Paradox

by Jeanne C. Stein

  Blake reaches down and shoves David into the chair from which he was freed. He isn’t as big as David, but muscular enough to handle the task single-handedly. He uses the same rope to secure David’s hands and feet and turns to Duke when he’s finished.

  “Your turn,” he says, crooking a finger. “Right here.”

  Duke shoots me a look but moves toward the chair. “So, Blake,” he says, settling himself. “How’d you get involved with this lowlife?”

  He sounds as if he knows Donald. I raise an eyebrow. “You know this guy?”

  Duke grunts as Blake pulls knots tight around his wrists and ankles. “Oh yeah. Donald Smith. Small time hood. Ran numbers for Sullivan, right? He’d never let you in on anything big.”

  “Sullivan didn’t,” I say, recalling our conversation at the estate. “Donald eavesdropped. That’s how he knew about Howard’s part in the skim. Makes sense you need someone like Blake to do your dirty work. You’d never have the guts to—”

  Donald moves faster than I anticipate. He slaps me hard across the face, but I grab his arm and twist.

  Blake is at his side before Donald’s scream dies away. I should hold back, but vampire is too close. I have Blake’s hand in one of mine, and his wrist bent back, bone breaking.

  His cries merge with Donald’s.

  I stop myself from ripping David’s bonds free. I shake with impatience as I untie the knots first from him and then from Duke.

  Both men look at me with shock and amazement.

  I hold up a hand to forestall the barrage of questions they want to ask. “Kitty needs help.”

  I’m at her side as she regains consciousness. From the corner of my eye, I see Duke and David gathering weapons from the floor. Donald and Blake cradle useless arms, the fight gone from both of them. I put two chairs back to back, seat them, and run a rope around both their torsos.

  I turn my attention to Kitty, who struggles to sit up.

  “Easy,” I say. “You might have a concussion.”

  She presses a hand to her forehead. “I think I’m okay. Just woozy.”

  I help her into a chair.

  “What happened?” she asks, eyeing Blake and pointing to Donald. “Who’s he?”

  Duke fills her in, piecing the puzzle together as he goes. “Donald, here, overheard a conversation between Howard, Taylor, and Sullivan. He picked up enough to know there was a lot of money involved. Lorraine was at that same meeting, but when Howard turned up dead, she went on her own hunt for the money while Donald enlisted the help of Blake here. You contacted Lorraine and told her to follow me, someone she’d have known nothing about if you hadn’t interfered.”

  His tone was equal parts reproach and anger. Kitty met his gaze. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I didn’t mean to put you in danger.”

  Duke snorts. “Anyway, Donald gets Blake to bring Taylor to my office where he kills him to frame me.” He switches his gaze to Donald. “With me out of the way charged with murder, you could focus on Howard, someone I’m sure you saw as the weak link. Was that your thinking?”

  Donald looks away, mouth drawn in a thin line.

  Duke waves a hand. “No matter. You went after the wrong guy. Howard didn’t know what Sullivan did with the money. Sullivan didn’t give it up so you killed two men and got nothing. That’s when you thought the widow might be of help.”

  Duke sighs and shakes his head. “You killed her for nothing, too. That story about seeing Lorraine outside her apartment? That was a lie. Lorraine was working with Kitty by then, and when they found out Sullivan contacted me, she became my new best friend. In the meantime, David found the PO box key and got the first of the envelopes. If you were smart, you would have tailed Anna and David instead of trying to find me. But you’ve never been very smart, have you, Donald?”

  No answer.

  I release a breath. “We can turn them over to the police and tell them what happened, but I don’t know if there’s proof to tie Blake to the murders, let alone Donald.”

  “What about the knife?” Duke points to the knife he took from Blake. “It’s identical to the one he used on Taylor. That should be enough to get the investigation started. I can identify him as coming to my office with Taylor. If we’re lucky, he used the same weapon on Howard, Sullivan, and Sarah. There’s bound to be some DNA—you can’t clean a knife thoroughly enough to destroy all blood evidence.”

  Donald snorts. “You have Blake, sure enough. Not me. You can’t prove I did anything.”

