by Jaye Wells
Zen shook her head. “Girl, I hate to say this but your family is fucked up.”
“Tell me about it.”
But Adam wasn’t done. “I don’t know. I’m not convinced there isn’t more to it than that.”
I sighed. “Regardless, our time is best served trying to find Maisie before Lavinia can succeed in grabbing me.”
“Amen,” Giguhl said.
“Sounds like it might be worth talking with that Zorn fella again, too,” Zen said.
As much as I hated to admit it, she was probably right. “Yeah. Maybe.”
Brooks cleared his throat. “If you’ll excuse me, I need to go get my stuff ready for tomorrow.”
I looked up. “What’s tomorrow?”
He smiled. “Our pre-Halloween party at Lagniappe. We do it the night before because we want to hit the parade on Saturday. All us lady-boys are dressing as our favorite queens from history.”
“Who are you going as?” Giguhl asked.
Brooks smiled wide. “The Queen of the Nile.”
“Cleopatra?” Adam asked.
“Hellz, yeah.” Brooks snapped his fingers in a Z. “I got a cornrow wig with a gold crown and everything.”
“Ooh,” Giguhl said. “You’re gonna look fierce.”
Brooks laughed. “Sing it, Gigi.”
He sashayed toward the door, stopping only to deliver a playful swat to Giguhl’s behind. My seven-foot-tall Mischief demon, who up until recently spent his spare time disemboweling demons in an underground fight club, blushed and giggled.
Once Brooks was out of hearing distance, I approached the demon. “What’s that about?”
Giguhl flashed me a confused look. “What?”
“You’re totally flirting with him.”
Giguhl snorted. “So?”
“So since when did you switch teams?”
The demon frowned. “What does that mean?”
I leaned in closer and whispered in an undertone. “I thought you were straight.”
Giguhl’s mouth dropped open. Then he started to laugh. Great heaving guffaws.
I crossed my arms and glared at the demon. “What are you laughing at?”
“You’re an idiot.”
“Thanks so much.”
The demon collected himself, a few stray chuckles escaping as he tried to school his features. “Sabina, I’m not gay.”
“Bisexual, then?” I said.
Another snort. “Nooo. I’m a demon, silly.”
I squinted at him, trying to follow that logic. “And?”
“And to demons sexuality is a fluid concept,” Adam chimed in. Obviously my attempts to keep this conversation private had failed miserably.
Giguhl pointed at the mage and said, “Ding-ding-ding. Give the mage a cookie.”
I held up a hand. “Wait, really?”
“Oh, sure,” Giguhl said with a shrug. “We’ll fuck just about anything,”
“I think that’s my cue to leave,” Zen said. “If you all figure out anything else about the vampires who attacked you, you let me know.”
Abashed, Giguhl mumbled an apology to Zen as she passed. She patted his arm.
When she was gone, Giguhl rounded on me. “Nice going, Sabina.”
My mouth fell open. “Me? I wasn’t the one talking about screwing everything alive.”
“Actually, it doesn’t really even have to be alive—but that’s beside the point. The truth is that Brooks and I are just friends.”
I threw my arms up. “Then why let me think you were trying to get in his pants?”
“Ah, I was just screwing with you.” He held up a claw. “Mischief demon, remember?” He paused. “But I wasn’t lying. Seriously, Sabina, anything.”
Adam heaved a weary sigh when I made gagging noises. “Guys, can we please get back to figuring out the whys of the ambush?”
I dismissed Giguhl with a shake of my head. “Okay, where were we?”
In truth, I was relieved Adam changed the subject. Where Giguhl stored his equipment wasn’t really my business. I certainly had more potentially lethal issues to face.
“That we need to talk to Erron again,” Giguhl said, shooting me a superior look. I rolled my eyes.
“You know what I want to know?” Adam said. “How did the Caste vamps know where we were?”
