“Hey? Hey, you? What happened to that new girl you were talking about?”
She stares at me, wide-eyed. “Meryn? She never showed up. All excited and pleased to have a job, then a no-show on the first day.”
“And your supervisor?”
“Who knows? He should be here now, but no one’s heard from him. Probably got distracted on the way. Or mugged. I keep telling him to take a cab, especially with all those disappearances cracking off near his house. Even vam—”
I don’t hear the rest.
I’m back at the table, waving my hands at Rayne. “Hey, tell me something.”
“They’re all owned by Vixen.” She cuts across me and holds out the phone.
Numbers. Names. Addresses.
“Huh?”
“It took some digging, and the relationships are well hidden, but all three businesses are owned in whole or part by Amelia Smythe. She’s involved with much more—property development, research, private security, entertainment, even the Clear Blood Foundation. I think she’s on the board.”
“But how? She’s one person.”
Rayne lays the phone on the table. “Vampire. She’s had plenty of time to build contacts and make money. Some of these businesses were established in the 1870s.”
“What the hell is she planning with all this?”
“I don’t know, and it’s still not proof. Vixen, or Amelia Smythe, is using her businesses to donate money to Jack’s bid for mayor. That doesn’t make her a kidnapping criminal.”
The word kidnap reminds me of my urgent flurry back to the table. “Tell me, when she took you, changed you, I mean, did she know you were a police officer?”
Rayne stiffens. “Why do you ask?”
“Humour me.”
“I…” She toys with a tall metal sugar caddy. “Yes, she knew.”
“And? Did she seem interested? Did she ask about what you did or who you worked for?”
“Not really. There wasn’t much time for that.”
She doesn’t look at me. No, she’s actively looking away, staring out the window.
“Rayne…?”
“I didn’t know. Please believe me. I didn’t.”
I raise my hands. “No idea what you’re talking about.”
“We met while I was on duty at a charity event. They wanted extra security because some TV star came to give a speech. I was on the doors. She smiled when she went in and…well, you’ve met her. You know about Vixen’s smile.”
I don’t want to hear this story. The lowered voice, the hesitant pace, I know what she’s about to say. I know, and it brings a lead weight to the pit of my stomach.
“She found me when my shift ended and invited me to her hotel. We didn’t talk much, but she was impressed when I told her about my job. She took me to her room and—”
The lid of the sugar caddy pops off. Sugar floods across the table.
“Rayne…”
“It didn’t even hurt. I didn’t know what she was doing until it was too late. I thought it was just a kiss. Then the sickness came, and the dizziness and the confusion. Then pain. By then it was too late.”
My eyes prickle at the corners and beneath the lids. I wipe them with the back of my hand and wait for her to finish.
“The next night I had no idea what had happened. She explained, and I didn’t want to believe, but then she brought in one of the cleaning staff and I…” The caddy dents. “I was so hungry. I couldn’t control it.” At last she looks at me. A droplet of red forms at the corner of her eye and slides down her cheek. “After that, I had no choice. There was no one else to turn to, and she became my family. It wasn’t until we came here that I started to question her talk about change and equal rights. But I didn’t know she was doing this, please believe me.”
I stand.
Misery and a weary sense of acceptance fill Rayne’s gaze until I skirt around the table and sit beside her.
“I don’t care what you did. That’s done now, it’s over. What matters now is how you act next.”
“You don’t think I’m weak and pathetic? Letting myself fall for a vampire?”
I tuck my finger beneath her chin. “Seems we have something in common.”
She smiles. That dimple in her cheeks reappears. “Guess we both have good taste.”
“I certainly do. Yours could use a little work.” I kiss her, long, slow, and tender, with all the words I long to say but can’t.
She moans. “You taste like lemon. I miss lemon. That’s amazing.”
“You’re amazing.”
A cleared throat breaks us apart.
It’s the sprite, grinning wide as they collect our spent mugs and side plates. “Did you enjoy the tea?”
“Lovely, thanks.” I drag myself away from Rayne. “Could you tell me about your supervisor?”
“Oh, dear, must I?” The sprite stops collecting and actually slips into my recently vacated seat on the other side of the table. “Now, I’m grateful for equal opportunities, you understand. All those businesses staying on the right side of the Interspecies Relations Act are wonderful for a weak and relatively powerless sprite like myself, but I truly protest the inclusion of vampires on our staff. No offence to you, my dear.” They gesture at Rayne, who shakes her head.
“They’re just so unreliable, and he is the worst of them. For the last week or so he’s been popping in and out of the shop when he should be working, meeting with dark and shifty characters at the back, and now he’s gone. Poof! I called his house, but there’s no word. I think he’s joined a gang.”
“Gang?”
“Come, come, you’re a SPEAR aren’t you?” They look at my bandaged hand, at Rayne, then back at my face. “The Underworld has been unsettled for weeks—there’s a strange power shift happening. Talk of a coup too, as if anybody would be mad enough to try something so foolish. But everyone is riled up in a way I’ve not seen since the sixties, with vampires in particular acting very strangely. Again, no offence.”
