by E G Bateman
She caught the man’s mouth twitching and rolled her eyes. “Dick,” she shouted.
The vampire walked in wearing pink rubber gloves and carrying a pooper-scooper. “This dog’s shitting every— Edward? Oh, dear God, Edward, I’m so sorry.” He turned to her. “You kidnapped Edward? What’s wrong with you?” He dropped the scooper and pulled off the gloves.
“It was your idea to kidnap a shifter,” she replied.
“I didn’t mean Edward. He’s the Alpha of the San Bernardino pack and a very close friend. Edward, this is awful. Come into the house.” Dick marched to the door and glanced back, confused that the man wasn’t following.
“If I might move now?” Edward looked at Lexi.
Scott released him.
The shifter rose from the chair and turned to face Scott, who held the walking stick out. “Thank you.” He followed the vampire into the house.
“Nothing seems to be going to plan.” Her friend headed to the door.
“You are not wrong.” Lexi slammed the trunk closed and, shaking her head, walked into the house behind him.
The other two men were talking as the friends stepped into the kitchen.
Edward chuckled. “It’s okay, don’t keep apologizing. To be honest, I’m kind of amused and I’ve been meaning to drop by anyway.”
“Well, that’s embarrassing.” She flopped onto a bar stool.
The shifter took his cell phone out and held it to his ear. “It’s me. I got a call and had to run. I’m dealing with something. How did the meeting turn out?”
She stood, went to the coffee machine, and pulled a mug out to pour herself one.
The man continued his phone conversation. “Oh. Well, that’s not surprising, is it? Okay, head back. I might have answers in the morning.” He disconnected.
“Would you like coffee, Edward?” Dick asked.
“Thanks, Will.”
The vampire snatched Lexi’s filled mug as she returned the carafe to the machine and put it in front of Edward. She sighed and took down another.
“Who’s the female shifter you mentioned, Will?” Edward asked.
“Her name’s Kate. She owns a bar here in town.”
“Dick. Client confidentiality.” She rolled her eyes.
“Kate is from our pack. She agreed to mate with Tommy to end hostilities between our packs. Why hasn’t she gone to Stanley about this? The Palm Springs pack is the largest in Riverside County and he’s the alpha. They could resolve this mess in no time.”
“She wanted to keep the pack out of it. When she first contacted us, she was being harassed for protection money by a gang of thugs in town.” Lexi took a sip of her coffee and screwed her face up at the bitterness.
“But this kind of situation is what the pack’s for.” Edward shook his head.
“Well, there’s another problem now. It looks like this whole thing might have been orchestrated by a local businessman—a nasty piece of work named Caleb Linden. Do you know him?” Dick asked.
“I know of Mr. Linden.” The shifter took a sip of his coffee.
“Did you know he’s a sorcerer?” Dick asked.
“Actually, that would explain a few things.” The other man walked to the refrigerator and retrieved the cream for his coffee, then went to a cupboard on the wall, opened it, and withdrew a bowl of sugar. It wasn’t lost on Lexi how familiar he was with the house.
He put the bowl in front of her, and she spooned sugar into her mug. “Thank you.”
Edward turned to Scott. “A sorcerer and a mage are the same thing, right?”
The young man nodded. “Yes. Mage is a Kindred term to distinguish between a sorcerer who’s part of Kindred and one who isn’t.”
The shifter sat on a stool and turned it to face Lexi. “So, what has Caleb been up to?”
“He’s buying up the whole block where Kate’s bar is. We think he’s trying to get rid of the evidence of her ownership. Dick’s friend got murdered for looking into it.” She stirred her coffee. Her next sip was much more enjoyable.
“Was that the records clerk they fished out of the lake today?” Edward asked.
Dick’s shoulders slumped. “I didn’t even think for a moment about Leonard’s source.”
“Doesn’t Kate have her own copy?” Edward nodded when Lexi passed the sugar.
