The Burning Bush (19 page)

Property?
“I’m going to kill you!” I shouted at MeShack.

He fell on the ground, holding his stomach and choking with laughter. Cassie clapped a beat, then drum-rolled on a Scruff’s back while giggling.

“She is Queen Cheetah!” they sang.

“I am not, and damn you all!” I screamed. He knew I wouldn’t burn them. They just wanted to become fully fledged Kappa brothers. They would do anything he asked. I pointed to MeShack. “You will burn like a bonfire tonight!”

He blew me a kiss.

“Hail King Cheetah’s property!” they continued to sing, carrying me out of the basement as I groaned and covered my face with my shirt.

Hours later, and back at MFE, I sat in an office Zulu had designated for me. My feet rested on my new desk as I watched the Santeria evening news.

“Mr. Bottelli, do you have any idea who may have bombed the factory?” an Earth Witch reporter asked as he held a microphone to Dante’s lips. The mike was so close it rubbed against Dante’s bottom lip and made the Vamp step back.

“No. I don’t know who is responsible for the bombing,” Dante said, wearing a solid black shirt and matching suit. “But the habitat police are exhausting all their resources to discover the culprits.”

A light rain sprinkled on Dante’s face. Rhythmic tapping came from the violet corduroy couch in front of me. Wallace, MFE’s tech expert, typed on his laptop. He was hacking into Santeria’s school system to get Onyx’s school records. He’d also been searching for any art connection with Onyx and Shelly as well as any information that related to anyone named Jacobi.

“Are you finding anything?” I asked Wallace.

Wallace’s eyes remained glued to the screen. He didn’t respond. I returned my attention to the news. On TV, Dante struggled as he tried to maneuver around the news reporters camped outside the Vamp restaurant Fere Tu.

Another reporter blocked him. “What about the reports that the Wildfire Gospel is behind this?”

Dante grinned. Those pale-green eyes flickered with light for a few seconds. “Prophet Burrows lacks the brains and the resources to execute something this big.”

Dante’s limo appeared. The female Vamp I’d burned last night scurried around in a black suit and opened the door.

“World Financial News published an article today saying that all your assets and money were put into the blood factory buyout.” The reporter shoved the microphone into Dante’s face. “Your response?”

Dante’s jaw twitched. His eyes darkened a few shades. “I’m not a foolish businessman. I would never put all of my money into one venture.” He smirked, but it seemed strained and forced.

“Is the Bottelli Family still at the top of the Vampire power structure?” a woman asked from the far right.

“Vampire power structure?” Dante raised his eyebrows. “The Bottelli Family? These are all exaggerated terms—stereotypes and speciest comments meant to insinuate that Vampires are somehow connected to the Human mafia. I’m just a regular business Supernatural that provided a service for the habitat and America.”

I snorted. Dante stepped toward his limo. More reporters yelled out questions to him until all I could hear was babble. And then completely unexpectedly, Dante paused and turned back to the camera with swift Vamp speed. The news people and onlooking crowd went silent.

“However, I do want to say something to the responsible parties,” Dante announced as everyone eagerly swarmed around him.

“There are several moves left. Be wary of your pieces.” He winked, blew a kiss at the camera, and slid into his limo.

I turned the TV off and threw the remote on my desk.

“Are you worried?” Wallace peeked over his laptop’s screen. Tan freckles were sprinkled over his cheeks. His bright red curls flopped around his X brand as he pushed the center of his violet glasses up.

“I must have those glasses.” My eyes targeted them.

The glasses were not only expensive, but they were also Captain Habitat limited editions. I didn’t need them to see, but I would wear them anyway.

“You’re avoiding my question.” Wallace switched back to typing like a robot. “Anyway, I found Onyx’s school transcript. Typical senior classes for a Mixie, remedial this and that.”

“Did anything come up for the name Jacobi?” I swung around in my chair, doing a 360-degree turn.

“There’s no Jacobi at Oya High School.” Wallace leaned back on the couch, making it squeak. “Didn’t MeShack play quarterback there?”

“Nope. It was Shango High, and he was a cornerback.” I twirled in the chair again. “Did Onyx take a lot of art classes?”

“Yeah and one of her art classes was at Maya Luna University,” Wallace said. “So you like to date huge guys?”

“What?” I scrunched up my face and shook off his remark. “Could you pull up Shelly’s transcript? She was an art major. That’s too much of a coincidence; maybe they took an art class together.”

Please say they took a class together.
Then I could just shorten my list to anybody related to the art class. I jumped out of the chair and strolled over to Wallace as he tapped several buttons and Shelly’s classes appeared. Onyx’s transcript popped up on the screen right next to Shelly’s.

“I mean, both MeShack and Zulu are really big and bulky,” Wallace mumbled and pointed to the screen. “See. Shelly and Onyx took the same class, just not at the same time.”

They had both been registered for
Capturing Anatomy
. Onyx went in the fall. Shelly enrolled last spring. I read the short description. The course involved painting and drawing bodies. I checked the professor’s name. Professor Brass
. There is that last name again.
Rivera had ordered me to stay away from the Brass family, but he’d have to go fuck himself. There were too many coincidences, and right now this class was the strongest link I’d found between the two victims.
The Brass family is involved somehow.

“I’ve never seen you dating anybody else.” Wallace’s fingers toyed with the couch’s patched arm. “I mean, one massively scary guy, sure, but two signals a pattern of big, ferocious—”

Wallace stopped talking as I stared daggers at him.