I stuck my hands in my pockets and leaned back against the table by Adam’s hip. Something crunched against my hand. “Wait a sec.” I removed the scrap of paper with the address of Necrospank’s drug den on it. “I’ll be damned.” I turned so Adam could see the damning evidence for himself. When he figured it out, his face tightened into a mask of anger.
“Wait, what am I missing?” Giguhl said. I remembered then that he had been in the store with Brooks when the paper had been delivered.
“Mac’s source screwed us.”
“What? No way,” Giguhl said. “Brooks wouldn’t have hooked us up with a bad contact.”
I sighed. “I’m not sure if Mac knew. But her source must have.”
A frown formed between Giguhl’s horns. “If you kill Mac’s friend, then you’re begging for problems with the were. Which might cause problems with Brooks and Zen.”
I pushed away from the table. “What do want me to do, Giguhl? Ignore that Adam got sliced and diced tonight?”
“I’m not saying someone doesn’t deserve to pay for selling us out.” He looked me dead in the eye. “But you better be damned sure you’ve got the right asshole before you get physical.”
Adam shifted on the table. “He’s right, Red. We need a plan.”
I looked at him. “Guys, it’s just a conversation. And what do you mean we? You’re not going anywhere.”
“I absolutely am. You’re not doing this alone.”
I threw my hands up. “Adam, I hate to point this out, but you were almost disemboweled less than an hour ago. Besides, I’ll take Gigi with me.”
Adam pressed his lips together at my exaggeration. “First of all, considering how reluctant Mac was to introduce us to her source, this probably won’t be a simple conversation.” He pushed himself up on his elbows. “Second, I was nowhere near about to spill my guts.” He grimaced and swung his legs over the side of the table. “And third, I might be too weak to heal myself, but I can still hold a fucking gun.”
I put my hands on my hips. “Don’t let your pride cause more problems than we need right now.”
He drew back, stung. “Right back at ya, Red.” His tone low, cutting.
I clenched my jaw. We stared each other down for a few moments.
Giguhl’s head swiveled from side to side, waiting for one of us to break our stalemate. “Sabina, let him come. I’ll look out for him.”
My stare locked with Adam’s. “No.”
His biceps heaved as he slid off the table and placed his weight on his feet. One hand flew to the bandage, but he managed to step away from the table’s support.
“Adam, don’t be an idiot, you’ll hurt yourself.” My shrewish I know what’s best for you tone brought me up short.
Adam wasn’t my minion. Hell, even Giguhl barely qualified for that title anymore. So even though it pained me to back down, I did, because Adam was a grown-ass man.
“Okay,” I said finally.
Adam looked up from pulling on his shirt. “What?”
I took a deep breath. “I’d appreciate your help.”
Giguhl stepped forward, his hooves clacking on the floorboards. “It’s a trick, mancy!”
I shot him a look. “No, really, it’s fine. Just be careful, okay?”
Adam looked at me for a moment, as if he expected me to start laughing or deliver a punch line. When I simply returned his look with my face trained into a more open expression, he pulled his shirt the rest of the way down. “Let’s go have a chat with the wolf.”
Lagniappe and the building that housed the club were dark by the time we arrived. The street was equally deserted as we ducked in the side entrance. We quickly made our wa
y up to the second floor and approached the faded blue door. Despite the late—or early, depending on your race—hour, I didn’t knock gently. Instead, my fist pounded the wood so hard my knuckles stung.
After five minutes of constant knocking, the door finally flew open. Mac stood across the threshold in a thin white T-shirt and a pair of ratty boxer shorts. Her only accessories were a major case of bed head and a shotgun.
When she saw the three of us standing there, she lowered the barrel with a frown. “Sabina?”
“Hey, Mac. You got a minute?”
She yawned and rubbed a hand through the nest on her head. “Do you have any idea what time it is?”
“A little after four a.m. May we come in? It’s important.”
She nodded over my shoulder. “Who’s the demon?”
I squinted at her, confused. “That’s Giguhl.”
She shook her head. “I thought Giguhl was a cat.” That’s when I remembered the first and last time she’d seen him he was asleep in Zen’s counter.
