by Jess Haines
Aches and pains worked their way from my feet up my legs, reminding me that I’d been sitting in an uncomfortable crouch for most of the night when I wasn’t playing at being a marathon runner. I got the door open with one more kick and, with a wince, hobbled inside.
It wasn’t much to look at. There were a few old electric panels and some lockers looming in the shadows, and the only light drifted in on dust-laden cooler and less humid in here. The floor was cleaner than the tunnel, and someone had left an empty bottle of soda on a bench, but otherwise it didn’t look like anyone had been by in a while. I wasn’t too worried about the tracks I was leaving—walking was too painful for me to focus on much else.
Limping, I made my way to the lockers. All locked or empty. Though I was tempted to settle down and rest on the bench for a few minutes, I knew I wouldn’t get up again if I gave in to temptation.
Exhaustion was settling in right next to the pain, dual sensations guaranteed to haunt me the entire way to the tattoo parlor. If only I’d thought to bring some money with me before I ran out of Royce’s home, I could have caught a cab and saved myself the pain.
Muttering under my breath, I searched for a light switch, running my hand along the wall next to the lockers. It wasn’t necessary to flick it once I found it; it was right next to a door that clearly led outside, since I could hear sounds of traffic and voices behind it. The knob turned easily under my hand, and I was greeted by a set of litter-strewn steps leading up to a narrow, street-level alley. A gated fence topped with barbed wire kept out any intruders.
Every step burned like hot knives being shoved into my heels and calves. Holy mother, I’d have to remember to tone it down next time I used the belt. Even my fingers ached when I gripped the railing.
By the time I reached the top, I had to stop for a breather, my eyes watering with pain. I had no idea how I was going to make it to the tattoo parlor like this, but I couldn’t sit down to rest yet.
I shuffled across the alley like an old woman with arthritic knees. The gate didn’t give me any trouble, opening silently on oiled hinges. No one paid me much mind as I crept out into the pedestrian traffic. This part of midtown wasn’t far from where I needed to be. My run had taken me closer than I’d thought. Thank goodness.
Huddling into my trench coat, I popped the collar and ducked my head. Though every step was torture, I doggedly kept my speed to a decent clip, nearly matching that of the people around me. Every time I passed a deli or bakery, my mouth watered at the scent of fresh coffee and pastries. At this point, I wouldn’t be above begging Jack for food, either.
As intent as I was on reaching my destination, my body was equally intent on slowing the hell down and curling up for a nap. Despite my need to hurry, I had to stop a few times to rest. People looked at me askance when I paused to lean heavily against cars or walls or telephone poles to catch my breath. These breaks came more and more frequently, and my eyes were starting to feel like they had bricks tied to the lids.
By the time I reached the store, it must have been past eight. Some kid with a Mohawk and a faded T-shirt with a logo for some band I’d never heard of was bustling around in the back, moving some stuff around. He looked up from behind the counter, his mouth falling open as he took in my hair flying in a frizzy red halo around my head, my no doubt haggard expression, and the three silver stakes lined up in a neat row on the belt around my waist. I lightly tapped them with my free hand, and his expression shifted from shock to unease.
“I need to see Jack,” I said. Well, I meant to. What came out was more like a raspy smoker’s growl.
“Excuse me?”
I cleared my throat, trying again. “Jack. Is he here?”
“Jack who?”
I gave him a look. The kid blanched, rubbing the back of his neck. “No. He’s not around, but Nikki is.” His shifty eyes and nervous behavior could be put down to nerves due to my appearance, but I was willing to bet he was lying to me. “Do you want me to get her for you?”
My pain-addled brain fumbled with this mystery for the ages. Nikki was one of the hunters, I recalled. A blonde with a penchant for sharp weapons and guns who’d only made an impression on me because she was the lone female hunter I’d met in Jack’s cadre of White Hats. Her attitude toward me didn’t make me inclined to think she’d be willing to play nice, but if Jack wasn’t around, I’d take what I could get.
