Gut Deep: Torn Worlds Book One

by Augustine, Donna

  Me: When and where?

  Eighteen

  Penelope

  The house had been quiet for a solid hour when I went to find Bigs. He was fairly easy to locate, sitting at the kitchen table with a drink and a tablet.

  “Bigs?”

  He glanced up, smiling. “What can I help you with, ma’am?”

  “Please call me Pen.”

  “Sure, Pen.”

  I took a seat next to him and then leaned forward on the table. “I have to get out of here, just for a little while. I’m going to crack if I don’t. Bad, like a raw egg about to tumble over and pull a Humpty Dumpty.” I gave him my most desperate look, the one I’d practiced in the mirror upstairs for an hour before I came down.

  He shrugged. “I don’t see why not. Donovan only told me to keep an eye on you. He didn’t say you couldn’t leave the house. Is there anywhere you need to go?”

  I liked a man who knew how to interpret orders in the broadest strokes. This guy was worth his weight in gold. “Can we swing by my house? There’s something I need to drop off.”

  His eyes crinkled and he grimaced slightly. “That might be tempting fate a little too much. Mallard could have people watching your house. I can have whatever it is dropped off for you if you’d like?”

  “Okay, hang on a second and I’ll get it.”

  I was really digging this guy’s attitude. If all shifters were like him, the takeover might not have been so horrific.

  I wanted to lay eyes on Sassy myself. Who knew what trouble she’d be getting herself into? But at least I’d know she was eating. I ran back up to my room and grabbed the shopping bags Bigs had left me with the clothing, now filled with food I’d snuck out of the kitchen in the middle of the night. They were packed to overflowing—cereal, bread, muffins and anything else I could shove in there.

  I made my way downstairs and handed over my bag of looted food to Bigs. “You know, just a few things I meant to send along.”

  He looked down at the bags, the food showing as they gaped open. It had crossed my mind to try to seal them up better. Might’ve been worth a little more effort.

  Bigs looked for another few moments before asking, “You didn’t pack the chamomile tea, did you?”

  “No.” I had looked at it, but Sassy wasn’t a tea drinker.

  “Then we look good. I’ll have them dropped off today. Just give me a minute,” he said, walking toward the back door.

  “Bigs?”

  He turned back toward me.

  “If you could tell them to try to not alert anyone? Maybe drop it off at the back and leave? My father startles easily.” It was a risk letting any shifter near the house with Sassy, but not eating would be worse.

  “Of course. You know, I have cardboard boxes in the garage if you need them to send any more of your things home.”

  “Thanks. I might.” Boxes? Wonder how big they were.

  “I’ll just take care of this”—he lifted the bags slightly—“and then bring the car around. Anywhere in particular you’d like to go? I was told to make sure you had everything you needed. Donovan has an account with all of the stores. You can charge your purchases to him.”

  “Actually, I could use a few things. Do you think we could we swing by Dupont Circle? I haven’t been there in forever.”

  “Of course.”

  * * *

  This was the fifth shop I’d gone into. Bigs had decided to wait by the car after the second, when I pointed to Betsy’s Boudoir. He’d gone from leaning on the hood to sitting in the driver’s seat, reading his book as I strolled the avenue, right into the meeting place.

  The place was busy with all types, shifter, fairies, and several vampires about. It stunk that one of the only rumors about vampires that could benefit humans was wrong. The daylight didn’t do anything to them other than maybe an inconvenient rash. I’d seen humans in worse shape with a sunburn.

  I took the jeans from the sales lady and made my way to the dressing room, the way I’d been instructed. I knew to expect someone but jumped when all I felt was a rush of air behind me. The door to the cubicle closed, and then he was there in front of me.

  Until this moment, I hadn’t realized I’d been waiting for a vampire. The ultra-smooth skin said it all. He had slicked-back dark blond hair and a pretty face, and he couldn’t stop staring at my neck.

