Her Midnight Wedding

by Beth Alvarez

  “The point is to make sure I’m on the right side of it. Full-spectrum bulbs may not hurt quite like sunlight, but they’re unpleasant enough to make most vampires talk.” The man’s chair squawked as he scooted it forward. He interlaced his fingers, resting his hands on the table.

  Somewhere behind him, Kade heard a shoe creak. A hunter, he assumed. Probably belonging to the Keeper who sat in front of him. “Funny how you treat it like an interrogation, considerin’ I didn’t do anythin’ wrong. You must get bored, cooped up in your offices all the time.”

  “I have more than enough to keep me busy,” the Keeper said. “But the questions should be brief. How many people in Holly Hill know about you?”

  Kade didn’t know why they bothered. They weren’t likely to ask anything Thaddeus hadn’t, and it wasn’t as if his answers were going to change. Regardless of what the Keepers thought, he was an honest man. “Countin’ the hunter and his Keeper?”

  “Residents only.”

  Shrugging, Kade made himself more comfortable. He would have preferred to cross his arms, but body language counted. If he wanted to seem harmless, it would help for him to come across as agreeable. He kept his hands on his thighs instead. “Four, I suppose.”

  The Keeper motioned to the other person in the room. A moment later, a yellow notepad and pen appeared on the table, more hands retreating behind the light. “Who are they?”

  “Well, there’s Filly, my fiancée. Nick Foster, Penny... um... you know, I don’t even know her last name. Nick’s fiancée. And I guess Brady, now.”

  “What is Brady’s surname?” The Keeper wrote in such a slanted cursive hand that Kade couldn’t make out a word from where he sat.

  “Hayes.”

  The man’s hand paused before adding a string of notes to the paper before him. “Have you had contact with the hunter currently in Holly Hill?”

  Kade snorted. “My house is the only inn around. He’s stayin’ there. Of course I have.”

  “And you are aware of why he was there?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  A long silence followed, then the scratching of the pen on paper resumed.

  Kade allowed himself to twiddle his thumbs. “I’m not tryin’ to be rude, but is there a point to all this? I already told my Keeper everything you’ve asked.”

  The man on the other side of the table ignored the question. “Are you able to recount the situation regarding the werewolf contract?”

  Sighing, Kade turned his eyes to the ceiling. “Well, I was the one who reported it. Told my Keeper about it. I-”

  “Did you attempt to pursue the contract?” the man interrupted.

  “No. Not exactly.” Kade hesitated. The faceless man’s pen tapped against the paper in a signal of impatience. He went on without having worked out the words. “I was worried about someone huntin’ a lycan on the ranch I work at. People could get hurt. People I know. After I ran across the hunter, though-”

  “Were you familiar with Cole Richter before this incident?”

  The second interruption made Kade bite the tip of his tongue. He drew a slow breath, reining in his temper. “Yes, sir. We’d worked together before. I trusted his judgment for the job.”

  “And you were a hunter previously, correct?”

  “Why are you askin’ all these questions if you’ve already got the answers?” Kade would have been foolish to think they hadn’t pulled his file before this. “Yes, I was a hunter. I resigned. You already have that information. Do you want me to finish my story or not?”

  The man turned his pen between his fingers and Kade scowled. He would have liked to see the Keeper’s face, but the man remained close to the lamp, letting the light blot out everything but his hands.

  “Why do you breathe?” This time, the question came out soft. An almost curious note touched the nameless Keeper’s voice.

  Kade sighed. “Always helped me blend in. Plus, I like it. I like the way it feels. Nothin’ better than standin’ on the front porch just before sunrise, breathin’ in the day. The air’s sweet, back home. Always smells a bit like fresh hay. And cinnamon from Filly’s bakin’.”

  “Home?” the man prompted.

  This time, Kade didn’t reply.

