Bloodlines (32 page)

Everyone always wanted to know that. Like they could avoid it. Like it was a dust storm in the desert and you could just roll up the windows and wait for it to pass. “Oh, sweetheart,” he sighed, shaking his head, looking at the table. At the map with its little markings, at the bullets and the guns. “That shit is happening right now. They’re picking off the little packs around you, see?” He jabbed his finger at the map. “Some of them killed, some taken, I think. They’re looking for you.” Jed looked up, meeting her eyes, holding them. And for once, just once, he almost didn’t see that dismissal, like he might actually be worth more than a chew toy. “They will find you. It’s just a matter of how long your luck holds out.”

Silence descended around the table. The Gray Lady was looking down, clearly lost in thought. Jed felt Redford’s hand steal into his, their fingers lacing together. Jed squeezed lightly, glancing over to catch Redford’s gaze—he looked worried, even with Knievel standing on her hind legs to bat gently at Redford’s cheek. Jed gave him a reassuring look. This was always the shitty part. Waiting for the client to realize he was right.

“Well, little human.” The Gray Lady’s voice broke the quiet. “I think you should stay with us for the time being. It seems that now is the time for closing ranks.”

“Sister,” Jed said, “now is the time for a hell of a lot more than that. You’ve got people out there
hunting
you. Right now it’s a small group. Probably some ex-cops, private security types. Good, but not great. Someone is bankrolling this, and it ain’t a cheap bill. Which means when they don’t get results, they’re going to step it up and hire guys like me. And let me tell you”—he leaned in, expression deadly serious—“you really don’t want someone like me coming after you.”

“We have been hunted before.” The Gray Lady dismissed his concerns with a wave of her hand.

“Not like this.”

“
Yes
,” she barked, eyes blazing into that inhuman yellow. “In all years, in all ages, your kind has sought to wipe us out. I know how to protect my pack, Journey Walker.”

“Don’t call me Journey,” Jed gritted reflexively, half rising. “Look, I get it, you’re all high and mighty, but—”

“I am my pack’s leader.” The Gray Lady was standing as well, both hands braced on the table, tension practically vibrating around her.

“
But
,” Jed continued, louder, as if he hadn’t been interrupted at all, “this is not the time to sit in circles and hold fucking hands. We know where their bases are. We go out and we blow them all to fucking kingdom come. And then we find the fucker who’s supplying them and we blow
his
ass to the sky too. Come on, you guys are goddamn
wolves
, not a bunch of fucking rabbits. Act like you’ve got some teeth and
attack
.”

Anthony gave a bark of a laugh. “We are not
animals
, Jed.” There was a growl underneath his voice, his eyes as bright as the Gray Lady’s. “We are not aggressive for the sake of violence.”

Without missing a beat, eyes locked on Anthony’s, Jed picked up one of the semiautomatics on the table. He took it apart, then put it back together, hands flying and snapping everything into place, like it was some deadly dance. He didn’t even have to think about it; his gaze never wavered from Anthony’s face. And before anyone could react, before one fucking person could even think to stop him, he put the gun to Edwin’s head, and he pulled the trigger.

The empty chamber clicked with a deafening sound. Jed threw the gun on the table and sat. “You might not be, cupcake,” he told Anthony. “But the men who are going to come? The men like me? They are.”

Anthony was just shaking his head. He stepped closer to Jed, standing at his side, and picked up the gun, turning it over in his hands. “Don’t ever do that again,” he said simply, without a hint of threat in his voice. He didn’t need to vocalize it so obviously. Whereas Randall had a look of such unrepressed rage on his face that Jed was kind of surprised he still had his throat, Anthony simply stared him down.

Edwin was white, staring at the pile of weapons in the middle of the table, uncharacteristically still. Randall had scooted closer to his brother, shoulder nudged against him. Jed felt bad for a minute, for scaring the kid, but in the end he just shrugged. “You don’t think I would kill him. But here’s the thing. I’m not a good guy. If Randall hadn’t paid me to come with you, if the job was instead to hunt a bunch of wolves for cash? I’d have taken it. End of story. I’m not some hero riding in to save your asses. I’m just a professional who’s telling you what the goddamn score is.”

“Jed,” Redford whispered urgently, tugging on his hand.