“She had a break-in. Someone stole it from her office,” Scott explained. “It’s possibly connected to the person who tried to attack her on the street a couple of weeks ago.”
He paused for a moment and light dawned in his face. “Did she by any chance bite the guy?”
“She…might have.” Dick swiveled his gaze to Lexi, then shrugged.
Edward nodded. “Which answers our question. We have a new shifter running around out there who’s killed a couple of transients. He hasn’t been seen for a few days but it can only be a matter of time before he strikes again. That was why we were at the bar tonight—trying to find out who it is and who’s responsible for turning them. Kate should have come to us or gone to Tommy’s pack.”
The vampire raised an eyebrow. “Apparently, they’re quite provincial. Her mate and his family aren’t happy with her being a business owner. They’re looking for an excuse to force her to give it up.”
“Or creating an excuse,” Lexi added.
“What? They never used to be like that. Tommy’s uncle is the police chief and his mother was an attorney. She ran her own firm.” Edward was clearly confused.
“I think Stanley has something to do with all this,” Dick explained. “He and Caleb are close buddies.”
Scott wandered around the room. “Dick, where’s Marcel?”
“Jesús is walking him.”
“William, why do they call you ‘Dick?’ Is it because they’ve seen your magnificent—”
“No,” the two friends said together.
“Thank God,” Lexi added under her breath.
“Come to think of it, Edward, it’s been a while since—” Dick started but didn’t manage to finish the sentence.
“Seriously? Someone should put a muzzle on you.” She was exasperated.
“Now that brings back memories.” The shifter’s eyebrows raised speculatively at Dick.
“Oh, my God!” She put her palms up and stepped back.
“It’s perfectly natural to want to have a life-affirming experience after having been in mortal danger. It wouldn’t kill the two of you to—” The vampire swiveled his finger between Lexi and Scott.
“I think we should head to the motel,” she interrupted.
“That’s the spirit,” he added.
“Not to— Oh, never mind. Come on, Scott.” Lexi picked her jacket up, and they headed toward the garage door. She stopped and turned.
“Are you safe here?” she asked.
“You’re asking a vampire and a shifter if they’re safe?” Dick raised an eyebrow, and Edward’s jaw dropped.
“Okay, but Caleb knows you’re involved and he knows where you live. And he has his own packs of shifters and goons. Are you prepared to move quickly? Do you have a go-bag?” she asked.
“You don’t live as long as I have without picking up a few tricks. Of course I have a go-bag. I’m not an amateur.” The vampire turned away dramatically.
She nodded and they left.
They parked in their spot under the room and headed up the steps. Scott put his hand out to the door and Lexi shooed him away.
“What did I tell you? Me first.” She walked into the room and was met by a punch in the forehead with a knuckle-duster.
When she roused, she realized that she was sprawled on the floor and slouched against the side of Scott’s bed with her hands tied behind her back. She glanced to where her friend stood at the end of the bed, his face a mask of abject fear. When she attempted to move, the thug who lay on the bed slapped the back of her head with his gun. She grunted and glared at him.
“Thank God you’re awake. Your stupid friend here is playing statues. He’
s very good at it but I was about to shoot him. We know you have the file. Our boss wants it back.” He stroked the back of her head with the gun. “Your hair’s pretty.”
She struggled to respond. Her head was fuzzy from the punch, and her emotions were all over the place. That was probably because something was going on with Scott on an emotional level and it flooded her through their link. She looked at him and noted the bruises on his face. He did seem physically frozen like a statue.
“What have you done to him?” She tried to twist her hand to touch her scar but the ties bit into her too tightly.
“Not a thing. Well, barely a thing. But back to the question at hand.”
“Maybe Mr. Linden should come and get it himself.” She looked at her friend and then at the door, trying to somehow signal to him to get the hell out.
“I’ve never heard that name.” The man conveyed with every word that he knew exactly who she was talking about. “And my colleague is outside, so I wouldn’t try that.”
