Black And Blue (Quentin Black Mystery #5) (43 page)

Even as he thought it, Dr. Nguyen raised her voice, speaking sharply above the sound of Puzzle’s wails and the guards’ commands.

“Stop fighting the drugs and do as David says, Puzzle,” she said sternly. “You don’t want to force them to give you another shot, do you?”

“But he’s mine! You
can’t
take him!” Puzzle was in tears, hissing and growling each exhaled breath as he panted. Black winced at the pure despair in the vampire’s voice. “You can’t! Please!
Please
don’t take him! I’ll do anything...”

“Puzzle.” The doctor folded her arms tighter, making her voice even more stern. “You must have known this was coming. I was crystal clear that if you or any of the others abused one of your companions, you would lose that companion.” Her voice grew almost motherly. “Puzzle, this is ridiculous. You will get a new companion in a few days... if you behave yourself with that one, we’ll let you keep it longer.”

“No! I don’t
want
a new companion! You can’t take him!
Please!”
Tears running down his face, he lunged at the nearest guard, who hit him with the long-handled prod, forcing him back. Puzzle burst out in a sob, darting sideways again, in an attempt to get around them.

Black flinched in spite of himself. When he realized Puzzle was trying to get to him, he raised his cuffed arms in a vaguely protective gesture, more instinct than reason. Next to him, the guard holding him clenched his jaw in anger.

“Fucking bloodsuckers,” he muttered.

“He’s mine! You have to give him back to me! You have to!”

“No.” Dr. Nguyen shook her head. “We don’t. We’ve been over this, Puzzle. You drank too much of him. You can’t have this one again.”

“It was an
accident!”
Puzzle screeched. “I won’t do it again! I promise I won’t! I promise, I promise, I
promise
I won’t! I’ll be extra careful with him!”

Black winced, exchanging grimaces with the guard in spite of himself.

Dr. Nguyen only sighed. Looking at the two guards holding Black, she jerked her chin towards the door, frowning in obvious annoyance.

“Well?” she said coldly. “You said they have the authorization. What are you waiting for? Get him cleaned up and take him upstairs. Now.”

Black didn’t let out his held breath until the guards already had him through the door.

He heard Puzzle screaming from that room the whole time the guards watched him in the bathroom, and then while they un-cuffed him long enough to change out of the bloody clothes he still wore and into a clean pair of the baggy prison pants, along with a new tank top and blue jersey. They even gave him a clean pair of boxers.

He left the clothes he’d been wearing on the floor of the bathroom.

When one of the guards asked him what to do with them, Black gave him a flat stare.

“Burn the fucking things,” he said.

A wince of sympathy went over the guard’s face, but he only nodded.

Black still heard Puzzle’s screams muffled by the walls until the elevator doors closed on the lab and he and the guards began to ascend up through the building.

Before they’d reached the top floor, they’d put another cloth bag over his head.

They were a hell of a lot nicer about it that time, though.

“Sorry,” the guard muttered, the same one who’d chewed out Nguyen. “Procedure.”

Black didn’t reply.

Even low on blood, his heart was pounding harder already.

Now to find out if Brick would keep his promise.

Twenty-Two

KILL THEM ALL

“ARE YOU SURE it’s happening
today
, though, Miri?” Nick looked at me, his eyes openly worried. “You’re just going to fly all the way across the country, waiting for a phone call from one of these fucking things? How do you know it’s not another trap? Or that he’s not just bullshitting you, trying to stall you from doing anything to hurt them?”

Despite his sharp tone, Nick sounded nervous.

Nervous of me. Nervous of this plan. Nervous about a lot of things.

I couldn’t really blame him. I hadn’t exactly been a pillar of sanity for the past few weeks, this last one, especially. But I’d just gotten off the phone with the same person Nick was asking me about, so I didn’t have to hesitate with an answer.

“No,” I said blunt. “I’m not sure. And no, I don’t trust him. At all. But he seems motivated, and I definitely got the sense he had his own reasons for that. He assured me it would be today... with caveats, of course.” I looked between Nick and Angel, my hands clenched in my lap. “A lot of things could go wrong. But he assured me it would be today. He said he would send coordinates to pick him up as soon as they’re clear, assuming all goes well.” I smiled humorlessly. “He tells me that Black has a contract with him, and that he cannot negotiate that contract with me... only its aftermath.”

“And you’re okay with that Miri?” Nick said, his voice gruff. “Because it sounds insane. The whole idea of negotiating with these... things... just sounds fucking
insane
to me.”

When I didn’t speak, Nick subdued his voice even more.

“What did the Colonel say? Is he on board with this?”

I paused, thinking about Nick’s words, his endless-seeming string of questions. I stared down at the plate of eggs and avocado I’d ordered and still hadn’t touched, and fought to control my mind, to think rationally about this.

From the outside, I’m sure the three of us sitting there looked odd, and totally out of place.

