16 Blood Noir ab-16

by Laurell K. Hamilton

  Jason laughed. If you think this is pushy, Chuck, you have been hanging around with some weak-ass women.

  The driver asked, Do I drop them off in front of the inn or in the parking garage?

  You wont change hotels? Chuck asked.

  No, Jason said, we wont. He sounded so serious, so unlike himself, that I touched his shoulder. Almost as if I was reassuring myself it was still him. He could be firm, and strong, but he usually chose not to be. Id always known that it was a choice on Jasons part, but for the first time I was seeing just how much strength of will he hid behind that charming smile.

  Drop them off in the parking garage; itll slow down the feeding frenzy.

  The limo passed the front entrance and glided into the dimness of the parking garage. There were armed security guards making sure that no one got back there who wasnt supposed to be there. Id never seen uniformed security at a hotel before. I wondered who was paying for it.

  The driver got my door, and Chuck got Jasons side. I ignored the driver and slid out with Jason. A show of solidarity, yeah, but also that creepy feeling I had. Id have flashed my badge at Chuck if Id been certain seeing a federal marshal would have spooked him more. Some professional bad guys react really badly to badges of any kind.

  Id hold the whole badge thing in reserve. This was Jasons gig, not mine. My flashing my badge when I didnt need to might undermine hiswhatever the hell he was doing.

  The driver got the bags out of the trunk. Chuck said, Can you at least not be too intimate in public so they dont get pictures of you doing the brunette?

  She has a name, Jason said.

  Im sorry; can you please not be up close and personal with Ms. Blake in public while youre in town?

  One of the uniformed security came close and whispered something to Chuck. Shit, he said.

  Whats wrong? I asked.

  Theyve spotted a photographer hiding among the cars. I thought we were paying you guys to make sure this didnt happen.

  Jason looked around, and I followed his gaze. There was a figure crouched between two midsized cars. He had a camera with a huge lens on it.

  Chuck grabbed a suitcase and tried to get us moving. I was willing, but Jason took my hand. He drew me in against him. I knew what he was going to do before he did it. I said, Are you sure this is a good idea?

  No, its a terrible idea. He said it just before he kissed me. He kissed me, not like he meant it. He kissed me not because he wanted to kiss me, but because it would cause trouble. I didnt like it, but I knew if I struggled that it would both smear my lipstick and maybe make him try for more of a kiss. He was in such a strange mood that I just wasnt sure how to handle him.

  Chuck came and shielded us from the camera with his broad back. To the unfamiliar guards, he said, Get that camera. To Jason, he said, Why?

  Jason broke from the kiss and gave the taller man a look Id never seen before. It was a look: part anger, part stubbornness, part just strength and ill will. It was a look more at home on my face than Jasons.

  I dont like being told what to do, Chuck.

  Now you do sound like Keith.

  You have no idea how much like Keith I can be.

  I dont need the two of you fucking this week up, Schuyler.

  I am not one of the Summerlands, Chuck. You dont get paid to boss me around, so dont try.

  Jason reached for my hand. I made sure he got the left one. I wanted my gun hand free just in case. Because if looks could have killed, Jason would have been a greasy spot on the pavement.

  Teasing large armed men was not a healthy hobby, and Id be talking to Jason about that when we werent in public.

  The big mans hands were flexing slowly at his sides, while I think he counted to twenty. If a camera hadnt been aimed at us, I was pretty sure wed have seen more of Chucks temper than just a little flexing.

  The photographer was running toward the sunlight with the guards in pursuit. He was taking pictures over his shoulder the way youd shoot a gun to slow down your attackers, but not really sure youd hit anything. But he was aiming at Jason and me, not the guards.

  Carry your own damn bags then. Chuck said it through gritted teeth.

  Happy to, Jason said, and his voice was angry. His eyes were very blue, a rich, deep color. I realized it was the color of his eyes when he was angry.

