Demons LLC (Damned and Cursed Book 7) (42 page)

"I think she might be sticking around a while."

Cindy glanced behind her, and understood what he meant.

They turned onto Zoey's street, and he immediately didn't like what they saw.
 
A collection of vehicles with flashing lights sat outside her house.
 
Several police cars, an ambulance, a firetruck.
 
Neighbors gathered on their lawns to watch the scene.
 
Whatever happened wasn't too long ago.

"Oh, no," Alex said.
 
"What the hell?"

Cindy parked as close as she could.
 
They climbed out and jogged down the sidewalk, Kylie and Nate just behind them.
 
Alex held Cindy's hand so she wouldn't be lost in any conversation.

"What happened?" Kylie asked.
 
"Did Zoey do this?"

Alex wanted to say no, but the truth was he didn't know.
 
Zoey wasn't a bad person.
 
He knew that, and Kylie knew it as well, despite her current feelings toward her.
 
But Zoey wasn't the person she used to be.
 
She was no longer human.
 
There was a thirst inside her that would never go away, that would take time to learn to control.

How many people would be hurt before she had that control?

"Oh my God," Kylie said, grabbing her head.
 
"Zoey…her parents…."
 
She looked at Alex, her eyes hopeful.
 
"Will you help?"

There was no logical reason for him to go any further.
 
Kylie herself pointed out the fact that her case was over.
 
Zoey wasn't a part of it, and made him no extra money.
 
Demons LLC certainly didn't benefit from staying in Stewartdown any longer than necessary.

He glanced at Cindy.
 
Her smile was warm and knowing.

"Of course we'll help."

Another car approached from the opposite end of the street, driving erratically.
 
It nearly hit the curb in front of Zoey's house.
 
A woman jumped out, and Alex could tell from the horror on her face that it was Zoey's mom, having been called with terrible news at work.

"David!" she shouted.
 
"Zoey!"

An officer intercepted her before she could run into the house.
 
She fell to her knees, her grief consuming her.
 
Kylie nearly ran forward to be with her.
 
She'd spent almost as much time with Zoey's mother as her own.

"She can't see me," Kylie said.
 
"There's nothing I can do to help her."

"I'm sorry.
 
But there is something you can do.
 
Go to Zoey.
 
Let us know where she is, how she's doing."

"You don't think she's dead?"

Cindy answered for him.
 
"No.
 
If she were, you'd see her here."
 
She held up her hand, still entwined with Alex's.
 
"Even I'd see her."

"You want me to…teleport?
 
I don't know.
 
I'm not very good at it.
 
To the motel, sure, but…."

Nate took her hand.

"You're the only one that has a connection with her.
 
You can go right to her, and come back here.
 
You can do this."

All it took was gentle encouragement from Nate to bring a smile to her face.
 
She nodded and quickly squeezed his hand.

"I'll try."
 
She took a deep breath.
 
"Wish me luck."

Nate shook his head.
 
"You don't need it."

Kylie stood still for five seconds with her eyes closed.
 
Just when Alex thought she wouldn't be able to vanish, she slowly disappeared from sight.
 
Nate stared at the spot where she was, a look of pride on his face.
 
A sight on the other side of Zoey's lawn caught his attention.

"Alex," he said, nudging his shoulder.
 
"Check that out."

Alex saw what Nate referred to.
 
It was difficult not to.
 
Everyone's attention was on the police moving in and out of the house.
 
Neighbors gossiped, shook their heads sadly, some even filmed the scene with their phones.
 
Yet two men stood on the lawn, not far from one of the front windows.
 
They argued loudly, cursing and shouting as loud as they could.
 
No one gave them a second glance, or even a first one.

A covered gurney was wheeled out the front door, and one of the men lost what little composure he had left.
 
He fell to his knees, looked up to the sky, and shouted in agony.

"Ghosts?" Nate said.

Alex nodded.
 
"You know it.
 
Can you get close enough without them spotting you?"

Nate flashed a look of hurt.
 
"Dude, I'm insulted.
 
They're like newborn deer.
 
I'll be back in a few."

He vanished as well.
 
Alex had no idea where the young ghost went, or how he intended to spy on the two men.
 
But he knew Nate would get the job done.

"What about you?" Cindy asked.
 
"What are you doing?"

"Zoey has blood in her basement.
 
She's going to need it, and I don't want the police finding it."
 
He kissed her on the cheek.
 
"Keep the truck running for me."

He tried to pull away, but she held tight.

"Wait a minute, wait.
 
You're just going to walk in there, grab some blood, and walk out?"

"Yeah."

The corner of her mouth lifted into a smile.

"Crazy bastard."

"That's why you married me."

"Well, not the only reason."

He blew her a kiss before turning and walking away.
 
He disappeared from the world of the living, right in front of everyone.
 
There were no gasps or shouts of confusion.
 
No eyes were on him.
 
Even if there were, the human mind always searched for something it could understand.
 
He was quite sure his demonic secrets were safe.

He passed two policemen, and gave the arguing ghosts a quick glance, before walking through the front door.
 
His intention was to march directly to the basement, but the sight of the living room made him stop.

"Whoa."

The room was a mess.
 
The television lay face down on the carpet.
 
A lamp was broken, with glass and plastic shards scattered about.
 
Streaks of blood were on the walls.
 
More police documented and examined the scene.

Alex pushed forward, walking through the door leading to the basement.
 
