Undaunted

by HELEN HARDT

  River burst out in laughter, which irked me.

  “What’s so damned funny?” I stood with my hands on my hips, indignant.

  “It’s brilliant. Jay and I were so pissed off, we didn’t see what was right in front of our eyes.”

  “That’s my little sis.” Jay whomped me on the back, nearly knocking me off my feet.

  “One small issue, though,” Dante said. “Bill won’t back down. He’s freaked out, and he’s going to do everything he can to get us to stop pursuing this.”

  “Then we’ll have to stop him from stopping us,” River said. “And you’re the only one who can do that, Dante.”

  “Not right now I can’t,” he said. “I can’t just will myself to act on instinct.”

  “Get mad enough, and you’ll be able to do it.”

  “I am mad. But that’s clearly not enough, or I’d be doing it right now.”

  “Anger’s not the only trigger,” I said. “When I was having trouble getting my leave at work, you did it. You weren’t angry then, were you?”

  “No. I just knew you needed that leave, so I made it happen.”

  “So maybe anger doesn’t trigger it. Maybe need does.”

  “That’s true,” River said. “You needed Uncle Jules’s money to research the Texts. Bill’s contest of the will was in the way. You eliminated it by doing…well, whatever it is you apparently can do.”

  “This is still so much to deal with.” Jay sat down with a plunk. “I’ll take one of those bourbons, Sis, if you don’t mind.”

  “Me too,” River said.

  I filled two more glasses and brought them out.

  “Thanks.” Jay took a long drink. “Good thing we’re not working tonight.”

  “Ditto, partner.” River took an even longer drink and then let out a sigh. “At least one good thing happened today. I’ve been so pissed at Bill that I haven’t ruminated on Lucy’s disappearance. But now I feel guilty.”

  “We’ll find her, partner,” Jay said. “We’ll find all of them.”

  “Except we no longer have the resources of the department,” River said.

  “The department hasn’t found jack shit on those cases,” Jay said. “Who needs them?”

  Dante was eerily quiet.

  “Babe?” I said.

  His eyes were glassy.

  “No. Is she with you?”

  He shook his head. “But something is. That darkness. I felt it the first time I came here. Something is here. Can’t any of you guys feel it?”

  I felt creepy crawlies on my neck, but those were from Dante’s words. At least I thought they were, since I hadn’t felt them before. “Maybe we should go out to dinner.”

  “No.” Dante shook his head vehemently. “We won’t be chased out of our own home. Not by whatever the hell this is. Come and get me, you piece of shit! You want to target me? Come take what you want.”

  I laughed nervously. “I was trying to get out of cooking.”

  “Seriously? None of you feel that?”

  “What exactly are you feeling?” River asked.

  “I’m not sure I can describe it. Just a feeling of unease. Like the beginnings of evil. Something dark. This is the third time I’ve felt it here, I think. Maybe the fourth.”

  “Do you always feel it here?” I asked. “That’s freaky.”

  “No. I felt it that night in the restaurant, when we left quickly. That night my dad was there to warn me.”

  “If it was really here, wouldn’t he be warning you now?” I said.

  “Maybe.” He sighed. “Maybe it’s just the mental exhaustion. He really worked me out today.”

  “You know what?” River said. “I like Erin’s idea. Let’s go out to dinner. We can hit the Quarter, have a few hurricanes. God knows we deserve a night out. We can talk strategy. We need a plan.”

  “Yeah, we do,” I said. “I tried to talk to Cynthia North today, but she bailed, and she’s our only lead.”

  “What about the other woman from the free clinic?” Jay asked.

  “Bella Lundy?” I said. “We could try. You guys will need to track her down.”

  “Again, we need the department’s resources.” River held up his hand. “Don’t say it.”

  “How else can we get the information?” Jay asked.

  River huffed. “Fine. I’ll get the address. I hate doing it this way, but it’s for Lucy.” His eyes softened. “I’ll do anything for Lucy. God, I hope she’s okay.”

