Hope and Vengeance (Saa Thalarr, book 1): Saa Thalarr, book 1

by Connie Suttle

  Anna and I took seats at a booth just as Joey sent mindspeech again. Cheek's in the poker room, Joey reported. With a big pile of chips in front of him. Kirby Lee and that other man are sitting outside at slot machines, but they're not playing. She looks normal and fidgety, but the man—Adam, I think there's something wrong with him.

  Why do you say that? I accepted the menu from our waitress with a nod of thanks.

  He's sitting there, completely still. Not moving at all. That's just not natural.

  Are they talking? Manuelo and Kirby Lee? I reminded Joey of the man's name, and briefly pondered his kinship to Rita, Anna's assistant. Something was definitely wrong, here.

  He's not talking. Kirby Lee talked with a man who sat down to play the slot machine next to hers, but he got up and left after a few minutes. Are you going to tell Anna?

  After we order. The waitress is hovering.

  Adam, you dog. Is she pretty?

  Joey, stop.

  Adam's got it ba-ad, Joey responded.

  Joey. I put as much sternness as I could into my reply.

  I've just never seen you get interested in anybody, and we work together a lot.

  There was nobody worth my interest, I returned, my mental voice cold. Stop teasing. We have work to do.

  Yeah, but it's boring, watching these two. I don't want to be obvious about watching them, so I put money in a penny machine. I haven't won anything so far, but I'm only playing a penny per spin.

  Up your bet. I'll pay you back.

  You got it.

  "I'll just have coffee and the special," I handed the menu back to the waitress. She was pretty, but I had no interest in her. Anna sat across from me, and that's exactly what I wanted.

  "I'll have the veggie burger," Anna handed her menu back.

  "Mustard or Mayo?" the waitress asked.

  "Mayo. Please."

  Anna and I watched as the waitress walked away, swinging her hips slightly. If she knew how many times I'd seen that suggestive walk and ignored it, she wouldn't have made the attempt.

  Pulling out my cell phone, I dialed Joey. Pretend I don't already know what's going on, I sent as the phone rang. This is for Anna's benefit.

  Gotcha, Joey said, before answering his phone. He proceeded to tell me everything he'd already told me. I rang off and turned to Anna.

  "Joey found Cheek in the poker room, and it looks as if he's winning," I said. "He says Manuelo and Kirby Lee are sitting outside the room at slot machines, but they're not gambling. Joey says that Manuelo hasn't spoken, but Kirby Lee talked to a gambler for a while."

  "Manuelo may not be able to speak," Anna muttered, turning her head away.

  "How can that be?" I asked.

  "He may not be human. Not anymore."

  "How can that be?" I repeated. In my experience, the only way to make a human not a human but still alive was to turn him vampire, and we had a photograph of this one in daylight. That couldn't be. Besides, Joey would have scented a vampire.

  Joey, I sent, did you get any unusual scent off Manuelo?

  He's wearing cologne, but there's something odd underneath, Joey responded. Why?

  Odd? How? Have you smelled anything like it before? What about Kirby Lee?

  Kirby Lee smells human, although she's wearing perfume. Manuelo, though, I don't know what that smell is. So far, I've lost a hundred dollars of your money.

  Move to a different machine, but stay close to the targets.

  Will do.

  The special turned out to be pot roast. In my human life, I might have enjoyed it. As a vampire, it was extremely difficult putting any part of it in my mouth. I chewed methodically, distracting myself by watching Anna and going over what Joey told me.

  I couldn't tell Anna about the scent—that would betray the mindspeech I had with Joey. There wasn't any way I wanted that secret out; Wlodek would punish both of us for hiding such a desirable talent from him and the Council.

  "Adam, you can stop chewing, I think that bite's done for," Anna said. She wasn't looking at me when I blinked at her, she was stacking crisps on her plate instead.

  I swallowed with difficulty before nodding as she looked up at me. "I'm done, then." I shook my head at my plate—I'd gotten through half of it while I considered my current set of problems. I still hadn't heard anything from Xavier regarding the Corpus Christi Pack and the rogue werewolves.

