No sign of the girl.
Satisfied, he came off the wall and made his way over to the painting at the entrance. Lowering it to the ground, he paused, surprised he hadn’t closed the door fully. That wasn’t like him. He opened the safe and stopped, unsure what to think of the box now devoid of files. The longer he stared, the more he could feel his blood boiling.
How’d you get the safe open, Princess? he seethed, his vision blurring red. He doubted she had the right tools stashed away in that slinky dress she had worn, and it was unlikely that she had batted her pretty eyelashes at Dorian and gotten him to open it for her. Maybe little Miss Sweet-and-Innocent wasn’t as naïve as she had made herself out to be. Maybe he had been right all along.
Abraham sighed. No, she can’t be with the Order. There’s no way. Regardless, she had the files. And for an amateur like her, that would only make her a target. He hurried back out to the balcony and glanced around the city.
He would get those files back.
Canto XV
Suzette clung to the shadows of the streets and alleyways, clueless as to where to start looking for Van Helsing. Perhaps it would be better to let him come to me, she mused. He was, after all, a hunter. If he really wanted the files, he’d have no problem. Deciding this to be the better plan, she paused a moment and let her ability pull her in another direction. Using the darker, back-ways of the streets, she quickly found herself out of the richer part of town and wandering into the more industrial part. Workshops that were closed for the day, big metal warehouses, the smell of saltwater, and the occasional sound of seagulls became normal, with an apartment building speckled here or there. Good. Less people, she thought.
A low whisper caught her ear over the lull of waves as she came through an alley. She glanced down the dimly lit street to find a pair of men walking a good way to the left. She turned to the right and started creeping along the brick wall of a closed store.
Her foot stopped midair and peddled back.
She hesitated for a moment before trying forward again.
Her feet took three steps backward.
She let out a sigh and faced behind her, taking in the skinny street and the two men slowly moving farther and farther away.
But they’re not my target, she tried to argue. I’m busy with something else. Hands on her hips, she stared after them, her mind playing tug-of-war with her instincts. Finally, she let out a soft groan and followed after the men. She had no idea why she was following them, but she didn’t bother trying to ask questions, either.
After a few minutes, they veered off into an alley.
Curious, she rounded the alley and slunk to the end. Peering around the corner, she took in the scene.
It was a long, old, wooden dock, barren of any ship. The wide stretch of asphalt in front of it rounded, spread out in front of a large warehouse and a brick building with a few dumpsters. A single light from the warehouse lit the area. Parked by the trash bins was a van with a set of fish bones on the back doors. The two men she had tailed made their way to the vehicle. She scurried over, pressing herself close to the wall until she planted herself behind the dumpsters and peeked around. Two other men with shifty eyes got out of the van and met the ones she had followed by the back of the vehicle. They stared off—two on two. One of the vehicle occupants took a long and hard drag on a cigarette before taking a step forward.
“Hey boys,” he greeted with his thick city accent. “How’s it goin’?”
One of the men she’d spotted on the street grunted. “Cut the niceties, Morris. We just want what we came for.”
Morris set his hands out in calm surrender. As he turned to the van and opened the back, he said, “Your boss’ll be real happy with these, I think.” Inside, he popped open the locks on two giant trunks and cracked the lids. “Real state-of-the-art. Took a lot to get ‘em here.”
Intrigued, Suzette got up on her tiptoes and caught a glimpse of the trunk’s contents just before the men blocked her view.
Weapon smuggling? But, God, I’m supposed to be finding Abraham. What am I doing here? Again, she wanted to bite down her seemingly illogical urges, but it was best just to go with the flow. After all, she would possibly be dealing with these kinds of crimes later in the future. Why not take a crack at testing it out? See what it’s like? And who knew? Maybe the weapons deal would draw out the Hunter.
“Tony,” the other original man whispered, “I’ve got a bad feeling about this.”
“Relax, Vinnie. If these guys double-cross us, the guys’ll know who done it.”
