"They're not assets, Jack. They're people. They have lives, and I'm trying not to disrupt them as much as possible. Alex is married now—"
"Yeah, can you believe that woman likes to screw him when his wings are out?"
She ignored him. "And Kevin. He's…."
Victoria couldn't finish her thought, and Jack laughed.
"You baby him."
"I do not baby him. It's just…he lost his biological parents, didn't even know them, and his adopted parents died in a plane crash."
"Are you afraid he's gonna snap? Try to take over the world or something?"
"No. I've told you before. I trust Kevin. But the last thing I want for him right now is the stress of some vampire, witch hybrid trying to do bad things. I'm trying to show him good things."
"Eh, you definitely did that. He couldn't wrap his magic little mind around Blondie wanting to dance on his pole."
"Hey, her name is Alicia, and she's a very close friend of mine. She does not want to dance on his pole."
"Yeah, she does."
"Jack, just because they find each other attractive doesn't mean…Why am I even arguing with you?"
"It's not much of an argument, when I'm right."
"Oh, hush. And you owe me a hundred dollars."
"The hell I do. Glinda hasn't done shit yet. Anyway, stop babying him. The kid's stronger than you give him credit for."
Victoria looked at him sideways, confused. It was usually her defending Kevin from his critics.
"Jack, you…actually like Kevin, don't you?"
"I like the fact that he's a full-blood, and you haven't killed him. That's what I like best about him."
She smiled, letting the subject drop.
They found the address they were searching for, an old abandoned steel mill in the middle of nowhere. There were no houses nearby, only trees on two sides. Victoria parked in the deserted lot and killed the engine. The only sounds were the crickets nearby, and the wind whipping through the empty building. The only light came from the moon occasionally peeking from behind the clouds, but that didn't bother her. She could see very well in the dark, even better than Alex, and studied the surroundings.
There wasn't much to study. Like they'd both assumed, no one was there.
"I'm guessing you don't see anyone?" Jack asked.
"No. No light talking, no scent in the air. It's empty."
"Let's go check it out."
She leaned across the seat to grab a flashlight from the glove compartment. Jack had an amazing mind, keen for detail, but it would do them no good if he couldn't see.
They approached a closed dock door, with a smaller standard door next to it. Victoria pulled on the handle, and it opened easily.
"Wait," Jack said.
She froze as he pointed the light at the ground, checking the area near both doors.
"They had a generator here, and ran cords under the dock door."
She poked her head inside, scanning the steel mill. Old, rusted workstations were everywhere. A few desks were nearly destroyed along the outer wall, where paperwork was done long ago. But Victoria didn't need Jack's eyes to tell there were people there recently. There was a spot in the middle of the floor that wasn't nearly as dusty, where a table probably sat. There were drag marks from the dock door to different areas.
Jack pointed the light at different spots, confirming her thoughts.
"A work-light sat there. Some wires ran here. A few small tables, and a larger table in the middle here. My little tongueless friend didn't lie, just like I knew he wouldn't. They used this as a prep area."
Victoria let out a disappointed breath. "And now they're long gone."
Jack didn't say a word for nearly thirty minutes as they toured the mill and walked the grounds. In the end, he had to agree with her.
"I don't see any breadcrumbs. I can tell you there were two vans here, but that's it."
"Damnit," Victoria said.
The trail was cold.
"I know," Jack said. "I was really looking forward to killing with you."
"I'll call my own people, and get in touch with Bradley's. I'll get every known alias of Anatol, where he likes to hide out. Will you do the same?"
"Yeah. I'll make some calls, and then get my daughter and head back home."
"This isn't over, Jack. You don't really believe Anatol when he says he'll leave us alone, right?"
He laughed. "No. But he doesn't want me or you. He might be interested in Alex, or Glinda. But us? We're nothing. I came with you this far, but I'm not gonna sit on my ass waiting for you to find which direction to piss in."
"Just stay for a few days, help me sort this out. I'm telling you, Anatol's planning something."
"Of course he is. But let some other hero take him out. You're not the only hero left, I hope? You've got to stop thinking you're the one that has to save everyone."
"And you have to start caring about others outside that tiny zone you have."
He looked up for a moment, thinking it over.
"Nah."
"Jack—"
"I'll stay for a while, but not long. I have a life too, now. Sometimes trails disappear, and you don't pick them back up. But just to push the little witch in the right direction, I'll stay."
Victoria was relieved. She could accomplish a lot, but even more with Jack helping her.
"Thank you."
CHAPTER 13
Kevin jumped when he was shaken from his sleep. He looked around, trying to remember where he was, pick up where he left off. He was sitting at Victoria's work desk in the basement, the lamp the only light in the huge space. Victoria stood just behind him, wearing her pajamas, with a hand on his shoulder.
He held in a dreamy, surprised laugh. Victoria almost looked not beautiful. The pajamas weren't flattering of her figure, and her red mane was a mess.
"I thought you slept naked," he said.
"That depends on who's in bed with me."
"I didn't need to hear that. But I guess it's my fault for bringing it up."
"Did you fall asleep at the desk? What are you doing?"
Everything slowly came back to him, and he pointed at different things scattered around him.
