“Aurora,” Mom finally said, taking on a more serious tone.
There was only one person in front of her and Gran now. I turned my head to show her I was listening.
Her forehead wrinkled as she looked into my eyes.
“You don’t have to worry about your grandmother and me anymore. Just worry about yourself and stay safe. Promise me I’ll see you at Christmas.”
Mom sounded so cheerful a moment ago that it hadn’t occurred to me she was as worried as I was. Sometimes it seemed like she believed being a vampire hunter made me indestructible.
“You’ll see me at Christmas,” I said. “I promise.”
“Good,” she said, eyes brightening. “Now promise you won’t miss any more classes.”
“I’ll try.”
Mom twisted her lips into a frown. She was about to say something, but the person in front of her walked away, and it was her turn to put her suitcase on the luggage belt. I stepped back while she and Gran checked in one bag each.
Dante stood ten feet back, texting. He lowered his phone when I joined him.
“They’re going to be fine,” Dante said.
Easy enough for him to say. I nodded slightly, keeping them in my sight.
Once their luggage was checked, our small group headed over to the security line.
I would have been happier walking through with them and watching their plane take off from the gate. Damn terrorists. Damn vampires. What was the world coming to?
My palms felt clammy. Being the one to leave had been much easier six months ago. Staying behind was so much harder.
Gran readjusted her silk scarf around her neck and checked her wristwatch. There was plenty of time before their flight, and the line at security only went back about twenty feet.
Five feet from the roped line, I stopped and threw my arms around my mom.
“I love you,” I said quickly.
“Oh, honey,” she said, squeezing me gently. “I love you more than you can possibly know.”
“Take care of our little girl,” Gran said, wagging one slender finger at Dante.
“I will, Abby.”
I let the “little girl” comment go and gave Gran a hug, too.
“You take care, dear. Don’t get into trouble. College is college. I don’t care if it’s not Notre Dame. You hit those books, and you hit them hard. Make us proud.”
“She makes us proud every day,” my mom said.
Gran nodded more in thought than agreement and gave me a final pat on the shoulder. “Ace all your tests, Aurora. I know you can do it if you put your mind to it.”
For the first time that day, a smile twitched over my lips.
“Thanks for your vote of confidence, Gran.”
“And you, young man,” Gran said, turning to Dante. He started to smile until he saw she wasn’t grinning.
“I like you,” Gran said. “But if Aurora’s grades drop I’m holding you personally responsible.”
Yeah, Dante. I had to bite my tongue to keep from laughing, especially when he answered with a “Yes, Ma’am.”
She turned back to me. “And no more of this missing class business.”
My mom put her hand on Gran’s arm. “Okay, Mom. We need to get going.”
Gran’s face brightened. “Right. Good-bye, dears,” she said, blowing kisses at Dante and me. “Take care, and we will see you soon.”
“Bye, Gran. Bye, Mom.” I waved even though they were only two feet in front of me.
Mom gave me a kiss on the cheek and whispered one last “Be safe” before joining Gran down the maze of ropes leading to the X-ray machines. Dante and I stood outside the roped area watching in silence. Before proceeding to the security belt, Mom turned around and gave me one last little wave.
I waved back.
“They’re safe now,” Dante said, once they disappeared into the terminal beyond security.
I felt annoyed more than anything else.
They weren’t safe.
What if their plane crashed? What if a drunk driver hit their cab on the way home from the airport? What if burglars thought Grandma was still out of town and burst in on them in the middle of the night and shot them dead?
They would never be safe.
I took a deep breath. Not helpful, Aurora. Not helpful at all.
14
Target
“So how do we find Giselle?” I asked, watching the security line long after my mom had disappeared from sight.
“We don’t,” Dante said.
“Let me guess. We let her find me.” When I looked at Dante, he smiled.
“We’re like one mind,” he said.
I rolled my eyes. We headed for the escalators.
“What did Melcher say this afternoon?” I asked.