Morris shifted at that but tried to act casual. “C’mon. Take a look, will ya?”
Tony and Vinnie stepped up to the van and started reaching into the trunks.
Suzette’s pulse thumped throughout her whole body as her hands flicked nervously by her side. Time to make a dramatic entrance. Before she could double think it, she stepped out into the open and stood tall behind the men. “Didn’t your fathers ever tell you that guns aren’t toys?”
Surprised, Vinnie clutched the illegal weapon he had in his hands to his chest and looked up, wide-eyed. All of the men stood dumbfounded, except for one.
Tony laughed. “Who are you supposed to be?”
“The Onyx Fox.” She laughed it out, trying to fight off her nerves. “Listen, gentlemen. I’m new to the city, and I was hoping you’d be kind enough to just set the weapons down and turn yourselves in so I don’t have to make you.”
They simultaneously burst into laughter.
A little taken aback, Suzette shifted her feet and crossed her arms.
Once the amusement died down, Morris smiled and pulled a gun out of his holster and took aim. “Sorry, sweetheart. Looks like you’re a little in over your head.”
The sight of the gun barrel pointed at her made her core tremble, but she shrugged it off, knowing that freaking out would make matters worse. “I guess you’re right. What was I thinking? Four guys against one girl? I guess I should be going.” She pointed her thumb over her shoulder and started treading backward toward the dumpsters, knowing they would follow.
As expected, the men started to make their way over, but Morris charged her, his free hand reaching out to grab her.
Time seemed to slow down.
Suzette dodged Morris and grabbed his wrist, pulling him in front of her. Then she used his momentum, grabbed the back of his head, and smashed his face into the metal of the trash bin. His body slumped to the ground, sending time back to normal.
She glanced up at the men who had all frozen in place, stunned. It only lasted a moment. Fury spread across Tony’s face and he ran at her, Vinnie right behind him.
She sprinted toward Tony, meeting him in the middle as time slowed again. Tony sluggishly brought his fist up. Suzette jumped, wrapped her arms around his neck, and kicked her legs forward, her own momentum throwing her feet into Vinnie’s chest. Vinnie flew back into the last man, sending them both into the van. Tony’s legs flew out from under him and he fell back. As they toppled to the ground, his head was the first to meet the asphalt.
The wind knocked out of Suzette, but she quickly got back up and ran toward the recovering men at the van. She decked Vinnie in the face, sending him into one of the back doors. The last man tried to grab a gun from the crate, but Suzette drove her foot into the crook of his knee, forcing him to the ground. Then she grabbed a handful of his hair and bashed his head into the bumper of the van. He flattened out against the road.
“Freeze!”
Suzette turned to the rugged voice.
All she saw was the barrel of a pistol.
Tony’s jaw flickered. His rage shook the weapon in his hand. He must have snatched up Morris’s gun. “You think you can just walk up in here like—”
Suzette’s hand moved in a flash, knocking his wrist up. A loud pop from the gun filled the air before the gun flicked out of his grip. He grabbed at his hand, gritting his teeth, but she took a step back and swung her foot into the side of hi
s head, sending him right back to the ground.
Surprised, she let out a huff. She looked around at the other three unconscious men and couldn’t help but smile. She took in a deep inhale and exhaled out all of her shaky nerves. Then she turned to Tony, who rolled around on the road, groaning. With her foot, she nudged him onto his back and grabbed the scruff of his shirt. “Want to tell me who your boss is, or do I have to beat you up again?”
Tony let out a moan as his eyes rolled around in his head.
She sighed. Note to self: Get answers before knocking the sense out of them.
The sound of scuffling drew her attention away. She let go of Tony and turned.
Vinnie was making a run for it between the warehouse and the brick building.
“Hey!” she yelled.
