip phone in his hand but not turned on. “Is this really it? You got it from him?”
“Yes. It was easier than I thought. He gave it up.”
“And he didn’t send anything out?”
“No. I checked, but I didn’t touch anything on the phone because I wanted you to feel safe. You can see for yourself.”
Sully was shaking. Chaz went to put an arm around him, only to realize his brown coat was so soaked it was nearly black. He glanced over his shoulder and realized there was a gigantic outline where he’d been on the couch.
“Oh shit. I had no idea I was wet.”
“Hmm?” Sully tore his gaze away from the phone to look at the couch. He chuckled. “You do that a lot, you know.”
“I know. It rains so often, I guess I just—”
Sully kissed him. Hot and frantic, it struck Chaz as more than a way to get him to shut up. Chaz barely grasped onto Sully’s shirt for balance before he pulled away. Chaz could feel Tabby’s stare, along with Artie’s.
“What… what was that for?”
“A thank-you. I’m just so relieved.”
“You thank everyone who helps you by kissing them?”
“No. I do other things.” Sully grinned and his voice took on that sultry tone that struck Chaz in his groin. His skin flamed with desire, then chilled as he still remembered the rain-soaked clothing he was in.
“I… I should get out of this,” Chaz said. “At least I know why no one let me upstairs.”
“Well, I’m not actually working tonight. But you can come up and change if you want. And I’ll clean the couch later. Or someone will—like Trina. She’s been shirking her duty, so maybe. I’m just so grateful.” Sully smiled again, his eyes alight, and grabbed Chaz’s hand. “Come with me.”
Chaz squeezed Sully’s hand and allowed himself to be led to an elevator at the back of the first floor. Sully stepped inside and shut the door tight. He turned to Chaz and held up the phone again. “So you’ve checked it?”
“I have,” Chaz repeated. He had a feeling Sully still needed to hear the details in order to feel safe, so Chaz went over the meeting with Reggie the best he could. “He was working for the tabloids. Not a gang, like I was worried. He was taking the photos so he could jerk off later because he’s stuck in a car long hours. He didn’t send it. He had no data plan to send anything digital. You’re safe. You’re fine. I promise you.”
“You can’t promise me my safety at all times.”
“But from Reggie, I can.”
“Sure. Fine. He can’t come back here anyway,” Sully said, worrying his lip. “But he works for the tabloids?”
“And he keeps up with the Citizen’s Brigade.”
“So he wants nothing to do with humans? He only sells monster stories?”
“Basically yes,” Chaz said. When the elevator got to the fourth floor, Sully made no attempt to get out. He still stared at the black screen. “Why don’t you turn it on and see for yourself?”
“No. I trust you.” Sully turned around and opened the elevator door. To Chaz’s surprise, he held the phone over the crack between the floor and the elevator and let it drop. Chaz gasped. They were both quiet as the phone fell and cracked at the bottom. The acoustics were incredible as it smashed.
“There. No way it survived that.” Sully beamed. He let out a breath that sounded like a sob, which soon turned into a laugh. “Maybe not the best way to solve that issue—”
“You know, I probably would have done the same thing.”
“Good. Now come to my room.”
Sully held his hand out so the elevator door didn’t shut, then guided Chaz down the hallway to his room. Sully’s desk was covered with sheets of paper and a dozen books, all marked on different pages. The stereo in the corner blinked a paused time. Sully’s bed was messy, more books stacked on the sidelines, as if he hadn’t gotten out of bed all day except to listen to music and read. There was something so simple and romantic about that, it made Chaz’s heart swell.
“Should I sit… or…?”
“Right. Your clothing. Here. I have some stuff that’s probably in your size.” Sully opened the mirrored closet doors and took out several shirts that clearly wouldn’t fit himself. “I’ve washed these, don’t worry. But they were from old customers who left them here.”
“Thanks. I don’t mind.”
Chaz shucked off his shirt and gave it to Sully. He added it to a small bin of laundry in the corner, followed by his pants. Chaz w
asn’t sure if he should keep his boxers on. Since it was only the edge of his pants that had been wet, he didn’t bother stripping down right away. The thought of changing in front of Sully should have been arousing, but it was more comforting than anything.
Sully was sitting on his bed by the time Chaz was done and gestured to his chair. “Or you can sit here, with me?” Sully asked.
“I prefer being with you. Feels like a long time.”
“Days pass differently depending on what you’ve been doing. But I like having you close.”
As soon as Chaz sat down, Sully turned to meet his gaze. Another playful smile danced on his lips, which soon turned into a kiss that was more than a frantic thank-you. Sully closed the distance between their bodies, grasping on to Chaz’s arm as he did. Chaz opened his mouth for Sully to deepen the kiss, adding their tongues together. Chaz breathed in all of Sully: from his minty shampoo to his body’s scent down to the taste of chocolate and coffee on his tongue. Chaz consumed all of it, every last heady and thick sensation.
When Sully pressed Chaz into the bed, straddling his waist, he allowed himself to be dominated. He was hard in a matter of seconds and couldn’t help but buck into Sully’s body. Sully explored Chaz’s sides and stomach, pulling up the shirt. Sully laughed into the kiss before he broke it and ran his tongue along Chaz’s chin to his ear.
“I hate to get you dressed and then take it all off again,” Sully said. “But do you want to?”
Chaz’s head screamed yes. His hand hit a book on Sully’s bed, though, and he paused. “I thought you weren’t working tonight? Am I cramping your study time?”
“Not at all. And I owe you one.”
“Owe me one for…?”
“The phone.”
“Oh. So this would be… free?”
Sully nodded and kissed up Chaz’s jawline again. “What do you say?”
“Um.” Chaz bit his lip, unsure what the proper etiquette would be. One thing he’d always liked about Artie was her sense of decorum about the payment. It was always done at the front, with cash or plastic, and not with the worker involved. So the time together felt more romantic, less like a transaction. But he hadn’t given Artie his credit card. She may have already had the number, but he hadn’t put in a time request either. With Sully rocking into him, both of them already hard, it was too difficult to focus on the merits of free service. “You don’t owe me anything. I got the phone because I wanted to help you.”
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