“You should probably shut up now.” Randall’s voice was hard. Redford had on those ridiculous eyes, the ones that meant he wanted Jed to stop talking and possibly stop insulting people. Which was usually the right call, but in this case, Jed didn’t know how to say it any plainer. People with big guns were trying to kill this little commune. They should fight back. He wasn’t going to just let them think the world was rainbows and magnum condoms.

“No,” Anthony said. “Jed’s right. Not about the explosions or blowing people up. He’s right about the men that will be sent.” He looked at Jed, his eyes faded back to their usual blue. “For what it’s worth, I’m glad you’re on our side, and I hope it’s more than the money that’s keeping you here.”

“They’ve got a mean continental breakfast.” Jed’s lips twitched upward, but the sharp tic in his shoulders relaxed a little. He nodded at Anthony, accepting his support. “Trust me. Your brother didn’t pay me nearly enough to be here. Besides, no one hired me. I’m Red’s plus-one. This is just free advice.” He turned to the Gray Lady. “And I can count on one dick the number of times I’ve given that out. So maybe listen to me.”

Randall had deflated a bit, Edwin was still looking rattled, but the Gray Lady didn’t seem calmed down at all. Still, she nodded sharply, sharing a look with Anthony. “We need time,” she finally said, sitting elegantly. “Despite your impetuous nature, these things cannot be decided in a moment. Can you give us that?”

Jed considered it. “My rate’s five thousand a day, plus expenses.”

“Jed!” Redford looked scandalized this time.

“Oh, right.” Jed looked a little sheepish, slinging his arm around Redford’s shoulders. “Ten thousand. You’re getting both of us.” Knievel yawned, stretching and hopping up on the table. “Twelve,” Jed amended without missing a beat. Knievel obviously counted too.

“That’s not what I meant, Jed,” Redford sighed. He leaned in close, hissing in Jed’s ear, “They build their houses out of logs. How much money do you really think they have? We’re not out to
bankrupt
them.”

Eyes widening, Jed looked at Redford, raising his eyebrows as if to protest. Redford’s expression didn’t waver, so, with a heavy sigh, Jed sulked back in his seat. “Fine. Pro fucking bono. But you try and make me sleep on the goddamn ground again, I will blow so much shit up that you’ll think it’s the Fourth of fucking ass July.”

“That would be one of our stipulations,” Redford said, a lot more diplomatically. “That Jed be granted a cabin for the nights.”

“Also, would it kill you to have some whiskey?” When Randall shot him an exasperated look, Jed pointed to Knievel. “It’s for her! She likes a cocktail before bed.”

“I think that can be arranged.” The Gray Lady’s voice was that dry, annoyed tone Jed remembered none too fondly from his school days. He’d practically majored in detention. “Any other demands?”

“No,” Redford said, jumping in before Jed could open his mouth. “Food and a roof over our heads are all we ask.” He put a hand to Jed’s back, patting him consolingly. “As for advice—first you’ll need to post at least twice the amount of guards you currently have around your perimeter, at all hours. If you need more time to make a decision, we’ll find more information for you. We’ll try to trace the bullets back to the manufacturer, and hopefully we can give you something to make a more informed decision on.”

Redford was so goddamn hot.

Jed was just staring at him, that ridiculous little smile tugging up one corner of his mouth. And if they hadn’t been in the room with prudish, overstuffed professors who would probably faint, Jed was pretty damn sure he would have kissed the hell out of Redford right then. Or gotten on his knees and begged. Maybe both. In any case, he had to content himself with drawing Redford in closer, nodding to everything he said, and being so proud he really wasn’t sure how to begin to show it.

“And hopefully the increased guards will make the hunters think twice about attacking before they bring in the big guns,” Redford continued. “We saw on the wall that the hunters had made notes about smaller packs in the area. They should probably be informed too.”

“Do you guys have a network?” Jed asked, peering around the table. “Like in that Dalmatian movie? You go howl and the next pack gets the message?” Perking up, he added, “Or, like, virtual buttsniffing? E-mail for the ass focused?”

The Gray Lady did not look amused. Jed almost felt offended; that was
hilarious
.

“We have a system in place,” she said, serene as ever.

And apparently she wasn’t going to share with the class. Naturally. Jed shrugged, arms folded, leaning back dangerously in his chair. “Fine. You spread the word. I’ll do some research, see if I can follow the money.”

