Take that at face value, or ask more questions? He had done a lot for me in the past, as Dr. Allen. Kate was dating him, and her familiar was okay with it. “You’re not going to ask me to kill anyone, are you?”
“I have no such plans.”
“Okay, we can be friends then.”
Alleryn chuckled. “Wonderful.”
The requested bath didn’t happen because I fell asleep after breakfast, and didn’t wake until a gorgeous, raven-haired elf woman brought my dinner. “Thank you.”
She inclined her head with a small smile, and left. I wondered if she understood or spoke English while checking my tray.
“Hey.”
Looking up from the artful arrangement of sliced prime rib, snow peas, and Julienne potatoes, I found Logan standing in the doorway. “Hi. Want to keep me company while I take my medicine?”
“Sure.” He smiled and walked in to sit down. “How are you feeling?”
“Tired.” I held up my left hand in illustration. “And shaky. But my throat feels better.”
“Good. After you eat, Sunny wants to see you. I’ll help her walk over.”
That didn’t sound good, after Alleryn’s report. “Is she worse?”
“She’s doing great, but a little shaky too. I’ll feel better, being on hand just in case.”
“Oh, okay.” I dove into the meal, eager to see Mom. “I don’t mean to be rude, but shouldn’t you be with Terra?”
Logan grinned. “Teague hasn’t seen any signs of other shifters, and your Pit Crew has been guarding the shop’s door during business hours. Terra’s having a lot of fun there, and David said he didn’t mind them staying longer.”
Well. Good to know I wasn’t wrong about the safest place to stash people. “I owe David big time.”
“He’s a good guy.”
Good night, the prime rib parted under my fork like butter, and was melt-in-my-mouth perfection. I swallowed, wondering if I could ask for seconds. “Alleryn roped you into donating again. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. You needed it.” His dark green, gold-flecked gaze slid to the doorway. “You have more of my blood than your own right now.”
“Geeze, then how are you even wal...,” I closed my mouth, realizing what a stupid question it was.
His grin returned. “By eating roughly my own body weight. Body weight as a tiger.”
Asking for seconds didn’t seem like a big deal after that.
When Logan left to bring Mom to see me, I spent the time thinking. Regardless of what everyone said, what had happened was my fault.
I’d always worried my job would end up endangering my family, and now it had. Twice in only a couple of months.
Mom came in, her arm tucked in Logan’s as he escorted her to the chair. “Yell when you’re ready to go back.”
“All right, thank you.” She looked tired, her eyes bloodshot and the skin under them dark, but she was smiling. He shut the door as he left. Mom leaned forward, placing her hand on my arm. “They said you were all right. You don’t look all right.”
“I’m okay.” I suddenly wanted to cry, seeing her. Being told she was safe wasn’t the same thing as seeing it with my own eyes. “I’m going to talk to Mr. Whitehaven as soon as I can. Work something out so I can quit.”
She blinked. “Why would you do that?”
“Mom, seriously?”
She shook her head, her brow furrowing. “I don’t want to be the reason you quit the job you love.”
“You aren’t. I mean, not exactly.”
“If you quit because of what happened, and what nearly happened to your brother Sean, evil wins.” She patted my arm. “It’s your decision, but the world has, and always will need people to fight against evil.”
I thought she’d be relieved by my decision. “You don’t want me to quit.”
“I’m proud of what you’ve decided to do with your life and your gifts. You’re young, and will be able to help a lot more people.”
“I wasn’t there to help you or Red. You wouldn’t have needed help if it weren’t for me.”
“Oh, Cordi,” she sighed. “If I died in a car accident on my way to work one day, would you blame yourself for not being there too?”
Probably, which would be dumb. “That’s not the same thing.”
“Bad analogy.” She smiled. “You’re not the only person who faces this. Don’t you think police, judges, and others like them worry about their jobs affecting their families? Yet they still do their jobs. They keep fighting evil.”
Much as I didn’t want to admit it, she’d made a good point. “Let me think about it.”
