His pink lips protruded. “Well, can’t you at least give me something? Please?”
I reached out and ran a finger along his cheek, leaned in a tad closer, and gave him a millisecond of glamour. Unlike Georgia, Zander wasn’t hooked. That wasn’t what he was asking for. The man was, well, a man, and he was attracted to me. Since he almost never left his apartment, I didn’t let it go to my head. Any woman would do.
While I shut my door and turned from it, Zander toddled down the hall, dazed and happy. I read the sender’s name on the package and discovered this was my first from Ilsa. Excitement washed over me. At least I had something to look forward to for the night. My cell phone rang in the bedroom, and I zipped there to answer it. The name on the screen read Cameron Knight.
“Hello?”
“Rue, this is Detective Knight. Do you remember me?”
“Violet’s boyfriend.” I stiffened because I recalled Violet had said he wanted to question me. So much time had passed since the incident, and I hadn’t heard from him. I had decided she changed his mind. Now he was calling.
“Yes, I can tell by the tone of your voice you don’t want to hear from me. Let me say right away, this has nothing to do with work.”
“Go on.”
He hesitated, and it seemed to me I could hear him agitating something in the background as a way to work out his nerves, maybe a stress ball. “Her friend died, her partner.”
I wasn’t surprised and was sure it had happened days ago. “I’m sorry to hear that.”
“Thanks. Listen, you’re her friend. Can you talk to her? She won’t talk to me or see me, and I’m worried.”
“Violet’s a strong woman. She’ll be fine.”
He didn’t respond, and I knew that’s not what he wanted to hear.
“I’ll give her a call. She didn’t break it off with you, did she? You two seemed to be getting along well together.”
“We were!” Emotion thickened his voice. “We were great until the other night with the attack.”
“You mean that wasn’t your first date?”
“No.” He sounded confused that I would assume so, and I realized while Violet knew I followed them, he didn’t. He wouldn’t know I had witnessed how awkward Violet behaved that night.
“We’d been seeing each other a while, not too long but enough to know I started to really care about her. I thought she felt the same. Then the other night she was so uncomfortable with every touch and everything I said.”
Poor man didn’t know Violet was thinking of dumping him, and she was no doubt trying to distance herself.
“I can’t let her go, but I refuse to get in her way. Most of us in my line of work know what it’s like to lose a partner. It’s heavy and painful. Anyway, I don’t want her to be alone. Will you contact her?”
I opened my package while he spoke. The tissue paper surrounding the little doll with button eyes barely unfolded before the spell dissipated. Darn it, my compensation would be low for this one. “Why don’t I go see her in case she decides not to answer the phone?”
“Would you?”
“Sure.” She wasn’t likely to answer, so I had no choice.
Violet turned out not to be at the station but at a coffee shop, hands wrapped around a full cup of Joe while she stared off into nothingness. I was surprised to see her once again in everyday wear, and when I sat down to join her, she confirmed my conclusions about the matter.
“It’s my night off, Rue.”
“Mine, too,” I said like I had a real job. “I’m actually here at someone’s request.”
Her angry gaze met mine. “Who?”
“Cam.”
She sighed and rubbed a hand over her face. “Stay out of—”
“He’s worried about you. Your partner died, and he doesn’t think you can handle it.”
“He didn’t say that!”
“Something like it.”
She growled low in her throat. “I can’t deal with you tonight.”
“Is there something more going on?”
We stared at each other a while, and she was the first to lower her gaze. “It boggles my mind how you can be unfeeling on one hand but so perceptive on the other.”
“I’m not unfeeling,” I said softly.
Tears filled her eyes, and then they widened as if she was surprised at her own reaction. I laid my hand on the table, and she took it and squeezed. The good thing about me was that Violet could hold on as hard as she wanted, and it would be okay. Boy, did she ever try to mangle my digits. I told myself it wasn’t on purpose.
“I have to break it off. I just have to.”