"That's the written ingredients to the potion that made Jack immortal. Disgusting stuff, but I figure having it written out and in front of me might help out with a cure. That there is just a sketch I put together of the sphere Anatol made. Same thing, having it drawn might help me with what it is. I'm throwing together a few other potions that don't need heat, and I've read my spell-book two times. I guess it finally put me to sleep."
"Kevin, when I said I wanted you to research, I didn't mean this. I don't want you killing yourself."
"Anatol's out there, right? We have to find him."
He didn't see the warm smile she gave him. "Yes, but starving yourself of sleep won't help. Jack and I have people all over the country looking for him."
"I bet none of them are witches."
"You're probably right. Still, give it a rest."
"What time is it?"
"Almost ten in the morning."
Kevin stretched and yawned. "Cool. I'll read my book one more time, and then take a shower."
She leaned over him and gently closed the spell-book. Kevin narrowed his eyes in confusion as Victoria's hair was inches from his nose. She didn't smell bad at all, even after a night of sleep. Did vampires always smell good?
"Nope. No more reading for you. You need to relax a little, and you can get back to it later."
He opened it once again. "Anatol won't wait while I relax. Did you see Cindy's face when they came here last night? She was scared."
"Alex is more than able to protect his wife."
"Yeah, but not everyone out there has a demon master to watch them."
Victoria was quiet, simply giving him an amused smile.
"What?"
"You remind me of me, a few centuries ago. Always impatient, ready to jump into battle."
"Give me a break. I'm just trying to help people here."
"I know."
She was faster than he could see. One second she was standing next to him. The next she was a few feet back, holding his closed book. His eyes widened with alarm.
"Crap, be careful. That book is very old."
"So am I. Don't worry, it's in good hands."
"I'm serious, Victoria."
He went to snatch it, but she was gone again, this time five feet further away. He huffed, but smiled slightly at the odd supernatural game of keep-away.
"No more reading. Rest your mind. Go out and have some fun."
"I don't think I can do that."
"Okay, you win. You don't want to relax, fine. But I've got another task, and I need someone I can trust. Are you up for it?"
He shrugged. "Sure."
"Good. Take a shower and make yourself presentable. I'll clean up too, and make breakfast. We'll talk in the kitchen."
"You can actually cook?"
"No, but I can pour milk into cereal."
Kevin laughed and headed to the bathroom as Victoria went upstairs. His entire night consisted of researching, thinking, reading, napping, waking, and then starting over. He wondered if that was the life of a college student. Instead of cramming for exams, he was trying to undo a curse, and find out more about another unique supernatural creature. Life was fun.
The shower finally managed to pull Kevin out of the stupor he was in. With all the craziness going on, Victoria still stocked the bathroom with fresh towels, soap, and shampoo. He stayed in the shower probably longer than he should have, but the hot water was hypnotizing. He held his fingers up to the shower-head and laughed as the blue water cascaded on him.
He had no clue what she had in mind for him, nor could he guess what her idea of presentable was. Staring into his suitcase, all he could do was shrug as he looked over the clothes he brought with him. Jeans, a few pair of shorts, and various tee shirts. He didn't think he needed much else to tour Baltimore.
After throwing on jeans and a black shirt he joined Victoria in the kitchen, who sat at the table. The vampire wore a yellow sun-dress, showing off her pale skin and bringing out her red hair. It was an unusual look for her. Kevin had never seen her in a dress.
"Is this okay?" he asked.
She looked up. "Perfect." She went to a cabinet to reveal a grocery store's worth of cereal. "What would you like?"
He slowly worked on his breakfast while Victoria read an iPad. He felt awkward, eating alone.
"Aren't you gonna drink something?"
"You're okay with me drinking blood while you eat?"
He shrugged. "Sure. It looks just like Kool-Aid."
She smiled before pouring herself a glass. Glancing at the time, she got down to business.
"Okay, I'm gonna need you to drop off a package at 12:30 on the nose. I'll give you the address, and you can borrow one of my cars."
"The Porsche?"
"No."
"They know I'm coming, right?"
"I'll call ahead. They'll be expecting you."
"This doesn't exactly sound dangerous."
"Of course it's not dangerous. I'm not gonna have you doing crazy things on vacation. But believe me, it's important."
"What's the package?"
"Let me get it together now."
Kevin wasn't sure what he expected, but Victoria certainly surprised him. He watched as she made two ham and cheese sandwiches, with plenty of mustard. She cut them neatly and shoved them in a bag. Following that were several cans of soda and cookies. She set the bag in between them on the table.
"Uh, did you just put together some food?"
"Trust me, it'll make complete sense when you drop it off to him."
"Do I need to take my coat?"
"No. But I know you're more comfortable with it, so maybe you should. Go get it and meet me in the garage."
He felt lost as he retrieved his coat in the basement and left through the front door. Dropping off food certainly didn't sound like a hard thing to do. The garage door was open, and he stopped and stared at her vehicles. Her familiar Porsche was on the far left, and what looked like a brand new Humvee was in the middle. On the far right was a beautiful four-door Wrangler.
Victoria appeared from behind the Wrangler and tossed him a set of keys.