  "I'm ready whenever you are," Anna said, breaking into my thoughts.

  "You only ate half your food," I pointed out.

  "I could say the same for you. But I won't."

  "That is much appreciated." I waved to the waitress, to bring the check. At least Anna let me pay this time.

  * * *

  "Sweetheart, you need to get in bed," I whispered against Anna's ear as she watched Kirby Lee and Manuelo from a distance.

  "Yeah. Joey, stop playing that machine," Anna said. Joey turned to her in surprise. We'd been standing behind him for fifteen minutes, pretending to watch him play while we surreptitiously watched our targets.

  "But," Joey sounded confused.

  "Move to this one over here." Anna indicated another slot machine a row over. We'd still have a view of our targets, so I nodded to Joey. We moved. Anna handed Joey a hundred-dollar bill and told him to play the maximum bet. He slid the bill into the slot. He and I were both surprised when he hit a jackpot for a thousand dollars around sixty dollars in.

  * * *

  "I don't think Cheek is going to move from his spot as long as he's winning and as long as the casino lets him sit there and gamble," Anna said as I escorted her into the elevator a few minutes later. I'd cashed in Joey's winning ticket so he could keep gambling, and Anna and I left him there, at another machine she picked out.

  "Sweetheart, you look exhausted," I murmured, pulling her against me as the elevator doors closed.

  "I am tired," she admitted.

  "Then you won't fight me if I do this." I leaned down to kiss her. I wasn't satisfied with a quick peck. This was a real kiss. A deep kiss. My tongue probing her mouth, exploring the scent and taste of her. She whimpered. I stroked the back of her neck gently to calm her before pulling away.

  "I won't hurt you," I whispered. "You can count on that."

  "Adam, I," she began, concern in her eyes as I leaned against the back wall of the elevator.

  "It'll take time, sweetheart. I understand that. Just don't shut me out, all right?" I offered her a smile. "Sex is meant to be pleasurable. A consensual give-and-take between us."

  "Adam, I'm not saying I don't want it. It just scares me. Brings up bad memories."

  "I know. We just have to find a way to get you past that." The elevator doors opened and I ushered her out. The door to our shared room was at the end of the hall, near the stairs.

  "Brush your teeth, I'll be right back," I said, once we were inside the room. After the bathroom door was closed, I walked through the connecting door into Joey's room, heading straight for the toilet. There, I eliminated the food I'd eaten earlier, rinsed out my mouth with Joey's mouthwash and went back to find Anna.

  "Nice," I smothered a grin. Anna was dressed in a white T-shirt easily four sizes too big and pajama bottoms decorated with small tigers.

  "Don't laugh, a friend bought these for me," she huffed, pointing at the pajama bottoms.

  "We won't need this," I said, jerking the bedspread off the bed and tossing it in a corner. Those things were generally crawling with bacteria anyway.

  "What if I get cold?"

  "I'll send Joey to buy you a blanket."

  "Adam, don't approach Cheek, all right? Just watch him for now. We need the ones behind him, in addition to him and his minions downstairs."

  "What might be behind him?" I asked.

  "Can we talk about this later?" She yawned, reminding me of my manners.

  "Sure. Get in bed, I'll tuck you in."

  The bed creaked when I sat on it. "Anna," I said, "We may argue and disagree. Most couples do. But I
will never, ever, force you. I will never ask for anything you can't give. Deal?"

  "Deal," she whispered.

  "Good." I leaned in for a quick kiss before pulling away. "Pleasant dreams," I said, and turned out the light.

  * * *

  "Any change?" I took a seat beside Joey, who handed me another ticket—this one for seven-hundred-fifty dollars.

  "Anna knows how to pick slot machines," Joey said, pressing the button again. "I don't understand why she isn't the richest person ever, if she can do this."

  "I don't understand it either, except that she does have a serious secret to hide."

  "There's that," Joey agreed. "Kirby Lee got up to visit the restroom, but that's it. Oh, and she got a soda from the cocktail waitress."

  "How is Cheek getting along?"

