by Jenny Allen
He stood straight up in the middle of the aisle. A middle-aged woman with a clueless look bounced right off his back like she tried to run through a brick wall. Chance grabbed the bags and flashed a dangerous grin. “After you, Cherie.” The faint Cajun accent was thicker than usual. Apparently anger brought it out.
Lilith just shook her head, grabbed her last bag and gracefully slipped out of the seats. She stood right in front of Chance and in her heels she was only a few inches shorter. She stared at him for a second. “Do you always have to prove a point?” She turned sharply and made her way down the aisle and off the plane.
It had to be a guy thing. Every observation had to become a challenge. They always had to make things more difficult instead of just letting things go. Chance caught up with her at the gate. If this was his usual behavior it was going to be a very long trip.
“Well thanks for waiting, especially after I held back the masses for you.” There was a quaver in his voice that certainly was not because he was out of shape. Lilith kept on walking, steering them toward the baggage claim. After several minutes of silence, Chance tried again. “No glib little comment?” When she didn’t answer, he jogged in front of her and stopped.
When she made a move to the right, he mirrored it. She glared daggers up at him. She moved to the left and he mirrored her again. “Enough macho crap. If you want to be a stubborn ass, fine, but don’t expect me to be all happy fluffy about it. None of us like planes, especially getting off them. You just deal with it. Hell, you almost knocked that lady on her ass.”
Chance dropped the bags and held up his hands in surrender. “I officially apologize for being a stubborn ass and succumbing to my testosterone based alter ego. Truce?”
She rolled her eyes. “Fine let’s just go. Spencer is probably waiting.”
He didn’t move out of her way, though the playful abandon left his face and his tone deepened. “Seriously, Lily. I apologize. You’re right. I should have just taken a seat. Those planes are so damn small and confining though. It just makes me itch to get out. I don’t do well in enclosed spaces.”
Lilith smiled softly up at him and patted his slightly stubbled cheek. “Aww. Poor guy. Just keep it in check. We don’t need undue attention. Speaking of which, we really should get to baggage claim. We look like a bickering married couple or something.”
“You should be so lucky.” His sudden grin was simply contagious. It wasn’t his usual playful façade, it was a genuine smile that made his cheeks dimple slightly.
“I’ll remember to take a number.”
“Where in the hell is he?” They’d waited by the baggage claim doors for nearly an hour with no sign of Spencer and Chance was getting restless. “Try his cell again.”
“I just tried three minutes ago. It’s going straight to voicemail.” She didn’t see the point of trying again. “It’s either off or the battery is dead. Either way, he’s obviously not going to answer.”
“Well we have the address to the winter house from Gregor. Maybe we should just rent a car.”
“You’re probably right. We can’t sit here all day. Plus, we may need a car anyway. I really don’t want to depend on Spencer to run us around, especially if I have to take samples in to the lab in Knoxville." The fall air was warmer here, with sweet floral scents on the wind. It was a beautiful clear morning with the sun climbing up the pale blue sky as they made their way down to a small rental car lot. Chance piled their bags on the ground and jogged into the office to get a car.
Lilith scanned over the bland mixture of economic cars. They all looked the same, just sensible boxes with wheels. Why did people bother buying them? I suppose for the same reason that people bought identical houses and identical clothes. The overwhelming urge to fit in, blend with the crowd. She understood that concept in a way. Her whole life was about blending in, but somehow she found a way to still be herself.
In mid-thought a chill crept up her spine. She turned around in a quick circle studying the parking lot. Her breath caught as she thought she saw a shadow pass between two cars. She crouched down next to her suitcase and opened the front zipper. After a couple seconds of blind rummaging, she pulled out her bottle of pepper spray and shoved it in her pocket. With her heart thudding in her chest, she crept toward the back of the lot.
