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"Silver handcuffs." Cormac nodded thoughtfully. I almost growled at him.
Ben said, "I told you to stay away from her—"
"She didn't have anything to do with it. It's Leo, he's working with Flemming and Duke." Which meant Alette was in trouble. But she was several hundred years old and could easily take care of herself, right? They didn't get to be that old unless they could take care of themselves.
Leo had left the festivities in Flemming's lab in a hurry. And with backup, though why he needed backup was anyone's guess. She wouldn't be looking for danger from him.
I had to get to Alette's.
"I have a hard time believing Duke, Flemming, and some vampire minion are all in bed together," Ben said.
"Duke didn't know about Leo. Flemming's been talking to him. But Duke and Flemming, they both want government attention—just for different reasons. I think they both think they can one-up the other when the time comes. It's like they're all playing chess, but each of them only sees a third of the board—a different third."
"What does the vampire get out of this?" Cormac said.
"Contacts? Influence in the government?" Leo wasn't interested in those things, not like Alette was. He wanted pure, simple power. He wanted to play games with it.
Maybe he wanted to start his own games. "He can go over Alette's head, for control of the city. Alette's got the cops, but if Leo got the military—"
We approached D.C. proper again. Cormac was taking us to the hotel. Get some sleep, Ben had said. Not likely. I'd be climbing up the walls.
"Stop the car. Let me out here."
Cormac kept driving, like I hadn't even said anything.
"Cormac, stop the car!"
He looked at Ben for a sign.
Ben said, "If he's got military backing, there's no way you can go up against him."
"Ben!" That did come out more like a growl. I'd shifted once tonight; didn't mean it couldn't happen again. I'd never done it twice this close together. It would hurt. I pressed the heels of my hands into my eyes. I had to keep human eyes. Keep it together.
"Kitty," Ben said, looking at me over the backseat. I had to hand it to him, standing up to a werewolf like this. I didn't know if he trusted me not to shape-shift. He only sounded a little anxious. "You can't do anything about it right now. Get some sleep, wait until morning. It's much safer going against vampires in daylight, trust me."
He was telling me what to do. Bossing me around. I might as well be in a pack again.
I wasn't going to put up with that.
We were at the hotel. Cormac slowed down to turn into the parking garage. I scooted closer to the door. Then, I pulled the handle, popped open the door, and rolled out. The car was still moving, jerking me over the pavement. I had to stumble to keep my feet, but I managed to stay standing. I launched into a run.
The tires screeched as Cormac braked, but I didn't look back. I didn't look to see if they followed me.
I must have run for three blocks before I got my bearings. By then, I was thinking I shouldn't have done it. They were only trying to help. Looking out for me, like friends should, no strings attached. Except I was paying Ben.
But what would I have done if they hadn't come to pick me up? Waited until morning and taken the Metro? Gone back for a ride from Flemming?
I had a couple of miles to get to Alette's. I could run that far, but I didn't want to go there, not right away. I put my head down, sucked in night air, and ran. A wolf on the open plains couldn't have gone much faster.
I arrived at the Crescent, pounded down the stairs and stopped at the door to catch my breath. It was closed. Hesitating, I tested it. Ahmed was true to his word. He kept the place unlocked, even on a full moon night. There probably wasn't anyone around, but I had to check.
No lights were on, but my eyesight worked fine in the dark. I saw the bar, moved quietly around tables, didn't see anyone. Let my nose work, taking in scents. The place wasn't empty. Someone was here. Something was here.
I continued on, and movement caught my eye. Past the front of the bar, where cushions on the floor replaced tables and chairs, a gliding shape drifted forward. Sleek, feline, huge. My heart pounded hard for a moment. I'd never seen a cat that big without a nice set of solid bars between us.
His face was stout, angular, more intimidating than any house cat's. His fur was tawny, and circular black smudges covered his coat.
He sat in front of me, blocking my progress, and for a disconcerting moment he did look like a house cat, straight and poised, his slim tail giving a nonchalant flick.
"Luis." I fell on my knees. It smelled like him, even now. More fur than skin this time, but it was him.
He licked my cheek, his rough jaguar's tongue scratching painfully. Laughing weakly, I hugged him. His fur was soft and warm. I buried my face in the scruff of his neck. He remained patiently still.
"He waited for you."
Ahmed appeared at the back of the club, tying closed a dressing gown over bare legs and bare chest. His hair was wild. He must have just woken up. He must have waited, too. I wondered if the two of them had gone ru
"You didn't have to do that," I said to the jaguar. "Either of you."
Luis stood and rubbed the length of his body against me before flopping down on the floor and licking his paws, then using them to wash his face.
Ahmed shrugged. "He was worried. I said you could take care of yourself. Then, it seemed that you couldn't. By then it was too late to do anything."
"I was shanghaied."
"So it seems." He sat next to me, lowering himself, propping himself with his hand, as if he were an old man with creaking bones. I didn't hear any bones creak.
"Ahmed, I need help."
"What do you need? I can give you a safe place to stay, to hide you."
I shook my head. "Not for me. For Alette. Leo's the one who shanghaied me, and I think she's in trouble."
He frowned. His whole expression darkened, eyes narrowing, like how a dog looks when it growls. But I couldn't back down. Couldn't flinch.
"You don't owe her anything," he said. "She offered you hospitality, then failed to protect you."
A technicality. He harkened back to the old traditional ideals of hospitality, where people had to offer shelter to travelers who would otherwise fall prey to robbers or wolves on the wild, ungoverned roads. There was something else going on here. The wolves were the ones I was asking for help.
The jaguar had fallen asleep, his lean ribs rising and falling deeply and regularly. He'd curled up beside me, his back pressed to my legs, where I sat.
I said, "If something happens to Alette, Leo will be in charge of the city's vampires. Do you want that?"
"And what if Leo was acting on her orders?"
"I don't believe that."
"You are too trusting."
"Alette's been… kind to me."
"And I have not?"
"It's not that. But someone has to help her."
"Please take my warning as a friend, as an elder: don't involve yourself with them. It's not your concern."
He sounded so somber, so serious, using the tone of voice a favorite high school teacher might, when he put his hand on your shoulder and urged you to think twice before hanging out with "that crowd." Almost but not quite patronizing. Utterly convinced that I couldn't take care of myself.
Not that I had a real excellent track record in taking care of myself. But I couldn't ignore my instincts.
If I hadn't been watching him, absently stroking the fur across his ribs, I wouldn't have noticed Luis begin to shift back to human. It happened slowly, gradually, the way ice melts. His limbs stretched, his torso thickened, his fur thi