  He hadn’t expected Thaddeus to take him back to Nashville, but he had. Right to the regional Keeper headquarters he’d signed his hunter’s contract in, where—up until that January—his name had adorned a chest in the hunter’s barracks. There was a time in his life he’d considered this building home. Now it felt foreign and unwelcoming. The thought put an unpleasant ache of longing in his chest.

  “I want to go home, sir,” Kade said. “Back to Holly Hill. I’m supposed to get married in a little more than two weeks, and I can’t do that so long as I’m here.”

  The Keeper made a small sound in his throat. “Do you know why you are here?”

  “Not really. Because people were learnin’ about me? ’Cause Nick wanted money?” Kade shook his head. “I don’t know. I never had anything like this happen before. Filly signed your papers months ago, swearin’ only to speak of our kind under approval.” He was allowed to offer that approval, too; he was the one who decided who could know. Telling Penny and Brady hadn’t been against any rules, though as a human, Penny would eventually have to sign the Keepers’ papers as well. The Keepers liked things that way. Everything wrapped in a tidy little legal package, finished with a bow.

  “Can you tell us more about Nick Foster?”

  Back to the boring questions. “I told my Keeper as much as I could. I know he found out about me bein’ a vampire through Penny. I don’t know how he found out about me bein’ a hunter. Or how he found out I was lookin’ for a new meal ticket. Or how he found out about the lycanthrope contract.” Come to think of it, he had absolutely nothing to go on. Frustration welled up inside him. He was supposed to be solving these problems, not sitting in an office building in downtown Nashville, putting up with a mock interrogation.

  “And are you familiar with Brady Hayes’ condition?”

  Ah. Now he understood. The Keeper was leaping from subject to subject in hopes of catching him off guard or confusing him, thinking he’d mix up his story. It might have worked on someone else, but with him, they were wasting their time. He wasn’t lying.

  “I learned about it right before my Keeper came to get me. That was when he learned ’bout me, too.” The man beside the lamp didn’t say anything, so Kade took it as an indication he should go on. “Had a little scuffle with him. I was helpin’ Cole... Mr. Richter... trap the lycan for evaluation. He bit me pretty good, that’s why I’ve got these fixin’s.” He touched his throat.

  “What did you do after that?”

  “Nothin’,” Kade said, and he could tell from the way the man stopped writing that he didn’t think it was the truth. “Cole’s hunt, not mine. He’s got the contract. We’ll work together for old time’s sake, but at the end of the day, whatever happens now? Not my place to say.” It neatly skirted the nuances of the situation, but it was completely truthful, and identical to what he’d told Thaddeus.

  The Keeper leaned back in his chair and the hunter behind him inched closer, leaning down for the interrogator to whisper in his ear.

  Then the lamp went dark.

  “That’s all for now, Mr. Colton. You are free to return to your Keeper.”

  Kade pushed back his chair and stood. “Thank you. I’ll do that.” He stood blinking for a moment, waiting for his eyes to adjust. The room was dark, but it was a nighttime kind of dark. Feeble light filtered in through tinted windows, just bright enough to cast odd shadows from the grid of bars across them.

  The Keeper and his hunter stood at the far side of the room with their backs toward him, conversing in low voices. Kade didn’t care. He’d given them what they wanted to know, and their roundabout way of questioning had given away more than it had coaxed him to reveal.

  They wanted him to slip up.

  They wanted to know if he knew ab
out the corruption within the organization, which led to the skewed contract.

  Which meant it was going to be harder than he thought to tease out some idea of who was safe to talk to. Kade frowned as he let himself out the door.

  Thaddeus waited in the hallway, right where Kade had left him. The old man touched a hand to his bowler hat as if to adjust it, then lowered his arm without doing anything. He cleared his throat. “You are to be held until they have the opportunity to review all information.”

  “Held?” Kade repeated. “What does that mean?”

  “It means I will need you to follow me.” Thaddeus started down the hall. He didn’t move fast, but the old man was tall, and Kade hurried to catch up with his long-legged strides.

  “I’m not tryin’ to be difficult, Birch, but this don’t seem much like help.”