  "Still winning," Joey said. "I hear some groaning from time to time. That lets me know he's won another hand."

  "I'll go stand by the door for a moment," I said. "I'll be right back." I walked away from Joey, making it almost to the door leading into the poker room as a gambler came out.

  "Tell me what's going on in there," I laid compulsion. The man was middle aged, slightly overweight and looked to be a professional at gambling.

  "That asshole is taking everybody's money. I don't know how, but I think he's cheating," the man said.

  "How much has he won?"

  "He's sitting on half a million right now. I lost fifty grand in there."

  "High-stakes?"

  "It is now."

  "Has he said anything?"

  "Not much. Talked about taking his winnings to another tournament across town. The winner there gets an automatic entry into the big tournament in Las Vegas next week."

  "How long will the casino let him play?"

  "Probably another four hours or so. Figure he'll quit just before that and sleep for a while. Unless he's an idiot."

  "I haven't seen much evidence otherwise," I muttered.

  "What?"

  "Nothing. Thank you for the information. You'll forget you spoke with me."

  "Sure thing." The man walked away.

  "Cheek's up more than half a million," I said, taking the chair next to Joey's slot machine. "Placed compulsion on the gambler who walked out. He says the casino will probably let Cheek play for another four hours before forcing him to stop. He also says he thinks Cheek is cheating, but didn't know how he was doing it."

  "I know you're already thinking this, but this is really weird. Anna isn't telling us everything, either. I really like her, Adam. I don't want to see her get hurt. What do you think the Council is going to do when this is over?"

  "I'm worried about what they might do before this is over."

  "You're not very reassuring, you know that?"

  "You don't know Xavier as I do. Or Wlodek, for that matter."

  "True. What do you think might happen?" Joey sounded worried.

  "I don't want to tell you because frankly, I don't want to even consider what might come of this."

  "I've never seen you this concerned about any human."

  "I've never been this concerned about any human."

  "Daylight in two hours," Joey said as his watched chimed softly.

  "I know. I don't like this. I like it less that Anna won't have enough sleep when she rises to take watch."

  Adam, Joey sent. There's a werewolf over there. Just walked in.

  I see him. He's walking this way. He has our scent.

  I'm ready, Joey responded, pulling his hands away from the slot machine and allowing his claws to slide out about an inch.

  "Hello," the werewolf nodded to both of us. "I'm Daniel Carey. William Winkler, the Dallas Packmaster, asked me to meet with you."

  Chapter 5

  "I doubt he's going anywhere, at least for an hour or two," Daniel said after a quick survey of the poker room. "Winkler was contacted by the Grand Master, after he was informed of the attack by rogue members of the Corpus Christi Pack."

  "They killed their Packmaster first," I said. "Should this conversation be more private? Joey can keep watch until daybreak."

  "We can go to my room—if you want," Daniel offered.

  "Joey," I nodded to him. Joey nodded back. I followed Daniel out of the casino.

  Once the door was closed on Daniel's room, I rounded on him. "How the hell did you know where we were?" I snapped.

  "I believe Wlodek offered that information to the Grand Master."

  "Fucking credit cards," I muttered. I wanted to curse Xavier, too, who'd likely traced my charges for the Head of the Council, but I kept that to myself. There wasn't any need to let this wolf know of disagreements with my own kind.

  "I want to know what information you have," Daniel said. "So the Dallas Packmaster and the Grand Master can be fully informed."

  "It was no vampire," I said, raking fingers through my hair in frustration. "The fangs were too far apart for it to be a vampire."

  "Then what was it?"

  "I don't have an answer for that. Anna may, but you'll walk carefully around her or you'll regret it."

  "Is that a threat?"

  "Look, I'm trying to solve this, Anna has answers and we may not get them if we use force, all right?"

  "I've never believed in psychics. Especially psychic detectives," Daniel growled.

  "She says she's not psychic. I don't know what she is, but she knows things that I can't begin to explain."

  "Then I want to meet her."

  "She's sleeping right now."

  "She'll be up come daylight, unless I miss my guess. We can wake her now and I can talk to her with you present, or I can wait for sunrise and ask questions by myself. You should know not to place compulsion. I have assurances from the Grand Master, through Wlodek."