  The photographer was out of sight now, and the guards had vanished with him. Jason picked up both suitcases, got the balance of them, and headed for the door. I took the overnight case with all the guns in it and followed him. I kept an eye on Chuck as we moved up the back entrance.

  He was right about one thing: Jason had deliberately put a rumor into that camera. It would hit the news before anyone thought to ask if it was some distant relative. Theyd all believe it was Keith Summerland with a lover going into a hotel just five days before his wedding to someone else.

  Shit.

  12

  W E GOT TO the room after Jason had proved with his ID that he was not a Summerland. They kept trying to check us into Keiths room. Jason got overly familiar looks from several of the female staff. One even tried to give him a note while I was holding his hand in the elevator.

  We finally got to the room, tipped the bellperson, shut the door, locked it, and were alone. Jason leaned against the door.

  The room was big, with two different conversation areas complete with couches and chairs. Large windows let in sunshine and a view of the mountains. There was even a four-seat table near one set of windows so you could eat and look out at the view. Big, roomy, but the dcor stopped me in my tracks. The couches and chairs were all deep purple and red, but their shapes were vaguely organic. The drapes were heavy as if the sunlight were fighting to get through, and there were paintings everywhere on the walls. Most of them were modern art, which is okay, I own some, but modern art isnt meant to be plastered on like wallpaper. It was all very artsy and sort of claustrophobic.

  They call it the Gallery, Jason said. I looked at him. Hey, it was either this or the Swinging 60s. Its painted completely in pink.

  Pink?

  Pink.

  The rooms lovely, I said.

  Thank you, he said.

  The bed was around the corner. There was a fainting couch near it. I sat down on the edge of the bed and took off the high heels. Maybe if I concentrated on the problem at hand, I wouldnt keep trying to figure out how many noses the picture in front of me had. What the hell was that all about? You begged me to leave the Summerlands alone, especially Chuck, and then you tweak his tail badly.

  I know, Jason said. It was really stupid, and petty.

  Why did you do it?

  He loosened his tie and flung himself onto his back on the bed hard enough for me to bounce a little where I was sitting. I dont know.

  Liar, I said.

  He turned his head to look at me. Whats that supposed to mean?

  It means you have some kind of history with these people.

  They moved away when he became governor. I didnt know theyd come back here for the wedding. It must be a local girl. God, I pity her.

  Yeah, I saw how the women on staff were looking at you, like as soon as I turn my back theyll pounce.

  Keith looks like me, and I clean up well, but hes rich, and his dads rich. There always seem to be women who want to be close to rich men.

  And now his dad is governor and about to make a run for president. I think thats adding to the Summerland appeal, I said.

  Jason nodded, then sat up. He leaned his elbows on his knees and held his head. I should not have posed for the cameras like that. That was childish, but the twins were the bane of my childhood. We were always getting mistaken for each other, by teachers, girls, guys, strangers. Keith would deliberately do shit and get me blamed. He did the same thing to his brother, too, so I wasnt so special there.

  Kelsey, right, the brother?

  Yeah.

  Is the brother any nicer?

  Kelsey was in some of the plays with me. He was quiet
er, a little shy. As awkward with the girls as Keith was smooth.

  Sounds like you like Kelsey.

  I would have, if he hadnt been a Summerland and Keiths brother. You couldnt be friends with Kelsey unless Keith allowed it, and he hated me.

  Why?

  I got a few girls who had turned him down. I mean they turned him down, then slept with me, Anita. Think about that.

  I did. They turned him down not because he wasnt cute, but because he personally was an asshole.

  Yeah, and all his daddys money couldnt buy him the girls who knew what he really was.

  Jason got up and went to the mirror, started straightening his tie. I went to college in St. Louis, and he stayed near the state capital. But I heard rumors that he had a couple of date-rape charges. Dropped, never saw court, but Id believe date rape for Keith. He never took no very well.

  And his father is making a run to be president on a family conservative ticket, I said.

  Thats probably why theyre in such a rush to get him married off.

  Marriage doesnt cure you of being a bastard, I said.

