by Parker Blue
"I wasn't even there."
"No, but someone could have told you the books were there. And you're a detective. You were probably just waiting for Val to move the books so you could grab them."
"Why would I want them?” Dan asked incredulously.
Kyle rolled his eyes. “Oh, I dunno. Maybe because you hate and fear vampires and demons and want to clean up San Antonio and make it safe for your kind?"
Dan gaped at him for a moment. He couldn't deny none of it was true. “Oh, come on. You can't believe that. It's ridiculous. Ramirez sent me. Tell him, Micah."
Micah rubbed his hand over his face. “Kyle has a point, you know. And if he thought of it, others will, too. I hadn't considered a normal human as the culprit."
"But I don't have the books,” Dan protested. “How can I convince you?"
Dan was far more likely to play the hero than the villain. I shook my head. “I believe him."
Kyle shrugged. “Not exactly impartial, Slayer.” And by the way he looked at Dan, I could tell he was liking the idea of Dan being the bad guy more and more.
Fang huffed. I'M NOT HATING IT, MYSELF.
Yeah, okay. I was still ticked at my former partner, but I couldn't let him take the rap for something I was sure he wouldn't do. He might stake Luis, if Luis gave him a good reason. But throw toxic material on a teenaged girl and dump her? No way. “In case you haven't heard, we're not partners anymore,” I told Kyle.
"Okay, so prove his innocence like you did ours."
"I can't. I can't read his mind and Fang can't either."
Kyle looked at the dog in surprise. Oops, I probably shouldn't have revealed how we'd cleared everyone.
NAW, IT'S OKAY, Fang assured me. THEY KNEW I COULD READ THEIR MINDS, AND THEY WOULD HAVE PUT TWO AND TWO TOGETHER SOONER OR LATER.
Dan grimaced. “Don't you have someone else who can do some mumbo jumbo and prove I'm telling the truth?"
Micah looked mildly offended. “The Demon Underground is not anyone's personal magick shop. We also prize the privacy of our members. Even if we did have someone who could do ‘mumbo jumbo’ as you call it, I'm not sure I'd care to expose their powers to you. We prefer to keep that privileged information to ourselves.” He thought for a moment. “But there is someone who could force you to tell the truth . . .” He turned to stare at me. “Someone whose powers you're already familiar with."
Oh yeah, Lola could do the trick. And she perked up at the thought of getting her hooks into Dan again. But I really didn't want to go there.
"No way,” Dan blurted out, holding up both hands and backing away as if to ward me off.
METHINKS HE DOTH PROTEST TOO MUCH, Fang said wryly.
"Something to hide?” Kyle asked suspiciously.
"No. That's not it. I—"
He broke off, so I finished his sentence for him. “He doesn't want me to use my ability on him,” I explained. “I have cooties."
NO, YOU HAVE POWER OVER HIM, Fang corrected me. POWER HE DOESN'T UNDERSTAND BUT SECRETLY ENJOYS. DAN HATES THAT.
So now the hellhound was an amateur psychologist?
Dan slanted me an exasperated glance. “Don't be ridiculous. But having that much control over men's minds isn't right."
NOT TO MENTION THEIR BODIES, Fang said with a leer.
I shook my head, feeling tired of the whole thing. But I knew Dan had a thing about being controlled after he was enthralled by a lustful female vamp a few weeks ago. “Don't worry, Dan, I'm not going to touch you. And neither is Lola."
"Then how is he going to prove his innocence?” Kyle persisted.
Dan looked like he was about to blow his top, but Micah made a calming motion again. “Please. Kyle has the right to ask, and I'd like to eliminate you as a suspect so we can move on. Lieutenant Ramirez would like that, too, I'm sure. Val has more control now, so the questioning would be very brief, then over."
"And I heard you owe Micah a favor,” Kyle put in.
Dan glanced at me, looking torn. After a moment, he shook his head. “I do owe you a favor, but not this. I can't."
For some stupid reason, that hurt. I mean, I knew he didn't like being in Lola's clutches, but he should know by now that he could trust me, trust Micah. Guess he still thought of me as a thing . . . a monster.
WELL, SCREW HIM, Fang said.
I grinned. I could always count on Fang to be on my side. Lola and I tried, but didn't get very far.