Thank goodness she was talking about her relationship and not my hand.
A tiny sob escaped her, and her cheeks flamed hot. I guessed it was because she was so embarrassed at breaking down in front of me—or anyone. Werewolves had their pride. So did we all. I tried to imagine what woman I knew was fine with crying in front of an audience. Well, not when she had ulterior motives like getting her significant other to buy a particular item. In this modern age, we independent women—perpetually single—just bought it ourselves and moved on.
“Violet, if you’re this upset letting him go, maybe you’re in love with him.”
She looked at me as if I had cursed at her.
“It doesn’t matter what I feel.”
“Correct me if I’m wrong, my dear, but aren’t relationships all about feeling?”
“That’s not what I meant. The thing is… I’m pregnant.”
My mouth fell open. I opened my senses and glanced down at the table as if I could see through it to her belly. Violet saw my movement and hugged herself. I couldn’t pick up a thing, probably too early.
“Stop staring,” she bit out between clenched teeth. “It’s early, yes, but I confirmed it. Besides, I know myself and…other things.”
I nodded understanding. “So what are you going to do?”
Violet started to drink her coffee then set it down. “I’m wondering about the implications of having a half human child. I might need to get rid of it.”
“Are you crazy? Children are a wonderful gift, and you’re prejudiced against your baby because it isn’t fully wolf?”
“No, of course not. It’s just that if anything happens, he’ll have to know about us. From birth, it’s been ingrained in our heads to keep our secret.”
“You wouldn’t believe the number of humans who know.”
“Not because of me.”
“Think carefully about this, Vie. You don’t want to regret anything.”
“I already regret getting involved with Cam.”
“You don’t.”
She said nothing. I didn’t believe she regretted seeing him, but maybe a little of getting pregnant. From my limited knowledge of nonhuman creatures with accelerated healing capabilities, nothing much human-made could affect them. Not long term anyway. I imagined Violet hadn’t been able to use birth control.
“Violet, I think you’re underestimating Cam. His reaction to learning the truth about you might not be what you expect. He seems to care about you very much.”
She sneered. “Love can turn to hate in an instant, especially when you find out the person you were sleeping with is really an animal.”
“You’re not an animal, per se,” I corrected her, but she refused to be reasonable. “Just a few moments ago, you hugged your belly when I opened my senses. You already care about your little one. That’s our way. If you get rid of the baby, you will do much worse than cry in a coffee shop.”
“You speak as if you know something about it.”
“No.” The truth was, I had miscarried before. I had wanted more than one child, but it seemed fate didn’t see things my way. Now, it was too late, and my Jake and I were separated. “Just promise me you won’t be reckless, Violet.”
“I may keep the baby,” she admitted after some time.
“And?” I pushed.”
She scowled. “He can’t know.”
&n
bsp; I rubbed a hand over my face at the vehemence in her tone. “I hope you recall our recent experience with another pregnant woman. We women will go to extreme lengths for our children, Violet. And it seems to be much worse when it’s a nonhuman mother.”
“You keep speaking as if you’re a mother. Do you have children, Rue?”
I didn’t answer, refusing to deny Jake even if it was just words. Keeping his existence a secret was for his protection and so he could live a normal life. The thought occurred to me that I would far outlive him, his children, and his grandchildren. However, while he lived, his happiness was priority one. Instinct told me Violet had already begun to feel this way about her baby, but I hoped it wouldn’t lead her to thinking she needed to get rid of Cam.
While we sat together in silence, me thinking over Violet’s situation and I imagine her doing the same, a human man approached our table. Violet and I both glanced up at him, and I sensed her rising anger.
A charming smile graced the man’s face. He had a certain boy next door look to him, even with the salt and pepper temples. “Hello, I couldn’t help but notice the two of you over here. You both look down, and I wanted to offer my services for the night to try cheering you up.”
I wondered at his choice of words. Services? What services was he offering? Violet on the other hand didn’t likely think anything other than “beat to a quivering mass.” I’m just guessing here.
