“Thanks.” I turned abruptly and walked out.
I found Noel slouched over a table top in a back corner of the library. My lips lifted as I approached her. When she sat up I noticed her hair. She’d cut it short! Although Noel and I looked nothing alike, we’d had almost identical long black hair and bangs. Now it barely reached her shoulder blades. Like Valerie, Noel had a way of wearing red lipstick as though it were a natural eye color. She looked good without the hoodie and with her hair styled in an attractive bob.
“I love your hair,” I said immediately.
Noel didn’t so much as crack a smile. “Thanks.”
“What are you doing in the library? Get hit by a case of nostalgia?” Noel and her friends Whitney and Hope used to hang out in the school library at Denali High all the time.
“What’s the matter?” I asked when she didn’t respond.
“Valerie,” Noel said, anger rising in her voice.
I slipped into the seat beside her. “No argument there. What’s the vixen done now?”
Noel glared at the tabletop. “She hooked up with Gavin.”
“When? How?” I sputtered. “They don’t even go to the same school.” And just when Noel had gone and gotten a makeover. What rotten timing. Or maybe this was Noel’s way of showing Gavin what he was missing.
“After I dropped you off Friday night I went back to the party and there they were making out on the couch.” Noel’s lip curled back. “One of Marcus’s guests told them to take it upstairs…and they did.”
Noel’s head dove forward into her arms.
“I’m so sorry, Noel.” I patted her back gently. Maybe not the best time to bring up my philandering father.
“Want to grab a sandwich with me?”
“I’m not hungry, but I’ll come with you. I just want to get out of here.” She pushed away from the table.
As we headed down the hall, the intercom crackled.
“Aurora Sky and Noel Harper, please report to the front office immediately.”
Noel and I looked at each other. I imagine I looked every bit as alarmed as she did. My hands instantly balled into fists. Noel and I headed to the office without a word. I didn’t know about Noel, but I could do without any more surprises.
Noel stepped up to the front desk. “I’m Noel Harper and this is Aurora Sky.”
The secretary handed us each a slip of paper. “You’ve been excused from your afternoon classes,” she said.
Noel and I huddled together with our matching notes.
I need you on base now. – Melcher
“So much for taking the rest of the month off,” I muttered.
“Duty calls,” Noel said, sounding pretty sarcastic herself. “Do you need anything out of your locker?”
“Yeah, can I grab my books? I have a history test to study for tonight.”
“Meet you out front,” Noel said.
My phone rang on the way to my locker. It was Dante.
“Have you been called in?” he asked.
“Yep.”
“Need a ride?”
“I’m coming in with Noel.”
“I’ll save you a seat,” he said, abruptly ending the call.
“It’s not a race,” I muttered under my breath.
I certainly wasn’t in any hurry to get on base.
It took me a moment to remember my new locker combo. Once I had the door unlatched I sifted through my pack, leaving behind the textbooks I knew I wouldn’t touch that night. I eyed Mike’s coat in the back of my locker—one more thing that needed taking care of.
I dialed my mom as I walked down the hall and told her the agents had called me in, and I’d catch a ride home with Dante. For once she didn’t ask if everything was okay. Probably too hung up on her own problems.
Noel had her car idling in the pick-up lane when I walked out. She had the black hoodie back on with the hood pulled over her head. I’d grabbed my red scarf that morning and wrapped it around my neck. Old habits die hard.
“Valerie is the absolute last person I feel like seeing right now,” Noel grumbled after I got in.
“Sorry.”
“Melcher better not try to pair her up with me.”
“Nor me. Once was enough.” I scrunched up my face. “How did you and Dante get along, by the way?”
“Fine, even though he would have rather been with you or Valerie.”
Now she was really pouting.
I kept my eyes on the road because Noel looked spaced out. At least we were driving on snow, not ice.
Noel and I didn’t speak the rest of the way. My thoughts drifted back to the divorce. I wished I could tell Fane about my dad. Could we ever be friends again?