Lilith reached the third row of cars and whipped behind them. There was nothing there. She let out a painfully relieved sigh and sagged against the side of a white sedan. She kept her ears trained for any sounds, but the lot was empty, just sunshine glinting off windshields. This whole situation just had her on edge. She had to stop psyching herself out. Some badass vampire she was, jumping at shadows with the threat of pepper spray. Bad guys should quiver in fear.
She drew in a long comforting breath and pulled the band out of her hair, letting the red curls fall to her shoulders. She shook out her hair and rubbed her temples. Finally, Lilith pulled herself away from the car and strolled back over to the bags. Her heart eventually began to slow down. She softly chuckled at herself, shaking like a scared kitten.
A sharp chirp from her pocket made her jump all over again. Lilith squeezed her eyes closed, took in a breath and fished her phone out of her pocket. She didn’t even look at the caller ID before hitting the call button. “Yeah?”
“Well that is no way to answer your phone. What if it was Bill calling?” Gloria’s sweet, Spanish flecked voice just made her smile.
“Gloria, Bill was a nightmare. Seriously, I thought you had a higher opinion of me. He looked like the kinda guy that lingers at 18 and under clubs.”
Gloria’s bright chuckle made her feel a million times better. Hopefully she’d have this mess all cleared up and make it back home for Sunday coffee. “Sweetheart, I’m running out of people to fix you up with.”
“Well, that’s the best news I’ve heard all day.” Lilith’s voice was light and playful.
“Aww. Don’t crush an old woman’s dreams. So, how’s Florida? Phillipe said you had a last minute convention?”
“Yeah. These damn re-certifications. Florida is Florida. Humid, crowded and smells like rotten fish."
Lilith looked up to see Chance jog out of the office, jingling keys and grinning. The loose jeans hung low on his hips and the faded black T-shirt clung to him as he moved. The sun accented the specks of auburn in his short tousled hair. She could see why the ladies liked him so much. The thought occurred to her that she’d never seen him in the sunlight. 13 years and she’d only seen him in artificial light and moonlight. It just seemed like an odd thing to see for the first time.
She was so lost in her thoughts that she completely missed what Gloria said. “I have to go, Gloria. The hotel shuttle just arrived.”
“Alright. I’ll expect a full report of your social activities when you get back, Bonita.”
Chance stopped in front of her with a smile so genuine that it warmed her down to her toes and flashed a quizzical look at her phone.
“Of course. You always get first picks of my social life, even if it is on life support.” She nodded at Chance and flashed a nervous smile.
“Well liven it up so I can live vicariously through you. Be safe and call me later.”
Lilith tucked her phone back in her pocket and busied herself with picking up a few bags. “Sorry. Gloria was checking in to find out if I found Mr. Right on the flight.”
Chance passed on the obvious opening for a dig and simply bowed in a grand gesture. “Well, in the meantime, your chariot awaits.”
Silently she cursed that he still had that warming kind of effect on her. She’d had a bit of a crush on him growing up, but they’d always just been friendly acquaintances. Flirty banter perhaps, but it seemed he thought of her only as Gregor’s daughter. He never asked questions or really showed any interest in her as a person in all that time. It was all just charming, anonymous small talk.
His enigmatic smile began to falter and he looked her over. “You look a little pale. Are you okay?” As he fini
shed that question, he began scanning the lot with cold, calculating eyes.
Lilith waved off his concern and laughed. “I’m fine. I’m fine. I thought I saw something but there was nothing there and then my phone rang and scared the crap out of me. I’m just tired and on edge. Let’s get on the road and get this over with.”
Chance’s eyes lingered on her, not quite believing her, but he let it go. They made their way to a tiny blue Toyota Yaris. “Could you have gotten something a little smaller?”
“Hey don’t knock it. It’s a Toyota. Plus, it’s great on gas.”
She arched an eyebrow and looked at him skeptically over the low hood. “It’s a clown car.”
“Like there are a lot of other options here. “ He shrugged and folded himself into the front seat. She slipped into the passenger seat and busted out laughing. Her own knees were touching the dash, but poor Chance looked like he was folded in half. His tousled hair actually brushed the roof and his face was pinched in pain.