"The Jeep's the only thing with a GPS right now, so it'll have to do. The package is on the seat."
Kevin climbed inside, and was nearly overwhelmed by the new vehicle. He had a driver's license, but didn't have his own car. His only driving experience came from his sister's car, and the odd occasion his ex-girfriend let him drive her Mustang.
"Okay, you'd better get moving, or you'll be late," Victoria said. "I've got my own chores to do, so I have to run. Thanks, Kevin. This is a big help."
"Hey, anytime."
Victoria went through the side door back into the house, and Kevin pulled out of the driveway. The gates opened slowly as he approached, and he turned onto the street.
Five minutes into the trip he had to pull over and figure out how the GPS worked. He'd never used one before, and as good as he was with technology, felt silly as he struggled to figure out how to enter the address Victoria gave him.
The GPS guided him to a suburb outside Baltimore. He passed restaurants, a small shopping mall, a few apartments, a grocery store. He had to wonder where he was dropping off a ham and cheese sandwich.
He missed a street sign, and got in the wrong lane once, having to do a u-turn, as the GPS screamed at him to reroute. Finally, he pulled into the small parking lot of his destination, nestled in between a furniture store and a used car lot. Already nearly ten minutes late, he didn't bother checking his surroundings as he jumped out of the Jeep. He walked straight for the front door, package in hand, and could only hope Victoria's contact wasn't too angry.
His eyes narrowed as he stepped inside.
A u-shaped desk took up most of the room, with several women sitting at different stations. A cork-board full of rewards for missing pets was on the wall, and a waiting room to his left. Two people smiled at him, sitting patiently with their dogs on leashes. A third person sat with a kitten in a carrier. The kitten mewed and desperately tried to get to Kevin. There were several closed doors, each with a different light indicating whether the room was occupied.
He was in a vet's office.
"Can I help you?" a woman asked.
Kevin had no words. "Uh…."
Another door leading to the back opened, and the beautiful blonde stepped into the waiting room.
"Okay, I'm heading to lunch," Leese said. "I'll see you guys…Kevin?"
Her hand immediately went to the back of her neck, perhaps a nervous gesture, as she looked down at her scrubs. Blue and white checkered, spotted with pictures of little cats and dogs. Her cheeks turned red, and she looked up at him with those blue eyes.
"Real clever, Victoria," he muttered.
"What are you doing here?" she asked.
He held up the package. "Apparently, I'm bringing you lunch."
One of the women behind the desk stood up to look. "Aww, that's so sweet. Leese, is this the guy you were telling me—?"
"Thank you," Leese said loudly, glaring at her coworker. "Let's go have lunch."
The pair left the office, and Kevin led her to the Jeep. He climbed in next to her as Leese searched through the bag.
"I can't eat all this," she said. "There's enough for two people."
"I'll bet there is."
"Would you help me out?"
He smiled as he accepted a sandwich and soda from her. Even in scrubs she was gorgeous. He shrugged out of his coat and set it on the seat behind them, careful not to jostle the contents.
"This is so cool," she said. "I don't think I've ever had a surprise like this."
"Yeah, me neither."
"I'm sorry I didn't get to say goodbye last night. I know you were busy with Victoria, and I had to get going if I wanted
to get enough sleep for work."
"It's okay. We'll get back at Victoria later."
"Did you have fun at the wedding?"
"It was a little weird. I didn't really know anyone, and Victoria was busy. But I did get to meet someone very nice."
"That guy you were sitting with?"
He laughed at the thought of Jack and nice in the same conversation. "No."
"It must have been me," she joked. "I'm nice."
Her smile and laugh was infectious. Just being next to her stole the tension from his shoulders.
"Yes, you are."
She bit into her sandwich. She wasn't shy, didn't take little girlish bites. If Kevin didn't already like her, the simple lunch in the Jeep would have cemented it.
"How are you liking Baltimore so far?" she asked. "We talked about me all last night, and now you get to see me in these embarrassing scrubs. So, it's your turn."
He looked her up and down. She brought out a different side to him.
"Hey, I think those scrubs are hot."
She regarded her own appearance. "Seriously?"
"Yeah."
She looked down as she blushed. "Thank you. And that was good, ducking the question like that."
He laughed. "I haven't really seen Baltimore yet. I've been mostly at Victoria's house."
"I haven't actually went downtown in a while to do anything, but let me know if you need company. I'll show you around. I can be your personal tour guide."
"That would be great." He paused for a moment, looking at the office behind them. "It's really amazing you do this."
"Please. I just help the doctors. They do all the crazy stuff."
"You save animals. That's just awesome."
"You're an animal lover? I knew there was something I liked about you."
The pair continued to talk over lunch. Leese gently pushed to hear more about Kevin, and to his surprise, she was actually interested. He talked about his sister, the boring town he lived in, what he liked to watch on TV. Leese listened, even asking questions along the way.
Kevin thought talking with her would be more difficult. He had to steer clear of witchcraft, and they didn't openly discuss Alex and Victoria. But they meshed very well, laughing and joking, and Kevin wanted to know everything about her. He wanted to spend more time with her, and got the impression she felt the same way.
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