  Blake struggles against his bonds. “Are you fucking kidding me? I’ll tell them everything. I’ll make sure you go down right alongside me.”

  “Evidence,” Donald answers quietly. “You have no evidence.”

  Blake stills. He draws a deep breath and lunges backward. As the chairs topple over, he hooks his good arm around Donald’s throat and yanks his head to the side.

  I’ll never forget the sound of Donald’s neck breaking.

  By the time David, Duke, and I are released by the police, it’s almost dawn. I called Frey earlier in the evening and told him to go home.

  None of us know what Blake will say to the police. He lawyered up immediately. We witnessed him killing Donald, but the knife we took off Blake is the only thing to connect him to Taylor’s death. As for Howard, Sullivan, and Sarah, we could only hope there was enough DNA evidence to implicate him in those deaths as well.

  A very unsatisfying conclusion.

  Duke is in high spirits when he drops David and me off at the office. No one will ever know he recovered the money he and David invested. Lorraine and Kitty knew Duke had some of it, but sharing that information would embroil them in a messy murder investigation. For now, that secret seems safe.

  Frey meets me at the door when I pull up. I’m so tired, I promise to fill him in after I sleep and head right for bed. I don’t bother to undress or brush my teeth—I just kick off my shoes and slip between the sheets. I think I’m out before my head hits the pillow.

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Day Twelve

  “Anna? Anna, wake up.”

  At first, I think I’m dreaming and ignore the persistent, irritating buzz in my ear.

  “Anna. I’m sorry, honey, but you have to get up.”

  I use both hands and push. “Go away.”

  Frey grabs my hands. “Anna. It’s Culebra. It’s important.”

  My eyes pop open. “Culebra?”

  “Something’s happened at Beso. You need to get down there.”

  He hands me my cell phone. I take it. “Culebra?”

  He draws a shaky breath. “Anna. It’s Adelita and Janet. They’re gone.”

  His voice fills me with dread. “What do you mean gone?”

  Even through the telephone, I hear the sobs he’s fighting. “Chael. He took them.”

  I hand the phone to Frey. “Tell him I’m on my way.”

  I’ve never made the trip in faster time. All the way in, I’m seething at Chael. If he hurts Adelita, I’ll kill him.

  Culebra meets me as I pull in front of the bar. He’s unshaven, his face pale. I hug him. He leans against me for an instant, then pushes away.

  “Tell me what happened.”

  He sinks into a bench in front of the newly painted bar. “Chael came here two days ago. He seemed fine, even paid to feed. I didn’t realize until too late that he drained the host. He had three vampires with him and all three bodies left behind. When I confronted him, he turned. He chased everybody, vamps and mortals, out and threatened if they ever came back, they’d be killed, too. It was a warning, he said, to turn the bar back to a place for vampires to feed, nothing else.”

  “What about Adelita? Janet?”

  Culebra presses his hands against his eyes. “He took them when he left. Said it was insurance that I’d do what he wanted. Said he’d bring them back in twenty-four hours, but it’s been two days and no word.”

  I grab his hand. “Why didn’t you call me right away?”

  “I trie
d, but your phone goes to voicemail. I finally found Frey’s number.”

  Shit. Once again, I forgot to charge that damn cell. I pull him into a hug. “I’m so sorry. I promise, I’ll get them back. Does Janet have a cell phone?”

  Culebra nods. “She doesn’t answer.”

  I hold out my hand. “Give me your phone. I have a contact in the police department who will put a trace on her number.”

  Culebra pulls out his phone, and I dial. My hands are shaking. I wish I’d to put an end to Chael a long time ago. If he’s hurt one hair on Adelita’s head—

  The phone traces to a motel in Chula Vista. We jump into Culebra’s battered Ford Expedition. If Chael is with Adelita and Janet, he’ll recognize my car. I pause to ask if he has his passport—and to grab Adelita’s and Janet’s as well. Chael not bothering to bring them ratchets up my anxiety. He never intended to bring them back. How did he get them across in the first place?

  It takes forty minutes to reach the motel on Broadway in Chula Vista. It’s in a well-populated part of town. I park a block away, and Culebra and I scout it out.

