Find Me When the Sun Goes Down (Forged Bloodlines #3)

by Lisa Olsen

  I wanted to deny it, but he was right. I probably had been compelling him from the very first night when he decided not to kill me in that alley. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to. I had no idea I was even doing it.”

  “But you were, weren’t you? This whole time…”

  “I didn’t even know it was possible. Bishop, I would never use it on you on purpose.” Apart from that one time I tested it on him on purpose, but I decided not to mention that.

  “How can I trust that?”

  “Why would we be arguing right now if I did? I would just smooth things over.”

  “Unless you can’t be sure it would always work on me.”

  “No, you’re missing the point entirely. It’s not about whether or not I can, it’s about the conscious choice not to.” I had to make him understand it could be a good thing once I had more control over it. “I can help you. Don’t you see? I can help you catch Carter, and instead of killing him, I can make him stop.”

  Bishop wasn’t having any though. “I don’t want you going anywhere near him. Is that clear?”

  At least he still cared, that counted for something. But I couldn’t let it go. I’d already blown the perfect chance to stop Carter and I needed another shot at it. “Bishop, he killed Thomas. I can’t help but think if I’d thought to compel him to change his ways when I had the chance, it never would have happened.”

  “Or if you’d told me what you knew, I could have stopped him.” It weighed on him just as heavily.

  “I already apologized for that. I don’t know what else I can say.”

  “There’s nothing else to say. I can’t deal with this right now, Anja, there’s a killer out there that needs stopping. We can track him at least now that we know who we’re looking for.” His entire body took on an I’m outta here stance, and I had to talk fast, catching hold of his arm.

  “Wait, take me with you. I can help, I know I can.”

  “I said stay away from him,” he shrugged off my grip. “If you have any respect for me at all you’ll let me do my job. We can talk about how to dig you out of the rest of the mess later.”

  I nodded, understanding his need for action. With Carter on the loose, I couldn’t blame him. At least there was still a “we” in his mind. “Bishop, I am sorry, if I hurt you by any of this. You know I’d never want that on purpose.”

  “I don’t know what to think anymore.”

  *

  I ascended the stairs at a much slower rate, barely aware of the controlled chaos downstairs as Bishop commandeered every Order member within radio distance for an emergency briefing. Instead of solitude, I was surprised to find Bridget hanging out in my sitting room, surfing the web on my laptop.

  “I thought you were going back to Felix?”

  “He’s still dealing with Corley and his people. With Thomas gone, it’s up to him to finish up the business so he can get the hell out of here. You don’t mind me hanging out up here, do you? The East wing kinda creeps me out. All the people there move around like ghosts.” Bridget gave her best impression of a brain-dead zombie complete with a thousand yard stare, her mouth slack.

  “No, I don’t mind at all. Actually, I could use the company. And… maybe some advice.” I told her everything she’d missed since we parted the night before, leaving nothing out.

  “Fuck a duck, you sure were busy, weren’t you?” She let out a breath when I was finished. “I can’t believe you didn’t take me back out again with you!”

  “That’s all you took out of that?” I scowled, pouring myself a drink. I was thirsty, and I never got thirsty anymore unless I needed to feed.

  “It’s a crazy couple of days, sure, but I don’t get what you’re so mopey about.”

  “You don’t see how I could be upset over the mess I’ve gotten myself into?”

  “It doesn’t seem all that terrible. It’s lucky more than anything. Now we know who the hunter guy is, you saved a girl’s life, and now you can get everything you ever wanted without having to crack the whip. What’s so bad about that?”

  “There’s the fact that the Order doesn’t take too kindly to people going against the law.”

  “So what? All you have to do is put the whammy on them and they’ll forget all about it.”

  “I’m not going to compel Bishop. He’s already having enough trouble accepting everything that’s happened so far. I’m not about to give him something else to freak out over.”

  Bridget fixed me with her best “duh” look. “But if you compel him, he won’t freak out any more.”