“He’s both,” I said. “And it’s a long story. Can we come in?”
She looked more confused than ever but seemed to finally clue into the tension in my tone. “Is everything okay?”
“Actually, no. Everything is very far from okay.”
She frowned and opened the door wider. “Come on in, then.”
I smiled politely, but inside I was seething. The more I thought about how close Adam had come to losing his life, the more my fists itched to strangle Mac’s friend.
On the way over, we’d decided Giguhl and Adam would basically hang in the back looking imposing in case Mac refused to reveal her source’s identity. I’d do all the talking until and unless the time came for harsher tactics. I wasn’t leaving the apartment without a name, whether Mac liked it or not.
Once we were all inside, Mac leaned the shotgun against the end of the couch. Then she walked back toward us. “Can I get you anything? All I have is beer and water.”
I waved a hand.
“Okay, why don’t you sit and tell me what’s going on, then?” Fatigue added a slight growl to her words.
Perching on the edge of the love seat, I removed the gun from my waistband and set it within easy reach on the coffee table. If she noted the firearm, she gave no indication. She did frown when the males didn’t sit. Instead they stood closer to the door, effectively blocking the exit.
Her eye movements indicated the shewolf was doing some quick thinking. “Are Brooks and Zenobia okay?” she prompted.
“They’re fine,” I said, keeping my tone casual. “But Adam had some trouble tonight. In fact, we all did.”
She squinted. “What happened?”
“We were ambushed.”
Her jaw went slack. “Oh, my gods, are you guys okay?” She looked at Adam with concern. “Adam?”
He nodded. “I’m fine. Zen’s a good healer.”
“Mac,” I said, regaining her attention. “I need the name of your source with the vamps.”
She frowned. “Why?”
I scooted to the edge of the couch. “Your source gave you that address, right? The one on Prytania Street? The ambush happened a block away from that house.”
“So she was right about vampires in that house.”
I shook my head. “The only thing we found at that address were a bunch of drugged-out musicians with some disturbing sexual appetites.”
“I’m confused. Who attacked you, then?”
“Really? I need to spell it out for you?” I paused as her expression morphed from confusion to something harder. “Your friend sold us out.”
She blinked as the implications fell into place. “You’re insane! She wasn’t involved.”
I scoffed. “Mac, get real. Your source is a vampire, and we were attacked by vampires.”
She crossed her arms and speared me with a stare. “A vampire might be responsible, but it wasn’t my vampire.”
A shadow of doubt appeared on the edges of my mind. Mac seemed too confident, too unconcerned her source might be to blame. I looked at Adam. “Mac, just give us a name so we can be sure.”
Mac slammed her hands on the arms of the chair and stood. “I gave you that address because I was trying to help. And now you’re accusing my friend of trying to kill you? Un-fucking-believable.”
I picked up the gun. “Mac, it’s not my intention to offend you, but I’m sure you can understand we can’t just take your word for it.”
She looked down at the weapon. “You’re insane. I’m not giving you the fucking time of day now.”
I glared at her. “Why don’t you just call her, then? See if she agrees to meet with us.”
“Get the hell out of my apartment,” Mac said, pointing to the door.
Just then, a door down the hall behind Mac creaked open. A drowsy voice called, “Honey?”
Mac froze. I grabbed my gun and rose. The were threw up her hands to still me. “Everything’s okay. Go back to—”
The scent of copper hit me. Well, well, well. “Come out with your hands up,” I called over the rest of Mac’s sentence.
“No! Stay there!” Mac shouted.
A couple of tense seconds passed before a titian head emerged from the dark hallway. It was the vampette who’d come to Mac’s club a few days earlier. Her mysterious contact. And lover.
The vamp didn’t raise her hands until she saw the gun pointing at Mac. The huge demon and muscular mage might have factored into her decision, too.
Her pale digits went skyward. The move raised the hem of her T-shirt to reveal a pair of white cotton underpants. “What the hell is going on?” She made sure to flash some fang.