“He said he’s been ready for Giselle for the past six months. He has all his Anchorage informants keeping an eye out for her, including Noel.”
“Noel?” I repeated.
“I think we should talk to her now,” Dante said.
My frown deepened.
“Do it for your family.”
I nodded. I’d do anything for my family, even if it meant collaborating with Noel and taking orders from Melcher.
“Fine,” I said. “So long as we take care of Giselle quickly. I want to lure her out this weekend.”
Dante shook his head. “Can’t. Melcher wants us back at Diederick’s next tasting.”
My spine straightened. “I don’t care about tastings! I’ve got bigger problems to deal with.”
I started walking faster, several steps ahead of Dante. The last thing I planned on doing this weekend was twiddling my thumbs at some stupid highfalutin vamp party while Giselle roamed free.
When Dante caught up to me, I said, “You can go to the tasting. I’m taking care of Giselle.”
“Hey,” he said, touching my cheek. “We’re in this together, but we’ve still got orders to follow.”
I turned my face away. Dante could be so frustrating.
“Here’s a little something that will cheer you up,” he continued. “This weekend, we’ve got our first hit, and you get to do the honors.”
All I could do was stare at him, and the more I stared at him, the more it sunk in that he wasn’t kidding. Dante thought he was delivering good news. Like one mind. More like polar opposites.
Nothing like the threat of a vampire to put me in a funk. I didn’t want to be annoyed at Dante. He wasn’t the problem. The problem was Giselle. Melcher. Jared.
I sighed. “Who’s the target?”
“Melcher wouldn’t tell me—said he’ll go over the plan with the three of us tomorrow afternoon.”
“Of course.”
Dante gave me a soft push on the shoulder and smiled. “Come on, Noel’s expecting us. I texted her while you were saying bye to your mom.”
The three of us stood in the kitchen drinking mugs of coffee Noel had prepared. Usually I preferred tea, but right now I needed something stronger.
Turned out Noel had nothing useful to share with us about Giselle. Six months ago, Melcher had shown her a photo of the blond vampire and told her to keep an eye out. Real helpful. At Dante’s urging, I shared the obituaries Giselle had left me, taking them right back as soon as Noel finished reading.
“I’ve seen no sign of her at any vamp parties,” Noel said, glancing at the news clippings in my hands.
I leaned back against the kitchen counter next to Dante. Noel stood across from us, decked out in a cropped floral top that showed off her flat, tanned midriff. She wore a matching short flared skirt and orange strappy sandals. About the only thing familiar about her was the look of concern that appeared on her face the second she heard Giselle had made contact.
Noel threaded her copper highlights through her fingers.
“Did you ask the new French teacher or the school if they knew how to reach Giselle?”
I frowned. That was a good idea. I wished Noel hadn’t been the one to come up with it.
“The moment I knew Giselle found me, I stayed with my family, and I’ve been with them every moment until they left this afternoon,” I said, not intending to sound defensive.
“Of course,” Noel said. “I’d be more than happy to check into it, if you like.”
“I’ll do it,” I said.
Noel looked from Dante to me and said, “I think it’s safe to assume she knows where you live.”
Dante turned to me. “You should stay with me until we eliminate the threat.”
My brain searched for an excuse. Current circumstances didn’t make me feel romantic in the least, but somehow I doubted that would thwart his libido.
“What about Noel?” I asked when no viable reason presented itself.
“I’m perfectly fine on my own,” Noel said. “Giselle probably thinks I’m nothing more than a roommate. It’s more likely that she’ll have her eyes on the people closest to you.” Noel looked at Dante. “Family, friends… a boyfriend.” She rose one perfectly shaped eyebrow.
Dante rocked against the counter.
“Harper’s right. You don’t need my protection, I need yours.” He turned to me with a sly grin and leaned forward, blocking Noel from sight. Dante’s breath slid down my collar bone when he tilted his face down, and in a whisper asked, “What do you say Aurora? Will you be my personal body-guard day and night?”