Nick wore a rumpled suit he looked like he’d slept in. Angel was in her running tights and a tank top, and looked like she felt vaguely sick. I wore a loose green skirt over my bathing suit and a black tank top over that. I’d gotten up early to swim laps, more out of nervous energy than any desire to swim. I might have appeared beach-y if not for the complete absence of a tan and the fact that I probably looked worse than either Angel or Nick since I couldn’t keep down food and had barely slept over the last however-many days.

Yet the three of us sat under a bright red umbrella on the tranquil patio of me and Black’s five star hotel in Santa Monica. The same patio where movie stars supposedly liked to hang out and eat and drink expensive champagne.

I couldn’t really focus on anyone around us though.

Finally, I sighed, giving Nick a tired look.

“What was your question? Which question should I answer, Nick? Do I trust him? No. I don’t trust him. But he seems to understand there will be consequences if I don’t see Black alive today.”

“What kinds of consequences?” Nick said.

“The kind where Uncle Charles and me hunt him down and bleed him until he tells us where Black is. The kind where I start working with the Colonel to authorize a government program to start taking these things out... as well as working on finding allies from human governments around the world to help the United States Military exterminate them.”

Nick winced, then looked at me with worry in his eyes. “Jesus, Miri.”

“I told him what would happen if Black wasn’t there today... or if I didn’t hear from him. I don’t want to do it, Nick. But yes, it’s come to that.”

“Do you really think this guy is afraid of you? Or even of Charles?” Nick’s voice sounded strained. “Miri, I understand about Black. I really do. I’m just saying––”

“I know what you’re saying.” I met his gaze, forcing myself to take a breath, to calm down. “I know, Nick. I’m sorry, but I don’t see a lot of options right now.”

“Why not hit more of his assets? These guys are rich, right? Doesn’t that hurt them?” Nick continued to watch me, that worried look on his face. “Maybe you hit the wrong holdings before, Miri. Are you tracing everything back to who owns what? Maybe the stuff you hit belonged to Konstantin, and not this guy, Brick. Most people respond if you clean out their bank accounts...”

Angel didn’t speak, but when I looked at her, she still looked like she felt sick. I felt whispers of anger on her too, and worry about me. And grief about Black.

She thought Black was dead.

She was like ninety percent sure in her mind that he had to be by now.

Forcing the thought away from me, I bit my lip, staring down at my eggs. “I have people for that now, Nick,” I said, as calmly as I could. “The holdings are Brick’s. Trust me. If you’d talked to him, you’d understand. He’s feeling... motivated. But the exposure threat is what got him to start making promises.” I met Nick’s gaze. “I think he finally realized I’m willing to sacrifice seer’s anonymity to come after his race.”

Yes, I’d told Angel and Nick about the vampires.

I felt like I had to. Not only were they the only two people left in the world I completely trusted apart from Black, I needed them to understand what was at stake.

I needed them to be safe, too.

If they were in my life, they were in danger of these things. Just like Black had been. Just like my parents and Zoe had been. Maybe all seers shared that danger, but something about me, something about my mixed race parents, made that danger worse. Some part of me had known it. I’d known whatever went after my family and me might eventually go after Black.

I’d known, but I’d had no way to warn him.

That time, it was Angel who broke the silence.

“Is Black even alive, Miri?” she said, her voice gentle. I heard the grief in her words, and fought not to let it in. “Did this... Mr. Brick... say anything about how he was? Did he let you talk to Black? Show you any pictures? Anything that was proof of life?”

I met her gaze, forced myself to hold it, to soften my voice.

“He’s still alive, Angel,” I said.

Nick exhaled, shaking his head as he stared down at his own plate, which had a half-eaten order of
huevos rancheros
on it, smothered in green chili.

“Where is it you have to go?” he said finally, his voice empty.

That question was a lot easier to answer.

“Louisiana,” I said. “He told me to fly into New Orleans and wait there. He’ll call me with the coordinates once they’re clear.”

“And if he doesn’t call?” Angel said, pursing her lips. “What happens then, Miri? Are you really going to go after a whole race of people? You don’t even know what kinds of numbers he commands. Didn’t your uncle say there are a lot more of them than there are of...”
 

Letting her words trail off, she looked around, lowering her voice.

“...You know,” she murmured. “People like you?”

I returned her earnest stare, feeling that heat flare back into my chest.

“If he doesn’t call,” I said coldly. “Or if he tries to kidnap me... or if Black is dead, or if Brick reneges on our deal in any way... then every seer on this planet is going to start murdering vampires, Angel. Not just Brick’s people... or Konstantin’s. All of them. We may be fewer, but we have some advantages over their race you might not be aware of... advantages my uncle has assured me he’s been cultivating for some time. He’s trained an army for this day. Most of what he’s been doing over the past twenty years has been in preparation for it...”

Nick and Angel stared at me, silent, their faces holding twin expressions of disbelief.

Leaning back in my chair, I folded my arms.
 

I started to say more, then didn’t.

After the barest pause, Angel only nodded, taking a sip of her champagne as she watched me with worried eyes. Exchanging nervous glances with Nick, she looked out at the pool next, and I felt her worrying that I’d actually cracked, that losing Black had done something to my mind.