“Oh yeah. This is gonna be a fun drive. Speaking of which, do you need me to drive?” She bit back another laugh as he glared over at her. “Hey don’t knock it.” She grinned sarcastically.
“Shove it, Princess.” Chance pulled the seat back as far as possible, still not anywhere near enough to be comfortable and put the car in drive. “Why don’t you just put the address into the GPS and be useful for a change.”
Lilith flipped him off and grabbed the Garmin, punching in the address from the envelope. Seconds later the robotic voice was leading them south, out of the crowded streets of Knoxville and into the middle of nowhere.
They traded work stories for the first half of the trip. Chance had his awkward, over-confident meat-head students at the dojo. Lilith had her “stupidest criminal ever” award winners.
Chance seemed to really enjoy the story about the “little person” that died with two punctures to the neck. Of course her liaison with the police, Philippe Alvarez, called her in thinking it might be a vampire attack. It turned out to be some, World of Warcraft obsessed, geek who was best friends with the guy. Apparently they both read somewhere that if they drew blood directly from the jugular of a dwarf and added it to an energy drink it would improve their chances with the ladies. The geek missed the vein on the first attempt, hit it on the second, but then couldn’t get the bleeding to stop. Where the hell do people get these ideas? Chance nearly choked he was laughing so hard.
When they ran out of stories, Chance turned on the radio and tuned in to some classic rock station while she took in the surroundings. She stared out the windows at tiny strip malls, aging gas stations and rolling hills. The leaves on all the trees were golds, browns and reds, a cornucopia of colors dotted with large flat expanses of cow fields and corn crops. There were little mom and pop stores fading on the side of the road, little vegetable stands with hand painted signs and crumbling barns. These were all the signatures of fall in the south.
It was a whole other planet from Manhattan, but she could see why Duncan liked to come out here. It was quiet and quaint. The sheer number of trees was staggering. The sides of the interstate, including the median, were lined with them. Not the simple, ornate, straight lines of trees that graced the medians up north, but wild groves, that a New Yorker would call a forest, spanned the distance between the north and south lanes. Duncan had always been a fan of simple pleasures. The one time she remembered her uncle visiting New York, he’d called it the “concrete jungle”. His tone hadn’t rung with the shiny wide-eyed enthusiasm that most visitors had when they used that description. For Duncan, it was definitely a drawback.
They finally turned off the four lane highways and onto narrow country roads. Chance weaved around tight corners and up hills with a boyish glee. It was like some crazy rollercoaster. They barely missed tractors and pickups around almost every bend which played hell on her nerves. Lilith white-knuckled the door-handle and forced herself to focus on the tall trees that lined the road with the exception of a few live oaks and weeping willows that actually hung over it. The view opened up to huge pastures surrounded by split-rail or barb wire fences with black and white cows watching them pass by. If it hadn’t been for the GPS barking electronic directions they never would have found the place.
Five miles in they finally rolled to a stop outside a tan house with a double garage. The property sloped down steeply from the front of the house which made it appear as if it’d fall off the face of the earth at any moment. The front yard was pretty bare, with only a couple young trees planted near the split-rail fence. A new shed, with siding matching the house, stood a little closer to the road, complete with one of the quilt pattern signs on it that she’d seen on dozens of houses and barns on the way here.
Chance stared out the window in complete disbelief. “It looks so…normal. I was expecting some kind of plantation style mansion or something. We sure this is the right place?”
Lilith double checked the address with the numbers on the cow mailbox. “This is definitely the place. Guess he didn’t want to stand out here anymore than he already would. There’s a reason we usually stick to big cities. People in small towns get too nosey. It’s bad enough for humans who don’t go to church in a place like this. It’d be a million times harder for Duncan to stay under the radar.”
“Well, what’s the plan? Since Spencer is apparently MIA and we don’t have a key. I somehow doubt that Spencer or Miriah left the place unlocked.”
