Mixed Feelings (Empathy in the PPNW Book 1)

by Olivia R. Burton

  Chloe grinned and yanked me into a hug hard enough that I was briefly reminded of being in Dirk’s arms. Chloe smelled much better, though, and had never once tried to bite me.

  ***

  “What did they do to Dirk?” Mel asked as Chloe started the car.

  She shrugged.

  “I didn’t really ask the details, but they assured me he won’t be kidnapping any more children or hanging around any more demons.”

  “Goddamn dick,” Mel growled.

  Chloe caught his reflection in the rearview mirror, eyebrow up. “You mean Dirk?”

  “I didn’t stutter.”

  She snorted, but silence fell over the car again. We were quiet for a few more minutes before curiosity got the better of me.

  “You said earlier that a vampire Dirk’s age wouldn’t be trouble. If he were older, we’d have to watch our backs? Do vampires go through a particularly bad mid-life crisis?”

  Chloe was quiet for a second, discomfort billowing out of her. After a moment, she nodded.

  “Um. Yeah. Mel didn’t tell you that?” Her tone suggested this was common knowledge, something you learn in grade school around the time you hear all about how Batman smells.

  “No,” Mel said, leaning forward. “My only vampire knowledge is through Dirk, though.”

  “Well, when they get to be old—I mean, really old—they’re pretty impressive specimens. Evadne and I talked about a vampire who was several thousand years old. I’m talking B.C. here.”

  “Jesus,” Mel mumbled and I wondered if it was intentional. Instead of letting the silence fall, I spoke up.

  “Will this be like last time? With the fainting and the slapping? I don’t know if I’m in any shape for more physical comedy.”

  “It was pretty funny when you fell into a heap and then started stuttering in the voice of a little boy,” Chloe teased. When I frowned her way, she let out a small chuckle. “I don’t know what Merrin will do. I just know that once she gets us a location, we’re gonna go in full bore.”

  “Tusks and all?”

  “If that’s your thing, sure.”

  “I just mean, what are we expecting? And how the hell are we supposed to be prepared for this? Is Evadne coming with us? Laurel and Hardy?”

  “I think it’s just the three of us. I’m sure we can get hold of some gadgets that will help.”

  “Gadgets? Like a remote-control pillow and an electric back massager? I don’t think those will do us much good against magic.”

  “Back massager?” Mel asked, his voice low and throaty. Without hesitating, I reached between the seats, whacked him in the chest. He grunted out a laugh and leaned out of my personal space.

  “Just trust me, okay? I’m confident we can handle this,” Chloe insisted.

  I tapped my foot impatiently. She had saved my life multiple times already and besides, Chloe was nothing if not competence personified. I considered the last few days and realized that the only times I’d been really hurt or in danger had been with Mel or while waiting for Mel. I nodded.

  “I trust you.”

  Chapter Twenty

  I did pass out, but there was no slapping involved and we left Merrin’s armed with an address that Mel excitedly recognized.

  “I know that place! It’s a hotel.”

  “Why am I not surprised? Does that mean you’ve slept with all the desk agents and we should hide you lest they take a baseball bat to our windshield?” I asked.

  Mel just talked over me. “I’ll drive. We should be in and out in a few minutes.”

  “Merrin didn’t have a room number,” Chloe pointed out.

  “And this address is downtown,” I reminded him. “I doubt it’ll be as small as the last place. I can’t stand next to every room and see what I find through the doors; that’ll take ages.”

  “I got it, don’t worry.” Mel opened the passenger side door for me, gesturing with a flourish. When I continued to stare in disbelief, he gestured again. “I promise.”

  “Just get in,” Chloe said, opening the back door and taking her own advice. I fought the urge to throw a little fit at Mel’s lack of explanation but got in. Before long, we were on our way toward downtown Seattle, Mel humming along to some song on the radio that I didn’t recognize. It reminded me of when we’d been driving to meet the Carlyles.

  “Mel, do you remember what you were humming when I got all, you know.” I flailed my hand, unsure how to describe it. “Melty.”