Fang snorted, but luckily, the others didn't hear.
Kyle stared at Dan, his eyes narrowed. “You say you're innocent but won't do the one thing that would prove it one way or the other. Sounds like guilt to me."
Dan clenched his fists and glared down at the slight demon. “I don't need to prove myself to you."
"You do, actually,” Micah said, looking suspicious now himself. “Or, rather, to the Demon Underground. With your known association with Val who had the books, your dislike of vampires and distrust of demons, plus your refusal to clear yourself, you are obviously a prime suspect.” He raised his hand to stop Dan from interrupting. “You know that your lieutenant uses us to gather intelligence for him on the vampires in San Antonio. I'm afraid we might have to stop that if you are in the SCU and benefiting from any information we have to share."
I stared at him. “You can't be serious.” If he threatened to cut Ramirez off, Dan might lose his job.
Micah shook his head. “I have to be, Val. I have to think of my people first."
Surprisingly, Dan seemed to understand that reasoning. “I get it, but I don't like it. I'll take some unpaid leave until you find the thief."
"I have a better idea,” Micah said. “Why don't you and Val work as partners again? That way you can help find the thief and stop this damage, and Val and Fang will be able to keep an eye on you for us."
Kyle nodded. “Works for me."
Dan crossed his arms, but nodded as well. “I'll have to talk to Ramirez first, but if he agrees, it's a deal."
Well, crap. Didn't I get a vote? Why on earth would I want to take Dan on as a partner again? And what was Micah thinking? Was he trying to play matchmaker or something? This was soooo not what I wanted.
[Back to Table of Contents]
Chapter Fifteen
The next days fell into a pattern. I slept in the morning, questioned demons in the afternoon while trying to keep Shade and Lola from playing touchy-feely, and used the candle method to try to contain Lola. At night, I spent awkward times with Dan as he, Fang and I fruitlessly hunted the streets of San Antonio for misbehaving bloodsuckers. Not exactly like old times, except for the part where I had to concentrate hard to keep Lola from trying to feed on my partner.
It was a relief when Micah called and asked me to be present at a meeting with him and Alejandro. Thankfully, I let Dan attend the SCU briefing alone and arranged to meet him at my place afterward.
The vampires and demons met on neutral ground, in a hotel downtown. A really hoity toity place with a meeting room that looked like a men's club, or what I imagined a men's club to look like anyway—sleek brown leather, dark wood, shiny crystal and gold accents.
Fang paused in the doorway. SHEESH. KINDA MAKES ME FEEL GUILTY FOR SHEDDING ALL OVER IT. He shrugged and trotted in. OR NOT.
Alejandro brought two of his lieutenants with him—Luis and Austin—and Micah brought Ludwig, Fang, and me.
I LIKE THESE ODDS, Fang said. THREE OF THEM, FOUR OF US.
I grinned down at the small terrier. Well, three and half, maybe.
HEY, BABE, DON'T CUT YOURSELF SHORT LIKE THAT.
I shook my head. There was no way to win in a verbal contest with Fang, so I glanced around. The vamps looked at home, but the rest of us . . . not so much. It was a strange group to be facing each other across a polished cherry conference table. I glanced at the man mountain, wondering what kind of demon he was and why Micah had brought him instead of Tessa.
Probably for the same reason I figured he'd asked me to come—to help control anything that got o
ut of hand. Unfortunately, I was having problems controlling myself right now. Or rather, Lola. She remembered enthralling these three vamps before. Remembered it, liked it, and wanted more. Keeping her under control and her hooks out of Dan and Shade had caused me to go without feeding for far too long. The hunger gnawed at me and Lola was constantly present, urging me to slake her appetite with any available male. But I locked her down tight. This was so not the time.
Alejandro steepled his fingers. In his tailored suit, crisp shirt, and silk tie, he looked the very image of a Wall Street banker . . . if it weren't for his long flowing hair. And the fangs.
WELL, HE IS A BANKER OF SORTS, the hellhound reminded me.
Glad for the distraction, I smothered a laugh. Yeah, with a slightly different currency.
"Thank you for meeting with us,” Alejandro said. “I understand you have been testing the blood from our banks. What did you learn?"
