by Jana Denardo
Arrigo wasn’t in the shop when Luc got there, not that he expected him to be. He hoped Taabu could contact Arrigo for him. Of course now that he was here, it seemed like such a dumb plan. If only he had charged his damn phone, then he wouldn’t have to do nonsense like this. Two people sat in the lobby, one old woman who kept eyeing him like he’d beat her until her face resembled his—crap, did he have blood on his shirt?—and a younger woman who barely looked up from texting as he walked in. Luc sat in one of the comfortable chairs to wait until he could get Taabu’s attention and hope he could convince her he wasn’t a freak out to stalk Arrigo.
He eyed the magazines on the table. He wished he could read better. Luc picked one up. Maybe the old lady would relax if he did something with his hands and ignored her the best he could. He forced himself to try to read an article simply so he wouldn’t have to think about anything. Reading took all his concentration.
After a while, Taabu came out of the back room, walking with an old red-eyed man who had obviously been upset. Luc wondered if he was trying to contact his wife or something on the other side. Taabu’s eyes opened wide when she spotted him, and she made a beeline in his direction.
“I’m next,” the old woman said, giving him a massive dose of stink eye.
“Yes, you are, Mrs. Jones. This won’t take but a moment.” Taabu cupped his chin. “Your poor face. What happened?”
Her fingers were warm, and Luc didn’t hurry to pull away from her touch. “It’s nothing. I came here because I wanted to tell Arrigo how sorry I am about his friend. I didn’t know how else to contact him.” His face flushed. “My phone’s battery is dead.”
Her smile was as warm as her fingers. “Sweetie, he’s been calling you all day. He knew Hanako went to see you last night. He’s been worried, and he’s been tied up with my sister all morning. She’s a detective.”
Luc winced. “Oh, like I said, dead battery.”
“Come with me.” She waved a hand to the old woman. “Mrs. Jones, go on in and make yourself comfortable. I have to let him into Arrigo’s office.”
Taabu opened Arrigo’s office, and Luc followed her in. “Have a seat. Do you have his number?”
Luc shook his head. “It’s on the phone, and it’s not charged.”
Taabu wrote the number down and patted the desk phone. “Take all the time you need. Shut the door when you go. I’ll lock up later.”
“Thanks so much.” Luc waited for her to leave and shut the door before calling. He liked her voice. It reminded him of home. He wondered if she was another New Orleans refugee. He dialed the number. Arrigo picked up almost instantly.
“Taabu?” Arrigo sounded uncertain, recognizing his own number, no doubt.
“No, it’s Luc. She let me in your office.”
“Luc! Gods, you’re all right, then. I’ve been frantic. I mean, I know you made it home because I could see you through the window. Don’t freak, but I had to make sure you weren’t hurt. I didn’t want to knock because I knew that would buy you trouble.”
“Yeah, definitely. Sorry, my phone’s dead. I didn’t think you would be trying to call me. I shoulda guessed because I’m pretty sure Hanako didn’t come just to visit with me. I thought about calling you when I got home just to talk because, hell, I didn’t even know she was dead until an hour ago.”
“Then you didn’t see anything.”
Luc flinched at the sheer disappointment he heard. “I have no idea what happened. I wanted to call to tell you how sorry I am about your friend.”
“Thank you. Luc. We need to talk. Stay right there. I’ll be there shortly.”
“Okay.”
Arrigo ended the call without so much as a goodbye. Luc knew he probably shouldn’t, but he wandered about the office, trying to find something to do. He examined all the photos on the walls and even forced himself to tackle the news article from last Halloween about the ghost-hunting thing. He didn’t want to think about what happened the last time he visited this office. Well, he did a little, but it was so messed up to be thinking about it on a day like this.
Eventually he sat back down in Arrigo’s task chair because it was the comfiest chair in the room. He’d lost track of time, but the rumble of motorcycles approaching then shutting off roused him from his stressed daydreaming. Excitement faded to confusion as some man ranted about how he was going to kill them and a woman’s voice shushed him.