  “Ah.” Mel made a thoughtful sound, took a second to think, and then nodded. “Yeah, I had Aqua stuck in my head, Barbie Girl specifically.” I gaped at him, completely unable to decide if I was more flabbergasted that Mel liked such saccharine music or that my mood had been so warped that I’d not been able to recognize such a happy tune. “Why?”

  “No reason,” I said after a moment, deciding that, of all the things I’d learned about Mel that week, that was probably the least mortifying. Turning to Chloe, I looked her up and down. “You bring your guns?”

  “Today, no. I don’t really want them around the kids.”

  “But what if there’s an ogre or a giant three-headed dog guarding them?”

  “Then my tiny gun probably won’t help.”

  “So what will? You’re the expert all of a sudden. What do we do in the face of an angry, three-headed ogre?”

  “We shove Mel at it and we run,” Chloe suggested. Mel’s whistle faltered for a beat. She grinned, jerking her thumb at the back of the car. “I got some stuff in the trunk that will help.”

  “What did Evadne charge you for it?”

  “She didn’t.” Something about her inflection was odd, but she wasn’t lying, so I just nodded.

  “You think she will later?”

  “I’m certain she won’t.”

  Since my back was starting to hurt from the twisted position, I turned to face the front again. “I’m still going to maybe pray a little that there aren’t any ogres in there.”

  ***

  Mel pushed ahead of us into the hotel, crossing the lobby quickly. When I attempted to match his speed, Chloe grabbed my wrist.

  “Let him go. If he knows the women behind the desk, he’ll probably have better luck charming them if you’re not around. Actually, even if he doesn’t know them.”

  “What’s that mean?”

  “You’re not great with people.” I frowned, but she pressed on before I could argue. “I know your empathy plays a factor, and I’m not saying you’re just an asshole for no reason, but you’ve currently got chunks of a demon in your brain and you’re stressed about saving these little kids. Let Mel do the schmoozing.”

  I grumbled but couldn’t actually argue with the points she’d made. I’m good with my clients—with one arthritic exception—but out in the real world, it’s a lot harder to be decent. Any simple, everyday activity that takes place outside my home can be like stepping into an emotional war zone. Just sitting at a traffic light that’s too long can make me want to tear my hair out. Between the blood loss and the itching vampire bites, I was even crabbier than usual, and that was saying something.

  Chloe and I stayed at the back of the lobby, watching Mel chat up the two women behind the desk. Even from where I was, I could feel how they were reacting to him and, to my surprise, it was all positive. Despite getting to know him over the past week, I wasn’t sure I would ever get over my shock at seeing him be charming. He’d admitted to finding it funny that he can so easily ruin my day; why did these women not get the same treatment? Even with chunks of demon in my brain, I could feel their flattery and see the way they looked at him. It didn’t seem right that the same man who made me feel like I was being swarmed by hornets could smooth-talk a counter full of desk agents.

  Chloe and I watched him follow one of the women behind the desk and through a door into the back.

  “You think he’s paying for this information with a quickie in the copy room?”

  Chloe chuckled but just shook her head. All
in all, Mel was in the back for maybe fifteen minutes before he came to us armed with a bright yellow key card and a giddy smile.

  “Apparently our ingenious kidnappers didn’t think to make sure the place they brought the kids wouldn't have cameras. Lucy had checked Dirk in, so she knew who he was when we got to the part of the surveillance that showed them smuggling in the kids. She gave me a key to their room.”

  “Because you asked nicely?” I asked as Mel jerked his head toward the elevators and we all fell into step toward them.

  “Because I’m a successful private detective with a trustworthy smile.” Catching my look, he shrugged. “We have a history.”

  “Who don’t you have a history with?”

  “You,” Mel pointed out.

  “Oh, we have history. It’s just vaguely reminiscent of one of the World Wars.”

  We made our way up to the tenth floor when it occurred to me how very strange and possibly illegal our actions were.

  I elbowed Mel. “Hey, are the ladies downstairs gonna call the cops on Dirk and the demon?”

  “No, I assured them I’d handle it.”

  “They were just cool with you taking on a possible kidnapper by yourself?”