This time Rayne growls, showing off a hint of fang in the corner of her mouth. Her eyes darken, and though the silver flickers in and out, it’s enough to chase the sprite from their seat.
“Yes, yes, I’ve done it again. I knew it. I didn’t mean to offend you, truly I didn’t. But your friend asked and I had to say what I thought and—” They sigh. “My spruce always told me I should learn when to keep my mouth shut. Oh, I’m still doing it, aren’t I? I’m sorry. So, so, sorry.” They gather up the mugs and plates in record time, then carry the lot away. “I’ll be back to clear up that sugar.”
Rayne and I stare at each other.
She shakes her head. “His spruce?”
“Their spruce. Those sprites are agender. And they’re probably talking about the tree they sprouted from. Some sprites simply step out of trees one day, fully grown and speaking the language of who or whatever lives in the area. Sometimes they can’t talk at all, though this one clearly doesn’t have that issue.”
“So another vampire has probably turned to Vixen. Why does that matter?”
“The sprite talked about a coup, but against who? There aren’t any other powerful edane forces in Angbec. Fae fight amongst themselves too much, and even the werewolf packs can’t outnumber the vampires. The only species with bigger strength in numbers is us.”
Rayne bites her lip. “Humans? A coup against humans?”
“What else could it be?”
The sprite returns and sweeps away the spilled sugar. Though they apologize again, they take care to stay well away from Rayne and leave immediately.
“A move against humans needs months of planning and plenty of work during the day. There’s no way she’d be able to organize anything like that without help.” I bury my face in the crook of my elbow. “And of course, she’s been getting it.” When Rayne gives me a curious glance, I gesture to the counter. “The people going missing, it’s not just homeless people from The Bowl. Mikkleson’s PA is missing, Pippa has been short-staf
fed at Clear Blood. Even civvie bashers are missing officers.”
“But surely that’s just people not turning up for work?”
“No, they’re people with information or skills or connections. Even you, Rayne, you were an officer. Vixen probably had plans for you.”
She fiddles with her fingers. “Because Dad was a Rancher, I had skills and knowledge lots of others didn’t. I was in the middle of forming a specialist street unit focused on supernatural crime. Then Vixen found me.”
I start pulling the papers together, gathering the files into one untidy pile.
“What are you doing?”
“This is good, but it’s not enough. With Quinn on the warpath, I need more concrete evidence, so we’re going to go get it.”
“You’ve got that look in your eye again.”
“It’ll be fine.”
She frowns. “Now I’m worried. Where are we going?”
“City Hall. We have another office to search.”
Chapter Seventeen
My phone is ringing as we get back to my car. I’d rather not answer, but Rayne snags it before I can stop her.
“Danika Karson’s phone.”
“Hello? Who’s this? You’re not my Danika. Where is she? Why do you have her phone?”
Mouthing Why?, I take back the phone and press it to my ear. “It’s okay, Mum, I’m here.”
“Oh, baby, what’s going on? You haven’t called or checked in or anything.”
“I’ve been working.”
“What’s all this about Jackson being attacked?”
Rayne ducks her head. I pat her arm.
“It’s dealt with. Is that why you’re calling? Do you have any idea what time it is?”
She snorts. “Yes, do you? After all that happened last night you couldn’t give your poor mother a call? I raised you better than this, I—”
“I’ve been working. Sorry, but it got the best of me. Are you okay?”
“Yes, I’m fine, mostly I wanted to ask about you.”
For a few moments I can’t speak. “Really, Mum? Really?”
“Of course. You future is important to me. So come on, tell me about your dessert with Jackson. Did you get on? Is he as nice as he sounds on TV? Did you arrange to meet again?”
I should have known.
“Mum…”
“I knew you’d like him, from everything Pippa said. He’s such a gentleman, isn’t he? And handsome. I bet he’d take excellent care of you, and with all that money of his, you wouldn’t need to work for SPEAR any more.”
“I like working for SPEAR.”
“Phillipa will be so pleased. Even she’s ready to settle down. Has she spoken to you yet? Did she share her news?”
“Actually, no.”
Mum tuts. “Hurry up. I’m bursting to talk to you about it, but I know she wants to tell you herself. Anyway, Jackson is so skilled and intelligent. He heads the research team, and did you know he synthesized the first version of the Life Blood Serum when he was twenty-one years old?”
Rayne gives me a sympathetic look. I shake my head and wait for a gap.
“Mum—”
“And he practises judo. Isn’t that nice? It would go so nicely with your cap-area.”
“It’s called capoeira.”
“Maybe you could visit the martial arts museum together? Wouldn’t that make a lovely second date?”
“Mum—”
“He lives in Harmony Rise. You know, those new apartment blocks Phillipa was looking at. Nice, but not so great for young families. Though I suppose Jackson hasn’t had to worry about that until now. But those bear people have done a beautiful job in that area, clearing out the old dross and building up the new estate.”
“Mum, please—”
“Shopping too, they’re working in Cipla too.”
“Who? What are you talking about?”
“The bear people.”
I look helplessly at Rayne. “You’re not making sense.”