“You do that.” Mom rose from the chair and leaned over my bedside to kiss my forehead. “I love you. See you tomorrow.”
“Okay. Love you too.” I heard Logan say something as she stepped out into the hallway, leaving me to decide what to do about my life.
Mom wasn’t my only visitor that evening. An hour after sunset, Logan tapped on my door and asked, “Are you awake?”
“Yeah.” Still needed a bath too. “Come on in.”
He opened the door. “Lord Derrick’s here to see you.”
Wasn’t that interesting? A vamp come a visitin’ to a fairy mound. Sidhe. Whatever. “Okay.”
My “bodyguard” stepped aside to allow Derrick to enter the room. The slim, boyish-faced vampire lord held a giant bouquet of mixed flowers in an indigo-colored, glass vase.
“You brought me flowers?”
Derrick froze, his smile slipping. “Isn’t that the proper protocol when visiting someone in a hospital? Your mother didn’t seem to find it odd.”
Whew, if he’d brought Mom flowers too, it wasn’t a romantic gesture. “Sorry, I was surprised. They’re beautiful. Thank you.”
His smile returned as he crossed the room to place the flowers on the bedside table. “You’re welcome. May I?” Derrick gestured at the chair.
“Sure.” As he sat down, I said, “Logan told me you have Merriven in custody.”
“Chained in silver. It weakens us.”
“I know.” Thank you, Soames. “What are you going to do with him?”
The vampire chuckled. “Use him for the gift he is.”
“Come again?”
“He will be our public peace offering. Picture this, Miss Jones.” Derrick lifted his hands and spread them wide. “The council has been diligently working to weed out those of our people who fail to abide by our new laws. One member, Lady Esme, grew suspicious of some fellow council members after a member of her family saved a human from being killed.”
I held up my good hand to stop him. “Got the picture. Jump the part where you start lying.”
He laughed. “The only change is to the intent behind the reasons you were hired. Instead of simply to solve the murders of a few council members, it was to investigate whether there was a conspiracy in place, vampires aiding each other in covering up their murders.”
Which meant the story would work, since ninety-nine percent of it was truth. “Okay.”
“We’ll be able to reveal the discovery of the bodies, and see that they’re identified and returned to their families for proper burial. We’ll try, sentence, and execute Merriven for the crimes, as the last remaining member of the conspiracy. His death will be a warning to others who may not be following the law, and a sign to the humans that we’re sincere about co-existing peacefully.”
“Bad guys dead, families no longer wondering what happened to their loved ones, and the council gets credit for being serious about not killing humans for food.” I nodded and narrowed my eyes at him. “What’s the catch?”
“While we’ll make every effort to suppress the information, it’s likely the press will discover which agency we hired, and thus, your name.”
“Mr. Whitehaven won’t like that.” Hell, neither would I, having seen what the media did to some people.
Derrick crossed his ankles, leaning back in the chair. “I’ve discussed the matter with h
im, and pointed out that it was highly unrealistic to expect to remain ‘under the radar’ forever. Sooner or later, one of you would end up solving a case like this.”
What was it with everyone making points I couldn’t reasonably argue with today?
Twenty-two
Mindful of Sal’s advice, I took two weeks of sick leave once Alleryn released me from his clinic. Whatever was left of my injuries at the end of that time, I’d let my auto-healing ability take care of.
I spent time every day building the mental maze he’d suggested. Not the easiest of tasks, but a conversation with Jo resulted in Tonya bringing home a book on mazes from the Blue Orb. Studying it helped a lot.
Other than that, I spent too much time napping, trying to decide if I would keep my job, and watching daytime television.
That last was what I was doing when someone pulled up, parked, and came to the door about a week after I’d come home.
When the doorbell rang, none of the large dogs so much as twitched an ear, even when the Chihuahuas charged the entryway, their cacophony of shrill barks shattering the quiet.