  “I didn’t exactly tell them the whole truth, you know,” Mel said. “I’m not an idiot.” Noticing my disbelief, he scowled. “I’m not!”

  We were quiet as we made our way down to the very end of the hall, but only because I was too scared to make fun of Mel within earshot of something that might want to eat me. As Mel stopped in front of the room, Chloe dug into the red backpack she’d pulled out of the trunk. She came out holding a rock.

  “Is that to throw at the ogres?” I asked. Chloe smiled but didn’t answer, holding the rock out and waving it in front of the door like a stud finder. Mel and I exchanged a look, though I wasn’t sure his said the same thing as mine; he looked eager and intrigued.

  “Nothing on the door,” Chloe said, grabbing the key from Mel without asking. He let her and we both watched as she opened the door, pressed it back against the wall, and looked in. “Nothing set to jump out and eat our faces.”

  “We should send Mel in first, just to make sure.”

  Chloe ignored my comment, dropped the stone back into her bag, and stepped inside. I tried to control the worried tension singing through my muscles.

  “I’m going to check it out, stay out here for a second,” she said.

  “Are you—”

  “She’s the one with the bag of goodies,” Mel said, putting a hand on my arm. I didn’t like it, but he had a point. I leaned as far toward the doorway as I dared without actually crossing the line of it and watched Chloe. The room was small, typical of every reasonably upscale hotel room I’d come across. Chloe walked it briskly, stopping at the end of the bed where the three children lay, asleep and still like the last time I’d seen them. My heart started pounding at the sight of them. They had no idea how close they were to being safe.

  The memory of when I’d channeled Devon’s panic wavered through my mind and I swallowed hard, tensing with the need to go to him, scoop him up, and rush him home. Chloe waved another item from her bag over the kids, but I couldn’t see what it was with just the light from the doorway. When she turned to smile and beckon us in, I was the first over the threshold. Mel went straight to the kids, but I slid my hand along the wall until I found the switch and flipped it.

  Immediately, all worry for the children disappeared from my mind and the only thing I could focus on was a fork on the dresser. It looked clean but out of place. Who would leave a fork just lying around? There was no plate to go along with it, no spoon or knife. It was just a metal fork alone in a hotel room with no kitchen, begging to be put away.

  Naturally, in that moment I understood that the proper place to store a fork is in an electrical socket.

  “What are you doing?” Chloe asked as I moved to the dresser, picked up the fork, and looked it over. Two of the four tines had been bent down, making it the perfect shape to fit where it belonged. “Gwen? Come help. Mel can’t carry all three kids by himself, not in the puppy-weak state he’s in.”

  I wasn’t concerned with what she was saying or in Mel’s bristly response. The kids were not a priority; putting away the fork was the priority. I knew just where it needed to go, too; there was an alcove above the sink at the back of the room, and while one of the outlets was taken up by a lighted mirror, the other was free and clear. It was the perfect height to just stride over and shove it in: no muss, no fuss.

  “What are you doing?” Mel called from behind me. I couldn’t see him anymore; I was too deep into the room. The closer I got to the light socket, the more content I felt. The very idea of shoving two of the tines into that shocked-looking plastic face made me almost weak in the knees. In that moment, I was in love with the idea. It was perfect in a way I could never be. Nothing could compare to the ecstasy I knew I would feel in just a few seconds.

  “Would you put that—” Mel cut off, shock strangling his voice as I lifted my arm. The back of my jacket shot back, pulling the front with it, and I gagged as fabric cut off my air supply.

  My feet left the floor but I barely had the self-awareness to reach back in an attempt to break my fall. My butt hit the carpet first, then my shoulders and my head. My left arm felt bruised, as it had briefly considered breaking my fall but not quite made it a reality. My right arm, however, still held the fork triumphantly in the air. Time passed as I tried to figure out what had happened, why I still held cutlery. Where had the outlet gone?

  Was I lying on the floor? Unacceptable.

  “Don’t touch the fork,” Chloe warned as Mel stepped into view. “It’s got to be enchanted.”

  “What do I do?” he asked.

