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There had to be a way to do this with brains instead of brawn. I hadn't gotten this far on my less-than-brute strength.
I looked at Shaun—then tried to look into him. Looked at him like I could see everything: his mind, his soul, his fears. A wolfs stare. "If I need you. If I call on you—will you come? When I put together a plan, will you stand with me?"
His indecision was plain. He shuffled his feet, looked skyward, and winced, squinting into the streetlight. Didn't want to answer. Didn't look at me. I didn't want to push him—I was asking a lot of him: to break ranks, to possibly put his life on the line. But I didn't have time to wait.
"Shaun?" I spoke with an edge. I had to mean it. I had to sound like I knew what I was doing.
He took a deep breath, then he looked at me. "If it's a good plan," he said. "Yes."
I felt a little bit stronger.
"Thank you," I said. "I'll let you know when."
I walked away without looking back. Turning my back on him was a sign of trust, and a sign of power. Wolf's sign.
Now, about that plan…
As Ben and I drove to meet Rick, Hardin called back. I hadn't expected her to have anything so soon. She quickly dashed my hopes for progress.
"Cook checked out of the Brown Palace on Monday," she said. "By all accounts, she's left town."
On the one hand, I was relieved. She wouldn't be around to mess things up anymore. On the other hand, we couldn't learn anything more from her.
Hardin continued. "Fu
"She could be anywhere, then."
"I've got someone going over the hotel's security tapes from the last week. Maybe we can track down a few of her associates. See if anything links her to the warehouse or this Master vampire of yours."
It seemed like little enough to go on, but I wasn't going to complain. "Thanks, Detective."
"Something I can't figure out," she said. I braced for a difficult question until I realized a laugh hid behind her voice. "Am I doing you a favor with all this or are you doing me one?"
"Maybe we'll just call this one a wash," I said. She clicked off.
Rick had picked what must have been the seediest dive available on East Colfax. When I told Ben the address, he'd done a double take.
"You are not going there," he said.
"How do you even know about this place?"
"If I told you how many assault cases come out of that bar, you'd faint."
"And how many of those have you defended?"
"Enough to know we have no business being there." Ben might have been a few steps up the moral and social ladder from Cormac, but that still left him a few steps down from normal. Many steps down from normal.
"Rick’ll look after us."
"Like he looked after the rest of his people?"
"You don't have to come if you feel that way."
"You're not going there alone."
His vehemence gave me a warm feeling, even in the midst of the argument. He likes me… We hadn't stopped the catty back-and-forth for days, it seemed like. We were learning each other's sore spots, and we were both the kind of people who would pry at those spots. I didn't know how to stop.
The place was in an old brick storefront, and it didn't have a sign. If you didn't know it was here, you didn't belong. That kind of place. I felt like I'd stepped into a gangster movie, and that didn't comfort me at all. Bars covered the windows. The entrance even had a set of bars on a storm door. A weedy lot next door served as a parking lot, which was full of a mix of old model beaters and shiny new pickups. A few Harleys occupied the sidewalk in front. No sign of Rick's BMW. But Rick was too smart to bring that car. Or maybe it had already been stolen.
This wasn't a setting I'd ever imagine finding Rick in. This wasn't the kind of place I'd expect to find any vampire in. They tended to prefer sophisticated, elegant. They didn't spend centuries practicing their charm and accumulating their power so they could hang out in places like this.
Ben insisted on entering first, pulling me in behind him while he sca
A loud TV over the bar to the left showed a baseball game. Rickety tables and chairs filled the rest of the tiny space. The floor was concrete. Most of the tables were occupied, and a crowd lined the bar, chatting, laughing, and watching the game. A group sat in a corner, watching the TV and sharing a couple pitchers of beer. Another group was playing darts in the back. The bartender was stealing a glance at the game while he wiped down the counter. Maybe this place wasn't so bad, even if it did seem like rock-bottom. Even gangsters needed to chill out sometimes.
One of the hunched figures at the bar was Rick, transformed. The Rick I knew wouldn't have fit in here. He'd have gotten hostile, sideways looks from everybody here, and he probably would have been mugged on his way out. But Rick was smart, and he knew this.
This Rick hadn't washed his hair in a couple of days, and it hung limp and slightly greasy. He wore a worn-out fla
If I hadn't scented the undead chill of vampire, I'd never have spotted him.
I approached, and Ben followed a step behind—taking my back. He was close enough for me to elbow his ribs the minute he said something snide. Rick glanced over his shoulder as I reached him.
"See," he said, "I knew if you met me here, you'd be serious."
"You're a bastard for bringing her here," Ben said.
Rick quirked a smile at me. "I think he likes you."
This was impossible. They were impossible. "Are we going to talk or just bitch at each other?"
"There's a table." Rick nodded and made to get up.
"Ah, since you're not going to be using that, I'll take it." I took charge of his beer. Rick didn't argue, and Ben rolled his eyes.
The table was already occupied by a tall blond man, burly and scowling. Both his skin and his hair looked sunbaked. He leaned back against the wall and had a view of the whole place. Rick was standing next to him before he looked up and smiled. It was a hard-edged, cold smile. I didn't think he could smile any other way.
"I think you've met Dack," Rick said.
He did, in fact, have the same scent as the creature in the warehouse. I could almost see the spindly, big-eared dog-thing behind his eyes. Both his incarnations had a watchful air.
"Hi," I said, trying not to sound nervous. "Nice to see, ah, the rest of you."
He smirked. "’Ullo." Even in the single word, an unidentifiable accent came through.
"You want to keep an eye out?" Rick said, taking his own seat.
"Can do." Dack pushed off from the wall and stood, his movements slow and deliberate. Like he had a powerful body and used it sparingly. Without another word he picked up his beer and moved to take Rick's seat at the bar. He was also dressed in denim and fla
Rick gestured for me and Ben to join him.
"Can you trust him?" I asked Rick. The lycanthrope seemed to be watching the game, unconcerned. I wondered if he could hear us from here.