Guilty by Association (Judah Black Novels)

by E. A. Copen

  “Zoe,” I said and shifted forward, still in surrender. “It still doesn't have to go this way. I know you're not behind all of this. You're being manipulated. LeDuc is lying to you.”

  Zoe brought the gun up and pointed it at my face, sneering. “Don't you dare say that to me,” she spat and touched her free hand to her swollen belly. “Not after everything I went through to come this far. You of all people should understand. You’re a mother. I bet it was easy for you, wasn’t it? What do you know about motherhood? About fighting for your child’s life? Nothing!”

  There was a glint in Zoe's eye, the kind of sheen only the really desperate people get. Each and every person on this Earth has a limit to the amount of mental or physical abuse they can take. At some point, Zoe had been pushed over that edge never to return. She was waging a war against her own self-worth, justifying everything with some reasoning I couldn't hope to understand. “This could have been easy,” she continued, a slight tremble in her voice. “It didn't have to be like this.”

  “Zoe, put the gun down. We can still talk.”

  “There's nothing to talk about!” She pointed the gun more insistently at me and I raised my hands higher. “Don't you understand? This whole place, all of you, everyone...You're all going to die. It’s inevitable for you. But it doesn’t have to be inevitable for her. This world we inhabit, it doesn’t belong to us. It belongs to the children. My children.”

  “Where are the children, Zoe? Tell me. I can still stop this. I can help you!”

  Zoe opened her mouth and flexed the muscles in her throat as if she wanted to say something but no sound came out. Then, she clenched her jaw tight, steadied her grip on the gun with the other hand and said to her goons, “Get the boy.”

  I didn't even think about it. I sprung forward, intending to throw myself over Hunter. That way, anyone who wanted him had to very literally go through me first. Zoe pulled the trigger. I fell to the floor just short of Hunter, a terrible searing pain in my neck. Falling didn't hurt and it didn't make any sound. The lights in the shed were suddenly too intense, the concrete floor deceivingly soft. Shapes and shadows moved around me, though they didn't seem concrete enough to actually be people. I drew in a breath, surprised that it didn't hurt anywhere but in my neck.

  “I admire your selflessness,” said Zoe, stepping into view over me. She was loading more bullets into her gun. “And I’m sorry that it turned out this way. I never wanted it to be Sal. He’s a good man. He doesn’t deserve this. He didn’t deserve any of this. We were happy once. It’s so hard to remember that now.”

  There was a sudden, large crash. Zoe's head jerked up and away from me, her eyes growing wide. She brought her gun up and tried to fire it but didn't have time before a big, red wolf swung at her, driving her back. I remember thinking that the wolf should finish her, chase after her, but it just stood there over me, growling and snarling while Zoe backed toward a door that looked very out of place, her goons following and dragging Hunter along. She slid her back against it, her expression terrified. But the wolf let her open it and retreat back through, her goons and my son in tow.

  When Zoe was gone, the wolf backed off and Shauna dropped down to one knee beside me. She touched the burning spot in my neck. “Grazed,” she muttered. “Ed, give me your shirt.” She took Ed's shirt and pressed it against my neck. Then, she grabbed Ed himself, jerked him down and forced his hand against the bleeding hole in my neck. “Hold this.”

  Ed frowned down at me but did as he was told. I didn't hold his attention for long, though. “Is he...?”

  “Not good,” Daphne answered. “EMTs are on the way. Hold on, Chanter.”

  There was a low growl from the red wolf next to me, who I had guessed was Daphne. I'm sure they were all mad at me, thinking I was responsible for what happened to Chanter but I didn't have time to deal with their misplaced anger. “My son,” I managed in a hoarse tone. “They took my son.”

  “You shouldn't be talking,” Ed whispered. “It's probably safer to stay quiet.”

  “I don't care.” I hauled myself into a sitting position, using Ed's skinny shoulders as leverage. The room spun and my head ached but, somehow, I managed it. “I have to go after him.”

  “In your condition?” Shauna snorted. “You're not going anywhere but to a hospital to get checked out.”