I handed my ID badge to Noel at the gated checkpoint leading on base. The military man at the window took both badges with his standard frown then handed them back.
“About time,” Dante said when Noel and I walked into Melcher and Crist’s office.
I rolled my eyes before taking a seat. “I’m surprised the agents left you alone in their office.”
Dante leaned against the wall and grinned. “I tried to get into the file cabinets, but they’re locked.”
Noel fell into a chair and pulled her hood further down her face.
Dante’s eyes flicked from Noel to me. “How’s school?”
“School.”
“Really? Tell me more.”
I started to chuckle when Valerie strode in, tall brown boots pulled over skinny jeans, a fire engine red cowl-necked sweater on top. She sighed dramatically.
“Don’t tell me I’ve been called in to babysit Aurora again.”
“Good thing you came,” Dante said smoothly. “A call girl’s gone missing, and Melcher needs you to work through her clients until you find the culprit.”
I laughed then choked trying to hold it back.
Valerie chose to direct her anger at me. “Something funny?” she demanded, leaning toward me.
Dante tsked. “Careful, Red. I’ve seen Aurora in action.”
“So have I. By action, I assume you mean getting her ass whipped.”
Dante grinned. “You have my attention now.”
I pushed myself out of my chair, prepared to yell at them both when Melcher walked into the room.
“Oh good, you’re all here.”
I hardly noticed the man who walked in behind Melcher. He pushed the door closed forcefully, hanging at the back as though guarding our only exit. Melcher stood behind his desk.
“Team, I have bad news.”
Since when did Melcher ever call us in to share good news? Something was definitely up, though. For the first time he wasn’t smiling. He looked us each in the face. “Agent Crist was found dead over the weekend.”
“What?”
I’m not sure who said it—maybe all four of us. Noel’s head shot up. Dante lowered his foot to the ground. Valerie’s jaw dropped.
Melcher nodded grimly before taking a seat. “One of our own…gone.”
Crist and I were never close, but I never wished her ill—and certainly not dead.
Melcher cleared his throat. “Agent Crist served her country well, and while the community might not know it, her sacrifice will never be forgotten. Not in our unit. She put duty before her personal life. Honor before pride. Loyalty above self-interest.”
I slouched in my seat. At least Melcher’s rambling served the purpose of numbing my initial shock, though I was waiting like everyone else to find out exactly what had happened.
“Agent Crist worked tirelessly by my side for over three years. She understood our mission better than anyone I’ve ever worked with.”
The guy behind me yawned.
As much as I wanted to turn in my seat and get a better look at him, it didn’t feel appropriate with Melcher talking about the former Agent Crist.
“Did a vamp get her?” Dante demanded the minute Melcher concluded his tribute to Crist.
“I’m afraid so.” Melcher’s speech had loo
sened his lips, relaxing his frown into something more Melcher-like.
“Do you think he, or whoever, was aware of her involvement in this organization?” I asked.
That’s what had gotten me into trouble with Renard and his cronies. What if Crist had talked? Shared names? I gripped the armrests of my seat.
“From what the autopsy showed it appears this was a rush job. We believe Crist was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
What were the odds of that happening? I actually felt sorry for the poor woman no matter how prickly she’d been. No one deserved death by vampire, especially not someone who’d dedicated her life to stopping the creatures from harming human citizens.
Dante smacked his fist against his hand. “Any leads?”
Melcher glanced over our shoulders to the man in back. Mr. Mysterious made his way to the front, taking a seat on the edge of Crist’s desk.
“That is what Jared is here to help us with,” Melcher said in answer to Dante’s question.
“Agent?” Dante asked, raising a brow.
“Just Jared,” the man said.
I thought Melcher was smug. This guy exuded conceit. He looked around the room as though he owned the space and everyone in it. His chest looked rock solid under a thin ribbed t-shirt with long sleeves. He didn’t wear a suit like Melcher, and he couldn’t be much older than thirty, though he held himself up like some kind of Fortune 500 CEO.