  He grinned at me. Nothing cures you of being a bastard. He came to me and held his hand out. I took it and let him get me on my feet. Lets go to the hospital.

  I thought we might eat first.

  He shook his head. If we start taking off more clothes for comfort Im going to want sex, and as you pointed out well get all messy. I desperately dont want to go to see him. So that means go now, get it over with.

  I thought I was the jerk-the-bandage-off type, not you.

  Maybe years of watching you be brave is rubbing off on me.

  I was sort of embarrassed. Im not that brave. I nearly threw up on the plane.

  Before I knew you, I thought brave was not being afraid. Youve taught me that bravery is being terrified and doing it anyway. He drew me closer into his arms, and because of the nearly identical height it had that intimacy that Micah could do. When you arent looking up, really, but at a man.

  I studied his face, tried to see the fear he was talking about. I see more anger in you than fear, Jason.

  Youre going to ignore the compliment and go straight to the business, arent you?

  I shrugged, a little awkwardly, with my arms around his waist and his around me.

  He closed the almost invisible distance wed been keeping between our bodies, so we touched from chest to groin and thigh. The closeness made me both uncomfortable and more comfortable. It felt good, and bothered me that it felt good. I never said I wasnt conflicted about my sexuality. What helped it not be that sexual was Jasons attitude. Hed gotten closer to comfort himself, not to start foreplay.

  Jason gave a smile that was more a baring of teeth. Yeah, Im pissed. Im pissed that the Summerlands ruined my childhood and now are going to ruin my last visit with my dad. Im pissed at my dad. Pissed that he wouldnt let my mom call me sooner. Hell, Im pissed at my mom for not calling me sooner, or my sisters. They could have called me, but they all sat around waiting for the big bully to give them permission.

  Is he really a bully, or are you just pissed?

  Jason hugged me, burying his face in my hair, as if to breathe me in. Youll meet him in a little bit. Judge for yourself. Ive hated him and tried to love him for so many years I cant see him clearly.

  I hugged him back, then said, Let me put the heels back on. Do we call a cab?

  Yeah, he said, and reached for the phone.

  13

  T HE TAXI COULDNT get out of the drive in front of the hotel unless the driver was willing to run over members of the press. That would probably qualify as some sort of First Amendment violation, and Im all about defending the Constitution. Besides, manslaughter sucks, too.

  The driver turned around. I cant get through, Mr. Summerland, Im sorry.

  My name isoh hell! Jason stared at the crowd that had descended from the road to surround us. Where were the valets who had been at the road earlier? Cameras were exploding everywhere. Reporters shouting questions. Who is she? Did you break up with Lisa? Is the wedding off?

  Shit, he said softly, but with feeling.

  The windows were covered by people and cameras. It was suddenly hard to breathe. I forced myself to breathe slow and even, but the press of people around the cab was claustrophobic. Fuck.

  Finally uniformed security and the spiffily dressed valets appeared in the crowd of press. They began to push them back, an inch at a time. The cab tried to ease forward, but even with the guards and valets we were stopped.

  The cabbie turned around and looked at us. You want to just give up?

  I think were going to have to, Jason said.

  I looked out in time to see a guard and a photographer get into a pushing match.

  I cant get through this, the cabbie said.

  Jason looked at me. If I hadnt done the kiss in the alley Id say fuck them, but its my fault.

  I just looked at him. I mean, what was I supposed to say? Hed wanted to cause a scandal, and hed succeeded.

  A uniformed security person knocked on the window. Jason opened it a crack. The man said, I think you should come back inside, Mr. Summerland. We need more people to guarantee your safety, and theyre going to follow you wherever you go. Its not safe.

  What do you want us to do?

  Another guard pushed in against the window; he stumbled as if he was being shoved from behind. We cant clear the road enough for the taxi to move, unless we start busting heads.

  We dont have permission for that, the first guard said. That seemed to imply that with permission they would have happily waded into the press. What kind of guards were they?

