Netherworld II: Blood Potion No. 9 (11 page)

Holy crap. He was looking to infect the
human population with the shapeshifter virus too?

My head reeled with the implications of
what the Fulton Falls’ Beasts leader was up to. C.K. wanted to kill
off humans as well as the vampires. No way he could really make it
happen, not that many of the population, but he could still hurt a
lot of people, para and norm alike.

They’d said all the important stuff
apparently, because Hazel rose to leave. I ducked into the
surprisingly clean if dated ladies’ room, listening until footsteps
faded down the hall. Peeking out to make sure the coast was clear,
I next ventured far enough down the hall to see Hazel walk out of
the club. Good. I was invisible to everyone again.

I found Bane in the middle of a poker
game with other Beasts. Fizz hung over his meaty shoulders, her
expression giddy with infatuation. For his part, Bane ignored her
but made no complaints as she kept bottles of human beer and kisses
on his stubbly cheeks coming.

“Good to see you’re showing some sense,
Wolf Boy. Keep her happy and stay alive,” I said. I can’t tell you
how relieved I was that Fizz showed no signs of remembering my
hostile takeover. The stripper must have been used to losing time
because of her past drug use.

I hung out for hours, waiting for Bane
to leave the table so I could find a way to communicate what I’d
learned. Unfortunately for me he was on a winning streak,
lightening the other bikers’ wallets. As soon as one player gave up
the game, another would take his place. Bane grinned broadly
throughout, having a good time. Men just love to win, and as long
as someone was willing to buck Bane’s run of luck, he was willing
to play on.

When I saw by the clock over the bar
that daylight would be arriving soon, I gave up. “I guess I’m not
going to be able to share the news with you, big bad wolf. I’ll
check in later,” I told the unaware agent.

I stepped outside, seeing the first
glow of morning lighting the sky. A dusting of frost coated the
sparse tufts of grass on what was a very scraggly front lawn. Cold
no longer affects me, and I missed feeling autumn’s first chill on
my skin, the burning sensation of breathing in the dry, crisp air.
That slight taste of it in Fizz’s body had gone unappreciated
because my thoughts had been elsewhere. A melancholy seized me.
Every time I think I’m used to being dead, something new reminds me
of the things I’ve lost.

Something else bothered me on this
fine, clear morning. Now I had to face my two boyfriends and tell
them about the terrible threat to para and normal folks alike. Even
worse, I had to admit to what I’d done with Bane. Despite the fact
it hadn’t been my body and it had been in response to an emergency,
I had a dreadful certainty that bit of disclosure wasn’t going to
go well at all.

I materialized at the old Fulton Falls’
Library. Usually if I wasn’t at the King George, I was here. This
is Dan’s special place.

My rugged Marlboro Man was in his
favorite spot, reading a book at the head librarian’s desk. In
front of him, lit softly by lamps, long wooden tables marched in a
row down the center of the main reading room, wooden chairs lined
up with precision around them. All around us, banks of shelves
filled with books, both ancient and new. Standing among the shelves
behind Dan, an old woman wearing Victorian clothing perused a slim
book, as she been doing probably since the library burnt down in
the Great Fire of ’36. Dan named her Miss Gertrude after his
grandmother, whom he says she resembles.

Miss Gertrude doesn’t care about what
we call her or even that we’ve gotten frisky right in front of her
on many an occasion. She’s what is known as a residual haunt.
There’s no mind behind her image; she’s part of the library’s
memory. Yes, the library has a memory. Like the King George, it’s
one of those special places that was so well loved in its day that
it possesses a ghost of its own. What’s actually left of it is the
burnt outer shell of the first floor, buried beneath the modern
Fulton Falls. But we dead see it as it was in all its grand glory.
It’s a beautiful place.

My mind wasn’t on our beloved library
right now. I looked at Dan’s bent head, his short, coarse hair
rumpled in natural waves, his capable hands wrapped around a book.
A new one by Earnest Hemingway, I saw.