“Why are you talking about this?” I asked.

“I’m just wondering,” he mumbled.

“I like all types of guys.” I pulled some stray dreadlocks behind my ear. “But yes, the only two guys I’ve dated so far have been big.”

“Huge,” he corrected.

I giggled and shook my head. “Could you research Professor Brass for me, please?”

“Sure.” Wallace tapped the screen and slid his finger across it. The transcripts disappeared. He went back to typing on his keyboard. “So are Zulu and you serious?”

“Kind of, but we’re only dating.”
I guess.
Zulu declared he was my boyfriend. I told him I agreed, if boyfriend meant taking our time to date and slowly get to know each other.

Professor Brass’s photo materialized on the screen. My breath caught in my throat. He looked exactly like the man from Onyx’s charcoal sketch, except his face was clean shaven.

“Victory has come again,” Wallace declared. It was Captain Habitat’s phrase at the end of every show.

“And why has victory come?”

“The professor’s first name is Jacobi.” Wallace continued to push buttons. “I can research his life and put together a nice folder on him for you.”

Hello, suspect number one.

“Thanks so much, Wallace.” I hugged him and squeezed his soft shoulders. His glasses fell off to the tip of his nose. His body stiffened under my arms.

I cleared my throat. “Sorry.”

I’d forgotten that he hated to be touched. In my effort to date different guys, I had pursued Wallace for a while and tried to date him. It seemed like a good idea on paper. Wallace loved reading comic books and was as passionate as I was about Captain Habitat. I’d begun hanging out with him in the library and even talked him into going to the movies with me every now and then. But nothing ever happened. All Wallace wanted to do was discuss Zulu. Even worse, he had a huge picture of Zulu in his bedroom next to a Captain Habitat poster. How Wallace obtained such a big photo I had no idea.

“So.” I flashed Wallace a weak smile and picked up his glasses. “You want the usual twenty dollars?”

“I was thinking we could go to the movies, since
The Reactor Force
comes out this weekend in Santeria.” He looked down at his fingers. “It got great reviews in all the Human cities.”

“Yeah.” I handed his glasses back to him. “Let’s go check it out. I’ll pay for admission and sneak some sandwiches into the theater.”

“Maybe Zulu could come too,” Wallace offered.

“But then how am I going to get to make out with you if Zulu is there?” I teased.

Wallace’s mouth dropped open. He gaped behind me.

“Wait. I was just joking. Are you okay?” I seized Wallace’s shaking hand with my fingertips.

“And is this a date?” Zulu asked from behind me. I twisted around and got caught in Cassie’s flash as she snapped a picture of my shocked face.

“I can get this info to you by tonight,” Wallace blurted out. His laptop tumbled over. Cassie sped over in a blur and caught it before it crashed to the floor.

“Thanks,” Wallace said to Cassie as she handed the laptop to him.

“Oh Wallace, before you go, do you think you could register me in one of Jacobi’s classes?” I asked.

“Right now?” Wallace’s eyes widened at me. He scratched his head. His red curls flopped around his fingers. “I guess I could.”

“Back to this date.” Zulu stomped over to the other side of the room, closer to Wallace.

“It’s not a date.” I created a fireball and directed it to hover above Zulu’s head. “That’s the problem with walking in on the middle of others’ conversations, you assume the wrong things.”

Zulu glared at me, baring the four fangs he had just pushed out of his gums. Instead of sitting back down, Wallace carried his open laptop to my desk and typed.

“Lanore, the professor doesn’t allow Mixbreeds to register without fulfilling most of the prerequisites. And it’s after the date to register anyway.” Wallace peeked at Zulu and went back to the screen. “But the university’s art department has several want ads for models. Two postings are for Jacobi’s class.”

I bit my bottom lip.

“You could model,” Wallace insisted. “You’re . . . you know.”

“Beautiful,” Zulu growled. The cords gleamed bright white.

“Yes,” Wallace muttered. “Beautiful.”

Cassie chuckled to herself and took a picture of Zulu frowning.

“I could sign you up for the job and give you the file about Jacobi later.” Wallace picked up his laptop, without turning it off or closing it, and hurried away from my desk. “I have to go.”

Wallace dashed out, leaving his bag and books behind. I extinguished the fireball above Zulu’s head with a flick of my wrist. Zulu’s eyes met mine.

“Cassie, could you give your brother and me some privacy?” I asked.

“Only if you promise not to burn him,” Cassie stated with absolute sincerity. Tiny fangs peeked under her top lip. I struggled to keep my laughter in.

“Go ahead, Cassie.” Zulu smirked. “I’ll scream for you if I need you to shield me from Lanore’s little flames.”

She backed out of the office and closed the door, but not before she snapped another picture.

“I don’t like you bullying Wallace.” I narrowed my eyes at Zulu.

“That wasn’t bullying. It was appearing enraged with jealousy to scare him off.”

“It’s bullying, and I won’t date a bully.” I headed to my desk, putting my back to him. “And are we talking now, or are you going to stomp off again without finishing our conversation?”

His hands appeared at my waist, though I hadn’t heard him walk toward me. I froze as he pressed his body against my back, receiving my full attention.

He kissed my neck. “You smell like MeShack.”

“Probably because we spent the whole day making passionate love all over Santeria.”

Zulu paused for a second and then laughed.