An image of Tyler suddenly slammed into Jason's head. Tyler all twitchy. Hoodie zipped up to his chin. Hands jammed in the big front pocket. Because he was holding the chalice? Hiding it under the baggy sweatshirt?
A year ago, it wouldn't have crossed Jason's mind. In fact, he'd have punched anyone who considered the possibility. But since his parents' divorce, Tyler had changed. And he was desperate for cash.
But that desperate? Jason wasn't sure.
Then he remembered the phone call on Tyler's cell. The guy had mentioned a thirty-six-hour deadline. And Tyler had turned into an instant asshole. It had obviously been a threat. It might have been enough to make Tyler willing to do just about anything.
But the threat was nothing compared to what Tyler might be facing now. At least the guy on the phone was human.
"How can a place like the Lafrenières' not have an extremely high-tech security system?" Kyle asked.
Brad turned toward Jason, even though the question had been Kyle's. "It does. There are cameras everywhere. By now, they probably know who did it."
Jason stared back at him. Was Brad trying to tell him something? Had Brad seen something that made him suspect Tyler, too?
Was it a warning?
"Damn! I completely forgot I have a dentist appointment," Jason exclaimed. "My mom's going to massacre me. Tell the coach, okay?"
Brad nodded. And Jason headed out of the locker room, holding himself to a fast walk. The second he was through the doors, he broke into a run. He had to talk to Tyler. Jason just hoped he'd find him in front of the TV where he'd left him that morning.
Jason raced to the parking lot and over to the bug. He vaulted into the convertible without bothering to open the door and squealed out of the lot. He stepped on the gas as soon as he hit the PCH. Seventy. Eighty. He needed to find Tyler fast.
Zach Lafrenière was a guy who took action - the other vampires counted on him for it. And Zach took care of problems - violently, if necessary. What exactly would Zach do to Tyler for stealing something irreplaceable from his family?
Jason caught sight of a figure out of the corner of his eye and slammed on the brakes. He twisted around. Yeah, it was Tyler. His friend was staring at him from the edge of the cliffs overlooking the beach on the other side of the road. "Tyler!" he shouted. "Get in the car!"
Tyler waited for a Jeep to drive past, then jogged across the two-lane highway. "Hey. Decided to walk into town," he said cheerfully.
"Get in," Jason told him again.
"I was thinking of maybe renting a board. Can't come all the way to Malibu without at least attempting to surf. Am I right?" Tyler asked.
"The Lafrenières were robbed at the party on Friday," Jason told him. He locked eyes with Tyler. "I think it might be a good time for you to be at home. A stranger in town could be at the top of their list of suspects.”
Tyler nodded wordlessly and climbed into the car.
"Did you do it, Ty?" Jason came right out with the question. He pulled back onto the highway. He wanted to get Tyler out of sight until he knew exactly what the situation was. "I don't hear you answering."
"You take me to a party with you and you think I stole something?" Tyler shook his head sadly.
"That's not an answer." Why couldn't Tyler just give him a no? That was all Jason wanted.
"You have a Bible? I need a Bible if you're going to put me on the witness stand," Tyler snapped.
Jason glanced at his old friend. He looked as pissed off as he sounded. And Jason began to doubt himself. Maybe he'd jumped to a false - and insulting - conclusion.
"I didn't do it," Tyler told him, speaking slowly and carefully, like a kindergarten teacher giving safety instructions. "Happy?"
"Ecstatic," Jason muttered as they entered the Heights. "Sorry," he told Tyler. "I just..." He didn't go on. There was no explanation good enough for accusing his friend of being a thief.
"Forget it," Tyler said.
Jason pulled into his driveway - and hit the brakes fast. His stomach seized as he looked at the house. The front door hung open.
"Didn't my mom and Bianca say they had some kind of charity luncheon today?" he asked. "And Dani was going to go straight to Kristy's and stay there until after dinner."
"Yeah," Tyler said, staring at the gaping door. "And your father's at work."
Jason threw the car into park and killed the engine. He dashed to the door, Tyler right behind him.