  “No,” I said and clawed my way up Ed to stand. “I have to go after him.”

  Standing up was a bad idea. Not only did it make me feel dizzy and nauseated, but it also gave me a better view of Chanter lying in a puddle of his own blood while Shauna tried to plug all the holes. I'm not normally squeamish but that was enough to send me reeling. I would have fallen over if Ed hadn't grabbed me and forced me to stay standing. “Please,” I said, though I don't know why I was asking him, of all people, for help. “I don't care what happens to me. They have my son. I won't let them hurt him. I can't just stand by while they hurt him, while they kill him. Please.” Ed frowned and looked over at Shauna who bowed her head and looked away. “Chanter promised me he would help.”

  Shauna looked up from where she was, squatting beside Chanter, frowning. “Alpha might die because of the help he promised you and your son.”

  Daphne growled. I assumed that meant “No,” in werewolf.

  “Give me the keys to the Prius,” said Ed and held his hands out expectantly.

  “What?” Shauna growled.

  Ed swallowed audibly. “If Chanter promised them help, then we should give it. He would if he were able. You know Sal would. Give me the keys. I'll take her.”

  Shauna and Daphne exchanged a heavy glance before Shauna dug into her pocket, fished out her keys and tossed them to Ed who promptly dropped them. As he was retrieving them off the floor, Shauna said, “Be careful. This isn't fetch.”

  “I know that,” Ed said back sheepishly. “This is the real deal. You take care of him.” Ed turned back to me and frowned. “Let's get a bandage on that so I can have my shirt back. Then, I'll take you wherever you need to go. You're not in any shape to drive.”

  He opened the door to the shed. Outside, it looked as if only minutes had passed since I'd stepped inside, even though I knew it had been hours. I stole a glance back at the door Zoe had gone through only to find it gone. It finally dawned on me how she'd come and gone out of there without having to go through the other werewolves first. Zoe had used a Way.

  So, that is how they're doing it, I thought. It's also how they could stand by unnoticed and listen to everything I was saying to Donald Summers. They're using the Ways. Somehow, they were able to predict when and where the doors would open, giving them access to anywhere at any time. Zoe and LeDuc had control over the Ways, maybe every single one in Paint Rock.

  “Any idea where they might have taken him?” Ed asked as I stepped back out into the sweltering heat. It felt amazing, considering I'd been shivering only moments ago.

  “No,” I said. “But I know how to find out.”

  * * * * *

  Ed wears sunglasses that were popular in the late nineties when he drives, probably on the misconception that doing so somehow makes up for driving a Prius. The thing might get fifty plus miles per gallon and be eco-friendly but the powder blue finish is about as unmanly as you can manage in a car. All the tree hugging, hipster bumper stickers on the back probably didn't help, either. None of that stopped him from cruising with his windows down and cranking his Indie-French techno up so loud it made my brains rattle. Kids these days.

  I was glad for the ride, though, so I couldn't complain too loud. He was right when he said I wasn't in any shape to drive. Rattling brains and all, I passed out in the passenger seat almost as soon as we got moving. Thankfully, I'd had enough sense to call Reed ahead of time and arrange for him to meet us at the church. Hitting the curb on our way into the church lot woke me up. “Ungh,” I said and sat up, rubbing my eyes. I was thankful it was dark out because I didn't have to deal with the glare of the sun.
Ed's headlights reflecting off the pavement had already made my head pound.

  Father Reed was waiting for us in the parking lot with a big gym bag slung over his shoulder. He adjusted it when the Prius stopped and ducked into the back seat without speaking. Ed leaned on the steering wheel. “Okay,” he said. “Why did we pick up a priest and what's in the bag?” Reed unzipped the bag and rolled the top part down, revealing the hilt of his sword. Ed whistled. “Damn. Or...er...I meant darn. I guess you're our back up?”

  “I've dealt with this particular group of miscreants before,” Reed said calmly and zipped the bag back up. “Any word from Robbie?”