Micah nodded. “We have a medical technician among us who tested the blood for water—in case it was holy water—silver nitrate, and other foreign substances. He found nothing.” He spread his hands. “Then again, the bottles of blood you gave us didn't look as though they'd been tampered with, so we can't be sure they were."
Alejandro's two lieutenants shifted as if they wanted to respond, but deferred to their boss. “We sent a representative batch from both locations where my people were poisoned. We did not find any breach of the bottles’ seal either. However, my people are also trained to detect any tampering with the bottles. They would not have used it if there was something wrong with the seal."
Micah leaned forward. “But people get lax, forget procedures. Are you certain they didn't forget to check?"
"All five of them?” Alejandro countered. “I think not. And it is beyond the bounds of reason to think that they drank the only contaminated packages of blood in the bank. That would be too much of a coincidence."
Micah nodded slowly. “I take it you didn't find anything in the blood either."
"Nothing,” Alejandro confirmed. “And none of our other bottles appear to be tampered with. We tested one with . . . a volunteer . . . who ended up in the same condition as the other five."
Fang snorted at my feet. WONDER WHAT THE POOR GUY DID TO GET VOLUNTEERED.
Probably one of the vamps not in the Movement. I piped up. “Well, if the bottle didn't look like anyone messed with it, then maybe the contamination was in the human donating."
I was pretty proud of myself for that reasoning, but Luis sneered. “Did you really assume we would not think of that?"
"We did,” Alejandro said with a quelling glance at Luis. “Each of our bottles is labeled with the donor's name, since some of my people have their favorite flavors."
Ew. That conjured up visions of a vampire tasting room, people lined up unconscious in glass coffins along the wall with tubes coming out of their veins and flowing into wine glasses. I suppressed a shiver. You'd never catch me donating blood.
Alejandro continued. “Since the labels were still intact on the bottles the mad ones drank, we tested a couple of donors to see if they were contaminated. They were not."
"Maybe it wasn't the blood,” I suggested. “Maybe it was something else causing it."
"Such as?” Luis asked with a raised eyebrow.
"I don't know. Maybe they all visited someplace where they caught a rare disease or something."
Luis was too stuck-up to roll his eyes, but his nostrils flared in derision. “Have you never heard of Occam's Razor?"
"Huh?” Did anyone else think that was totally random?
Austin grinned at me. “Basically, it means the simplest explanation that is based on the facts is the most likely. Occam was the fourteenth century friar who came up with the idea."
Oh. Why couldn't Luis have just said that?
BECAUSE HE HAS TO FIND SOME WAY TO PRETEND HE'S SUPERIOR, Fang said. I BET HE HAS A TINY WEENIE, TOO.
Good thing I wasn't drinking anything or that would have caused an instant spit-take. As it was, I had to pretend I was coughing to cover the choking laughter. You may be right, but I sure ain't checking his tighty whities.
At least Fang's diversion allowed me to respond to Luis without anger. “Okay, let's assume it is in the blood in the bottles. If the bottles don't show any signs of tampering, how else is the poison getting in there?"
Luis gave me a tight smile. “Demon magick, perhaps? I notice there have been no more attacks on your kind."
Everyone around the table stiffened.
"I see,” Micah said, sounding calm but looking as though he'd like to rip Luis's head off. “This is why you invited me here today."
Alejandro spread his hands. “If you have another explanation, I would be most happy to hear it."
Leaning forward menacingly, Ludwig bit out, “How about your people are faking it and using this so-called madness to revert to their real nature without consequences?"
Luis bolted up out of his seat. “How dare you!” He slapped his hands down on the table and practically hissed at Ludwig. “Demon spawn—"
The man mountain lunged across the table, his meaty paw headed for Luis's throat. Luis snarled back, fangs gleaming, and batted Ludwig's hand out of the way then leapt across the table . . . and the fight was on. Though the other men in the room tried to stop them, it was as if they weren't even there.
Oh, crap. Lola loved it, lapping up all that wonderful testosterone. This was not good.
AN UNDERSTATEMENT, Fang agreed. DO SOMETHING.
It was as if Fang had given Lola permission. My succubus shredded the barrier I had put up and burst forth, instantly sending surges of lustful energy into the men in the room and enslaving them . . . all but Micah, of course. “Stop,” I yelled.
They obeyed me immediately, each man turning to look at me as if waiting for further orders.