“Tell her, Mac,” I said, my gun aimed at the were’s chest.
Mac looked like she’d rip my head off at the first opportunity. “This is Sabina Kane, the one I told you about.”
The girlfriend’s expression went all pinchy, like she was confused. “Wait, I thought we were helping her.”
“We were,” Mac gritted out.
“They why does she have a gun pointed at you, Mackenzie?”
“Apparently she has some trust issues.”
“Where were you at two a.m.?” I demanded.
She frowned. “At Mac’s club.”
That didn’t prove anything. She could easily have set up the ambush by phone from the bar.
“How long have you been working for the Caste?” I demanded.
Without hesitation or glancing at her lover she said, “The who?”
Mac shot me a superior look.
“What’s your name?” I said, trying another tactic.
She frowned. “Georgia.”
“Well, Georgia, it seems we are at an impasse. Because you gave Mac an address. And at that address, we were jumped by a group of vampires. Can you see why we might be suspicious of your motives?”
“So there were out-of-town vampires there?” she said, echoing Mac’s earlier statement. “Are you guys okay?”
Either they were diabolical masterminds who’d planned for this eventuality and gotten their stories straight ahead of time. Or Mac was telling the truth and I was a colossal asshole.
I sighed. Adam cursed under his breath. Glancing from the corner of my eye, I caught the oh-shit look he and Giguhl exchanged.
Swallowing, I lowered my gun a fraction. “Hypothetically speaking, let’s say you’re telling the truth—”
“There’s nothing hypothetical about it,” Mac barked.
I ignored that and soldiered on. “Why did you give Mac that address?”
“You don’t owe her an explanation.” Mac took a step toward her girlfriend. I raised the gun, a clear warning to stay put.
“Obviously someone needs to clear this up,” Georgia said. Turning to me, she said, “Mac said you needed help, so I gave her the only information I had at the time—a rumor that some vamps were moving into the Prytania house.” She shrugged. “But now I have a question for you.”
I titled my he
ad. “What?”
“Did the guy who attacked you tonight wear a cape?”
My heart kicked up a notch. My fingers gripped the gun tighter in case Georgia wasn’t as innocent as she claimed. “Why do you ask?”
She smiled at the tension in my voice. “Early this evening, I was in the Marigny trolling for tourists when this male vamp in a cape approached me.”
“With a cane?” Adam asked.
“That’s him.” She rolled her eyes. “Total douche.”
My mouth fell open and I lowered the gun to my side. “I’ll be damned.”
Now that the gun wasn’t pointed at her, she lowered her hands and scooted closer to Mac before continuing. “He said his name was Rupert and he represented a group that was recruiting vampires. The guy was weird, right? So I told him I wasn’t interested and started to leave. He grabbed my arm and his entire demeanor changed. Suddenly he was all veiled threats. He said there was a new power in town who was recruiting foot soldiers or some shit.”
“Did he give you any names?” I asked.
She shook her head. “No, but he indicated it was a powerful female. Must be the one Mac said you’re after, right? The one we need to avoid?”
I cringed inwardly. Mac had made good on her promise to warn her friends about Lavinia. I lowered my gun to my side. “Yeah, probably.”
“Anyway, he says any local vampires who don’t fall in line under her leadership won’t live long. I acted interested and offered to spread the word for him.” She shook her head, as if still surprised he’d bought her act. “He seemed happy with that, but before he could keep talking, his cell phone rang. He didn’t speak, just listened. After a few seconds, he hung up. All the sudden he couldn’t leave fast enough. As he ran off, he yelled back that he’d be in touch soon to check on my progress. He seemed to be in a major hurry.”
By this point, Adam sat on the arm of the sofa next to me, and Giguhl leaned against the wall, listening with rapt attention. As the seconds ticked by, my stomach tightened more and more. Not only because we’d obviously accused the wrong person, but also because we were now further away from knowing who called Rupert with our location.
Figuring I might as well admit defeat, I let the gun dangle between my legs. “He was in a hurry, all right. He was on his way to attack us.”