  I met his cool eyes, trying to not dwell on how fast a human could bleed out. As a former medical student, I had the unfortunate knowledge that it only took five minutes under the right circumstances. The vampire standing in front of me might qualify as the perfect conditions. I reminded myself that if he were here to kill me, it would’ve already happened. Vampires struck lightning fast and didn’t make errors.

  “What do you want?” I asked, wishing I’d never agreed to this meeting. This was what happened when you made decisions on the verge of an all-out panic attack. You ended up in small spaces, with vampires who looked like they’d rather feast on you than speak with you.

  “I have a deal to offer you. We know you’re having problems with Mallard. We also know what you want from him. That your sister has the Sucking Sickness. We can take care of both of those things if you do something for us.”

  So not Mallard. I wasn’t sure if I should be as relieved as I felt. These new vampires could still kill me. Was it that much better if I wasn’t tortured first?

  Yeah, it kind of was.

  “You can promise this because you are…?” I asked, wishing he’d take a step back, even though it wouldn’t make a difference if he were a foot away or ten feet. He was a vampire. They moved so fast that they seemed to appear out of thin air, but my human mind still preferred the illusion of distance.

  “That doesn’t matter. The person I work for is very important,” he said, with a face so stoic and frozen that he either had to be immortal or had a serious addiction to anti-aging injections.

  “Look, Doesn’t Matter, I don’t have an issue with Mallard anymore.” I looked past him, wondering if I could make it out of the dressing room before he killed me. Odds were stacked so high against it that I might as well be lying dead in a ditch already, waiting for the first shovel of dirt. I was fairly certain addressing him as Doesn’t Matter wasn’t going to win me any points either, but he was the one who dubbed himself so.

  “Even if that were true, what about your sister’s needs?”

  My skin went cold as he mentioned his ace in the hole. I was only here for her, but hinting at helping didn’t mean anything when he wouldn’t give me a name. He was promising things I doubted he could back up. I was desperate, not a complete idiot.

  There were only three people that had access to what my sister needed. One was Mallard, the second was long gone, and the last was a vampire who had helped Mallard, named Larcas. If this vampire wasn’t working with Mallard, the way he claimed, he wouldn’t be able to get what I needed. Either way, this was a lie, a setup or an overpromise. I’d hear him out, but his sales pitch had better improve.

  “What’s the price and what exactly are you offering?”

  “We need information on Donovan. We need to know if shifters are going to attack us, maybe some of their everyday communications. We aren’t looking to harm him. We are the ones at risk.”

  Even if I believed the victim act, ignored the fangs that hung low like he wanted an afternoon snack, I still wouldn’t help him.

  I didn’t like Donovan half the time, but he was the man who’d saved me all the times I’d needed him. He might think humans weren’t a loyal sort, but he didn’t know me well. I didn’t screw over a helping hand.

  “What exactly are you suggesting you can do for my sister?” I asked, already knowing what he’d say and highly doubting it.

  “We can get a vial of what you need for your sister.”

  “Produce it first and then we’ll talk.” I wouldn’t shoot him down outright when I needed to get out of this dressing room with my jugular intact.

  I tried to move
around him, but he shifted in front of me. “That’s not the way this works. We’re trying to do this the peaceful way, but there are other ways to skin a cat.”

  “I’ll think about it, but I’ll need some sign of good faith,” I said instead of the “fuck off” I really wanted to give him. This cat had only used up a couple of lives. The way I figured, I had another seven in the bank.

  He leaned closer. “Then you’ll get a sign.”

  He was gone and the door was open. It didn’t escape me that he’d said “sign” and left off the “good faith.”

  I pulled out my phone and called my sister. It went straight to voicemail again. Dammit, Sassy. Why aren’t you answering?

  I walked back out on to the main floor of the store. I wandered around a little more, until my nerves were sufficiently under control and my pulse wasn’t rattling off SOS signals.