“Fine.” The Gray Lady stood, nodding at them all. “I will anticipate a report soon, Jed Walker. Please, do not fail me.” As if he needed a reminder of how high the stakes were. She swept out of the room, ramrod straight and elegant, like a willow branch refusing to bend in a windstorm. In all his life, Jed didn’t know if he’d ever met anyone who mixed that much classy with balls that big. He found himself grateful that, at least for now, it looked like they were all on the same side.

“You smell like Anthony’s sheets did when Veronica used to come visit.” Edwin was standing close, leaning in to sniff Jed, nose all twisted up in a grimace. “It’s sour. What is that?”

“Come, mud, rain, and ball sweat,” Jed answered easily. “Welcome to the glamorous life of the mercenary for hire.”

“A
SSFUCKING
DONKEY
balls in a
fucking sewer
.” Jed threw his phone across the cabin room, followed by the pile of maps and his half-empty bottle of beer. “Jesus
Christ
.” Dragging his hand through his hair, he slammed his ass down on the chair, scowling at the dripping mess in the corner. “Fifteen calls, Red.
Fifteen fucking calls
. I might as well have shoved my hand up my ass and spun for all the info I got.”

He’d been at this for hours now. After the painful act of peeling his jeans off—and the unexpected Brazilian wax he’d gotten from the mud and other assorted grossness drying and sticking to his short and curlies—he’d showered, changed, and gotten to work. This part should be easy. But one by one his contact list dwindled without a speck of new information to show for it. Hell, even the hardest cases he’d done were easier than this.

Turned out, everyone he knew still thought vampires sparkled and werewolves were in London. Not even whispers of silver bullets were going around the usual circles. Hell, in desperation he’d tried a couple of David’s old numbers, only to come up against a disconnected message every time.

No one knew a damn thing that was useful. For the first time in his life, Jed found himself at the end of his rope with nothing to show for it but a limp dick.

Redford looked up from where he’d ensconced himself on the cabin bed. As Jed had been making calls, Redford had migrated his way under a pile of covers, curled up on his side with his nose in a book. Now he was looking at Jed with a faintly concerned frown. “You don’t have anybody else you can call?”

“Well, I’m waiting for the Tooth Fairy to get back to me,” Jed growled, eyes narrowed as he stared up at the ceiling. “But other than that….” Heaving out a long sigh, Jed scrubbed both hands across his face, desperately trying to massage some blood into his brain. “It’s fine,” he muttered, the chair thumping back down to four legs as Jed swung himself up again. He passed by Redford, dropping a distracted kiss to the top of Redford’s head before he gathered up the maps and his phone, dumping them back onto the table.

He arranged the papers again, smoothing them out carefully. He’d just start over. And if that didn’t work, he’d start one more time. Over and over again, he’d go over this until a pattern emerged or he got the info he needed for the next step.

“I guess most of your contacts don’t really know about all this,” Redford said. “Can you pass me the papers we got from the cabin? I want to have another look over them.”

“You should sleep, babe,” Jed protested, but he gathered up the papers and spread them out on the bed for Redford. God knew what time it was, but he was pretty sure they were rounding assbutt-o-thirty. Cracking his back, Jed took a moment to stretch, stifling a yawn and peering outside. It was still dark, but he swore he could see the first cracks of dawn lightening the sky beyond the trees to gray. “I need coffee,” he mumbled, frowning. “I wonder if they have coffee.”

“They do in the kitchen.” Redford’s reply was absent as he shuffled through the papers. “I think I heard someone mention the kitchen is open all hours. Do you want me to get some coffee?”

Blinking, Jed rubbed his eyes before sitting himself back down and picking up his phone. “I want you to sleep,” he told Redford. “I’m fine. I can go for days. I think I’ve proven that on more than one occasion.” His usual leer was more exhausted than normal, and he scrolled through his phone’s contacts, looking for someone, anyone, who might give him a clue.

Redford looked like he was on the verge of disagreeing, but he relented. “Come here, then. Get all your stuff so you don’t have to move.” He patted the bed, shifting over to make room.

He wanted to say no. He was working. This was a job—even though he was getting paid fuck all for it—and when he was on a job, that was all he was. It was what he was good for. This and giving head were pretty much his only useful skills. So he should be able to
solve this
. Make the calls, do the research, track this shit down, and take care of the problem. It was who he was.