Noel saved me from answering immediately when she cleared her throat and said, “I thought you already had the best body guard.”
My breathing space opened up when Dante leaned against the counter and turned to Noel.
“Don’t you have a highly trained vampire guard dog?” she asked, chuckling.
“Tommy? He’ll sound the alarm. Not so good with a knife though.” Dante winked.
“Have you met Tommy?” I asked.
“Yeah,” she said with a shrug. “When Dante and I went on stakeout in Fairbanks last February.”
Great, so Noel had cuddled up to Dante’s dog, too? I looked at Dante.
“You brought Tommy with you on stakeout?”
Dante tilted his head when he looked at me. “Tommy loves the drive to Fairbanks and no one can sneak up on me when he’s around.”
“It sounds to me like you’re perfectly safe at home,” I said.
Dante nodded. “Exactly why you should stay with me. Your mom would want me to keep you safe.”
Yeah, safe, not screwed.
I sighed. “I’ll pack a bag for tomorrow night in case I notice anything funny at the tasting or anyone following us.”
Dante smiled big. “Good thinking. We can celebrate your kill.”
Because killing was something to celebrate. I made no answer. Dante didn’t seem to require one. He’d gotten his way for the weekend, at least partially. I would only stay over if I noticed anything suspicious—as a good friend looking out for her comrade—but I wouldn’t sleep with him. I cared too much about our relationship to ruin it. I just needed to find a way to explain that to Dante.
He kissed me on the forehead. “Pick you up for our meeting with Melcher tomorrow afternoon? Call me if you see any sign of Giselle. Call me even if you get a funny feeling.”
I nodded. “Thanks, Dante.”
“Later, Harper,” he said as I led him out of the kitchen.
Once we reached the foyer, I stopped and hugged Dante. It was a quick embrace, one I hoped conveyed that my feelings for him, no matter how muddled, were genuine. There were very few people I felt close to. Dante, for all his quirks, was one of them.
He grinned as soon as I pulled back.
“We’ll get through this,” he said. “We always do, and we always come out on top.”
Friday afternoon, Dante and I took seats in front of Melcher. At my insistence, we had arrived early so I could discuss Giselle with Melcher. I’d called the school about “Madame Vasser” the day before. They said she no longer worked for them, and that they couldn’t give out her personal contact information. So I’d called Melcher and asked him to pull some strings. It all came to nothing. The number the school had on record had been disconnected, and the only address they had on file was for a PO Box paid for in cash.
Melcher waved a dismissive hand in the air. “Now that we know Giselle is in Anchorage, we’ll be able to corner and catch her. I have over two dozen agents assigned full-time to Miss Morrel. The girl doesn’t stand a chance.”
Dante looked at me with a full-toothed smile.
I wished I could feel as reassured as they did.
Valerie strutted inside at five minutes to three, frowning when she saw Dante and me. “Did you start without me?” she demanded.
“No,” I said. “We were just discussing Giselle.”
Valerie’s frown deepened. “So you did start without me.”
“Miss Ward, please close the door,” Melcher said. “No one in this room is assigned to Miss Morrel. I’d like to discuss tonight’s mission.”
Valerie shut the door with a smack and placed herself in the space just behind and between Dante and me. Melcher took his place in the chair behind his desk.
“Thanks to the partial guest list Miss Ward compiled last weekend, I have our first target.” Melcher looked at me. “Aurora, you’ll make the kill.”
“Who’s the target?” I asked.
Melcher picked a file off his desk and handed it across to me. I reached forward and gripped the edge of the file. Once I had it, I flipped open the cover. When my eyes landed on the photo paper clipped inside, my heart dropped straight down like the New Year’s ball in Times Square.
“This is Selene,” I said in a faraway voice.