Arrigo opened the door, but a tall, wild-eyed, dark-skinned man bulled him aside. Luc jumped up from the chair and smacked his knee on the desk. He knew this kind of man all too well, and if he wanted to beat on Luc, there probably wouldn’t be much Luc could do to stop it.
“You! What the hell happened out there?” the wild-eyed man roared, reaching for Luc who slipped away.
“Michael, enough,” Siobhan said, grabbing his arm.
Michael jerked away. “He ran off and abandoned Hanako. He’s telling me what he knows!”
“And he will, but not with you screaming at him. You’re not going to disturb Taabu’s customers,” Arrigo said, his voice dark as he stepped between Michael and Luc.
“Fuck her customers. He could have seen something before Hanako took off after Eleni.”
“Michael, I mean it.” The steel in Arrigo’s tone made Luc jump. He backed Michael against the wall in spite of the man being so much bigger than him, impressing Luc.
Michael deflated. “She killed my Hanako.”
“And I’m terribly sorry for it. It’s my fault, but screaming isn’t going to help. Now, Luc, sit down. We have some questions for you.” Arrigo turned to him.
“I’m fine,” Luc said, not sitting. “I don’t know what I can tell you. I didn’t run off on her, and I didn’t kill her.”
Michael snorted. “A pipsqueak like you, you wouldn’t have a chance.”
Luc gritted his teeth. He’d had far too much of this crap today. “I don’t have to be big to shoot a gun.”
“Want some more bruises to go with the ones you’re already sporting?” Michael balled his fist.
Something about the man felt as dangerous as a hungry gator. Luc knew he’d pushed it about as far as he could. “I’m just saying, guns make everyone equal when it comes to being strong. Look, I dunno much. She showed up out the blue and got me out of the bar. She didn’t say what she wanted, but I remembered her from when she’d come in. Honestly, I didn’t care what she wanted. It kept Henri from dumping mopping-shit-and-puke-out-of-the-bathroom duty on me.”
“So you left with her.” Arrigo leaned against his desk.
Luc nodded. “We didn’t go far. She sent me on my way, before we were down the block, and she went in the other direction.”
“And that’s it? You got nothing,” Michael groused.
“You sure there isn’t more?” Siobhan sidled up next to Luc as if making a wall between him and the hothead.
“There was one thing. She said something strange to me. She told me to get off the street. I didn’t think much of it at the time ’cause nothing was happening, you know? I didn’t see any gangbangers or anyone that looked like trouble. I thought maybe she was worried Henri would come and stop us because he was pissed as hell I left. She seemed suddenly mad.” Luc swallowed hard, staring at his duct-taped sneakers. “I wish I had gone with her. I never gave it a second thought why she wanted me to go.”
“And she got killed,” Michael said, stalking around Arrigo’s office, pacing as if it had suddenly gotten three sizes smaller. “She was on the phone with Arrigo, and he heard gunshots a little before ten.”
“That’s minutes after she took off on me.” Luc’s trembles snuck back up on him. “I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have been so quick to do as she said.”
“She was trying to protect you,” Arrigo said, resting his hand on Luc’s shoulder.
“From what? There was nothing there.”
“I told you my ex was crazy.”
Luc sighed, rubbing his neck. “I am sorry. I wish I’d realized she wa
sn’t being overdramatic, ’cause I saw nothing.”
“Seriously?” Arrigo asked.
“Streets were kinda empty.” Luc shrugged. “I didn’t see anyone sketchy. I saw a few couples, but that’s all I remember. No one stuck out, not enough for me to notice. I mean, if someone like Hanako had walked by, I’d have remembered, but everyone was so, I dunno, average.”
“That’s no help.” Michael turned his back on Luc.
“I’m sorry.”
“Do you remember any women around?” Arrigo asked.
Luc shrugged. “None that stuck out. There was a biker chick type with long black hair, and that’s about it. You don’t think your ex did this?”
Arrigo gave him a strange look. “Anything is possible.”
“I can’t help you. I didn’t see anyone who looked like a threat. Hanako didn’t tell me why she wanted me gone. I half convinced myself you sent someone to give me a break from that place. It’s not like she said ‘hell, there’s whatshername. Run for it.’”
