by Judith Post
"I'll drive you," Danny said. "I'll be dressed in a few minutes."
Maggie gave a sigh of relief. She'd stay with Rusty at the hospital until they knew what the verdict was on Olive's hip. Then she'd come home with one or both of them and make a batch of casseroles that Rusty could reheat. And Danny would be with her. He made her feel safe. What could possibly go wrong when he was there?
Chapter 36
Danny buzzed to come up a little after ten the next morning.
“I thought Maggie didn't work on Saturdays,” Enoch said. "I thought you were staying with her."
“We took her neighbors to the hospital. She's staying with them while Olive gets X-rayed. She fell this morning and hurt her hip. Maggie's worried.”
"Will she call you when they're finished?"
"Yeah, I'm going to pick them up when it's time." Danny went to the kitchen, but instead of pouring himself a cup of coffee, he went to the refrigerator for a beer. Enoch raised an eyebrow at his friend’s choice of drink, but Danny ignored it. He sank onto a stool and popped the can open. “I blew it. I don’t even know how it happened, but I lost it.”
“Your little notepad?”
Danny glared. “I slept with Maggie last night.”
Enoch couldn’t hide his surprise. “You too?”
What did he mean—"You too?" Then it hit him. “Oh, please say it ain’t so. You and the vampire girl?”
“We have to talk.”
“I don’t want to compare notes.”
Enoch went for another cup of coffee. “That’s not what I meant. I meant that I have lots of new developments.”
Danny waved that off. “Maggie’s part of an investigation. I was on the job. It shouldn’t have happened.”
“How does she feel about it?”
A bubble of happiness expanded inside him. “Oh, she’s great, just great.”
“And she was protected from the killer all last night?”
“Of course she was.”
“The problem?”
“It’s unprofessional.” Danny rubbed a thumb up and down the cold side of the beer can. “I had such a good time, though, at the party. She has such nice friends—all normal, all happy. It felt good—no talking about domestic violence or undercover setups and perps—just real neat people doing ordinary jobs. Then they left and she brought me blankets and a pillow to sleep on the couch. And then sometime in the middle of the night, her cats jumped on me and curled up, and the next thing you know, I wake up and she’s standing over me with this goofy grin on her face.”
“So the cats chose you?”
Danny made a mental note to be nice to those damned cats for all of their nine lives. “They usually sleep with her. She couldn’t believe they came out with me. She said that was a good sign, especially Felix. He hardly likes anyone.”
“You didn’t hide tuna in your shirt pocket, did you?”
“They’re exceptionally intelligent cats.” Danny shook his head, still trying to make sense of last night’s events. What had gotten into him? He never stepped over the line between work and pleasure. “We ended up in the kitchen having a snack. We started talking and just talked and talked. The next thing, she reaches over and touches my arm. And it just went from there.”
"One touch can do it." Enoch's voice was full of meaning.
Danny held up a hand. "I don't want to know."
“How serious are you?”
“I’d marry her this morning if I didn’t think I’d be rushing her.”
“Congratulations, Danny. You deserve someone special.”
Danny tried to believe that. He wanted to, but whenever he thought of a good husband/father candidate, he didn't fit the bill. Why Maggie chose him, he had no idea. “Maggie’s better than special. She’s wonderful. She thinks I’m wonderful too, but it’s too soon."
"For what?"
"The glamour of being a cop always wears off.”
"I didn't know you had any glamour."
"Thanks." Danny took another swig of beer. "It might interest you to know that cops actually have groupies, girls who hang around because of our uniforms and guns." He wiggled his eyebrows. "A buddy swears it's our handcuffs."
"I'm thinking none of those appealed to Maggie."
Danny frowned. What had interested Maggie? "Whatever it was, it won't last."
“Are you just looking for what could go wrong? Maggie works a high stress job with odd hours too. She knows the ropes.”
“I guess.”
Enoch frowned. “You’ve never had a successful relationship that lasted very long, have you?”
“No, they start out strong and then the girl gets tired of me being on call. They’ve all complained that I’m married to my job, and I guess I am.”
“Then take this slow. Give it a chance.”
“It doesn't matter. It never works, but I’m going to enjoy it while I can. And I’ll do everything in my power to keep it alive as long as possible.”
“Let’s hope for fifty years or more.”
"Yeah, right." Danny narrowed his eyes, took a minute to regroup. “What about you and vamp girl? How do you feel about her?”
“I’d like to spend eternity with her if she doesn’t get bored with me before then.”
“Boy, you’ve got it bad.”
“That makes two of us, but it’s complicated for Voronika and me. We both come with baggage and enemies. You have to decide if you want us to stay or leave.”
Danny hadn't pegged Enoch as the type to drop everything when he got the hots for a girl. Frustrated, he crushed his empty beer can and tossed it in the trash. “In the middle of an investigation?”
“I've put you and Three Rivers in danger."
"How's that?" His friend was creeping him out more than usual, and Danny didn't think that was possible.
"Vlad hates me. He knows I've fallen for Voronika, and he knows she's here. If he takes her from me, he scores a double whammy—he has her, and he's pissed me off. But he won't come alone. He never does."