Melcher cleared his throat. “Jared is our top recruiter. He’s taking time out to help us find Agent Crist’s killer.”
“Where do we start?” Dante asked, looking between Melcher and “Just Jared.”
“We found another body besides Crist,” Melcher said. “We believe the second body will lead us to the culprit.”
“Who was it?” Dante asked.
Melcher formed a steeple with his fingers and looked directly at me. “It was a boy named Michael Peterson. He went to West High School.”
For one glorious second I didn’t recognize the name. Then I stopped breathing. It wasn’t until Melcher’s gaze turned to Noel that I was able to get oxygen to my brain.
Mike!
How was that even possible? Melcher must be mistaken. There was absolutely no link between Mike and Crist—no reason for their lives, and deaths, to collide. Mike couldn’t be dead. I had his coat. I still needed to return it.
“Aurora, did you know this boy?” Melcher asked, studying me carefully.
I could see a question forming on Dante’s lips. Both men stared at me. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Jared stifle a yawn. I knew in our line of work we had to desensitize ourselves to a certain degree, but he didn’t have to act so bored by the death of an agent and a high school boy.
“We both did,” Noel spoke up. “He followed us to Marcus’s party Friday night. The moment Aurora noticed him at the party she escorted him out to his car. That’s the last we saw of him.”
I felt torn between awe and appreciation at Noel’s succinct account of Mike’s appearance Friday night, and a pain of betrayal that she’d reported my after-hours activities. Well, what could I expect from an informant?
“Marcus,” Jared said, grinning. He snapped up the name like a grizzly grabbing a salmon mid-jump.
Melcher shook his head. “He doesn’t like to get his clothes wrinkled, let alone his hands bloody.”
Jared smirked. “He’s not the only one.”
“It’s not Marcus,” Melcher reiterated, sitting up in his chair. “He wants to draw as little attention to himself as possible.”
How did Melcher know so much about Marcus? My head started spinning. At least the attention wasn’t on me…whoops, spoke too soon.
Melcher had his eyes on me. “You were at Marcus’s?”
My mouth hung open.
“We’ve been seen together at West so the guys inquired about her and extended an invitation,” Noel said.
Melcher thought this over then nodded. “And what was the other boy doing there?”
“He saw Aurora getting into my car Friday night and followed us. I think he had a crush on her.”
Now my mouth really dropped. I didn’t mind Noel speaking for me at first, but I was starting to now.
Dante whistled. “Heart. Breaker,” he said, beating a fist against his chest.
I glared so hard I swear I strained my eyeballs.
“I didn’t even know the boy! We had like one conversation. Maybe two.”
“Two too many.” I heard Valerie say under her breath.
Maybe she’d like a shiner to match the one she got the week before.
“Who all was at this party?” Melcher asked.
His question was directed at Noel, so I sat back. If she wanted to do the talking then, fine, she could be the one to out everyone in Marcus’s inner circle. As soon as they let us out of here, I was warning Fane. I didn’t think Noel would have been the vindictive type when it came to Gavin hooking up with Valerie, but then you never really knew a person until a boy ended up dead.
Melcher had a notepad out. He picked up a pen and looked at Noel.
“Obviously, Marcus was there,” Noel began.
She began reciting names. I couldn’t imagine how she’d become familiar with so many. Someone knew how to do her job.
As the list continued, my fists tightened, my fingernails leaving crescent indents in the palms of my hands.
Noel stopped speaking. I didn’t look at her for fear of attracting attention, but now that she’d finished, I noticed she’d left out Gavin, Henry, and Fane from the guest list. I loosened my fists. I shouldn’t have doubted her.
Valerie didn’t pipe up, either. Maybe she really did want to protect her suck buddies.
“And that’s everyone?” Melcher asked.
“Everyone I can think of,” Noel replied without hesitation. “If I think of anyone else, I’ll let you know.”