Death doesn’t slow the greats down.
Madness from eternity’s boredom is another matter altogether.
Fortunately, Papa Hemingway hasn’t succumbed to insanity
yet.

Even a new novel couldn’t take my
attention from the more rugged of my boyfriends. Looking at Dan, I
felt such an upswell of adoration that I thought I might burst. One
of these days I’m going to get over my fears and tell this man how
much I love him. But not today. Once he finds out what I’d done
with Bane, it’s going to be the last thing he wants to
hear.

To soften the blow, I changed from the
leather to a pretty blue sheath dress, keeping it simple to
accentuate my curves. Sexy and demure all at once, I gave myself
matching high heels. I shook my copper-colored waves out to cascade
down my back. I was as ready as I’d ever be.

“Hi, gorgeous,” I said
softly.

Dan looked up at me and smiled. Oh
gosh, he is so devastating when he smiles. “Talking to yourself
again, baby girl?”

I snickered, came around the desk, and
planted a smooch on his waiting lips. “Too smooth.”

He set the book down, but kept his hand
on it. If you take your attention away from stuff in the library,
it puts it back in its proper place. That’s only convenient if
you’re finished with the object at hand.

“How is your espionage going, Mata
Hari?” Dan asked.

I perched on the desk corner. “I have
tons of news, but since Tristan will be here any moment, I’ll
wait.”

He brightened, something he rarely does
when Tristan’s name leaves my lips. “Really? I can’t wait to hear
what you found out.”

He stood and kissed me with such
sweetness that my toes ached. Oh jeez, did I really have to come
clean with him?

Yes, I did. I am many things, many
not-so-good things, but one thing I can claim not to be is a liar.
Especially with someone who means as much to me as Dan.

I took a deep breath. “Hey, did you
hear about the undercover ATF agent with the Beasts?”

“Tristan told me. Good work finding
that out about Bane.”

I kicked the desk, one foot at a time.
“Yeah, well he got himself in a tough spot last night. C.K. was
ready to do some damage.”

“Is he okay?”

“I had to help him out. If I hadn’t
jumped in, he might have gotten himself killed.”

Dan’s mood darkened just a hair. I
think he heard the worried defensiveness in my voice. “Jumped in?
How?”

I looked down at my kicking feet.
“Literally. I took over one of the women who hangs out with the
Beasts. Fizz? You know which one she is? Spiky blond hair,
skinny?”

He knew. “Stripper. C.K. gave her to
Bane as his personal property.”

“Bane hasn’t been doing the wild thing
with her, and she called his manhood into question. It got ugly
because C.K. thought he was gay.”

I dared to look up at Dan. Uh oh. He’d
gone real still, his expression openly suspicious.

He asked, “And you did
what?”

Carefully I answered, “C.K. wanted Bane
to boff her right then and there in front of everyone. But Bane
couldn’t, um, perform.” I hated the plaintive tone rising in my
voice, but I couldn’t quiet it. “I was afraid they’d hurt him, Dan.
I had to do something.”

Fury sparked in his chocolate brown
eyes, and his jaw clenched. His voice just this side of a full
storm, he growled, “No, you didn’t. You didn’t have to do a damned
thing, Brandilynn.”

Crap. He was cursing and not
apologizing for it. I was in big trouble.

I lowered my head. “I’m sorry. You know
I wouldn’t do this lightly.”

“I already have to share you with
Tristan, and that’s more than I can stomach. What, two men isn’t
enough for you?” His gravelly voice was almost a shout.

My insides churned. Tears welled up in
my eyes, and I blinked them back with all the effort I could
muster. I faced him because he deserved the respect. “You know
better. It wasn’t my body, and I was really scared for Bane. That’s
the only reason I did it.”

His tone was scathing, and I cringed at
every word he spat out. “That’s nice and convenient, Brandilynn.
Using someone else’s body keeps you clean? And you didn’t enjoy it,
right?”

I couldn’t answer him. I’d liked
screwing the werewolf, all right. God, I wish I could lie, if only
to spare Dan’s feelings.