  “No,” I said and settled more comfortably into the front seat. “We're going to go get the information we need, whether he wants to give it or not. This might not go well for us, father, and I wouldn't want you to have to act against your religious conviction so if you want to sit this first part out, I'd understand.”

  “Robbie Fellows has built his fortune by trading in sin. The Lord will be his judge for that. I’m here to help you find information that will bring those children home safe. If Robbie stands in the way of that, I have no convictions against doing what must be done.”

  Ed tugged at the collar of his bloodstained t-shirt. “Damn, padre. You're as cold as ice.”

  “Just take us out to Aisling, Ed,” I said and rested my head on my hand.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  My eyes were closed all of three seconds before Ed shook me awake. I sat up and tried to blink away the rainbow of neon that assaulted my eyes only to find that it was actually all the signage up around the club. The parking lot was three times as full now as it had been the last time I’d been there and Ed had been forced to park his Prius on the edge of the lot. A crowd of scantily clad women in fairy costumes, complete with iridescent wings, stood outside the front door, sifting through a line of customers waiting to get in.

  “Just look at that line,” Ed said with a whistle. “This is going to take all night.”

  “It's not going to be a problem,” I said, digging around in my purse for the VIP packet I'd acquired earlier that day. “You two just stay close to me and make sure you don't make eye contact with any of the employees. Don't accept anything they offer and, more importantly, don't thank them.”

  Reed climbed out of the car, a dark look on his face. All told, he actually looked pretty menacing for a priest. I turned to glance at Ed whose stained up shirt hung off his skinny body, serving only to make him look even less threatening, despite the fact that the stains were blood. No one was going to let him into a club in that, especially one that was frequented by vampires. The crowd might literally go crazy.

  I unbuckled my seat belt and reached into my purse again. From it, I took my trusty nine millimeter and made sure she was loaded and ready to go. “Ed, how long do you need to Change?”

  “Change?” Ed's voice actually squeaked. “Like change how?”

  “You'll look a lot more threatening if you're a wolf instead of a younger, skinnier and geekier version of Keanu Reeves.”

  “You're joking, right? She's joking. Lady, I don't know if you noticed but it takes more than a snap of the fingers to make that happen.” Ed was quiet for a minute. “Valentino's a mental mess and a good distance away. Sal's in lock up. Your boy's missing and Chanter...” He trailed off. “I guess that technically makes me top dog at the moment.” He started chuckling and then launched into a laugh so loud and obnoxious that Father Reed turned and frowned at him through the glass.

  “Why is that funny?”

  “I'm about as threatening as a pet rock. Normally, if Valentino even looks my way I gotta roll over and play puppy or he'll come over and snap at me. No one's ever even suggested that I could look threatening. Not in real life.”

  “Can you do it or not and how long's it going to take?”

  “Shouldn't be any reason I can't, given the circumstances.” He shrugged and we both got out of the car. “Give me fifteen minutes and a little privacy, though.”

  “Do it in ten,” I said. “And the back seat is about as private as you're going to get.”

  “I can't do it sitting down,” he whined.

  “Sorry about your luck, Ed.”

  “Fine, fine,” he grumbled and fumbled with the silver ring in his ear. He stripped off his blood stained shirt and started undoing his belt but stopped and frowned at me. “Do you mind? Unless you want a show, that is.”

  I rolled my eyes, crossed my arms and got out of the car to stand with Reed. “So,” said the priest after a short pause. “What exactly is your plan?”

  “Well, I was kind of hoping to just walk in there and demand to speak with Robbie pretty much like I did the first time. That worked pretty well.”

  “And if he continues to stonewall you?” Reed turned to look at me, his expression unreadable.

  “I just need to convince him that risking the wrath of his superiors is preferable to the unpleasant sensation in the moment.”

  “Torture,” said Reed and then nodded. “Simple and brutal. I like it.”

  “You don't have to be so approving, Torquemada. Geez.”

  “I recognize the necessity of it given the situation. Enough time has passed already that we have to make the most of every second. Lives are at stake, lives that someone like Robbie would probably trade away for the right price.”

