by Devon Monk
That would have been Chris Lagon, our local gill-man, who was our go-to guy for water recovery. He was not a vampire, but yeah, the other rescuers were vamps.
“They said the rescuers didn’t seem out of breath even though they weren’t wearing any breathing gear. One kid said she could hear her rescuer talking to her in her head. Sang her a silly song as they headed for the surface.”
That probably would have been Ben. He had a way with kids, and keeping people calm in tense situations.
“They said they walked on water.”
Crow snorted.
Non-breathing, telepathic-singing, and eyes-glowing? Yes. Walk on water? No.
“Vampires aren’t really known for their deep-sea-diving abilities,” Myra noted.
“Sure,” Ryder said. “But mortals aren’t known for glowing eyes and not having to hold their breath under water. That meant my organization took notice.”
“So they sent you home to check it out?” I asked.
Something a lot like betrayal was uncoiling in my chest. Or maybe just disappointment. I really had hoped Ryder had come home because he wanted to be here. Be a part of the people, the events, the day-to-day living of a small beach town.
“I came home.” He said it with emphasis. “That was my choice. They had the option to send me out to check on possible sightings throughout the state. But when your dad passed away, I knew I had to stay.”
“What does our dad’s death have to do with it?”
“Do you really think he drove himself off the road in broad daylight?”
All of us girls went still, tense. None of us believed that, but there had been no proof of any foul play.
Odin’s words came back to me. He said Dad waited too long to choose sides. I really needed to figure out what sides were involved.
“No,” I said quietly. “Do you know something about his death?”
He shook his head. “Nothing solid. But I’d known him for most of my life, Delaney. My dad was friends with him. He always told me Robert had more going on than just being police chief. I thought he meant he had kids to raise, or maybe relatives outside town to deal with, but Dad made it seem like it was something more. Something dark. Something your dad might have told him in confidence. He would never tell me what it was.”
“You got vampires out of that?”
“I got that things don’t add up in Ordinary. There is more here than is seen on the surface. You’re the one who confirmed vampires.”
“I only confirmed that because there are hunters in my town, probably killing them.”
“I know.” He didn’t look happy, but I wasn’t sure if it was because I was mad about hunters being in town, or he was mad about Sven’s death.
“So your agency wants to contact vampires?” Jean asked.
“We’re an outreach. Very few people believe in the supernatural, and some that do are pretty unreliable. But the DoPP has been making human-supernatural relationships stronger for over a hundred years.”
“Why have we never heard of you?” Myra asked.
“Why should you have?”
It was a loaded question. It was an opportunity for us to tell him more about our extraordinary town, more about us and our extraordinary citizens. I glanced over at my sisters and could tell they were thinking about it. Pondering if we should tip our hand and let him know what we were.
“It’s not like the DoPP is going away, isn’t that right?” I asked Ryder. “Now that I’ve confirmed there are vampires in town, you’re not going to send your boss a report saying everything is ordinary in Ordinary, are you?”
“I haven’t submitted my report yet.”
“Why?” Myra asked.
“Because I don’t want to put someone I loh-v...care about in danger. I care about all three of you Reeds. If you tell me to, I’ll lie to my boss. I’ll tell him Sven was a one-and-done, and that there are no other vampires in town.”
Yes, I’d caught that Ryder had almost said “love” when he was offering to keep our secrets secret. I shoved that way, way back in my brain so I could think about it later. But I could already tell my heart was drawing little swirls and flowers and smoochy faces around that faltering admission.
“What kind of trouble would you get into for that?” Jean asked. “For lying?”
He pursed his lips. “Dunno. Haven’t had to do it yet.”
“Do they kill freelancers who don’t toe the company line?” Crow asked.
Ryder’s gaze went steely even though his voice was light. “Maybe they’ll let me off easy.”
He didn’t trust the agency. Not really. No wonder he was worried about hurting me. Hurting us.
“You don’t know anything about the consequences to breaking the rules?” Myra asked.
“Well, they have a list of options. Not sure if I would fall under three-strikes-you’re-out, or shiny-light-wipes-the-memories.”
We were all silent a minute. I was trying to work out if he was joking or not.
“They don’t really have a Men In Black light, do they?” Jean asked.
Ryder smiled. “I wouldn’t know if they did or not, would I?”
“Okay,” I said. “I can talk to the vampires in town. Find out if they want to meet with you. Find out if they want to negotiate with your department. Would that work for you?”
He nodded. “It would. We’re offering our help in keeping them safe. I’d like you to tell them that. Tell them we were not a part of Sven’s death and we’ll do everything we can to bring his killer to justice.”
Myra and Jean both nodded, so I took that as our agreement. I would contact Rossi, let him know he could talk to Ryder—while I was also in the room—and Rossi could decide if he wanted any contact with Ryder’s agency. Easy.
“But first I want to know who is the head of the vampires.”
“We’re not going to tell you that,” Myra said.
“Is it Crow?”
“Yep,” Crow said. “I vhant to dreenk your blahd.”
“Nope.” Jean smacked Crow on the arm. Crow chuckled.