I moved enough to see through the sheers covering the living room window, and saw Nick’s truck. “Come in!”
He came inside, careful to avoid letting anyone out as the little dogs attacked the cuffs of his jeans. It took him a few minutes to walk to the other side of the coffee table without stepping on any small bodies. Once there, he shoved his hands into his pockets. “Hey.”
“Hi.” We gazed at each other, and his eyes flicked to the bandage on my neck and cast on my arm.
“Mr. Whitehaven told me what happened when I gave my notice. Is your mom okay?”
“She says she is.”
Nick’s gaze moved to the two remaining members of my Pit Crew. “I’m sorry for your loss. It hurts to lose a pack member.”
“Thank you,” I said for them.
He looked at me. “From what he said, you almost died.”
“It was close.” Man, this was uncomfortable. “But everything worked out all right.”
Nick nodded, his lips compressing. “You were lucky. Again.”
I was too tired to feel any anger at his assessment. “I had a plan, and it worked.”
“You almost died, Cordi. That’s not really great planning.” He pulled his hands out and lifted them, palms toward me. “Sorry. I didn’t come here to argue.”
Fine by me. “Why are you here?”
That was apparently a bad question, because his jaws clenched before he ground out, “To make sure you were okay.”
“I’m good.”
“And to see if we can start over.”
Oh, so not what I wanted to deal with right now. “We don’t see the same future ahead for us.”
Nick shook his head while sinking down to a crouch so that we were sort of on eye level with each other. “No, you don’t think the future I see is possible for you.”
“I know it’s possible.”
His eyes widened. “Then why....”
“It’s possible if I give up everything I have and do.”
“Don’t you think that might be a good idea, after this?” Nick waved his hand at me, indicating the bandage and cast. “To quit and get away from the danger?”
Somehow, his question made the decision I’d been fretting over simple. I wasn’t going to quit my job. “The only way I might do that is if I loved you.”
Nick flinched. “And you don’t.”
“No. I care for you a lot, and I think you’re a good person. We’ve had fun together, but we argue all the time because you don’t like the way I do things, or the choices I make.” I had to take another deep breath. “You’re not the right guy for me, Nick, and I’m not the right girl for you.”
“I love you.”
“I’m sorry.”
He rose to look down at me. Bone’s ear twitched, and I laid my hand on his scarred head. Nick’s eyes followed the movement. “So that’s it?”
“Yes.”
“No regrets at all? We’re just done?”
“The only regret I have is that I hurt you. I never meant to do that.”
He nodded, looking down at the Chihuahuas still mauling the cuffs of his jeans. “Okay. Maybe we’ll see each other around.”
“Maybe.” I sort of hoped not. “Good-bye, Nick.”
“Bye.” He didn’t look at me, just waded free of the Chihuahuas and left. The roar of his truck’s engine followed the soft click of the front door shutting, but he didn’t peel out while driving off.
I let out a long, hard sigh and Bone moved his head to rest his chin on my thigh. “You humans have a saying: You’re better off without him.”
“Maybe he’s better off without me.”
Bone grunted.
I began scratching behind the stub of his missing ear. “Maybe you guys would be too.”
Both pits raised their heads to look at me, and Diablo growled. “So now you’re going to throw us out?”
“Of course not. I think my dad....”
“No.” Diablo lurched to his paws, shoving his muzzle into my face. “You promised we had a home with you. Said we were your pack.”
Bone sat up, shoving Diablo back. “You did. We don’t want to live with someone else.”
“Okay, okay! Geeze, guys. Calm down.” Guess their reaction settled the matter. I threw my arms around both their necks and squeezed them together for a hug. “We’re family.”
My phone rang. I released them, Diablo grumbling about my cast touching him. “Hello?”
“Hi. It’s Terra. I have my own phone now.” Her pleasure over her news came through loud and clear in her bubbly-toned voice.
“Awesome, what kind did you get?” We talked phones for a few minutes, until the teen cleared her throat.
“I have something important to ask you.”