“Yes,” I managed, gesturing weakly for the guy to find Nikki for me. There were a couple of plastic chairs set up around a table with books of tattoos. I sank into a seat and buried my face in my hands before remembering all the gross stuff I’d touched. Ugh, my face and hair were probably caked with grime.
A few minutes later, Nikki came striding out of the back, her hips swaying in low-slung jeans. A small jewel glinted at her navel, framed by the cropped T-shirt she was wearing. She wiped sweat from her brow with one arm, her free hand resting ever so nonchalantly on the handle of a hunting knife as long as my arm. The kid didn’t come with her; he was probably hiding in the back. Wise move.
“I thought you were done with us, corpse-bait. What are you doing here?”
Well, nice to know I’m still loved by some people.
“Nice to see you, too, Nikki,” I said, putting in an extra effort to keep my words from slurring. “Listen, I need a favor—”
“That’s a laugh. How will you repay us this time? Walk out again as soon as you get what you want?”
I scowled, flushing.
She stalked closer, resting one hand flat on the glass display case holding an array of silver studs and plugs. The other circled the hilt of the blade in a clear threat. “Listen, bitch. My brother didn’t have to help you. He risked everything to—”
“That’s enough, Nikki.”
Jack was in the doorway, his icy blue eyes rimmed in red, his cheeks a little more sunken than I remembered. His face had always been made of sharp angles and planes, but those cheekbones were now razor sharp. His frame was thinner than I recalled, too. Almost corpse-like. An illness? Nikki dropped the attitude and immediately went to his side, placing a concerned hand on his shoulder.
Then it hit me.
The two of them were related? I hadn’t picked up on it before, but the family resemblance was obvious seeing them next to each other now. Using violence and threats to solve all of their problems must run in the family. Jack’s expression was decidedly unamused. He didn’t appear happy to see me at all. Not that I was much surprised by this.
“Shiarra, I didn’t think I’d ever see you again. Not in daylight.”
I forced a thin smile. “No need to worry about that. I’m not planning on turning into a walking corpse anytime soon.” No, I just might turn into something else. Something worse.
“Why are you here?”
What at an excellent question. I wasn’t about to tell him it was because I could no longer afford to hide with Royce. The vampire most likely would have tried to prevent me from carrying out the plan I had formed to get rid of Chaz and his pack, and I didn’t have enough time to risk being detained. The White Hats were my best shot at ensuring the Sunstrikers were destroyed before the next full moon.
The werewolves needed to be stopped before any other innocent bystanders got hurt or killed because of a connection to the werewolves. If I turned into a monster at the end of the month, I’d be one of them. It was imperative that I found and stopped Chaz, Dillon, and any of the other Sunstrikers who were responsible for the deaths of a number of people who had been infected outside of a legally binding contract with an Other and then killed before they could press charges. Even if not for myself or those other victims, I owed it to Jim Pradiz, also murdered—most likely due to his last big story that leaked the names of the victims and the local Were packs involved—to do my best to stop them.
I met Jack’s expectant gaze with a steady look of my own, praying he would consider my request. After how I’d walked out on him and the rest of the White Hats some months ago
, declaring them too extremist for my tastes, to join forces with Royce against Max Carlyle, it wouldn’t be out of line for him to flip me off and send me on my merry way.
“I’m here to ask for your help. There isn’t an easy way for me to say this, and I’m too tired for tact. There’s a chance I might become a Were at the next full moon.”
Nikki stared. Jack said nothing, a tic starting in his cheek.
“I came here because someone from my ex’s pack might have infected me. I want to find him. I want to make him and the rest of the Sunstrikers pay.” I left out the part about what Chaz had done. He might have been the alpha of the Sunstriker pack, but he was a poor decision maker, and I wanted cheating on me to be the last mistake he ever made. “There are people after me, including police. If I do turn into one of... into an Other at the end of the month, I know I can trust you to end it. Until then, I need a place to stay, and someone to work with me to find where the Weres are hiding. Will you help me?”