“Very well,” Melcher said. “I need you all to wait in the hall while Jared and I talk. We’ll call you back to deliver your instructions so don’t wander far.”
8
Partners
The four of us filed out in silence.
Valerie began texting the moment we walked out. She leaned against a corner at the far end of the hall.
“I had no choice,” Noel whispered.
“I know,” I said.
There wasn’t time to say anything more. Dante slipped in between us. “Poor Agent Crist, who would have dreamed?”
I nodded solemnly. “It’s horrific. And Mike.” I had to stop talking. My throat constricted.
I felt like such a wretch—always bellyaching about not leaving the state for college. At least I got to go to college. Mike wasn’t going anywhere anymore. No bucking bronco at Boise State. I tried to swallow the lump in my throat.
Dante put an arm around me and Noel. I thought he’d say some words of condolence or support. I should have known better. “What’s with this party I wasn’t invited to?”
I pressed my shoulder against my ear. Dante’s breath tickled against my neck.
“You wouldn’t last five minutes with Marcus,” Noel said.
Dante chuckled. “So he’s a biter, is he?”
I rolled my eyes. “Only when it comes to hot younger men.”
Dante leaned into me. “You just admitted you think I’m hot.”
“Did I?” I raised a brow.
Dante nodded slowly, staring me straight in the eyes. “Can’t take it back now.”
“I can’t believe you two, flirting when Agent Crist’s killer is on the loose.”
I gave a little jump when Valerie appeared behind us. “We’re not flirting!” And don’t tell me she hadn’t been off texting with Gavin.
“Speak for yourself, Sky,” Dante said and winked.
Valerie made a sound of disgust. She folded her arms beneath her bosom, pushing up both breasts, and tapped her foot. “Do they plan on keeping us here all afternoon?”
I took a breath. “Val, it’s b
een like three minutes.”
Valerie stopped tapping and glared at me. “Don’t call me Val. Only my close friends have permission to call me Val.”
“Whatever,” I said, throwing up my hands before I walked away.
Noel quickly followed me.
“That time of the month?” Dante asked Valerie before joining us.
Dante put an arm around me. I didn’t want him to, but I couldn’t exactly shrug him off when he’d dissed Valerie on my behalf.
“That one’s wound tight,” Dante remarked, massaging my shoulders.
Noel watched Dante’s hands at work on my back. When she met my eye I gave her what I hoped was a “we’re just friends” look.
Noel’s lips twisted. “I’ll be right back.”
Shit. Maybe she misread me and thought I wanted some privacy.
I pulled out of Dante’s arms as Noel disappeared around the corner. I faced Dante with my arms folded over my chest. He shot me a lopsided grin.
“Feel better?”
“A little.” Not even close.
Dante leaned into me. “Listen,” he said, glancing to the side then back. “As soon as I arrived I had a chat with Melcher.”
“Oh?” Now what?
“I requested he pair us up again. We work well together.”
I nearly laughed. My arms actually dropped.
“Dante, we don’t work together at all. You left me alone with two vamps in Fairbanks…during my first mission. You weren’t even in town when Renard and his henchmen abducted me.”
Dante listened to all this with the kind of expression that indicates a guy isn’t listening at all but rather rewriting everything you say inside his head to fit his version of the facts. “What about when we went back to interrogate the boy? We got him into the cabin together. You tied him up. You even handed me the knife when it came time to interrogate the subject.”
I shuddered. This wasn’t exactly something I wanted to remember. Great teamwork—torturing and killing a human.
Dante took me by both shoulders and dipped down to look me in the eyes. “What’s the matter, Sky?”
I shook my head. “I still can’t believe they’re dead—Agent Crist and Mike.”
“Did you like this boy?”
My lower lip threatened to tremble. “No. That’s just the thing. I thought he was annoying. I was relieved he wasn’t at school today, and that makes me feel a thousand times worse.”
Northern Bites (Aurora Sky: Vampire Hunter, Vol. 2) Page 7