Suddenly, a pair of hands shoved her and she found herself on the ground. Unharmed but surprised, she looked up to find Tony running in the opposite direction, back toward the alley they had come from. Once she was back on her feet, Suzette looked back and forth between the sprinting men. Bewildered, she looked down at her hands. Why didn’t I stop them? she wondered. By the time she looked up, they had both disappeared. She let out a sigh, disappointed. Am I ever going to figure out this gift?
Frustrated, she looked at the other two men, still unmoving on the ground. At least I got these two. But now what? She tapped her foot, contemplating her next steps. Setting her hands on her hips, she remembered her belt and grinned. She walked over and closed the van doors. Then she dragged the men over, reached into her belt, pulled out some zip-ties, and tied the men’s hands to the door handles above their heads. As she stood there and examined her work, she felt a small sense of pride settle in.
Don’t forget the cops. She patted Morris down until she found his phone. She dialed 911.
“911. What’s your emergency?”
Trying to deepen her voice she said, “Um, yes, two guys are tied to a van down by the docks. They look like they’ve been beaten up.”
“Are you in immediate danger, sir?”
Suzette laughed through her nose and hung up the phone. As she tossed it down by Morris’s feet, she gleamed at her work once more. But there were still two criminals out there. Turning, she sprinted off after Tony. But with every step, she felt a pull growing stronger behind her until she could hardly move forward.
Hmm, okay…
She turned and hurried away in the direction Vinnie had scurried off to. He was much farther off, but apparently, that didn’t matter. She ran past the warehouse where the streetlights were scarcer. There, she used the darkness as a cover to freely hurry through the streets. She took care to notice every alley that came by, waiting for her instinct to tell her which one to move into.
Suddenly, something—no, someone—pulled her further into the deep pitch of night. In one fluid motion, she was pressed against the cold bricks of a building, leaving her feet dangling.
“You must have thought that was pretty brave, what you did, huh?” a familiar voice hissed in her face.
It took her eyes a minute to adjust, but soon Abraham’s face came into view. He had her pinned up against the wall by a fistful of fabric on her suit.
“You are really close,” she noted. “I’m not very comfortable with this.”
“This better?” he demanded, leaning in a little further.
“Much.” She let out a breathy laugh, oddly at ease trapped in the dark with the Hunter.
“You think you’re so tough because you can take on four guys all by yourself?”
“No, I’m just incredibly lucky.” She smiled.
He scoffed and released her, letting her slide to her feet as he took a few frustrated steps away. “I swear, it’s like you’re asking for trouble!” he snarled.
“Coincidence you show up, then.”
“What?”
She pushed herself off the wall and stood tall before him. “What are you doing out here? Looking for your next victim?”
In a flash, he was back in front of her. “Looking for you.”
“Why? What do you want with me?” she challenged back into his face.
“Where are the files?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she bluffed through tight lips.
“You’re lying.”
She scowled at him, crossing her arms. “That’s a bold accusation. Were you there? Did you see me take any—”
Abraham slowly took a few steps into personal territory, sending Suzette cringing against the wall at the lack of distance. He leaned in, leaving only centimeters between them. “If you don’t tell me where they are, I’ll make it so you’ll think twice before putting on this dumb suit again.” He barely moved, his voice a consistently calm, yet intimidating growl so deep and so close that each word rattled Suzette’s bones. “You’ll look at it and know I’ll be waiting for you. The thought will haunt your sleep. And no amount of fake IDs or relocating will save you from me.”
Suzette blinked and turned her face away, trying to fight her discomfort and contemplate his words at the same time. In desperation to create some distance, she opened her mouth to confess all. But she closed her eyes and let his closeness settle in. Jack had seemed quick to pin the Letter Killings on this guy, and though logic told Suzette that it was likely Abraham was the killer, she couldn’t help but think about his file. Being a skilled hunter, she knew she or whomever he was really hunting couldn’t hide long. But if he’s been able to just track me down so easily, and if he really is this serial killer, why hasn’t he killed me yet? He’s had plenty opportunities. And what about Frank? Abraham knows where he is, too, but he just left Frank to me. She turned back to his face and boldly looked up into his glowering eyes. “I almost told you where they are. But even if I don’t tell you, I know you won’t hurt me. So…” She shrugged and cracked a tiny smile, knowing she had defeated the mighty hunter. “I won’t.”
