Jared and I went through security first while Valerie unzipped her boots and removed all her jewelry.
Since we were in the back of the plane, our aisle was one of the first to be called for boarding. Jared held onto all our tickets. It felt patronizing, which I suspected is what he was going for. I had no choice but to follow him and Valerie down the Jetway to our plane.
There were people in the front rows, standing in the aisle, stuffing everything they could into the overhead bin. Rather than wait for them to finish and take a seat, Jared bumped passengers from behind and kept moving. He stopped at the row after ours.
Valerie ducked under the overhead compartments and plopped into her window seat. I took the dreaded middle seat. Once Jared had us blocked in, I dug out my iPod, buckled my seatbelt, and rested my head against my seat, earbuds in place, music playing. The volume wasn’t loud enough to block out the screaming child who ended up in the seat in front of me. I turned up the volume and closed my eyes.
I had to leave my musical cocoon during takeoff. The seat in front of me shook when the boy screamed, “I don’t want the puzzle. I want to color!”
“You’ll have to wait ‘til after takeoff,” the mother said.
“I don’t want to wait.”
“You have to.”
“I don’t want to!”
“Here, have your jelly beans.”
“No!”
Jared kicked the seat in front of him. I didn’t think the mother noticed because I could see her through the space between chairs leaning forward, rummaging through her big carry-on tote bag.
I couldn’t see Valerie behind the book she held in front of her face. Blood in the Snow the title said in big, bold red letters. I would’ve thought she was more a Glamour magazine type reader. Then again, I wasn’t exactly surprised that she got her kicks reading about cold-blooded killers.
As soon as we reached cruising altitude, I lowered the seat tray in front of me. Dante had grabbed a copy of the University of Alaska Anchorage’s summer schedule for me to look at. The fall schedule didn’t come out until mid-semester. I pulled the catalogue out of my messenger bag along with a highlighter, flipping through the registration dates, deadlines, and introductory pages until I reached the course listings with their dates and times.
Jared had his iPad out, playing Angry Birds beside me, legs stretched into the aisle.
My tray jiggled when the boy in front of me squirmed in his seat. I reached beside my legs to dig my iPod back out of my bag.
Valerie lowered her book and nodded at my open catalogue. “What’s that?”
“The summer schedule at UAA.”
“Are you taking summer classes?”
“I don’t know. I just wanted to get an idea of what they offer.”
“Can I see that?”
“When I’m done.” I found it hard to concentrate with Valerie watching me. “Are you going to UAA or something?” I asked.
“I start this fall.”
“Really?”
“Where else would I go?”
That surprised me. I guess I never thought about it before, but informants were probably under the same set of rules as assassins—forced to live, work, and study in-state. Still, I wasn’t a hundred percent sure. “Are you in Alaska because you have to be?”
Valerie huffed. “No, I’m here for the beautiful sandy beaches and great tanning weather.”
Sarcastic much? Valerie sounded even more disenchanted about being stuck in Alaska than I was.
“Here,” I said, passing Valerie the catalogue. Maybe I could see which classes she was interested in and avoid them. I watched her thumb through the pages. “What degree are you going for?”
Valerie sighed in utter annoyance. “It doesn’t make a damn difference what degree I get. Our careers have already been chosen for us.”
Jared looked up from his iPad. “Whiner.”
She very slowly lifted her middle finger at him, her expression totally badass. She would have made a great actress, even though I’m sure she would’ve ended up being a diva from hell.
What happened to Valerie Ward to get her stuck in this program in the first place?
The only stories I knew were my own and Dante’s. Dante had nearly died in a snowboarding accident. Noel didn’t want to talk about what happened to her. I bet Valerie wouldn’t either, but I couldn’t stop myself from asking. “What happened to you?”
“None of your fucking business!” she snapped as soon as my words were out. I swear she knew what I was going to ask before I asked it.
The woman in the seat in front of Jared lifted her head above her seat to glare at us. “Do you mind?”