I always wondered if I’d ever be asked to kill a vampire I knew personally. I’d dreaded this moment, and now here it was, staring up at me from the surveillance photo that had fallen to my lap. In the picture, Selene sat outside of a café in the shade of a palm tree. There was a short silk scarf tied around her neck and glass of white wine on the table in front of her.
“Selene Ericson,” Melcher confirmed.
“Uh, oh,” Valerie said behind me. “Aurora has to kill her girlfriend.”
How could Valerie tease me at a time like this? Selene had been nice. We’d played pool with her. She’d introduced Valerie to other guests. I didn’t think the vixen was that heartless, but apparently I was wrong.
The only person who looked more upset than me was Melcher. He ground his teeth together and glared at Valerie. “I don’t appreciate your jokes, Miss Ward.”
Valerie folded her arms and muttered, “I bet Dante does,” just loud enough for Dante and me to hear.
Before Dante could respond, I asked, “Why is Selene a target?”
Melcher’s eyes zoomed in on me. “Do you have some kind of attachment to this vampire?”
I glanced at the photo. “No,” I lied. “It just seemed like there were a lot worse vampires at the party—like Diederick.” And Henry. If Henry were gone, there’d be no one to pester me with questions about Marcus.
Melcher straightened. “If we kill the king, his subjects will scatter. We save Diederick for last.”
“Won’t they scatter if a vampire gets killed at the party?” I asked.
“That’s why you’re going to follow Selene or get her to take you home, where you will poison her and put her soul to rest. Call the cleaners afterwards. They’ll make it look like a car accident.”
Great, another car accident—one of the agency’s specialties. At least Valerie held her tongue at the part about getting Selene to take me home. I could see out of the corner of my eye that she had to press her lips together to refrain from commenting.
“Valerie goes with Aurora or follows her and Selene,” Melcher said. “Dante stays at the party playing the same role as last week.”
How was that fair?
“Why Selene?” I asked again.
Melcher stared at me in silence for several seconds before answering, “Selene is a threat to national security.”
I squinted. That still didn’t answer my question. I didn’t expect I would get an answer, so it surprised me when Melcher elaborated.
“She is sharing her existence—that of vampires—with the public. We could have a mass panic on our hands if she continues.”
Beside me, Dante nodded. “That’s not good.”
I thought back to last weekend at the tasting, and how someone had asked Selene about her trip back home. When the vampire Paul asked if her family was well, he probably meant her real family. How did she go about telling them she was a vampire? Did they not believe her at first? Had they accepted her existence over time? Did she frighten them? Was she an outcast?
I tapped my fingers lightly against the papers in Selene’s file. There were two addresses typed on the front page: one in Anchorage and one in San Diego. There was also a D.O.D., date of death, and in parentheses, the word “tuberculosis.” I closed the file.
I ran all through my head trying to find a viable reason not to kill Selene. Somehow, I doubted Melcher would go for the only suggestion to come to mind. Couldn’t we ask her not to tell people?
“All right,” Melcher announced. “Those are your assignments.”
Dante scooted his chair back. Valerie began to turn. I wanted to yell, “No,” but no sound came from my throat. I sat in place, unable to move.
Melcher raised a brow. “Aurora, is there a problem?”
I shook my head. “No.”
What else could I say? If I didn’t terminate a target I wouldn’t put it past Melcher to terminate me, or have Jared do it.
If I were dead, there wouldn’t be anyone to keep my family safe from Giselle.
“Good. The cleaners will be waiting for your call.”
I got off the chair and followed after Dante quickly.
Once all three of us were in the hallway, Valerie said, “This is going to be a cinch. Easiest assignment ever.”
“It’s the worst assignment ever,” I said now that Melcher was out of earshot.
Valerie smiled slowly. “I see. So you do have feelings for her.”
Rather than take the bait, I folded my arms. “So that’s it? Selene befriends us and introduces you around, and you have no problem letting her die?”
Bad Blood (Aurora Sky: Vampire Hunter, Vol. 3) Page 18