  “I don’t expect you to understand all of our methods, but I do hope you realize that everything I do is in your best interest. And in the best interest of the organization.” The Keeper turned the corner to a narrower hall.

  The headquarters was more labyrinthine than Kade thought. Despite spending a good portion of a decade living in this building, Thaddeus led him around twists and turns he hadn’t known existed. Eventually, they arrived at a staircase that led farther underground.

  “Where are we?” He tried not to let his concern show through.

  “A bunker, of sorts,” Thaddeus explained. “The safest and most secure location within our headquarters. All things considered, it is the best place for you.” He stopped outside what could only be described as a cell, complete with iron bars and rough, mortared stone for walls and a floor. There were no amenities. A vampire without a food supply needed none.

  Floating halfway between anger and disbelief, Kade almost felt like laughing. “According to who?”

  “According to whom, Mr. Colton, and you should know I don’t make the rules.” Extra lines skirted the Keeper’s eyes, as close to a look of concern as Kade had ever seen on the man.

  “Yeah, yeah. You just follow ’em.” For a moment, Kade considered resisting. But resistance wouldn’t accomplish anything. If he wanted to get out in time for his wedding, the last thing he wanted to do was make himself threatening. Swallowing his frustration, he paced into the cell. “But someone makes the rules, Birch. Who is it?”

  Thaddeus locked the door, catching Kade’s eyes for one silent moment. Then the Keeper’s expression became cold steel. He slid the keys into his pocket and turned away. The sound of his footsteps echoed in the quiet, fading until there was nothing to hear at all.

  “Great,” Kade muttered, trudging to the back of the cell and sitting down with his back to the wall. He couldn’t imagine any way this could get worse.

  Then the lights went out.

  EIGHTEEN

  * * *

  “I’M TELLING YOU, Felicity, it’s not gonna help.” Brady swept extra pens and pencils off the map.

  Felicity sucked in a deep breath, closing her eyes. She was open to suggestions. So far, no one had proposed anything, yet they’d all been quick to pick apart her plans. “Any bright ideas, then?”

  Everyone at the table shifted in quiet discomfort.

  It took effort to keep her composure.

  She didn’t think it was likely the remaining rustlers would return to William’s Woe, but the abandoned ranches were the only thing she’d been able to come up with. They would have had to return to collect supplies from the place after Kade and Felicity found it last winter. They might have left something behind. A trailer, a crate with conspicuous labels on it, something. At this point, anything would be more clues than they had.

  Brady picked up one of the pencils and circled Holly Hill. “Like I said, anything useful we’re gonna find is gonna be right here. Nick lives here. His connections have to be around here, too. Especially if they wanted him here for this job.”

  “I still think we should just tell Sam,” Penny murmured.

  Justine made a cutting motion with one hand. “No cops. Period. They’ll slow everything down, and I don’t want to have to jump through hoops with the cover story I’ve already got going.”

  “Besides,” Cole put in. “Who’s going to believe the whole story?”

  Several pairs of eyes turned toward Owen, who crossed his arms a little tighter and slouched in his chair at the head of the table.

  “You have to admit it’s a little far-fetched,” Felicity said. “I’m willing to bet most people don’t believe in vampires. And making more people aware that Kade is one isn’t going to help us get him back.”

  The Keeper nodded in agreement. “If you want him freed, you have to solve this. So far, Nick’s the only threat toward the supernatural within Holly Hill. Eliminate him, and there’s no reason for headquarters to keep Kade locked up.”

  “Locked up?” Cole repeated, surprised. “You think they’d-”

  “Trust me. I know headquarters.” Justine plucked the pencil from Brady’s hand, following the marks spread across the map with a fingertip. She lingered over the tiny dot that represented Felicity’s home town. “I think Brady might be on to something, though. There has to be some resource here that you haven’t tapped yet. Someone who knows the ins and outs of things happening in a place like this.”