“It’s not you, is it, Delaney?” Ryder said this with such a flat expression and neutral voice I knew he was working hard not to let any emotion seep through.
“We slept together,” I said. “You know I breathe. You know my heart beats.”
The blank look on his face lifted, and it was clearly relief that was left behind. “That’s what I remembered, but I know vampires can alter memories if they want. Make a person think they saw something they didn’t.”
“Wait,” Jean said. “Is that why you broke up with her? You thought she was a vampire? Talk about intolerance.”
“Racist,” Crow muttered.
“I’m not racist.” Ryder picked up his coffee mug, realized there was nothing in it, and put it back down again. “I just didn’t want to mix business with personal life.”
“You’re a cop,” Myra said. “She’s a cop. You dated her when you were both working for the same department.”
“I’m a reserve officer. I figured I could quit that if things got too complicated in our relationship.”
“Who’s your boss? Is it really some guy named Frank?” I finally asked. This was the question I kept coming back around to. It felt important.
He smiled, just a faint curve of his lips. He liked this part of it, when I tried to get the information out of him. Liked to make me work for it.
Jerk.
“Who’s the head vampire in town?”
“I am.”
I startled and was on my feet, hands reaching for a gun that was not on my hip.
Old Rossi stood in my living room, just inside the door, a killing look in his eyes.
Chapter 13
Vampires are silent when they want to be. I had no idea how long he’d been in my house. He could have been there all night which was frankly a little pervy.
I wasn’t the only one who had jumped at his voice. Ryder was on his feet, his hands very carefully away f
rom his sides as if proving he was not trying to go for a gun.
Myra, Jean, and Crow were all still seated. Myra quirked an eyebrow at me. “Lock. The. Door. Seriously, Delaney, when are you going to act like an adult and take your own security seriously?”
“You couldn’t knock?” I asked Rossi.
“Every once in a while I prefer a dramatic entrance.” He strolled into my living room, which now felt like a shoe box. My house was small. Hosting six adults in one room was where it really started feeling like it.
“Rossi,” Ryder said. “I can’t say I didn’t suspect it might be you.”
“Oh?” Rossi peered down his nose at Ryder, his expression flickering between amused and angry. “Why are you in my town, Agent?”
That vampire tone could be used to influence people, to hypnotize, or to alter memories. I’d seen it make people say more than they wanted, and force the truth out of them.
It didn’t really work on me or my sisters. Our Reed blood was pretty immune to most of the creature and deity tricks in town.
Still, I could feel it, like knuckles pressing at my temples.
I knew Ryder must feel it too, since it was directed at him. But he smiled and looked completely relaxed. “Because I live here.”
I laughed. Balls. The man had balls.
“Can I get you something to drink, Rossi?” I asked. “I have some Pepsi in the fridge, tea, coffee?”
“Tea would be fine.”
He wasn’t smiling, but he didn’t look quite as angry as he had just a minute before. Maybe he looked curious, like Ryder wasn’t something he had expected to find.
I, for one, was going to take that as a good sign. I imagined living as long as Rossi had might mean that things could get pretty tedious. I hoped Ryder being interesting was better than Ryder looking like something bothersome that should be eaten.
I started heating the water for tea and put on a fresh pot of coffee. I could hear if there was conversation in the living room—small house—but so far, no one was saying anything.
“Ryder said his agency wants to talk to you about human-vamp relations,” I said loud enough for my voice to carry into the other room. “He’s the head of the welcome wagon.”
“I know.” Rossi did that vampire thing where his voice sounded like he was standing right beside me even though he wasn’t. “I was here when he said it.”
I pushed the coffee pot button and checked the tea kettle on the stove, then came back out into the room.
Ryder and Rossi were both still standing, the other three still sitting.
“So let’s get down to it,” I said. “First, there are a few rules.”
“Rules?” Rossi asked.
“My house, my rules. One: no killing. Two: no harming. Three: no fighting. Four: no underhanded tricks that the other doesn’t know about, which includes recording this session.” That, I directed to Ryder, “or altering someone’s mind or memories.” That was for Rossi.
“I’m not wired,” Ryder said. “I wasn’t expecting this coffee and donut session to turn into introductions.”
“There are donuts?” Crow asked. “Why didn’t anyone tell me?”
“There are gonna be now.” Jean tossed her keys to Crow. “Make mine maple.”
“Apple,” Myra said.
“I want a cupcake,” I said.
“Oh, so now you’re letting me out of your sight?” Crow asked. “So I can be your delivery boy? What if I just keep driving?”
“Please,” Myra said. “We know you’re not leaving town. Not without...” she caught herself just in time. “Not without our permission.”
That brought us back to the second thing we really needed to discuss. The missing powers. It would have to wait until we settled this thing with Ryder and Rossi.
I didn’t want Ryder here for the god power discussion. There was no way I was going to tell him gods vacationed in his hometown. Letting him know about vampires was enough of a security breach.
The kettle whistled and Crow held out his hand to Myra. “Credit card. I already pay for your wages with my taxes, I’m not paying for your donuts too.”
She pulled a card out of the slim wallet in her pocket, and I went into the kitchen for tea for the vampire and coffee for the rest of us.