  Nineteen

  Donovan

  Rob Zombie’s The Devil’s Rejects grew louder as the door to my office opened. Huddy strolled in. I glanced at my watch. Almost eleven. Huddy being late never boded well, and a glance at his face said the rest.

  Some news you didn’t need to hear. It was plastered across the face of the messenger in bold block letters like a newspaper headline. I slumped back in my chair as Huddy’s headline flashed in front of me. He walked over and sank into the nearest chair.

  “No one?” I asked.

  He grimaced.

  Penelope had been at my place for barely a week and I’d been hanging at the club daily. As much as I enjoyed all the time with my pack, it was wearing thin. I had no idea what she was up to all day, as I avoided asking. I was on a need-to-know basis. Bigs would alert me to any problems; otherwise, I didn’t want to hear anything. It was better than seeing her constantly and what that might lead to.

  “Fuck. I can’t believe this. We went to the council. He lost. Game over. He should be moving on.” I ran a hand through my hair as I let out a groan.

  “We knew it was a possibility. Mallard gets fixated. It’s one of the creepier aspects about him. It’s not as if we don’t have very valid reasons for disliking him.” Huddy shrugged, knowing he’d had a part to play in my current situation. If he kept making jerking movements, he’d be able to call it a new dance soon. He could name it I fucked my friend’s life up and now what do I say?

  “You’re absolutely sure he hasn’t touched anyone? There wasn’t a lag in coverage? They lost sight of him when he drained some random chick in an alley somewhere?”

  Mallard liked his human amusements too much. He should’ve found a new one already. He never went without for long, even though at his age he could easily go years without feeding. He had to be at least eight hundred years old. He’d been on my radar for the last two hundred of that.

  “Nothing. Dry as the desert. Hasn’t had a drop since her,” Huddy said, sounding as guilty as his continual shrugging made him look.

  As much as I wanted to dump all the blame on him, I couldn’t. I’d been inching my way into her business since the second I’d seen her. I’d known better. If Huddy’s headline had been You’re fucked and I’m guilty, Penelope’s headline had been I’m trouble. She radiated complications from the stubborn tilt of her chin and wild mane of hair.

  Even after the fight with Mallard, dealing with the council meeting, and having to put her up in my house, the longer she was around, the more I wanted to ask Bigs what she did all day. I was starting to leave later in the mornings, wondering if I’d run into her, which I never did. Walking past her room when I got in at night, even though it was out of the way, just to see if her light was on.

  I was almost certain she was avoiding me as well. It was for the best, because each time I did see her, the more I wanted to walk over, drag my hands through her hair, and stake my claim on her for real. That was why she needed to go.

  I let out a long breath with the word fuck carried upon it. There weren’t enough curses created to express the conflicting emotions battling within me.

  “Yeah, so, I’m thinking this is going to last a while,” Huddy said, as if he were trying to soft-pedal a truth that had already punched me in the face and broken my nose.

  “Seems so, doesn’t it.” I got to my feet. “I guess I’m keeping my little human around longer than planned.”

  “At least she’s nice to look at,” Huddy said, like that was a good thing.

  It was part of the problem. Too nice. I’d have to figure out some other solution than waiting for Mallard to move on, or I’d be jumping into the deep end. I had a pack to handle. My life could not revolve around some human girl.

  I walked the length of the room. “What about that other thing? The attack on the vampire last night? Any word?”

  “From what I’ve heard, the marks all point to a werewolf. Whoever did it is too scared to speak up, though.”

  “They’re going to have to speak. I need to get this worked out before things escalate.” They’d probably heard about me losing my shit on Mallard and thought it was a green light. This was on me, and I needed to get it fixed.

  “They’re not talking. I’ve tried,” Huddy said.