  Felicity and Penny locked eyes. “Gertie,” they said at the same time.

  “Oh, no.” Brady shook his head, stepping away from the table with his palms turned outward. “You’re not bringing her into this. After what we had to deal with this morning?”

  “She’s going to have questions one way or another,” Felicity said. “We’re not going to be able to escape it. We might as well bring her in.”

  “Besides, Brady,” Penny added. “It’s Gertie. Chances are she knew about you before anyone else.”

  “And as soon as we acknowledge it, she’ll put it up in that dad-blam gossip column she loves so much.” Still shaking his head, Brady crossed his arms and paced around the kitchen. “Maybe some of you are used to this, but not me! I don’t want anyone to know. I don’t want to be treated any different.”

  That sobered the whole group.

  Justine ran a finger over her eyebrow as if it would smooth away her worries. “I know it’s difficult. It’s not easy for us, either. But this is the risk you take when you live in a small town. In the city, it’s easier to hide. People can go for years without meeting their neighbors. But here, everyone knows you. Sooner or later, people will notice the way you disappear during the full moon.”

  Cole glanced to the window as if suddenly reminded of what was coming. Moonrise was still a few hours off, but they’d need time to prepare. Felicity had no idea where they were going, but she hoped Brady wouldn’t have to be hidden away from humans forever.

  “This isn’t something we do often,” Justine continued, “but it is a suggestion we’ve made in the past. If you’re going to live here and keep your secret, Brady, you might benefit from making sure a few influential people know and are on your side. The same goes for Kade, but it’ll be easier for you. You’ve been here your whole life. They’re more likely to trust you.”

  And the lack of trust was one of the reasons Kade had held off on telling anyone. Now, Felicity couldn’t help but think it had been a mistake. If he’d had some kind of foundation, a short list of people who knew, maybe he could have fallen back on them instead of having Nick’s betrayal end with the Keepers taking him away.

  Then again, she understood the silence. How did you approach someone you knew—someone you’d only just gotten to know—and tell them you were dead? Felicity would have to deal with that herself, someday. “How many people in one region are allowed to know? Does a concentration of them create complications for the organization?”

  “There’s a guidebook for it, actually. I’ll make sure you get a copy after we’re through with all this.” Justine chanced a smile. Her fangs glittered a stark white against her dark complexion. “In the meantime, Brady, you’re g
oing to have to make a decision. The ladies obviously think this woman can help. There’s a chance we can get what we need without revealing too much. If we can’t, isn’t it worth one person learning about you if it means rescuing your friend?”

  Brady’s shoulders sagged. “Well, when you put it that way...”

  Penny jumped out of her chair. “I’ll call her.”

  “To think we could’ve done it this morning, though,” Brady muttered.

  Snorting, Felicity leaned across the table to pick up the pens and pencils he’d pushed off the map. “I was afraid you might be dying. It was the farthest thing from my mind.”

  “I wasn’t that bad,” he protested.

  “Regardless of how bad you were, you’d better hope that’s the only taste of a bullet you get,” Justine said. “Since it seems like we’ve got a little lull in planning, why don’t we go upstairs and hash out an idea of what you and Cole are doing tonight? We can come back down if Felicity needs us.”

  “Might as well.” Cole headed for the doorway without waiting to see if they followed.

  Brady hesitated, but the heavy look the Keeper gave him had him moving along quick enough.

  That left Felicity and Owen, who had been silent through everything so far. He caught the look she gave him and raised a brow, the corners of his mouth remaining downturned.

  For all that they looked just alike—if older, on Owen’s part—he was nothing like his brother. Kade had a playful streak; Owen was all business. Laughs and smiles came easily to Kade, while Owen seemed incapable of lightening up. Felicity didn’t know if it was the burden of what had driven him here or if it was the burden dropped on him after his arrival, but the air around the man was weighted with discomfort and wound tight with stress. She regretted having run out of menial jobs for him. At least a task like addressing envelopes would have kept him distracted.