Books, CDs, and DVDs lay all over the living room floor. The coffee table had been knocked over. The glass in his mother's curio cabinet smashed. The ottoman flipped and the bottom slit open.
Someone had come in and searched the place. And Jason knew exactly what they had been looking for.
THIRTEEN
Jason whipped around, grabbed Tyler by the shoulders, and slammed him against the wall. "Tell me again that you didn't steal an antique chalice from the Lafrenières!"
Tyler didn't look pissed off anymore. He had gone pale. "I didn't know they'd do anything like this. If I'd thought it would somehow come back to your family..."
But it had come back to Jason's family. Tyler had brought the vampires right into Jason's home. What would have happened if his parents or his aunt or Dani had been there? The thought made his body go cold, then hot with anger. "So you took it. Just admit' it," Jason ordered.
Tyler twisted away from him. "I had no choice."
"Bullshit."
"You're right." Tyler strode into the living room and began picking up books and shoving them back on the bookshelf. "I had a choice. I could have let Russ kill me.”
Jason followed Tyler, catching sight of the kitchen through the open door. The canisters of sugar, flour, and coffee had been dumped. The floor looked like some kind of toxic beach.
"Who's Russ?" he asked, joining Tyler in gathering up the books. He almost didn't want to know the answer.
"My dealer."
"And? Come on, do I have to yank the whole story out of you word by word?"
"I stole from him, all right? I needed some Ritalin. I got addicted to it. I didn't have the cash. Russ wouldn't front me, so I took everything he had, even drugs I didn't want. I was pissed," Tyler confessed. "Like five thousand dollars' worth of stuff."
"Christ." Jason let out a long breath. "That call I answered? That was - "
"That was Russ. He's my new best friend. Calls all the time," Tyler said. "Thanks for telling him where I was, by the way." He jammed a book onto a shelf hard enough to make the bookcase shake.
"I'm not used to my friends being chased by people who want them dead," Jason countered. He moved toward another book and heard a sharp crack. He pulled his foot back. "Great! You now owe my mother a Celine Dion's Greatest Hits CD." He glanced around the room. "Among other things," he added under his breath.
"Look, Russ gave me forty-eight hours to get him cash for what I stole," Tyler said. "And I wasn’t kidding about him sending somebody out here to kill me. Or at least seriously mess me up. I figured the Lafrenières have insurance up the wazoo. I thought they'd just submit a claim. No harm, no foul." Tyler lifted his arms, then let them fall to his sides. "How was I supposed to know they'd do something like this? You saw their house. They have more crap than they could use in five lives. Why would they care so much?"
"You picked the wrong thing to steal," Jason told him. "That chalice has been in their family for generations. That's why they care so much." A thought struck him like a knife in the chest. "Was it even here when they trashed the place?"
Tyler shook his head. "I sold it at a pawn shop."
"Then this isn't over. They aren't going to stop until they get it back. And, obviously" - Jason kicked the overturned ottoman - "they know you're the one who took the thing. We've got to go get it."
"With what? I wired the money to Michigan already. I have" - Tyler pulled his wallet out of his back pocket and checked the contents - "fifty-four dollars total"
"We'll figure that out later. We've got to get to th
e pawn shop before they sell it," Jason said. "Because somebody else might be looking to mess you up if we don't" He hesitated. "It'll only slow us down if I call Dad now and try to tell him some version of what happened. So let's hit it," he told Tyler.
"I'm surprised you actually managed to find a pawn shop in Malibu," Jason said as Tyler pushed the buzzer next to the door.
"Rich people probably need quick cash for their dealers every once in a while," Tyler said. "It's easy to spend however much money you have on drugs. And then some."
Another buzz sounded. Tyler grabbed the doorknob and pulled the door open. Jason followed him inside. One wall held TVs, DVD players, CD players, and computers. A selection of cameras hung from the ceiling. Glass counters held an assortment of jewelry, including a variety of diamond engagement rings. It was pretty pathetic.
"Back already?" the middle-aged guy behind the counter asked Tyler. "Got some more good stuff for me?" He gave his short, graying ponytail a tug.