Nikki’s wide-eyed stare grew into a rather unbecoming gawp that made me want to walk over to shut her mouth, if only my feet didn’t hurt so much.
For his part, Jack wasn’t showing any emotion. His only reaction was to lift one hand to rub at the pale stubble on his jaw. I think it’s the first time I’d ever seen him anything but clean-shaven.
He edged around Nikki and rested both palms flat on the display case as he loomed over it. The intensity of his gaze was a bit much, and I found I couldn’t meet his eyes directly as he examined me.
“You realize what you’re asking? You know what we’ll do if you turn?”
That question gave me enough courage to meet his eyes again. “Yes, I know. I’m counting on it.”
His smile, white and shark-like, sent a shiver down my spine. “Welcome to the White Hats.”
Chapter 3
“Not that I’m not pleased that you came to us first, but what changed your mind? As I recall, you were more interested in siding with the monsters last time we spoke.”
The smell of the place—cigarette smoke and stale beer—was getting under my skin. Though I was bordering on too-tired-to-care territory, I used the back of my hand to rub at my eyes, hoping I wasn’t grinding dirt under the lids. “Yeah, I know.”
Nikki gave a growl that would have done a Were proud. “That’s it? Just ‘I know’? No apology?”
It took a great deal of effort to muster the energy to give Nikki a glare, but once I did, her already pale skin whitened, and she couldn’t meet my gaze. There was something eminently satisfying about her reaction, but it also gave me the feeling I was turning into something I didn’t want. Forcing my eyes away, staring at some of the pithy T-shirts and posters plastering the walls behind the counter, I mustered up the apology she and Jack so obviously wanted.
“I’m sorry. You were right when you warned me not to trust them. Blind, stupid luck is all that’s kept me alive this far. I’m surprised I survived that vacation, to be honest. Though I’m wondering how you knew something bad would happen to me there, Jack. You tried to warn me ahead of time. How did you know something was up?”
Jack had folded his arms over the counter and was using it to support most of his weight. He shifted, his boots squeaking on the cheap tile, not answering me right away. He coughed and mumbled something, so I dragged my attention back to him to see what was wrong.
So help me, the man was blushing.
“Come on, Jack,” I said, smiling despite myself. “You can tell me.”
The big bad hunter covered his eyes with one hand. “We never stopped watching you. Didn’t have a choice.”
Didn’t have a choice? That sounded ominous. Odd to think the hunter was embarrassed about spying on me. Or maybe it was due to his failure to recruit me?
“I kept hoping you’d change your mind. Leave the leeches and the dogs alone. There was some word on the local OtherNet message board that the Sunstrikers were planning a trip, and that you’d be going with them. There was a group of people calling themselves the Nightstrikers who were making threats and saying they were going to cause some kind of trouble.”
“Oh,” I said, unable to think of something more coherent to give in response. This was not the first time I’d heard of the OtherNet, but things were becoming clearer to me now. I’d have to investigate it further, once I had access to a computer again.
“I should have stopped it somehow. Should have known there would be trouble like this.”
Nikki lightly punched his shoulder. “Don’t start that shit again....”
“Jack, please don’t beat yourself up over it. Nobody could have foreseen the trouble I ran into out there. The Nightstrikers weren’t after me, they were after Chaz. They’re decent guys, and they wouldn’t have hurt me.”
I hated to think that Jack was looking like hell because he had been worried about me, but I was starting to suspect it. He took his work far too seriously.
His icy response made me blink and wonder whether I’d really seen that chink in his emotional armor at all.
“You don’t understand, do you? Don’t you know why I wanted you to join us?”
I blinked at this sudden turn in topic. This conversation was giving me whiplash. “Uh, no. Not really.” I couldn’t say I had cared before now, either.