Uh-oh. The memory of hearing her tell Logan she hoped I’d help her pick her mate rose. I didn’t want to do that. Being a psychic didn’t mean I’d be a good matchmaker. “Okay.”
Terra sucked in a breath and blurted out, “We want to adopt you into the clan. Would you be interested in that?”
So not what I’d expected to hear. “I’m sorry, what?”
“You’re already known publicly to be our ally, and Logan donated a lot of blood, which sort of makes you clan anyway. I mean, sharing blood leaves a kind of residue. People are going to think you’re clan.”
“Ah,” she was going way too fast for me. “What kind of residue?”
“Like a combination of magic and spirit. It’ll show in your aura. People who are sensitive to auras might think you smell like a tiger, or that you’re a shifter.”
And no one thought to mention that to me before now? “I see.”
“Are you mad? Don’t be mad. It’ll wear off if we don’t have the ceremony.”
“Logan saved my life. I’m far from mad,” I assured her.
“Oh, good.”
“What does the ceremony do? Permanently glue the residue on my aura?”
“Basically, and you should be able to sense us before you see us, and the same for us where you’re concerned.”
That could be useful. Soames would be going to work at Arcane Solutions, and since I was going to stay there, he’d probably be assigned as my new partner now that Nick had quit. “Okay, are there any downsides here?”
“I don’t think so. I mean, not any that are different from you being our ally,” Terra replied.
I stroked Bone’s head. “What about responsibilities?”
“That has been harder to figure out. Logan said it wouldn’t be right to ask you and expect you to change your life to how we do things, with the living close together and tithing your paycheck into the clan pot.”
Logan was right about that, but I didn’t say anything other than “Uh hmm.”
“Plus, he said the dogs might not like living in close quarters with us twenty-four-seven.” Terra paused. “This sounded simpler in my head to ex
plain.”
I had to laugh at that. “Let me try to do a short version: Nothing really changes except for my being permanently tagged with clan ‘residue’. I keep being your friend and helping out like I have been.”
“Yes, but we’ll have a deeper connection, too. You’ll be clan. Um, do you want time to think about it?”
“No.”
“Oh. Okay, I’m sorry....”
I had to laugh, wincing when my ribs complained. “I don’t need time to think about it. You guys have been great friends, even when I haven’t been a good one back. I’ve felt more at home with you than I have with any other supes. If you want to adopt me into the clan, my answer’s yes.”
“Awesome!” she shrilled. “Cool, can we do it tomorrow night? The ceremony, I mean?”
“I guess, but I’m still injured. Kind of get tired easy.”
“Don’t worry, we’ll take care of everything, all you have to do is show up. Wait, I’ll send someone to pick you up at seven. I have to go. Have a lot of stuff to do. See you tomorrow. Oh, this is awesome!” Terra ended the call, and I put my phone down, shaking my head and grinning.
Mom and Tonya brought home a selection of Chinese food for dinner. None of us wanted to be in the kitchen much, even though a professional cleaner had removed all signs of Red’s death. I hadn’t found out who had arranged for that, but did know that Dad had called someone in to repair the back door.
We pulled the big, square decorative pillows off the furniture to use as seats, and settled around the coffee table. “I won’t be home for dinner tomorrow.”
“Oh?” Mom passed a carton of shrimp fried rice to me. “Why not?”
“Terra called. They want to adopt me into the clan, and I said yes.”
“Building bridges in the supe community. Go, Cordi.” Tonya grinned at me before diving into her chicken lo Mein.
I hadn’t thought of it like that, and smiled back. “Guess so.”
“As long as it feels right to you,” was Mom’s opinion. The conversation turned to Tonya’s studies and the upcoming Halloween party at the center.
Twenty-three
When the doorbell rang the next evening, I half-expected it to be Logan who’d come to pick me up, but it was Soames. “Hi. I had no idea what to wear.”
Save the Last Vamp for Me (Discord Jones Book 3) Page 17