Jared set his iPad on his thighs and leaned forward. “You keep your brat quiet, and I’ll see what I can do about mine.”
The woman’s frown reached her chin, but she seemed incapable of speech with Jared staring at her like some kind of maniac begging to be provoked.
Her head disappeared. “Keep it down, Sammy,” I heard her say.
Valerie turned her attention to the catalogue. As we began our descent into Juneau, I leaned over her to get a look out the window. Valerie sighed but didn’t say anything. She turned her head quickly enough.
Patches of blue sky broke through the gloom. Mountains rose endlessly all around us, half covered in snow. From above, Auke Bay looked like a river flowing between the rugged coastal mountain range. The entire landscape was tinted blue.
Valerie and I watched out the window the whole way down. We hit the landing strip roughly, bounced back up, and hit it again. The boy in front of me shrieked, but I barely noticed. Happily, he and his mother got off in Juneau.
Passengers continuing on to Sitka were asked to remain on board.
Valerie unbuckled and hovered halfway out of her seat. “Excuse me,” she said.
She wanted out, which meant I had to nudge Jared who’d slipped his iPad into the seat pocket in front of him and closed his eyes.
I cleared my throat. He didn’t respond.
“Jared? Valerie needs out.”
Jared’s eyes opened. He looked at Valerie. “Where are you going?”
“To the bathroom. Where do you think?”
He stretched in his seat before slowly standing and stepping into the aisle. He blocked the way to the front of the plane, eyes sliding lazily over me as I stepped out, and honing in on Valerie when she reached the aisle.
She made a snort of disgust. “Do you think I’m going to make a run for it? In Juneau?” She started laughing.
It was pretty funny. Juneau might be Alaska’s capital, but it wasn’t accessible by road.
Jared didn’t so much as crack a smile.
Valerie headed toward the back of the plane, laughing as she went.
“I’m going to use the restroom too, as long as I’m up.” I hated explaining myself to Jared, but he looked at people in a way that made you feel like you had to narrate your intentions.
The flight from Juneau to Sitka was under forty minutes but it felt good to stretch my legs. I beat Valerie back to our seats.
Jared stood, leaning against the headrest of the chair across from our row.
“It’s a shame we don’t have a chance to look around. I’ve never been to the capital,” I said, trying to make conversation. He stood impassive. “Someday I’d like to see Mendenhall Glacier.”
“You seen one glacier, you’ve seen ’em all,” Jared said in monotone.
Sure, print that one on the brochure.
Passengers began boarding. A young woman had to squeeze past Jared when he didn’t move aside. I really hoped that once we found Agent Crist and Mike’s murderer, Jared would go back to recruiting and disappear from our lives.
The plane was almost ready for departure by the time Valerie reemerged. She had a look on her face like a cat that just ate the canary. I moved into the aisle, and as Valerie slipped in, I caught a whiff of perfume and cigarette smoke.
If Jared noticed, he didn�
��t say a word.
We weren’t at cruising altitude for long, but I listened to music the entire time we were, ignoring Valerie and her smug little smile.
Our plane landed on Japonski Island. Valerie lit up a cigarette while I called my mom to let her know I’d safely landed. Jared pulled up in a compact rental car. Valerie threw her cigarette on the ground before tossing her suitcase in the trunk beside my duffel. She took the seat in back, so I took the one up front. If I could survive three hours mashed up beside Jared on a plane, I could get through a short car drive. By this time it was almost noon.
Jared drove across the O’Connell Bridge connecting the airport on Japonski Island with Baranof Island and Sitka. The road was wet but free of snow and ice. Sitka’s climate with its overcast sky and constant drizzle resembled the Pacific Northwest more than the Alaskan interior.
Within minutes, Jared pulled up to the Westmark Hotel. Valerie and I grabbed our bags out of the trunk and followed him into the front lobby, straight up to the check-in counter.
“Welcome to the Westmark,” the woman at the counter said cheerfully.
“Reservation for Jared.”