“Too bad.” Arrigo’s jaw tightened, and for a moment Luc felt fairly sure Arrigo knew something he wasn’t sharing.
“Are you gonna make me tell the cops this?” Luc scowled.
“I know one of the detectives working this case, Shani. She’s Taabu’s sister. She’ll be easy to talk to, and she might call on you,” Arrigo said, making Luc quake inside. He could only imagine what his family would say if the cops came sniffing around.
Before he could protest, Michael suddenly asked, “Hey, shortstuff, can you take me to where she left you?”
“Yeah, I can. Don’t know that it’ll help you, but I can at least point out where she went when she left me.”
“Good.”
“I have something else I must do,” Arrigo said, giving Michael and Siobhan a knowing look. They nodded, and Luc wished he was in the loop, but no one bothered telling him. Luc sized up Michael nervously. No way he was going to do this with Michael alone. “I’m sorry, Luc.”
Siobhan sidled up to him and took his arm. “I’ll be with you,” she promised.
“Okay, yeah.” Siobhan wasn’t what he wanted, but she seemed nice. If nothing else, Michael seemed to obey her. “Arrigo, there is something else I need to talk to you about. Not today. It’s the wrong time, but it’s important.”
“Of course. Can I call you?”
“Not until I can charge the battery. I can meet you somewhere.”
“Meet me here on Thursday at three. That shouldn’t interfere with work, right?”
“Nah, I don’t start until late. I keep vampire hours,” Luc said, and Arrigo chuckled, sharing another look with Siobhan, who looked equally amused.
“Good, I’ll see you then. You should take Michael there before it gets any later.”
“Yeah.” Luc sighed. This wouldn’t be fun.
“Arri, you can do that thing later. Think about it. Michael doesn’t have a bike. Either we all take the bus, or we have to wait on Luc,” Siobhan said.
“Merda!” Arrigo cussed. Luc knew that one. It was almost the same as the French. Cusses hadn’t changed much from the mother tongue to the Cajun French he spoke. “Yeah, sure, okay, let’s go.”
When they walked into the lobby, Siobhan picked up a leather riding jacket and pulled it on in spite of the heat. Arrigo didn’t have a jacket, but they had matching full-face darkened helmets. Michael picked up his helmet.
Arrigo frowned. “I don’t have a spare for you, Luc. Better hope the cops don’t see us.”
“Great, I’ll get arrested for breaking the helmet law, and then they’ll find out I know the victim probably after some asshole at the bar, Henri’s friends most likely, call and tell them. This is going to suck for me.”
“Hang on. Let me see if Taabu has hers here.”
Arrigo disappeared into her domain. He came back with the brightest, most embarrassing helmet Luc had ever seen, hot pink, and covered with black swirling flower outlines. He’d look like the pink Power Ranger in it.
“I think I’d rather get caught without a helmet.”
Arrigo thumped it against Luc’s chest. “Have you ever ridden? I figure working in the Alibi you’ve had to.”
“When I was a kid, yeah. I know enough not to tip you over if that’s what you’re afraid of.”
“Fair enough.”
Luc almost asked if he could ride behind Siobhan. They’d get uncomfortably close to the bar, and if anyone who knew his da saw him riding bitch behind a guy while wearing a pink flower helmet, the beating he took this morning would look like nothing. To hell with it. Da wanted him cozied up with Arrigo so they could fuck him over. If this is what it took to convince Da he was playing the game, then so be it.
The flaw in his plan cropped up when they pulled into Vegas’s slow-moving traffic. He was hanging on to the hottest guy he’d ever seen, close enough to smell the subtle musk of him, while stuck at red lights with the bike vibrating between his legs. Do not think about it. That order became Do not dare get hard, all too quickly. Luc managed to control himself but only just.
Once he signaled Arrigo they were in the area, things got decidedly less sexy. Michael turned into a prowling psycho the moment he jumped off the bike. Luc pointed out which way Hanako had gone, and Michael took off down the street.
“Thank you, Luc. That’s about all we needed you to do,” Arrigo said, a worried expression on his face that Luc didn’t understand. It was as if Arrigo was afraid this person would come back for Luc, but after thinking about how it could be Arrigo’s crazy ex, Luc stressed a little himself.