As I sat there mute, my silence telling
Dan what he didn’t want to know, he gave me a look of absolute
disgust. I wanted to shrink into myself and hide from him at that
moment. I’d been an escort in life, one that sold sex to my regular
customers. But until now, Dan had never given me a look that made
me feel dirty.

I don’t how much uglier it would have
gotten had Tristan and Patricia not chosen that moment to arrive.
Materializing next to me, Tristan didn’t take time to notice the
heavy atmosphere of the room.

“Good morning,” he said, kissing me
right off the bat.

“Hi Tristan. Good morning, Patricia,” I
said, marveling at how steady my voice came out.

Patricia picked up on the tension right
away. She gave me a quick nod. “Brandilynn.” Then she eyed
Boyfriend Number One with an arched brow. “Dan, you look like
someone licked all the red off your candy.”

He turned away, pretended to busy
himself with something on the desk. “Brandilynn has something to
report.”

Tristan looked from me to Dan to me to
Dan again like he was watching a tennis match. The smirk on his
face told me he didn’t mind the obvious unhappiness between us one
bit. “Oh well, let’s have it,” he invited pleasantly.

Tristan as a human ghost is just as
elegant and urbane as he is as a vampire. But he’s so much warmer.
His skin reverts to the tan he left mortal life with, his dark
eyes, while still almost black, aren’t nearly as predatory. There’s
no hunger to sharpen the planes of his face. He doesn’t look at
others as if wondering how good they taste. This is the man I
love.

I started off with the revelation that
C.K. and Hazel were directly responsible for the tainted blood
supplies and followed up with the even bigger news that they
planned to infect the norms with Zoo Flu. Tristan and Patricia both
turned appropriately pale at the murderous pairs’ plot. Even Dan
let go of enough anger to be aghast.

But Tristan’s horror didn’t preclude
him from scheming to take advantage of the situation. Boyfriend
Number Two is always interested in what’s in it for him, whether
he’s vampire or human. If he didn’t actually care about others, it
would definitely turn me off.

He said, “This is huge. If we can find
out when the shipment of tainted blood is due to come in, we’ll
have that hateful little pig right where we want him.”

I scowled. “You can’t screw up Bane’s
investigation, Tristan. Not if you want the Beasts put out of
commission here in Fulton Falls permanently. Hands off the
case.”

He waggled a paternal finger at me.
“You’re there on my behalf, Brandilynn. Surely the ATF can share
the credit with us.”

I snorted in a most unladylike fashion,
but Tristan’s ambitions were ticking me off just a bit. “And
further your political career?”

He folded his arms over his chest and
gave me a level look. “So sue me for being ambitious. If my people
just happen to be on hand when the bust goes down, everyone
wins.”

At least he’s honest about his
less-than-stellar motivations. I can’t fault that.

Dan finally joined the conversation. “I
can pick the Beasts back up now, Tristan. I think Brandilynn’s done
enough.” The glare he gave me let me know he wasn’t referring to
spying.

“I prefer you to stay with the main ATF
office so you can keep us abreast of the plans they
have.”

“Then I’ll do both,” Dan said
doggedly.

Patricia stared at him. “What is your
problem?”

I answered because it was up to me to
tell Tristan what I’d done, not Dan. “His problem is that I took
over a living woman’s body and had sex with Bane.”

Tristan started. He turned to me, his
expression a mix of anger and disbelief. When he could speak, his
tone was still cultured but noticeably furious. And he cursed. “Why
the hell would you do that?”

Shamefaced, I repeated the sordid tale.
Dan turned away again while I spoke.

When I was finished, Patricia said,
“Way to take one for the team, Brandilynn.”

I couldn’t tell if she was being
sarcastic or sincere. I was betting on sarcastic.

Tristan stared at me, his expression
wiped clean of any feeling. His eyes gave away the internal
struggle he was fighting though. It was the longest ten seconds of
my life, that silence.

Finally he spoke, shaking his head and
letting his disappointment in me come through. “I can see why you’d
sacrifice yourself in such a way, but I can’t say I’m happy about
it either. This relationship is crowded as it is.”