The woman had it up on her computer in no time. I couldn’t imagine tourism booming in February.
“I see you right here, Mr.—Jared. Two rooms. One with a king-sized bed, the second with two doubles.”
Valerie abandoned her suitcase and took a giant step to the counter. “What do you mean two rooms? There are three of us.”
“You and Raven are sharing,” Jared replied evenly.
“No way. It’s the middle of winter. I’m sure there are lots of rooms available.”
“Sorry,” Jared said in a voice that conveyed the opposite. “Budget cuts.”
“Here are your keycards,” the clerk said, moving on with the check-in procedure. “We offer lunch and dinner in the Kadataan Lounge, or you can walk to the harbor and find more options downtown. We are also within walking distance of the National Historical Totem Park.”
Good, because I doubted Jared planned on lending us the car even if we were stranded on an island.
“Now what?” Valerie asked when Jared stopped in the hallway between our two rooms.
“Now we wait until night. We’ll meet in my room at eleven.”
“That’s eleven hours from now,” Valerie said.
I’m glad she mentioned it. It’s what I was thinking.
“What are we supposed to do until then?” I asked.
“Watch TV. Take a nap. I don’t care.” He slipped his keycard into the slot. It clicked once, and he pulled the door open before looking over his shoulder one last time. “Remember, my room, eleven o’clock.”
“Just great,” Valerie said once Jared left us alone in the hall. “Notice he took the room with the harbor view.”
At least she wasn’t bitching about sharing a room…at the moment. Valerie swiped the keycard into the door across the hall. Our room didn’t have an ocean view, but it was nice, aside from the beds barely resting two feet apart.
She rolled her suitcase to the far bed by the window and set her baggage on top of the chair.
Her phone vibrated and she plopped onto the edge of her bed to look at the screen. She gave a girly laugh before texting back to the person who had messaged.
I dropped my duffel and messenger bag on the floor beside my bed then began digging out the things I wanted to take with me when I went exploring. I needed my wallet, of course, iPod, and digital camera. Sitka might be as far south as I’d get for a while, at least until Melcher cleared me for out-of-state vacation leave. I planned to document the trip even if I was technically on business. I switched my pleather jacket for a raincoat.
Valerie stared at her phone then started giggling. She typed quickly then tossed her phone on the bed beside her.
“So, you’re with Gavin now?” I asked.
Valerie glared at me as though she’d caught me reading over her shoulder.
“How is that your business?”
“I’m just curious,” I said, sticking my things inside my backpack. “Why do you have a thing for vampires?”
“It’s my job. Hello? Informant. And there’s the sex,” Valerie said. She laughed when she saw my face. “Does that shock you? It shouldn’t—you’ve been with Fane after all.”
I hadn’t exactly mastered the art of the poker face. Valerie noticed at once. She stood and took a step toward me, coming in for the close-up. A wicked grin lit up her face. “Oh my God, you and Fane never did the bump and grind, did you?”
I glared at Valerie. “And that’s none of your business.”
She snorted. “Don’t tell me you’re saving yourself for marriage.”
“I’m not saving myself for anything,” I retorted. I grabbed my backpack.
Valerie followed me to the door. She had a look on her face like she wouldn’t let me out of the room without an answer. Well, she could suck it. That’s what the vixen did best. “Then why in God’s name didn’t you do the deed?”
“We weren’t together long enough,” I said coldly. “You made sure of that.”
10
Sitka
It was still drizzling when I stepped outside. The Toyota hadn’t moved. I guess Jared decided to take his own advice and watch TV or rest. I doubted he would use the time to report to Melcher. Somehow Jared didn’t strike me as a check in with home base kind of guy.
I pulled my hood over my head and walked through downtown until I reached the harbor. Mid-sized boats were tied up along the docks.
The rugged coastal mountains served as a backdrop in every direction. They all looked so close, unlike downtown Anchorage where the Chugach Range touched the skyline in the distance.