  The motel is an old-fashioned, low-slung affair with twelve rooms facing the road. The office has a neon arrow pointing to the door. There are only three cars in the parking lot, so I motion to Culebra to stay hidden while I approach the rooms with a vehicle in front.

  The curtains are open in the first room, and there’s a young woman lounging on the bed watching television. The second is next door to the first and open curtains show an empty living area. While I watch, a door opens and a middle age, paunchy male comes from the bathroom. He has a towel wrapped around his ample waistline. When he reaches for trousers and drops the towel, I hurry on.

  I hear Janet before I reach the last room on the end. She’s laughing. I distinguish the sound of three men chuckling, and Adelita giggling.

  The curtains are drawn so it’s easy to approach the door unnoticed. I’m sure Chael has vampires guarding Janet and Adelita. I motion for Culebra to join me and let vampire take the lead.

  I grab the doorknob and twist it off. The chain is on, but a shoulder thrust separates the links. Culebra races toward Janet and Adelita while I have the three vamps on the floor. I’m eager to tear at their throats, but a restraining hand on my arm pulls me back.

  I shake myself to call the human Anna back. I whirl on Janet.

  She touches my face. “It’s all right. We’re unharmed.”

  Adelita hugs Culebra, whispering calming words in his ear.

  Janet helps the vampires to their feet. They’re very young, fifteen or sixteen in human years, of Middle Eastern descent, and quaking with fear.

  Janet goes to Culebra and he sweeps her into his arms. “Are you all right?”

  She nods. “We’re fine. Really.”

  I’m having a hard time gathering my wits. “What’s going on, Janet?” I ask when I’ve regained full control. “Where’s Chael?”

  Hearing Chael’s name, the young vamps shrink. Janet turns to them and holds up a calming hand. “It’s all right.” She turns back to me. “He left us here with them. He comes back tomorrow and expects they’ll have killed us. He’ll be in for a surprise.” She reaches into her pocket and pulls out her cell phone. “I expect this is how you found us.”

  I nod. “They didn’t take it?”

  She shakes her head. “These are three very unsophisticated vampires. Chael brought them over, planning, I suspect, to kill them when they fulfilled their task. They didn’t look for a phone, and I left it on, knowing either you or Culebra would track us.”

  Color floods Culebra’s face. “I didn’t even think of it,” he says with a moan. “If it wasn’t for Anna—”

  Janet touches his face. “It doesn’t matter. We would have been home tomorrow anyway. We came to an understanding with our three captors. We’re taking them back to the bar. We’ll make sure they’re safe. When Chael checks here, we’ll be gone. If he comes to the bar,” she turns to Culebra, “we’ll be ready for him.”

  I’m still not convinced. “They may be unsophisticated, but they killed three people at the bar.”

  Once more, Janet comes to their defense. “I’m sure they didn’t understand what they did. Chael turned them specifically for this task. They’re disposable. We can teach them to feed responsibly. When they’re ready, I’ll take them to my home in LA and introduce them to the vampires I met when doing my research. They’ll have a community to belong to.”

  They belong to Chael’s community, I say to Culebra.

  Culebra stares at the vampires with a critical eye. We should kill them, he says to me.

  As if Janet understood his mental communication to me, she places a hand on his arm. “They’re harmless,” she says.

  Adelita nods. “They’ve been kind to us. Chael ordered them to tie us to the bed, but they let us go as soon as he left. They brought us food. They’re scared to death of Chael. I don’t believe they would hurt us.”

  Culebra and I exchange a glance. I turn to one of the vamps.

  Do you know where Chael is?

  Answer the question, Culebra says, shaking Janet’s hand off his arm and taking a menacing step toward them. Janet thinks you are harmless, I do not.

  The three look at each other. Culebra made it crystal clear we should kill them. They don’t exchange words, but desperation darkens their expression.