The only tea in my cupboard was Lipton black, a couple Earl Grey that I didn’t remember buying, and a single licorice spice. I filled a cup with water and put one of each bag on a plate beneath it.
“All right. Let the fun begin. Tea.” I handed it to Rossi, then returned to the kitchen for coffee, cream, and sugar. “Rossi, I didn’t hear you promise not to use your tricks on Ryder,” I said as I walked back in.
“You weren’t in the room.”
“He didn’t agree,” Myra said.
Ryder held his cup up over his shoulder and I refilled it. I sat, filled my cup, and handed the pot to Jean. She filled her cup and Myra’s.
“So let’s have that promise,” I said.
The vampire was dangling three tea bags off his fingers. “We really need to talk about your lack of tea in this house. Lipton? Could you find nothing more...pedestrian? Doesn’t Folgers put out a tea?”
“Still not a promise.” I slurped coffee, which wasn’t Folgers, thank you very much.
“Fine.” Rossi chose the Lipton with a grimace. “I agree to your terms. Mr. Bailey?”
“Terms are good with me.”
Rossi wasted no time. “Who is your boss?”
Ryder ground his teeth together for a moment and gave me a dirty look like I had coached Rossi or something. Finally he seemed to give in. “Jake Monroy.”
“Your client?” I said before thinking. “Not your client,” I corrected. Well, no wonder he’d been arguing with Ryder late at night on his doorstep. Now I wondered what they had been arguing about. “What about Frank?”
“He was a recruiter. He was my boss at the beginning.”
“Did you or someone in your agency kill Sven?” Rossi went on like I didn’t even exist.
“No.”
“Did the hunters?”
“It’s possible, but I have no proof.”
“Give me their names.”
It might not have been actual mental manipulation, but the way Rossi said it carried weight and pressure. As if the years of his life made each word come out heavier than it should.
“No.”
“Bad move,” Jean said. “Never piss off the fanger.”
“He can say no,” I said. “This is a discussion not an interrogation.”
Rossi slipped his steady gaze over to me. From the corner of my eye I could see Ryder relax. I had sympathy for Ryder. Rossi’s gaze could make a brick wall squirm.
“I didn’t ask for your opinion, Delaney.”
“That’s okay, I’ll give it to you for free. I want the names of the people in town hunting vampires too, but if Ryder gives them to you, then he’s no longer useful to you. That isn’t how you’re going to behave. We’ve talked about you not killing him, haven’t we?”
I didn’t mean for it to come out in such a motherly sort of tone and felt my ears go hot with a blush as Rossi raised both eyebrows and gave me an incredulous smile.
“Did you just use a ‘mom’ voice on me?”
“No. That was my cop voice. And the statement stands. No killing Ryder.”
“Did I say I was going to kill him? Delaney, I am a peaceful man. My soul is in balance. My Karma and conscience are clear. All chakras go.”
None of that was actually a promise not to kill him.
“So why don’t we make this easy.” Rossi turned that molten gaze of his back on Ryder. “Who killed one of mine?”
That came with a flash of fang and that glowy-eye thing.
Ryder didn’t move, but even I could tell his heart rate kicked up a notch. “I don’t know. That’s what I’m here to figure out. I only know one of those men, those vampire hunters. When I saw him in the bar, I knew they had to be in town looking for your
kind. My job, Mr. Rossi, whether you believe it or not, is to make sure that your kind can live safely among the mortals of this world. I am not a vampire hunter. Not a vampire killer.”
“Tell me why they had your blood, Ryder Bailey. Tell me why I should ignore that it was your blood that killed Sven.”
“I wasn’t a part of it. I donated to the Red Cross outside the hotel where I was staying. That’s the only way I know someone could have gotten their hands on my blood.”
“Who?”
“You tell me. I didn’t even know my blood was a part of Sven’s death until Delaney told me. While you’re at it, maybe you can tell me who would have wanted Sven dead. If there are other vampires in Ordinary, and I’m assuming there are, why him? Was he just the most vulnerable? Was it bad luck? Did he do something that brought attention to himself?”
“He was new here.”
“And? Was he new to being a vampire?”
“Time is such a relative thing.”
“Was he relatively new?”
“Yes, from my perspective. But there are those who are younger than he is.”
“So why did the hunters zero in on him now? Is there something else that brought attention to your town? That brought attention to the vampires here? You know why my agency came here—the capsized boat incident. But that was over a year ago. Why are the hunters here now? Did you do something?”
I was watching Rossi when Ryder asked that question and I saw the slight tic of his jaw. No one who hadn’t been staring right at him would have noticed it. It was such a tiny tell, even if someone noticed it, they probably wouldn’t know what it meant.
But I knew what it meant. Rossi was hiding something. There was something that had brought the vampire hunters to town. I didn’t know what it was, but I was keenly curious.
“No,” Rossi lied smoothly.
“Is there something you did to bring attention to this place?”
“No.” The lie was quicker this time.
“All right. Do you know enough about Sven’s past for us to assume it could have been an old vendetta against him? Did he have any outstanding debts or alliances that would have caused this?”