“He doesn’t know anything. Look at him—he’s damaged. Let him go.” Lexi indicated Scott with her head.
The man smacked her with the gun again. “We’re reasonable people. If you hand it over, you can leave. We won’t lay a finger on your pretty…” He stroked her neck slowly.
“You’ll let us leave?” She tried to sound like she believed the lie. Of course, she knew the moment she produced what the thug was looking for, they’d be dead.
“Sure. Tell us where it is.”
She paused and tried again to make eye contact with Scott. “It’s in one of the bags.” Against her instincts, she did her best to look defeated.
“And they are where?”
“He hid them.” She indicated her teammate with her head.
The man sat at the headboard of the bed, crossed his legs, and pointed the gun at Scott. “Where are the bags?”
The young man merely stood motionless and stared into the middle distance.
“Scott! Snap out of it.” Lexi knew they’d both be dead if he couldn’t pull himself together.
He blinked and looked at her. “But–”
“He wants the bags.” She said it very slowly and deliberately.
Scott muttered under his breath, and the bags appeared on the bed—exactly where they had always been and precisely where the thug lay. The young man spun instantly to face the wall, not wanting to see the result.
She shuffled out of the way as the man’s right arm slid to the floor and heard its opposite drop on the other side. For a long moment, she stared at the thug on the bed. His body lay in several pieces between and around the bags. Scott’s backpack was in the middle of his chest. His head had fallen forward against the side of the bag.
Lexi looked away from the gruesome scene. “Can you untie me? We still have to deal with the goon outside.”
For a moment, the beginnings of a scream came from outside, followed by silence. The door opened and the bloody thug fell halfway into the room.
Dick appeared in the entrance. “Did someone call for a rescue? What the fuck happened to him?”
“I’ll stand outside for a minute.” Scott moved carefully toward the door without looking around. He met Edward, who moved back to let him step over the second dead thug and out.
“Are you okay?” The shifter crouched to cut Lexi’s ties.
“They were after the evidence.” She rubbed her wrists but didn’t think she could trust her legs to support her.
“I assume they didn’t get the USB.” Dick stared in fascination at the body mostly on the bed. The legs had rolled so the feet now pointed out, which looked grotesquely comical.
“They wouldn’t have found the flash drive. It’s a good thing we didn’t have the paper files on us.” She touched her forehead gingerly.
“I have the papers here.” He held them out. “I didn’t want to leave them at the house.”
She attempted to stand but swayed and sat heavily on the other bed. “Can you put them in the case, please? I’ll get them to Kate.”
He nodded and she stumbled to her feet and grasped the legs of the second thug to help Edward drag him fully into the room.
“I don’t need the help, but thanks.” The shifter took hold of the shoulders and pulled.
Lexi heard Dick unzip the small carry-on case. “What’s this? Woah! Your case is full of junk.”
“Seriously? You choose now to start critiquing my stuff?”
“No. It’s junk,” he repeated.
“Well, I highly doubt those shoes are really Versace but sometimes, we have to make do,” she snipped in response.
“Okay. I’m going to give this another try. Lexi, I’m sorry about this, but this guy’s junk is in your bag.”
“What?” Lexi and Edward moved to stand beside the vampire, who held some gray pinstripe material in one hand and the bag’s lid in the other. They stared at the place the thug’s lower mid-section had been lying before the bag materialized.
“Poor guy. He wasn’t blessed, was he?” Dick said and shook his head. “Hey, what do you mean about my shoes?”
He started to put the papers into the bag.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
“You said you wanted the papers in here.” He sounded annoyed.
“Close the lid. I don’t want anything in that bag. I don’t want anything from that bag.” She stepped back.
“Are you sure? I know someone who could fashion you a great pair of earrings from his—”
“I’m sure.”
Dick dropped the trouser material into the case and flipped it closed, then looked at the man again with a grimace. “We need to get rid of this.”