Jack rose to his full height, which would have been more impressive if he wasn’t skinny as a rail. He came around the counter and pulled out a chair across from me, studying me intently. I shifted uncomfortably under that probing look, finding both the topic and his scrutiny to be out of place. Though I’d known in advance that this conversation was coming, I had hoped he wouldn’t want to hash all this out right from the start.
“You really don’t,” he said, something like wonder tingeing his voice.
“Just tell her,” Nikki said, using her foot to nudge a box aside from the counter so she could lean her hip against it and watch us from across the room. Her blue eyes, so like Jack’s, blazed with some emotion I couldn’t place. With the two of them staring at me like that, I was starting to feel a bit like a kid caught with her hand in a cookie jar.
“I was hoping Devon would replace me,” Jack said, and I started at the mention of the other hunter’s name. Devon, too, had unsuccessfully tried to reach me before I left on my vacation to the Catskills. He’d also abandoned the White Hats to come play with me on the side of the good vampires about a month ago. I hadn’t seen him since the morning after the fight against Max Carlyle in Royce’s basement. “He seemed like a good choice. He was smart, capable, a fine leader, and an experienced hunter. It’s unfortunate he decided to leave.”
“Why do you need a replacement?” I thought the question was safe, but the sound Nikki made clued me in that it was an uncomfortable topic. “And what does that have to do with me?”
Jack laughed, though there wasn’t any humor to the sound. He reached into his shirt pocket and plucked out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter. I shook my head when he offered me one. He didn’t speak again until after he’d plucked out a cig with his thin lips and lit up, taking a deep drag.
“I’m dying.”
Though I wanted to be sorry for him, knew it was the right thing to be feeling, I couldn’t find it in me to react. Maybe I was out of emotional room for surprise with all my own baggage taking up the space in my mind. He took another drag before continuing, meeting my gaze frankly and without any sign of fear or self-pity I could detect.
He was brave. I’d give him that.
“Cancer. Both lungs.” He held up the cigarette. “Always knew these would be the death of me, if hunting didn’t take me first.”
“Don’t say that, you asshole,” Nikki said quietly, her voice hitching. I didn’t dare look at her. She didn’t need me to see her tears. “You won’t die, damn it. Don’t say it again.”
Jack glanced at her, then back at me. His lips quirked in a sardonic smile. Gallows humor. “I’ve known for a long time it was coming. Nobody here was smart enough or ruthless e
nough to take my place. We tried to groove Devon in, but he just wasn’t a fit. Nobody here could stomach the idea of it. Then I heard about a P.I. Some new girl who hated vampires, but was working with them anyway. Someone trying to save a kid from a leech.”
I stared at him blankly. Though I knew he was talking about me, David Borowsky had been anything but a victim of the vampires. Instead, he’d forced Alec Royce under his thumb. In the end, I’d saved the vamp—and destroyed the kid.
Jack knew that. So why had he pursued me?
“That’s not how it really played out, I know. But I was grasping at straws. And I was being told to recruit you by someone I couldn’t say no to.” He grinned, again without humor, just a baring of gleaming white teeth. He must be religious about brushing, considering his smoking habit. “I do hope Tiny and I didn’t scare you too badly. At first I was just trying to fuck up recruiting you to our cause. It was necessary at the time. I thought you were a pawn—and you were, no mistake—but not in the way I’d feared. It took me a while to realize that you could be useful.”
Now that was surprising. As far as I knew, White Hats didn’t answer to anyone but their own, and I’d thought Jack was the leader of this branch. “Who was telling you to recruit me? I’m afraid I can see where this is going, but I can’t say I understand it yet.”
“I’d thought you might have guessed by now. Alec Royce told me to do it.”
I stared. Jack stared back.
I tried not to. I really did. But despite my best efforts, I unleashed an explosive laugh right in Jack’s face.
He frowned at me.
“Sorry,” I said, once I got the worst of my giggles under control. “Really, sorry.”
His frown deepened, and some of the red crept back into his cheeks. His discomfiture was due to his connection to the vampire then, not on my account. I should have known.