  “How would you like it if I compelled you to go along with everything I wanted, when I knew it was something you didn’t want to do?” I pressed, trying to get her to see it from the other side.

  “If you compelled me I’d probably be fine with it, that’s the whole point,” she snorted. “Oh, can you compel me not to eat carbs, by the way? I want to drop a few pounds before we get back home.”

  “I’m not messing with your brain to help you lose weight,” I scowled, hooking my legs over the arm of the chair, my head falling back to stare at the ceiling as if I’d find the answers to all of my problems written there.

  “What good is it then?”

  “It’s good for things like getting Winter to forget about what he found in my blood or ordering Carter to stop killing people. Important things, not monkeying around with you just because I can.”

  “Well shit, I hope they catch that fucker so you can smoosh his brains into jam. You’re lucky he didn’t try and gank you when you turned him down.”

  I let out a long breath, still staring upwards. “See… the thing is, he didn’t seem like that bad of a guy to me. All he wanted was to keep mean and nasty vampires from preying on humans. At least, that’s what he said his agenda was. I guess my radar was way off on that one.” I still couldn’t believe he’d kill poor, dim-witted Thomas.

  “That’s your problem, Anja. You always assume the best of people. Me, I function with a healthy respect for the shittiness of man. That way, I’ll never be surprised.”

  “What about Felix?” I looked over at her in time to catch a slow smile spread across her face. “You mentioned going back with him before all this happened. I thought you said he didn’t like you all that much.”

  “Okay, he did catch me by surprise,” her smile deepened. “I like him.”

  “You like him, like him? Or just like him?” I teased.

  “I’m not saying I want to have his babies or anything, but I like him, yeah.” Not that she could actually have his babies, but I got the point. “I can’t believe things got so screwed up so fast. One second we were just sitting there and then bam Tommy’s hit with a flaming arrow.”

  That caught my interest. Maybe she’d misspoken. With Bridget, it wasn’t such a stretch. “Wait, Thomas was hit with a flaming arrow?”

  “Yep, out of nowhere. He burned up so fast… I’ve never been so scared in my whole life.”

  “It wasn’t an arrow that hit and then he burst into flame from the inside?”

  “No, it was on fire. I saw it streak through the air, like a split second before it hit him.”

  That didn’t match Carter’s M.O. at all. Then again, neither had the way he’d killed Jasper. Still… it set me to thinking. “When did this all happen?”

  “A couple of hours ago, why?”

  “It’s important, Bridget. Do you know exactly when it was?”

  “Ah… shit, I don’t know. We left the house around six, and we weren’t there for very long, so it was maybe between seven and seven thirty?”

  “And where did it happen?”

  “Outside the dance club we went to the other night, in the parking lot.”

  “It wasn’t him.” I sat up too quickly, blinking past the rush as my head swam.

  “It wasn’t who?” Bridget asked, not tracking with me.

  “Carter. There’s no way it could have been him that killed Thomas. He was talking to me across town right around t
hen. And he never used flaming arrows, he had some sort of high tech crossbow bolt that burst into flame after impact. Bishop told me so himself.”

  “Maybe he has a partner?”

  “No, that’s the whole reason he wanted to recruit me in the first place.” I was already on my feet, headed for the door. “I have to stop him.”

  “Stop who? Carter?”

  “No. Bishop’s about to kill the wrong man.”

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  As long as he kept busy, Bishop could function. Now that he knew who to look for, it wasn’t hard to access the surveillance videos of the bars Carter had been spotted in to provide photo id’s to distribute among the Order. Angel had returned from her meeting with Corley and Felix, ready to read them the riot act and Bishop had ignored her. Tired of playing games, he assumed control of the troops, giving her just one opportunity to offer any contradiction to his orders, which she had meekly declined. He knew these men and women, and they were just as eager as he was to have a target placed before them, eager to redeem the name of the Order in the lands of Vetis.

  Unfortunately, his current position left him far too much idle time on his hands to reflect over everything Anja had told him. He could deal with the fact that she’d kept things from him. He’d been so busy of late, it wasn’t surprising they’d drifted apart as a consequence. The important thing was she’d come to him of her own free will to confess all.