  One speaks up. He didn’t tell us where he would be. He digs in a pocket of his jeans and pulls out a cell phone. We’re supposed to call him tomorrow morning after— He glances over at Janet and Adelita- after it’s done. I swear, we already decided not to kill the woman and her daughter. She was taking us with her back to Beso de la Muerte. She said there was someone who could teach us to feed without killing. We just want to be left in peace.

  His words tumble out. I feel a twinge of jealousy when he refers to Janet and Adelita as mother and daughter. But watching the two of them, arms intertwined, I realize it was an easy mistake to make.

  Culebra must have thought so, too, because he didn’t correct them.

  What do you want to do? I ask him.

  He sighs. “Let’s get them back to Beso.”

  Janet squeals and throws her arms around Culebra. She and Adelita herd the vamps out to the car.

  Once we are on the way back to the border, I ask Culebra about what I wondered earlier. “How did he manage to get Janet, Adelita, and three Middle Eastern vamps across the border?”

  Janet speaks up from the back. “We were hidden in a false panel in the bottom of a produce truck,” she says, looking around. “I don’t know how we’re going to do it this time.”

  I exchange looks with Culebra. We could do it if it was the four of us, I say to him. The three vamps? Janet and Adelita made it clear they want to give them a chance.

  Culebra, at the wheel, grins and says aloud, “Don’t worry. I know the border like the back of my hand.”

  He travels the main highway until just before the border, then turns onto Monument Road. We continue for some time until we come to a crossroads past one of the border patrol stations. It seems deserted. All the same, I hold my breath until we’re safely south into Mexico on a bumpy dirt road.

  “How did you find this?” I ask Culebra. The border is more heavily patrolled and barricaded than any time before.

  He smiles. “Don’t forget, I lived in Mexico all my life.” He shoots me a sideways look. “That life hasn’t always walked the straight and narrow.”

  I raise my eyebrows. Indeed. I remember I was shocked to learn Culebra was a drug runner and assassin in his youth for one of Mexico’s notorious cartel leaders.

  Another lifetime ago.

  I settle back in the seat. “What will Chael do when he gets to the motel tomorrow and finds everyone gone?”

  He smiles grimly. “I hope he comes looking for them at Beso. We’ll be ready.”

  I nod. Chael and I have a checkered relationship, and I was willing to overlook a lot. I cannot forg
ive taking Adelita. I don’t know what the ramifications will be when I kill him. I should know, being the Chosen One, but it doesn’t matter.

  I close my eyes. I can think of two other times when I purposefully set out to vanquish another vampire. Neither was easy. The vampire inside me stirs at the memory. Like this time, though, it was necessary.

  “Are you thinking about tomorrow?”

  Culebra’s soft voice breaks my reverie. I glance into the back. Janet and Adelita are asleep, Adelita’s head on Janet’s shoulders.

  “You love them,” I say.

  “More than I thought possible. I was alone for so long, I gave up having a family. They are a gift. I think it’s God’s way of saying I’m forgiven. If I lost them—”

  I touch his arm. “You won’t. I want you to do something for me. When we get back to Beso, you take Adelita and Janet and go. Stay in a hotel and don’t come back until I tell you it’s safe.”

  Culebra makes a scoffing noise in the back of his throat. “You can’t imagine I’ll leave you to face Chael alone.”

  “I won’t be alone. I have his kiddie-vamps with me.”

  That brings a chuckle. “Kiddie-vamps, indeed, but no, Anna. We face Chael together. It’s my family he’s threatening. My fight.”

  “No. I brought the danger to you when Chael delivered Janet. If I came myself, he would have washed his hands of the whole situation and gone home.”

  “Don’t be too sure.” Janet says from the back seat. She settles Adelita more comfortably into a corner and leans forward. “He hated me. He made it clear he wants me dead. The only reason he didn’t do it himself is because he’s afraid of you, Anna. I don’t know what kind of story he would have concocted to explain my death, but he intended to. Maybe he thought he’d blame it on the poor vamps he brought with him. Once they were dead, too, they couldn’t point the finger, could they?”

  She puts a hand on Culebra’s shoulder. “I agree we should get Adelita to someplace safe, but I’m standing with you when the fight comes. I never fought for anything in my life. I can’t imagine anything more worthy than my family.”