by Deanna Chase
“What’s going on? Your skin isn’t normal. Please, David. If something went wrong with the transformation, we have to figure out a way to fix it.”
His face went blank. “The transformation?”
I huffed. “To daywalker. Your skin…it’s not right. Something’s wrong. When did this start? Maybe you should eat.” My muscles tensed at the suggestion. The one and only time a vamp had drank from me, it had been like fire in my veins. I would not be the sacrificial blood donor. There were licensed human donors he could use if need be.
“Nothing’s wrong. I told you, I spent too much time in the sun. I’m sure my skin will heal the next time I sleep. And I’m not hungry.” But his eyes stayed glued to my neck.
“Don’t worry about my delicate sensibilities,” I said sarcastically. “We can stop at Katrina’s on the way.”
His eyebrows shot up. “The blood bar?”
“Yes, the blood bar. You don’t think I’m going to feed you, do you?”
He started to chuckle, but the action quickly turned into outright laughter.
I placed my balled fists on my hips and glared. “What’s so funny?”
“You.” He cast an appreciative glance down my body, making me even more irritated. “The last thing I’d ever expect is for you to play the role of donor. Come on, Wil. You have to realize I know you better than that.”
I stepped back, feeling foolish. “Of course you do.”
“Besides, I already told you I don’t need to eat.”
Exasperated, I shook my head in disbelief. “Don’t you think it might help you heal faster?”
“It might. But I’m fine. Stop worrying. Now, where do you think we’re going?”
“Uptown.” I waved a piece of paper containing the addresses of Elissa Meyers and William O’Conner. “Tal’s contacts. We need to find out if they have the elixir.”
He shoved his hands in his jeans pockets, which I’d come to recognize as a universal sign of opposition in the entire male population. “I’ll contact Harrison. He can check them out.”
I rolled my eyes and stalked out.
David followed, not saying a word until I entered the kitchen and headed for the back door. “What are you doing?”
“Going to check on these leads. We have about fourteen hours. I’m not wasting one more minute.”
Link, sensing my urgency, shifted into wolf form. Once I had the door open, he lunged outside. “You’re welcome to join us. Otherwise, we’ll meet you back here.”
David crossed the room and wrapped his hand around the edge of the door. “How do you think you’re going to get there?”
I plucked his spare keys from where they hung on the wall. Holding them up, I smiled.
He pursed his lips and nodded. “I see.”
His apparent acceptance made me nervous. This wasn’t how David usually operated. He was much more brooding and bossy.
“That’s it? You’re not going to try to stop me?”
“No.”
“Okay then.” I turned to go, but the door slammed closed and David backed me up against the door, trapping me in place. “Hey!” I yelped. “You just said you weren’t going to try to stop me.”
“This isn’t me trying.” His voice was low and gravelly as he leaned in, his cool breath tickling my ear. “I get that you want to do everything possible to help your friend, but we both know he wouldn’t want you to do anything to put yourself in danger on his behalf.”
I turned my head and glared. “You’re not doing this because of what Tal wants.”
“No,” he said roughly. “I’m doing this to protect you. I don’t really give a damn what your friend would want. But you do.”
I placed both hands on his chest and pushed him with everything I had. Surprised, he stumbled back, but quickly found his footing and once again pressed his palms to the door, using his frame to trap me within.
“I’m not your prisoner,” I spat. Hot anger rushed to my head. How dare he treat me as if I was one of his minions? “Back up. Now, David.”
“Or what?”
“Or whatever this is”—I waved a hand, indicating the two of us—“this partnership or questionable friendship, is over. I don’t take orders from you. Or Allcot.”
He straightened and stepped back, giving me the space I needed. “Questionable friendship?”
The flash of vulnerability in his eyes was so slight I almost missed it. It moved a tiny piece of me. I took a deep breath. “Look, I appreciate your help and all Allcot has done for Carrie and Beau, but I don’t appreciate the orders. I can make my own decisions. And right now, my decision is to do anything in my power to help Tal. Either you’re with me or you’re not.”