  Fear laced with sadness welled in me. I could use my best friend right about now. She was alive. We had to hold on to that. She was alive. If Cynthia, Bella, and Logan had all been returned, whoever was taking people didn’t have an interest in killing them.

  I pasted on a smile. Someone had to try to lighten us up, or we’d get nothing done. “I’d die for a Pimm’s Cup. Let’s go to Napoleon House. For one evening, maybe we can let loose. We all need it.”

  “But Lucy…” River shook his head.

  “I know. She’s my best friend. But we’ve got to eat.”

  “We can’t leave, not until—” Dante stopped abruptly.

  “What is it?” I asked.

  “The thing. The darkness. It’s gone.”

  “Just like that?”

  “I know. I can’t believe it either. But it’s gone.” He shrugged. “Still more I don’t understand. We might as well go out. Baby, if you want a Pimm’s Cup, you’ll have a Pimm’s Cup.”

  Napoleon House was crowded, but we managed to get a small table for four. Dante and I ordered Pimm’s Cups—a crisp cocktail of gin liqueur, lemonade, and cucumber—while River and Jay opted to continue with the bourbon.

  “What about the hurricanes?” I asked.

  “Nah, too sweet,” River said. “I was kidding.”

  The server came, and we ordered our sandwiches and another round of drinks.

  “All right,” River began. “We need a plan. Let’s—”

  “The four of you are difficult to find.”

  I jerked in my chair. Dante’s grandfather had appeared at our table.

  “What do you want?” Dante growled.

  “Easy, son. I’m not here to fight with you.”

  Silence for a few seconds that seemed like an eternity.

  I couldn’t take it any longer. “This is my brother, Jay,” I said. “This is Bill, Dante and River’s grandfather.”

  “I know who you are,” Bill said, holding out his hand.

  Jay shook it, but I wondered for a moment whether he would. Things seemed to be going in slow motion.

  “Let us eat in peace, please,” River said.

  “May I join you?”

  “Are you kidding?” Dante stood.

  “You’re younger, bigger, and apparently stronger than I am, Dante,” Bill said. “But I’m a hell of a lot more stubborn than you are.”

  “We’ll see about that,” Dante said.

  Bill didn’t wait for an affirmative response. He pulled a chair from the corner and sat down at our table. “Have you ordered yet?”

  “Are you really going to sit here and act like everything’s fine?” River said. “You just got Jay and me kicked off the force.”

  “I simply got your leaves of absence revoked. No one kicked you off the force.”

  I opened my mouth but then shut it quickly.

  “Something to say, Erin?” Bill asked.

  I was going to comment that it didn’t matter, that Dante would get them their jobs back when this was all over, but then thought better of it. Bill wasn’t stupid. He probably knew that would be the plan.

  “No.” I took a sip of my sweet gin drink.

  “What are you all having?” Bill signaled to our server. “I think I’m going to have the grilled alligator sausage po’ boy.”

  I downed the rest of my drink. The server was on his way. He distributed our second round of drinks and took Bill’s order.

  I nearly downed my second Pimm’s Cup in one draught.

  Could this g
et any more awkward?

  I glanced to the doorway.

  Oh, yes.

  It could.

  Chapter Five

  Dante

  I gripped the tall glass holding my drink, my knuckles white.

  “Easy,” River said. “Remember what happened the last time you did that.”

  I flashed back to the night Erin and I had danced. Before she’d shown up, I’d crushed a lead crystal glass with my bare hands.

  I set the drink down on the table with a clomp.

  Erin cleared her throat loudly and gestured toward the doorway. I twisted my neck.

  Shit.

  Abe Lincoln headed toward us. In what appeared to be new jeans and a plaid shirt. He stopped at our table. “Erin. I knew you’d be here.”

  “Exactly how did you know? We didn’t decide to go to dinner until the last minute.”

  “Bea told me.”

  “You know this young man, Erin?” Bill said.

  “This is Abe Lincoln,” she said.