“Yeah, well, I don’t know what to do now. I know I can’t help you guys anymore, but I don’t want to go home yet. If I go back to the bar… he’ll think I didn’t do what he wanted me to do,” Luc muttered. Arrigo arched an eyebrow, and Luc shook his head. “You know what I mean.” As Arrigo nodded, Luc looked down the road. “Maybe you should keep an eye on that Michael guy.”
“We will.” Arrigo touched Luc’s cheek. “Luc, if he’s going to beat you up, you don’t have to go back there.”
He jerked away. “You don’t get it. Where else can I go? I ain’t like you.”
Arrigo pulled his lips into a tight line. “I’m sorry. I just… it doesn’t matter. You can come to the shop anytime it gets too hard, Luc. We talked about that, right? If I’m not there, Taabu will take care of you. Promise.”
Luc knew his promise might be well meant, but they weren’t going to be there in the dark of night when he needed them most. “Yeah, thanks, I appreciate that.” He took a deep breath in. “You want me to take off now, don’t you?”
“You can stay with us until Michael’s done chasing down this lead. I do have something I have to do that you can’t help with, but it will have to wait for the moment.”
Luc nodded, looking to Siobhan who watched him silently. “I’ll let you do what you need to. I’m sorry about your friend. I should have done more.”
“You couldn’t have known. I really wish you’d go to Taabu’s. There are cops keeping an eye on the place. I’m afraid my ex might think you saw her.”
Luc wondered if that was true. “I’ll think about it.” He stood there for a moment, feeling awkward. He didn’t know what to do. He wanted to be comforting, but shit, no one had ever comforted him, not since Mom left. He didn’t know how to do it, and he didn’t want to hug Arrigo with an audience. After handing back the helmet, he offered a thin smile, then walked away. He felt the same weirdness as the night before. He didn’t want to go home. He’d be damned if he went to the bar. One day he’d know what to do with himself that didn’t make him feel like a useless idiot.
ARRIGO FOLLOWED Siobhan down the street, still furious Hanako hadn’t waited for him. He hadn’t said that to Michael, of course. Craig’s indifference to Eleni’s danger and the fact a tree-based witch would be effectively hobbled in the fucking desert, with only what power she could draw from the cultivated trees, had cost Hanako her life. He’d be lodging another for
mal complaint up the line. Luc’s guilt over her fate had been easy to read in his blue eyes, but Arrigo knew there had been nothing Luc could have done other than die with her. Luc knew that, had said it, but Arrigo doubted that did a damn thing for the guilt. He felt horrible about sending Luc back alone, but this was their best chance to get Eleni’s trail, and he needed to be there.
Hanako should have fucking waited for him. But she was right. She was a Chiaroscuro member. She knew how to fight. Women were far more capable of fighting than half the men gave them credit for. That hadn’t been why he wanted her to wait. Vampires were dangerous prey, and they were better taken on in teams. He never gave it a moment’s thought that Eleni would have a gun. Or was it her Renfield’s gun? That seemed more likely. He debated on calling Shani and telling her that Hanako’s murder—in spite of how different it was from the others—was connected. The cops might think he knew more than he was saying. While true, it might tie him up. The last thing he needed was to be shadowed by the cops, thinking he was somehow involved or them keeping tabs on him for his own safety.
“Arrigo, it wasn’t his fault.” Siobhan reached over, taking his hand. She gave it a squeeze but didn’t take her eyes off Michael. He had led them right up to the yellow police tape. He didn’t breach it but worked his way around its edges. The blood hadn’t been washed off the sidewalk yet. He hadn’t needed Luc to find where Hanako had died, merely where the altercation might have started. Arrigo had no desire to get any closer to Michael, letting him grieve. Siobhan seemed to have come to the same decision.
“I know, but it doesn’t change the fact Eleni killed Hanako or that she was only in this side of town because she knows about Luc and Lily. No one is going to come here for any other reason. It’s off the beaten track. Eleni’s not stupid. And I sent Luc away alone.” He sighed.