She surged to her feet, and in one smooth motion, jerked the man closer with a fist in his shirtfront. “Do I look like I need your services?”
I jumped to my feet and grabbed her wrist. “Vie, sweetheart, let’s calm down.”
The man tried not to drool in his abject terror. I tugged again at the she-wolf’s arm, but she wasn’t budging. Unless I wanted to use my strength and cause a scene, we were at a stalemate. My head buzzed with various scenarios, and I felt the eyes of the coffee shop patrons on us, waiting for something interesting to happen. Other than the angry brunette wiggling a full-grown man around by his shirtfront, I mean.
“Violet.”
We all stilled, and Violet looked past my shoulder toward the exit. Where I stood my back was to it, but I had already picked up his scent. Cam had arrived. I hoped he was the Calvary, and as I took in how Violet’s face crumpled for a millisecond and then hardened, I wasn’t sure.
“Cam.” She lowered her gaze and released the human. He scurried away, and a breeze stirred with his hurried exit. Violet drained her coffee cup and tossed it into the trash. She walked toward the exit, passing Cam as she went. His gaze followed as she moved. I thought she would ignore him, but she glanced over her shoulder at him. He spun on his heel and followed her out the door.
“Well, that was interesting,” I said to no one in particular and hoped they settled things between them.
Chapter Eleven
“Hey, baby.”
“Hey, yourself,” I shot back at Nathan and moved the phone to my other ear. Another package had come. I described the colored glass ball to him, and he seemed as impressed as I was. “This one is stronger, but I can feel it giving. What do you think she’s up to with these items?”
He paused to consider it. “I’m guessing folks bring her stuff from their house that they feel are causing them problems. She figures out there’s a spell on it, and she’s hired to break the spell. It’s a theory anyway. I don’t know a lot about witches.”
I wrinkled my nose. “You’re saying she’s getting more money for breaking the spell?”
“Everyone’s got to make a profit.”
“So these are cursed items? What am I bringing into our home?” I tossed the ball on the carpet where I sat at the foot of the couch. Having nothing else to do with myself, I had hung out at the apartment and done boring chores like laundry and bathroom cleaning. Then the package arrived, and I had thought to distract myself. After that, Nathan phoned.
“Calm down, Rue. Nothing ever works on you. Even if there’s bad luck on it, it won’t work.”
“That’s not entirely true, but even if it doesn’t, it could work on you.”
“Hmm, I never thought of that. Be sure to disable it before I get home.”
“Thanks a lot. No pressure. When are you getting home?”
“Do you miss me?”
A tease lay on the tip of my tongue, but I scrapped it, remembering the last time. “Yes, desperately.”
“Good.” The big man crowed. Nathan was easy, and I loved him for it. “I’m planning on flying back tomorrow night.”
“So soon?”
“I thought you missed me.”
“I do, of course. I’m just surprised to get my boyfriend sooner than I thought.”
“Your boyfriend. I like the sound of that. Anyway, yes, my trainer is coming a couple weeks after, so we’ll have time to spend together before he arrives. Then it will get busy and intense. Apparently, I’m going to be put through a few trials.”
“Will you be kicked off the island if you fail?”
“Rue.”
“Right. You won’t fail, and you can call me in if you need me.”
“Woman, if you don’t behave, I’ll put you over my knee.”
“This is a PG-13 account of my life, Nathan. Keep it clean.”
“Huh?”
“Never mind.”
We spoke a little longer, and then after the requisite kiss-blowing and declarations of love, I let him go. I picked up the cursed glass ball again and studied the surface. The energy was mostly dormant in my hand, but I sensed the spell all the same. Deeply rooted, it resisted me, almost as if it ran around inside the ball to escape my touch.