  “Indeed?” Bill cocked his head. “Like the president?”

  “Yeah. He’s a former patient of mine.”

  For a minute, I thought Erin was going to do formal introductions, but thankfully she chose a more direct approach.

  “What do you want, Abe?”

  He looked around, his gaze shifting nervously. “Can we speak alone?”

  “You can speak right here to her or not at all.” I squeezed my glass once more.

  “Easy,” River whispered so only I could hear.

  Well, Bill probably heard.

  Shit. Bill. Whatever Abe had to say, Bill didn’t need to know. I didn’t want him anywhere near our situation, especially considering how determined he was to stop us.

  “I changed my mind,” I said, standing. “Erin and I will talk to you. Outside.”

  “You do know I can find out whatever you speak to him about,” Bill said.

  “Can you?” I snarled.

  “Of course. I’ll just glam—”

  My fangs tore through my gums at rapid speed, and I welcomed the pain. “Try it. Just try it. I fucking dare you.”

  “You’re being childish, Dante.” Bill took a sip of water.

  “We will find what we seek, Bill. Not you—not anyone—will stop us.” I grabbed Erin’s hand as she stood. “Come on.” I led her briskly through the dining room and out the front door.

  Abe followed us.

  “What is it, Abe?” I said.

  “The vampires. They’re plenty pissed off at you. Both of you.”

  “Do I look like I care?” I showed my teeth.

  “Dante”—Erin caressed my arm—“he’s a friend, remember?”

  “Is he? I’m not so sure. He’s been hanging with those thugs for God knows how long.”

  “They give me hot meals, man. That’s gold for people like me.”

  “You could just get a fucking jo—”

  “Dante”—Erin patted my arm—“we don’t know his circumstances. It’s not that easy.”

  I drew in a breath and counted to ten. Then, “What do you want, Abe? Or is it Rover?”

  “Abe. Red Rover was Bea’s nickname.”

  “Then how come you responded to it that day in the Quarter?”

  “Because everyone calls me that now. No one even remembers my real name. It’s annoying, but what can I do?”

  “You can tell them to stop if you don’t like it,” Erin said.

  I didn’t wait for him to respond to Erin. “What the hell do you want? What are they angry about?”

  “You broke Decker’s and Giles’s noses.”

  “They’re lucky that’s all I did,” I growled, my teeth descending.

  “It’s affecting their sense of smell.”

  “And again…so?”

  “They’re pissed. They want blood.”

  “Don’t they get enough of yours?”

  “You know what he means, Dante,” Erin said soothingly.

  “They’ve lost Erin’s scent, and they can’t pick up her brother’s.”

  “Their noses will heal,” Erin said.

  “That’s not the big problem,” Abe said. “The other two can’t pick up your scent either.”

  Good. The basil potion was working. For now, at least.

  “And again…so? That’s a good thing. You’ve already tried to protect Erin. You don’t want them to have her.”

  “No, I don’t. But if they can’t have her, they’re going to come after you.”

  I broke into a heaving guffaw. “Tell them to bring it on, then.”

  “Dante,” Erin said. “No. You can’t take on all four of them.”

  “Want to bet on that, baby?”

  “You’re angry right now. Insanely protective of me. But think about it. Seriously.”

  I didn’t have to think about it. My hands curled into fists of their own volition, and my fangs sharpened. The pit of my stomach gave birth to red rage, and it radiated through me.

  Those vamps were history.

  An electric bolt jarred me back to normal.

  The darkness.

  It was here.

  I grabbed Erin’s hand. “We need to leave.”

  “What is it?”

  “Let’s go. We need to get out of here now.”

  “But—”

  “Now!” I pulled her down the street, nearly tripping over a guitar case filled with coins.

  “Dante? What’s going on?”

  I pulled her behind a shop and into the back alleyway.

  To my astonishment, Abe had followed us.

  “I felt it,” he said.

  I widened my eyes. “You did?”