A howl came from the other side of the door, followed by scratching. Link had lost his patience. I raised an eyebrow in question. “What’s it going to be, Laveaux?”
Silence stretched between us. It was only when Link howled again that David spoke. “My apologies, Ms. Rhoswen. Of course I’ll help in any way I can as long as your wolf calms down.”
Pleased I’d finally won an argument with him, I grinned and twisted the knob. Pulling the heavy door open, I said, “Cool it, Link. We’re coming.”
David followed me out, and while Link had stopped howling, it didn’t stop him from snarling in David’s direction. I had to stifle a laugh. It’s not like he didn’t deserve it with his latest display if dominance.
“Call off your wolf,” David said evenly, clearly trying to keep from having an altercation.
I snapped my fingers. “Link, stop.”
He snarled one last time before falling in step beside me. That was Link. He was feeding off my emotions. And while David and I had called a truce, I was still more than irritated at his behavior. I swallowed the frustration and forced myself to remain levelheaded. We had research to do.
Chapter 15
“Are you sure this is it?” I asked, peering at the darkened, run-down house. Every window and door was covered with wrought-iron bars. “The neighborhood appears to be…”
“This is Castor Price’s territory.” David put the car in park.
I sucked in a breath. “As in, New Orleans’s most notorious human and drug trafficker?”
“Yep.”
What was a college student doing living in this neighborhood? No one was safe from the crime lord within his unofficial borders.
“Let’s do this.” David jumped out and Link and I followed. Link kept close to me, his teeth bared. A cold stone of fear settled in the pit of my stomach. Without thinking, I reached out and clutched David’s arm. Neither of us should be here. Price didn’t share his territory with anyone. And if he took offense to David being here, it could cause an all-out war between his gang and Cryrique.
Darkness consumed the small house. Swallowed in shadows, I ran a hand around the edge of the door, searching until I found the smooth button of the doorbell, then pressed it twice.
“It didn’t work.” Due to the barred security door, David knocked on the side of the house. After a few beats he said, “There’s no movement inside. She’s not here.”
David and Link both spun at the same time, hearing something I didn’t. I jumped, startled.
“Where is she?” A gruff voice came out of the darkness.
“Who?” David asked, coolly.
“Don’t fuck around, vampire. Where the hell is Elissa?” The tall, broad-shouldered man prowled forward and two shorter, beefier men joined him from the shadows.
I ran a soothing hand down Link’s back to keep him from growling at the thugs in front of us and stepped forward. “I’m sorry. We don’t know where Elissa is. A friend of mine is missing and I was hoping she might have some information that would help us find him.”
The telltale sound of a gun being cocked echoed through the night.
“Hey. Hey, now.” I raised my hands in the air. “We don’t want any trouble here. If Elissa isn’t here, we’ll just be going.”
“You’re
not going anywhere.” The ringleader reached for me, clamping his iron grip around my wrist.
“Ouch,” I cried, but my voice was drowned out by the howl of pain that came from him as Link lunged and sank his teeth into the thug’s forearm. The sudden release of my arm made me stumble backward. With my wings once again covered by a sweater, I lost my balance and landed with a thud on my backside.
Two shots rang through the air, followed by a yelp and whine of pain.
“Link!” Crawling forward, I patted him down, searching for a wound. He panted heavily but let me search. Then he yelped again as I touched his back leg. Flesh wound. Relief rushed through me. He’d be okay.
David stood in front of us, wrestling the gun away from the gunman with one hand while holding the ringleader in a headlock. The third one moved in. A moment later, his fist met David’s face in what sounded like a bone-crushing punch.
I cringed at the sound, my stomach rolling. “David,” I cried, fear for him and for Link paralyzing me. If they overpowered David, we were dead. I had to help. But how? If I interfered now, I’d only manage to distract David.