I pulled my hood back and fished my phone out of my coat pocket, hitting “call” next to Fane’s name before I had a chance to talk myself out of it. I couldn’t help feeling less alone when I heard the sound of his voice.
“Aurora Sky,” Fane said, drawing my name out when he answered. “Are you on lunch break or skipping?”
“Neither. I’m on assignment.”
“Ah. Fairbanks?”
“I can’t say.”
“Who have they sent you to kill this time?”
“Hopefully, no one. We’ve been sent to check out a person of interest.”
“Then you admit vampires are people.”
“Of course they’re people,” I said.
“Are you with Dante?”
What was with the third degree? I ought to be the one asking the questions.
“No.”
If only Fane knew the truth—that I was stuck with his former suck buddy. I could see his eyes falling out of their sockets if he heard that one.
“Oh, that’s right,” Fane said. “You’ve moved on to numb nut number two. I saw you leave the party together. Did jock boy get lucky?”
“Excuse me?” I said in an icy voice. I felt equal parts relieved and enraged. If Fane thought I’d hooked up with Mike, it meant he didn’t sneak away and off the poor guy.
Then there was the enraged part. He must think me terribly pathetic to drop my panties a second time for some high school numb nut as he liked to call twenty-first-century jocks.
“I mean, that is the only way you’d let a guy stick it to you, right? If he’s one hundred percent human he’s on the ‘okay to bang’ list.”
My chest tightened in indignation. “Fuck. You. Fane.” I was so mad I felt like chucking my phone into the harbor. Instead, I jabbed my thumb on the end call button so hard I probably left behind a permanent fingerprint.
“Jackass. Jerk. Shit brain. Pig!” I said at the phone, even though he was no longer on the line. Might as well cuss like a sailor while standing in the harbor. I tried to hold onto the anger as long as I could, but I eventually ran out of breath.
Vampire or not, men sucked.
I walked to the end of the dock. Small ripples lapped the beams below my feet. Beyond the harbor, the bay unfurled towa
rd the horizon like an oil canvas. Clouds clung to the sides of Mount Edgecumbe, but it was beautiful nonetheless. I should have taken a picture, but I was feeling too bleak at the moment.
I lifted my face to the mist, relishing the cold moisture on my cheeks. Nature had so many emotions. Right now I swear she understood mine.
If I’d never known the real Fane, the sweet man behind the rough exterior, I wouldn’t hurt the way I did now. If he were just a jerk, so be it. But we’d had something. Something I’d never felt for anyone. When Fane and I were together, he didn’t just get my mind off things, he made me feel better. He’d told me he wanted to be with me for as long as possible…right before I broke it off.
It would have had to come to that, anyway. He knew why now, well, mostly. Fane didn’t know about Valerie’s hand in the matter. Even if I could get over my aversion to dating a vampire, it wasn’t safe for us to be together and would only lead to heartbreak. Why delay the inevitable?
Those thoughts didn’t stop me from mourning what I’d lost. Sometimes, late at night, I liked to play back scenes from our short time together like a favorite hits list. The time he’d beat our opponents at badminton in gym class. The afternoon I ran into Fane in front of the video store and he walked me home in the snow. Our first make out session on the bus. Fane’s goofy attempt at car rehabilitation, and the way he never hesitated to call and check in on me. Washing dishes together the time he came over for dinner. Skipping class to walk to Portage Glacier. Making out in his car overlooking Cook Inlet.
That Fane felt like a figment of my imagination.
At least he cared enough about me to want me alive. He’d been convincing enough when Noel went to him for help after my abduction. But the moment I was better he couldn’t get me out of his sight quickly enough. And now he’d taken to tormenting me.
What did I expect? That I could dump him and then pick back up as friends?
No, nothing would be the same again, and it was my own damn fault for calling him in the first place.
I was glad Fane had spoken to me so harshly. I needed it. I needed to wake up and smell the blood.
With a final glance across the bay, I turned and retraced my steps across the dock.
Northern Bites (Aurora Sky: Vampire Hunter, Vol. 2) Page 9