  Hacking out a cough as my body realized what my brain didn’t, I struggled around my heavy lungs and attempted to get back up. I had to work pretty hard to move my left arm properly. Finally, I made it to my feet, my breathing recovering as I started to feel steadier.

  “We’re gonna have to get her wet,” Chloe said. There was a deliberate silence followed by, “Don’t look at me like that. Running water. It helps.”

  Chloe put a hand on my back for all of a second before making a thoughtful sound. Realizing I could breathe normally, and therefore probably walk, I turned to face the socket again. Chloe took the fork out of my hand, moved ahead of me.

  “What are you doing?” Mel asked. “I thought we couldn't touch—”

  “I need that,” I told her, a thread of panic coming loose in my belly. When she didn’t turn around and give the fork back, I felt myself start to unravel. I shot my hand out, gripping her jacket as tightly as I could. “Excuse me!”

  “Let go,” Chloe said, trying to get free. I switched my grip to her wrist, reaching for the fork with my other hand. She stumbled slightly before turning to glare my way. “I said let go!” She started trying to pry my fingers off her arm.

  “Are you both enchanted?” Mel demanded. “What the hell are you doing?”

  “I need the fork!”

  “It’s mine,” Chloe spat. She stopped trying to pry my fingers up and instead pressed against my wrist just right, shooting a line of pain up my arm. I let go without meaning to and she spun toward the outlet. “I’ve got this.”

  “Give it back!” The panic had spread to my limbs, lighting me up inside, making me desperate and shaky. Mel simply stepped between Chloe and the outlet, holding out his hand to stop her.

  “What are you—Gwen!”

  I threw myself bodily at Chloe. If I had to wrestle the fork out of her grip and stab her with it to keep her away, I would. She took my weight surprisingly well, barely stumbling before hunching and dumping me forward over her shoulder and onto the ground. I groaned at the impact, opened my eyes to find Mel staring down at me in shock.

  “Chloe, what—”

  “Get out of the way,” she ordered. When she tried to get around him, he sidestepped, matching her. They da
nced around like that a few times, to the left, right, left again before she stopped, lifting her gaze to his. “Move.”

  “I won’t. You’re being—”

  I got to my feet in time to see Chloe punch Mel in the stomach. When he doubled over, she pressed her hand into the back of his neck and shoved him to the floor. Without waiting to see if he was down for the count, she turned, held her arm out toward the outlet, and closed in.

  Despite being slowed by whatever the demon had done to him, Mel got to his feet in a flash. Teeth bared in exasperation, he grabbed a bath towel from the bar mounted just inside the bathroom and tossed it over Chloe’s head. I felt confusion scramble her brain as she went still, like a bird in a newly covered cage. I saw my chance to grab the fork, but before I could get to it, Mel repeated the maneuver with me. As the world went dark with terrycloth, I lost track of what I’d been doing.

  There was… there was something I needed to get, right?

  I felt Mel’s hands on my waist, directing me to walk somewhere. It didn’t take much maneuvering on his part, and the next thing I knew, the towel was gone from my head and a door was being closed in my face.

  I took a step back to let my brain catch up to my situation. Phantom forks danced in front of my eyes and I rapped my knuckles on the door trying to grab one of them. When I tried to look down at my hands, I wondered why I was blind before figuring out Mel hadn’t bothered to turn a light on when shuffling me into the bathroom. Realization dawned in an instant, though.

  Chloe had my fork!

  “Excuse me, please!” Fumbling, I searched for the doorknob. It took forever, but I found it, twisted it, pulled it. The door moved just enough to knock against my chest and I was briefly too ignorant to understand why I couldn't get out.

  Pausing with the doorknob pressed against my belly, I wondered why Mel was so intent on keeping me from putting perfectly harmless utensils into perfectly harmless electrical sockets where they so clearly belonged.

  It took me another eternity but I eventually understood that the door and my body could not occupy the same space. I stepped back, deliberately grabbed the knob once again, and tugged. Light followed the door into the tiny bathroom and I felt my eyes tear up as they adjusted. Once I could see, I turned to the left and my jaw dropped. Silver flashed in the light as Chloe tried to stab my fork into Mel’s chest.