It was pitch black, but he didn't dare rejoin the living world to use his night vision.
 
He ran his fingers along the wall.
 
Only when he made it to the bottom of the stairs did he leave the spirit realm and blink away the darkness.

The police hadn't yet made their way to Zoey's makeshift vampire's lair.
 
It was how Alex remembered it from his last visit.
 
The only differences were the piles of clothes seemed to be spreading, and the four coolers which sat in the corner.
 
He opened the back door leading outside, letting in the first daylight the basement had seen in weeks.
 
Grabbing the coolers, he took a deep breath before leaving the house.
 
It was an awkward carry, two coolers in each hand, but he managed.

He walked across the lawn, slowly and carefully.
 
He shook his head sadly along with the neighbors as he drew a glance or two.
 
One policeman frowned as he stared at him.
 
Alex simply nodded politely, as if he belonged there.
 
It was a trick Victoria taught him.
 
He didn't rush, didn't panic, didn't look down at the ground.
 
No one gave him much of a second thought.

The same couldn't be said for Cindy.

She paced a trench into the street outside the truck.
 
She had the look of a woman waiting for her bank robber partner to emerge with the bags of money.
 
Her nerves were frayed, and it was obvious.
 
The fact that she was gorgeous didn't help her blend in either.
 
Several men stared at her, liked what they saw, and then continued to stare at her anxious behavior.

Alex opened the passenger door and set the coolers on the seat.
 
Cindy climbed behind the wheel, her hands still shaking.

"Babe, just relax."

"Sorry," she said, staring forward.
 
"I've never helped steal blood from a crime scene before."

"There's a coffee shop a few blocks away.
 
We'll head there."

"What about—?"

Nate appeared in the truck, sitting inside the coolers in between Alex and Cindy.

"—Nate?"

"Huh?" he said.
 
"Who's talking about me?"

"He's here," Alex said.
 
"We can leave."

Cindy drove away from Zoey's house, driving slower than she normally would.
 
Nate shifted, a look of disgust on his face.

"Uh, dude?" he said, raising a finger.
 
"Am I sitting
in
blood?"

"What did you find out?"

Nate shifted closer to Alex, forcing him into the door.

"I'm sorry, man, but not a whole lot.
 
They're fresh through death's door.
 
I know you've seen it before.
 
Just yelling, crying, complaining about how it's all so unfair.
 
The one guy did keeping saying 'I can't believe that bitch shot me'.
 
Did Zoey shoot someone?"

Alex was quiet, too quiet for Cindy.
 
She glanced at him as she drove, unsure of where she was going.

"Honey?" she said.
 
"Talk to me.
 
What's up?"

"One sec," he said, lost in thought.
 
A working theory began to form that made sense.
 
"Detective Nash.
 
She has something to do with this."

"Is that the woman you were flying with?"

"Yeah.
 
She probably recognized Zoey from the alley.
 
She came here to talk to her, arrest her, whatever, and was followed."

"So…where is she?
 
Where is everyone?" Nate asked.

Sighing, Alex rubbed his temples as a headache began poking at him.
 
He hoped his theory was wrong.
 
Saving Zoey's life, assuming she was still alive, was difficult enough.
 
He didn't need more to worry about.

"One thing at a time."

Cindy was in the middle of a left turn when Kylie appeared in the truck.
 
She was nearly on top of Nate, her legs blended with his.
 
She wasn't quite sitting.
 
Her head protruded through the roof.

"I'm here!" she shouted.
 
"I actually did it—!"

Her excitement didn't last long as she tumbled backwards.
 
She flailed as she tried to grab the rear-view mirror.
 
Nate tried to help, but out she went, hitting the ground and rolling several times in the middle of the street.
 
Ghosts didn't have to obey the same rules as the living, such as momentum.
 
But Kylie expected to fall and roll, so she did.

Alex cursed under his breath.
 
Nate turned to look behind them.

"Pull over," he told Cindy.
 
"Kylie's back there."

Cindy turned on the flashers and slowly pulled to the side.
 
Nate was already out and running toward Kylie.
 
He'd left the truck much more gracefully, simply standing upright and planting his feet on the ground.

Alex and Cindy held hands as they jogged behind Nate.
 
Kylie was moving out of the street to the sidewalk, shaking her head at her clumsiness.

"Are you okay?" Nate asked.

"Yeah, just…hopefully one day I'll stop doing that."

Alex was proud of her.
 
Her adjustment to being a ghost was improving.
 
Her teleportation skills were definitely getting better.
 
But it wasn't the time to celebrate just yet.

"Kylie, what's going—?"

She didn't let him finish.

"Alex!
 
I found Zoey!"

"Is she alright?"

"No.
 
She's alive, and her father is, too.
 
But…"
 
She struggled for words.
 
"She's at the hospital, and she's…."

Alex could guess.
 
He didn't know what happened at her house, but if she was in a hospital, that meant she suffered some exposure to the sun.

"Burnt very badly?"

"Yes.
 
Oh God, her skin…She was out cold, but started fighting the doctors.
 
That's when I came back."

It was only a matter of time before someone got hurt, either Zoey or another human.
 
He had to hurry.

"Where's the hospital?"

"We passed it yesterday when you went to lunch."

That wasn't any help.
 
He didn't know the town.

"Just give me a direction."

"Shit," Kylie muttered, turning in circles.
 
"A left at the light ahead, and then another right…."