  “Yeah. You were getting really mad, and it was like a…a…shadow or something hovering over us.”

  Yes. Exactly. But how could he feel it, when no one else but I had— No. Not true. Bea had felt it. My father had felt it.

  But Erin and River had not.

  “It’s the bad ghost,” he said.

  “What do you mean, the ‘bad ghost’?”

  “Remember that day in Café Amelie, when I left quickly? I told you it was a bad ghost who told me to leave. This was the same feeling.”

  “This isn’t a ghost. If it were, my father would know about it. He’d be able to see it.”

  “Oh?”

  “It’s a long story, Abe,” Erin said, smoothing her jeans. “I didn’t feel anything.”

  “Did you see this ghost?”

  “Of course not. You can’t see ghosts,” Abe said.

  “Then how do you know it was a ghost?”

  “I just know.”

  I rolled my eyes. “It’s not a ghost, then. But you definitely felt it. I didn’t feel it that day at Café Amelie. Are you sure it’s the same thing?”

  “It sure felt the same.”

  “At Café Amelie,” Erin said, “you told us that the ghost told you to leave.”

  “Yeah. But not in actual words. I just knew I had to get out of there.”

  “We’re arguing over semantics,” Erin said to me. “If you felt the darkness, and he did too, you were probably feeling the same thing.”

  Abe darted his gaze around erratically. “I need to go. I just wanted to let you know that the vampires are angry. Really angry.”

  “You tell them that I’m really angry. How’s that?”

  “Dante, please.” Erin tugged on my arm.

  “We need to find answers, Erin. We can’t let four rogue vampire thugs scare us. River and I are pretty formidable ourselves. Plus we have my dad.”

  She nodded, swallowing. “Abe, please stay away from them. If it’s a hot meal you want, I’ll buy you one each day.”

  “No. I can’t take something for nothing, at least not from you. I owe you a lot.”

  An idea popped into my head. “How about this, then? We give you money for three meals a day, and you do something for us in return.”

  “What’s that?” he asked.

  “Spy for us. F
ind out where these vamps live. Who they work for. Why they stole my father’s body.”

  His eyes turned into circles. “What?”

  “Dante, he doesn’t know—”

  “Just anything,” I continued. “Anything you can find out about them will help us.” I pulled my wallet out of my back pocket and extracted three twenties courtesy of a cash advance on my credit card. “This will feed you for a day or two. Find out what you can.”

  Abe took the money. “I’ll do it,” he said. “For Erin.” In a flash he was gone.

  “How do you plan to get money to him?” Erin asked.

  “We’ll find him at night.” I smiled. “Exactly when the vamps find him.”

  Chapter Six

  Erin

  “Where the hell have you two been?” Bill demanded when we rejoined the others at Napoleon House.

  Our meals sat undisturbed at our places. The others were eating slowly, tension filling the air.

  “None of your damned business.” Dante took a huge bite of his sandwich.

  “Abe just wanted me to know he was okay,” I said. “He was in the ER a while back and needed a transfusion. He left before I could check in on him.”

  “Nice try, Erin,” Bill said. “You’re a lousy liar.”

  “Don’t call her a liar,” Dante said, his mouth full of muffuletta.

  I cleared my throat and looked to my brother. “What did we miss here?”

  “Not much,” he said. “Just a new level of me being uncomfortable.”

  I let out a nervous laugh. “I’ll bet.”

  “Bill has been trying to talk us out of going after the translation,” River said. “I told him we’d think about it.”

  “Think about it? Are you insane?” Dante threw his sandwich on his plate.

  “Yeah. Think about it. Right now our priority has to be Lucy and the others. Right?”

  “That’s right,” I said, pleading to Dante with my eyes not to push it. He was on edge. I could tell. Tension radiated from him in waves.

  “I’m just as interested as the rest of you are in getting the missing women returned,” Bill said.

  “Thanks, but we’re good,” Dante said.

  “Maybe he can help, cuz,” River said.

  “How?”