“Don’t worry, I have friends who will be only too happy to help.” Edward took his cell out.
Dick and Edward shared a look. “The twins,” they agreed.
The shifter stepped out to make a call.
“You have your own cleaners?” Lexi asked when he returned.
“Something like that.” Dick wiggled his hand in a way that gave her an uneasy feeling.
“How did you know to come?” she asked.
“Seconds after you left, a car started and followed you. I threw my stuff in the car and drove out to follow them, and another car followed me. It was like the Palm Springs Pride parade all over again.”
“They didn’t know I was there, so they were very surprised when I mauled their faces at the traffic light. They’re in the trunk,” Edward explained as he entered the room.
“If we can get them up here, could your twins deal with them too?” Lexi asked.
“Maybe we’ll get a quantity discount.” Dick looked around. “Where’s Scott?”
“I’m here.” His voice came quietly from just outside the room.
“Can you help us get the other two up here?” the vampire asked.
Edward stuck his head out the room. “He’s gone. Oh, he’s down at the trunk. I should help. Wait, he’s gone again.”
“He’ll be fine. Let him do it.” Lexi knew there would be emotional fallout from this. She wondered if he’d be able to continue working with her.
“He should have been able to handle a couple of human thugs.” Dick seemed to know what she was thinking.
“He’s learning on the job.” She hoped that was all it was—a blip.
Moments later, Scott reappeared on the balcony. “They’re in the bath.” He walked in and lifted his bag from the bed without looking at the carnage.
“You might want to check that. His lungs are probably in there,” the vampire warned.
“It’ll be okay. There’s a protection spell on it.” The young man held the bag up. It was completely clean.
“Maybe consider putting one of those on my bag in the future.” Lexi glanced at her little case. She didn’t really need it. It was mostly for show, but still.
Edward looked around the room. “I think this will be okay. The mess is limited to one bed and the bathroom. They should be able to clean
it fairly quickly.”
“Well, well,” a voice said from behind them. A third armed goon stood in the doorway. He saw his colleague on the bed. “What the fuck did you do to Tony?”
Scott held his arm out with the hand raised and muttered a single word. The man was obliterated and a fine spray of red drenched the door, the wall next to it, and the ceiling.
Dick, who had stood closest, looked at himself. “My…everything.”
“Sorry.” The young man waved his hand and drew the blood spray from the vampire to the floor.
“I’m glad you got that out of your system.” Edward’s eyes were wide.
Lexi looked at the carnage. “I’ll pay for another night.”
A car pulled up below and three doors slammed.
The shifter glanced over the balcony. “Collect whatever gear you’re taking. It’s time to move.”
“Where to?” she asked.
Edward shrugged. “My place for now? We need to plan.”
She went into the bathroom and came out with her cosmetic kit. They stepped out of the room as the strangers appeared. A man stepped to the side to allow two others into the room.
“Wow! So fresh. I could smell it from the car.” The boy’s white eyes glittered.
“So hungry.” The girl stepped forward and licked the door.
Scott put his hand over his mouth, clearly trying not to gag.
Edward introduced the twins politely. “This is Adele and this is Sam.”
Lexi’s jaw dropped in shock. She looked at him. “Are they zombies?”
“Kind of.” He seemed to sense where this might go.
“Kind of?” Her eyebrows raised.
“As in, yes.” He indicated the room as if to say, “Well, what else could we do?”
Dick placed his hand on her shoulder. “You’re not with Kindred now, Lexi. Remember that.”
Lexi took a step back. Kindred’s rule was that zombies were “kill on sight.” No ifs, no buts, kill immediately. She was conflicted and she guessed it must have shown on her face because the two flaky white dead people in front of her looked terrified.
“Kindred?” Adele squeaked. Her eyes widened so the entire white irises showed.
Everyone was silent and all gazes settled on Lexi.
“Bon appetit.” She walked away without a backward glance.