"So he'll come with friends. Vampires run in packs, right?"
"Vlad's made more converts than he'll ever need."
"So why is he still flapping around? What is it? This vamp's slicker than the rest? Why haven't you gone after him?"
"I've spared him as a favor to a friend."
"About that…" Danny hesitated. "I've been thinking. I saw you with the rogue in the alley when you were going to snap his neck, so I can buy that you're a vampire hunter. You blew the Light all over your kitchen, so I can see how you get rid of them. But I mean, that still doesn’t explain what you really are. You're not a vamp because you walk around during the day. You're not a mortal because you've been around too long. So what are you?"
"I've been wondering when you'd get around to that."
"So was I. So what's the deal?"
"That's actually the crux of the problem, and right now, you're in the middle of it, so I'd rather you knew what you were up against."
"Man, the last time you told me that, it wasn't good," Danny said.
"This one isn't going to thrill you either." Enoch went on to explain about Caleb and Lucifer, the beginning of vampires, and Caleb's deal for Three Rivers.
Danny sat at the kitchen bar, stunned. “Holy shit! Too much! Way too much!" He pressed his hands to the sides of his head. "You're talking Biblical Old Testament stuff. An archangel? You've got to be shitting me." He went for another beer. It was hard enough to buy into vampires and vampire hunters. Now he was supposed to drink beer with an angel? And fight the good fight with a group of bloodsucker generals his friend had trained? "Let me get this straight." He took a deep breath. "You’re a good angel, the real thing, right?"
"Right."
"And Caleb's a bad angel who started vampires when he got dropped here." Danny knew the story of Lucifer and his band of rebels, but his Bible didn't have any sequels.
"That's why I was sent here, to protect mortals from Caleb's creatures."
"That's pretty much it."
"So if you two stay, vamps will invade the city."
"And Vlad's not above grabbing you to use as a trade for Voronika. That's why one of the generals will watch over you."
"And if you go?"
Enoch sighed. "Vlad might send his rogues here anyway just to annoy me, and then nab you to bring to me."
"Okay, now you're breaking it down into terms I understand. If you stay, Vlad comes for sure. If you go, he'll probably come anyway. And then what do we do?"
"There's not much you can do."
"Well then, that makes it pretty simple. I vote you stay." Danny couldn't help it. He shivered. The thought of being a vampire's pawn made him sick inside. “I'd like you to save my sorry ass, if you can."
“I'll give it my best.”
"And I'd rather not have a bunch of people sucked dry either."
"That's why the generals are coming."
“And I won't go anywhere near Maggie. If a vamp's following me, I don't want her involved in any of this."
"She probably already is. Vamps jumped Voronika and me last night. They're in town. If Vlad knows about you, he'll know you spent the night with Maggie."
"Damn it. What if I ask her to leave town? Would they follow her?"
"They don't have to. There could already be vamps wherever she goes."
Danny rubbed his forehead. "This sucks."
"I'm sorry. If I hadn't come to Three Rivers…"
"You're forgetting something. You followed a rogue here. He might have liked his new playground. Without you around to keep him in check, Doc and I could have a morgue full of dehydrated homeless by now. And Voronika was already here too. She had a nest in some basement somewhere. He could have spotted her and brought in his buddies, and you wouldn't be here. We'd be on our own, and we wouldn't even know what we were up against." Danny finished his beer. “Tell you what, friend. I’d rather take my chances with you at my side than track down some stray vamps by myself.”
Enoch pushed himself to his feet and went to the refrigerator for two more beers, another for Danny and one for himself. “You wouldn’t have a chance on your own.”
“So you’ve told me. Guess you'll have to keep me alive." Danny clinked beer cans with him. “We’re friends. I like you—whatever you are. If we survive this, you can be the best man at my wedding.”
Enoch looked at him in surprise. “That means a lot to me. You don’t know how much.”
“Then we’re cool. Stay in town and win this war. But we have to keep Voronika and Maggie safe. We can't let anything happen to them. And try to keep me in one piece too if you can.”
Enoch nodded. “I’ll do my best, and we have allies.”
Allies, schmallies. Danny would put his money on Enoch.
Chapter 37
After Danny went to pick up Maggie, Enoch installed a second set of deadbolt locks and chains on his apartment door. If he had to leave Voronika for any reason, no one could break in. That chore finished, he had the day to himself. Voronika was asleep, Danny was with Maggie, and he was at loose ends. Usually, he'd leave the apartment and walk, but he didn't want to leave Voronika unless he had to, so he went to his computer and tried to work. He had the rest of the weekend free. He could get an article done if he really worked at it. The problem was, his concentration kept wandering.
When Voronika woke, she was as restless as he was. They decided to stalk the city streets, searching for signs of new vampires in town. They found more dead animals than usual, but the undead weren't ready to show themselves yet. They didn't return to the apartment until daybreak and were planning on the same routine tonight until Danny phoned.
"I got called in, looks like a double homicide. Derek's here, so it's probably a boyfriend who took out his ex before he shot himself. I won't make it in time to watch over Maggie. Can you spell me?"
"Does she get off at seven?"