The leader spun out of David’s grasp and landed a kick in his kidney. David pitched forward with an oomph but managed to stay upright.
“Son of a bitch,” David said and, with lightning speed, landed two punches and a kick of his own on each of the gang members. Blood splattered and more bones crunched under the force. Each connection was so fast and strong no human should have been able to withstand the onslaught. But all three were on their feet and circling David within seconds.
Link sprang to his feet, blood running down one leg, but he once again lunged and caught one of our attackers in the neck. Link’s victim screamed, his eyes bugging out as he disappeared under Link’s weight.
I ripped my sweater off and spread my wings. Just as I lifted off the ground, the ringleader recovered the gun and yelled, “One more inch, faery, and you’ll have a hole in your wing.”
My wings froze mid-flutter and I floated to the ground, terror making my heart almost stop. Everything going on around me faded away and my focus narrowed to the gun gleaming in the moonlight. This was it. I was going to die at the hand of some worthless scum who meant next to nothing. Images of Talisen filtered through my mind. Regret and sadness claimed me. I wouldn’t even get to say good-bye.
“Call your dog off.” The leader’s eyes were narrow slits of rage.
“Link, come here,” I ordered, my voice trembling.
His head came up, blood covering his muzzle. Oh Goddess. Was the thug lying motionless beside him dead? I didn’t want to think about what would happen if he was.
“Step away from Ezra, or your girlfriend here is going to be joining me back at my hood after I put a hole in her foot.”
I sucked in a breath and tucked my wings against my back in order to keep from unconsciously fluttering off the ground. Mr. Trigger-happy likely wouldn’t understand my nervous tic.
David, holding his attacker by the neck, let go and took a step sideways toward me.
“How long has she been working for you?” the thug asked.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” David raised his hands in front of him where they could be seen.
“Don’t lie. We’ve seen the bite marks. Combine that with the money she found for that fancy school and the sweet ride she’s been cruising around in, and only an idiot wouldn’t make the connection. You’re not calling me an idiot, are you?”
David only stared him down while I eyed the gun still pointed straight at my head.
“Well, motherfucker? Are you?” The thug jerked the gun and pointed it at David. That was his first mistake. The second was forgetting about Link. They both pounced. The gun went off for the third time.
“David!” I cried, clutching my chest. Blood blossomed on David’s shoulder. But it didn’t slow him down. He disarmed the ringleader in less than two seconds. Link growled and leaped forward, flattening the man to the ground.
“Move,” David called as the other two thugs jumped him.
I didn’t hesitate. My wings extended, and with two giant thrusts, I was at the car, pulling the door open. “Link! In!”
My wolf took one last swipe at the flattened gang member and bounded on three legs into the car. I jumped into the driver’s seat and revved the engine. David was fighting off one thug while suffering a punch to his kidney from the other. I honked once. David swung, knocking them both out of the way long enough to dive into the passenger’s side.
I hit the accelerator and the tires squealed as we sped off. “What the hell happened back there?” I stammered out a few blocks later.
“We were jumped by Price’s hired guns.”
“No kidding. I meant they were more than steroid-strong. Like maybe Tal’s elixir-strong.”
He pressed his hand to his shoulder, finally noticing the gun wound and nodded. “Yeah. You might be right. The samples did go missing.”
“But how did they know about it? Elissa?”
He closed his eyes and shook his head. “Maybe.”
A few blocks later, I pulled into a drugstore parking lot and twisted around to check out Link. “You okay, boy?” I ran a hand over his back haunches and legs. He whimpered but let me inspect the leg that had been grazed by the bullet. “It’s not so bad, buddy.”
I turned to David. “I need to run in for some first-aid supplies. Do you need anything?”
His eyes were wild and bloodshot, but he shook his head.
I frowned. Blood was still seeping from his wound. It should’ve closed by now. The only explanation was he hadn’t fed in a while. “You need blood. Like yesterday.”