My curiosity rose at what Ilsa might be up to and if Nathan’s theory was correct. Perhaps she both made her own items for blessing and cursing to resell, and bought items off other people. I speculated that she could run a lucrative shop if people brought her things they wanted to just get rid of and told her to keep them. She could have me break the spells she couldn’t remove herself and then re-spell them. The additional benefit of being Ilsa was she could provide services for both humans and nonhumans.
Later in the night, I went out to hunt for my meal. I was sticking to “drinking” light. There had been a few more ghoul attacks. In the couple times I had spoken with Violet, she mentioned the need to put down those who died with the fever. Rather, I should say ensure that they stayed down.
Just when I spotted my prey for the night, and I extended my fangs in readiness, my cell phone rang. I pulled it out and checked the display. Georgia’s name flashed on the screen. She could wait until later. I let the call go to voicemail, but she rang again right away. I glanced over to the woman I had scoped only to find her gone.
Frowning, I sniffed the air. Her scent led half a block away, but I heard other humans moving and talking nearby. That meant I would need to find someone else or wait until the woman was alone again. Great.
I answered my cell phone when its peal disturbed the night a third time. “Thanks for chasing away my meal, Georgia.”
Speaking around my fangs was awkward, so I retracted them. Georgia’s sniffles brought me from my own problems to concentrate on her.
“Georgia?” I said into the phone and stopped walking along the dark road.
“Rue,” she sobbed.
“What is it? Talk to me, kiddo.”
She choked, and I realized she wasn’t being her usual dramatic self. I couldn’t sense over the phone, but something told me Georgia was so terrified, she could hardly speak. I started moving again at a fast clip, searching for her. Her apartment would be my launch point, and then I would expand from there if she couldn’t tell me where to find her.
The small voice and what she shared brought me to a sliding halt. “Rue, I’ve been bitten.”
“No.” I sank to a knee. “Who…what?”
I shut my eyes. Anything was better than a ghoul. Maybe one of the vampires had bitten her. No, she would be thrilled and hope to be made a donor with glamour side
benefits. If that had happened, Georgia would have called me dancing on a cloud.
“The creature that’s been attacking everybody,” Georgia said, dashing my hopes. “It chewed my arm. I couldn’t get it off. The police came. I think it’s dead, but now I’m in the hospital.”
She had hardly finished the words before I arrived at the hospital by process of choosing the most likely and then tracking her scent. Even as I entered her room, I smelled the infection inside her, growing, expanding. Georgia had never looked so small and weak. Of course, not that much time had passed since she was attacked, but I was seeing her humanity and its fragility.
I sat down on the side of the bed, and she latched onto me. I let her hold on as long as she liked, sobbing and shaking. Once she had calmed down some, she lay against her pillows. I noted the used tissue everywhere, the empty box on the floor and the second one on the table to the right of her. Her eyes were puffy and red, and a bandage wrapped her left arm.
“I’m going to die,” she squeaked.
“No, sweetheart.” I touched her cheek. “You’re going to be fine. The doctors have probably already found a cure, but they’re not releasing the information to the general public.”
“Don’t try to make me feel better, Rue.” She began to rock. “I know I’m going to die. Everyone is saying it, that the people who get the fever all die.”
“That’s just busybodies who don’t know the truth.”
She stared into my face as if to judge whether she could spot the lie. I could have told her it was useless. A vampire had the ultimate poker face.
Georgia snatched another tissue and crumped it in her fist. “Change me, Rue. Make me into a vampire. I never wanted to be one because you can’t glamour yourself, but if it means I don’t have to die, I want it. Please, do this for me, and we can be sisters forever.”
Oddly enough, I found myself wondering if it was possible. Could I stop the spread of the disease by making her a vampire? One didn’t want to make every Sue and Mary a member of the undead society, but this was Georgia.
“Silvano?” I said inside my head.
“Rue, you never call. You never write.”
Wow, Silvano joked? I had no idea. “I’m sorry about that. I have a question.”
Night Fever (A Rue Darrow Novel Book 3) Page 8