Fang nudged me. UH, NOT EXACTLY WHAT I MEANT.
"Val,” Micah said warningly, “what are you doing?"
Dumb question. He knew exactly what I was doing. But I was fighting too hard with Lola to answer him. She wanted to surge along the connection, stroke their chakras, suck up all that yummy energy. But though she had them thoroughly caught in her web, I wouldn't let her feed. It seemed like a violation of hospitality or at least a breach of our unspoken treaty.
"You haven't fed recently, have you?” Micah demanded. “Why didn't you use Shade?"
Since I couldn't answer him, Fang did. SHE'S AFRAID SHADE WILL BECOME TOO LOVEY DOVEY. SHE DIDN'T FEED ON HIM SO SHE REALLY NEEDS IT NOW, BUT SHE'S AFRAID TO LET GO AND TAKE ANYTHING FROM THE POOR LITTLE BLOODSUCKERS.
Traitor.
Micah watched me thoughtfully. “She has a good point—we don't want to offend our potential allies. Since your succubus doesn't work on my incubus, please feed on Ludwig.” He glanced at the large man. “He should be punished for resorting to violence, anyway. At least, I hope he considers it a punishment."
I didn't want to feed on anyone, but Lola wouldn't give up her prey, and I wouldn't let her loose. Stalemate. Micah's solution was my only option—the only good one, anyway. Wonder if that was someone's razor, too.
I wasn't sure if I could separate him out from the pack, but I tried it, gingerly. Given permission to nibble on Ludwig, Lola surged into him and plucked all of his strings, making him vibrate with desire, forcing him to worship and adore the goddess that was Val. It was kind of sickening, actually. When he tried to embrace me, I forced him to stay where he was. As Lola hoovered up the energy he generated, I dialed it down from fire hose strength to more like a garden hose.
And now that Lola was occupied, I was able to disengage from the vamps. “I'm going to let go of the others now,” I told Micah.
I gently released the vamps, and Alejandro immediately said, “Luis, no."
Good thing, ‘cause he had my murder in his eyes.
"She didn't know any other way to stop the two of you without harming you,” Micah told Luis quickly.
&nb
sp; Alejandro nodded. “I know. She could have done much worse, but chose not to. We understand the pressures of the young newly coming into their powers. Do we not, Luis?"
Luis grimaced but Austin tried to hide a grin. Interesting. I wondered what the story was behind that. But Luis merely gave a curt nod.
"My apologies,” Alejandro said with a slight bow. “The lack of an abundant supply of nourishment is making us all . . . testy."
Micah smiled back at him. “I should apologize as well. Ludwig is rather short-tempered.” He glanced at the man, who was still in my thrall. “You can release him now, Val."
Oops. It had felt so good to feel satisfied again, the hidden wells of my body stoked once more, I had kind of forgotten I had Ludwig on a string. Lola was just playing with him now, getting him all hot and bothered. Luckily, she hadn't gone all the way to suck him dry. Embarrassed, I let him go. Now I kind of understood how the vamps felt after not feeding for awhile.
"Sorry,” I told Ludwig.
NO WORRIES, Fang said. HE ENJOYED IT ALL RIGHT, BUT FEELS SICK THAT HE HAD THE HOTS FOR A GIRL HIS DAUGHTER'S AGE.
True, he did look a little stunned and horrified. Good—it was a punishment after all.
Micah gave him a stern look. “It wouldn't have been necessary if you hadn't lost control.” Then to everyone else in the room, he said, “Let's all sit down and see if we can discuss this rationally."
Luis and Austin took their cue from Alejandro and returned to the table. As everyone took their seats, Micah added, “After what happened with Lily Armstrong, we're all aware that one person's secret ambitions can have a devastating effect on an organization. But I believe both the New Blood Movement and the Demon Underground are united in wanting to find the culprit, whether vampire, demon, or human, and put a stop to the damage he or she is inflicting on both organizations."
"Very true,” Alejandro murmured. “The organization should not be held responsible for the actions of one aberrant individual.” He stared at Luis as if to bore that into his head.
NOT SURE THAT'S GONNA WORK, Fang muttered. HIS HEAD'S A BIT THICK.
"A change of subject,” Micah proposed. “How are Lorenzo, Corina, and the others doing?"