  Helping Ellie… he should have expected something like that from her tender heart. Bishop could hardly fault her for that. It could be handled easily enough so as not to trace back to her. Clearly Rob had overstepped his boundaries with Anja if he couldn’t even be trusted to keep her out of trouble.

  It surprised him how complicit Rob had become in her crimes — maybe it was time for a little man to man with the bodyguard. Bishop could admit his own jealousy had colored their last discussion over the man, and he did trust Anja, no matter how much it hurt him to think about her slip up. The look in her eye when she’d said he scared her though… he hoped to God he never saw her look at him with fear again. He guessed they both had a few things to work on.

  The compelling business… that was something else altogether. He’d have to re-examine every conversation they’d ever had, every decision made. Was that why he’d allowed her to live? Why he’d taken her into his home and his heart? Not because she reminded him of Carys, but because she’d influenced him to, thanks to her draugen blood? And Carys… was that why she’d always been able to wind him around her little finger so easily? Was anything he felt for the woman he loved real? More importantly, could he ever trust her again?

  He wanted to believe she wouldn’t use her ability against him, but if it was unconsciously done… that made him vulnerable. How could he function with such an exploitable weakness?

  Bishop gripped the steering wheel tightly, willing himself to leave that all behind for the moment and concentrate on the job. Catching the hunter was all that mattered for the time being and finding Carter was a much simpler task to handle.

  All he had to do was sit back and wait for Anja to betray him.

  *

  It was easy to keep her in his sights, especially since he knew where she was headed when she drove into the city. Anja pulled in front of the Moon & Sixpence with no hint that she’d seen him at all. From there it was only a matter of time until she led him to an abandoned tenement building.

  Bishop knew he should call it in. He should ask for backup when pursuing such a dangerous killer, but with Anja in the middle of it, he couldn’t bring himself to follow procedure. As he ascended the stairs in the dilapidated building on silent feet, he could hear her soft voice pleading with the man to leave town. As if his life was worth saving.

  “It isn’t safe anymore, they all know what you look like. There’s even a picture, see?” she said, and Bishop could hear the man’s overconfidence in his flippant reply.

  “That’s a shitty picture. Remind me to send them a glossy headshot. If I’m gonna have a wanted poster, the least they could do is make it look like me. Or should I just email it to you, Bishop?”

  “Bishop’s here?” Anja squeaked.

  Damn. So much for being stealthy. Gun drawn, he stepped into the room, leveling it at Carter. Up close Bishop still didn’t recognize the man, even though he’d obviously traveled in similar circles from time to time. “Sorry, don’t let me interrupt.”

  “Bishop!” Anja sucked in a breath. “How did you…”

  Carter held his gun lightly, not pointed at anyone, but it still made Bishop nervous with Anja between them. “He followed you. I thought he might.”

  “Who the hell are you?” Bishop demanded. “I’ve never met you before, have I?”

  “Just a lowly grunt trying to do my part for humankind,” Carter shrugged, unconcerned with the gun aimed at his head. But neither did he drop his own weapon.

  “You’re not even a hundred years old, are you?” Bishop’s eyes narrowed in derision.

  “What difference does that make?” Anja asked. “Age and brawn are no match for skill and finesse.”

  “You said it, sunshine.” Carter winked at her and Bishop almost shot him just to wipe the cocky grin from his face.

  “Whoever you are, it’s over. No more killing in my city.”

  “Is that what bothers you? Not that I killed anyone, but that I did it on your turf?”

  Anja stepped directly in front of Bishop’s line of sight, blocking his shot. “He isn’t our enemy.”

  “The hell he’s not. He’s a stone cold killer.” Bishop shifted to get a bead on Carter, but Anja matched him step for step.

  “And you’re not?” Anja scoffed. “Who among us hasn’t killed before? At least he’s taking out the bad ones.”