"We need back the gold chalice he sold you," Jason said.
"Not possible," the clerk answered. "That thing flew out of here. I only had it in the case for a couple of hours."
"Who bought it?" Jason demanded.
"This is the kind of place where people like their privacy," the man replied flatly.
"It's important," Tyler put in. "I'm kind of in a bad position."
The man shrugged. "It's also the kind of place where people are in bad positions a lot. I stay out of that."
"We only want to find the buyer so we can buy back the chalice. We'll pay more than they paid. A lot more." Jason had no idea where he or Tyler would come up with the money. A loan from Aunt Bianca, maybe? It didn't matter. For now, all he cared about was finding the chalice.
"Doesn't interest me," the clerk said. "I don't give out buyer information."
Jason pulled his fingers through his hair. "How about this? You contact the buyer for us, and tell them that we'll give them a profit if they'll sell us the chalice back.”
The man pulled a rag out of his back pocket and started to polish the closest counter. "Of course, you'd get a percentage if the buyer agrees to sell," Jason added quickly.
"Give me your phone number." The man slid a business card across the counter to Jason.
Jason carefully printed his cell number on the card and slid it over. "We really appreciate this."
The guy grinned. "I'll call you if they're interested."
Jason waited. But it was clear that no call would be made while they were standing there, so he turned and headed out.
"Thanks for doing that," Tyler told him as they walked down the sidewalk toward the car. "I shouldn't have come here. I shouldn't have brought all this into your life. Your parents have always been great to me, and-”
"Enough, already," Jason interrupted. "You completely pissed me off. You lied to me. You got my house trashed. But you're my oldest friend. Who else were you supposed to come to?"
"There was no one else," Tyler admitted.
"What do you think - ," Jason began.
An SUV with tinted windows abruptly pulled up alongside them and stopped. The side door slid open, fast and soundless. Immediately, two men leaped out, and Jason saw a flash of metal in the sunlight as a piece of pipe came down on Tyler's head.
Jason launched himself at the closest assailant, but another man moved in from the left to block him. Before Jason could reach Tyler, the men had him in the van and the door was sliding shut.
A second later the guy who'd blocked Jason was behind the wheel. Jason heard the van pull away. He stared after it. No license plate.
It sped around the corner and disappeared. With Tyler inside.
FOURTEEN
Jason stared down the empty street. Adrenaline rushed through his body. Where were they taking Tyler? And what were they going to do to him when they got there?
His cell phone started to play "It's a Small World,” courtesy of Dani again. Jason jerked the cell out of his pocket and hit talk. "Tyler?" he asked, knowing even as he said it that there was no possible way it was his friend.
"No, it's me. Sienna."
Sienna. The last person he'd expected. Jason hadn't thought she'd ever want to talk to him again.
"You have to get Tyler out of Malibu. Right now," she told him, her voice tight with tension.
"Too late." Jason looked down the street again, as if somehow, magically, the SUV would come speeding backward toward him and the whole abduction would happen in reverse, leaving Tyler standing next to him. "Two guys just snatched him. I was right there, but I couldn't stop it."
Sienna didn't respond. But he could hear her breathing. "I know where he is," she said finally.
"Where? Tell me."
She hesitated.
Come on, come on, come on! Jason urged silently. He didn't have time for this. Tyler didn't have time.
"Meet me at Zach's. At the gazebo in the side garden," Sienna instructed.
"I'm on my way." Jason started toward his car.
"And Jason? Don't park where anyone can see you," Sienna finished. She hung up before he could respond.
Jason parked a block away from Zach's. He cut down to the beach, figuring there was less chance of him being spotted if he approached the house from that way, rather than from the front. Although it occurred to him that all those decks and balconies would give anyone who happened to be looking a perfect view of him. He just had to hope no one had picked this moment to enjoy the ocean views.
He ran along the sand, his feet sinking into it with every step. Jason usually loved running on the beach, but right now he wanted some nice, hard asphalt. A surface that would let him get some traction and speed.