  “You seem to think pretty little of Robbie Fellows.”

  Reed gave me a heavy look. “When human lives have a finite value and occupy little more than space on a ledger, you’re not capable of empathy.” He bowed his head. It took me a minute to realize he was praying.

  I gave him another minute before I leaned in closer. “You okay, Father?”

  “I'm a priest about to walk into a strip club with a sorceress and a werewolf.” He turned and cast me an amused glance with one eyebrow raised. “What do you think?”

  I chuckled. “I think maybe that vow of celibacy is probably something you've already regretted more than once or twice. But hey, who am I to start casting stones? Just don't forget why we're here.” Reed laughed at that. I frowned and pressed, “Why is that funny?”

  “Nothing. Just memories, Judah.”

  Something about the way he said that made me even more wary of the priest.

  Ed's paws scraped against the passenger window accompanied by a pathetic whine. I opened the door and he bounded out with a big dog harness in his mouth that he spat unceremoniously at my feet. It took me a little longer than I thought it would to get him all hooked up so that he could look like a dangerous guard dog but, as soon as he was suited up, the three of us went straight to the entrance.

  One of the fairy girl bouncers looked up and batted her extended eyelashes at us. “Ooh,” she cooed and slithered over to us, putting her hands all over Father Reed. “What's this? You looking for a naughty nun, sweetie, or maybe a confession?” Another girl giggled and left the group to come over and caress him.

  Reed looked uncomfortable for a moment before he raised both hands, putting one on the shoulder of each woman, pushing them gently away. “Excuse me, ladies. I'm here on official church business. I'd be more than happy to take individual confessions within the proper confines of the confessional on Friday and Saturday afternoons between three and five.”

  Those poor girls, they were stunned beyond words when he walked right past them and waited for Ed and I by the door. Father Reed was a saint, recruiting strippers for confession. A real servant of the faith, though I didn't miss the way he tugged at his collar once he was free of them.

  One of the strippers he'd snubbed crossed her arms and stepped up to me. Ed let out a low growl and I patted him reassuringly. “No dogs allowed.”

  “He's my mobility assistance dog,” I said with a smile. “He helps me get past crowds of annoying fairy wannabes.” The girl started to gesture to a big, burly bouncer standing by the door but halted when I pulled out my VIP card and
flashed it in front her. “The priest and the werewolf are with me. Robbie is expecting us. He'll be pretty upset if he finds out we've been delayed by the help.” I tried to sound as snooty as possible, though I didn't think I could pull it off in my sweat stained clothes and bandaged up neck. The girl gave me an irritated look and stepped aside, waving us on in with her chin. “See?” I told Ed, patting him again. “It pays to know people.”

  The lobby was more alive than it had been earlier, too. Lots of bored looking people stood around holding drinks wearing everything from your standard club fare to full body fetish gear. We drew lots of stares from the onlookers as we pushed our way up to the coat check desk where I'd met Al earlier. He wasn't manning the desk anymore. In his place was a woman in a latex dress with purple eye shadow and those stick on gems all over. “Welcome to Aisling,” she said in a professional tone, “where your fantasy is our pleasure. May I see your membership cards, please?” I showed her my VIP pass. “I see,” she said and I heard the sound of a keyboard clicking behind the desk. “I'm sorry. I don't seem to have a pleasure profile for you yet, Ms. Black. I'll get someone on that at once.”

  “Actually,” I said, interrupting her as she picked up the phone. “I'm here to see Robbie Fellows.”

  “Mr. Fellows is indisposed for the night” stammered the latex clad woman. “If you would care to leave a message I could...” She trailed off when Ed rose up on two legs and planted his front paws on the top of the desk, his teeth bared in an attempt to look ferocious. He wasn't threatening, not to someone who'd spent the last few days dealing with werewolves but, to the woman behind the counter, he might as well have been Jaws.

  “Just tell us where to find him,” I encouraged, patting Ed on the head. “I promise I won't tell him you're the one who interrupted his private party.” She pointed toward an ornate door behind a set of velvet ropes. “Thanks, doll.”