  Were going to force them back, and then you get out of the taxi. Theres enough of us to form a circle around you both. Stay in the center and itll be fine. His mouth was saying fine, but his eyes werent as certain.

  I leaned around Jason. Well be stampeded.

  No, maam, well protect you. Its our job.

  Hell keep us safe, Jason said, because otherwise the governor will be very, very unhappy with him. With all of them. Isnt that right?

  The uniformed guard licked his lips. His eyes actually showed too much white. He was well and truly scared. Either his nerve was weak, or Governor Summerland was scarier than your average politician. Or maybe it was the whole lose-your-job thing; yeah, that might do it.

  Yes, sir, he said.

  He turned and started shouting orders to the other uniforms.

  You spooked him on purpose, I said.

  I did.

  Why?

  He motioned at the mob they were pushing back. The guard was right; unless were willing to get rough, we could get hurt. I dont want to take another beating for Keith.

  They pushed them back, like a weird version of a football scrimmage line, except with cameras and microphones. The reporters were shouting at us, at the guards, at each other, so that it was noise like a storm, so all the sounds combined into one roar of unintelligible noise.

  When there was room, the nervous guard opened the door for Jason. I wasnt sure it was a good idea, but I didnt have a better one. He got out and helped me out of the cab.

  I thought we would go blind from the flashes before wed moved two feet. I clung to Jasons hand, trying to shield my vision and wondering what the hell Id done with my sunglasses. If Id ever needed them, it was now.

  There were cries of Keith, Keith!

  Jason waited for a little lull in the murmurous noise. He spoke loud and clear, My name is Jason Schuyler.

  They didnt believe him. They said so. They also pressed in on the circle of men protecting us. We came to a standstill on the sloping driveway. The guards and valets kept them back but couldnt move forward.

  Jason shouted this time, My name is Jason Schuyler. Who wants proof? He got out his wallet. Who wants to put my drivers license on camera?

  There was a lot of jostling for that, and while they argued over who got it, I whispered, Cover your number and address.

  He nodded, an
d changed his hands around so only his picture and state were visible. The lucky winner got to come forward with a camera and a crew, and filmed the license. The guards actually let them through, but the rest were more patient now, waiting their turn or hoping for blood. The talking head who came with the camera shoved a mic in Jasons face.

  If you really are this Jason Schuyler, then why do you look so much like the Summerland boys?

  We were always getting confused by people in school. You can see why.

  You could be triplets, she said.

  He nodded, sort of grimly. Im home to visit my family, which has nothing to do with the Summerland wedding. I just need everyone to let me have some room to visit my folks.

  What brings you home?

  He looked at me. I shrugged. My father is dying of cancer. He doesnt have long. Id ask that everyone give us some space to say good-bye.

  And who is your father?

  If I tell you, are you guys going to bug him in the hospital?

  Wed love your familys take on having a son who looks so much like the famous Summerland twins.

  My dad is dying. He has weeks. Please, Im begging you, dont torment him. Please.

  Someone yelled from the crowd, Whos the brunette?

  Jason stepped back and I was suddenly on mic. Im Anita Blake.

  Who are you to the Summerlands?

  No one to them; other than knowing of Governor Summerland Id never heard of his family until today. Im Jason Schuylersgood friend. There, the first awkward pause. I was betting it wouldnt be the last one.

  Jason put his hands on my shoulders from where he stood beside me. The flashes intensified.

  Another voice yelled out, Hey, youre Jean-Claudes Anita Blake, arent you?

  Jean-Claudes Anita Blake; not federal marshal Anita Blake, not the vampire executioner Anita Blake; no, I was just Jean-Claudes girlfriend. Great.

  Yes, I said. Who was I to quibble?

  Oh, my God, youre Ripley! A womans voice from the crowd. Ripley was the name Jason stripped under. Yes, he had chosen his stage name because of the movie Alien. When Id asked him why, hed replied, Sigourney Weaver is so hot. His more ardent fans called him Rip for short. He had a fan among the press. That was going to be either good, or really bad.