  "Who are you?" I countered, narrowing my eyes at him.

  "Naval Intelligence," he replied. "That's my day job."

  "Please tell me the U.S. Government isn't involved."

  "They're not. I'm doing this as a favor to the Grand Master and the Dallas Packmaster, who runs his own investigations through Winkler Security."

  "I'm familiar with Winkler Security."

  "Then I don't need to explain that to you. Let's go speak with Anna Madden."

  * * *

  "I'm up," Anna said when Daniel and I walked through the door. Not only was she up, she was showered and dressed.

  "Anna, this is," I began.

  "Daniel Carey. Works for Naval Intelligence. Also a werewolf. How's that work out on full moons, Mr. Carey?" Anna frowned at him.

  "Damn," Daniel muttered. "How did you know that?"

  "I know plenty," Anna said, crossing arms tightly over her chest. "What killed your werewolf compatriot, Sam Greene, is known as a kapirus. They're not local. They're water demons, which are amphibians that prefer fresh water, but they'll swim in saltwater if they have to. They drink the blood of mammals. To them, the blood of a humanoid is a delicacy. I imagine a werewolf's blood is quite rich and tasty, too. Is there anything else you'd like to know?" She rounded on both of us.

  "What does Roy Cheek have to do with this?" Daniel asked.

  "Well, the kapirus is just a distraction," Anna said, walking to the window and peering out. Thankfully, it was still dark. That wouldn't remain true for much longer, however.

  "A distraction? I don't understand," Daniel said.

  "A distraction from the real enemy," Anna sighed. "Spawn. And their maker. For now, they're our real enemy."

  "Spawn?" I asked the question, as Daniel registered disbelief at Anna's statement.

  "Enemy spawn. I can't say the name of the enemy," She added. "Some people call spawn demons, because they choose not to say spawn or just don't know any better. Spawn are not demons. Only demons are demons. Adam, daylight is coming."

  "I know." Joey, get up here.

  On my way, he returned.

  * * *

  My eyes snapped open just before sunset. I wake early, nowadays, but usually my mind
isn't racing at five hundred miles per hour when I wake. I barely recalled climbing into bed the night before, fully dressed because I couldn't wait any longer. I'd left Anna in the room with a werewolf, too, and I didn't like that at all.

  Joey? I sent.

  Huh? His reply was sleepy. I always woke first.

  I'll be there in a minute. At least we were safe. Sitting up, I pushed hair off my forehead and looked around, hoping Anna had left a note for me. I found nothing. Dragging my cell from a pocket, I dialed her number. There was no reply—it went straight to voicemail. Muttering obscenities, I stood, examined my clothing, changed in the time it takes to blink twice and went to haul Joey out of bed.

  * * *

  "If he's harmed her, I guarantee the Grand Master will get an earful," I fumed as we walked to the front desk. "Do you have any messages for me?" I asked and gave the desk clerk my name.

  "This," I was handed an envelope. Ripping it open, I read the following.

  Cell phone dead—sorry. Daniel on trail of rogues seen in town earlier. Cheek got thrown out of hotel for being greedy and trying to stay too long. Is up at least 1 mil. Moved to Mine Town. I have rental.

  Anna.

  Muttering further obscenities under my breath, I hauled Joey out of the hotel to find a taxi.

  "He's been here all day. I think they're about to send him packing, too. He never bothered to move into a room here," Anna said the moment Joey and I arrived. Like us, she'd sat at a slot machine, playing it now and then.

  "Anna, I really want to yell at you right now," I hissed, sitting beside her.

  "I know. Adam, how fast can you run?"

  "What?" I was in the middle of a rant, and she wanted to know how fast I might run?

  "Daniel's in trouble," she said and stood abruptly. "Cheek's not going anywhere we can't find him. I'm going. You can stay if you want." She walked swiftly away from me.

  "Joey, stay," I commanded before following Anna. "I'll show you how fast I run," I grabbed Anna's arm when I caught up with her. "Where are we going?"