“I’m fine.” He closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the seat. “Get whatever it is you need. I’ll watch Link.”
More like Link would watch him. I stifled a worried sigh and ran into the store. Less than five minutes later, laden with gauze and antiseptic, I jumped in the car and took off once again for David’s house. We couldn’t check on Wolfman until David and Link were patched up. And I stopped shaking. Between Link and David, an attack led by humans should’ve been over in less than a minute. Instead of completely neutralizing them, we’d had to flee the scene just to get out alive.
Holy fuck. They were way too strong, too powerful. They had to be on Tal’s drug.
As I pulled into the driveway, David put his hand on my knee. The foreign coolness seeped through the fabric of my jeans, and I almost jumped right out of my seat. Would I ever get used to the fact he wasn’t warm-blooded anymore? “What is it?” I asked coming to a complete stop.
“Someone’s here. Turn off the lights.” He opened the door and disappeared across the lawn.
“Great.” I killed the lights and slumped down, trying to scan the area. Nothing but bushes and leaves moved in the slight breeze. Knowing David would find anyone who might be lurking around, I climbed into the back and started administering first aid to Link’s back left leg.
He whimpered as I applied the antiseptic but let me bandage the leg, despite the obvious pain. “Good boy, Link.” I soothed him and snuggled against his neck. He licked my hand. “You’re welcome, bud.”
With Link fixed up, I started to feel like a sitting duck. “Link?”
He raised his big wolf head, gold eyes gleaming.
“You ready?”
He let out a low growl.
Good. He was feeling antsy as well. We climbed out and the pair of us headed toward the house, me fluttering and Link prowling.
“Willow!” a female voice called from across the yard.
“Phoebs?”
“Hurry up.” She waved from beside David.
I shook my head and picked up the pace. When we reached them, I scowled at David. “You couldn’t come back and let us know the coast was clear?”
That muscle in his jaw twitched and his eyes flashed with irritation. “I was still checking the grounds.” He waved at something behind me. “Phoebe i
sn’t our only visitor.”
I spun, finding Harrison standing a few feet from me. “Where’d you come from?”
He nodded toward Phoebe. “I found that one breaking into the professor’s house.”
I spun back around and grabbed Phoebe’s arm. “What did you find?”
“Well—”
“Let’s go inside.” David cut her off.
I glared, but Phoebe nodded. “That’s a good idea.”
Once inside, David immediately pulled his shirt off and headed for the bathroom. I gaped after him.
“What’s with the sunburn?” Phoebe asked.
“No idea.”
“Weird.” Then she smiled at me, mischief in her eyes. “Holy vampire abs. I had no idea he was so yummy underneath all that.”
I snapped. “Phoebe, stop. Now isn’t the time. Talisen is missing and hurt, remember?” The night had taken its toll and hot tears burned the back of my eyes. I blinked rapidly, trying to control my overwhelming emotions. David was hurt. Link was hurt. Tal was God knows where, hurt or worse, and the city’s most notorious street gang had somehow gotten his new drug. Once we rescued Tal, and we would rescue him, he would never be safe with the powerful corruption that would follow him around.
Damn that elixir.
Phoebe sobered. “Sorry, Wil.” She placed a hand on my arm. “I’ve been in assignment mode all day. You know how I get sometimes.”
Yeah, totally obsessed with the mission and doing whatever it took to uncover the clues. She loved it, although the thrill of the chase sometimes meant she lost perspective for those involved. But at the same time, her giddy enthusiasm for her work made her one of the best agents the Void had. “I do. Just bring it down a notch. I’m not ready for jokes.”
She nodded solemnly and followed me to the library.
I grabbed David’s laptop once again and sat cross-legged on the leather loveseat.
She pulled out a black iPhone.
I frowned. Her phone was white. “New?”
“Yeah. I dumped the old one.” She hit a button and read something. “Let me see yours. I need to see those pictures you took.”
“Mine’s dead.” I grimaced. “David killed it.”