Lilith glanced around. There was a neighboring, single story, white house across the street, only partially hidden by a line of trees. On the left of Duncan’s place was another house less than a quarter mile down the road. A thick line of trees ran behind the houses, but she could see one or two more neighbors at the crest of the hill beyond the trees that would still have a view of the back of the house.
“I think you should go knock on the door.”
Chance turned toward her and frowned. “What? We know there isn’t anyone here. What good would that do?”
Lilith pointed out the neighboring houses discreetly. “You can bet at least one of them is watching. We’ve been parked here a couple minutes now. If we just drive off, they’re gonna think we are casing the joint or something. They’d probably even call the cops. Go knock on the door. Wait a few minutes, and then walk back to the car like you’re telling me no one’s home. We’ll go get a hotel, get in a nap or something and come back here tonight, when we’re less likely to have an audience.”
Chance just stared at her for a minute, not even bothering to hide his surprise.
Lilith quirked an eyebrow at him and frowned. “Yes, I’m aware that I actually have a brain and am pretty damn good at my job. Just go.”
“Does your job actually require you to be a criminal-minded sneak?” The words sounded critical, but there was a warm excitement in his voice that was unmistakable.
Lilith raised her eyebrows and just looked at him. “Seriously?” When he still looked confused she continued. “You do know what I do for a living, right?” That didn’t seem to sink in either for some reason.
“You work with the cops on crime scenes.” It started as a statement but ended up sounding more like a question.
“More specifically, I show up at very particular crime scenes ahead of the police. I determine which investigations need to be handled in-house and which get kicked to normal homicide. Very few cops know what I do, Chance. I have to access crime scenes without any trace that might contaminate the evidence. That means being a really gifted sneak.”
A grin crossed his lips. “Well, well. I never knew you were so diabolical. I always just assumed that you were a squeaky-clean, by the book type since you work with cops.”
“If I do my job right I don’t have to work with any cops, besides Alvarez. Now if we’re done playing career day, could you just go knock on the door before we get to play with Tennessee’s finest?”
He pulled himself out of the car with a great deal of effort and took a moment to str
etch. He groaned in relief and walked casually to the front door. After a few minutes he jogged back around the double garage, shrugging. “Guess he’s not home yet.” His voice projected loudly enough for any neighbors with windows open to hear him. Subtle. When he swung the car door open, he death-glared at the tiny seat and squeezed himself into the car.
“Okay, mission accomplished. We are officially disappointed visitors. So, oh mighty navigator, you want to find us a hotel with that thing.” He nodded over at the GPS on the dashboard.
“Well there’s a Town and Country out on the main road, Highway 411. Only other option is a Motor Lodge.”
“Town and Country it is! Punch it in, Navigator.” His enthusiasm was almost contagious.
“Are you always this chipper? Cause if this is normal Chance mode I think I need more coffee.”
“Hey. So far this is the first vacation I’ve ever had.” This time his smile really was contagious, tiny dimples and all. She couldn’t help but grin as the GPS began barking electronic directions. In the back of her mind, Lilith hoped he could still consider it a vacation once they figured out just what was going on. So far, it didn’t seem likely.
A few minutes later they arrived at a run down, tiny motel. It was single story in an L shape, white painted cement block with a faded blue tin roof. A dumpster sat next to a telephone pole near the road and of course there was a vending machine, probably broken, next to the office. They both sat in the car contemplating their options as they stared over the cracked paint on each of the 10 red doors around the building.
Chance shifted in his seat as much as the cramped car would allow, which wasn’t much, and looked at her. “Okay, we’ve been cramped into an airplane and then squeezed into this tiny ass car. We have to go back to Duncan’s tonight, so I don’t see the point of driving any farther. I say we take a room here tonight, go back out to check Duncan’s place and if we haven’t heard from Spencer or Miriah by then, we drive back to Knoxville and find someplace where we are less likely to be chopped up for stew meat.”