Sneakers wouldn't hurt either, he thought as he veered toward the rough wooden logs that served as stairs up the side of the cliff. A layer of sand had crept between his Tevas and his feet.
Jason pounded up the steps and and raced over to the gazebo. Sienna was already waiting, her long, inky hair fluttering in the breeze coming off the ocean.
"Thanks for calling me," he said when he reached her. "So what gives?"
"Zach asked me to call," Sienna told him. "He thinks he owes you for saving his life," she continued. "Zach doesn't like to owe anybody."
"He doesn't owe me. He saved my life, too. But I'm sure as hell not going to turn down his help," Jason answered. "Where's Tyler?"
"Zach wanted you to get him out of town." Sienna twisted her hair into a knot to keep it from blowing in her face. "But I really don't know what you can do for him now.”
"Just tell me where he is and let me worry about the rest," Jason said impatiently.
Sienna gave a reluctant nod. "He's been taken before the Council."
Questions exploded in Jason's head. "The what?"
"The DeVere Heights Vampire Council," Sienna repeated. "It's this group that makes decisions about things that involve all of... of us."
"Why would this council care about Tyler?" Jason demanded. "Is it, like, steal from one of you and you steal from all of you?"
"What Tyler took belongs to all of us, in a way," Sienna explained. "The Lafrenières keep the chalice because they are one of the oldest vampire families, but it doesn't truly belong to them. It's a sacred relic that has been used in our ceremonies for centuries."
Nice one, Tyler, Jason thought. The Lafrenière house is stuffed with expensive crap. And you had to grab some precious vampire artifact!
"So what are they going to do with him?" Jason paced the gazebo, unable to stand still. "He's already sold the thing, but we have a lead on getting it back. We just need a little time."
"I don't know," Sienna admitted apprehensively. "That's what they're deciding right now. But it doesn't look good. That's why Zach wanted you to get Tyler out of town before they found him."
"Where is Zach?" Jason demanded. He and Jason weren't friends. Jason didn't know if Zach was actually friends with anyone - even any of the vampires. But Zach had power and, rightly o
r wrongly, he felt indebted to Jason. Right now, Jason could use that.
"He's at the meeting," Sienna replied. "He's on the Council now. That's why the chalice was out of the bank vault in the first place. It was used in the ceremony to inaugurate Zach onto the Council, the night of the party. The party was given just to hide the fact that all the vampires were gathered. There was even a member of the High Council at the house that night."
So that's why there was extra Zach-adoration at the party, Jason thought. "Okay, well, where does the Council meet?" he asked. His mind was racing. Maybe he could talk to the Council. Explain that he had already been to the pawnbroker. That, no matter what, he and Tyler would get the chalice back.
Or was discussion time over?
"If I tell you that..." Sienna let her words trail off. She pulled her thin sweater tighter around herself.
"I get it. The Council could come after you," Jason filled in for her. "Look, I won't tell them who I got the information from. Just tell me where they are."
"I don't care about me," Sienna burst out, her voice ragged with emotion. "But if you try to interfere with the Council, they could kill you. I can't let that happen, Jason. It might be too late for you to save Tyler. . But it's not too late for me to save you!"
Her words were so unexpected that it took Jason a moment to process them. After all his clumsiness, he was amazed that Sienna actually cared. In the midst of the current crisis, part of him still found time to be ridiculously pleased that she did. But it didn't change anything. He reached out and touched her arm. "Sienna, he's my best friend. I can't just..." He shook his head. "I can't."
"In the Garden," she said simply.
Jason's eyes darted around the gardens surrounding the gazebo.
"No, up there." Sienna pointed to the roof of the Lafrenière house. Sunlight glinted off huge panels of glass.
Jason frowned. He'd been on the top floor - all over the top floor - with Adam, and yet he hadn't seen those massive skylights. And, even at night, all that glass would have been impossible to miss.
And then suddenly, he got it. He and Adam hadn't actually been on the top floor at all. There was another whole floor to the house. That's why he and Adam had seen the vampires go upstairs but hadn't seen anyone there when they went up themselves.
Alex Duval - [Vampire Beach 02] Page 9