"Yup, the usual. She'll call you when she leaves the building."
"I'll be there." It had been a while since the killer attacked anyone. They couldn't let Maggie out of their sight. But if he took Voronika with him this time, there'd be complications. What if Maggie's killer attacked at the same time a rogue came for Voronika? How could he handle both? When Voronika woke at six, he explained what had happened. "What should we do?"
"I'll stay here." At his look, she went on. "No one can get in, and I won't go out. Maggie will be safer."
"I keep trying to think of what can go wrong." Enoch went over one thing after another to keep her safe while he was gone.
Finally, she lost patience. "Shut it already. I get it. I've been taking care of myself for a long time now."
"They know that, so they won't just knock on the glass and ask to come in. They'll use a human as a lure and threaten to drain him. If they actually do it, Caleb will kill them. Remind them of that. But they might drink the human anyway, just to bait you. Don’t try to save someone you can't save.”
She narrowed her eyes and studied him. "You're awfully casual about this. I was never any good at watching someone get sucked dry in front of me. That's what Vlad used to do."
"Not casual, I hate it when innocent people get hurt, but I haven't been able to save everyone I wanted to, so there's no use mincing words or making things seem better than they are."
"This is commonplace for you?"
"It happens more than I'd like."
She rested a hand on his shoulder. "All you can do is your best, angel. It's not your fault if your best isn't good enough."
"And it's not your fault if you hide in here while a human gets drained. They'll do it anyway, even if you go out to them. You know that. So tell me you won't risk it."
"I'll go in my bedroom and I won't watch."
He felt his whole body relax. He hadn't realized he was so wired. "Thank you."
She gave him a small push toward the door. "Go watch over Maggie. Keep her safe."
On the drive to the hospital, he felt torn. He wanted to be in two places at once, but he couldn't pull off miracles. Instead, he parked at the curb and waited for Maggie to leave work. He drummed his fingers on the steering wheel, waiting for her call. How had things escalated to this point? He'd moved to Three Rivers to hunt one rogue vampire. Then he'd met Danny and teamed with him to catch the clown killer. Then he'd met Voronika, who'd been converted by Vlad. And now the whole damned city was being invaded by rogues and he was worried about everyone. He sent a prayer to the heavens. "I could use a little help this time." His cell phone rang. Was that an answer? It was Maggie. “I’m on my way out of the building. Geez, it’s cold. The wind bites right through my coat.”
They chatted until he saw her red Impala slide into traffic, then he followed her to her house. So far, so good. He parked across the street and watched her pull into her garage. The door slid down and he waited, watching for a light to come on in the house. It didn’t happen. He waited a few seconds longer. Nothing. What was taking her so long? Why hadn't she left the garage yet? He dialed her number and got her recorded message. Something was wrong. He rushed across the street and pounded on her front door. No answer. He pounded harder. "Maggie?" No response. Please be safe. The words became a mantra. He took a step backward, lowered his shoulder, and smashed in the door. The house was dark. Where in the hell was she?
He glanced in rooms as he ran to the kitchen. Maggie's cats came to greet him. He kicked them out of the way. When he shoved the door open that led to the garage, no one was there. Panic fluttered in his stomach. She couldn't just disappear.
Where was the girl? The door that led to her backyard stood open. “Shit.” Blood raced through his veins. His stomach tightened into one giant knot. He raced outside and looked in every direction. Tracks, barely vis
ible in the thin layer of snow, led off to the right. He started to follow them when he saw Maggie running toward him. A vast wash of confusion and relief made his legs rubbery. Thank God. A block of fear melted inside him, washing away his bones.
She gripped his arm. “Are you all right?”
"Am I all right?" He took a shaky breath and laughed. “I could ask you the same.” His gaze narrowed on her bloody fingers.
She held them up and grimaced. “I scraped myself on my car keys.”
“What happened? No light came on in your house. I panicked. If I let anything happen to you, Danny would never forgive me.”
She leaned against him, wrapped an arm around his back. “I’m fine. You’re fine. Let’s go in the house and get a cup of coffee.”
He let her lead him into her cheerful kitchen, closing and locking each door behind them.
While she washed her hands with warm water and rubbed salve over the ragged skin on her fingers, Enoch pulled her front, storm door shut and propped her entry door into place. Cold air would seep around its edges, but at least there'd be a barrier from the wintry temperatures and wind. That done, Enoch wrapped bandages around each of Maggie's wounds. Then she poured them each a cup of coffee. “I set the machine so that it’s waiting for me when I get home.”
He took a sip. The hot liquid seared his throat, made him feel better. “What happened? Where were you? I pictured you on the garage floor with a nylon wrapped around your throat.”
She nodded. “He must have broken in the back door. When I got out of the car and started to the house, he rushed me from behind. I heard him coming and turned in time. I got my arms up so that he couldn’t get the pantyhose around my neck, and then I smashed my heel down on his insole. That’s what they showed us to do in our self-defense class.”
“You took a class to defend yourself?”
“Once a year. I keep odd hours. I’d rather be safe than sorry.”
“Smart girl.”
“He jerked away for a minute, and I still had my keys in my hand, so I went for his face.”
