Night Owls (30 page)

Now Val sat in her living room, alone with Chaz. He’d found a bottle of scotch in her liquor cabinet and poured himself a double. The bottle was beside him in case he needed any more. His fingers tapped out a rhythm against the glass while he thought. Val couldn’t read him, not completely. He smelled hurt more than anything, but his face gave none of it away. Finally, he sighed and set the glass down.

“You never told me about Sacramento,” he said.

Val wished she had a glass of her own to fidget with, but all she had was leftover lamb’s blood from Ivanov’s visit. It wasn’t quite the same as a real drink, even if she mixed some whiskey in. “It was another life.”

“One that’s coming back to you now, like it or not.” He sat forward, on the edge of the armchair. Elly had wrapped him in an Ace bandage and drawn runes all over it. He was walking straighter, which was good to see, and when he breathed, nothing grated in his chest.

Val was curled up on the corner of the couch, feeling the unnerving sensation of her bones shifting as they finished knitting themselves back together. Every now and then, one of them gave an alarming crackle as it settled into place. “It’s done. I meant that.”

“Ivanov’s not the type to let that go. He’s got Elly working for him. He’ll try to drag you in, too. But that’s not the point right now.”

“Then what
is
the point?”

“You never told me. That’s all. I think I deserve to know.”

“You’re right. You do.”
No more hedging.
She straightened up. “I was a Hunter. There was a huge nest that we were called in to take out and it went badly. I lost my whole team. We killed the Jackals, but I’m the only one who made it out.” She closed her eyes, hearing Delilah’s screams echoing through the dark. “I decided it wasn’t worth it anymore.”

“Who was on your team?”

“Another vampire. Her name was Clara. Four members of the Brotherhood. Kelly and Delilah were both sisters and Sisters.” He nodded, hearing the capital when she said it. “Two fighters, more like what Cavale does.”

“What were their names?”

“Charlotte and Angelo.” It was hard to say his name. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d spoken it aloud.

Chaz sat back, reaching for the scotch. “There it is.”

“What?”

“The last one. Angelo. He meant something to you, didn’t he?” There was no accusation in his tone, simply resignation, like he’d received long-anticipated bad news.

“They all meant something to me. They were my family.”

“But him most of all. Was he your Renfield?”

Oh.
Val smiled. “Don’t you dare,” she said, but her voice was soft. “Come here.” She patted the cushion beside her. At first, she didn’t think Chaz was going to come sit with her, but at last he relinquished the armchair. Val scooted closer to him and laid her head on his shoulder. He put his arm around her and leaned back. They sat like that for a few minutes, not speaking. Val sought out his free hand and laced her fingers through his. “He was my Renfield, yes. And I miss him. I didn’t want to take another after he died. I didn’t think I ever would.” She sighed with the memory of his loss. “It hurt so goddamned much, you know?”

Chaz didn’t answer, but she felt him nodding. He rubbed her shoulder, too, comforting her when he was the one who actually needed to be comforted.

She lifted her head up and kissed his cheek. His skin got warm beneath her lips as he blushed. “But I’m glad I did. I found you, and you’ve been amazing, right from the start. When they took you, I was afraid it was all happening again. I spent the last day and a half scared shitless.”

“Yeah, me, too.”

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have taken my eyes off you for a second.”

“You shouldn’t have to worry about that,” he said. His grip on her hand tightened. “This . . . Angelo. He obviously could have held his own with them. I couldn’t. I can, what, pour blood into a tea set and do your taxes. That’s one fuck of a downgrade.”

“Chaz.” Val sat up and turned his chin so he was looking her in the eye. “I don’t compare you to him, so don’t you do it, either. You’re who I need. That’s my call. Okay?”

He blinked, surprised. The hurt smell went away, even though some of the sadness remained. “Okay.”

“Really okay?”

“Swear to God.” He let go of her hand and crossed his heart. His crooked grin was back, too.

She could do more convincing later, if need be, when the sun’s weight wasn’t bearing down on her eyelids. “I have to get up to bed,” she said, pulling Chaz in for one last hug. She was careful not to hurt his ribs. “You take it slow today, okay?”

“I will.”

Val walked him to the door, waiting while he got in the Mustang and pulled out of the driveway. She didn’t go back inside until he turned the corner and the roar of the engine faded away.

 • • • 

E
LLY KICKED OFF
her boots and collapsed onto the bed in Cavale’s guest room. She was tired and sore, but all in all, the night had been a success. She’d wanted to start the search for Bitch and the rest of her nest right away, but Cavale had convinced her they both needed a few hours to sleep and recharge. He had the lock of hair Katya had given him. They’d be able to find her with that when they were ready.