“That development company named after bear caves.” She clicks her fingers. “Sett Building—no, no, that’s badgers. Not warren either…”
“Den?” I tighten my grip on the phone. “Den Building Ltd?”
“Yes, that’s them. They’re planning to demolish all those horrid old houses and build a new shopping centre. It’s going to be great.”
I pause. “Backtrack, Mum. Which area?”
“Cipla.”
Demolish the houses?
My stomach knots. Even my intent to correct Mum is lost in the face of this new information.
They can’t. She can’t. Those houses are old. Special.
My mind drifts back to a three-floor property with shuttered windows and a scuffed red door. The garden out front is grassy with a winding path from the front gate all the way to the front door which hides behind a raised porch. In back, a swing set, sandpit, and two bikes.
I shake my head. Bite my lip.
Mum’s still babbling, something about theatre tickets and ballet.
“I need to go.”
“Of course, baby. I just wanted to see how you were. Let me know when you next see Jackson.”
“I’m not going to see him again, Mum, I…sure.”
“That’s my girl. Speak soon.”
I hang up.
Rayne stares at me. Her face is a curious mix of surprise and confusion. “She doesn’t know.”
“Of course not.” I shove the phone into my pocket and start the car. “I couldn’t tell her about the work I do. She’d never recover.”
“No, she doesn’t know you’re gay.”
My foot slips on the clutch. The car gives a reluctant whine as I restart. “Oh.”
“Danika?”
“I—”
“Are you embarrassed?”
“No.”
“You know there’s nothing wrong about it, right? Nothing bad or sinful? People love who they love, and nobody gets a choice in that. Man, woman, edane, we all want the same things.”
“I know that.”
“So why haven’t you told her?”
I grip the steering wheel. It hurts, but I welcome the pain. “I have. Time and time again, but—and I say this with love—Mum is a narrow-minded, hardcore Christian who wants her oldest baby girl to give her six squalling grandkids.”
“You can still—”
“I don’t want children.” I don’t mean to shout, but it happens anyway, an angry burst in an otherwise calm car.
“Right. Sorry.” Rayne’s voice is cold. Distant. “I didn’t mean to pry.”
“Rayne…”
“No, it’s fine. I just don’t think lying to your family is healthy.”
“I’m not lying.”
“You went on a date with Jackson.”
“You don’t understand.”
“Don’t I? Seems to me, you’d rather put yourself through discomfort and embarrassment to keep your secret. Actually you’re right, I don’t understand. Why? Why can’t you be honest?”
I slam my feet down. The car screeches to a stop, throwing us both against our seat belts.
“She knows, Rayne, of course she knows. Who do you think I am, anyway?”
“Then why is she—”
“Because this”—I sweep a hand up and down my body—“is a phase. It’s me testing the waters before fully committing.”
Rayne arches an eyebrow.
“I know, I know, it’s bullshit, but she clings to it like stink to shit.” A sigh. “Look, when Dad died, it was the three of us, Mum, Pip, and me. We couldn’t even keep our house. Maybe it’s different with a foster family, maybe you don’t get family love the way I do, but if I told Mum I’m never going to have a family the same way she did, it would break her heart. Again.”
“Family love?”
The back of my neck is prickling. Even my fingertips itch. I want to lash out, kick something, punch something. “The kind of love you only get through blood.” Bitter chuckle. “And I don’t
mean that kind of blood.”
Rayne folds her hands in her lap. She doesn’t move, but her body is tense and rigid, her mouth tight. “You think foster families can’t love each other?”
“No, I think vampires can’t love anything but themselves and the source of their next haemoglobin hit. Look at Vixen, about to demolish those beautiful houses in Cipla for a shopping centre. How can she? Visit any of them and you’ll see growth marks on the doors, names scratched into skirting boards, floors scuffed and stained. Everyone had to move when property developers bought the land, all those families shunted aside like nothing.”
A lone car scoots around us. The headlamps flare, briefly lighting the interior before it’s gone again.
“Vixen is evil and clearly out for herself, pulling strings everywhere to get what she wants. She’s dangerous, selfish, and needs to be stopped. Just like the rest of them.”
“Like me?”
“What? No.”
“I see. I’m glad I understand you better.”
Something’s wrong. Her voice, her eyes, her body, it’s not like it was a moment ago. She’s right beside me, but in that moment the space between us resembles the Grand Canyon.
I reach for her, but she turns her head, glaring at the window with a little huff.
“Fine.” Again I start the car. “Let’s go. We’ve got a lot to do before you drop dead at sunup.”
Her head whips round. She stares, open-mouthed.
I glare right back, inwardly hoping, wishing, begging her to lash out. That would be easier to deal with. I’d know what to do with that. But this soft, wounded, pitiful look is something else. I can’t fight that.
She opens the door.
Before I can speak, or even think it through, she’s unclipped her seat belt and leapt out of the vehicle. She slams the door with a thrust of her palm and strides away in the opposite direction.
Long seconds I sit there, mind split by indecision.
I open my own door, but a loud honk from a passing car forces me to close it. By the time I step onto the road, the street is empty again.
Fine. Just fine.
Back in the car. Slam the door. Pump the accelerator.
Both Ways Page 15