His head drew back a little. Disgusted by the accusation, his lip curled up on one side and his brows furrowed deeply.
Concluding their encounter, she began to walk away.
His large hand gripped her arm, stopping her in her tracks. “I’m still not finished with you! I want those files!”
Suzette let out a sigh and faced him. “How about you help me catch the guy who ran off and then I’ll take you to the files?” She had no intention of doing such a thing; she knew he wouldn’t hurt her, but she still wasn’t sure where other people stood with him. She wanted to know beyond a shadow of a doubt that he could be trusted.
“How about you tell me and I won’t—”
“Won’t what?” She smiled.
He glared at her for a short pause, the muscles in his jaw nearly pulsating. “You’re not a superhero,” he grumbled.
“Not yet,” she said.
“Not ever if you keep messing with the Mafia,” he shot back. “You’ll be dead before you know it.”
She gasped. “Wait, what? The Mafia? That thing’s still around?”
He leaned back and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Oelewapper,” he muttered, annoyed.
“You know, I don’t know what that means, but it doesn’t sound too nice.”
“It means, you’re stupid.”
Suzette chuckled. “And yet, I know where the files are and you don’t.” She grinned as she witnessed his face contort ever so slightly. Though his expressions were not the easiest to interpret, she could tell he hated the whole situation. It was amusing to watch him squirm ever so subtly.
“Fine,” he grumbled.
Suzette walked to the end of the alley and pointed. “That way?”
“That way,” he agreed—begrudgingly.
She glanced around to make sure the coast was clear. Then she scurried across the street, hunched over.
“You look dumb,” he blurted out.
She whipped her head around and took in his dark form, slowly making its way across the street. “I’m sneaking,” she growled.
“Wh
y? It’s dark. No one’s going to notice you. Besides, there’s no one around.”
“Well, I don’t know that!”
“Well, I do.”
“Congratulations, Hercules,” she sneered. “I don’t suppose you have a superpower that lets you know that, huh? Like, maybe, enhanced hearing or something? Can you see through the walls, too?”
Abraham let out a huff and stopped in front of her, taking note of her cynical attitude. “Yeah, okay. So, my hearing’s better than yours.”
“And I bet you just expected me to magically have enhanced hearing, too?”
“Hey! Don’t get all snippy with me because I—”
“Listen, you don’t have to like me but don’t treat me like an idiot,” she warned, waggling her finger in his face. “Because, if you do, you’re not getting anything from me.”
“I could find the files myself.”
“No doubt,” she agreed, leaning back. “But it would take you time—time you either don’t have or you don’t want to waste. That’s why you agreed to help me, isn’t it?”
He let out a deep exhale through his nose.
She couldn’t help but grin. “I’m not giving you those files unless I trust you, and your jerk-face comments aren’t helping your cause.”
He was silent for a moment, but then quickly stepped back out into the street. “You’re going the wrong way.”
“Huh?” Shocked, she looked around her for how he could possibly know that. There were no footprints, no blood trails. “How do you know?” she demanded.
“He’s wearing cologne.” His hand came up as he pointed down the street. “That way.”
She stepped out into the street, sniffing the air. When she came in line with his finger, she grimaced at a lack of smell. Yet, her feet found comfort on the path he had directed her as she felt the draw of her power. She glanced over at Abraham. “I don’t have a super-sniffer like you, but you’re right.”
He huffed in response.
She made her way down the street, following her gut. They were walking for a moment in silence until she could hear short, airy breaths behind her. “Problem?” she asked.
Blind World (The Onyx Fox Saga Book 1) Page 33