  “I don’t believe this,” Bishop muttered, readjusting his aim over the top of her shoulder. The instant he made the minute adjustment, Carter’s gun came up to do the same, meeting over Anja’s shoulder. He could take the shot, but it was risky. “Anja, step out of the way.”

  “No.” Her chin came up pugnaciously and Bishop wasn’t sure if he wanted to hit it or kiss it.

  “I’m not going to ask you again.”

  “Good, I’m getting tired of repeating myself,” she muttered crossly, turning back to scold Carter with a scowl. “You, put your gun away. You’re not helping.”

  “I’ll put mine down when he does.”

  “That’s not happening,” Bishop replied, seriously starting to contemplate taking the shot when Anja stepped right into the way again.

  “Fine, you’ll both have to shoot your way through me then.”

  “Anja…” Bishop ground her name out between clenched teeth, resisting the urge to drop the gun and charge Carter. He might end up shot, but it would be worth it for a chance to pound on the guy. Instead, he lowered his gun, not wanting to take the chance that the bastard might actually shoot through her.

  “Thank you,” she beamed, turning back expectantly to stare at Carter until he lowered his weapon too. “Now we can talk like civilized people. Bishop, he brings up a really good point. He hasn’t broken the law. Why is the Order doing such a high profile job of sucking at catching him? To cover up the assassination of Thomas?”

  “Thomas… Lyons?” Carter blinked. “Why would I kill that assclown?”

  “Hey, he was a friend of mine,” Anja scowled at Carter and his hands came up.

  “Sorry, I’m just saying. That guy couldn’t hurt a dog if it rolled on its back and begged him to.”

  “Hurt a dog?” Her pretty face scrunched up in outrage. “Who could?”

  “We’re getting off track here,” Bishop interrupted. “If you’re saying you didn’t kill Lyons, then who did?”

  “You gotta open your eyes, pal.” Carter turned his attention back to Bishop. “Ask yourself, who had something to gain. What about the brother?”

  “Felix?” Anja gasped. “No way, he loved Thomas.”

  She was right, ther
e was no way the Warden would ever be involved in a plot against Lyons. Even if there was bad blood between them, there were so many opportunities for him to move against his brother much more privately. Such a public spectacle would serve no purpose.

  The question hung heavy on Bishop’s mind though. As much as he hated to acknowledge Carter’s theory, he did bring up some very valid points. Someone else had something to gain with the Elder’s death. “Corley,” Bishop said softly.

  “What was that?” Anja’s head swiveled back to him, and he could see Carter made the same connection.

  “The Warden of Vetis, of course,” Carter nodded. “It’s no secret he’s been trying to get the West out of the East’s pocket for years. What better way than to engineer the assassination of the spineless Elder while blaming it on me? Why else has the Order done such a shitty job in finding me?”

  Bishop bristled at the dig. “We weren’t looking for a vampire.”

  “You should have, I left you plenty of clues,” Carter snorted and Anja’s brows drew together in confusion.

  “You wanted them to catch you?”

  “No, but I thought they’d get a lot closer without you having to spell it all out for them. Wake up and smell the coffee, Bishop. I’ve been very careful about selecting my targets. You know who I’ve taken out. Can you honestly say the world isn’t a better place without them?”

  He had a point. On a personal level he might even agree, but it wasn’t up to him. “I still have to take you in. Orders are orders.”

  Carter shook his head, coming out from behind Anja’s protection. “This has never been about the law. This was about creating the right climate for an advantageous assassination. The Order’s become a tool of the establishment. But it doesn’t have to be that way. You can take it back. The three of us can…”

  “There is no three of us, and there never will be,” Bishop interrupted, tired of all the back and forth. “I’ve listened to your bullshit and you know what? I don’t care. You have two choices. You can walk out that door with me and come back to the house to be judged. If you didn’t kill Thomas, I’ll see what I can do about getting the charges dropped. As you say, you haven’t broken any laws. Or, option number two,” Bishop paused to bring his gun back up. “I can take you out here. Either way, you’re coming back with me.”