  “We’ll see.” I walked out of my office and into the crowd, waving my hand in front of my neck. The music was killed as I took the two steps onto the stage, looking over the pack. The crowds had been growing every night, along with the unease. There used to be only fifty or so faces here on any given day. Now there were close to two hundred, and they were starting to have the feeling of an army waiting to be called into battle.

  “Word is the attack on the vampire the other night came from one of ours. You might’ve heard about the altercation I had with Mallard. That doesn’t mean it’s open season on vampires. Whoever was behind the attack needs to own up to it. Come see me in private before the vampires figure out who it was first and it’s too late.”

  I stared into the crowd. These people were my pack, my family, my responsibility, but I couldn’t help them if they didn’t tell me. I wouldn’t be able to shield them from the backlash. And I would if given the chance. I’d started this when I went after Mallard. I’d take the heat.

  The fact that it happened at all was why I needed that human out of my hair. She had a way of getting under my skin until I was doing things that could destroy me and my people. She had to go. If I could just figure out how to get rid of her.

  I gave a nod to the DJ. The music blared as I stepped off the stage.

  A glance at the clock pegged me at an arrival home around midnight. Midnight should be safe.

  “I’m heading out. Let me know if anyone starts hovering around the office looking for me,” I said to Huddy.

  “Will do.” Huddy gave me a nod and disappeared into the crowd.

  I made my way outside and to my car. That was when I noticed Ralph hovering in the alley’s shadow.

  Not him. Anyone but him. He was a good kid. If he was the attacker, it was definitely my fault. He was as loyal as a golden retriever. I liked him, and not just because he was one of mine. I would’ve liked him if we were human. He was young, too, maybe twenty-five? He wasn’t going to die for my mistake.

  “Donovan—”

  “Get in. You’re already late.” I pointed to the passenger side, ignoring the confused look on his face as I climbed behind the wheel.

  I pulled away before he’d shut the door completely.

  “Was I supposed to be meeting you?” he asked in an oh fuck tone.

  “No. But I know what you’re going to say and didn’t want anyone else to suspect.” I trusted my pack, but gossip could travel faster than the speed of light.

  The kid’s face turned bright red. If he wasn’t trying to put on a strong face, I was certain he might be blubbering already. Thankfully, he was at least attempting to hold it together.

  “I’m sorry. It just happened. I thought—” He put his hands up, as if he were trying to piece it together himself.

  “How many people know?”

  “No one
. I was afraid to tell a soul. I don’t know what happened. Well, I kind of do. I was walking down the street and this vampire had a young girl pinned. She was crying and looked like my little sister. I thought of what you did, and…” He turned his face toward the window, dragging his arm across his nose.

  “You’re sure no one saw you?” Fuuuuuck. I’d known it was me, but did he have to confirm it?

  “It was after three in the morning. No one was around, and I took care of him fast. The girl was too dazed to remember much.” There was more sniffling.

  “Don’t tell anyone—not your mother, father, best friend. No one. I’ll handle it.”

  He nodded, and tears streamed down his face, the messy kind that made every hole in their head leak at once. I liked the kid. I’d save his life. But I drew the line at handing him tissues while he sobbed.

  I pulled the car to a stop by the side of the road. “Good. Now get out.”

  “Thank you. I don’t know how I can repay you, but I’ll find a way to make this up to you.” The kid scrubbed his face with a swipe of his arm.

  He got points for trying to wolf up, but he needed to understand the seriousness of what he’d done. “For the favors I’m going to have to pull? You can’t.” I waved to the door again before he got snot in my car.

  He nearly tripped in his urgency to leave.

  The vampires were going to want a head, and I didn’t have one to give. I called the number of last resort, knowing I was beginning to dig myself in deep, and it had all started with a damned human girl.

  The phone rang. Someone picked up but said nothing.

  “I’m going to need another favor.”

  * * *

  All I wanted to do was down a bourbon and then crash. I’d gotten as far as pouring the glass when Penelope walked into the room.

  “I don’t mean to bother you, but I’ve been waiting to catch you.”