She listened to the sounds of Cavale checking the locks downstairs: back door, front door, windows, cellar. The stairs creaked as he ascended them, and she could follow his progress down the hallway. He paused outside her door and knocked softly.

“I’m awake.”

He came in and sat on the bed beside her. “Good job tonight.”

“You, too.” She reached up and touched his cheek, where she’d applied butterfly stitches to a couple of nasty scratches from the Creeps’ claws. “How are those holding up?”

“They itch a little, but they’re fine.” He smiled. “I had a good doctor.”

Elly rolled her eyes, but she was grinning, pleased at the praise. “We’re going to have to hit the drugstore later. I used up most of the supplies on Chaz.”

“I’ll get a shopping list started.”

“Like hell you will. I’ll do it.” Suddenly shy, she pushed up to her elbows so she could look out the window. “I mean, if you want me to.”

“Hey.” Cavale took her hand and waited until she was looking at him again. “My house is your house, Elly.” He squeezed her fingers. “I figure, if you’re going to be teaching Justin, you might as well stay close by. If Ivanov needs you in Boston, you can take my car. Unless you’d rather live in the city. It might be easier to find your mother that way, if you change your mind about it. Better resources. It’s your call.” Now it was his turn to look shy. “But I’d like it if you stayed.”

She paused, looking away as she tried to find the words. “I know you all want me to find this woman. I just . . . don’t care. If we find the nest and the alpha, and that frees her, great. But she’s not my family.”

She looked Cavale in the eye. It was easier this time. “You are.”

One month later

J
USTIN POKED HIS
head into the back room. “Val? Chaz? I think you guys had better come see this.”

Chaz took his feet off the supervisor’s desk, where he’d been working out the next week’s schedule. With both Justin
and
Val restricted to postsunset hours, he’d had to do some finagling with the rest of the crew. It was a huge pain in the ass, but at least now that fall was in full swing and the days were getting shorter, both of them were available earlier in the evening. “What’s up?”

Val surfaced from further in the back, where she’d been unpacking a shipment. Justin shifted from foot to foot. He’d gained some confidence along with his vampirism, and Elly’s Hunting lessons had helped him shed some of the shyness, but learning the ropes also meant relearning his limits, and it made him self-conscious. There were times Val had to remind him that normal people
couldn’t
lift six boxes of books at once, or while it was nice to get the shelving done quickly, he really needed to keep the speed down to human level.

“It’s, uh. I think you just need to come see.”

“Oh God, did you dent my car?” He’d sent Justin out to pick up some books from an elderly couple on the other side of town who wanted to sell their collection. Val was planning to look them over tonight and see what she wanted to buy.

“No! No, but, um. Just come see?”

Val sighed and followed him. Chaz scrambled along after them, tallying up the things he’d do to Justin if there were so much as a scratch on the Mustang.

But when they got to the car, everything seemed fine. “In the trunk,” said Justin. He put the key in the lock and opened it up.

Chaz peered inside. “Oh. Huh. Couldn’t fit their stuff, huh?” The trunk was filled with swag from the last few trade shows he’d attended: book bags with publisher logos, tee shirts with the covers of new books or catchy slogans for popular series, buttons and key chains and posters galore, and, most importantly, tons and tons of books. He probably had three years’ worth of advance reading copies sitting in there. “You could’ve put the boxes in the backseat.”

Justin looked at him like he’d lost his mind. “You don’t see it?”

Chaz took another gander, squinting around in case there was some big ugly bug clinging to one of the books. “Uh. No? What am I missing? Val?”

Val was staring into the trunk, too, her brow furrowed in consternation. She glanced at him. “Oh. Wait. Here.” She extended her fangs and pricked the pad of her thumb with one. She smeared a drop of blood over each of Chaz’ eyes. “Now look.”

He turned back to the trunk and jumped about a mile. “GAH! What . . . what the fuck . . . No.
Who
the fuck is that?”

There was a dead man curled up atop the swag. At least, he
looked
dead, his skin all grey and saggy. A bit of bone shone through on his forehead. He looked up from a promo copy of the newest James Patterson thriller and grinned at them with yellowed teeth. “Hiya.”

“Justin?” said Val, offering the dead man a weak-fingered wave.

“Yeah?”

“I think you’d better go call Cavale and Elly and get them to come by. I don’t have the slightest idea what to do with a wraith.”

“A wraith that’s living in my trunk,” Chaz corrected.

As if that clarified anything.